W2RG Ham Radio Set Up : NOW HEAR THIS....

Elaborate set-up in a field roving HAM radio project at Hoppy's Landing, Fairhaven, MA

By MLBaron Correspondent / KA1WBH / West Island Weather Station

     FAIRHAVEN MA : Rich Griffiths, a retired engineer had an interesting career working on advanced wind tunnel experimentation. The focus was on the winds impact and influence of buildings in the big city. Large complex models of cities such as Manhattan and Cleveland were some of the models created in large scale for the research.

W2RG coordinates via radio with another amateur operator in troubleshooting a  signal

    














     Today Rich (W2RG) spends a lot of time with one of his favorite hobbies, amateur radio also known as HAM*. There are thousands of amateur radio operators world wide some of which can communicate around the world with their specialized radio and antenna arrays. One of the primary missions of amateur radio is to provide emergency communications, promoting international goodwill, and the continued experimentation with radios built from scratch to the sophisticated levels of satellite use.

     Famous amateur radio operators - some of who have passed on - which are called "a silent key" include Walter Cronkite, Howard Hughes, Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor. Bill Clinton, Henry Winkler and Jimmy Carter continue to be licensed HAM operators.

These dishes must be level and fine tuned precisely to receive ditant signals as clear as possible.

A vintage Morse Code telegraph key is used to send signals the old fashioned way

     Mr Griffiths, who's FCC callsign is W2RG, takes pride in many of his gadgets that he has built from scratch.






     Most of the components in the photos were obtained piecemeal from HAM Radio Flea Markets. His eyes lit up went he received a signal from a fellow operator transmitting a frequency from New Hampshire a few hundred miles away. "This is what it's all about", Rich stated. After building all this from the ground up with many hand tooled components and fittings W2RG's gear was humming with activity. Amateur operators such as Rich set up at strategic locations for a clear "line of sight" to receive and/or transmit signals. They can range from places like Hoppy's to a mountain top in New Hampshire as was the case with this project. They also have amateur radio competition contests such as this on a regular basis. To my surprise, Griffiths had a vintage Morse Code Key and was sending the dots and dashes like a second language. He said when all else fails , Morse Code is still the most reliable communications to get the message out.

Morse Code continues to be the most reliable communications  method to this day.

     A technology invented before the Civil War, the first transmission was sent from Baltimore to Washington in 1844 with the message "What hath God wrought?". There are many local amateur radio clubs in the area. Those that wish to become a licensed HAM can take classes and earn their call sign, there is no lower or upper age limit. One simply has to pass the license exam.

*The term HAM is said to be derived from a monthly science publication in the 1920's. It was called "Home Amateur Mechanic"  For a complete list of famous amateur radio operators and their call signs visit this link: http://users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/WA6FAH.html My Call Sign is KA1WBH.

The Butler Flats Lighthouse Slated For Auction August 1

NEW OWNERS MUST COMPLY WITH STRICT COVENANTS

Up for Sale: The Butler Flats Lighthouse - USCG Photo

By MLBaron 

 NEW BEDFORD:    The most prominent maritime fixture in New Bedford’s outer harbor will be sold at auction August 1. The GSA (General Services Administration) Boston office that is overseeing the sale has declared 4 lighthouses in Southern New England “not an operational necessity” surplus which includes the Butler Flats Lighthouse. “This is an opportunity for the right person (s) or organization to acquire a unique piece of local maritime history” said Patrick Sclafini, Public Affairs Officer for the GSA Region I. 

The Butler Flats Lighthouse - USCG Photo

     Built in 1898, the Butler Flats Lighthouse replaced the aging Clark’s Point Light that had been in service since 1804. It was designed by Francis Hopkinson Smith, who is also credited for designing the base for The Statue of Liberty. The “sparkplug” style lighthouse standing 53-feet above the water has a circular tank iron caisson base with an upper brick structure. There a four floors, with the lowest level for storage, the middle 2 floors, 37 feet in diameter are for living quarters and the upper floor is for the light operations and watch decks. The original Fresnel lense the (only 2 of it’s kind ever installed in the US) is now on display at The Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockport, Maine.. 

     Although it was obscure as to who actually owned the property, wether it was The City of New Bedford or the Federal Government., the GSA has made it clear that they own the property but did lease it to the city after it was decommissioned in 1978. Shortly afterwards, the Butler Flats Lighthouse became one of the first automated - solar powered lighthouses in the country.

     In 1979 the US Coast Guard granted a revocable license for use of the property by the city as a historic site and private ATON (Aid to Navigation). In 2012 the GSA issued a notice of availability pursuant to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. There were 3 expressions of interest, none of which went any further in filing a formal application. 

     Arthur Motta, former Director of Tourism in the city expressed concern with the potential new owners of the property. Motta, an avid local historian has received numerous commendations for his efforts in the preservation of the Palmer’s Island and Butler Flats lighthouses along with the late Dr. John B. O’Toole. A strictly enforced covenant stipulating the historic preservation and appearance of the light house will be a standard part of the buyer/seller agreement according the auction sale web site listed at http://www.realestatesales.gov. Sale-Lot Number : BOSTON - 113-019-001. The opening bid starts at $25,000.


     (Author’s Note:) If only the Butler Flats Lighthouse could tell it’s story. It would recall how it has seen countless ships of all kinds enter and depart New Bedford Harbor from Whale ships, fishing vessels that evolved from sail to motor, from wood to steel, ships of war, and many vessels and crew that passed it by never to return to port again. It greeted The USS Constitution in 1933 and bid a sad good-bye to The Charles W. Morgan in November 1941. 

     It has endured through the most severe weather nature could throw at it, from nameless nor’easters, to the pounding waves and winds of The Hurricanes of 1938, 1944, Carol 1954, Donna 1960, Gloria 1985, Hurricane Bob 1991 and many other powerful storms. Most old lighthouses can tell similar stories but this one is ours, an indelible place in the hearts of local generations of fishermen, seafarers and beach goers alike. One can only hope that The Butler Flats Lighthouse that has faithfully served our mariners will continue to shine it’s light for another 115 years.

There are a few web sites on the history of Butler Flats Lighthouse including one at this link: http://www.lighthouse.cc/butler/history.html

FAIRHAVEN FIRE DEPARTMENT HEROES 89 YEARS AGO

Burned to the water line, the Ferry Steamer "Sankaty" lies at the bottom along side The Charles W. Morgan at Union Wharf, in Fairhaven, MA. 

FAIRHAVEN FIRE DEPARTMENT HEROES 89 YEARS AGO

By MLBaron Correspondent westislandweather.com

    On June 30, 1924 a huge pier fire lit the skies of New Bedford harbor. Bales of hay, barrels of kerosene, and other goods bound for the islands from the Steamship Dock near Pier 3 provided the fuel for a fire that ravaged out of control. This dockside conflagration lit the night sky and glowed for dozens of miles away. Onlookers watched along the shores of Fairhaven and New Bedford. 

    The fire burned off the lines to the steamer "Sankaty" and the ship caught fire and drifted into the middle of the harbor. It was like a giant floating fire ball drifting slowly towards Fairhaven and eventually along side the Charles W. Morgan, that was tied up at Fairhaven Union Wharf. The Morgan's port side began to get scorched by the intense fire. Smoke and steam began to consume the historic whale ship. 

    Through the heroic efforts of The Fairhaven Fire Department the Charles W. Morgan was saved. Story compiled from recollections of the late Fire Chief Lindsay Gifford who was there. From The MLBaron Historic Archives.

New Bedford Yacht Club Final Moments

A rare look at The New Bedford Yacht Club c1905. Photo taken of the south facing part of the building. Photo Courtesy of The Claire T Carney Library UMASS Dartmouth.

The New Bedford Yacht Club in it's heyday looking east on Rt 6 towards Fairhaven. Old postcard photo c1910


By MLBaron Hurricane Historian and westislandweather.comThe final moments of The New Bedford Yacht Club at Pope's Island during the 1938 Hurricane. People can be seen looking out the windows on the top floor. (photo below)

     "Some were having a "hurricane party" including some students from the recent FHS Class of '38" stated one graduate, the late Mary Battainy of Fairhaven. She told me that she was one of those looking out the window. Just minutes after this photo was taken from Marine Park looking towards the club everybody ran from the club as high winds exceeding 110MPH caused the building to lean back and sway. A huge wave then crashed into It and disintegrated into a large debris field that scattered across RT 6 and into the parking lot across the highway. 

The remains of The New Bedford Yacht Club among the wreckage of demolished cars after the '38 Hurricane 

    Nothing was left of the legendary NB Yacht Club and it was never replaced. All survived, but one naked man was seen clutching to the top of a broken mast as it headed underneath the New Bedford Fairhaven Bridge and blown up the Acushnet River, nothing was ever heard of him again. Standard-Times photo from The MLBaron Historic Archives.

THE TITANIC DISASTER WAS A WEATHER RELATED INCIDENT

By MLBaron Correspondent

      As we recognize the 101st anniversary of the sinking of RMS TITANIC, the fascination of that disaster still persists. I have been researching RMS TITANIC  for years and have an extensive library on the ship. I went to the extent in 1997 to build a couple of six foot models of the hull and simulate the sinking in my kids swimming pool. I punctured small holes on the starboard bow and along side. As the water came in and filled up one compartment to another and eventually spill over above E deck to the fifth - the ship was doomed.  My models broke in half and sank according to theories right by the book. 

      Titanic could handle 4 compartments flooded but not 5. The 882 ft ship was destined to go to the bottom in two and half hours. On April 14, 1912 flare signal colors had certain meaning. But in a frenzy the crew fired up white flares which meant “keep clear we are maneuvering” to any possible nearby ships. The California  just 50 miles away saw the flares but stayed at anchor because of the severe ice flows. Even if the ship proceeded to the scene it couldn’t have maneuvered through the icebergs at full speed and it’s arrival would have been too late anyway.  A series of apparent mistakes before the disaster contributed to the ships inevitable fate. The weather was clear and the sea flat calm. The lookout in the crows nest 90ft up couldn’t see any breaking waves on the iceberg they were approaching.  Another suggestion indicates the iceberg wasn’t white because it may have flipped over at one time and was opaque and dark green in color making it even more invisible in the calm night sky.  Numerous iceberg warnings received by the Marconi Morse Code radio crew on board went virtually ignored. The ship steamed on at full speed at 23 knots. 

Some facts about RMS TITANIC 

Although the ship was built by 11,000 workers in Belfast by The White Star Line, it was actually an American owned vessel along with its two other sister ships. The Brittanic and Olympic which were built side by side. The project started in 1909. All White Star Line ships had names that ended in IC. Example Brittanic, Gigantic, Baltic, Celtic, Olympic. The competing liner Cunard had their ships names in IA. As Lusitania, and Mauritania. The morse code SOS was used for the first time when the ship sent out a distress signal. Contrary to popular belief SOS didn’t mean “Save Our Ship” It was actually a discernable signal that was easily recognizable by morse code operators. Phonetically the Morse Code beeps sounded like this: DIT DIT DIT DA DA DA DIT DIT DIT. The original distress signal was CQD.After sighting the iceberg a mile away - the ships rudder was too small for its size to steer away at this distance. There were three propellers but only two went into reverse by the huge reciprocating engines.  When they engaged in reverse the steering became useless.

The collision was inevitable.The families of the band members that played on deck right to the end received bills for their uniforms from The White Star Line a few months later after the sinking.Although the 1 inch thick iron hull was considered “battleship quality” steel it had a flaw of high sulphur content called “****” which made it and the rivets very fragile in icy waters. Recent deep water expeditions revealed there wasn’t a gash along the hull when it struck the iceberg from previous theories. The iceberg scraped along side and popped the rivets over 300 feet separating the hull plates and allowed thousands of tons of water to pour in.There was discussion with Captain E. J. Smith  at the time of the sinking to open all the bulk head water tight doors from bow to stern and flood all the compartments evenly to stabilize the ship and slow it’s list from the bow. Scientific tests of hull models of the ship decades later proved that this procedure could have capsized the ship creating a greater disaster. Most of the 1503 passengers and crew that died did not drown, but succumbed to hypothermia in the 28 degree icy water in their life jackets within about 4 minutes. Only 680 passengers survived on the ships lifeboats and were later rescued  by The Carpathia several hours later.

Upon arrival to New York the lifeboats, the last remains of Titanic  were tied up first at the dock before the rescued passengers departed.It is estimated that the decent of the sinking 50,000 ton ship may have reached up to 40 miles MPH as it plunged two and a half miles down and buried most of the hull 60feet deep into the sediment of the ocean floor.The RMS initials before the name TITANIC stand for Royal Mail Steamer.  For more information on The RMS Titanic visit the Marine Museum in Fall River. This is  must see for Titanic buffs where they have the largest model of Titanic on display in the world. It was used in the classic movie of Titanic ”A Night To Remember”  1958. For more info visit this link to the museum: http://www.marinemuseum.org/home.html

      I touched a salvaged 25 ton hull section of TITANIC  at The World Trade Center in Boston 13 years ago at The Titanic Exhibition where salvaged items from the wreck were displayed. The portholes were still in place and it was an eerie sight. They had an opaque green film and you couldn’t see through. One can just imagine who was the last passenger to peer through them. The iron remains of RMS Titanic  are deteriorating and soon will be just an orange rust stain on the ocean floor in decades to come.  For more information on future Titanic  exhibits and artifact display visit:http://www.titanictix.com/    Illustration / Engraving photo by MLBaron

The Winter Without Mercy

GOES Satellite Image of the March 8 Nor'easter

Another Powerful Nor'easter Batters The Coast

By M.L.Baron Correspondent / westislandweather.com

WEST ISLAND - Some say this season is turning out to be "the Winter without mercy."   
     A series of powerful storm systems along the East Coast followed by Hurricane Sandy - which earned the title of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history has raised concern.  Insurance claims are staggering and continue to flow in from multiple weather events across the country. Ultimately , insurance rates are expected to rise along with deductibles to recoup huge payout claim losses. 

     Record breaking snowfalls are in sharp contrast to a relatively quiet season last year. Some of these storms have transited through an already battered region that was decimated by Sandy. Many remain homeless while others have severely damaged homes along shore. Tent dwellers waiting to move back in to their homes since October have been exposed to  extreme conditions. 

     Is this active weather trend expected to continue for months or maybe even years? Some experts have theorized that this could be considered the "new normal".  These well-defined comma shaped systems have been very organized having an  abundant supply of moisture from The Gulf to feed and energize them into historical weather catastrophes that books are written about. The geography of the United States in general is a perfect breeding ground for weather of all kinds that can rival the rest of the world. 

     Over 45% of the U.S. has some kind of snow cover. With the suns strong rays this time of the year the snow will soon be a memory.  Considering this active weather pattern over the past few months, one can only speculate what the upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season will be like. 

Blizzard Breaks Uneventful Winter Weather Trend

NASA Satellite Imagery 2-8-2013

By M.L.Baron Correspondent

WEST ISLAND - It’s been over 2 years since the area was hit by a major snow storm with accumulations that can be compared to last weekend’s blizzard. On January 12, 2011, 22 inches of snow fell in Acushnet and 19" inches in Fairhaven followed by a virtually snow-less winter last year.

One of the lucky residents of West Island that had a snow blower

    Snow totals varied across the region with the highest depths measuring 40" in Hamden, Conn.  to 21.5" in Acushnet. NSTAR crews were out in force restoring power to over 18,000 customers in the New Bedford area alone. Evacuation centers were opened but had only a few takers. SkyWarn weather spotters across the Northeast reported in their observations to The National Weather Service throughout the blizzard. Many local super markets and restaurants in town had to dump ice cream, seafood and many other frozen food products because of the power loss during the storm.

West Island Weather Station Tower encrusted with snow and ice 

The Weather Channel Causes Friction with The National Weather Service

    Will we remember this storm as the Blizzard of 2013 or “NEMO”? The National Weather Service still remains rather tepid in acknowledging named storms other than tropical storms and hurricanes. The Weather Channel now owned by Comcast devised this idea some theorize as a marketing strategy to get more viewers to tune in. This approach in programming during the winter doldrums could be more attractive to advertisers with much needed revenue. NBC, also owned by  Comcast appears to be the only media outlet aggressively referring to named winter storms including “Nemo” for the 2013 Blizzard.

West Island Weather Station Snow Man Cam image

    However other media outlets such as  MTV, Twitter and Verizon have joined in the fad of what could be considered one of the “one-hit wonders” of 2013.  Bizarre names (much to the annoyance of The National Weather Service) remaining on the 2013 winter storm list include: ORKO - PLATO -  Q - ROCKY -  SATURN - TRITON -  UKKO - VIRGIL - WALDA - XERXES -  YOGI - ZEUS. Some of these names so flippantly contrived are even rejected by spell checkers on the average PC.

A large amateur radio antenna hangs by its coaxial cable

Here are some numbers for the Blizzard of 2013:

    Storm data log recorded at the West Island Weather Station for this blizzard event on 2/09/2013:
The Barometer bottomed out at 29.34 at 12:40AM / High Wind Gust 67MPH NE est Town Beach 1:00AM / High Temp 30.4F at 12:00 AM / Low temp 15.3F at 11:50PM/ Snow 11.5" with drifts over 4FT.

Trees and downed power lines were a common sight 

 Comments: Wind shift into the SW at 2:00PM / Temperature rose to 32F at 330PM on 2/10.
Power out 2/08 at 710PM - restored at 2/10 -5PM.Several large branches / wires down along with some   trees. Large shrubs / wires weighted down by heavy snow and ice accretion. No significant structural damage observed. The Causeway was passable at all times.

 Island recent storm damage comparison:  Tropical Storm Sandy Oct 29-30, Nor’easter Nov 7-8, 2013. Tropical Storm Irene Aug 28, 2011.

SkyWarn Spotter MLBaron prepares to venture out and assess storm damage

    Forecasters predict milder temperatures with the possibility of measurable snow by the weekend followed   by more unsettled weather over the next few weeks.
    There are 33 days left of winter until the first day of Spring which arrives March 20th at 7:02 AM.

ENTER HERE: For more photos of The Blizzard of 2013 from West Island, Fairhaven, MA