Matthew Forman Boston, MA – May 2015… Held annually on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's best-known racing events. This year's event took place on April 20th, but from a technical and logistical perspective, preparation began much earlier. To ensure the best possible radio communications infrastructure, an amateur radio communications steering committee was formed to guide the Boston, MA-based Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) and roughly 300 communication volunteers, utilizing XLR radio connectivity solutions drawn from the catalog of Charlotte, NC-based Neutrik USA.
Boston, MA – May 2015… Held annually on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's best-known racing events. This year's event took place on April 20th, but from a technical and logistical perspective, preparation began much earlier. To ensure the best possible radio communications infrastructure, an amateur radio communications steering committee was formed to guide the Boston, MA-based Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) and roughly 300 communication volunteers, utilizing XLR radio connectivity solutions drawn from the catalog of Charlotte, NC-based Neutrik USA.
Matthew Forman (K6MCF) is the infrastructure lead for the amateur radio communications steering committee. Now in his fourth year volunteering, his pre-race responsibilities included establishing the necessary infrastructure to ensure a fully functional amateur radio communications system along the entire course, including overseeing the allocation of all amateur radio frequencies and making certain that communication workflows and the equipment to execute those workflows were available and firmly established. During Marathon Monday itself, Matthew oversaw the communications for the event's non-emergency medical sweep bus program, which provides an avenue for injured runners who drop out of the race a way to get to their loved ones, dropping them off at the Finish area. He discussed his experience with Neutrik's 6- and 7-pin XLR connectors.
According to Forman, one manufacturer of radios and, subsequently, their control heads use connectors that tend to be both expensive and sometimes challenging to use. As a result, Forman and his team, splice the Neutrik connectors into the cables—thus creating a standard XLR interface that can be more easily interfaced with. In doing so, the alternate standard, which was originally created by Eric Montague (N7ECM), has been growing in popularity, as it effectively replaces the expensive, proprietary connectors on the radios. "The Neutrik connectors provide both the reliable performance and the ease of use that make our work easier," Forman says.
For more information about the amateur radio volunteers for the Boston Marathon, visit http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/event-information/volunteer-information/amateur-radio-operators.aspx.