The new fall semester at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, heralded not only the resumption of classes but a new antenna tower for the WPI Wireless Association (WPIWA), the home of W1YK. The new tower replaced an older one atop the four-story Salisbury Labs building on the campus, where the club’s other antennas are located. The club station has long been housed in a small penthouse on the building. The new tower sports a 2 element antenna to cover 40 and 10 meters.

WPIWA President Andrew Mahn, NS1A, — a member of the Class of 2017 who is studying management information systems — credited many people for helping make the project possible, including the club's current and previous executive boards, the WPI Student Government Association, and many WPI employees who worked with club over the past several months to coordinate the execution of the new tower installation. He singled out club alumnus Gregory Karp-Neufeld, W6GKN, as integral to the project from the very beginning, and who contributed countless hours to it throughout the summer from the West Coast.

The radio club has plans to visit ARRL Headquarters for a tour at some point this semester. This weekend, WPIWA members will provide radio communication for the Title 9 Triathlon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, in cooperation with the Worcester Emergency Communications Team.

The WPI Wireless Association traces its roots to the earliest days of Amateur Radio. The group was first founded in October of 1909, by Oliver B. Jacobs and a group of 40 others, inspired by a similar initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

More photos are on the club’s Facebook page.