All posts by David Merchant

Announcing The First Annual Student-Teacher Contest

The Nashua Area Radio Society is committed to helping new and prospective hams to get on the air.  To this end, we are pleased to sponsor a student-teacher contest to encourage participation in other Amateur Radio contests by Students and Teachers.  This is a fantastic opportunity to win a new state-of-the-art Icom IC-7300 Software Defined Radio, Buckmaster antenna with help to put it up or another station accessory.

How Will The Student-Teacher Contest Work?

Student-Techer Contest
To participate, you simply need to get on the air during 5 of the contests listed below for 3-consecutive hours from January 1, 2020, through September 30th, 2020.  Students and Teachers will be graded based on the best consecutive 3-hour score in a given contest.  We will be using level 1, 2 and 3 weightings (see list below) plus contest equalization to normalize the scores. Your 5 best contest scores will be combined to create your final score and finish placing.

Keith, KC1IMK at the Digital Station
Keith, KC1IMK at the Digital Station

The list of eligible contests (see below) includes SSB, Digital, and CW contests so you can choose your favorite operating mode or compete in contests that use different modes if you like.

Highlights and Leaderboard Coming

We are planning to add a new page for contest highlights and leaderboard here on n1fd.org that will be updated to show the current standings after each contest in the series.

But I Don’t Have a License Yet…

Summer Ham Activity - Student Teacher License Class
Student Teacher License Class

Not licensed? Not a problem. Based upon demand, we will offer Tech and General License classes in January/February for any student-teacher contest participants who what to earn their Amateur Radio License to compete.

Ryan, KC1KJS, operating at Field Day
Ryan, KC1KJS, operating at Field Day

We will also provide contest training for you to get started. Our January Tech Night will be about getting started in contesting and Fred and Anita will provide training to use AB1OC/AB1QB and KC1XX.

What Will I Use For A Station?

Abby, KC1FFX in the ARRL Rookie Roundup CW
Abby, KC1FFX in the ARRL Rookie Roundup CW

If you have access to a station, you may certainly operate from home.  If not, there will be opportunities to operate some World-class stations, including AB1OC/AB1QB, KC1XX or even during Field Day and Winter Field Day!  We’re trying to make this as easy as possible.

How Do I Enter To Compete?

To participate, you must be a member of the Nashua Area Radio Society, and either a student (High School or younger) or their teacher.  If you’re not already a member of NARS, you can sign-up here.  Winners will be announced at the October Nashua Area Radio Society Club Meeting.

In order for this give-away to work, we’re going to need a minimum of (6) NARS members to sign-up no later than December 31, 2019.  Please contact Anita, AB1QB, at [email protected] to sign-up.

Which Contests Count Towards My Score?

The preliminary list of Eligible Contests in which you can participate are as follows:

Student-Techer Contest

  • WRTC-like weighting will be used to equalize contest scores
  • Score Multipliers – Level 3: x3, Level 2: x2, Level 1: x1

For our Student-Teacher Contest to go forward, we need students and teachers to sign up before the end of the year. Tell your family, friends, and teachers about the contest!

Dave, K1DLM

NARS Field Day on WMUR News 9 Last Night

Congratulations to everyone for a wonderful Field Day this year.  WMUR TV Channel 9 sent out a crew yesterday, and a story about our Field Day operation made it on the news last night at 6:00 PM.  For those of you that didn’t see the show, I have copied the story and we’ve posted it on our home page. Thanks to John, W1SMN for inviting WMUR to our Field Day!

Dave, K1DLM

Help with Water, Cookies, and Overnight Snacks

My XYL Valerie has volunteered to organize all the meals for field day this year.  Since we starting the setup process early, there are more meals to accommodate than usual but we’ve maintained the same meal plan price as previous years.  As a result, we’re behind on funds and we could use some help with cookies and overnight snacks for operators.  We also could use some more bottled water.  If you’re able to assist, please let me know.  [email protected] is my email.  Thanks & look forward to seeing everyone at the event!

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide