All posts by Jim Lajoie

Activities, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

NARS QSO Party Update

The Nashua Area Radio Society is sponsoring the NARS QSO party on September 26th. This  QSO party is born from the frustration of not being able to have large groups of our members meet for the  SOTA, POTA, and IOTA  events that we had scheduled before the Pandemic.

There have been some important rules changes that you need to know about. We have adjusted the final exchange and scoring to make it easy for you to use the existing North American QSO Party set up in a contest logger such as N1MM+ to participate and score your operation in the NARS QSO Party.

Exchange and Multipliers

The exchange and multipliers for this contact are patterned after the North American QSO Party. Here’s a summary of what has changed:

  • The most important rule change is that this will be a phone contest only. It wasn’t possible to do an all-mode contest without having some issues in other areas related to using standard contest setups that are available in most loggers.
  • Also, the exchange will be the operator’s first name plus (state/DC/province/country).
  • Finally, the time window has been changed to 1600 UTC on September 26 to 04:00 UTC  September 27th. That’s Saturday 12:00 noon to midnight on the East coast.

Setting up N1MM+

I want to quickly go over how to set up N1MM+ to log contacts and score your entry correctly.  N1MM+ is a free logging software that will allow you to log contacts, score the contest for you and also provide you with a log in Cabrillo format as well.

When you are finished downloading open the software.

  • Go to file> new log in the database and choose NAQPSSB.
  • Change the start date and time.
  • Go down the options and change as needed taking special care with the sent exchange, mode, and operator information boxes.
  • Click ok at the bottom of the page. You come back to the logging screen.
  • The next important change to make is to right-click anywhere in the logging window and go down to change band panel display.
  • Click on this option and click on the VHF tab and the UHF tab. this will allow you to add contacts from 2 meters on up.

This explanation probably sounds kind of clunky but once you open the software it will make a lot more sense. I think you should have N1MM+ configured correctly if you follow the steps above. I have pictures that I took. Email [email protected] if you want a copy of the setup pics.

Ryan KC1KJS field day 2019
Ryan KC1KJS field day 2019

Summary of the Rules

There will be two operating categories for the NARS QSO Party: HF and VHF and up.   A summary of the rules is below.

NARS QSO Party Rules
NARS QSO Party Rules

You should submit your final log as an Electronic Entry only and your submission should include a complete Cabrillo format log and your claimed score. Logs should include date and time in UTC, Frequency, Mode, Call Signs, and the Exchange for each of your contacts. Logs are due 7 days after the contest is finished.

Certificates will be awarded to the top 3 stations in each category.

Ham Nation
Ham Nation

Fred, AB1OC, and I will be on Ham Nation this Wednesday, September 23rd, starting at 9 PM Eastern Time, to publicize this so we should see plenty of activity on the air.

I hope to get you in my log!

73

Jim Lajoie, K1BRM

Featured, General, Newsletter

Air Force Research Lab Tracks Sporadic-E

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Amateur radio enthusiasts have been taking advantage of Sporadic-E skip or simply sporadic-e for many years. Sporadic-E is a poorly understood propagation method that takes advantage of ”clouds” of highly charged particles in the lower atmosphere. Using this method you can ”skip” a signal off the cloud and communicate over much longer distances than you normally could at VHF frequencies.

Late spring into summer is the time of year when sporadic-E really takes off in the northern hemisphere, but Sporadic-E can show up at any time and at any place making predictions very difficult. Really the best way to see if there is any chance of skip is to check the spotting networks or just get on the radio and give a holler and see who answers you just make sure to have your maidenhead grid square locator. Here’s a good link to one – https://www.levinecentral.com/ham/grid_square.php.

Well, apparently amateurs aren’t the only ones interested in predicting Sporadic-E.

I was listening to one of my podcasts (This Week in Amateur Radio for the record) at work today and thought I would pass on some interesting information. Apparently, The Air force Research Lab is also interested in tracking Sporadic-E clouds and in a way that we may not have expected. I won’t ruin the surprise here but this discovery sounds very interesting and has far-reaching effects.

Sporadic-e
One antenna of the Sporadic-E detection array

You can read the whole article here.http://www.arrl.org/news/air-force-research-laboratory-tracks-sporadic-e.

73

-Jim K1BRM

 

Activities, Featured, General, On The Air

NARS QSO Party September 26-27

The Nashua Area Radio Society is sponsoring a QSO party on September 26 and 27. The goal is to get more people on the air. The Sporadic E season is winding down but the sun is starting to wake from its slumber. With added solar activity we have the possibility of an increase in propagation so definitely give 10 meters a try!

Thanks to feedback from a club member there will be two categories to help even the playing field for those that don’t have an HF station.  VHF and up and All band. please see the rules below for a full explanation.

We feel this contest has something for everyone. You can earn points using any mode (except repeaters) you like using any bands you like (except the WARC bands). If your new to contesting that’s great too. I urge you to give it a try. The exchange is short and this should be an easy and low-stress introduction to contesting.

I’d also like to welcome the student-teacher contesters. The NARS QSO Party is now on their schedule. you can learn more about our student-teacher contest here.https://www.n1fd.org/2020/07/19/student-teacher-contest-update/

A note on digital modes. CQ Worldwide RTTY is held the same weekend. If RTTY is your thing or you want to try it out this is a great opportunity!

Ryan K1RMW field day 2019

The rules can be found below.

NARS QSO Party

Object: To contact as many amateur radio operators in as many states, provinces and dx entities as possible

Who: You don’t have to be a Nashua Area Radio Society Member. Everyone is invited to participate!

Date: September 26 0000z to 2359z September 27 2020

Categories:  there are two categories to choose from VHF only for 6 meters on up and All band. Power categories are accounted for in the multiplier section of the rules. Multi not permitted

Exchange: W/VE: RST+State/Province
DX: RST+ DX

Valid Contacts: Work each station once per band and mode.

QSO Points: phone QSO=1pt, digital and cw=2pts.

Multipliers: Each US State, Canadian Province, and every Dx Entity is a multiplier.

Power Multiplier: Stations not indicating power level within their log will be scored as operating with greater than 100 watts (>100 watts). Greater than 100 watts (> 100 watts) , total score x 1, 100 or less (<=100), total score x2, 5 watts or less (<=5 watts), total score x3.

Scoring: Final score= total QSO points x power multiplier.

Electronic entries only and should include a complete Cabrillo format log and claimed score. If your software does not provide that option, include a summary file in plain text format. This QSO party was designed for ease of scoring. If you choose Deleware QSO Party in N1MM or your favorite contest software it will compute your score for you. Logs should indicate time in UTC, bands, modes, calls, and complete exchange.

Certificates will be awarded to the top 3 stations and the top score will also receive a 2020 ARRL Handbook. Good Luck I hope to get you in my log!

Jim,  K1BRM

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide