All posts by Jamey Finchum

First licensed in October of 2015, upgraded to general in November of 2015 and finally upgraded to Extra in May of 2016 all through the NARC classes - which are fantastic classes! I don't have any background in radios or electronics, so this is all new to me and I'm learning new things every day. I've recently started using PSK with Fred's (AB1OC) help and am slowly learning CW. My station: Icom IC-7100 Vertical Dipole (20 meters) LDG AT-100ProII Autotuner DX Lab Suite on Windows 10 73, Jamey (AC1DC)

CQ World Wide WPX from my Home Station

This past weekend was the CQ World Wide WPX SSB contest. I haven’t worked a lot of contests from my home station, but I have some free time on my hands with this COVID-19 pandemic going on, so I decided I’d give it a shot.

AC1DC Station

I have been very lucky and probably a little spoiled to have been able to use AB1OC/AB1QB’s station, which is an amazing station, for past contests. So, let me start by telling you a little about my home station. I’m running an Icom IC-7300 with an Elecraft KPA500 500 watt amplifier. I’m using the Buckmaster 4-band OCF Dipole for an antenna on a push-up mast from Max-Gain Systems at about 35 feet high. Definitely not a bad set up, but it’s not a big-gun station either.

My main goal for jumping into the contest was to have fun and try to finish off my DXCC. I have over a hundred countries and do have my DXCC through QRZ, but I’ve been stuck at 97 confirmed for quite a while on LOTW.  I figured this would be a good contest to knock off a few more countries and hopefully get them confirmed.

The CQ WW WPX is a 48-hour contest in which amateur radio operators worldwide try to contact as many other operators as possible in that time. The exchange is a simple signal report and a progressive serial number. What is really fun about this contest is that each different prefix is a multiplier. As you make more contacts with unique prefixes your score really shoots up! It is fun to watch your score after each new contact.

My station seemed to be getting out pretty well as I searched the bands. I never called CQ and only searched and pounced, but looking back may have been able to try running on 40 meters – especially as the contest moved into Sunday. I didn’t operate the whole time but spent a fair amount of time on and off throughout the weekend.

In the end, I wound up with 222 contacts. 163 of those contacts were unique prefixes for a total claimed score of 72,698 points. I contacted 32 different countries and of those only two were countries that I did not already have.

By the end of the weekend, I accomplished my first goal. I had a blast! Even if I did fall short on getting three more confirmed countries for my DXCC this past weekend has shown me that you don’t have to have a super-station to join in on the fun of contesting.

Jamey, AC1DC

Amateur Radio During a Global Pandemic

You always hear “when all else fails, amateur radio works”. That’s usually referring to some sort of failure to the power grid or normal methods of communication. We don’t usually think about the merits of amateur radio during a global pandemic like we’re going through now. Normal modes of communication work and the grid haven’t gone down, but amateur radio still serves a purpose.

During this pandemic we’re going through when everyone is sheltering inside, social distancing and many of us are out of work and out of our routine amateur radio can serve as a great distraction to all that is going on around us.

This past week amateur radio served this purpose for me. I had recently found out that I was without a job for the first time since I was a kid. It was a little overwhelming, to say the least. I was scheduled as net control for our weekly Sunday night repeater net on the N1IMO/N1IMN repeater system and was feeling pretty stressed out having just got the news that my clubs were shutting down for the foreseeable future. We had a great crowd on the repeater net and it was very calming for me to hear from everyone and how they are coping. It really brought me out of my funk!

I’ve also noticed a spike in activity on the HF bands as people turn to amateur radio for social distraction and news from far away places. If you’re feeling a little blue I would encourage you to get on the air and see how your ham community around the world is doing. It’s a great way to be social from a distance. This is also a great time to hone some skills. If I’ve got to spend more time at home, for now, I might as well use it to bolster my CW skills. Yes, I’ll be the one slowly calling CQ and asking for your call sign multiple times. FT-8 and FT-4, hate it or love it, has also had some great DX lately.

The Nashua Area Radio Society has been very proactive in keeping club members and other amateur radio operators in touch by moving to virtual meetings on Zoom and Facebook Live. Not only are we moving our meetings online, but we’ve added a 40-meter net scheduled after our meetings. At a time when we are practicing social distancing, we are actually increasing our activities and opening up to more people. We’ll also have a fox (hidden transmitter) hunt this week. Get outside and have some fun. No log to sign, just a picture of the fox will be enough to get credit.

We didn’t cancel our Amateur Extra licensing class that was scheduled last week. Instead, we moved to an online class for the first time. Our club also runs a program for newly licensed hams called Ham Radio Boot Camp. We had run two sessions before the pandemic hit with still one to go.  Of course, the show must go on! We’ll be holding our third session this week… again, on the online.

During this time of uncertainty, I would encourage all of my fellow amateur radio operators to get on the air. You may need the distraction yourself or you may be providing a much-needed distraction to someone else.

Stay well and 73!

Jamey, AC1DC

NARS August Activities

We have a busy month of activities coming up in August. Our monthly Club Breakfast will be held on Saturday, August 10th at 8:30 am at the Dream Diner in Tyngsboro.

The following weekend we will hold what has become our annual trip to activate Mount Washington on Saturday, August 17th. We will activate Mount Washington for Summits on the Air (SOTA) and Mount Washington State Park for Parks on the Air (POTA).

We have had members get to the top almost every possible way there is. We’ve had members hike up – this is a very strenuous climb and takes about 4 hours, one way. We’ve had some members come up on the Cog Railway.  It is the steepest rack railway in the US and 2nd steepest in the world! Reservations are recommended. There is also a Steam Punk Festival taking place on the 17th as well.

August Activities
The Mount Washington Cog Railway

We also have had members make the strenuous hike up the mountain. This is quite a hike and will take you close to 4 hours to reach the top. If you are interested in hiking up please get in touch with Jamey, AC1DC at [email protected].

Connor, KC1GGX arriving at the peak!

The final way up is to drive the Mount Washington Auto Road.  The Mount Washington Auto Road offers a one of a kind experience with spectacular views. If you’re not comfortable with heights or narrow mountain roads you can also take a guided tour on one of the Mount Washington vans.

A Stop along the Auto Road

We’ll plan to arrive at the peak around 10:00 am and set up and then operate as long as the weather permits. Please contact Jamey, AC1DC via email at [email protected] if you are planning on attending.

After hiking up the mountain on Saturday, Fred, AB1OC and Anita, AB1QB will host the ARRL’s Rookie Roundup for RTTY. Anyone licensed under three years or anyone that has not made a RTTY contact may join in the fun. The contest begins at 2 pm local time and runs until 8 pm. If you are interested in participating please contact Anita at [email protected].

Jim, K1BRM operating in the Rookie Roundup RTTY - August Activities
Jim, K1BRM operating in the Rookie Roundup RTTY

Finally, we will also have our Club’s Family Picnic on Saturday, August 24th at Greeley Park in Nashua. This will run from 11 am until 4 pm. We have a potluck lunch. Members can sign up to bring a dish on our Google Sheets page. We’ll have some foxes (hidden transmitters) out and may try a satellite contact with a hand held and yagi antenna. Bring your family and friends and come enjoy an afternoon with the club!

August Activities
Club Picnic

We have a lot going on in August and I hope to see you at one or all of the events we have scheduled!

Jamey, AC1DC

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide