Dan Pooler (AC1EN), a teacher at Hudson Memorial School in Hudson, NH, and a Nashua Area Radio Society member, worked with the school and other NARS members to present an exhibit to students and their families promoting HAM Radio and highlighting some of the activities of our club to them. Dan reported that “STEM Night at HMS was a big success.
HMS Steam Night
We had over 100 5-8th graders attend the HMS STEM Night, with over 400 people attending the event. Students and their families could watch SubZero Ice Cream demonstrate how they created ice cream, learn how pickles are made, program robots, shoot off Alka Selzer Rockets, make math art, and play games with family and friends along with visiting the NARS booth.”
Lining up for HAB Exhibit
Fred Kemmerer (AB1OC): shown here explaining aspects of our High-Altitude Balloon activities to some students. Anita Kemmerer (AB1QB), Mackenzie Pooler (KE1NZY), and Sam Hergenhahn (KC1PVZ) also participated at the event .
This big
Dan Pooler (on the left) at the High-Altitude Balloon exhibit.
Morse Code Exhibit
NARS Exhibits at Hudson Memorial School STEM Night
Our exhibits included:
A Fox Hunting display
A remote HF Radio Station, where students heard amateur radio operators from Australia, Greece, Lebanon and other countries.
An ISS /Satellite exhibit including a Raspberry-Pi based video of the HMS ISS contact video,
A Morse Code display with keys and practice exercises.
A High-Altitude Balloon display
Remote HF Radio Station
Special thanks and appreciation to NARS Vice President Jamey Finchum (AC1DC), who worked with Dan and the school to plan NARS’ participation in the event.. Thanks also to Fred (AB1OC) and Anita (AB1QB) Kemmerer, who graciously took the time to provide the displays and attend and share their love of the hobby with the students and their families.
HMS Principal Keith Bowen told me in an email after the event, “It was great having your group participate in our STEAM night. Students and families enjoyed their experiences.”
Hudson Memorial School will also be the location for NARS Summer Field Day 2023. Please check the forums on n1fd.org for updated info.
2023 Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill, and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933 and remains the most popular event in ham radio. ARRL Field Day is always held on the 4th full weekend in June.
NARS 2023 Field Day preparations are beginning now. Field Day has been a very important part of our club and even though it is not a competition, we have had top results for many years. Our club call sign is N1FD, we often use these phonetics for it: Number One Field Day. In 2021 the ARRL and NARS got together to promote Field Day and we were on the cover of QST magazine.
Field Day Cover
Here is an article about last year’s Field Day to give you a better idea about the event.
Field Day can be a complex project.
Field Day provides clubs with a number of opportunities. The obvious is to have a chance for members to gather and operate together. The event also provides a chance for members to participate in a complex group project. Some of us had experience with projects of similar complexity in our careers but others never did. Working together collaboratively on a project like this is a good basis for friendship and memories of the shared experience are long-lasting. From the initial planning until the last piece of equipment is returned to storage this is a team effort.
Team effort
Building Skillsets in the Club.
One of our goals as a club is to build a skill set within the club that persists as members move in and out of active participation in these activities. We have members this year who have years of past experience doing this and others for whom this is their first exposure to it. Members who were prime contributors a few years ago may no longer participate. After this Field Day, we will have a new core of experienced members who can handle these tasks and share their own experiences to mentor the new members who will follow them. We strive to build a culture that continues to promote the continued building of the required skills in the club to share with future members.
Joe and Lee
Lee KC1GKJ and Joe AC1LN were members of NARS for less than a year when they became the Station Team for 2022 Summer Field Day. Joe took on the role of Team Lead. Fred AB1OC provided training on station setup and shortly after they tested their newfound skills and created a full-scale test setup in Joe’s basement of the stations prior to Field Day. Lee is the former Treasurer of the club and Joe is the current Treasurer. They both became known to the club via their participation in Field Day and their leadership in the event translated into leadership in the club.
Training and Mentoring
Training and Mentoring are an important part of Field Day. We have helped many new members to become licensed in the past year, but it is important to help them get on the air as well. Field Day is a great opportunity for new Hams to help out with building stations and develop operating skills. The Nashua Area Radio Society accomplishes this through training and hands-on opportunities during Field Day. We encourage you to sign up to operate our stations and to learn about modes and bands you may not have experience with. In addition to our planned training, we will have Field Day Coaches available to help you get started and learn to use our Station and have fun operating.
Ben GOTA
Matt WE1H is coaching Ben on the GOTA station while Aron W1AKI looks on. Ben made numerous contacts and received a Certificate of Achievement from the club to commemorate his accomplishment. Matt joined NARS in January 2022 and is now the Membership Chair on the Executive Committee.
Planning
For a successful Field Day operation, it is important to have a detailed plan for stations, antennas, operating schedules, transportation, and even food. Prior to Field Day we will identify teams to be responsible for setting up the stations, logging computers, and the network to make sure they all work together. Other teams will prepare to test antennas and also train on how to set up the antennas, rotators, and towers. The same process will take place for each of the different teams involved with Field Day. Here are the major teams:
Planning Team
Transport Team
Beam Team
Safety Team
Power Team
Station Team
Shelter Team
Tower Team
Media Publicity Team
Food Team
Scoring Team
If this sounds like a lot of work, it is. It is also a lot of fun. Sharing this experience is a great way to build friendships along with complex radio stations. If you have any interest in joining us in this event, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. We will make sure you can be involved at whatever level you want and will share all our skills to make sure you can do it. We can turn “I don’t know how to do that” into “I didn’t know how to do that, but I do now”.
Community Involvement
Field Day is a very public event and in addition to inviting the general public to visit us on site and join in our operations we also find many who support our Field Day efforts with donations. We are proud that so many businesses in our community support us.
Community Support
We value their support and make sure they know that we appreciate them. Here John W1SMN and Jon AC1EV present Bill of Donna’s Donuts in Tewksbury, MA with a certificate of appreciation.
Certificate of appreciation
Operating
Field Day operating begins at 2:00 PM on Saturday and continues for 24 hours ending at 2:00 PM on Sunday. This presents many time slots to come and operate. Here is Mike W1TKO operating on 40-Meters during the day.
Mike W1TKO operating.
Here is Jon AC1EV operating at night.
Night Operator
The rest of the story
We are looking for members to join our Field Day teams and take leadership roles. NARS has the skills and resources to create a successful, fun event. This is a chance for members to acquire new skills and share their own skills with us. Many of the current leaders in the club became leaders through their participation in Field Day.
My own experience is the same. After visiting Field Day in 2018, I said to myself that I needed to be a part of the next one. In 2019 I was responsible for multiple stations. Beginning with Field Day I became an active member of the club and in November 2019 became Acting Secretary and was elected as Secretary that December. Today I have been President of NARS for over a year. Field Day was the gateway of my incredible experience with NARS. I’ve made many new friends and learned so much about Ham Radio. Through the club, I have been able to experience so many things that I would never have been able to on my own and it all started with Field Day. We look forward to having you join us this year to work together to create a great event and memories that can last a lifetime.
Lately, there has been quite a bit of nice DX out there on the HF bands. If you are like me, you have a modest station to work from (100 watts and a wire antenna or two), but still like to chase DX. Often, you’ll hear lots of other “1 landers” working the DX station, but you can’t ever seem to break the pileup. Well, I have a few suggestions I’ve gathered over my 30 years of DX’ing and contesting that I’d like to share, which might help you get a few new ones.
One universal “truth” I have found though, above all others, is that working DX on CW is infinitely easier than working DX on SSB. If you have not yet jumped in to learn CW, I highly advise it if you want to be a successful DX’er and work the rare ones from a modest station. FT-8 / FT-4 is a bit of a different animal, and not all of what I will share is applicable to those digital modes, so I am going to focus on CW and SSB (although I work a lot of FT-8 and FT-4).
Without further ado…
#1: Listen, Listen, Listen
Did I mention you should listen? This is the first step in the process to catch that needed country. Almost all of my other recommendations stem from this… don’t be the alligator on the calling frequency… ever. A good DX’er listens far more than they transmit.
#2: Use a DX Cluster
I recommend using a DX Cluster for finding the DX. It is much easier to find the choice DX if you have others looking for it too! If you’re not familiar with a DX Cluster, there is a good primer here. If you are but aren’t sure which to connect to, I recommend W1DX (dxc.dxusa.net:7300), unless you use Ham Radio Deluxe, in which case I suggest WA9PIE-2 (hrd.wa9pie.net:8000). They both run the DXSpider cluster software. When you use a “cluster”, you might want to set a few filters to get rid of the spots (the reports of DX activity) you don’t really want to see. Here is a couple that work on DXSpider to get you started.
From the cluster, console enter the following to only see DX spots originating from US and Canadian stations…
Disconnect from the cluster, and then reconnect. At this point you should only see DX spots from US and VE stations
Typical DX Cluster screen
#3: Find and Hear the DX Station’s Calling Frequency
Once you identify the DX you want to chase, go find them on the air. Sometimes, that is easier said than done. Here’s where a set of good headphones and your radio’s RX IF filters will really come in handy.
Wearing headphones is important because they filter out all that background noise. If they are good headphones, they can also enhance the audio you are listening to and reduce fatigue.
As for your radio’s RX IF filters, this is where you may need to “RTFM”. Most modern HF radios will have some form of IF filter or DSP to shape the received audio. On Yaesu radios, they are “Width”, “Shift”, “Contour”, and “APF”. I won’t go into detail about their use here as all radios will be a bit different. I will say, however, that learning to use them is a critical part of effectively hearing the DX station. Ultimately, you can’t work ’em if you can’t hear ’em. Do not start calling the DX until you can reliably hear them.
#4: Find Where the DX is Listening
DX stations will listen in one of two ways… simplex (same TX and RX frequencies) or split (different TX and RX frequencies). Sometimes, the spot on the cluster will tell you where to start. However, many times the spots are not entirely right.
Simplex
If DX is working simplex, you are all set as to finding their RX frequency, but trust me… working rare DX simplex can be very difficult and painful. Always pray for split ;).
Split
If they are working split, finding the RX frequency can be a little challenging. Remember, working split means the DX station is transmitting on one frequency and listening somewhere else. Notice I didn’t say “on another frequency” – this is important to recognize. Many times, if the DX is listening on only one frequency, you can determine this from the DXCluster spot (i.e. “up 5”, which means that they are listening up 5 kHz from their TX frequency (such as TX: 28.507 / RX 28.512). However, often the DX is listening in a range of frequencies (i.e. “up 5-10”), which means they are listening somewhere between 5 and 10 kHz from their TX frequency (such as TX: 28.507 / RX 28.512 to 28.517). Now comes the fun part.
If the DX is listening split, it’s your job, as a skilled DX’er, to figure out their strategy and exploit it. Remember, even if the DX says “listening up 5”, they may not be listening up 5. They may in fact be listening up 7.2 or 9.3 or 3 kHz. Your job is to figure that out. Recently, I worked a DX station on CW that would sign “UP 1”. He was actually listening up 1.3 kHz. Had I simply called him up 1 kHz, I would not have worked him.
Patterns
To figure out their pattern and have a strategy to exploit it, you have some work to do, and likely some frustration in your future. It’s all worth it, though, if you bag an ATNO (All Time New One). Here are some steps to follow to find the DX stations listening frequency if they are working split.
Use the “split” function of your radio (you do know how to use “SPLIT” on your HF rig, right?). Set the “A” VFO to your RX frequency and the “B” VFO to a TX frequency where you think the DX is listening.
When the DX answers a station (i.e. “W1ABC UR 599”), flip the VFO’s so you are listening on the “B” VFO (or use your dual receive). Now find the station that the DX answered as they give their report. This can be tough, but is essential, especially if the DX is listening across a range of frequencies. Finding the station answering the DX gives you an idea of where the DX is actually listening. Do this until you can find/hear a station that the DX answered.
You can now do one of two things… flip the VFOs back and start calling the DX on the frequency you found that the other station was using, or you can keep listening to find if there is a pattern (like is the DX creeping up the band, down the band, moving 500 Hz at a time, staying put, etc). Once you can figure this out, your chances of working the DX greatly improve. When you’ve got their pattern (most DX stations will have one), flip your VFOs and work ’em. Repeating the process as needed.
[Side Note – Being DX
An important side note on being a DX station that may help you be better able to work them… a good DX operator will (in my opinion):
Work split. Simplex is fine if the DX is an everyday DX station like Poland or England. However, if they are even semi-rare, and expect pileups, they should work split. Simplex makes working rare DX very hard. The DX’ers have to separate the DX from the calling stations, which can be nearly impossible if the stations in the pileup call over top of the DX (which they do most of the time). IMO, simplex is bad.
Manage the pileup. Managing a pileup is hard and is a learned skill. To manage a pileup, the DX operator needs a strategy. It could be nearly anything, but having a strategy allows the DX to work more stations more efficiently and with less fatigue, and makes it easier for skilled DX’ers to work them.
]
#5: Use Your Rig’s “Monitor” Feature
If you’re working SSB, use your rig’s “Monitor” feature to listen to your transmitted audio. Do this to make sure it is not overdriven and sounds good. If you can adjust your TX audio as many new rigs can, do a little work to determine the best TX audio configuration for your voice and equipment. For many voices, there are differences in DX versus Rag Chew TX audio settings. For this, Google is your friend. (I recommend using “Monitor” for CW as well… lets you hear the quality of your transmitted tone too).
#6: Call High / Low
If you’re working CW and having a hard time working the DX on what you know is the correct frequency, try calling 100 Hz up or down from there. Sometimes that will serve to separate your signal from the others enough to work them. Due to the width of SSB signals, this rarely works on SSB, but can. Experiment.
#7: Watch Your Keying Speed
Also for CW… ideally you will match the DX’s keying speed. If they are calling at 35 WPM, call them at 35 WPM. You can go slower, but do not exceed their speed, as they may be at the top of their capability. If you send back at 45 WPM, you might never work ’em. Sometimes, however, if the pileup is full of speed demons on the key, sending a little more slowly will allow your signal to stand out. Again… experiment.
#8: Be Patient
I mean this in more than one way… it may take a while to work that ATNO, but patience on the mic or key can also pay off. While you are listening, notice if the DX is responding to stations quickly after calling “QRZ” or if there is some “dead” space in there. If there is a delay between “QRZ” and the DX responding, that may indicate that the pileup is all calling at the same time, immediately following the “QRZ”, making it impossible for the DX to discriminate calls; and the DX is waiting for a “laggard” to call them after the main pileup has finished. Be that laggard! Wait 3,4, or 5 seconds and then make your call. You might be the lone voice the DX hears!
#9: Use Proper Phonetics
Many stations like to use their own phonetics “Wally One Finger Licking Good” may sound funny, but when the conditions are marginal, there’s a huge pileup, and the DX’s first language is not English; you might as well hang up the mic. Use proper, recognized phonetics so the DX can understand your call. K0NR has a great document on proper phonetics.
#10: Use the DX Station’s First Language
I have found that using the DX station’s first language can give a 10 dB gain to your signal LOL. So, if you speak German, French, Spanish, or any other language and you find a DX station that speaks that, use it to your advantage!
To “Tail End” or Not?
While not a recommendation (hence no number), I wanted to address “tail ending”. This can be a controversial tactic, but it can also be very effective if done correctly.
Tail-ending is when you throw your callsign out at the very end of someone else’s report to the DX (for example you say “November One Xray Yankee Zulu” as soon as “K5AAA” finishes his report. It goes something like this (K5AAA says: “P5DX, UR 599 in Texas” and you immediately say “November One Xray Yankee Zulu”).
Depending on how quickly the DX responds to K5AAA and how they feel about tail-ending, you might be able to work them by doing this. Some DX do not like that practice and will not respond to “tail-enders”. Best to either see if others are successful with this or don’t do it. I personally do not like this tactic, but it can be effective (especially in contests).
Putting it Into Practice
Before you start using these tips… look back at tip #1. Your ears are your best tool to successfully work DX. Of course, there are times that you simply won’t work a DX station no matter what you do. I had that issue on the very morning I wrote this… 30 minutes of using every trick I know, and I still didn’t work them before their signal faded.
So there you have it… my top 10 list of strategies to be a successful DX’er. As always, your mileage may vary, and others may have a completely different list. Every little trick helps in my opinion. Whatever strategies you choose to employ, just get out there and have fun.
In case you are curious, I have been on both sides of the pileups, working as the DX from a number of locations with very large pileups, as well as working from my home as the DX’er. At home, I rarely run more than 100 watts and have never had more than wire antennas or a vertical… unfortunately no beams have ever graced my yard. Yet, I’ve been successful in working DXCC in a weekend during contests, and have worked DXCC on 5 bands. I finally have a good 160M antenna up, so maybe I’ll increase my country count there too in 2023!
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