Regular Club Meetings
The Nashua Area Radio Society (NARS) meets every first Tuesday except in August when there is no meeting. (Note that months where the first Tuesday falls on a holiday the two monthly meetings may be pushed out a week.) The monthly regular meetings typically feature a speaker from outside the club that brings something interesting from the ham radio community, the world of science and technology, or local interest. There is also a January Show-and-Tell meeting, and the Field Day planning and retrospective meetings held in June and July.
Here is a quick run-down of the presentations made to NARS over the last year.
February
Global Ionosphere Radio Observatory
Dr. Ivan Galkin, University of Massachusetts Lowell
We use the ionosphere for HF communications, but did you know that changes to the ionosphere can also affect GPS systems? Dr. Galkin described his groups work creating a system of Ionosonde stations to measure the ionosphere. And all this is done just up the road at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
March
Theory and Repair of Astron Power Supplies
George Allison, K1IG
Linear power supplies will eventually fail, but they can be repaired easily if you have a little know-how. George Allison walked through the design and theory of these devices and showed how easy it can be to get a dead unit back on the air.
April
The Current State of the D-Star Evolution
Terry Stader, KA8SCP
The proliferation of digital radio hotspots using Raspberry Pi and Arduino computers has been astounding. Terry Stader walked through some of the advancements of the D-Star ecosystem and other digital radio platforms.
May
MIT Haystack Observatory
Phil Erickson, W1PJE
One of the nation’s premier observatories is located just miles from Nashua. Phil Erickson gave us a virtual tour of the facilities.
September
BITX and µBitX Transceivers
Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ
Ashhar Farhan, VU2ESE, created a very low-cost transceiver that could be constructed by anybody in his native India with commonly sourced parts. The designs became an instant sensation in the QRP radio community. (Farhan was recently inducted into the QRP Hall of Fame.) Andy Stewart gave us a good overview of the BITX and µBITX technologies and even showed us some extensions for the radio to support visually-impaired operators.
October
Working the ISS and Satellites
Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
Here at the bottom of the solar cycle it is good to broaden your experiences. Fred Kemmerer gave an excellent overview of the basics of satellite communication, including working the International Space Station.
November
Nashua Emergency Coordinator
Justin Kates, KB3JUV
Communications is an important part of any emergency situation planning. Justin Kates briefed club members on the planning and preparation Nashua makes for any emergencies.
December
Plane Tracking with ADS-B
Thomas Kavanaugh, KC1ELF
Most aircraft are now fitted with a system called ADS-B, part of the new system of anticollision technologies. Data is broadcast by each aircraft on 1090 MHz and that data can be received and decoded by a simple ground station you can build on a computer as simple as a Raspberry Pi. Thomas Kavanaugh gave the club an overview of this technology.
Tech Nights
NARS holds a second meeting of the month a week after the club’s regular meeting. “Tech Night” is a chance for club members to exchange ideas and share their knowledge and experiences. Many of these meetings are captured in video and archived on the NARS website
https://www.n1fd.org You can access the video collection here
https://www.n1fd.org/video-collection/ Remember that you must be logged into the website to have access to these web pages and materials.
January
Building a Mobile HF Station
Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
Video available
February
Kit building night
Paddlestick touch keyer by K1EL
March
Antenna Modeling I
B. Scott Andersen, NE1RD
Video available
April
Basic Kit Building Techniques
Steven Elliott, K1EL
Video available
May
Portable Operating and Gear
Video available
June
All About Field Day
Video available
July
Raspberry Pi and Ham Radio
Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB and Jamey Finchum, AC1DC
Video available
August
WSJT-X
Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
Video available
September
DMR Radios and Programming
Bill Barber, NE1B
Video available
October
Frequency Measurement Challenge
George Allison, K1IG
Video available
November
Remote Operation
Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
December
RTL-SDR workshop
B. Scott Andersen, NE1RD
Club members were encouraged to bring their SDR solutions to the meeting and either seek help from other club members or provide help to those seeking to get their systems running. There were many newly working SDR systems at the end of the evening.
NARS 2018 Meeting Topics
| Date | Meeting | Topic | Presenter |
| January | Regular | Show-and-Tell | Club members |
| January | Tech Night | Building a Mobile HF Station | Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC |
| February | Regular | Global Ionosphere Radio Observatory | Dr. Ivan Galkin, UMass Lowell |
| February | Tech Night | Kit Build: Paddlestick Touch Keyer | Club members |
| March | Regular | Theory and Repair of Astron Linear Power Supplies | George Allison, K1IG |
| March | Tech Night | Antenna Modeling | B. Scott Andersen, NE1RD |
| April | Regular | D-Star + Bishop Guertin Robotics team | Terry Stader, KA1SCP, and students from Bishop Guertin High School |
| April | Tech Night | Kits | Steven Elliott, K1EL |
| May | Regular | MIT Haystack Observatory | Phil Erickson, W1PJE |
| May | Tech Night | Show and Tell | Club members |
| June | Regular | Field Day Planning Meeting | Club members |
| June | Tech Night | Field Day Skill Builder | Club members |
| July | Regular | Field Day Retrospective | Club members |
| July | Tech Night | Raspberry Pi and Ham Radio | Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB, and Jamey Finchum, AC1DC |
| August | Regular | ** No meeting this month ** | |
| August | Tech Night | WSJT-X and FT-8 | Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC |
| September | Regular | BitX40 | Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ |
| September | Tech Night | DMR Radios and Programming | Bill Barber, NE1B |
| October | Regular | ISS and Satellites | Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC |
| October | Tech | Frequency Measurement Challenge: Ideas and Strategies | George Allison, K1IG |
| November | Regular | Nashua Emergency Coordinator | Justin Kates, KB3JUV |
| November | Tech Night | Remote Operation | Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC |
| December | Regular | Plane Tracking with ADS-B | Thomas Kavanaugh, KC1ELF |
| December | Tech Night | RTL-SDR Workshop | Club members |
