Were you first licensed in 2016, 2017 or 2018? Are you hoping to operate at Field Day and want to get some QSOs under your belt? Do you want to try out contesting but need some practice before operating in the CQ WW contest? Join us on April 15th for the ARRL Rookie Roundup!
ARRL Rookie Roundup
The ARRL holds 3 contests for “Rookies” each year. The ARRL Rookie Roundup SSB is coming up on Sunday, April 15th from 1800z (2:00pm Eastern time) to 2359z (7:59pm Eastern time). The Rookie Roundup RTTY is on August 19th and the Rookie Roundup CW is on December 16th.
2016 ARRL Rookie Roundup SSB Certificate
We will be fielding a multi-op entry using the N1FD callsign from AB1OC/AB1QB’s Station. This will be a great opportunity for newly licensed Hams to get on the air. We will be here to Elmer you along with some experienced “Rookies”.
Elmering Session
We will hold an elmering session starting at 11:00 am on Sunday to help familiarize you with operating, using our station, and the contest rules.
During the contest, operators will work in pairs, with one operator logging and the other behind the mic. This will give you 2 sets of ears for identifying callsigns. The operators can switch off halfway through their operating time. Depending on the number of operators, we’ll switch operator teams after 2 hours or so.
If you are interested in joining us, or have any questions, please email Anita, AB1QB at [email protected].
For more information on this event, see the Calendar entries at https://www.n1fd.org/event/elmering-session-for-arrl-rookie-roundup/ and https://www.n1fd.org/event/arrl-rookie-roundup/2018-04-15/
Are you a new Ham and interested in what you can do with your license? Or have been licensed for a while but have not been on the air? We will be holding a New Ham Open House at Fred, AB1OC, and Anita, AB1QB’s QTH on Saturday, March 17th starting at 1:00 pm for new Hams.
AB1OC/AB1QB Shack
HF Operation
We’ll have a tour of our antenna farm and we’ll have our HF Station setup for you to make some contacts.
AB1OC Antenna Tower
Satellite Operation
Satellite 3.0 Antennas
We will also have our Satellite Station setup for you to make contacts.
Fox Hunt and Demos
A crew going on a foxhunt
We will also have a fox hunt (Weather Permitting) and demos of the High Altitude Balloon and some Raspberry Pi projects.
HT Programming
Kenwood TH-D74 HT
We will also help you to program your HTs using RTSystems or Chirp software. Bring your HT and a programming cable if you are interested in this.
Hope to see you on March 17th. See the Calendar for details. It starts at 1pm but will go all afternoon so you can arrive any time in the afternoon.
I wanted to take a moment to recap some of the many great memories from 2017 and outline our 2018 plans.
We updated our Constitution and By-Laws and became the Nashua Area Radio Society this year. These changes reaffirm and strengthen our commitment to education, skills development, and STEM learning through Amateur Radio.
We also continued our ARRL Kids Day and other programs which introduce young people and new Hams to Amateur Radio and help them to get on the air and have fun.
We also continued to update and expand our Field Day Operation in 2017 with the addition of a third tower, a new satellite station, and a remote SDR operating setup.
We had many memorable programs at our membership meetings and some really cool Tech Nights!
Nashua Area Radio Club “Tech Night” at the KC1XX Contest Station
We increased our presence on social media in 2017 and we are now active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. We also began live streaming video from many of our events.
Live stream of Abby, AB1BY running a pileup during our Kid’s Day event (play and right-click to unmute)
Our website content grew tremendously in 2018. We now have a total of 325+ member articles about all things Amateur Radio and 2,100+ posts in our forums. Our website, n1fd.org, enjoys a growing worldwide following with the Amateur Radio Community.
Worldwide n1fd.org Visitors in 2017
The Nashua Area Radio Society has accomplished a great deal in 2017 and we grew to over 160 members this past year. There are probably many other activities and special moments that we enjoyed in 2017 – there are just too many to list them all here.
Looking Ahead To 2018
What’s Ahead in 2018?
Given all that we’ve done and accomplished together, its pretty challenging to top 2017 in 2018. Our Executive Committee has been working on a set of goals and plans for 2018 and we wanted to share some of what we are planning.
First, we will continue to improve and build upon what is working. This includes all of the projects and activities outlined above. Our focus will remain centered on encouraging education, skill building, and STEM learning through Amateur Radio. Our planned activities for 2018 include:
Continuing our license classes in the spring and fall of 2018 (Technician, General, and Extra for a total of 6 classes)
Developing our library of Amateur Radio Skill development and learning material through our Tech Night Program
Expanding our STEM outreach to young people through our High-Altitude Balloon Program and related GOTA programs in schools and other public places
Continuing our involvement and support for ARRL Kid’s Day, ARRL Rookie Roundups, and the 13 Colonies Special Event
Introducing a new program tailored for Ham Fests where we will provide a unique, hands-on Amateur Radio experience tailored for young people and prospective Hams
Hosting a fresh series of operating activities as well as our old favorites. Plans include activating All Things OTA (POTAs, SOTAs, and IOTAs). We are also looking at some NARS competitions around these activities.
Continuing to chase our multiplying Foxes throughout 2018 to build our Radio Direction Finding Skills
A 2018 Field Day EMCOM activity which will be bigger and better than ever!
Our Repeater and HF Nets will continue as will our monthly breakfast
Some new Public Service/Emergency Communications activities for 2018
We are also planning to complete our path to becoming a Federal 501c(3) non-profit. This will increase our ability to raise funds to support our many educational activities.
On behalf of the entire Executive Committee, I’d like to thank all of our members and friends for their hard work and contributions to making the Nashua Area Radio Society the wonderful organization that it is. Together, we are making tremendous contributions to young people’s and Amateur Radio operator’s education and skills development.
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