Category Archives: Education and Training

Education and Training information is for folks looking for help to earn or upgrade their license, learn about Amateur Radio, and get help with Ham Radio questions.

Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Space, Youth Activities

Listen In On The Council Rock ARISS Contact on Thursday!

Students at Council Rock High School South in Southampton, PA will be talking with Astronaut Drew Morgan, KI5AAA aboard the ISS on Thursday. The ISS will be over our area here in the Northeastern Unit States beginning at about 12:55 pm eastern time on Thursday, December 5th. Council Rock’s ARISS Contact is made possible by the ARISS Program.

Astronaut Drew Morgan, KI5AAA
Astronaut Drew Morgan, KI5AAA

You should be able to hear Drew on the ISS voice downlink at 145.800 MHz FM. The ISS pass will be a high one over our area. As a result, we should be able to hear the downlink using a good vertical antenna and perhaps even using an HT.

ARISS Contact Preparations

Council Rock High School South ARISS Contact
Council Rock H.S. ARC and Warminster ARC Members

The Council Rock H.S. South Amateur Radio Club partnered with the Warminster Amateur Radio Club to prepare for the school’s ISS contact.

Council Rock High School South ARISS Contact
Council Rock H.S. Students Test Their ISS Ground Station

Students, Teachers, and their Warminster ARC partners have assembled and tested their ISS Ground Station in preparation for their contact. Several of the students used their station to make their very first Amateur Radio Contacts.

Council Rock High School South ARISS Contact
Ground Station Antennas at Council Rock H.S. South

Plans for Contact Day

Here’s some more information about the plans for the contact from Andy Vavra – KD3RF, a Warminster ARC member, who has been working with the Students and Faculty at Council Rock H.S. South to prepare for their contact:

I’m Andy Vavra – KD3RF, and one of several mentors from the Warminster Amateur Radio Club (WARC) who are helping students from Council Rock High School South in Southampton, PA make contact with the International Space Station on Thursday, December 5th as part of NASA and AMSAT’s ARISS program…

Several Warminster Amateur Radio Club members including Michael Shanblatt (W3MAS,) Irwin Darack (KD3TB,) Joe Horanzy (AA3JH,) as well as myself (KD3RF) and ARISS advisor Fred Kemmerer (AB1OC) have been mentoring the teachers and students to help them set-up and operate a permanent satellite station at the school which they will use to engage in a conversation with the astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) this coming Thursday, December 5th at 17:56 UTC (12:56 pm Eastern Time.)…

Council Rock South has an active Ham Radio club (KC3NNG) with more than 30 student members in grades 9 – 12 who are getting started on their Ham Radio journeys. The club is under the sponsorship and guidance of four teacher/advisors from the school’s STEM program; Gerald Fetter (K3OHI,) Joe Warwick (KB3ZED,) and Jeff Warmkassel and Fred Bauer who are working on getting licensed.

The student members represent all segments of Council Rock’s diverse community and are interested in continuing their education in fields such as engineering, science, technology, marketing and business.

Join In On Council Rock’s ISS Contact

You can join the Council Rock Facebook Group for updates and watch a live stream of the contact on Thursday between 12:30 – 1:30 pm.

  • Facebook Page & link for live stream video of the contact:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/crsouthradio/posts
  • Council Rock South Amateur Radio Club Homepage:  https://www.crsd.org/Page/57298
  • Council Rock South Amateur Radio Club Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/crsouthradio/

I am serving as the ARRIS Mentor for Council Rock H.S. South’s ISS Contact. I am looking forward to the opportunity to be at their school on Thursday to be part of what I am sure will be a very memorable event.

You can learn more about the ARISS Program and how to secure an ISS contact for your school here.

Fred, AB1OC

Activities, Education and Training, Field Day, General, Newsletter

Winter Field Day 2020 Update

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Winter Field Day 2020 is just over two months away and our plans for another successful event are coming together nicely. This week saw key events towards that end. On Monday, the Milford, NH Board of Selectmen approved our request allowing us to stay in the park overnight from Friday, January 24th thru Sunday, January 26th. On Tuesday, the NARS Executive Committee approved our budget for expenses. All we need now is a little more time to prepare equipment, muster our setup/teardown teams, and recruit operators.

What Is Winter Field Day?

For those not familiar with Winter Field Day (WFD), the purpose is to gain hands-on experience with emergency communications under winter conditions. And although our objective is to be safe (and warm) while having fun during winter’s doldrums, scores are tallied and thus, it’s a contest. For Winter Field Day 2019, NARS was number one in category (4-oscar), and number two overall.

This year we have our sights set on the top position with a solid plan to win it. Specifically, we are increasing our transmitter count to 5-oscar, adding a 2nd 40m antenna, and more VHF+ capability. Details of our plans and hands-on demo on using the equipment will be presented at our Tuesday, December 10th at 7 pm – Winter Field Day 2020 Tech Night. If you are interested in participating in WFD, you are encouraged to attend.

We Need Your Help

The planning team is working hard to make WFD a safe and enjoyable event for everyone. But we really need your help to make this a success. We are looking for members willing to commit to helping transport equipment, setup and teardown stations. Here is a summary of our needs:

  • Transportation to Keyes park on Friday morning – especially if you have a pick-up truck (but all are welcome).
  • Setup of the tower, antennas, and equipment on Friday afternoon and again Saturday morning.
  • Site teardown on Sunday after 2 pm and transportation away from the park.

If you are new to amateur radio, field day is a fantastic way to get some first-hand experience in building a high-performance multi-mode station; including putting up a tower and antennas.

And of course, we need operators! An “official” sign up list will be posted once we finalize a few details, but we are looking for people to commit now. If you are interested in operating (especially CW), please let us know. You don’t need an advanced license to join in. We’ll have plenty of control operators for the HF bands and Technicians have full privileges on VHF+. This is a great opportunity for new hams (and new club members) to participate in a major outdoor contest.

Learning More…

I hope you will join us for Winter Field Day 2020. If you want to hear more, or sign-up, please attend the NARS December 3rd Membership Meeting or the December 10th Tech Night. If you can’t make either meeting, please contact, Jerry Doty, K1OKD,  Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, or anyone else on the NARS Winter Field Day planning team.

Thank you, happy Thanksgiving es 73!
DE Jerry, K1OKD

Activities, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Youth Activities

Ham Nation Features Nashua Area Radio Society Activities and Projects

The Nashua Area Radio Society’s activities and projects were featured on Ham Nation on Wednesday, November 27th. You can view the show below.


Ham Nation Episode 430 Featuring The Nashua Area Radio Society

Bob Heil’s, K9EID interview covered activities and projects of the Nashua Area Radio Society.  The interview began with Bob sharing a clip from a previous episode that we did a while back.

We discussed several of the Nashua Area Radio Society’s projects and activities including:

Our Ham Nation interview also included information about the Nashua Area Radio Society’s online training materials. You can learn more about our online training materials and how to get access to them via this link.

Ham Nation hosts Bob Heil, Gordon West, and George Thomas all had nice things to say about the work that the Nashua Area Radio Society is doing to bring new folks into the Amateur Radio Service and to help our members build their skills and have fun.

We really enjoyed being part of Ham Nation and we look forward to doing it again soon!

Anita, AB1QB and Fred, AB1OC

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide