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, Space, Youth Activities

High Altitude Balloon 4 Launch Windows Set

We have set the initial set of launch windows for our High Altitude Balloon’s 4th flight (HAB-4) for the following three weekends in April:

  • Saturday, April 6th / Sunday, April 7th
  • Saturday, April 13th / Sunday, April 14th
  • Saturday, April 20th
  • Saturday, June 1st / Sunday, June 2nd
  • Saturday, June 8th/Sunday, June 9th

Students at Hudson Memorial School and Bishop-Guertin HS are both participating in our HAB-4 STEM program.

HAB-2 Launch Site in Winchester NH
HAB Launch Site in Winchester NH

We will again be launching from the Elementary School in Winchester, NH at around 10:30 am. Preparation for our launch will begin at 8:30 am.

Our HAB carries video cameras that allow us to see what the HAB sees as it travels through the atmosphere. You can click on the video above to see what a HAB flight is like including video taken at over 90,000 ft above sea level!

HAB Camera Insulation and Heating System

High Altitude Balloon 4 (HAB-4) will be the first to launch with our new camera insulating and heating system. This arrangement is intended to keep the cameras from freezing and shutting off early. The cameras will also carry the smaller, lighter weight batteries that we used on HAB-1. Together, we hope these improvements will allow us to capture video throughout HAB-4’s ascent, balloon burst, descent, and landing.

High Altitude Balloon 4 Flight Parameters
HAB-4 Flight Parameters

The graphic above shows the final flight parameters for HAB-4. We are expecting HAB-4 to burst at around 110,000 ft a.s.l. with the flight lasting about 2 1/2 hours.

HAB Flight Path Prediction - Saturday April 6th
HAB Flight Path Prediction – Saturday, April 6th
HAB Flight Path Prediction - Sunday April 7th
HAB Flight Path Prediction – Sunday, April 7th

The images above show the initial flight path predictions for the first  HAB-4 launch window. The weather and Jetstream forecasts are still fairly unreliable at this point (6 – 7 days in advance of the first launch windows). These will likely change quite a bit between now and this coming Thursday evening when we will make a final go/no-go launch decision for the April 6th / April 7th launch window. We will also be looking closely at the Ground Weather for acceptable ground wind speed under 15 mph at launch and either clear skies or limited cloud cover to permit HAB-4 to be launched.

HAB Flight Platform
HAB Flight Platform

The HAB will again be carrying a flight computer and APRS telemetry and tracking system. You will be able to track HAB-4 during its flight via aprs.fi. You can learn more about how to track our HABs here.

Stay tuned to our Forums for additional updates and the final go/no-go decision as the week progresses. If the first launch window does not work out, we’ll begin counting down to the second window (April 13th / April 14th). We hope that you’ll join us in Winchester, NH for our launch!

Fred, AB1OC

Antennas, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

New Ham Boot Camp – Sessions 1 – 3

We have held the first three sessions of New Ham Boot Camp the past few weeks to help our newly licensed members learn the skills they need to get on the air.

Session 1 was held at Fred, AB1OC’s and Anita, AB1QB’s QTH.   The session focused on UHF/VHF.  The following activities were part of this session:

  • HT Programming
  • Station Tour including Antenna Towers and Mobile Stations
  • Echolink Setup and Use
  • Satellite Operating Demo
  • Antenna Demo
  • Practice QSOs and Repeater Net
Jamey, AC1DC, elmers Randall, KC1KSY as he makes an HF Contact
Jamey, AC1DC, elmers Randall, KC1KSY as he makes an HF Contact

Session 2 was also held at AB1OC/AB1QB’s QTH.  During this session, members were able to Get on the Air to make contacts via HF SSB, Satellites, and HF Digital.

70 cm Ground Plan Antenna
70 cm Ground Plan Antenna

In addition,  we built a 70 cm ground plane antenna and members got kits to build their own antenna. and Jamey, AC1DC spoke about SOTAs and demonstrated a Buddipole antenna.

Fred Advises on Selecting Wire Antennas
Fred Advises on Selecting Wire Antennas

Session 3 was held at Ham Radio Outlet in Salem, NH. Peter, KI1M opened HRO during the evening of March 19th exclusive to NARS New Ham Boot Camp members.  Fred and Peter advised members and answered questions on selecting HTs, Transceivers, Antennas, Headphones, Microphones, Coax and other Amateur Radio components.

Peter shows us the repeater
Peter shows us the repeater

We have two more sessions of New Ham Boot Camp to be held in April:

  • Session 4: – Saturday, April 6 –   How to set up your first station,  Getting on 6 meters, What do all the buttons and knobs on my HF Transceiver do?  How do I use them to work DX
  • Session 5:  Date TBD – Building  and Tuning up HF Wire Antennas

Stay tuned to the General Information Forums – we will post there when Session 5 is scheduled.

Activities, Antennas, Education and Training, Featured, Homebrewing, Newsletter, On The Air, Youth Activities

Tape Measure Yagi Build

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Our next Tech Night will be on Tuesday, April 9th and we’ll be talking about the basics of Radio Direction Finding (aka Fox Hunting). During this session, we’ll also be building a 2-meter tape measure yagi using Joe Leggio’s, WB2HOL plans. I have built 2 of these tape measure yagis and they are pretty easy to make and I have had very good success! You can use these antennas for fox hunting, summits on the air or just hitting a distant repeater.

Here is a list of equipment that you will need to bring to the class to build your very own 2-meter tape measure yagi!

  1. Metal Tape Measure – 1″ wide and at least 10′ in length
  2. 6′ RG8x cable with a PL-259 connector attached to one side
    • You can buy one cable with a PL-259 on each side and cut it in half if you would like to share with someone else to cut costs – You may want to go with 8′ – 10′ if you are going to make two cables
  3. Pigtail for connecting RG-8x (PL-259 connector) to handheld (sma)(sma female)

Optional:

  1. Sandpaper for sanding edges of the tape measure and removing coating to solder on coaxial cable
  2. Wire strippers/cutters
  3. Soldering iron
  4. Shears or scissors for cutting tape measure
  5. 2 Meter SWR meter
  6. Rubber Bands or Bulldog clips for securing the elements when folding up

I will bring all the PVC pipe pre-cut to the proper lengths along with the T and cross connectors.

After we all successful make our tape measure yagis we can celebrate the following Saturday as we have our first Summits on the Air (SOTA) and Parks on the Air (POTA) activation of Mount Pack Monadnock. This is a fairly easy summit and members can hike or drive up to the summit to test out the new yagis!

If you plan on attending or have any questions please let me know so I can plan for the right amount of equipment. You can reach me by email at [email protected].

Jamey, AC1DC

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