Category Archives: Featured

This category is for featured articles that we want to include in the sidebars and other areas on our website.

Activities, Antennas, CW and QRP, Digital, Education and Training, Featured, Field Day, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Space

Sights from Field Day 2018

Field Day 2018 60 ft Digital Tower
Field Day 2018 60 ft Digital Tower

We had a great Field Day this year at the Hudson Memorial School!  Thanks to our Field Day Chairmen,  Dave Merchant, K1DLM, Hamilton Stewart, K1HMS and Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC for putting together a great Field Day for us. 

Our publicity chairperson, John W1SMN went above and beyond this year as we had coverage in print, video as well as on WMUR, the local Manchester ABC station!

NARS 2018 Field Day on WMUR
NARS 2018 Field Day on WMUR

Here are links to our press coverage:

Here are a few of the sights from Field Day 2018.  Join our next Meeting on Tuesday, July 3rd at 7:00 pm at the First Church Nashua for the full readout!

Field Day Planning Meeting
Field Day Planning Meeting

Thanks also to all of the committee chairpersons and all others who worked so hard to make this year’s Field Day a great experience!

Craig, N1SFT, our Transportation Chairman
Craig, N1SFT, our Transportation Chairman

Step 1 is to get all of our Field Day equipment onsite from multiple locations.  Our transportation chairperson, Craig, N1SFT did a great job of planning and carrying this out.

Birds Eye View of Antenna Setup
Birds Eye View of Antenna Setup

Many members came out on Thursday evening and Friday to set up 3 towers, with Yagis, the V-Beam, the Satellite Antenna and 13 stations!  Here is a shot that was taken by Desmond, WK1V from his drone.

40 meter V-Beam
40-meter V-Beam

The 40-meter V-Beam worked great and we got more QSOs on 40m SSB than any other band/mode in the event!

Satellite Antenna
Satellite Antenna

The Satellite antenna was impressive to watch as it rotates around to follow the Satellite passes.

Flex Radio Setup near 60 ft Tower
Flex Radio Setup near 60 ft Tower

4 Flex Radios were the heart of our Digital and GOTA stations.  They were located near the 60-foot digital tower and accessed remotely via laptops and a Maestro in the Digital/GOTA tents.  Thanks to Bill Barber, NE1B and John Keslo, W1MBG for contributing their Flex Radios to the effort.  And most thanks to Dave, K1DLM for setting these up and keeping them and the network running for the duration of the event!

ARISS Training
ARISS Training

Adam Goldstein, a teacher from Hudson Memorial School and a sponsor of the HAB-3 effort at HMS gave us training on ARISS and how HMS was able to get a contact with the ISS, which will be this coming November.

N1FD On The Air - 10A NH
N1FD On The Air – 10A NH

Guests to Field Day were greeted by our new Banner!

Public Information Tent
Public Information Tent

Guests could sign in and learn more about Field Day and the Nashua Area Radio Society at our Public Infomation Tent.  We also had an N1MM scoreboard and a weather radar display so we could be prepared for any incoming storms.

Team Finchum on the Air
Team Finchum on the Air

Jamey, AC1DC and Abby, AB1BY spent many hours on 20m and 40m SSB and made many QSOs!

Scott, NE1RD on 15 meter SSB
Scott, NE1RD on 15 meter SSB

Scott, NE1RD was one of our top operators!

Keith, KC1IMK working Digital Modes
Keith, KC1IMK working Digital Modes

Keith, KC1IMK made his first digital contacts on PSK31.

CW at Field Day
CW at Field Day

Dennis, K1LGQ and Jean K1AVM worked CW.

GOTA and 15 meter Digital Stations
GOTA and 15-meter Digital Stations

Here is Keith’s Dad, Mark, KC1IML with coach Ira, KC1EMJ making contacts on the GOTA station. Dave Merchant, K1DLM is working on the 15m Digital station.  Thanks to Dave for all the work he did in setting up and keeping the network and digital stations running!

Hamilton at the 10/15/80 meter CW Station
Hamilton at the 10/15/80 meter CW Station

Hamilton, K1HMS, one of our 3 Field Day Chairpersons, worked CW QSOs on our 10/15/80 meter station.

Curtis, Charlie and Trish working the Satellites
Curtis, Charlie, and Trish working the Satellites

Curtis, N1CMD, Charlie, W1CBD, and Trish had fun working QSOs with other Field Day stations through Low Earth Orbit Satellites.

Field Day Cake
Field Day Cake

We had delicious food thanks to Valerie Merchant, who provide meals and drinks during setup as well as Field Day operations.

We are still working on the final scoring and we’ll have a final readout at the July 3rd membership meeting.

Please share any pictures or video that you have from Field Day to Fred, AB1OC.

Anita, AB1QB

Featured, General, Member Spotlights, Newsletter

Member Spotlight, Craig N1SFT

Hi, my name is Craig T. Bailey.   Member Spotlight Craig N1SFT

I’ve been a licensed amateur radio operator since 1994.  Like many hams, during our sophomore year in high school, while we all were getting drivers licenses, of course, we installed citizen band radios!  It didn’t take long before we realized the CB wasn’t really what we were looking for – so we were introduced to Amateur radio, and by Junior year we were licensed Techs.   In ’94 we were still being called “No Code Techs” because the transition into the current technician structure was still fairly new.

I joined the Central NH Radio club, and the club meetings were pretty good, and there were a couple club organized hikes, so the idea of “Summits on the air” has been with me for a long time… albeit not as the formal structured activity that it is today.  Once my buddies and I started leaving for college, we all brought our HTs, and we all intended to stay active, but best-laid plans – you know how it goes.   I still have my trusty Alinco DJ-F1T 2m handheld… it was state of the art with its DTMF pad, and its huge 40 memory slots: it still works, but the battery packs are totally gone…  (I prefer my modern day stable including a Yaesu VX-8DR, FT-2980R, FT-817ND, FT-891, and even an old Yaesu FT-90R.)

In college, I studied classical civil engineering at the University of New Hampshire where I earned a B.Sci in Civil engineering, and then a Professional Masters Degree from the University of Maine in Surveying and Business Management. While at UNH things were just so busy that ham radio had to take a back seat.

My wife and I moved to Nashua in 2000, and and we started our careers and family.  I am a licensed professional engineer (PE – Civil,) and my wife Marcie is also a PE, although she’s a Mechanical Engineer.  I am also a Licensed Land Surveyor, a certified septic designer, and I work for the family surveying and engineering company based in Gilford, NH.  One job is never enough, so for my second job I’m a part-time professor of Civil Engineering Technology at NHTI, Concord’s Community college in Concord NH.  Night classes are the reason you’ll likely not see me at many Club meetings.  I teach structural engineering topics in Steel, Timber, Reinforced concrete, and of course Statics and Strength of Materials.  I also teach AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD 3D, and elementary plane surveying.

I’ve finally joined the Nashua Area Radio Society, and I’m sure glad to be here!  When I’m not on the radio, you’ll probably find me, my wife, and our two daughters (7 and 5) camping somewhere in the RV.  We love camping, and since my upgrade to General, I’ve been bringing the 100-watt radio along for night time operating from the campsite.

When I’m not volunteering for NARS, my first love is with the Boy Scouts of America.  I’ve been a member of the Daniel Webster Council BSA since I was 6 in 1984.  I’m still a member and am currently serving as an Assistant Council Commissioner, assisting the Scoutmasters, Cubmasters, and Venture Crew Leaders put on a great program for New Hampshire’s young boys and girls.

We stay pretty busy, that’s for sure!

Craig, N1SFT

Member Spotlight Craig N1SFT

Activities, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

NARS Prepares for the Thirteen Colonies Special Event

2 Comments

The Thirteen Colonies Special Event begin this Sunday, July 1 at 9 am EDT. The event runs for 6 days and is the largest Amateur Radio Special Event in the world. Each state that grew from one of the original Thirteen Colonies will be using a K2x call and will have a nice QSL card available for Hams who work them. There will also be a very nice certificate available for Hams who work one or more of the stations that are part of the event.

2018 Thirteen Colonies Certificate
2018 Thirteen Colonies Certificate

The event is celebrating its 10th year in 2018 and we have designed a new QSL card for K2K New Hampshire this year.

The New Hampshire State Navy during the American Revolutionary War consisted of a single ship commissioned by the state of New Hampshire in 1779. The Hampden, a privateer owned by John Langdon, was purchased and outfitted by the state in August 1779. Our card features the Hampden.

2018 K2K QSL Card
2018 K2K QSL Card

Nashua Area Radio Society operators will be operating all of the K2K New Hampshire stations this year. We will be defending our Top State and Top Club titles this year. The NARS team made 12,838 contacts during the 2017 event and we are looking forward to making lots of contacts again this year!

K2K New Hampshire will be QRV on all bands 160m – 6m except for 60m. We will be operating using SSB Phone, CW, and Digital modes. We will also have a QRP station operating as K2K/QRP and some mobile stations operating as K2K/M.

K2K New Hampshire, QRZ?

Fred, AB1OC

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide