Category Archives: Featured

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

Activities, Featured, General, On The Air

Calling All Rookies! ARRL Rookie Roundup is April 15th

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
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/

Antennas, Featured, General, Space, Station Equipment

Upgrading 2.0 Satellite Station for an ARISS Crew Contact

We have been working with Hudson Memorial School near Nashua, NH to prepare for a possible ARISS Crew Contact. The ARISS folks work with schools and their Ham Radio helpers to prepare for these contacts. ARISS provides recommendations for ground station equipment to help ensure a good experience for the students. The ground station recommendations provide a solid set of specifications to support communications with the ISS on the 2m band. The recommendations include things such as:

  • A requirement to build both a primary and a backup ground station
  • Radio and power specifications (a 200W amp is recommended)
  • Antenna specifications including recommendations to provide for switchable LHCP and RHCP
  • Computer controlled azimuth/elevation positioning of antennas to track the ISS
  • Use of a receive preamplifier at the antenna

You can read more about our ISS Contact upgrade plans via the link below…

Source: Upgrading our 2.0 Satellite Station for ARISS Contact

Fred, AB1OC

Antennas, Featured, General, Space, Station Equipment

Portable Satellite Station 3.0 Initial Contacts

With the construction of our portable satellite station 3.0 complete, we’ve been looking forward to an opportunity to test the new setup. We chose the Nashua Area Radio Society’s recent…

Portable Satellite Station 3.0 Antenna System
Portable Satellite Station 3.0 Antenna System

Source: A Portable Satellite Station Part 6 – 3.0 Station Initial Contacts | Our HAM Station

Our next generation portable satellite station is complete and we tested it during our recent Tech License Class. We discovered a minor issue which was easily sorted out. The new antenna system includes switchable circular polarity and has performed really performs well during the first 50 or so contacts made using the 3.0 station. You can read more about the new station and the initial tests via the link above.

Fred, AB1OC

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