Category Archives: General

Articles about Amateur Radio and the Nashua Area Radio Society. This is a general category which includes most articles on our website.

Featured, Field Day, General, Newsletter, Station Equipment

VHF+ Station Prep for Winter Field Day 2020

We’ve busy preparing for Winter Field Day 2020. We’re planning to expand our station coverage to include more bands above 6m.

Jamey AC1DC Next To New Winter Field Day VHF+ Mast
Jamey AC1DC Next To Our New WFD VHF+ Mast

We are planning on adding the 1.25m, 33cm, and 23cm bands to our Winter Field Day 2020 setup. Jamey, AC1DC and I put together a new mast to support Yagis for these new bands a few weeks back.

Rovers for New Bands

Winter Field Day Rover Test
Winter Field Day Rover Test

Jon, AC1EV and Jerry, K1OKD have been working on a Rover set up so that folks can make contacts on these new bands and help out all of the Winter Field Day stations in our area.

VHF+ Station Testing for Winter Field Day 2020

VHF Station #1 Test
VHF Station #1 Test

The first station that we put together (VHF #1) is based upon an Elecraft KX3/PX3 combination. We added an outboard 100W HF amplifier and two Tranverters to the radio to cover 160m-10m, 1.25m, and 33cm. We plan to use this station for VHF+ contacts during the daytime and for HF operations at night. All of our Winter Field Day Stations will have computers for logging and digital modes and they will all support Phone, CW, and Digital modes. Also, we will be using networked N1MM+ for logging at Winter Field Day.

VHF Station #2 Test
VHF Station #2 Test

The second station we put together (VHF #2) uses an Icom IC-9100 Transceiver and will cover the HF bands, 6m, 2m, 70cm, and 23cm. It will have a computer-controlled satellite setup that uses a Mac Laptop for tracking as well as a windows computer for logging, digital modes, and CW. The IC-9100 has 100w out on the HF Bands, 6m, and 2m as well as 70w output on the 70cm band – plenty of power for Winter Field Day. The 23cm side of the IC-9100 does 10w out so we’ve added a 100w amplifier for this band. The combination of the amp and the high-gain 23cm antenna that we are using will make our Effective Radiated Power (ERP) on 23cm in excess of 2,000w.

Thanks to some great work by Jon, Jerry, Jamey, and Anita our two most complex stations are ready to go. We will be testing our 3 remaining HF station including one which supports 160m in the near future.

We hope that you’ll join us for some operating fun at Winter Field Day! You can sign-up for operating, roving, and/or station set up at Winter Field Day 2020 here.

Fred, AB1OC

 

Featured, General, Newsletter

Welcome to the 2020 Executive Committee Members

As we recently held our annual officer elections, I’d like to thank the departing officers for their service to the Nashua Area Radio Society.  Departing the Executive committee are:

  • Vice President, Dave Merchant, K1DLM
  • Secretary, Brian McCaffrey, W1BP
  • Programs, Scott Andersen, NE1RD

2020 Executive Committee Members

I’d like to congratulate and welcome our new and returning Officers and Directors to the Executive Committee.  Our 2020 Officers and Directors are:

  • President, Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
  • Vice President, Jamey Finchum, AC1DC
  • Secretary, Jon Turner, AC1EV
  • Treasurer, Charlie Dunn, W1CBD
  • Activities, Jim Lajoie, K1BRM
  • Programs, Jeff Lalmond,  AC1FX
  • Membership, Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB

I am looking forward to working with the New Executive Committee and toward a successful 2020.

Fred, AB1OC

Activities, Featured, Field Day, General, On The Air, Youth Activities

Announcing The First Annual Student-Teacher Contest

The Nashua Area Radio Society is committed to helping new and prospective hams to get on the air.  To this end, we are pleased to sponsor a student-teacher contest to encourage participation in other Amateur Radio contests by Students and Teachers.  This is a fantastic opportunity to win a new state-of-the-art Icom IC-7300 Software Defined Radio, Buckmaster antenna with help to put it up or another station accessory.

How Will The Student-Teacher Contest Work?

Student-Techer Contest
To participate, you simply need to get on the air during 5 of the contests listed below for 3-consecutive hours from January 1, 2020, through September 30th, 2020.  Students and Teachers will be graded based on the best consecutive 3-hour score in a given contest.  We will be using level 1, 2 and 3 weightings (see list below) plus contest equalization to normalize the scores. Your 5 best contest scores will be combined to create your final score and finish placing.

Keith, KC1IMK at the Digital Station
Keith, KC1IMK at the Digital Station

The list of eligible contests (see below) includes SSB, Digital, and CW contests so you can choose your favorite operating mode or compete in contests that use different modes if you like.

Highlights and Leaderboard Coming

We are planning to add a new page for contest highlights and leaderboard here on n1fd.org that will be updated to show the current standings after each contest in the series.

But I Don’t Have a License Yet…

Summer Ham Activity - Student Teacher License Class
Student Teacher License Class

Not licensed? Not a problem. Based upon demand, we will offer Tech and General License classes in January/February for any student-teacher contest participants who what to earn their Amateur Radio License to compete.

Ryan, KC1KJS, operating at Field Day
Ryan, KC1KJS, operating at Field Day

We will also provide contest training for you to get started. Our January Tech Night will be about getting started in contesting and Fred and Anita will provide training to use AB1OC/AB1QB and KC1XX.

What Will I Use For A Station?

Abby, KC1FFX in the ARRL Rookie Roundup CW
Abby, KC1FFX in the ARRL Rookie Roundup CW

If you have access to a station, you may certainly operate from home.  If not, there will be opportunities to operate some World-class stations, including AB1OC/AB1QB, KC1XX or even during Field Day and Winter Field Day!  We’re trying to make this as easy as possible.

How Do I Enter To Compete?

To participate, you must be a member of the Nashua Area Radio Society, and either a student (High School or younger) or their teacher.  If you’re not already a member of NARS, you can sign-up here.  Winners will be announced at the October Nashua Area Radio Society Club Meeting.

In order for this give-away to work, we’re going to need a minimum of (6) NARS members to sign-up no later than December 31, 2019.  Please contact Anita, AB1QB, at [email protected] to sign-up.

Which Contests Count Towards My Score?

The preliminary list of Eligible Contests in which you can participate are as follows:

Student-Techer Contest

  • WRTC-like weighting will be used to equalize contest scores
  • Score Multipliers – Level 3: x3, Level 2: x2, Level 1: x1

For our Student-Teacher Contest to go forward, we need students and teachers to sign up before the end of the year. Tell your family, friends, and teachers about the contest!

Dave, K1DLM

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide