Category Archives: Newsletter

Nashua Area Radio Society Newsletter Articles. You can find an archive of our Newsletters on our website.

Activities, Featured, General, Newsletter

A Winter’s Fox Hunt

3 Comments

Jamey, KC1ENX let the N1FD foxes loose in Nashua, NH this past weekend to give all of us a chance to track them down. This is not the first time that our foxes have roamed to wilds on New Hampshire. We let them loose during our summer picnic this year. We always have fun and improve our radio direction finding skills while doing a Fox Hunt!

Fox News Alert - N1FD Foxes Roaming Nashua
Fox News Alert – N1FD Foxes Roaming Nashua

We woke this past Saturday to a Fox News Alert! Fox News contributor Jamey, KC1ENX reported –

“Two foxes have been spotted in the Nashua area! It has been reported that N1FD-fox1 was heard on Route 3 this morning on 146.565. It has also been reported that N1FD-fox2 could be heard from close to N1FD-fox2’s location on a frequency of 146.535.”

Hunting the Large Fox

I went down to our shack and turned on the 2m rig. Sure enough, there was the howl of the large fox (audio recording above) so I gathered my HT and Elk Yagi antenna and set off to track down the Wiley critters. I stopped just beyond my house near Rt. 122 in Hollis, NH to get an initial fix. Sure enough, I heard the large critter’s bark coming from the general direction of Nashua. A couple of fixes along Rt. 3 indicated that the fox was in a den in Mine Falls Park so I drove there and parked. By this time, the fox was clearly audible on the mobile rig in my truck. I switched my HT to the big fox’s third harmonic frequency and headed for a high spot on a bridge in the center of the park. Sure enough, there the Wiley critter was – just ahead on the trail.

Fox Hunt - The Large Fox in its Lair
The Large Fox in its Lair

I got very close to the large fox when I encountered Bob, W1FDR who had a very effective close in system which used an HT and a dish. Bob said:

“Lets team up and we’ll track the critter down”.

So we did team up and it did not take long to find the fox’s hideout. We both signed the fox log and turned our attention to finding the smaller fox.

Hunting the Small Fox

Fox Hunt - Bob W1FDR by the Small Fox's Den
Bob W1FDR by the Small Fox’s Den

The small fox was audible from the large fox’s den using my Yagi and HT. We tracked the small fox across the soccer fields at Mine Falls Park and over a small ridge. Once we got close, Bob used his dish system to track down the small fox in its den.

Fox Hunt - Fox Hunting Equipment
Fox Hunting Equipment

The combination of my Yagi and Bob’s dish system worked very well for hunting the foxes. The Yagi was surprisingly directional at longer range and this made it relatively easy to get close to both foxes. Bob’s dish was great for the final, close-in location of the foxes in their dens.

I had a great time hunting the foxes and I am looking forward to another hunt this coming Saturday after our breakfast get together at Parker’s Maple Barn in Mason, NH. I am looking for some folks to team with again for the hunt this coming Saturday. Talley-ho!

Fred, AB1OC

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

Welcome to the New Executive Committee Members

As we just held our annual officer elections, I’d like to thank the departing officers for their service to the club.  Departing the Executive committee are:

  • Vice President, Dave Michaels, N1RF
  • Treasurer, Wayne Wagner, AG1A
  • Programs, Brian Smigielski, AB1ZO

Our Executive Committee members have worked hard to move the Nashua Area Radio Society forward this past year. Some of our major progress in 2017 includes:

2018 Executive Committee Members

I’d like to congratulate and welcome our new and returning Officers and Directors to the Executive Committee.  Our 2018 Officers and Directors are:

  • President, Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
  • Vice President, Dave Merchant, K1DLM
  • Secretary, Brian McCaffrey, W1BP
  • Treasurer, Hamilton Stewart, K1HMS
  • Membership, Jamey Finchum, AC1DC
  • Programs, Scott Andersen, NE1RD
  • Activities, Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB

I am looking forward to working with the New Executive Committee a toward a successful 2018.

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

Propagation Prediction Websites

Is the 20-meter band open to the location of the latest DXpedition on the bands?   When is 6 meters open for Sporadic E?  Looking for a weak signal 2-meter contact with a specific grid square?  There are websites you can visit that give you a prediction of whether the band you are on is open to a given destination.

HF Propagation

N0NBH Propagation Widget
N0NBH Propagation Widget

The simplest HF propagation prediction is the widget that is seen on many Amateur Radio Websites – QRZ.com, DXSummit.fi, and more.   This gives you a rough idea of what bands are open day and night. Data is based on the Sunspot Number, A and K indices, and other indices.  But this doesn’t take into account many factors like your location, the DX location, the characteristics of your station, and the DX station.  Just because 15m says Poor doesn’t mean you won’t hear anything on the band.

VOACAP – HF Propagation Prediction

VOACAP Point to Point Prediction
VOACAP Point to Point Prediction

VOACAP is the Voice of America Coverage Analysis Program and provides detailed information about HF propagation.  You can choose transmitter and receiver locations from many cities around the world.  It also provides choices of Antennas, Power, Mode, and more for each end of the contact. You can look at several different views of propagation.  If you spend some time delving into the details of propagation visit this site.

VOACAP prediction from DXSummit.fi
VOACAP prediction from DXSummit.fi

For a faster view of whether you will be able to contact a specific DX Station that is currently on the air,  the DXSummit.fi spotting website has incorporated propagation predictions on their website.  If you find a DX station spotted there that you contact, just right-click on the DX callsign and select VOACAP from the drop-down.   You just need to choose whether you are a Basic (100 watts and a Wire) or a Superstation (Amplifier and Directional Antenna).  You can also look at views of Short Path or Long Path.  It will give you a good view of when you need to be on which band to contact the DX station.

6 Meters – The Magic Band

DXMaps - 6 Meter Openings
DXMaps – 6 Meter Openings

The best website that I have found for 6 meters is DXMaps.com.  It provides a map view of the world or you can select a continent. Based on spotting network data, it shows 6-meter contacts and color codes them by Sporadic-E, Multihop ES, Meteor Scatter, etc…  even Aurora.  You can also get a view of 10 meters, 2 meters, or 70 cm.  If you sign up for a free account, you can subscribe to real-time notifications when there is an opening near you.

2 Meter Propagation

VHF Propagation Map
VHF Propagation Map

Looking for a tropo opening for a weak signal 2-meter contact?   Visit the website http://aprs.mountainlake.k12.mn.us/ to see a VHF Propagation map.  This shows tropo openings as color-coded clouds – with brighter colors for the longer openings.    This is based on APRS data.

These are the websites that I like to visit to understand the propagation forecast for the day.  If your favorite site is not on the list, add a comment so the rest of our readers can check it out.

Anita, AB1QB

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