As Field Day 2017 approaches, Dave, N1RF; Mike, K1WVO, Don, KC1CRK and I got together to assemble and test two of the Yagi’s that we are planning to use for Field Day this year.
New 6m Yagi
I’ve contributed a new 6m Yagi for Field Day this year – an M2 Antenna Systems 6M5XHP. This antenna has 5 elements on an 18 ft boom. This antenna is fairly lightweight for its size and performs great – perfect for Field Day.
Tuning the 6M Yagi
We installed it on two tower sections (20 ft) of so that we could properly adjust its tuning.
Final 6M Yagi Test on Tower
We found that we could adjust the antenna’s driven element and hairpin match for the best SWR performance with the tower tilted over and the antenna on its side. We got nearly the same SWR performance this way as we saw with the tower and antenna tilted up 20 ft off the ground.
Final 6M Yagi SWR
After several adjustments with the tower up and down, we finally came up with an SWR curve that looked good.
Installing the WRTC Tribander on the Test Tower
The club purchased a WRTC tower and Triband Yagi a little while back and this Field Day will be the first time that we’ve had a chance to use this combination. We found that the phasing system and feed point for the WRTC Tribander had been misplaced so we made a replacement for these parts and we wanted to test the WRTC Tribander’s performance with the new parts.
WRTC Tribander on the Tower
After a quick check of the WRTC Tribander’s SWR performance with the tower tilted over, we stood the tower up and measured its SWR performance on 10m, 15m, and 20m.
WRTC Tribander SWR on 20m
The antenna’s SWR performance with its new phasing lines and feed point looked great on all three bands!
We ended the day by disassembling the two Yagi’s and taking down the tower. With this project done, we’ll be working on a falling derrick system for our third tower for Field Day.
A big Thank You! to Dave, Mike, and Don for helping with this project. It was a lot of fun!
We recently received a request from the Police Athletic League (PAL) in Nashua, NH to put on a Get On The Air (GOTA) demonstration of Amateur Radio for the kids there. The folks at PAL are trying to create activities that promote STEM and Amateur Radio interest among kids.
GOTA Station
Jamey, KC1ENX and I went to PAL a little while back and set up our portable station using the screwdriver antenna on my truck.
Kids on the Air at Nashua PAL
We had some of the worst propagation conditions that we have seen in a while on the day we were at PAL, Fortunately, Mike, K1WVO got on to try to give the kids a few contacts.
QSL Cards
We also brought some QSL cards and Jamey spent some time with the kids explaining QSLs and some of the places that were contacted.
HAB and Foxes
We also brought our High Altitude Balloon (HAB) and our 2m Fox Hunt transmitters for the kids to see. There was lots of interest in the HAB platform and what it would be like to see the video that it will record.
Due to the poor propagation conditions, the kids did not get to make many contacts. The folks at PAL invited us to come back another time when the conditions are better and we plan to do that later this summer. We also invited the PAL folks to visit us during our Field Day operation coming up and try out the GOTA station there.
Special thanks to Jamey, Matt, and Mike for helping us with our GOTA event at PAL.
We have been working with teachers from several local schools to create a STEM learning curriculum to help the students involved in our HAB project learn about the science associated with our High Altitude Balloon (HAB) Project.
Merrimack High School HAB Project Students and their Teacher
Our club’s HAB team has prepared materials for and delivered a series of five classroom sessions to each group of students. These sessions have included material on the Atmosphere, the Physics of HAB Flight, and the Radio Technologies (APRS and GPS) used on the HAB.
Bishop-Guertin High School HAB Project Students and their Teachers
We have also shared this material with a group of students who are not part of the two high schools that we are working with on the HAB project.
Additional HAB Project Students, Parents, and Club HAB Team Members
Altogether, we have 13 students involved in our HAB project. The students and their teachers have given us high marks for the STEM learning aspect of the project to date. Here is a sample of the feedback that we have received from the faculty members at the schools who are involved in the project:
I think you did a great job today. I was very impressed with your presentation, the clarity of the material you presented to the students and how well organized your power point was: Simple and to the point. Thank you so much for taking the time to come. … I am excited to see and hear more next week. It is evident that you have a true passion for it and that is conveyed to the students.
Once again, Thank you for the thought-provoking presentation. The students left excited to see your radio station at open house and eager to launch the HAB!
We got together to assemble and test the HAB platform a few weeks back. We did this to ensure that all of the components worked as intended and to determine the actual weight of the platform so we could estimate the HAB’s performance and flight path.
HAB Flight Platform
The platform includes GPS receivers, a flight computer to record location, speed and atmospheric temperature and pressure data, a 2M APRS transmitter to send telemetry data to the ground during the HAB’s flight, and two GoPro video cameras to record video during the flight. All of these systems are working well and the HAB platform is ready for flight. We have also secured the required Helium for our launch.
Balloon Performance Calculator
We have introduced the students to online calculators which they have used to predict the performance of our HAB. The calculator shown above was used to estimate the HAB’s maximum altitude (31,290 m or about 102,600 ft) and how much Helium we will need for the flight.
Jetstream Forecast
The students also learned about the various layers in the atmosphere and how the conditions there will affect the flight path of our HAB.
HAB Flight Path Prediction
We have helped the students use another online calculator which is used to predict our HAB’s flight path. These predictions are only valid about 5 days in advance of the flight and the flight path varies considerably based upon the daily changes in Jetstream conditions. As you can see from the prediction above, we will need to select a launch location in western Vermont or Massachusetts to avoid the risk of our HAB landing in the ocean.
We will be gathering all of the students together for an HAB and Amateur Radio Open House before our launch. The open house activities will include some hands-on work with the flight computer and radio equipment on our HAB, a chance to Get On The Air, learn about Amateur Radio Satellites, and participate in a Fox Hunt.
We are planning to launch our HAB in May from a location near Bennington, Vt. It will be possible to track the HAB while it is in flight via this link to APRS.fi.
We’d like to thank all of our donors for providing us with the funding for our HAB project. Also, a special thanks to all of our club members who have worked on the project and the preparation and delivery of the STEM classroom materials:
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