Category Archives: Youth Activities

Articles and other information about Ham Radio activities for young people. Our youth activities include GOTA events, our High Altitude Balloon project, help getting licensed and more.

Activities, Education and Training, Featured, Field Day, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Youth Activities

Membership Renewals

Close to 40% of our members are up for renewal in the month of September.  We encourage those members to renew early,  beat the rush, and make sure your membership does not expire.  This article will show you how to tell when your membership is up for renewal. It will also show you how to renew your NARS membership online.

When is My Membership Due for Renewal?

Looking up my membership status
Looking up my membership status

You can visit the following page to see when your membership is up for renewal: https://www.n1fd.org/member-directory/.   Scroll to the 2nd table on the page, titled Membership Roster and Status, put your callsign in the search box and hit return.  As you can see above, I have looked up my membership status and I see that my membership is expiring in September 2019.

Membership Renewal Form
Membership Renewal Form

 

How to Renew Your Membership

To renew your membership, you can fill out the membership renewal form at the following page:  https://www.n1fd.org/renew-your-membership/.  At the end of the form, you will be asked to pay your membership fee using PayPal.

We have multiple membership renewal options to choose from if you qualify, with the following yearly fees.  Make sure you take advantage of a discounted rate if you qualify:

  • Regular Membership:  $31
  • Senior Membership (Age 65 or over): $26
  • Full-Time Student: $26
  • Family Membership: $46
Field Day 2019 Team

Your membership allows you to participate in all of our activities including:

HAB-3 Students and Teachers - Ready to Launch
HAB-3 Students and Teachers – Ready to Launch

Your membership in the Nashua Area Radio Society also supports our education and youth outreach work including:

  • Amateur Radio Licensing class delivery and scholarships for students, teachers, and young people
  • STEM Education for school students through Amateur Radio (ex. our High-Altitude Balloon program)
  • Activites to introduce young people and new Hams to Amateur Radio such as ARRL Kids Day, ARRL Rookie Roundup, and other youth outreach activities

If you are not yet a member, you can join the Nashua Area Radio Society online at https://www.n1fd.org/join-us/

 

Antennas, CW and QRP, Education and Training, Featured, General, Homebrewing, Newsletter, On The Air, Space, Youth Activities

Plans for HamXposition @ Boxboro 2019 – We Need Your Help

The Nashua Area Society will be part of the fun at HamXposition @ Boxboro again this year. We will be adding some new things this year as well as providing the Ham Radio Expo display that we did last year. Our contributions will include:

  • An expanded Ham Expo Display
  • Ham Bootcamp – a new activity for prospective and recently licensed Technician and General Class Hams
  • An Expanded Kit Building Activity
  • Several Forum Presentations featuring some of our recent projects and NARS Activities leading to our recognition as Club Of The Year

We will need a lot of help from NARS members to make our contribution to HamXposition successful. More on this later in this article.

Ham Radio Expo Display

HamXposition @ Boxboro
Ham Expo Display

Our Ham Expo display will cover many activities that you can do with Amateur Radio. Our display will also include three GOTA stations:

  • A Computer Controlled Satellite GOTA
  • A Remotely Controlled High-Power HF GOTA
  • A Repeater GOTA

We will also be adding a radio programming clinic where you can get your HT programmed at the show.

Ham Expo Layout

The diagram above shows the planned layout for our Ham Expo display. It will cover the entire back wall of the main exhibit hall in the vendor area and will include the Satellite GOTA station in the bar area as we did last year.

Ham Bootcamp

HamXposition @ Boxboro
Ham Bootcamp Activity

Ham Bootcamp is a new activity this year. Ham Bootcamp is a hands-on activity for folks interested in getting a Ham Radio License and folks who have gotten their Technician or General Class License and would like so help to get on the air or to upgrade their station to take advantage of their new General Class privileges. Our planned activities are outlined in the chart above. Most will be hands-on in small groups of 10 or less so we can answer questions and demonstrate how to have fun with Ham Radio. Ham Bootcamp will take place from 9 am to noon on Saturday and will accommodate up to 100 HamXposition attendees on a first-come-first-served basis.  We will also provide a $5 discount coupon to all Ham Bootcampers to use toward one of the kits that are included in our kit building activity at HamXposition.

Kit Building Plans

HamXposition @ Boxboro
Morse Tutor Kit

The popular Morse Tutor kit will be back again this year and we’ll have folks on hand as well equipment so that folks can build their kit and get it working at the show. You can find more about our Morse Tutor kit here.

We will be adding a second kit at our kit build – a 70 cm ground plane antenna. This is an antenna that you can build and use to help your HT or base rig get out better on the 70 cm band. We’ll have an analyzer and folks who can help you to tune your antenna for the best operation after you complete your kit.

Forum Presentations

NARS Forum Presentations

The Nashua Area Radio Society has had a pretty amazing year and we will have the opportunity to share some of our experiences at HamXposition via forum presentations. You can see the topics for our planned presentations above.

We Need Your Help

NARS HamXposition Teams

HamXposition is an important undertaking for us and for the northeastern Amateur Radio Community as a whole. We need your help to plan and execute our plans. Please reach out to Dave, Jerry, Scott or myself and join our HamXposition Team. It will be a lot of fun and a rewarding change to give back to the northeastern Amateur Radio Community.

Fred, AB1OC

Activities, Featured, General, Newsletter, Youth Activities

NARS August Activities

We have a busy month of activities coming up in August. Our monthly Club Breakfast will be held on Saturday, August 10th at 8:30 am at the Dream Diner in Tyngsboro.

The following weekend we will hold what has become our annual trip to activate Mount Washington on Saturday, August 17th. We will activate Mount Washington for Summits on the Air (SOTA) and Mount Washington State Park for Parks on the Air (POTA).

We have had members get to the top almost every possible way there is. We’ve had members hike up – this is a very strenuous climb and takes about 4 hours, one way. We’ve had some members come up on the Cog Railway.  It is the steepest rack railway in the US and 2nd steepest in the world! Reservations are recommended. There is also a Steam Punk Festival taking place on the 17th as well.

August Activities
The Mount Washington Cog Railway

We also have had members make the strenuous hike up the mountain. This is quite a hike and will take you close to 4 hours to reach the top. If you are interested in hiking up please get in touch with Jamey, AC1DC at [email protected].

Connor, KC1GGX arriving at the peak!

The final way up is to drive the Mount Washington Auto Road.  The Mount Washington Auto Road offers a one of a kind experience with spectacular views. If you’re not comfortable with heights or narrow mountain roads you can also take a guided tour on one of the Mount Washington vans.

A Stop along the Auto Road

We’ll plan to arrive at the peak around 10:00 am and set up and then operate as long as the weather permits. Please contact Jamey, AC1DC via email at [email protected] if you are planning on attending.

After hiking up the mountain on Saturday, Fred, AB1OC and Anita, AB1QB will host the ARRL’s Rookie Roundup for RTTY. Anyone licensed under three years or anyone that has not made a RTTY contact may join in the fun. The contest begins at 2 pm local time and runs until 8 pm. If you are interested in participating please contact Anita at [email protected].

Jim, K1BRM operating in the Rookie Roundup RTTY - August Activities
Jim, K1BRM operating in the Rookie Roundup RTTY

Finally, we will also have our Club’s Family Picnic on Saturday, August 24th at Greeley Park in Nashua. This will run from 11 am until 4 pm. We have a potluck lunch. Members can sign up to bring a dish on our Google Sheets page. We’ll have some foxes (hidden transmitters) out and may try a satellite contact with a hand held and yagi antenna. Bring your family and friends and come enjoy an afternoon with the club!

August Activities
Club Picnic

We have a lot going on in August and I hope to see you at one or all of the events we have scheduled!

Jamey, AC1DC

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide