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, General, Newsletter, Space, Youth Activities

High Altitude Balloon Project Update #1

I just wanted to take a moment and update everyone on our progress on our High Altitude Balloon project.

Our fundraising efforts are complete and were very successful thanks to the generosity of our members and many friends.

We have secured support from two area high schools for our project Merrimack HS and Bishop-Guertin HS. Currently, we have a total of 10 – 12 young people who have joined our project.

High Altitude Balloon Classroom Topics
High Altitude Balloon Classroom Topics

With help from local teachers, we have developed a curriculum and classroom materials to help the teachers we are working with to deliver classroom sessions on the science behind high altitude balloons and the associated radio technologies. The classroom instruction began with a session at Merrimack High School this week.

We have purchased the balloon kit and supporting electronics and we are planning a session to test everything later this week.

Our planned launch date at this time is on May 13th. We are also planning an open house at AB1OC/AB1QB’s QTH the week before the launch to allow the students to test their balloon and to learn more about Amateur Radio.

We’ll post more here as the project progresses.

Again, thank you all very much for supporting our work.

Fred, AB1OC on behalf of the HAB Team

Activities, Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Youth Activities

Our High Altitude Balloon Project Meets Its Funding Goal!

We met with teachers and kids in a STEM club at a second local school this afternoon. The teachers and kids are very excited about our project!

We are working on bringing an additional school on board.

STEM Learning Syllabus for HAB Project
STEM Learning Syllabus for HAB Project

We are also working with teachers in our partner schools to develop a syllabus that combines in-classroom lessons with hands-on learning to plan, build and launch our High-Altitude Balloon carrying Amateur Radio. Our team is also planning a tour of a local Amateur Radio station and other activities for the kids. We hope to reinforce the STEM learning aspects of our project this way. This should also spark further interest in Amateur Radio.

Funding For Our Project

We have met our initial funding goal for our project! Many thanks for the very generous donations from club members, member families and support from folks who found us via the internet. Stories about our project have been featured on qrz.com and eham.net and we have received support and well wishes from many HAMs via those sites.

We are hoping to raise more than our goal. If this happens, we will be able to invest in additional equipment. We will then also add some more science experiments to our balloon flight.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped us!!

Fred, AB1OC

Activities, Education and Training, General, Homebrewing, Newsletter, On The Air, Space, Youth Activities

Our January Visit to MakeIt Labs!

The highly publicized event — the event of the month — went off with a bang! On Jan. 28th, the Nashua Area Radio Club paid a visit to MakeIt Labs to promote Amateur Radio with maker folks. It’s a natural union if you think about. Technologists/scientists/engineers/self-taught DIY’sters and amateur radio folk are essentially one in the same beast. So why shouldn’t they be interested?

Brian (AB1ZO) and Mike (AB1YK) discussing details of Mike's home-brewed transceiver at MakeIt Labs
Brian (AB1ZO) and Mike (AB1YK) discussing details of Mike’s home-brewed transceiver

We had a super great turn out from many in the club and those external to the club or from MakeIt Labs itself. Representing the Nashua Area Radio Club, we had Fred (AB1OC), Anita (AB1QB), Jamey (KC1ENX), Abby (KC1FFX), Connor (KC1GGX), Brian (AB1ZO), Mike Struzik (AB1YK), Bill (W1TWO), Mike Ryan (K1WVO), Mike Rush (KU1V), and Tom (AB1NS) (Forgive me if I forgot you).

Fred (AB1OC) explaining the nuances of digital operation to a young, budding Ham at MakeIt Labs
Fred (AB1OC) explaining the nuances of digital operation to a young, budding HAM.

The idea was to set up the every-popular GOTA station, but also demonstrations of other amateur radio technology to hook the masses with. As a result, we had Fred’s digital amateur TV station, a tabletop satellite station, and Mike Struzik brought along his home-brewed BitX20 transceiver complete with plans, schematics, and a demo keyer. (Talk to Mike for further details/websites. He’s awesome about answering questions and exposing people to what they need to do to get started.)

A view of the satellite station at MakeIt Labs
A view of the satellite station

We spent a solid 6-7 hours at the facility, even roping in some new interest from folks who happened to see our advertisements for the event both online and in stores/businesses around Nashua. It’s clear that word is spreading about the work that the Nashua Area Radio Club is trying to do; we are engendering interest slowly, but steadily. Essentially, the trend is upwards.

Close-up of Mike's (AB1YK) home-brewed BitX20 transceiver at MakeIt Labs
Close-up of Mike’s (AB1YK) home-brewed BitX20 transceiver

We hope that down the road, we can enjoy a lasting partnership with MakeIt Labs and encourage more members of our club to drop in, see the facility, hang-out for a bit, and explain to new folks about how this hobby is damn close to one of the best hobbies out there!

Fred's (AB1OC) DATV station at MakeIt Labs
Fred’s (AB1OC) DATV station

So, until next time, and until my next posting (and hopefully that one will be a bit witty’er — didn’t have enough coffee today), make sure you eat, sleep, “repeat”! (That’s what my t-shirt says that my wife bought me)

Brian, AB1ZO

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide