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.
Every now and again one comes across a piece of Ham Radio History. Anita and I had this experience recently during our vacation in Florida. For example, we can across an artifact that we had heard about from Charle, W1CBD but had never actually seen during a recent visit to Florida.
Pretty Basic HT Transceiver
This is a Motorola MX-340. This radio was a 5w UHF (or sometimes VHF) FM rig that was popular for commercial applications in the 1970s. You can learn more about the rig here.
A Very Special HT Transceiver
So I bet you are wondering “What makes this old HT so special? Why is it a piece of Ham Radio History?”. Well, here’s a hint – it flew aboard this:
Space Shuttle Atlantis On Display At The Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Yup, the little HT flew aboard the Space Shuttle. Here’s more about our little HTs role via an excerpt from Wikipedia :
Ham Radio has been a STEM learning tool for a very long time. An early example of this was the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) program. SAREX was a partnership between NASA, ARISS, and the ARRL. Its success in bringing Ham Radio to schools and other educational venues led, in part, to the creation of ARISS.
How All Of This Effects NARS
HMS Students Talking to the ISS
And ARISS, of course, has provided NARS the opportunity to be part of bringing contacts with astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to schools here in New Hampshire, around the United States, and around the world.
There are many such examples of Ham Radio History that resulted in great things for many people. Perhaps you know of one? If so, please consider taking writing about it here on our Blog.
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?
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
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…
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
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
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:
WRTC-like weighting will be used to equalize contest scores
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!
After our contact, I decided to become an ARISS Mentor so I could help other schools make contacts with astronauts aboard the ISS.
Dave Jordan AA4KN – Senior ARISS Mentor
I spent the last year working with Dave Jordan, AA4KN to learn how the ARISS program works and how to help schools make successful ISS contacts. Dave did a great job coaching me as I worked with Council Rock H.S. South in Holland, PA to prepare for their ISS Contact.
The Team At Council Rock H.S. South
Council Rock ISS Contact Team Members
I got to know many great folks as part of Council Rock’s ISS contact. Jerry Fetter, K3OHI (upper right in the photo above) was the teacher who led the preparations for the contact. The folks in the photo above are leaders in the Warminster Amateur Radio Club. These folks worked closely with Jerry and the students at Council Rock to make the school’s ISS contact happen.
Contact Preparations
Members of the Warminster Amateur Radio Club worked with Jerry and the students at the school to get the school’s ground station ready for the contact. They also helped the student members of the Council Rock H.S. Amateur Radio Club complete all of the preparations for their contact.
Main and Backup Ground Stations
They put together two space communications ground stations, a main and a backup, and tested them prior to setting them up in the school’s auditorium just before contact day.
Council Rock Amateur Radio Club
Council Rock Students Ready for their ISS Contact
Council Rock H.S. South has an active Amateur Radio Club and student members of the club led all of the preparations for their ISS contact including creating an online presence to promote their contact with members of TV, print, and radio media.
Contact Day – Pre-Contact Presentation
Council Rock’s Contact took place on Thursday, December 5th, 2019.
Council Rock ISS Contact Audience
Students, Teachers, Parents, and Guests began filling the school’s auditorium just after noon local time. There were an estimated 900 people in the room when the contact event began.
Pre-Contact Presentation by Jerry Fetter, K3OHI
Jerry began the event with an amazing video about the exploration of space. You can view the video below.
Exploration of Space Video
Jerry went on to explain all that went into his school’s ISS contact and he thanked all of the students, Warminster Amateur Radio Club members, ARISS, and others who helped to make their contact possible.
Laura Floyd, KC3GWL Establishing Contact with Astronaut Drew Morgan Aboard the ISS
Jerry next introduced Laura Floyd, KC3GWL. Laura is a Council Rock H.S. South graduate. Laura founded the school’s Amateur Radio Club while she was a student at Council Rock.
Laura contacted Jerry about a year ago and asked if she could work with him to apply for and hold an ISS Contact at the school. Laura did all of the work to prepare Council Rock’s ARISS successful ISS contact application and she was the operator who initiated the school’s contact with Drew Morgan aboard the ISS.
Making Contact with the ISS
Astronaut Drew Morgan, KI5AAA
Laura established contact with Drew aboard the ISS right on time (12:56 pm eastern time). Each of the students was able to ask and receive an answer from Drew to their questions. The ISS pass lasted a little over 10 minutes with a total of 11 questions being asked and answered by Drew before the ISS set over the horizon.
Livestream Video of Council Rock ISS Contact (Intro begins at 11:50, contact at 30:00)
Students live-streamed video of their contact to Facebook. You can view the pre-contact presentation and the actual contact via the video above (the contact introduction begins about at about 11:50 in the video and contact with the ISS begins at about 30:00; don’t forget to turn on the audio).
Listening In – A STEM Learning Experience
Students in VA Listening In With Their Teacher, Kathy Lamont, KM4TAY
Kathy Lamont, KM4TAY worked along with Dave Jordan and me as an Education Mentor for the Council Rock ISS contact. Kathy enabled a group of her students in VA to listen in on the Council Rock ISS contact downlink. This sort of experience encourages students to pursue interests in STEM learning and Amateur Radio.
Local Media was Out In Force
ISS Contact Newspaper Article
Members of the school’s Amateur Radio Club also handled securing media coverage of their contact. As a result of some excellent work by the students, there were three local TV stations, three local newspaper reporters, and a broadcaster from a local radio station present to cover their contact.
Final Thoughts
Council Rock H.S. ARC and Warminster ARC Members
As I sit here writing this I can’t help but feel very fortunate to have made some great friends at Council Rock. It was an amazing experience sharing in their ISS Contact. I am very proud of the excellent work that the students and teachers at Council Rock did along with the members of the Warminster Amateur Radio Club to make their contact with the ISS a success.
Experiences like this can change young people’s lives for the better. An ISS contact helps students to understand and appreciate the importance of space exploration and communications via Amateur Radio. The students at Council Rock and everyone who supported them can be very proud of what they accomplished and learned.
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