Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I’ve suggested in the past that breakfasts, POTA/SOTA and other events be entered in the website’s CALENDAR along with the meetings and 10M nets but was given a vague answer that, in my mind, amounted to “it’s not convenient” to do that.
Hi Peter, From my experience, getting your antenna feedpoint up closer to 33 feet (~1 wavelength on 10M) will likely improve both reception and transmission (all things being equal). If you can only raise one end, but the feedpoint height remains static, you may not see that much of an improvement though. However, experimentation is the key to having fun and finding out what really works for your situation (or not). Now that we have a foot of snow on the ground, it is the perfect time to be doing antenna work!
Let us know how you make out!
73,
Matt, WE1H
Thank you to everyone that has completed the survey thus far! We’ve gotten some great feedback. If you have not yet done so, and would like to complete the survey, there is still time. The survey is open until 18 March.
You can find the survey here: https://www.n1fd.org/2023-member-interest-survey/
73,
Matt Atwood, WE1H
Membership ChairI am passing this message from the BAA and ARRL on to NARS members:
The Boston Marathon Amateur Radio team is still in need of about 50 additional volunteers to fill our nearly 300 assignments. The BAA volunteer registration deadline is this Friday, February 10 at 5:00 PM EST. The Boston Marathon will be taking place on Monday, April 17, 2023.
If you are still undecided, we encourage you to register now; you can discuss any questions you may have with us and if you decide this is not for you this year you can withdraw between now and the end of March.
If you had an experience last year that has not made you want to return this year, please reach out and we will do our best to make it right. We want every volunteer to enjoy their race day experience, but we understand that sometimes things happen.
If you have not previously volunteered and want to chat about what we do, what is expected of us, and what equipment you might need, please do not hesitate to drop us an email.
NOTE: The BAA will not have any specific COVID policies this year for vaccination or testing.
Registration Link (for new and returning volunteers):
BAA registration can be accessed via the BAA web site specifically in the “Athletes’ Village” section.
https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/volunteer/volunteer-registration
Step by Step Sign Up Guide:
If you have any questions about the upcoming volunteer registration period, or the 2023 Marathon generally, please get in touch anytime.
Volunteering at the Marathon is a big job, and we appreciate the time and effort everyone puts into it. We’re happy to do what we can to make your work fun, comfortable, and effective.
We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.
Thank you, and 73,
Boston Marathon Communications Committee [email protected]
Please make sure to whitelist [email protected] and [email protected] to make sure you receive BAA and ARO committee communications.
Mailing address is:
BAA Amateur Radio Communications Committee
185 Dartmouth Street
6th Floor
Boston, MA 02116
Add us to your address book.
Well this is interesting (but not good)… the WFD website has been updated recently to include a different rule set than the PDF we were working from had (and for the life of me, I cannot find a link to the PDF on the current site, but I have the PDF). I (and the rest of the NARS group who met several times in prep for the event) were referencing the PDF available on the WFD site as of 11 Nov, which stated:
“Modes: CW, Phone (includes SSB, AM, FM, DMR, C4FM, etc. If the end result is voice, it’s
Phone), and Digital (includes PSK, RTTY, Olivia, Packet, SSTV, ATV, JS8Call and other soundcard modes. If the end result is text or a picture, it’s digital).”. Nothing in the rules prohibited FT8.I recognize that they, as the sponsors, get to make the rules (and I think, given the context of the event, their reasoning is sound as to the ruling on FT8), but the level of confusion created by some of the “last minute” changes that they made (including how points are scored, according to the developers of N1MM) is pretty high. It is unfortunate that this is the case. The prohibition against FT8 should have been in the rules available in Nov (IMHO). I hope none of our members get bit by this fact (although I am pretty sure some did).
I did not work any FT8 myself, but worked PSK31, CW, and SSB (mostly CW). I ran 1H from my home on commercial power at 100W. I had a boatload of fun and made 500+ Q’s in about 11 hours. ARRL FD has been my favorite operating activity since I got licensed, so I assumed that this would be right up there. It was. I’ll enjoy it more if I get to do it outside with other members though. Next year will be in the field either way.
Thanks Patrick, and Fleet for the heads up and the FAQ link!
73,
Matt, WE1H
Matt,
Here is a link to the Winter Field Day site. The FAQ there discusses why FT8 is not a part of WFD.
https://www.winterfieldday.com/resources.php
73, Fleet
Hi Aron,
I am in the same boat! I run Debian 11 on a number of machines that do non-radio related stuff (such as an Apache web server for example), but for Ham Radio, I still run Windows 10. There just isn’t the same quality software out there for Linux (at least not that I have found). I use (and pay support for) Ham Radio Deluxe, which integrates to WSJT-X f0r logging, has Satellite Tracking, and works RTTY as well… all using the same MySQL Database. It up/downloads directly to LoTW, and does a bunch of other things very well… but ONLY on Win 10. There’s nothing that I have found for Linux that even comes close. I like the level of automation that Windoze software provides and don’t want to give it up. I have a few Raspberry PI’s and have used them in the field… but I don’t need the same level of capability as I do at my home station. For that level of need they work great!
I toyed with the idea of writing my own… but that was wayyyy too much work for me 🙂
Seems that like you, I am stuck on Windows for the time being.
73,
Matt