Tag Archives: CW

Activities, CW and QRP, Education and Training, General, Homebrewing

Upcoming Tech Night Suggestions Forum

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At our most recent Tech Night meeting on Sept 12, at the end of the meeting, Fred (AB1OC) asked Brian (AB1ZO) to list a few of the upcoming tech night events.

One such event would be to host a kit-building tech night. Plans are in the works to secure Pixie QRP kits (which run in cost from $3-$13) or some variant of this and assemble the kits during the allocated time. It’s expected that more experienced HAMs can mentor newbies in endeavors such as these.

Secondly, an informal poll was asked of members in attendance regarding the types of topics that would be of general interest. These included:

  • Low-band antenna discussion: Due to the decreasing sunspot activity, “40m is becoming the new 20m”. What options to HAMs have to get on the lower bands, particularly if you are real-estate limited?
  • Receiver vs Transmit antenna discussion — options for both
  • High-frequency terrain analysis (HFTA) in order to better understand propagation effects of one’s signal
  • Making sense of the influence of sunspot activity on amateur radio in general. Some energy, for example, could be dedicated to interpreting the sunspot GUI that appears on the website after login and understanding the science of the ionosphere.
  • Working more with test-equipment kits and how to use them. This may include oscilloscopes, spectrum and network analyzers, frequency counters, signal generators, building CW paddles/keyers, and soldering kits.
  • Using RTL-SDR dongles (or again some variant) and using them in small DIY projects that we could potentially complete in the allotted time.

I do want to say a few other things:

  1. Since our club is growing, and many new people are joining, I do want to stress that it is important that sometimes we “recycle” old Tech night topics in an effort to better educate our newer members. In this capacity, I would again hope that veteran members could help train younger ones. For example, I cannot solder to save my life. I would love some training during a surface-mounting tech night (since I couldn’t make the last one) and have someone experience show me the ropes.
  2. Many of you are working on interesting projects at home. No matter how small or large you think it is, I am 100% certain there are a group of people within the club who would like to hear what you have to say. So if you would like to present at Tech Night something you have been working on, please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected].
  3. I also want to solicit your feedback on this blog as well as my email for any other topics. The more suggestions we have the merrier! It’s important we adequately represent the interests of as many members of the group as we can.

In the coming weeks, I will start to construct a more concrete list of potential Tech Night topics, but help me — help you 🙂 Thanks for reading and see you on-the-air.

Best and 73,
Brian (AB1ZO)

Activities, CW and QRP, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter

Learning Morse Code – Our CW Training Classes Have Begun

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A Big Thanks To Our Morse Code Instructor Team – Layne, AE1N, Mike, K1WVO, Dennis, K1LGQ and Wayne, KB1HYL.

The Nashua Area Radio Club has begun teaching a Morse Code training class on Saturday, July 16th 2016.  The class was created in response to interest in learning Morse Code, expressed by several club members who are drawn to this unique mode of communication.   While this unique skill-set is no longer a licensing requirement it continues to be a long standing practice enjoyed by may radio amateurs worldwide.  Numerous groups and organizations exit to encourage and promote the practice of communications using Morse code such as FISTS; North American QRP CW club (NAQCC); CW Operators Club (CWops); and the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC). Also, you can learn more about Morse Code and CW operation on our website here.

Morse Code - Dennis K1LGQ: "didit dah dah didit"
Dennis K1LGQ: “didit dah dah didit”

The use of Morse Code is one of the simplest ways of modulating a Continuous Wave (CW) RF carrier by generating characters composed of a series of “dits and dahs” to create a message.  Most QRP (low power) operators favor CW operation because of its low circuit complexity, lightweight (for portable operation) and extreme efficiency.  A limited number of amateur radio operators find great satisfaction in operating using Morse Code aka CW as their only mode.

Morse Code - Mike K1WVO 'Practice Practice Practice ...'
Mike K1WVO ‘Practice Practice Practice …’

The Nashua Area Radio Club Code course employs the Chuck Adams – K7QO, training CD.  Chuck’s course is available for download free of charge and is well-organized with over 500 audio MP3 files to help learn and improve your skill levels.  Our class encourages following K7QO’s guidelines and instructions to develop good CW habits that avoid the later roadblocks to greater speed and proficiency.  Our class has introduced a few variations to Chuck K7QO’s training plan with a couple of special CW practice quizzes that help keep the classroom fun and more interesting.  The G4FON software trainer utility has added to the fun with background noise, QRM and QSB listening challenges, which adds a taste of real CW operation.  Learning and gaining proficiency with Morse Code requires practice, practice, practice.  The K7QO training MP3 files can be listened to with a PC, MP3 player or in many of the newer car CD players.

Morse Code Keys - From the $2 Paperclip to $440 Bengali Key
From the $2 Paperclip to a $440 Bengali Key

Our training class has provided an opportunity for many of the students to observe several different Morse Code keys.  A couple of students have also brought in some innovative code practice keys that were constructed from some unique household items.  Other students are building a small microcontroller based keyer that can be used with a straight key or a single or dual paddle key for training or use with a transmitter.  The class will continue for a few more weeks and then many of the students will be ready to try their first on the air CW QSO.  Each on the air QSO will help grow their CW skills and is ultimately the best form of practice, practice, practice.

Mike, K1WVO

Activities, CW and QRP, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

2016 Summer Activities!

The Nashua Area Radio Club has a lot going on this summer!

Examples of CW Keys at Our First CW Training Class
Examples of CW Keys at Our First CW Training Class

First, our CW Training Classes have begun. We held our first class last Saturday at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Nashua, NH.

CW Training Class Details
CW Training Class Details

These classes are being held on Saturday mornings and are open to all Club Members and it’s not too late to join. You can find more about the classes in our CW and QRP Forum and on our calendar here on our website.

Saint-Gaudens NHS
Saint-Gaudens NHS

We also completed the first of our planned NPOTA activations at Saint-Gaudens NHS recently. We had a lot of fun and made a bunch of contacts. You can read all about our activation here. We are planning a second activation at Saint-Gaudens NHS on August 7th. You can find more about it in Aron’s article on our Blog and on our Calendar.

2016 ARRL Rookie Roundup RTTY Information
2016 ARRL Rookie Roundup RTTY Information

Don’t forget the ARRL Rookie Roundup RTTY which is coming up on August 21st. Fred, AB1OC and I will again be hosting a multi-op entry in this contest. It’s open to all of our members who have earned their first Amateur Radio License in the last three years. We will be scheduling a training and practice session before the contest. We will announce the details in the Member’s Forum here on our website. You can read about our ARRL Rookie Roundup SSB entry here on our blog.

Nashua Area Radio Club Summer Picnic
Nashua Area Radio Club Summer Picnic

Finally, don’t forget our upcoming club picnic on Saturday, August 27th (the rain date is Sunday, August 28). This will a potluck picnic and social gathering for our club. Bring your whole family and meet the families and friends of our club members. Our picnic will be held at Greeley Park in Nashua, NH. You find directions and information about the park on our club calendar.

Please contact me at [email protected] for more information on any of our summer activities. We hope to see you at these events throughout the summer!

73,

Anita, AB1QB

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide