Tag Archives: CW

Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

January 2019 Contesting Notes

Jumpstarting the New Year

The big contests of the Fall are now behind us and the more sedate contests like QSO parties and youth-oriented on-air events begin. This month has five contests worth noting. (For a complete list of contests please see the contest calendar here.)

ARRL RTTY Roundup ~ 1800Z, Jan 5 to 2400Z, Jan 6

If you’re new to digital contesting this is a good place to begin. There are a number of members in the club that could serve as mentors to help you get going. And, Fred AB1OC and Anita AB1QB often host an effort from their station. See also the ARRL Kids Day event below.

Exchange: RST + State/Province

Contest information: http://www.arrl.org/rtty-roundup

ARRL Kids Day ~ 1800Z-2359Z, Jan 5

Here’s your chance to work a lot of young people on the air. And, if you are a young person just getting started, this is a great event to gain confidence.

Exchange: name + age + QTH + favorite color

Contest information: http://www.arrl.org/kids-day

North American QSO Party

CW ~ 1800Z, Jan 12 to 0559Z, Jan 13,

SSB ~ 1800Z, Jan 19 to 0559Z, Jan 20

This is one of my favorite contests. The pace is relaxed, people are friendly, and it is a great way to fill in the blanks on your Worked All States award.

Exchange: NA: Name + (state/DC/province/country)

Contest information: http://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf

Winter Field Day ~ 1900Z, Jan 26 to 1900Z, Jan 27

See the N1FD article here. The NARS club has a big effort planned for this event including multiple transmitters and a collection of antennas for everything from 160m to 10m. Operating will be done from a heated shelter so you can rack up points in comfort! Contact the team leaders for more information.

Exchange: Category (indoor/outdoor/home) and ARRL section.

Contest information: https://www.winterfieldday.com

Bottom of the solar cycle

Even though we are in the solar doldrums don’t get discouraged. The bands are surprisingly good when everybody gets on and enough call CQ. In fact, with the bands a little weak this is a great time to learn how to call CQ and handle callers. You won’t get a big pile-up (because conditions are not great), but you will get people coming back to your call. Be patient and hone your skills during this down part of the cycle. Then you’ll be ready when conditions improve!

Activities, Field Day, General, Newsletter

CW Operators Wanted for Winter Field Day 2019

CQ CQ DE N1FD/WFD K

Winter Field Day 2019 is about two months away. A few of us hardy NARS members are planning to setup an outdoor multi-op station for this event. If you are curious about WFD, Craig, N1SFT, has an excellent summary article. The primary goal of WFD is to gain some hands-on experience with emergency communications in winter conditions. And although our objective is to be safe while having fun during the doldrums of winter, it is a contest nonetheless. And as is the tradition for NARS, we are in-it-to-win-it! Thanks to Charlie, W1CBD, we have a mathematical model for using the allowed band/mode multipliers to take first place. But we’re missing a key ingredient: solid CW operators willing to commit to a few hours to help get the needed QSOs.

Okay, okay, I know what your thinking… are you nuts! It’s cold in January, and snowy too! But not to worry. We have a solid plan for a heated pavilion sheltered from the wind. It’s a short walk on a cleared & treated path from a plowed parking lot. I guarantee you’ll be colder doing holiday shopping than operating from our cozy camp.

We are looking for CW operators who are willing to commit to a few hours starting on January 26, at 2 pm EST. Our goal is at least 12-hours of CW coverage during the 24-hour event. If you’re interested in operating CW for WFD, please contact Jerry, K1OKD (email to ‘jerry at okdoty dot com‘). If you want to help participate with event planning or setup, we can always use more volunteers.

Even if you’re not interested in operating CW, please stop by, make a few digital or phone QSOs, and have some hot cocoa with us. You’ll be glad you did.

73!

Jerry, K1OKD

Activities, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Youth Activities

Sights and Sounds from NETT at Fall NEAR-Fest

The Nashua Area Radio Society recently hosted another Youth Expo as part of the New England Tech Trek (NETT) at Fall NEAR-Fest. Our display featured many hands-on activities and displays.
Fred, AB1OC Introduces Students to Amateur Radio in the NETT Classroom
Fred, AB1OC Introduces Students to Amateur Radio in the NETT Classroom
AB1QB Teaching in NETT Classroom
AB1QB Teaching in the NETT Classroom

There were quite a few students and teachers who attended NETT on Friday. We had a classroom at NETT to introduce the students to Amateur Radio and the activities in our display.

GOTA and Special Event Stations

HF GOTA Fun
HF GOTA Fun – Ira, KC1EMJ hosting
Jon, AC1EV Helps a Student Get On The Air
Jon, AC1EV Helps a Student Get On The Air

We set up three GOTA stations (two remote HF and one Satellite) at NETT. This gave the students a chance to make some Amateur Radio contacts and experience Amateur Radio at NETT.

N1T Youth Expo Special Event QSL Card
N1T Youth Expo Special Event QSL Card

We again hosted an N1T Special Event on the air. All of our GOTA stations used the N1T callsign. Operators and their guests made about 200 contacts as N1T during NEAR-Fest.

Here’s some video from our GOTA operations at NETT.

Learning Morse Code

Learning Morse Code at NETT - Mike, Bill, and jamey are Mentors
Learning Morse Code at NETT – Mike, Bill, and Jamey are Mentors

Our Morse Code activity at NETT was popular. This gave the students to try out Morse Code and learn from our experts!

Satellite Operations

Burns Explaining Satellite Station
Burns WB1FJ Explaining Satellite Operations
Satellite Antennas
Satellite Antennas at NETT

The Portable Satellite Station 3.0 was back again at NETT and Burns, WB1FJ spent quite a bit of time introducing the students and NEAR-Fest attendees to satellites and satellite operating.

Amateur Radio Displays

NARS Display at NETT
NARS Display at NETT

NARS had many displays at NETT and folks who were attended enjoyed learning about many different aspects of Amateur Radio from SOTA, to DXing, to Kits and Computers and more.

Fox Hunting

Jamey, AC1DC hosts a NETT Fox Hunt
Jamey, AC1DC hosts a NETT Fox Hunt

Jamey, AC1DC hosted several Fox Hunts at NETT. I ran into several groups of his Fox Hunters throughout the weekend and they were having great fun!

Kit Building

NETT Kit Building - Mackenzie,KE1NZY and Bill, AB1AV Mentoring
NETT Kit Building – Mackenzie, KE1NZY and Bill, AB1AV Mentoring
Kit Build Fun at NETT
Kit Build Fun at NETT – Craig, N1SFT and his Family having kit fun together!

We hosted another kit build at NETT. The latest version of the Morse Tutor kits was available to build at NETT. Over 20 of these kits were built at NEAR-Fest.

Photos and Video from NETT at NEAR-Fest

The photo gallery above includes some more photos from NETT at NEAR-Fest.

And here’s a video shot by a NEAR-Fest NETT attendee which include many highlights from NETT.

Thank You To All Who Supported NETT!

The NEAR-Fest organizers, attendees, and several of our members either provided matching contributions or generously donated to our fundraising effort to support STEM learning and skills development through Amateur Radio.

Our NEAR-Fest fund drive resulted in raising $2,400 in the two weeks up to and including NEAR-Fest. Thank you very much to all of our donors!

It would be impossible for us to host one of our Youth Expos without the tremendous support of NARS members. Folks stepped up to provide transportation, display setup, hosting for GOTA and display tours and much more during NEAR-Fest. Thank You to everyone for your support!

Also, a special Thank You to our Media Committee for providing the photo and video content featured here.

Fred, AB1OC

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide