Tag Archives: Education and Training

Activities, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Youth Activities

NARS Activities at HamXposition 2019

September 17, 2019 Fred Kemmerer 1 Comment

The Nashua Area Radio Society was a major part of the New England HamXposition 2019 @ Boxboro again this year. We added some new things including:

Ham Bootcamp – an activity to help Hams to get on the air
An HT Programming Clinic
An Expanded Kit Building Activity – which included a new antenna kit
Forum Presentations about the ISS Crew Contact we did with Hudson Memorial School and our Road To Becoming Club Of The Year
Updates to our Satellite and HF GOTA Stations and Activities

Amateur Radio Expo Display

HamXposition 2019 — NARS Expo Display and Kit Build

Our Expo display grew a bit this year to include an HT Programming Clinic. We also updated several of our display elements to add more hands-on activities.

In particular, we added information on our training programs and the associated Internet Subscription that we launched earlier this year. We also added video and other content from the ISS Crew Contact that we did with Hudson Memorial School late last year.

More Photos from our Amateur Radio Expo Display

Ham Bootcamp

Our main new activity at HamXposition 2019 was Ham Bootcamp. We had a total of 57 folks join us on Saturday morning for 9a – noon to learn about how to put together a station and get on the air.

Bootcamp consisted of two tracks – one for Techs/Perspective Hams and one for Generals. Both were popular with the group pretty evenly split between the two.

Bootcamp included a number of demonstrations and hands-on activities. The photo above shows Dan, AC1EN and Mackenzie, KE1NZY explaining how to get started with Amateur Radio Satellites. The Tech track included:

How to pick an HT and a simple, effective antenna
How to program your radio
How to get started with EchoLink
How to make a QSO – this activity involved having Bootcampers checking into and participate in a practice chat net using HT’s
How to get started with Fox Hunting and Amateur Radio Satellites

Jamey AC1DC, Anita, AB1QB, Abby AB1BY, and Jerry K1OKD covered how to put together a first HF station as part of the General Track. They built a working HF station at Bootcamp and used it to explain and demonstrate making contacts using SSB, CW, and Digital (FT8). The activities in the General track included:

How to put together a basic HF station for SSB, CW, and Digital (FT8)
How to make a QSO on the HF bands
How to pick a simple HF antenna and put it up safely
Operating portable (gear and antennas) – especially important for Hams in HOA and other antenna restricted situations
How to find and work DX and how to QSL
How to go about learning CW

Jerry K1OKD, Andrea KC1JDX, and Patrick W1YTT handled registration and put together a nice graduation package that was personalized for each Bootcamp participant.

We closed Bootcamp with some information on how to go about earning a license or an upgrade along with a walking tour of the vendor area, our expo display, and our GOTAs. This gave folks a chance to ask some additional questions about gear and Amateur Radio activities that they were interested in.

More Photos from Ham Bootcamp

Kit Building

Our Kit Building activity was popular again this year. We build a total of 34 kits during the weekend. Our mentors help the builders learn to solder and to complete their kits. Our Morse Tutor kit was back again this year and was very popular with our builders.

We added a new kit this year – a 70 cm Ground Plane Antenna. We helped folks assemble the new antenna kit at the show and our mentors helped builder tune up their completed antennas. The new kit was very popular and we’re planning to add a 2m Ground Plane Antenna kit for our next kit build.

More Photos from our Kit Building Activity

GOTA Stations

Our GOTA stations were popular again this year. Our GOTA stations served several purposes including:

A chance for folks to get on the air and make HF and Satellite Contacts
A chance to learn how to build stations and operate them
An opportunity to generate on-air interest in youth outreach via our N1T special event operations

We updated our Satellite GOTA Station to include the new Icom IC-9700 transceiver and a more portable antenna system.

There was lots of interest in Amateur Radio satellites and the computer-controlled ground station that we had at HamXposition.

Our HF GOTA station was also popular and we used it to make most of our contacts as N1T.

Our GOTA stations helped to spark interest in Satellite Operations, DX’ing, and HF in general. We secured the N1T special event call (Youth Outreach at HamXposition 2019) again for use with our GOTA stations. We made a total of 303 contacts as N1T during HamXposition.

More Photos from our GOTA Stations

Forum Presentations

We provided two presentations as part of the Forum Program at HamXposition 2019:

You can view a copy of these presentations via the links above.

Thank You NARS Members!

It would be impossible for us to provide a set of activities as extensive as these without a lot of support from our members. The NARs team at HamXposition 2019 consisted of over 30 volunteers who contributed to planning, preparation, and operation of our activities at HamXposition.

A very big THANK YOU to everyone who helped make our contribution to HamXposition a success! Also thanks to Charlie W1CBD and Bob K1OLD, our roving photographers, for all of the great pictures featured in this article!

Additional Photos from HamXposition 2019

Fred, AB1OC

Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Space

ARRL Teachers Institute 2: A Week Devoted to Remote Sensing and Satellite Communication

September 10, 2019 Nashua Area Radio Society 2 Comments

For the second year in a row, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the American Radio Relay League Teacher Institute in Newington, Connecticut. This summer I attended TI – 2 from July 8 – 12^th. Thanks to the generous donations of ARRL members, I was afforded the chance to further explore ways in which I can bring Amateur Radio into the classroom.

The second year of Teacher Institute helped me delve further into Remote Sensing and using radio to bring Space into the classroom. Throughout the week, seven other participants and I were offered the chance to operate W1AW, take tours of the ARRL Headquarters, and learn new ways for us to bring HAM radio alive for students.

Over the course of the week, Instructor Matt Severin brought participants through building a remote sensing buoy using an Arduino and sensors that included GPS, Pressure, Altitude, and Temperature. Participants programmed their buoy to relay information through the APRS system. Using a Yaesu FT-60R and 12-volt battery, the buoys were set outside overnight. Each participant’s buoy sent over 20 hours of data through APRS. Participants then copied the data into Excel and created several graphs that showed the change in temperature inside and outside the buoy over the course of time. We were also able to see the health of the battery and other measurements over the course of the same time. I believe one use for my new buoy will allow me to have students utilize local data while studying statistics in mathematics class.

Participants also explored how amateur radio could easily be brought into the classroom through the use of SDR radio. By connecting an SDR to a laptop in conjunction with the program HDSDR I was able to hear local radio stations, the NOAA weather updates, and packets being transmitted through the air.

The item that I found most exciting was the use of our new Arrow Antennas to make satellite contacts. During the course of the week, participants went outside of headquarters several times to attempt contacts through SO – 50, AO 91, and AO-92. Being rather new to ham radio, I found this very challenging as the airways on a good pass are very noisy. I also discovered that I am far too polite to interrupt others. To get over this, myself and another participant took our radio and Arrow antennas back to the hotel and attempted a contact in the early morning. I am pleased to report that I was able to make my first satellite contact on SO-50 at 7:10 am in the morning. Okay, I stand corrected. It was really my second satellite contact since I did get to contact the International Space Station with my students last December.

Another thing I found interesting was using my Arrow and SDR radio to collect data packets from the passing satellites. On one pass AO-91 turned on its picture transmission so that we could attempt to collect the packets. I was able to collect 6 of the packets but did not get a picture. We then looked at the telemetry that we were able to collect from the satellites.

On the last day, we once again used the APRS system. This time we used the MAREA protocol to send commands to the same Arduino robots that we built last year. With a few extra pieces we were able to send our robots’ instructions to move forward, backward, left, and right. The MAREA protocol was a great demonstration of how NASA controls rovers that have been sent to the moon and Mars.

I would like to thank all of those ARRL members whose contributions made these two years of professional development possible. I will remember this forever. It was even more special to me as the first day of this workshop landed on a day that many others dread. I turned 40 on July 8^th. While I was not with my family, I gained a whole new family of educator friends that I know will continue to support each other as we bring Amateur Radio to a whole new generation. Thank you, Ally, Kris, ARRL, and the Nashua Area Radio Club Members who continue to support me through my continued discovery of Amateur Radio.

Dan, AC1EN

Activities, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Youth Activities

Ham Bootcamp

September 1, 2019 Fred Kemmerer

Ham Bootcamp includes a series of demonstrations and tutorials designed to help prospective and newly licensed Technician, General, and Extra class license holders get on the air and use their amateur radio license. It is also a great opportunity for prospective hams who are interested in seeing what the hobby has to offer.Our Bootcamp activities are provided online via a series of sessions geared towards Technicians and prospective Hams and General class licenses and higher Hams. Bootcamp participants will find all of this material interesting and fun no matter what their focus or license level.

We are continuing to provide our Bootcamp program during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are providing Ham Bootcamp in an online format using Zoom. Our online Ham Bootcamp program is available to all licensed and prospective Hams in North America. Please contact us to sign up for our next online Ham Bootcamp via email to [email protected].

Repeaters and VHF/UHF Session Activities

Putting together a Station for Repeaters – How to pick an HT or Mobile Radio and an Antenna
Radio Programming Tutorial
Getting started with EchoLink
Making Contacts and Joining a Repeater Net
Getting Started with Amateur Radio Satellites
Getting started with Fox Hunting

HF Session Activities

Putting together an HF Station for SSB, CW, and Digital
Picking and putting up an HF Antenna, Feedline, and Ground
Operating on the HF bands using SSB Voice
Software and setup for Logging Contacts via your computer
Getting started with WSJT-X and FT8 Digital
Finding DX and QSL’ing – Getting them in the log and confirmed

… and more!

Virtual Ham Radio Shopping Trip

Join us for a guided tour of all of the gear and goodies that are available to build or expand your station.
Ask questions and get answers from NARS experts on what gear might be best for your situation.
We provide the Virtual Shopping Trip via a follow-on Zoom session shortly after Bootcamp. Information on how to join us for this event will be shared at our next Bootcamp session.

Articles About Ham Bootcamp

Are you interested in learning more about our Ham Bootcamp program? We’ve written quite a few articles about Bootcamp here on our Blog. You can read them via this link. Also, check out the article about a recent Ham Bootcamp at the New England HamXposition.

Bootcamp has also been featured in the October 2020 edition of QST Magazine. You can view the article here.

Sign Up for Ham Bootcamp

Don’t miss this twice a year opportunity to learn more about Amateur Radio, improve your station, expand your skills, and get on the air.

Our Fall 2020 Ham Bootcamp session will be held online via Zoom on Saturday, November 7th from 10 am – 6 pm Eastern Time.

See you at Ham Bootcamp! You can contact us to sign up for our next Bootcamp via email to [email protected].

Support Ham Bootcamp

The Nashua Area Radio Society provides many training and skills development activities for new Hams and Young People. We also have many programs to enable folks young and old alike to join the Amateur Radio service. Please consider supporting our programs and our work by making a donation via the GoFundMe campaign which follows.

The Nashua Area Radio Society is a 501c(3) non-profit charity.

Fred, AB1OC

Amateur Radio Expo Display

More Photos from our Amateur Radio Expo Display

Ham Bootcamp

More Photos from Ham Bootcamp

Kit Building

More Photos from our Kit Building Activity

GOTA Stations

More Photos from our GOTA Stations

Forum Presentations

Thank You NARS Members!

Additional Photos from HamXposition 2019

Repeaters and VHF/UHF Session Activities

HF Session Activities

Virtual Ham Radio Shopping Trip

Articles About Ham Bootcamp

Sign Up for Ham Bootcamp

Support Ham Bootcamp

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide