Tag Archives: Education and Training

Activities, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter

September 2020 Membership Renewals

Close to 40% of our members are up for renewal in the month of September.  We encourage those members to renew early,  beat the rush, and make sure your membership does not expire.  This article will show you how to tell when your membership is up for renewal. It will also show you how to renew your NARS membership online.

When is My Membership Due for Renewal?

Looking up my Membership Status
Looking up my Membership Status

You can visit the following page to see when your membership is up for renewal: https://www.n1fd.org/member-directory/.   Scroll to the 2nd table on the page, titled Membership Roster and Status, put your callsign in the search box, and hit return.  As you can see above, I have looked up my membership status and I see that my membership is expiring in September 2021.

Renewal Form
Renewal Form

How to Renew Your Membership

To renew your membership, the first step is to log in to N1FD.org.  Once you are logged in, you can fill out the membership renewal form on the following page:  https://www.n1fd.org/renew-your-membership/.  At the end of the form, you will be asked to pay your membership fee using PayPal.

We have multiple membership renewal options to choose from if you qualify, with the following yearly fees.  Make sure you take advantage of a discounted rate if you qualify:

  • Regular Membership:  $31
  • Senior Membership (Age 65 or over): $26
  • Full-Time Student: $26
  • Family Membership: $46
Field Day 2019 Team

Your membership allows you to participate in all of our activities including:

HAB-3 Students and Teachers - Ready to Launch
HAB-3 Students and Teachers – Ready to Launch

Your membership in the Nashua Area Radio Society also supports our education and youth outreach work including:

  • Amateur Radio Licensing class delivery and scholarships for students, teachers, and young people
  • STEM Education for school students through Amateur Radio (ex. our High-Altitude Balloon program)
  • Activities to introduce young people and new Hams to Amateur Radio such as ARRL Kids Day, ARRL Rookie Roundup, and other youth outreach activities

If you are not yet a member, you can join the Nashua Area Radio Society online at https://www.n1fd.org/join-us/

Anita, AB1QB

Membership Chairperson

Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Station Equipment

Tech Night – Getting Started In EME Communications

We recently did a Tech Night Program about Getting Started in EME Communications (Moonbounce). I wanted to share the presentation and video from this Tech Night so that our readers might learn more about EME…

Source: Tech Night – Getting Started In EME Communications

I wanted to share the presentation from our recent Tech Night on Getting Started in EME Communications. You can view the presentation and the video via the link above. Members can log in and find this and other Tech Night videos and presentations on our Tech Night page here.

The link also provides a path to learn about the design and construction of a new 2m EME station that Anita and I are building.

Fred, AB1OC

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

A Day Of Firsts For ARISS

Last Thursday, April 30th, 2020  was a day of firsts for the ARISS program and for us here. The COVID-19 situation has forced changes to be made in the way that schools and other groups contact astronauts onboard the ISS. The pandemic has also made it impossible to access many of the ARISS telebridge stations worldwide.

We hosted the first ARISS arranged Multi-Point Telebridge contact with students in the Northern VA School Group and Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR aboard the ISS. The contact was a success and we learned a great deal as we provided in a new format for ARISS contacts.

ARISS First #1 – We’re A New Telebridge Station

Firsts for ARISS - Ready for Our ISS Contact
Ready for Our ISS Contact

We added Telebridge capability to our space communications ground station here in New Hampshire. This involved adding a telephone patch capability to our station and a UPS to the power supply for our station. With all of the tests complete and the station preparation checked one last time before our schedule contact, we were ready!

ARISS First #2 – New Multi-Point Telebridge Format for ARISS

The COVID-19 situation is preventing most schools from assembling in a group for their contacts with the ISS. ARISS created a new, Multi-Point Telebridge format which allows students and their teacher to participate in a contact with an astronaut aboard the ISS from their homes. The new format created additional audio and coordination challenges among the students who participated in our contact.

We practiced the new format with the students multiple times before our actual contact. As a result, the students did a great job during their contact.

ARISS First #3 – Inaugural ARISS YouTube Livestream

With the help of Steve Rys, KB1VYD, ARISS created a live, multi-sourced video feed of the pre-contact program and the actual contact with the ISS.

Firsts for ARISS - Pre-Contact Program
Pre-Contact Program (Playing on the laptop in the foreground)

The live stream included audio from our station, the Moderator for the contact (John Kludt, K4SQC), Chris on-board the ISS, the students, and Kathy Lamont, KM4TAY, their teacher.

ISS Contact Livesream to YouTube

The video portion of the program included videos that explained how the contact was arranged and works, a live video of our antennas as they tracked the ISS, the student’s questions, and a view of the ISS track as it passed overhead.

The live YouTube video stream went extremely well and was well received by over 300 viewers during our contact making it the most widely enjoyed firsts for ARISS on this day.

First #4 – Chris Cassidy’s First Contact From The ISS

First for ARISS - Our Astronaut, Chris Cassady
Our Astronaut, Chris Cassady, KF5KDR

The Northern VA School Group contact was Chris’ first from aboard the ISS. Chris had trained for the contact on the ground before his flight to the ISS.

Unbeknownst to Chris and the rest of us, there had been a reconfiguration of the radio equipment we would be using for our contact on the ISS. As a result of this, Chris had trouble getting the Amateur Radio for our contact going on the ISS. We did not make contact with him until some time after the ISS was over our location.

Calling the ISS
Calling the ISS for our contact

Once we got the problem sorted out, Chris came through loud and clear. He was able to answer several of the student’s questions before the ISS disappeared over the horizon.

What Comes Next

Our contact proved the effectiveness of the new ARISS Multi-point Telebridge format. It also proved-in the operation of our Telebridge Station here in New Hampshire. This was a great outcome given all of the Firsts for ARISS that were involved.

Additional Telebridge stations around the world will be hosting school contacts using the new format in the near future. We are looking forward to continuing to support the ARISS program via additional Teleridge contacts from our station.

Fred, AB1OC