You always hear “when all else fails, amateur radio works”. That’s usually referring to some sort of failure to the power grid or normal methods of communication. We don’t usually think about the merits of amateur radio during a global pandemic like we’re going through now. Normal modes of communication work and the grid haven’t gone down, but amateur radio still serves a purpose.
During this pandemic we’re going through when everyone is sheltering inside, social distancing and many of us are out of work and out of our routine amateur radio can serve as a great distraction to all that is going on around us.
This past week amateur radio served this purpose for me. I had recently found out that I was without a job for the first time since I was a kid. It was a little overwhelming, to say the least. I was scheduled as net control for our weekly Sunday night repeater net on the N1IMO/N1IMN repeater system and was feeling pretty stressed out having just got the news that my clubs were shutting down for the foreseeable future. We had a great crowd on the repeater net and it was very calming for me to hear from everyone and how they are coping. It really brought me out of my funk!
I’ve also noticed a spike in activity on the HF bands as people turn to amateur radio for social distraction and news from far away places. If you’re feeling a little blue I would encourage you to get on the air and see how your ham community around the world is doing. It’s a great way to be social from a distance. This is also a great time to hone some skills. If I’ve got to spend more time at home, for now, I might as well use it to bolster my CW skills. Yes, I’ll be the one slowly calling CQ and asking for your call sign multiple times. FT-8 and FT-4, hate it or love it, has also had some great DX lately.
The Nashua Area Radio Society has been very proactive in keeping club members and other amateur radio operators in touch by moving to virtual meetings on Zoom and Facebook Live. Not only are we moving our meetings online, but we’ve added a 40-meter net scheduled after our meetings. At a time when we are practicing social distancing, we are actually increasing our activities and opening up to more people. We’ll also have a fox (hidden transmitter) hunt this week. Get outside and have some fun. No log to sign, just a picture of the fox will be enough to get credit.
We didn’t cancel our Amateur Extra licensing class that was scheduled last week. Instead, we moved to an online class for the first time. Our club also runs a program for newly licensed hams called Ham Radio Boot Camp. We had run two sessions before the pandemic hit with still one to go. Of course, the show must go on! We’ll be holding our third session this week… again, on the online.
During this time of uncertainty, I would encourage all of my fellow amateur radio operators to get on the air. You may need the distraction yourself or you may be providing a much-needed distraction to someone else.
We have lots of great activities coming up this summer for young people and for new and recently upgraded Hams. You can click on one of the links below to find out more about a specific activity that you are interested in or just read on. Our planned activities include:
All of these activities will be great fun for folks who are exploring Amateur Radio or have just gotten their Technician or General Licenses.
High-Altitude Balloon Launch
HAB-3 Students and Teachers – Ready to Launch
We are hoping to launch our High-Altitude Balloon for the fourth time (HAB-4) on an upcoming weekend in June. The launch will take place at the Winchester School at around 11 am. You can use your smartphone, tablet, or computer to track HAB-4 to the edge of space and back. You can learn more about our HAB, our launch plans, and tracking our HAB here.
We are currently monitoring the weather and the jetstream conditions to determine when we are GO for launching HAB-4. Please monitor our Youth Forum for up to date information on HAB-4 and a final decision on when we will launch.
We will be holding our 2019 Field Day at the Hudson Memorial School in Hudson, NH on Saturday, June 22nd and Sunday, June 23rd. We will be building a 14 transmitter station with 4 radio towers starting on Friday and we’ll be on the air from 2 pm on Saturday to 2 pm on Sunday. Everyone is welcome to join us for a tour, to do a Fox Hunt, and to Get On The Air and talk with other Hams. You don’t need a license to participate.
13 Colonies – A Chance To Operate in a Special Event
Each year during the July 4th week (July 1st, 9 am Eastern Time to July 7th, midnight Eastern Time) Amateur Radio operators around the world participate in the Thirteen Colonies Special Event. The idea is to work at least one K2x special event station in each of the states that grew from the original Thirteen Colonies.
The Nashua Area Radio Society operates the New Hampshire stations using the K2K special event call sign during this event. NARS members and guests operate from their home stations as K2K. This is a great way to have fun on the air, learn to operate using voice or digital modes, and practice your operating skills.
We are making our station AB1OC/AB1QB for guests to operate during the Thirteen Colonies Special Event. If you’d like to operate or just come by and listen in and learn, please contact Anita, AB1QB at [email protected].
We hide small radio transmitters during Field Day and on weekends so that folks can track them down using their radios. This activity is called Fox Hunting. All you need is a basic Handy Talky (HT) radio. You don’t need a license to try Fox Hunting.
We will have all the gear as well as experienced Fox Hunters available at Field Day to help you get started. We can also help you learn about and try Fox Hunting during any weekend that our Foxes are out.
Abby, AB1BY, and Jamey, AC1DC Operating during our Chat Net
We hold a weekly Repeater Chat Net every Sunday evening at 7:30 pm Eastern Time. Everyone is welcome to check-in to our nets, hear about upcoming activities, and answer our weekly question. Our question is usually about Ham Radio and gives each person who checks in a chance to share some information about their interests and activities.
NARS Operators and Friends at Mount Washington SOTA/POTA
We have several Summits On The Air (SOTA) activations planned for this summer. These events involve taking our radios to the top of a mountain peak in New Hampshire or Massachusetts to put them on the air and contact other Hams. A 5W Handy Talky (HT) radio is all you need to talk to Hams all over New England from a mountain top!
We will be again holding a Summer Ham Camp and Technician License Class at Hudson Memorial School in Hudson, NH. Our 2019 Summer Ham Camp will take place Monday, July 29th through Thursday, August 1st – 9 am to 3 pm.
Summer Ham Camp provides a combination of hands-on Ham Radio activities and classroom prep to enable you to earn your Technician Amateur Radio License. The planned activities include:
A Fox Hunt
HF Digital and Voice Operating with Hams around the world via a remote station
Making Contacts on Local Repeaters using an Emergency GoKit
Building a Portable HF Radio Station and Antenna and using it to Make Contacts around the world
A Practice Repeater Chat Net on a Local Repeater
Building and Tuning an HF Antenna
And more
2019 Summer Ham Camp Details
Our Summer Ham Camp includes classroom instruction to prepare you to earn your Technician Amateur Radio license at the end of the week. We provide scholarships for students and teachers which covers a license training book and the class fees. The only cost is a $15 fee to cover the FCC license exam (which we administer) at the end of the week.
We will hold our Annual Picnic on Saturday, August 24th (rain date Sunday, August 25th) a Greeley Park in Nashua, NH. This is a family activity that gives us a chance to meet everyone’s family members and get to know each other better.
Ham radio fun includes a Fox Hunt and making some satellite contacts with a simple handheld antenna and an HT.
Members bring food, drinks, and/or a desert and we share in a great pot-luck meal.
Everyone is welcome to attend. Please contact Jamey, AC1DC at [email protected] for more information.
We will be hosting a display featuring hands-on elements that will introduce you to many aspects of Amateur Radio.
Boxboro 2018 – HF GOTA Station N1T
We will be providing multiple GOTA stations including a Computer Controlled Satellite Ground Station, and HF Shortwave Station, and a Repeater GoKit Station.
Boxboro 2018 – Karen KC1KBW – BGHS Teacher Building a Kit
Our display will also include Kit Building activities. NARS members will provide tours of the display, help using the GOTA stations, and guidance to help you learn to solder and build a kit!
Something New at HamXposition – Ham Bootcamp!
Ham Bootcamp
Do you already have your Technician License and wondering how to use it to get on the air and have fun? Maybe you’ve recently upgraded to General class and would like some ideas on how to go about building an HF station and operating on the shortwave bands? Perhaps you don’t have a license yet and you are interested in trying out Ham Radio?
We’ve created an activity just for you! Its called Ham Bootcamp and we’ll be offering a one-day version of it as part of the Northeast HamXposition at Boxboro. We’ll spend a morning together helping you to get your station together and get on the air.
Ham Bootcamp will include several hands-on activities including a chance to use the GOTA stations and Kit Building elements of our display to learn with help from experienced NARs members. We will also provide a guided tour of the HamXposition Vendor area and the Nashua Area Radio Society display to help you learn about Ham Radio Gear and activities.
This activity will be free to a limited number of HamXposition attendees on a first-come-first-served basis on Saturday Morning, September 7th from 9 am until noon. Also, the Kit Building Activity will be available at a discounted price for Ham Bootcamp attendees.
Our next Tech Night will be on Tuesday, April 9th and we’ll be talking about the basics of Radio Direction Finding (aka Fox Hunting). During this session, we’ll also be building a 2-meter tape measure yagi using Joe Leggio’s, WB2HOL plans. I have built 2 of these tape measure yagis and they are pretty easy to make and I have had very good success! You can use these antennas for fox hunting, summits on the air or just hitting a distant repeater.
Here is a list of equipment that you will need to bring to the class to build your very own 2-meter tape measure yagi!
Metal Tape Measure – 1″ wide and at least 10′ in length
You can buy one cable with a PL-259 on each side and cut it in half if you would like to share with someone else to cut costs – You may want to go with 8′ – 10′ if you are going to make two cables
Pigtail for connecting RG-8x (PL-259 connector) to handheld (sma)(sma female)
Optional:
Sandpaper for sanding edges of the tape measure and removing coating to solder on coaxial cable
Wire strippers/cutters
Soldering iron
Shears or scissors for cutting tape measure
2 Meter SWR meter
Rubber Bands or Bulldog clips for securing the elements when folding up
I will bring all the PVC pipe pre-cut to the proper lengths along with the T and cross connectors.
After we all successful make our tape measure yagis we can celebrate the following Saturday as we have our first Summits on the Air (SOTA) and Parks on the Air (POTA) activation of Mount Pack Monadnock. This is a fairly easy summit and members can hike or drive up to the summit to test out the new yagis!
If you plan on attending or have any questions please let me know so I can plan for the right amount of equipment. You can reach me by email at [email protected].
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