Tag Archives: HF

Activities, General, On The Air

Open House for New Hams – Saturday March 17

1 Comment

Are you a new Ham and interested in what you can do with your license?  Or have been licensed for a while but have not been on the air?  We will be holding a New Ham Open House at Fred, AB1OC, and Anita, AB1QB’s QTH on Saturday, March 17th starting at 1:00 pm for new Hams.

AB1OC/AB1QB Shack
AB1OC/AB1QB Shack

HF Operation

We’ll have a tour of our antenna farm and we’ll have our HF Station setup for you to make some contacts.

AB1OC Antenna Tower

Satellite Operation

Satellite 3.0 Antennas
Satellite 3.0 Antennas

We will also have our Satellite Station setup for you to make contacts.

Fox Hunt and Demos

A crew going on a foxhunt
A crew going on a foxhunt

We will also have a fox hunt (Weather Permitting)  and demos of the High Altitude Balloon and some Raspberry Pi projects.

HT Programming

New Ham Open House
Kenwood TH-D74 HT

We will also help you to program your HTs using RTSystems or Chirp software.  Bring your HT and a programming cable if you are interested in this.

Hope to see you on March 17th.  See the Calendar for details.  It starts at 1pm but will go all afternoon so you can arrive any time in the afternoon.

Education and Training, Featured, General

ARRL Requests Expanded HF Privileges for Technician Licensees

ARRL has asked the FCC to expand HF privileges for Technician licensees to include limited phone privileges on 75, 40, and 15 meters, plus RTTY and digital mode privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters. The FCC has not yet invited public comment on the proposals, which stem from recommendations put forth by the ARRL Board of Directors’ Entry-Level License Committee, which explored various initiatives and gauged member opinions in 2016 and 2017.

Source: ARRL Requests Expanded HF Privileges for Technician Licensees

It looks like the ARRL got this one right on the mark. Expanding Technician Class License privileges to include digital and SSB phone options on more of the HF bands is just what we need to make the first level Amateur Radio License more fun, a better learning experience, and a more effective bridge to upgrading to General Class privileges. Well done ARRL!

Fred, AB1OC

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

HAB School Kit Builds

We have started our HAB-3 program and we are working with 4 schools who will be part of the launch.  Two of the schools, Bishop Guertin High School and Merrimack High School have been through the preparation sessions before.  To expand their involvement with STEM activities, the Nashua Area Radio Society has hosted kits builds at both schools.

Fred, AB1OC Elmers the BGHS Kit BuildersFred, AB1OC Elmers the BGHS Kit Builders

The first kit build was held earlier this month with 6 students from Bishop Guertin High School.  They built the 40 meter Pixie Kit QRP radio, the same one the NARS built a year or so ago.

Tech Night Suggestions
Pixie Kit

The students did a great job once they learned to solder and enjoyed the kit build.

Bishop Guertin Students Build the Pixie Kit
Bishop Guertin Students Build the Pixie Kit

The students are also learning morse code and there will be a morse competition in future sessions at both schools, using the Pixie kits built by the students.

Merrimack High School Students build the Pixie kit
Merrimack High School Students build the Pixie kit

Last Friday,  5 club members were Elmers to 18 students at Merrimack High School, who also built the PIXIE kit.  Thanks to Bill, AB1AV, Niece, KA1ULN, Mike, K1WVO, Jamey, AC1DC , Tom, AB1NS, and Fred, AB1OC for helping the kids to have a successful kit build.

Merrimack High School Students Building the Pixie Kit
Merrimack High School Students Building the Pixie Kit

All of the teachers and students had a great time and learned a lot during the kit build.  They are looking forward to the morse code competition.

Anita, AB1QB

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide