Tag Archives: NARS Event

2018 General Meeting Programs (first half of the year)

Programs

We have a very fine set of General Membership meetings planned for 2018.  Here is the list of the planned programs for these meetings for the first-half of the year.

Date Topic Presenter
January 2 Show and Tell You! Bring your most interesting stuff to amaze your friends.
February 6 Global Ionosphere Radio Observatory Dr. Ivan Galkin of UMass Lowell
March 6 Plane tracking with ADS-B Thomas R Kavanaugh
April 3 The current state of the D-Star evolution Terry Stader, KA8SCP
May 1 MIT Haystack Observatory talk Phil Erickson, W1PJE
June 15 Field Day Planning Meeting  Field Day Planning Team

We have a good start on plans for the second-half of the year as well. If you have not already done so, please complete our survey to tell us what you’d like to see for this year’s Tech Nights. (I’ll publish the plans for Tech Night separately.)

A Winter’s Fox Hunt

Jamey, KC1ENX let the N1FD foxes loose in Nashua, NH this past weekend to give all of us a chance to track them down. This is not the first time that our foxes have roamed to wilds on New Hampshire. We let them loose during our summer picnic this year. We always have fun and improve our radio direction finding skills while doing a Fox Hunt!

Fox News Alert - N1FD Foxes Roaming Nashua
Fox News Alert – N1FD Foxes Roaming Nashua

We woke this past Saturday to a Fox News Alert! Fox News contributor Jamey, KC1ENX reported

“Two foxes have been spotted in the Nashua area! It has been reported that N1FD-fox1 was heard on Route 3 this morning on 146.565. It has also been reported that N1FD-fox2 could be heard from close to N1FD-fox2’s location on a frequency of 146.535.”

Hunting the Large Fox

I went down to our shack and turned on the 2m rig. Sure enough, there was the howl of the large fox (audio recording above) so I gathered my HT and Elk Yagi antenna and set off to track down the Wiley critters. I stopped just beyond my house near Rt. 122 in Hollis, NH to get an initial fix. Sure enough, I heard the large critter’s bark coming from the general direction of Nashua. A couple of fixes along Rt. 3 indicated that the fox was in a den in Mine Falls Park so I drove there and parked. By this time, the fox was clearly audible on the mobile rig in my truck. I switched my HT to the big fox’s third harmonic frequency and headed for a high spot on a bridge in the center of the park. Sure enough, there the Wiley critter was – just ahead on the trail.

Fox Hunt - The Large Fox in its Lair
The Large Fox in its Lair

I got very close to the large fox when I encountered Bob, W1FDR who had a very effective close in system which used an HT and a dish. Bob said:

“Lets team up and we’ll track the critter down”.

So we did team up and it did not take long to find the fox’s hideout. We both signed the fox log and turned our attention to finding the smaller fox.

Hunting the Small Fox

Fox Hunt - Bob W1FDR by the Small Fox's Den
Bob W1FDR by the Small Fox’s Den

The small fox was audible from the large fox’s den using my Yagi and HT. We tracked the small fox across the soccer fields at Mine Falls Park and over a small ridge. Once we got close, Bob used his dish system to track down the small fox in its den.

Fox Hunt - Fox Hunting Equipment
Fox Hunting Equipment

The combination of my Yagi and Bob’s dish system worked very well for hunting the foxes. The Yagi was surprisingly directional at longer range and this made it relatively easy to get close to both foxes. Bob’s dish was great for the final, close-in location of the foxes in their dens.

I had a great time hunting the foxes and I am looking forward to another hunt this coming Saturday after our breakfast get together at Parker’s Maple Barn in Mason, NH. I am looking for some folks to team with again for the hunt this coming Saturday. Talley-ho!

Fred, AB1OC

Welcome to the New Executive Committee Members

As we just held our annual officer elections, I’d like to thank the departing officers for their service to the club.  Departing the Executive committee are:

  • Vice President, Dave Michaels, N1RF
  • Treasurer, Wayne Wagner, AG1A
  • Programs, Brian Smigielski, AB1ZO

Our Executive Committee members have worked hard to move the Nashua Area Radio Society forward this past year. Some of our major progress in 2017 includes:

2018 Executive Committee Members

I’d like to congratulate and welcome our new and returning Officers and Directors to the Executive Committee.  Our 2018 Officers and Directors are:

  • President, Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
  • Vice President, Dave Merchant, K1DLM
  • Secretary, Brian McCaffrey, W1BP
  • Treasurer, Hamilton Stewart, K1HMS
  • Membership, Jamey Finchum, AC1DC
  • Programs, Scott Andersen, NE1RD
  • Activities, Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB

I am looking forward to working with the New Executive Committee a toward a successful 2018.

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide