The Nation Parks On The Air (NPOTA) program was created by the ARRL to commemorate the National Park Service Anniversary (100th). Aron W1AKI, Merle W1MSI and Fred AB1OC made a trip to Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in NH this past week. Our goals were to seek permission for a Club National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) Activation at the park as well as to see the site and do a brief trial activation. I am happy to report that we achieved all of these goals and also activate the park using our Mobile HF station!
N1FD NPOTA Presentation (click on the picture to see our presentation)
Aron and Fred put together a presentation which we shared with the head ranger, Greg Schwarz at the park. Our goal was to create an understanding of who we were, why we want to Activate Saint-Gaudens NHS, what our activation would involve and how we would relate to the National Park Service Anniversary celebration this year. We had a very good meeting with Greg and we secured permission for multiple activations of the park over the summer months. We will share more about what we are planning to do and the dates for our activations at our next club meeting.
Aspet House, Built About 1817
The park grounds are very beautiful and will be absolutely stunning in the summer time!
Garden With Bronze Monument
Saint-Gaudens was one of America’s greatest sculptors and some of his works and their history are nicely set in the building and gardens which make up the park. There is plenty to see and do in the park.
Open Meadow In The Park
The park has a large, open meadow which is surrounded by trees. The meadow is partly used for overflow parking and should offer a good area for us to use a mobile station plus a portable station when our club activates the park. We will be allowed to use a small generator and put up a small screened shelter to protect us from sun or rain while we operate. We were also invited to set up a table to share information about our club and about Amateur Radio in the area of the park which is frequented by visitors. The park hosts open air concerts most Sundays during the summer months. Greg indicated that about 200-400 visitors attend the summer concerts. He felt that this would be a good time for us to activate the park as there would be many visitors in the park for these concerts.
N1FD On The Air In NS-60
Greg also allowed us to park in the meadow and activate the park as part of the National Park Service Anniversary celebration. Aron W1AKI, Merle W1MSI and Fred AB1OC did a brief trial activation to get an idea of what propagation would be like in the park. We used Fred’s Mobile HF Station for the activation and we operated as N1FD on the 20m and 40m bands for about 45 minutes. If the trial run is any indication, we are going to have a lot of fun when our club does the real activation in the summer. In 45 minutes of operating, we gave 80+ happy Amateurs NPOTA NS-60 on a combination of the 20m and 40m bands. We were easily able to work stations in all regions of the US and we put 29 states and 4 DXCC’s into the log during our brief activation. We had folks in Alaska, Portugal, Poland and Canada call in and we had a good pileup for the entire time that we operated. We were using a paper log for the trial run and we had a hard time writing fast enough to get the QSOs into the log!
We hope that you’ll join us for one of our Saint-Gaudens activations during the summer!
The Nashua Area Radio Society (Nashua ARS) April 2016 General Meeting was an exciting time for me as your Vice President.
Nashua ARS Exceeds 100 Members!
We Celebrated the milestone of exceeding 100 Club members complete with a sheet cake.
ARRL Special Service Organization Presentation
NH Section Manager Peter Stohrer K1PJS and NH Affiliated Organization Coordinator Al Shuman K1AKS came down from Concord and made two special presentations:
A Certificate naming Nashua ARS as a Special Service Club (SSC), and
A Plaque commemorating Nashua ARS’s 35+ years as an ARRL Affiliated Organization.
Peter and Al Presenting a Plaque Noting Our Organization’s 35+ Year Affiliation with the ARRL
Somewhere around January of 2015, your Executive Board looked at our Special Service Organization status and it was discovered that it had been many years since our SSC had been renewed. This I took on the assignment of applying to ARRL Headquarters with a new updated SSC application.
What is a Special Service Organization? An organization that exists to go above and beyond for their communities and for Amateur Radio is what defines a Special Service Club (SSC). They are the leaders in their Amateur Radio communities who provide active training classes, publicity programs and actively pursue technical projects and operating activities.
SSC Application Guidelines – As an ARRL Special Service Organization, we have met our agreement to develop our skills in the specified areas during the past two years in accordance with the guidelines in the Active Club On-Line Primer. With this application, we apply for renewal as an ARRL Special Service Club for the year to come. We have worked closely with our Affiliated Club Coordinator throughout the year. Recently we have discussed our successes and problems during the past year, reviewed our current strengths and weaknesses, and agreed on an acceptable program for the coming two years.
Minimal Criteria:
New Ham Development and Training. Develop an effective, coordinated program of public relations, recruiting, training, and ongoing assistance targeted to prospective and newly licensed hams in your community.
Public Relations. Establish an effective Amateur Radio presence in your community, including contact with local media and coverage of your activities; Public Information Officer Appointment.
Emergency Communications. Members should become skilled in communicating effectively during communications emergencies and be prepared to assist when needed; Official Emergency Station appointment and participation in ARES.
Technical Advancement. Continuing education in the technical aspects of Amateur Radio to ensure that your club members are technically competent, familiar, and comfortable with modern radio-electronics technology; Technical Specialist appointment.
Operating Activities. Active participation in one or more major operating or operating support activities to ensure that your club maintains a high level of operating skill.
Miscellaneous Activities. Every active club has its special interests and activities that make it unique, that give it a special personality. List three of these activities.
It became very obvious that this was to become a challenge. But, where do I start?
First, a thorough review of the ARRL’s Active Club Primer was in order. This 48-page primer is a compilation and update of The Club President’s Workbook and the Special Service Club Manual. It is loaded with helpful links and ideas galore to get a club enlivened!
Second, since the SSC application allows a club to go back to reporting its activity for the previous two years, I poured over the website, especially the archives of the Nashua ARS Newsletters to extract data.
The first rough draft was hastily put together and presented to the Executive Board for review and discussion. As with any project, the four drafts went from overkill to simplicity. This took a matter of months of revision and review. I quickly found out that our organization has done so many things that I had to cut out everything over 18 months old!
This shows you just how ‘outstanding’ the Nashua Area Radio Society is! I am proud of our membership and the primary reason to write this article is for members to see just what we have done, what we are doing and where we are headed. The future is promising! Next, the completed application for Special Service Club.
Special Service Organization Application
As an ARRL Special Service Club, we continue to meet our obligation to develop our skills in the specified areas during the past two years in accordance with the guidelines in the Active Club On-Line Primer. With this application, we apply for renewal as an ARRL Special Service Club for the year to come. We have worked closely with our Affiliated Club Coordinator throughout the year. Recently we have discussed our successes and problems during the past year, reviewed our current strengths and weaknesses, and agreed on an acceptable program for the coming two years.
Application Type New
Date February 12, 2016
ARRL Section New Hampshire
Club Name Nashua Area Radio Society
Call Sign N1FD
Address PO Box 248
City Nashua
State NH
Zip Code 03061-0248
Club President Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC Vice President Layne LaBaume, AE1N Your e-mail address [email protected]
New Ham Development and Training
Purpose: Develop an effective, coordinated program of public relations, recruiting, training, and ongoing assistance targeted to prospective and newly licensed hams in your community.
January 2015: New initiative: “At Nashua ARS, We Love New Hams!” Recruiting targeted mailings were shifted to sending free bulletins with inserts to newly granted licenses within a 25-mile radius of Nashua.
Nashua Area Radio Club has a formal program including classes, license testing, and follow-up to enable new HAMs to earn licenses, learn about HAM radio basics, and seek the help of experienced Elmers to get on the air. Nashua ARS License Classes are posted to the ARRL website, on Gordon West’s website, on our Facebook page, and our Calendar.
a) We have four new ARRL certified Volunteer Examiners: AB1QB, KC1DXL, N1RF, and W1AKI that were certified in the past year. Previously certified Volunteer Examiners are AB1OC, K1NKR, K1SMD, KB1HYL, and N1DGQ.
b) Presented three Technician classes. (June and October 2015 and February 2016) and one General Class (November 2015). As of this writing, additional classes are scheduled for March (General) and May (Amateur Extra) 2016.
c) June 2015 Class: 7 students: 1 new Tech, 1 new General. (One student got his Extra outside of class)
d) October 2015 Class: 8 students: 6 new Techs, 1 new General. (One student already had his tech)
e) November 2015 General Class: 13 students: 10 new Generals, 2 new Extras. (One student already has his General.)
f) February 2016: One year ago, we had 80 members. As of this writing, we now have 90 members, a net gain of ten members. This includes honorary lifetime members.
Public Relations
Purpose: Establish an effective Amateur Radio presence in your community, including contact with local media and coverage of your activities; Public Information Officer Appointment.
Nashua ARS’s monthly General Meeting announcements are published online at www.NH.com and www.WhoFish.org. WhoFish sends 75,000k emails in the state of NH. This weekly publication has a 40% click-thru rate and goes out on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
March/April 2015: “Visit a Member’s Station” program wherein a member opens up his Ham Shack for a tour and demonstration to other members and prospective licensees.
June 2015: Another successful annual Field Day operation with a score of 7176 points including 900 Bonus Points. Get On the Air (GOTA) station. Public and Officials Visit. Articles in local newspapers: The Nashua Telegraph and the Merrimack Cabinet.
October 2015: Member Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB, was featured in the Young Ladies Radio League quarterly publication.
August 2015: The August Nashua ARS Annual Picnic at Greely Park provided demonstrations to the public. (August)
Emergency Communications
Purpose: Organization members should become skilled in communicating effectively during communications emergencies and be prepared to assist ARES when needed.
ARES in New Hampshire is organized by county. The individual in charge of ARES for each county is the County Emergency Coordinator (EC). The Hillsborough County (HC) EC is Fletcher Seagroves N1MEO, a Club Member.
The EC has three Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AECs). Two of the three county AECs, K1SMD, and K9AEN are also members of Nashua ARS. KD1TD, W1YQ, KB1HYL, NF1L, KC1CRK, and W1PK are members of the Nashua ARS. Most of these members participate in the weekly ARES training net.
Terry Newport W1YQ, our EC Liaison, updates the club on ARES activities. In the event of a real emergency, he monitors four frequencies—the N1IMO repeater system, the Nashua repeater, the Hillsborough Country ARES simplex frequency, and the 2-meter national calling frequency. Through Terry, club members become flexible and adaptable to actual emergency needs and are prepared to assist ARES when needed.
Highly successful Field Day operation demonstrating Nashua ARS’s ability to install and establish communications in an emergency simulation.
Technical Advancement
Purpose: Continuing education in the technical aspects of Amateur Radio to ensure that your club members are technically competent, familiar and comfortable with modern radio-electronics technology; Technical Specialist appointment.
“Tech Night” Elmer program initiated. Monthly sessions–occurring between the regular General Meetings–provide opportunities for hands-on building and experimentation as well as for talks and demonstrations.
September 2015: Several members were invited to attend an IEEE presentation on Software Defined Radios at the Nashua Public Library.
September 2015: Two of our projects presented An Audio Processor and a Rotor Controller Shield design.
a) February 2015. Member speaker Jeff Millar, WA1HCO, on “An Engineer’s Vision of Amateur Radio in 2020.”
b) April 2015. Member speaker Mike Murphy, WU2D, on “My Adventures in Converting Military Surplus for Useful Amateur Use.”
c) September 2015. Member speaker Wayne Grant KB1HYL on “Operating Ethics”. (September)
d) October 2015: Guest speaker Eugene Novacek, WW4EN, on “Designing the Ultimate Home Radio Shack” (facilities and grounding)
e) November 2015: Guest speaker Dale Clement, AF1T, on “Transmission Lines.”
Operating Activities
Purpose: Active participation in one or more major operating or operating support activities to ensure that your organization maintains a high level of operating skill.
Weekly: The Nashua Area Radio Society Weekly Sunday Net meets alternately on six and ten meters.
April and September 2014: Several Nashua ARS members operated as New Hampshire’s W1AW/1 during the Centennial Celebration weeks.
Week of July 4th, 2015: In our second year of participation, six Nashua ARS member operators made over 9000 QSOs as K2K during the 13 Colonies Special Event. We seek to cover the K2K NH operation as much as possible by members of our organization boosting the operating experience and skills of our club.
September 2015: Several Nashua ARS members annually participate in the New Hampshire QSO Party.
All of 2016: Nashua ARS is constantly seeking new operating opportunities, we are looking to activating National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) activation in NH, led by our member Aron W1AKI.
Miscellaneous Activities
Purpose: Every active organization has its special interests and activities that make it unique, that give it a special personality. List three of these activities.
Representatives of Nashua ARS always attend the NE Division Cabinet meetings so we can interact with regional League leadership.
Executive Committee and Regular meetings held monthly (except August when we have our Annual public picnic.
Every Spring and Fall: Special visitor: Michael Crestohl W1RC, creator of NEAR-Fest, the New England Amateur Radio Festival held at the Deerfield Fairgrounds, Deerfield NH. The program of activities and events at NEAR-Fest is extensive; a huge outdoor electronic flea market, three buildings full of commercial vendors, forums, technical seminars and symposia, demonstrations, exhibits, displays, licensing examinations, special events radio stations, a “jam session”, good food, fellowship, and fun. NEAR-Fest is the largest event of its kind in the Northeast and has once been described as the “Woodstock of Amateur Radio
Nashua ARS has a recognition and awards program as an incentive to encourage members and others to give demonstrations, presentations, and provide mentoring.
In preparation for Field Day each year, we like to set up our station kit in our backyard to verify that all of our equipment is ready and in good working order. The first step is always to pitch the wall tent from the WRTC kit. The tent and the associated tables/chairs can comfortably hold 3 – 4 people.
Field Day SSB Station Test
We will be using the new IC-7300 Transceiver for Field Day this year. As you can see from the pictures from last year, we used an Elecraft KX3 Transceiver in 2015 along with an outboard KXPA100 100W Amplifier to bring the station up to 100W and Elecraft’s PX3 Panadapter. The either of these combinations makes a great 100W Field Day Station as does any good 100W transceiver that can be operated from 13.8Vdc power.
Elecraft KX3 Field Day Station
We’ve also used a Behringer HA400 four channel headphone amplifier (the unit on the right on top of the power supply) with our Field Day setup. This enables connection of a total of 4 sets of headphones to the station – one for the operator, one for a logger and two more pairs for folks to listen in on the fun. Our club has been doing a great deal of outreach to encourage new HAMs to join the hobby and we built this setup so that some of the new folks can listen in on our operation more easily. We will be using a Heil Pro 7 headset to operate and we will have 3 sets of Heil Pro Set 3 headphones for others to use. The Heil gear is very comfortable, light weight and sound great over the air.
One of the many great aspects of Field Day is that it requires those who participate to test their emergency equipment and field operating skills each year. Our club has a large generator and power distribution system that we all share for Field Day. We use our station test session as a reason to get our smaller generators out for a test run. We have a pair of Honda EU2000 generators which can be used together to generate quite a bit of power.
Our club has quite a bit of antenna equipment and we will be putting up two 40 ft towers and tri-band beams with Triplexes and Filters for our 20m, 15m and 10m SSB and CW stations. We are planning a 40m Delta Loop array for our club to use for 40m and we’ll also be putting up 40m and 80m inverted-V and dipole antennas.
I hope that everyone in our club will join in on the Field Day fun again this year.
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