Tag Archives: Satellite

NARS Youth Expo at Boxboro

The Nashua Area Radio Society put together a very successful Amateur Radio Youth Exposition at the New England Amateur Radio Convention at Boxboro this year.

Boxboro 2018 - Youth Expo Display
Boxboro 2018 – Youth Expo Display

Our Expo featured more than ten high-quality displays and hands-on activities which introduced young people to many aspects of Amateur Radio.

Boxboro 2018 - HF GOTA Coach Jerry K1OKD
Boxboro 2018 – HF GOTA Coach Jerry K1OKD

Our HF GOTA at Boxboro 2018 was a hit with many folks making their first HF contacts with us. We operated AB1OC-AB1QB’s station remotely via the Internet. We secured a the N1T special event callsign for Boxboro and we made over 150 contacts as N1T during the convention.

Boxboro 2018 - Satellite Station Operated by Burns WB1FJ
Boxboro 2018 – Satellite Station Operated by Burns WB1FJ

We also had our transportable satellite station at Boxboro and we made quite a few satellite contacts as N1T as well.

Boxboro 2018 - Space Comms Display
Boxboro 2018 – Space Comms Display

There was lots of interest in satellites between the satellite GOTA station and our Space Communications display.

Boxboro 2018 - Kit Building (Dan AC1EN and Mackenzie KE1NZY)
Boxboro 2018 – Kit Building (Dan AC1EN and Mackenzie KE1NZY)

We added a kit building activity to our Youth Expo at Boxboro and it was a big hit!

Builders (Burns WB1FJ and his Grandson)
Builders (Burns WB1FJ and his Grandson)

Over 40 K1EL Morse Code Tutor kits got built during the weekend with many parents and grandparents building kits along with the kids.

Boxboro 2018 - Karen KC1KBW - BGHS Teacher Building a Kit
Boxboro 2018 – Karen KC1KBW – BGHS Teacher Building a Kit

Some of our High-Altitude Balloon program students and teachers also had fun with the kit building activity.

Boxboro 2018 - Forum Presentation by Dan AC1EN
Boxboro 2018 – Forum Presentation by Dan AC1EN

We did three presentations related to the activities at our Youth Expo in the forums at Boxboro. The most popular one was about the many youth outreach projects that the Nashua Area Radio Society is doing.

Boxboro 2018 - Forum Presentation by Mackenzie KE1NZY and Fred AB1OC
Boxboro 2018 – Forum Presentation by Mackenzie KE1NZY and Fred AB1OC

Dan and Mackenzie Pooler (AC1EN and KE1NZY) helped me with this one and they brought a very valuable perspective on our youth outreach work.

Boxboro 2018 provided lots of great moments and memories for the many members who help with our Expo. Check out the photo memories above to see some more of these.

Boxboro 2018 - NARS Team at Boxboro
Boxboro 2018 – NARS Team at Boxboro

A very special THANK YOU to the many Nashua Area Radio Society members who helped throughout the weekend!

We are planning another Amateur Radio Youth Exposition as part of the New England Tech Trek at NEAR-Fest in October. Don’t miss it and please come out and help us create another great Amateur Radio experience at NEAR-Fest!

Fred, AB1OC

 

Working IC-9700 Shown In Tokyo

Icom displayed three working demonstration units of the forthcoming IC-9700 VHF/UHF/1.2GHz transceiver, Icom Inc. at the Tokyo Hamfair, which took place in Ariake, Tokyo on August 25th – 26th.

Source: New Icom Amateur Products Shown at Tokyo Hamfair 2018

The IC-9700 is a new VHF/UHF radio that is based upon the Software Defined Radio (SDR) platform that Icom uses in the IC-7300 and IC-7610.

It looks like this is going to be an excellent radio for Satellite, EME, and other weak-signal work on the 2 m, 70 cm, and 23 cm bands. The IC-9700 features a pan adapter display which will be very useful for working contacts through linear satellites.

Based upon previous new Transceivers release by Icom, I would guess we are at least 8 months to a year away from the time when this radio will be offered for sale in the USA.

Here’s some video of the forthcoming  IC-9700 as well as other gear from Icom. The video also features other new products and updated Firmware capabilities from Icom. Enjoy!

Fred, AB1OC

 

Fall Youth Events at Boxboro and NEAR-Fest

Quite a few Nashua Area Radio Society members have been working on a display to get young people and potential new Hams interested in Amateur Radio.

NETT Youth Events: High Altitude Balloon Display
High Altitude Balloon Display

Our display was first used at NEAR-Fest this spring. It includes over ten high-quality exhibits and hands-on activities related to Amateur Radio and Nashua Area Radio Society licensing, activities, and youth projects. Some of the activities that are part of the display include:

We’ve created a new page here on n1fd.org that explains more about our Amateur Radio Displays for Young People. Check it out!

Our Youth Event Display
Our Youth Outreach Event Display

We also provided our display as part of a youth summer program a the Westford Public Library this summer.

Morse Trainer Kit
Morse Trainer Kit

Thanks to a cooperative project with Steve Elliot, K1EL, we are planning to add a kit building activity to our display. The kit is a new one that Steve created for learning Morse Code. The Morse Trainer kit should take less than an hour to build and will be available to purchase and build at Boxboro. We will be providing soldering equipment and mentors to help our builders at the show.

Youth Events - Display Overview for Boxboro Convention Leaders
Youth Display Overview for Boxboro Convention Leaders

We have been working with the New England Amateur Radio Convention at Boxboro, MA to include our display in their vendor hall.

Planned Youth Events - Display Layout at Boxboro 2018
Planned Display Layout at Boxboro 2018

The Boxboro leadership is very excited about our display and has agreed to give us approximately 90 ft of table space in the main vendor hall and space outside for our Portable Satellite Station.

Boxboro 2018 Youth Event Flyer (click to see the flyer)
Boxboro 2018 Youth Event Flyer (click to see the flyer)

Along with the Boxboro team, we are hard at work publicising our event. We’ve created an information Flyer and a short picture presentation that teachers and our members can use to let folks know about our planned event. Please take a minute to download these materials and share them with as many interested folks as you can:

It is going to take quite a few member volunteers to support our display at Boxboro 2018. If you’d be willing to help, please contact us at [email protected]. Everyone who helps will receive free admission to the Boxboro 2018 convention.

Fred, AB1OC

 

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