Tag Archives: Youth Outreach

Featured, General, Youth Activities

Using the Student-Teacher Contest Radio

3 Comments

Hi.  My name is Keith Sangillo, KZ1Z (formerly KC1IMK).  I would like to thank the Nashua Area Radio Society for hosting the  2020 Student-Teacher Contest.   The  ICOM IC-7300 radio that I won is in good hands and being put to use.

The first thing I did was take the NARS Extra class in December 2020 and get my Extra license so that I could use “all the bands and frequencies”.   It turned out that the weather was a bigger challenge than the test questions.  After two days of an online class, a snowstorm turned off the power.   My dad and I missed most of the Day 3 class sessions as we searched for friends with power.  We arranged to take the test at a friend’s house 30 minutes farther south.   The VE’s watched us take the test in a basement storeroom during the pandemic when we were not supposed to be visiting friends.

The first big test for the new radio was Winter Field Day 2021.   We pushed out the lawnmower and set up the station in the utility shed.

Student-Teacher Contest - My Shack
WFD “shack”

We hung a 20 m inverted V dipole in the adjacent tree and ran the feed line in the window so that we could close the doors when it was windy. We did not use our existing antenna for the shack in the house.

WFD Setup: Deep Cycle battery powering radio and laptop

We went for all the bonus points.  The shed is non-insulated and considered outdoors.  It was far enough away from the house to be remote.  We used battery power. 

Student-Teacher Contest First Prize
ICOM IC-7300 from Youth Contest

And yeah, we had no heaters either.  We dressed up in ski gear and warmed our hands on several cups of hot chocolate and tea so that we could log contacts with N1MM linked to the radio.  

Cold, 5 deg F night OPS

With a single band antenna and part-time operation, I made 27 contacts.  With bonus points from freezing my butt off, I sent in 4552 points for NARS.  Thanks again for putting on the Student-Teacher Contest and hope to see folks sometime soon. 

Keith, KZ1Z

DX, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter

The South African Radio League Web Site and Free Publications

The South African Radio League has an annual Diary of Events (PDF) online.  Between the month-at-a-glance pages, this calendar has information on certificates they administer such as the Worked All ZS award and Worked All Africa award.

South African hams operating outdoors
South African hams operating outdoors
(From the public SARL Youth Facebook page,
https://www.facebook.com/groups/217437211797100)

For a bigger picture, I like their Year-at-a-Glance (PDF) calendar, for A3 paper (11.75″ x 16.5″).  (I’ve already suggested that the ARRL take a look at it and consider offering one too.)

South African hams operating outdoors
South African hams operating outdoors
(From the public SARL Youth Facebook page,
https://www.facebook.com/groups/217437211797100)

The South African Parks on the Air program looks interesting since it includes Flora and Fauna not seen in the wild anyplace near our W1 area!

Their HF Happenings (and other DX news) newsletter is downloadable and includes African IOTA information.

South African hams operating outdoors
South African hams during a SOTA activation
Cover of September/October 2014 issue of Radio ZS
(From the public SARL Youth Facebook page,
https://www.facebook.com/groups/217437211797100)

In response to the pandemic, they made the April 2020 issue of their magazine free to everyone.  (Apparently, some other societies have done the same, so if you find one, please post a link to it!)  This issue includes an adapter to use a Baofang radio as a ‘fox’, the design for the audio part of a direct-conversion receiver (SDR), information about an amateur radio exhibit they put up at a public exhibit of hobbies of all sorts, and other projects.

Don’t worry about being able to read the articles, everything I looked at was in English, with some columns also in Afrikaans.  I found it very interesting!

As you can tell from the pictures above, they also have a public Facebook page “for members of the SARL (South African Radio League) and amateur radio enthusiasts under the age of 25“.

Aron, W1AKI

Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air, Youth Activities

Student Teacher Contest Update!

The Student Teacher Contest Results have been updated with results from (ARRL) Summer Field Day and the 13 Colonies Special Event.  We have a new leader, Keith Sangillo, KC1IMK!

Abby, AB1BY Operating in the 13 Colonies Event
Abby, AB1BY Operating in the 13 Colonies Event

Keith, KC1IMK and Abby, AB1BY operated remotely from the AB1OC/AB1QB station during Summer Field Day as part of the AB1QB entry.  They also operated as K2K during the recent 13 Colonies Special Event.

2020 13 Colonies Special Event Certificate
2020 13 Colonies Special Event Certificate

Student Teacher Contest Update

With a great entry from the 13 Colonies Special Event of 281 non-duplicate QSOs in 3 hours, Keith, KC1IMK has pulled ahead of Abby, AB1BY.  The competition is still neck and neck – Keith has a score of 1208 and Abby’s score is 1180.

The contest score is the sum of QSOs made in a contestant’s top 4 entries.  Both Keith and Abby have reached more than 4 entries with the latest entries.  Now each of them needs to improve on their previous scores to pull ahead.  Full results and rules for the competition can be found at Student-Teacher Contest Series.

Next Opportunity

The North American QSO Party (NAQP) – SSB is coming up on August 15th,  With its 100 watt power limit, it will be a great opportunity for contestants to increase their scores.

Anita, AB1QB

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide