Clubs

Jeff Stuparits, W4DD, will present “Locating Power Line Noise and other RFI” at the Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society hybrid meeting on May 13, 2025 in Natick and online.

Description: Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) can be generated from many different devices and can decrease or totally eliminate your ability to hear stations on your HF or VHF radio.  In today’s modern world of numerous electronic devices in and around our homes, it’s not a matter of if you have RFI, but of how many devices are generating it and how significantly is it interfering with your Ham Radio receiving ability.  RFI can also affect other services like AM radio, FM radio, Over-the-Air TV, DSL Internet, public safety communications, and even cellular telephones.  Jeff became interested in RFI about fifteen years ago when it affected his ability to enjoy ham radio for contesting, weak signal work, and QSO’s.  In addition to providing information on locating RFI, he will also have a few pieces of hardware for show and tell and discuss how he approaches RFI problems. 

Bio: Jeff is retired from Verizon Wireless where he worked in the Advanced Technology Group on spectrum issues, including cellular spectrum optimization and FCC spectrum auctions.  In addition to his 20 years in cellular, earlier in his career he worked in Telephone Operations and Air Defense Communications.  Jeff’s background includes a EE, an MBA, and he is a licensed PE.  Additional information about Jeff can be found on his QRZ web page or in the August 2022 QST Member Spotlight.

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club‘s May meeting is Thursday, May 15th at 7:30 PM at the Pepperell Community Center (in Pepperell). We start gathering at 7 PM to socialize before the meeting starts.

May’s speaker will be Les Peters, N1SV.  Les will speak on Chasing Operating Awards and Logbook of the World.  We will also discuss plans for Field Day and some recent events like the Boston Marathon, the Groton Road Race, NearFest, & the Eastern VHF / UHF conference.

If you need directions to the club meeting, please click <http://binged.it/smoogg> here and put your own address in box “A”.

Thanks, and 73. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bruce, K1BG
978-772-2773 or  bruce.blain@charter.net

The Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society (STARS) and Boston Amateur Radio Club (BARC) will hold a joint gathering/meeting at NESciTech at 16 Tech Circle, Natick, MA with light refreshments. Our usual Zoom link will be operational if you cannot attend in person. Optional: Bring a dessert, salad, or anything you would like to contribute. Regardless, please bring yourselves in person if possible. If you have not already registered for this event, please be sure to register ASAP today on the Event Listing so we will know how much food to order.

STARS members will conduct tours of the facility for those arriving early. Light refreshments will be served prior to the formal meeting at 7:00 PM.

The agenda includes:

o Around-the-room so everyone can introduce themselves, their role in the club, and what they’re into in the amateur radio realm.

o Significant projects on which each club is working (e.g., Trailer, satellite station; courses being taught).

o Informal brainstorming and idea sharing re ways to grow our clubs and the hobby as well as issues (e.g., Attracting younger members; getting more people to volunteer to lead club activities), etc.

David Marcucci, KC1TLF, writes on the Billerica ARS Facebook page:

I am pleased to announce that our Guest Speaker for the May 7, 2025, club meeting will be Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ.

Andy (KB1OIQ) is an extra class licensee who has been in the hobby since 2007 and will present on the history of the “Andy’s Ham Radio Linux” software collection, where to get it, and an overview of the available programs.  Andy is a past president of PART of Westford.  He retired in August 2024 from a career as a digital logic verification engineer.  Andy also enjoys repairing antique radio receivers and chasing DX.

After the meeting, the recording and any shared content made available to BARS will be added to this post. The meeting will be in-person, at the Chelmsford Bible Church, 128 Gorham St, Chelmsford, MA, and online via Zoom.

As always, the link to join the Zoom meeting will be posted to the BARS email list and should not be shared outside our Club. Are you on the email list? If not, subscribing is as easy as emailing bars-subscribe@w1hh.org and then replying to the robot response to confirm your subscription.

Watching our Zoom meetings requires only a web browser and headphones or speakers. You do not need a microphone or webcam unless you want to speak or be seen. Please go to https://zoom.us/test to test your setup anytime before the meeting. If you have problems, feel free to ask questions on the BARS email list for assistance.

We look forward to “seeing” many of you there on Wednesday at 1900 local time.

Dom Mallozzi, N1DM, will present “A Smorgasbord of Radio” at the May 8 meeting of the Algonquin Amateur Radio Club at 7:30 PM  in the library of the 1st Lt. Charles W. Whitcomb School, 25 Union St, Marlborough, MA. Enter from Agoritsas Drive next to police station and use Door #1 at rear of building.

Max Kendall, WØMXX, will present “RF PCB Design” at the Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society hybrid meeting on April 29, 2025 in Natick and online.

Description: RF PCB design is often considered one of the more challenging aspects of electronics engineering due to the high frequencies involved and the sensitivity of signal integrity. In this presentation, Max will dive into the core principles that underpin effective and reliable RF board design. He will explore the importance of using a 4-layer PCB stackup, which allows for better isolation, dedicated ground and power planes, and improved signal performance. Topics will include the role of copper pours in managing return paths and minimizing interference, as well as how to achieve proper impedance matching for critical RF components and transmission lines. Max will also walk through best practices for feedline routing, highlighting techniques for minimizing signal loss, avoiding crosstalk, and ensuring consistent characteristic impedance throughout the board.

Bio: Max is an 8th grader at Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School. He is the president of STARS radio club at New England Sci-Tech, the president of the 4-H Science Explorers, a mentor at the Medway Library Arduino club and STEAM classes, and founder of the New England Weather Balloon Society. He is also the founder of habtronics. He earned his Extra license in 2021. Max enjoys working with robotics and electronics, and has been tinkering since he was a toddler. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge with other kids and adults alike. He teaches many classes and workshops at New England Sci-Tech, an educational non-profit. He also enjoys reading classics, math, Latin, and climbing. https://mpkendall.com

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club‘s April meeting is Thursday, April 17th at 7:30 PM at the Pepperell Community Center (in Pepperell). We start gathering at 7 PM to socialize before the meeting starts.

April’s speaker will be ARRL New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI.  Tom will provide a “current events” talk about the goings-on at ARRL headquarters.

NVARC annual elections also take place at the April meeting, making it a “Special Meeting” as defined in the club’s Constitution and Bylaws.

We’ll also be discussing upcoming events that NVARC participates in – the Groton Road Race, Field Day, POTA activations, etc.  In addition, we will also talk about major updates and plans for the N1NC / N1MNX repeater system.

If you need directions to the club meeting, please click <http://binged.it/smoogg> here and put your own address in box “A”.

Thanks, and 73. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bruce, K1BG
978-772-2773 or bruce.blain@charter.net

BTW, if you would prefer to not get these announcements, please let me know
and I will take you off the list!

Rich Zack, KK1RZ, will present “Comparing all Five Digital Modes Found on New England Repeaters” at the Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society hybrid meeting on April 15, 2025 in Natick and online.

Biography: Rick was first licensed as a ham in 1966.  His late father was a ham, as is his son, K1DRZ.  Rick also holds an FCC First Class commercial license.  His career includes an RF consulting business; Chief Engineer for WCVB-TV in Boston; Chief Engineer of Television for WBIN-TV; VP of System Engineering for a high-end microwave equipment manufacturer; Land-mobile dealer and commercial repeater system operator; and Consulting Engineer for the FCC on the TV Spectrum Repack Project.  He recently retired as an IT System Administrator for Gunstock Mountain Resort.  Rick holds a USCG commercial Captain’s License and his hobbies include snowmobiling, boating, downhill skiing, hiking, and many diverse aspects of amateur radio.  Rick is currently President of the Central New Hampshire Radio Club.

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club‘s March meeting is Thursday, March 20th at 7:30 PM at the Pepperell Community Center (in Pepperell). We start gathering at 7 PM to socialize before the meeting starts. NVARC has a special treat in store for you at the March meeting.  Dale Clement, AF1T, will be talking about antennas.  NVARC has had Dale speak before, but we have enough new members and new hams that we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have him speak again.  Dale demonstrates practically and visually how and why antennas work.  Trust me: He’s entertaining, and you will learn a lot.  Do not miss this meeting!

The Board of Directors would also like to discuss possible plans for the N1MNX repeater system with membership, April elections of officers, Field Day in June, etc.  So please plan on attending the meeting.

If you need directions to the club meeting, please click <http://binged.it/smoogg> here and put your own address in box “A”.

Thanks, and 73. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bruce, K1BG
978-772-2773 or  <mailto:bruce.blain@charter.net> bruce.blain@charter.net

March 18, 2025: “How to Become a POTA Hunter” by Harold Kramer, WJ1B.

Description: Parks on the Air, POTA, is one of the fastest growing and most popular programs in Amateur Radio today. This presentation will provide an overview of the Parks on the Air program and will emphasize the tools, techniques, and practices for becoming an effective POTA Hunter. Hunters are stations that are not operating in a park, but rather, usually at their home stations. Hunters are essential to the POTA program because without Hunters, the Activators, stations located in a park, would have no one to work!  

Bio: Harold retired eight years ago as the Chief Operating Officer of the ARRL and Publisher of QST. He still writes Product Reviews and Classic Radio columns. He is currently a volunteer at the ARRL Lab and a member of the ARRL Board’s Historical Committee. He is an avid POTA Hunter with over 2,600 confirmed parks.  Harold was first licensed as KN1ZCK at age 14. He spent his entire career in the cable television and broadcast industries. Before joining the ARRL, Harold was the Chief Technology Officer of Connecticut Public Broadcasting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The University of Connecticut.  Here is a link to Harold’s website:  http://www.wj1b.com

Peter Morrison, AC1KY, will be speaking on “Aircraft Tracking with SDR” at the Wellesley ARS Meeting on March 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM at the Wellesley Police Station at 485 Washington St. (Route 16), Wellesley, MA. (Please park on the street, not in the police station parking lot.)

Aircraft Tracking using SDR will describe the ADS-B aircraft beaconing system, its development, and the use of low-cost RTL-SDR receivers to display aircraft data. Today, all aircraft worldwide are required to transmit ADSB signals.

The ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast) is like radar in the sense that it also provides surveillance information to a controller. However, the way it works is a bit different, which will be explained later. An ADS-B system can
be further explained as below:

A (Automatic): The system requires no action from either the transmitter (aircraft/pilot) or the receiver (air traffic
controller)
D (Dependent): It is dependent on aircraft systems to provide the data
S (Surveillance): The information from the system is used to identify an aircraft
B (Broadcast): The data from the system is continuously transmitted by the transmitter or the aircraft to any station with
proper equipment to receive it.

From https://simpleflying.com/ads-b-complete-guide/

The March PART meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, beginning at 7:30 PM at the Cameron Senior Center, 20 Pleasant Street, Westford, MA, and via Webex video conference.  For those attending via video conference, a meeting link is below; just click on the green button to join in.  You can join the conference any time after 7:00 PM to check out your gear or just rag chew until the meeting starts. Bear in mind that internet connectivity from the senior center may be unreliable.

 

Our guest speaker for the meeting is Tom Schiller, N6BT, who will be connecting via video conference from Arizona. Tom is the founder of Force-12 Antennas (now part of JK Antennas), and his topic is “Will it work?”, which describes looking at antenna design and components to see if the antenna will be efficient and, therefore, effective for us. There is a look at the construction and components of the fairly new Big Kansas Coil, plus other YouTube tests and two tests using our drones on a Buddi-Pole. There are also some suggestions along the way on magnetic loops.

 

All attendees are encouraged to bring donations of non-perishable food for the Westford Food Pantry.

 

See you Tuesday!

 

73,

George, K1IG

President, PART of Westford

MMRA Membership Meeting: Wednesday, 19 March 2025 ~7:30 – 9:30 pm

“FT8—An Update,” Larry Banks, W1DYJ

This is a Hybrid meeting: New England Sci-Tech + ZOOM

Location: New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick, MA

Members: log into your account on MMRA.ORG to obtain the Zoom information. Non-members: email: contact@mmra.org to request the information.

Bio: Larry first gave this talk in 2019. Since then a lot has changed and FT8 is now very popular. This talk will review the 2019 talk which discusses how to use WSJT-X and FT8, and will add some insights that Larry has discovered with the nearly 6000 contacts he has logged on FT8. Licensed in 1961 as novice KN1VFX, Larry became W1DYJ in 1966. After acquiring three degrees in EE from MIT, Larry was hired in 1969 by Hewlett-Packard Medical’s Cardiac lab in Waltham, MA, working on Electrocardiographs and then Cardiac Ultrasound systems. He moved to HP Medical Education in 1993, responsible for technical and project management training. When HP split apart, he became Agilent Technology’s global program manager for their Learning Management System. “Retiring” in 2005, he consulted for Avago (now Broadcom) on eLearning technologies through 2012. He now spends his time chasing DX and contesting in Woburn, traveling with his wife Maren, and attending many jazz and classical concerts. He is the net manager and newsletter editor for the MMRA, publications editor for HamXposition, and a member of the YCCC.