Clubs

Bruce Blain, K1BG, writes on the Nashoba Valley ARC mailing list:

Summer is over and we are meeting again!

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s September meeting is Thursday, September 21st at 7:30 PM, at the Pepperell Community Center (in Pepperell MA). We start gathering at 7 PM to socialize before the meeting starts.

This month’s guest speaker will be our very own John Griswold, KK1X, who will be talking about “The Basics of POTA.”  POTA (short for “Parks on the Air”) has become a very popular operating activity on the high frequency bands. The program encourages and promotes portable operation (and emergency awareness) from national and state parks. John will share his experience and knowledge regarding his POTA operations. I’m sure it will be an interesting meeting!

Need directions? Click 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

Please visit NVARC on the web: www.n1nc.org
https://www.youtube.com/@nvarc
https://www.facebook.com/NVARC

The New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society will meet on-line and in-person on September 12, 2023 at 7 PM and feature: “The CQ DX Marathon Program – A DX Program for Everybody” by Mark Wohlschlegel, WC3W.

The CQ DX Marathon Program is a worldwide program for hams who love to pursue DX. In 2022, it was the fastest growing DX program in the world, realizing a 42% growth from 2021. The Marathon is a program, not a contest. Many participants choose not to compete but instead use the program as a metric to do self-evaluation on how they are improving year over year. A unique characteristic of the program is that there are various categories to allow comparing DX activities against others around the world having similar station setups. Participation is encouraged in single modes, CW, SSB, Digital, or all modes. It is very simple to participate and tools allow easy uploads of your logs to the website. Results are published in the June edition of CQ Magazine. www.dxmarathon.com.

Bio: Mark grew up in Illinois and lived there through college when attending Bradley University, majoring in Electrical Engineering. Mark and his wife now live in Palm Beach Gardens, FL and have a summer home in Colorado, operating from both locations. Mark has been an active DX’er his entire ham radio career and still enjoys chasing DX. Prior to his appointment to lead the DX Marathon Program, he was a participant. Besides amateur radio, Mark has flown airplanes since he was 18 years old and holds private, instrument, and commercial ratings. He also enjoys motorcycle trips and sailing. 

A new radio club in Quincy has been formed called the Quincy Radio Club. It has been issued the call sign “KW1NZE.”

According to Quincy Radio Club trustee Peter Doherty, KC1HHO, the club will host “a series of special events that focus on the extraordinary cultural, political and social history of Quincy (pronounced “Kwinzee”) and its contribution to our nation and the world.”

“We are excited about our first upcoming event. The list of significant ‘Who, What and Here’  is long and varied.” Peter adds, “It will be difficult to choose the first.”

The Quincy Radio Club will commentate each event QSO with a handsome certificate upon request. 

The New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society will meet on-line and in-person on August 29, 2023 at 7 PM and feature: “2m – 70cm Satellite Dish Slot Antennas” by John Portune, W6NBC.

Description: Have you ever wondered if you could hide a 2m – 70 cm base antenna in a television satellite dish?  By cutting a slot antenna into the reflector of a TV satellite dish, neighbors and homeowner associations are unlikely to notice it and, even if they do, federal Law prevents them from telling you to take it down.

Bio: John is a native of Los Angeles, CA and was first licensed in 1965. He has a Bachelor’s degree in physics from Oregon State University and, before he retired, was a broadcast television engineer and instructor. John is a ham magazine author and has published more than 25 articles to date in QST. He is active on HF, VHF, UHF – SSB, FM, digital modes, ham satellites and his other hobbies include steam railroading and pipe organs. John is married to KF6OEB and has three children and 12 grandchildren. 

The New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society will meet on-line and in-person on August 15, 2023 at 7 PM and feature: “QRP Operating on the Microwave Bands” by Tommy Henderson, WD5AGO.

Bio: Thomas (Tommy) Henderson, WD5AGO, of Broken Arrow, OK was first licensed at his high school ARC in Sand Springs, OK. Interest in EME developed and at 21, he made his first 2m EME QSO. He is currently active on 70, 23, 13, and 6 cm EME and HF QRP. Tommy has helped the CSVHFS since the early 90’s with their noise figure measuring contest. Professionally, Tommy is the associate professor and coordinator for the Electronics program at Tulsa Community College and is adjunct associate professor for Oklahoma State University. He developed their ARC and IEEE clubs, of which he is a senior member. They have built EV’s and held a world record in the ¼ mile of 9.75s at 130+ MPH. Tommy received his Masters of Engineering Technology degree from Pittsburg State University and was awarded the CSVHFS Mel Wilson award in 2007 and the 2001 ARRL Professional Instructor of the Year award.

Doug Bruce, N1WRN, writes on the Billerica Amateur Radio Society website:

I am excited to inform the [Billerica Amateur Radio Society] that I have secured Rob Sherwood, of Sherwood Engineering to be our Guest Speaker for the August 2, 2023 Club Meeting via Zoom. Here is Bob’s bio, which is quite impressive. Bob is the Gold Standard with regard to review and testing of all Amateur Radio receivers. Please join us on August 2, 2023 at 7:00 PM for this presentation, which is sure to be very informative!

Ham radio began for me in 1961 in Cincinnati, Ohio, as both a novice and general-class operator. After graduating college in 1969 with a degree in physics, I moved to Denver and worked for KOA radio as an engineer until 1987. While at KOA, I maintained their 50 KW AM and FM transmitters, microwave links and studio equipment.

1974 saw the beginning of Sherwood Engineering, offering roofing filters and upgrade kits for the Drake R-4C. In 1976 I started measuring receiver performance on dozens of radios, since reviews in QST did not correlate with actual on-air observations at crunch time in CW contests. In 1977 “ham radio magazine” published the first of several of my articles on receiver problems and cures, vertical antenna ground systems and mobile antenna efficiency. Those articles are available on my web site as PDF files. Receiver test data is now web based with 150 transceiver and receiver listings.

www.nc0b.com/table.html

In the 80s I was invited to be a forum speaker at the Dayton Hamvention on several occasions, discussing both receiver and antenna performance issues. In 2004 I returned to the Dayton Contest Forum, giving a talk on the status of receivers both old and new, with special emphasis on the Orion and the Icom 7800. In 2007 the Drake Forum had me present a talk on the pros and cons of the new batch of DSP transceivers. In 2009 I made a presentation at the Dayton Hamvention Antenna Forum on ground systems for vertical antennas.

2016 included a presentation at the Visalia DX Convention. In 2017 & 2023 I spoke at ARRL Hamcon in Wyoming. Also two appearances at the Duke City Hamfest in Albuquerque, NM. Contest University 2023 will be my 16th annual presentation at this great event.

Other speaking invitations at ham events have included WØDXCC, W9DXCC, W4DXCC, YCCC, New Orleans, Austin, Huntsville, Tucson & St. Louis. Locally around Colorado I have discussed receiver performance at the Boulder Amateur Radio, Northern Colorado Amateur Radio, Colorado QRP, and 285 TechConnect Radio Clubs.

Sixteen years ago, my XYL encouraged me to build my dream contest station on 10 acres east of Ft. Collins, Colorado on the Pawnee Grassland. This has made it possible to evaluate top transceivers in major contests in a real-world environment to augment my laboratory data. This rural setting has allowed me to focus my interest on effective antennas. Six towers support 9 mono-band HF Yagis, plus 6m, 2m and 70cm, and wire antennas for 160, 80/40 and 30 meters.

I use WSJT X on the 475 kHz band with a 630 meter transverter manufactured in Australia driven with an IC-7610. I use my 160-meter Marconi T antenna with a separate tuner on 475 kHz. My 630m log of 38 states, including Hawaii, Alaska and Maine using JT9 & FST4. My best DX on 475 kHz is over 8000 miles between Colorado and Australia, having worked Roger, VK4YB,
three times.

In person presentations for 2023 so far have been Winterfest in Collinsville, IL, and Contest University the day before Hamvention in Xenia Ohio. I often have Zoom club meetings every month or two in the US and periodically in the UK.

BARS will announce the link to join the Zoom meeting before the meeting, but it will be posted to the BARS email list and
should not be shared outside our Club. Are you on the email list? If not, please send an email to bars-subscribe@w1hh.org and then simply reply to the robot response from the server and you will be subscribed.

Observing our Zoom meeting requires only a web browser and headphones/speakers. You do not need a webcam or microphone
unless you want to speak or be seen.

Before our meeting date, please go to https://zoom.us/test and see if it will function for you. If you have problems, we can try to
assist – feel free to ask questions on the BARS email list.

We are looking forward to “seeing” many of you on Wednesday 8/2 here at 1900.

Doug, N1WRN

The New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society will meet on-line and in-person on August 15, 2023 at 7 PM and feature: “QRP Operating on the Microwave Bands” by Tommy Henderson, WD5AGO.

Bio: Thomas (Tommy) Henderson, WD5AGO, of Broken Arrow, OK was first licensed at his high school ARC in Sand Springs, OK. Interest in EME developed and at 21, he made his first 2m EME QSO. He is currently active on 70, 23, 13, and 6 cm EME and HF QRP. Tommy has helped the CSVHFS since the early 90’s with their noise figure measuring contest. Professionally, Tommy is the associate professor and coordinator for the Electronics program at Tulsa Community College and is adjunct associate professor for Oklahoma State University. He developed their ARC and IEEE clubs, of which he is a senior member. They have built EV’s and held a world record in the ¼ mile of 9.75s at 130+ MPH. Tommy received his Masters of Engineering Technology degree from Pittsburg State University and was awarded the CSVHFS Mel Wilson award in 2007 and the 2001 ARRL Professional Instructor of the Year award.

The New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society will meet on-line and in-person on July 25, 2023 at 7 PM and feature: “Satellite Tracking Using Astronomy Telescope Mounts” by Dwayne Sinclair, AB6A.

Description: Dwayne’s presentation will cover the use of amateur astronomy GOTO mounts as amateur radio satellite and EME “rotators.” Such astronomy mounts provide both “off the shelf” and portable solutions for satellite and EME operations.

Bio: Dwayne is a passionate amateur radio enthusiast, beginning in high school in New Zealand where he became an active member of the “Radio Club,” deepening his knowledge and skills in radio and electronics. Dwayne’s professional background as an IT Infrastructure Specialist, together with hobbies including astronomy, have allowed him to bring a unique perspective to the amateur radio community. Dwayne’s interests in the hobby include HF DXing, balloons, satellite operations, battleships (NI6BB), and EME. These diverse interests keep him engaged and constantly exploring the endless possibilities of amateur radio.

George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:

To All PART Members and Friends,

The July [PART of Westford] meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 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.

The main topic is a big wrap-up report on Field Day, with maps and awards. How many states did we contact? Who got the longest DX? Come to the meeting and find out. 

The Minecraft project is accelerating, and we’ll have a progress report and announcement of a forthcoming public release.

The auction for an Icom ID-51A+2 HT and Diamond SX-400 SWR/power meter ends tonight (Sunday), so there’s still time to put in your bids. Winners will be announced at the Tuesday meeting.

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

Tuesday, July 18 at 7 PM: “SOTA and POTA while Traveling Abroad” by Paul Mower, VA6MPM and Peter Shmerko, VE6FPV.

Description: Traveling abroad is a great way to explore new and unique destinations as well as to embrace different cultures. As an amateur radio operator, traveling abroad can become much more interesting. Paul and Peter will share their experiences and techniques after operating SOTA abroad in Japan and Switzerland, respectively. They will also provide advice on what they recommend preparing before travelling, since certain countries require intricate procedures before they allow you to operate. Furthermore, Peter will conclude the presentation with an introduction and brief overview of his team’s CubeSat project (CalgaryToSpace) at the University of Calgary.

Bio for Peter VE6FPV: Peter started flying radio-controlled model aircraft at the age of 12 and started to develop an interest in first-person-view (FPV) and long range aerial systems. This prompted him to get his Basic amateur radio license to operate model aircraft on UHF radio systems. After joining the CalgaryToSpace CubeSat team in 2021 as the radio-communications lead, he received his Advanced amateur radio license to start developing the CubeSat’s ground station. Lacking a home station, Peter became curious about SOTA since it could combine his interests of amateur radio and mountaineering. Peter has been an active SOTA operator since 2022.

Bio for Paul VA6MPM: Paul’s interest in radio began while growing up in Kenya, listening to the BBC on a shortwave radio. However, the desire to become a licensed HAM came with the necessity to communicate from the remote backcountry hut network operated by the Alpine Club of Canada. From a very young age, mountaineering pursuits have been a large part of Paul’s life. Living in North America, Africa and Asia created a curiosity about mountain culture in various parts of the world. Traveling and operating SOTA has become one of the most rewarding aspects of the hobby for Paul.

Our guest speaker at our meeting on Wednesday, July 5 at 7 PM, will be Ria Jairam, N2RJ. Ria is from Sussex, New Jersey and is well known and respected around the ham radio community. Among her many credentials are:

• Life member, ARRL
• Past Director, Hudson Division, ARRL (2019-2023)
• Member of : Amsat, NJDXA, FRC, YLRL, RSGB, Sussex County ARC, Fair Lawn ARC, RIO DX group
• FRC Section Manager, Northern NJ
• SKCC #2725, 100WAAW #927, BH #155

Ria’s many awards include the following:

• DXCC 327 mixed (329 including deleted)
• 9 bands DXCC (5BDXCC + 30, 17, 12, 160)
• Challenge 1900+ confirmed (2050+ worked)
• VUCC 388 grids, as well as many Hudson Division and W2 call area wins in ARRL DX SSB, ARRL DX CW, CQWW SSB, etc.

Her most memorable DXCC QSO: Bouvet 3Y0E. “Weak but workable” – to me, anyway. and Honorable mention – ZD8I – was calling CQ on PSK31 and he answered! Ria will be speaking to us about a fast upcoming trend in ham radio, SDR radios, and how they are used in ham radio. I am sure this will be a very interesting and informative presentation. Please join us on Wednesday, July 5! You won’t want to miss this presentation.

BARS will announce the link to join the Zoom meeting before the meeting, but it will be posted to the BARS email list and should not be shared outside our Club. Are you on the email list? If not, please send an email to bars-subscribe@w1hh.org and then simply reply to the robot response from the server and you will be subscribed.

Observing our Zoom meeting requires only a web browser and headphones/speakers. You do not need a webcam or microphone unless you want to speak or be seen.

Before our meeting date, please go to https://zoom.us/test and see if it will function for you. If you have problems, we can try to assist – feel free to ask questions on the BARS email list.

We are looking forward to “seeing” many of you on Wednesday 7/5 here at 1900.

Doug, N1WRN

Minuteman Repeater Association membership meeting: Wednesday, June 21, 2023 ~7:30—9:30 pm: Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN). Jim Garner, KC1BHD; and Michael Ford, WZØC. This is a Hybrid meeting at New England SciTech in Natick + ZOOM.
(Members: log into your account on MMRA.ORG to obtain the ZOOM info.
Non-members: send an email to contact@mmra to request the ZOOM info.

Michael, WZ0C, lives in Maynard and enjoys the amateur radio digital modes. Michael became interested in AREDN last year, connecting with Orv, W6BI, and Jim and learning about their efforts. Michael is hoping to use AREDN to increase the digital presence in Massachusetts. 

Jim, KC1BHD, has always been interested in data transmission in general and for several years, AREDN mesh networking in particular. He lives near Worcester and envisions creating RF access to an AREDN mesh for hams. He will give a demonstration of his AREDN go-kit prototype to be used in ARES activations, at disaster locations, or public service events.

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

Besides discussing plans for ARRL Field Day (June 24th and June 25), our guest speaker will be Tim Duffy, K3LR. Besides the sponsor of a world-class multi operator contest station, Tim is the face behind DX Engineering, one of the most successful Amateur Radio dealers in the country. I’m sure this will be an interesting talk

Also, NVARC will be taking ARRL Membership Applications (new, renewals, and extentions) at the meeting. The club gets a nice commission on each application we submit..

Need directions? Click 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

Donna Halper will be presenting about the role amateurs played in early commercial radio and sports broadcasting [on June 7 at 7:00 PM.]

Donna was born here in Massachusetts and began working in the broadcasting field in 1968 as a DJ and music director. In 1974, while at WMMS in Cleveland she “discovered” the progressive rock band Rush.

She has written several books, including the first book-length study devoted to the history of women in American broadcasting, Invisible Stars: A Social History of Women in American Broadcasting. She also has taught college-level courses in broadcasting, media criticism, media history and radio programming and has a PhD from UMass Amherst.

There’s a Wikipedia article about her at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Halper and she has a website (and blog) at http://donnahalper.com/.

Tue, May 23 at 7:00 PM: “Radio Orienteering” by Bob Frey, WA6EZV

Description: Radio Orienteering combines the skills of Orienteering, the equipment and expertise of Radio Direction Finding, and the athleticism of cross country running and combines them into a fun and competitive sport. Besides an introduction into basic orienteering using topographical maps, this presentation will cover how to get started in Radio Orienteering/ARDF (Amateur Radio Direction Finding) focusing on 2M hunts. Discussion will include how Radio Orienteering differs from classic orienteering, and what equipment is required for 2M and 80M hunts. A variety of receivers, different attenuators, and an inexpensive Yagi antenna for 2M ARDF/RO along with some basic transmitters and an inexpensive controller will also be discussed. Suggestions for practice events and where to get additional information will also be covered.

Bio: Bob holds an Extra Class license and was first licensed in 1968. He has been active in Foxhunting for over 50 years and has been a speaker for the Foxhunt/ARDF forum at Dayton Hamvention for nearly 30 years. Bob sets ARDF practice courses, including at the YOTA Camp in 2021 and 2022. He has competed in 20 U.S. National ARDF Championships, and is a four time champion. He has co-chaired three championships and participated in four World Championships. Bob’s ARRL appointments include ARRL Volunteer Examiner, DXCC Field Checker, HF Awards Manager, and Member of ARRL RO/ARDF Sub-Committee.

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s May meeting is Thursday, May 18th 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 Ray Lajoie, AA1SE, who will speak to us regarding “The BIG E.” The BIG E (short for the Eastern States Exposition) is the largest agricultural event on the eastern seaboard and the filth-largest fair in the nation. The BIG E represents all six New England States and features entertainment, unique foods, competitive livestock shows, shopping, a circus and much more. In 2022, Amateur Radio got top billing at the BIG-E, and plans are underway for 2023. I’m sure this will be an interesting talk. Please join us.

Need directions? Click 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