a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
Licensing, education, and training
From ARRL Web:
The Foundation for Amateur Radio Inc. (FAR) has invited applications for the 2020 – 2021 academic year for the scholarships it administers. Applications must be submitted via the online form. Several questions ask for essay responses. The deadline for initial submissions is April 30, 2020. Applicants may amend their applications until May 7. [Full story]
From the New England Sci-Tech leadership team news, January 26, 2020:
Members of the Natick High School Robotics Team took a crash course at New England Sci-Tech [on January 20, 2020] and we now have eight new youth licensed Technicians! Team members pose with their captain, Nolan, KC1IEO.
From the ARRL VE Newsletter, January 2020:
The new Amateur Extra class license examination question pool, effective from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2024, has been released and is available at the National Conference of Volunteer Coordinators (NCVEC) website.
The 2020 – 2024 Extra class pool incorporates significant changes compared to the current 2016 – 2020 question pool, which expires on June 30. The number of questions in the pool was reduced from 712 to 622. The result was 239 modified questions, 49 new questions, and 139 questions removed due to changes in what was felt to be an abundance of outdated questions, while areas of new technology and subjects were added.
In addition, an effort was made to balance the difficulty level, removing or replacing some questions deemed too easy or too difficult compared to the rest of the pool. The 2020 pool has 10 diagrams, which have been renumbered because the new Question Pool has two fewer than the 2016 Question Pool.
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal US education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS will open a proposal window February 1, 2020 for ham radio contacts that would be held between January 2021 and June 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations whose proposal features a way to draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The window for accepting proposals closes March 31, 2020.
Proposal information and documents are at www.ariss.org.
The Opportunity
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will support scheduled Amateur Radio contacts for students and their communities. These radio contacts are voice-only, approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts in a question-and-answer session. ARISS radio contacts and plans in submitted proposals can afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts about space research conducted on the ISS and what it is like to live and work in space, and to learn about ham satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of spaceflight and complexity of scheduling on-board ISS activities, education organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of a radio contact. Local ham radio groups volunteer to provide educational radio activities and the equipment and operational support to enable communication between the ISS crew and students using Amateur Radio.
More Information
For proposal information and more details, i.e., expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education@gmail.com .
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the ISS National Lab, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or large public forums. Before, during and after these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
Have you ever wondered what an antenna actually does? Why all those big pokey things on top of many tall buildings look the way they do? How we’ve engineered the ability to radiate electromagnetic waves across continents and oceans? If so, join us this Friday to hear about:
Antennas for Amateur Radio: Everything is a Dipole
(except when it’s a loop)
Friday, January 24th at 5:00 PM at MIT in room 4-270
Kiersten Kerby-Patel, University of Massachusetts at Boston
Hosted by the MIT Radio Society
Part of the IAP Radio Lecture Series <http://w1mx.mit.edu/iap/2020/
DINNER (Pizza) will be provided
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults who already have a Technician level license, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the GENERAL license exam. Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent approximately a week before the course.
The GENERAL level course runs Saturday, 8:30 am – 5 pm and Sunday, 8:30 am to noon, followed by the FCC General exam at noon, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick.
Included with course fee: printed handouts, lecture study guide, license fee if tested at our location, a guest pass to the NEAR/STARS Radio Room and radio club meetings for 2 months, and free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate during the course. Advance registration and payment required.
For more information and to register, visit <https://www.nescitech.org/product/weekend-general-class/>. For questions, e-mail bobphinney at nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179.
From the ARRL Web, 01/02/20:
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radio Society (W1MX) and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are hosting a lecture series in January that may answer some of your questions about such topics as radar techniques, interferometry, imaging, and radio astronomy, to antenna design and modern chip-scale RF devices. No prior experience with radio is necessary, and all are welcome.
All lectures will take place in the Green Building — MIT’s tallest academic building. Sessions will be live streamed and archived for later viewing.
The lectures kick off on January 10 with “The Next Generation of Weather Radar.” Other topics include “Lightning Interferometry” (January 13); “Radio Noises from the Sky” (January 15); “EDGES: Measuring the Early Universe” (January 22); “Antennas” (January 24), and “Chip-Scale THz Circuits and Sensors” (January 29). Lectures begin at 5 PM ET and conclude at 7 PM.
The club’s Daniel Sheen, KC1EPN, noted that the rooftop W1XM facilities in the Green Building are scheduled for removal as part of a renovation project. A capital campaign is under way to establish a new facility with improved capabilities for academic research and recreational activity.
The Sturdy Memorial Memorial Hospital ARC will sponsor a Technician licensing course beginning at 7 PM on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, lasting for eight weeks. Sessions will be conducted in the Michael Poissant Room / Clinical Education Center at the front entrance of the Hospital. For more information, contact Gary Powers, KB1KA, at kb1ka@cox.net.
The Whitman Amateur Radio Club will hold a weekly General license class for eight sessions beginning Tuesday, December 10, 2019 from 7-9 PM at the Whitman Police Station. The class will conclude on January 28, 2020. A volunteer exam session will follow, date to be determined. Material will be based on the ARRL General Class License Manual.
The course is offered free of charge; however students are responsible for acquiring their own textbooks. Interested parties are asked to contact the course instructor, Ross Hochstrasser, W1EKG via email at bavarianradio@comcast.net or by phone at 781-447-9104 or visit http://www.wa1npo.org/training/training.htm for additional information.
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults interested in wireless communications and electronics, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the Amateur Radio Technician license exam.
Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent a few days before the course.
The Technician level course runs on Saturday, 9 AM-4 PM and Sunday, 9 AM-1 PM, followed by the FCC Technician exam at 1:00, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick. [Full description]
We are pleased to offer a beginner level ham radio license course for adults, children, and child-parent pairs to facilitate their successful completion of the FCC radio license test. This course is appropriate for children ages 12 and up. Adults without children and children without adults are also welcome. Please call for logistics and permissions if any parents are unable to accompany their children for classes.
Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. The FCC Technician test will be given in the final class. This course is similar to the weekend course, but it is a slower and easier pace, geared toward children and beginners, and allows people to review content in the evenings.
The class meets for 2-1/2 hours on 5 weekdays, 6:30-9:00 pm, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick. Doors open 30 minutes before. Included with course fee: printed handouts, lecture study guide, license fee if tested at our location, a guest pass to the radio rooms and radio club meetings for 2 months, and free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate during the course.
If parent will not be taking the course with the child, please fill out the Child Drop-off Permissions Form after registering your child for this workshop.
For questions, reservations, and pricing options, e-mail bobphinney at nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179. https://www.nescitech.org/product/tech-in-5-days/
Gardi WInchester, KA1BTK, writes:
As all attendees to the current BTiaD course are already licensed, we’re going to shift gears a bit and focus more on understanding the concepts instead of passing the exam. At the request of those attending, we’re going to flop a couple of nights. This Tuesday, we’re going to get into programming radios both manually and with computer programs. If you would like to learn more about programming, please attend tomorrow evening.
Times: 18:30 – 20:30 (6:30 – 8:30 PM). I will be available a half hour before and after.
Location: Ipswich Town Hall
Downstairs Training Room / EOC
25 Green Street
Ipswich, MA 01938
Gardner H. Winchester II, KA1BTK, ARRL EC Cape Ann
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults interested in wireless communications and electronics, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the Amateur Radio Technician license exam.
Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent a few days before the course.
The Technician level course runs on Saturday, 9 AM-4 PM and Sunday, 9 AM-1 PM, followed by the FCC Technician exam at 1:00, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick. [Full description]
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults who already have a Technician level license, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the GENERAL license exam. Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent approximately a week before the course.
The GENERAL level course runs Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday, 9 am to 1 pm, followed by the FCC General exam at noon, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick.
Included with course fee: printed handouts, lecture study guide, license fee if tested at our location, a guest pass to the NEAR/STARS Radio Room and radio club meetings for 2 months, and free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate during the course. Advance registration and payment required.
For more information and to register, visit <https://www.nescitech.org/product/weekend-general-class/>. For questions, e-mail bobphinney at nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179.
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults who already have a Technician level license, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the GENERAL license exam. Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent approximately a week before the course.
The GENERAL level course runs Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday, 9 am to 1 pm, followed by the FCC General exam at noon, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick.
Included with course fee: printed handouts, lecture study guide, license fee if tested at our location, a guest pass to the NEAR/STARS Radio Room and radio club meetings for 2 months, and free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate during the course. Advance registration and payment required.
For more information and to register, visit <https://www.nescitech.org/product/weekend-general-class/>. For questions, e-mail bobphinney at nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179.
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults interested in wireless communications and electronics, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the Amateur Radio Technician license exam.
Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent a few days before the course.
The Technician level course runs on Saturday, 9 AM-4 PM and Sunday, 9 AM-1 PM, followed by the FCC Technician exam at 1:00, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick. [Full description]
Members of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club (NVARC) participated in Eastern Massachusetts Council of the Boy Scouts of America’s “Massasoit Fall Camporee” at Camp Collier, near Gardner on October 4-5, 2019. The camp is situated deep in the woods on a 500-acre tract of land owned by a preservation trust and leased to the Boy Scouts. Participating were: Bruce Blain, K1BG; Stan Pozerski, KD1LE; Jim Wilber, AB1WQ; Owen Salter, KC1KZT; Skip Youngberg, K1NKR; Phil Erikson, W1PJE; Dan Pedtke, KW2T; Dennis Marandos, K1LGQ; and George Kavanagh, KB1HFT.
A 130-foot long wire and a vertical were erected for HF contacts, thanks to the efforts of AB1WQ, K1BG, and K1NKR. Bruce, K1BG, along with Phil, W1PJE, and George, KB1HFT, showed the Scouts several facets of Amateur Radio. Bruce, K1BG, made numerous contacts and allowed the scouts to talk with people thousands of miles away.
Phil, W1PJE, brought “a very cool demonstration of the capabilities of an RTL-SDR dongle combined with a simple Raspberry-Pi and software setup.” Using his rig, Phil showed an application that decodes telemetry data sent by all aircraft, and displays the data on a map: flight number, heading, airspeed, etc . Another dongle application tuned the RF spectrum. Phil explained that by using such a setup “one can easily become a shortwave listener without being licensed.”
Stan, KD1LE, coordinated a series of fox hunts using NVARC FoxFinder™ rigs. “Using a small patch of woods on the edge of the field, I put the fox out in three different spots during the day as the Scouts moved through the events. They came by in groups of three or four. I started by giving some examples of applications for radio direction finding. Then I had them draw a sketch of the area using some landmarks such as buildings, the path, the lake, and some others that I provided (plastic buckets). Then we worked our way around the area with the Scouts taking bearings using a FoxFinder and plotting them on the sketch.” Stan led a total of eight groups in direction finding for the fox.
George, KB1HFT, demonstrated PSK31, PSK63, and WSPR modes of digital radio using a simple wire vertical tuned to 14.070 MHz.
Dennis, K1LGQ, contributed his Xiegu G90 QRP radio, an all band 160-10 XVCR with AM, SSB, and CW. It was powered using a 35amp gel-cell battery. “Conditions were not in my favor and I was competing with kilowatt stations on 40-meter phone. The antenna is a home brew vertical with spare parts from everywhere,” reports Dennis.
Far fewer Scouts turned out for the Camporee than were expected. However, those that did show up had a full day of Scout activities expertly managed by Rob Kosman of Pepperell Troop 13. One 17-year-old who had seen the radio demonstrations was overheard saying, “Dad, this is cool stuff; let’s find out more about it.”
The NVARC members plan to follow up with the Scouts to “both assist any that are interested in delving deeper, and to demonstrate to ourselves that our participation is having the desired result.”
–Tnx, Nashoba Valley ARC “Signal,” October, 2019 newsletter
Beyond Tech-In-A-Day
Amateur Radio Technician (Element 2)
License Preparation and Refresher Course
Sponsored by: Ipswich Emergency Management.
Dates: Five Tuesdays, November 5 / December 3
Times: 18:30 – 20:30 (6:30 – 8:30 PM). Help will be available a half hour before and after each session.
Location: Ipswich Town Hall, Downstairs Training Room / EOC.
25 Green Street
Ipswich, MA. 01938
Preregistration: Recommended
Course Fee: Free
Prerequisites: No pre-study is required but we recommend you skim through the material. Morse Code is no longer required for any Amateur Radio license.
Required Class Textbook: Gordon West’s 2018-2022 Technician Class Book (see below)
Exam sessions: Offered at CAARA, Dec 8th or at NSRA, Dec 28th. Exam costs: $15. More information on request.
Contact: Gardi Winchester II, KA1BTK
Phone: (978) 290-1720
Email: gardiw2@gmail.com
Additional Information: IEM recommends that its members are licensed Amateur Radio Operators. This course is intended to help prepare students to pass the Technician level (Element 2) exam to qualify for the license, and as a refresher course for currently licensed operators; to explore the concepts and privileges of the license grade.
The course will follow the Gordon West 2018-2022 Technician Class study manual available through the W5YI Group website: https://www.w5yi.org/catalog_
The course will be run as a combination “study group” with instruction by an experienced instructor. Some homework; reading and studying may be necessary to get the best results from this course. Printed handouts, presentations, and study materials will be provided.
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults who already have a Technician level license, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the GENERAL license exam. Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent approximately a week before the course.
The GENERAL level course runs Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday, 9 am to 1 pm, followed by the FCC General exam at noon, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick.
Included with course fee: printed handouts, lecture study guide, license fee if tested at our location, a guest pass to the NEAR/STARS Radio Room and radio club meetings for 2 months, and free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate during the course. Advance registration and payment required.
For more information and to register, visit <https://www.nescitech.org/product/weekend-general-class/>. For questions, e-mail bobphinney at nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179.
MIT Lincoln Lab employee Brian Smigielski, AB1ZO, has been awarded funding to design a course in which participants will learn how to build a prototype High Altitude Balloon Carrying Amateur Radio (HABCAR).
“The [MIT Lincoln Lab] Technology Office wanted to create another kit building course where each kit would have a price point of about $400/kit,” writes Brian. “I had suggested a Build-Your-Own High Altitude Balloon Carrying Amateur Radio course focused on a long-endurance flight using WSPR and transmitting back telemetry (as well as other sensor related data) using the “invalid” WSPR messages which begin with a 0 or Q (that are now searchable on WSPRnet.org). Luckily Jon and I had our idea make it all the way through and were awarded funding for prototype development as well as course development.”
Assisting Brian with the project are: Jon Schoenberg, AA1FH, Paul Therrien, and Ben Martin, W1BPM. “Ben was a student in the amateur radio course who expressed interest in helping out.”
“We have been working pretty diligently since early winter 2019 purchasing COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) parts, interacting with other hams who have helped accelerate our learning (Jared Smith N7SMI), and iterating our hardware/software designs. We expect our first launch will be on or about September 14.”
If all goes well, Brian thinks this will turn into a course for employees, then potentially for local area high school kids, boy and girl scout troops, or other STEM groups in the area.