Operating
Operating, on-the-air events and activities, contests, DXing
WRTC 2014 Testing – Volunteers Sought
Mark Pride, K1RX writes:
Hello from the WRTC 2014 organizing committee!
Thanks too all of you who have stepped forward and volunteered to help with the WRTC testing effort we’re planning for this July (trial run). And for those that yet to sign up, please review the following with your fellow club members and contact me if you can volunteer for this July (or beyond).
We’re interested to making sure that the sites we have approval to use will work as well as we hope they will (and are not too good or too bad), and we need to work through the process of setting up and taking down stations using the configuration we are planning to use in 2014.
There are three parts of the process:
Station set-up Operating Station tear-down
Full details on WRTC 2014 can be found at: http://www.wrtc2014.org/
Station Set-Up
The set-up process is currently estimated to take 5-6 hours, and would take place on Thursday or Friday. A team of at least four people will be needed for each location.
Each site runs independently, with a 1kw generator, tent, table, etc. We have successfully tested a tilt-over Rohn 25 tower with tri-bander and 40/80m dipoles. All of this should fit in a pick-up truck and weighs roughly 350 pounds.
The tower/antennas use the falling-derrick method to get them up – no climbing needed (nor wanted).
Once installed, we will need someone to spend the night to monitor the equipment until the contest starts (Saturday morning at 8am).
Operating
The contest runs from 8am Saturday until 8am Sunday. We would like to see the station active for the full time period if possible. For 2012 we are only envisioning one station and one operator but if you want to be ambitious and plan for two, go for it. You will need a triplexer if there are two stations using the tribander.
During the contest we will be monitoring all stations .
Two demonstration events are planned leading up to the July, 2012 trial run.
1. May 4 and 5, 2012 at the NEARfest event in Deerfield, NH
2. At the QTH of Mark, K1RX in Kensington, NH on June 2 (directions and RSVP can be found at the YCCC.org web site)
I am inviting participation from ALL New England based amateur radio clubs to join us at the NEARfest or at my place on June 2 to get first hand training and experience with every aspect of the tower and antenna assembly and operation.
Note also that the towers, generators, antennas will be offered to clubs that help in this significant undertaking at a considerable discount. More details to follow on this opportunity to help the local clubs in New England.
Titanic One Hundred Years Amateur Radio Event, Operators Needed
Licensed General, Advanced, and Extra class operators needed to operate at the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, Chatham MA
http://www.chathammarconi.org/
Sign up for operating times in blocks of 2 hours, you can sign up for more than one block. As of January 11, 2012 we need:
CW operators 24 hours/day between April 12 at 8 AM April -15 at 4 PM
Voice operators at night Thu-Sat April 12-evening of April 14
Voice operators daytime on Saturday and Sunday April 14/15
PSK 24 hrs day April 12 8 am-April 15 at 4 PM
email Barbara Dougan, N1NS/KM1CC trustee, badougan@gmail.com with the following information:
Call Sign:
License Class:
Name:
Cell or home phone number:
Please indicate whether you want to operate CW, Phone, or Digital-PSK along with your preferred operating times.
Marlborough EMA To Host YCCC Contest University,
Tony Brock-Fisher, K1KP writes on the YCCC reflector:
The Yankee Clipper Contest Club will host a Contest University and Local Meeting on Monday, November 21 from 6:30-10pm. The location is:
Marlborough Fire Headquarters
215 Maple Street (Route 85)
Marlborough, MA 01752
enter from the side door (signs will be posted)
map at: http://www.marlborough-ma.gov/Gen/MarlboroughMA_WebDocmnts/firedept_directions
‘professors’ K1DG, K1IR, and K1XM will lecture on tips, tricks and techniques to improve your contest score:
- Maximizing score with limited station
- Maximizing score with limited operating time
- Specific strategies for your entry class (SO, Assisted, MS, M2, MM)
- Propagation – what’s expected this year
- Operating tips for running, S&P, DO’s and DON’Ts
- Sleep strategy
This will also serve as a local meeting, so new members can join YCCC.
If you are interested in attending, please send an email to me at president[at]yccc.org
There will probably be a gathering for dinner at a nearby restaurant before hand; details to be announced.
Thanks to Eric, KV1J, SE Mass Area Manager for setting this up!
KM1CC Trans-Atlantic Anniversary Operation, 1/17-1/18
The Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club invites interested amateurs to operate the KM1CC station on January 17-18, 2011 during the anniversary of Marconi’s first trans-Atlantic transmission from the USA to Europe.
The station is located at the Coast Guard Station on Coast Guard Beach in Eastham. Planned hours of operation are 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM on both dates. If there is interest, the station may also be operational the evening of January 17.
According to station trustee Barbara Dougan, N1NS, two HF stations will be set up — one for CW, the other for phone. Operations will be conducted on 17, 20, 40, 75 and 80 meters.
“There is a need for phone operators anytime of the day, and CW operators late afternoon and the evening of Monday, January 17,” she adds.
For full details, see http://ema.arrl.org/local/km1cc_2011_announcement.pdf.
Massachusetts QRP Convention Tickets are now available
Tickets are now on sale for the Massachusetts QRP Convention to be held at the Westford Regency Hotel and Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts March 12-13, 2010. Conference admission is $25 per person which includes access to the Friday night meet-and-greet and the Saturday conference event. Ten speakers are scheduled to appear including three members of the QRP ARCI Hall of Fame and Joeseph H. Taylor, Jr., Professor in the Department of Physics at Princeton University and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1993).
A post conference banquet will be held Saturday evening featuring Steve Galchutt, WG0AT, the “goat hiker” and his adventures climbing Colorado’s various 14,000 foot peaks with his faithful pack-goat companions Rooster and Peanut. Admission to the banquet is $40 per person.
Tickets can be purchased on-line at http://www.masscon.org/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20170210153035/http://www.masscon.org/index.html] with PayPal or any major credit card.
MMRA, QRA To Host Joint Fox Hunt, July 18, 2009
Kevin Paetzold, K1KWP writes:
The Minuteman Repeater Association and the Quannapowitt Radio Association have scheduled a joint hidden transmitter fox hunt on Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
– The fox will be a stationary ham radio operator in a vehicle transmitting on 146.19 MHz PL 146.2. This is the input frequency of the MMRA Weston repeater (146.79 PL 146.2).
– The fox will be located within 10 miles of the Weston repeater which is at North 42deg 22.8′ West 071deg 19.2.
– The signal from the fox must be strong enough so the fox can be understood on the repeater output.
– The fox will transmit for at least 30 seconds of every five minutes during the fox hunt. The fox hunt begins at
10:00AM and ends when either there are no more hunters who have not found the fox or noon.
– The fox must continue to transmit on the hunt frequency throughout the hunt. However, hunters are prohibited from
transmitting once they have located the fox.
– The fox must not be on private property. In order to be found the fox must not require driving on private roads.
– Cooperation among the hunters is encouraged. Sharing initial direction bearings and signal strength
observations is necessary to allow some localization (for example the town where the fox in located) so that finding
the fox within the time limits is more likely.
– Home stations are also encouraged to participate and share their readings. As the hunt progresses, information
sharing is less valuable.
– Information is generally shared via the 2M repeater used for the hunt (in this case 146.79 MHz PL 146.2). Many
hunters use 70-cm to talk and to hear what others are saying as their 2-Meter radio may be dedicated to RDF on
the repeater input frequency.
The MMRA 70cm HUB1 repeater in Marlboro will be linked to during the hunt. Hunters therefore may transmit on either
2-meters or on 70-cm to join in the conversation. HUB1 repeater output is 449.925 PL 88.5 and the input is
444.925 PL 88.5.
As the hunters approach the fox conversations often shifts to 446.0 MHz FM simplex.
– We plan to have lunch at a restaurant near the fox location after the hunt. Lunch location will be a
consensus decision of those hunters who have found the fox.
– Ham radio operators who do not have equipment or who would like to gain experience from riding with an experienced
fox hunter are invited to ride along.
It is expected that each hunter will start from separate locations (as determined by the hunter).
Contact k1kwp@mmra.org (Kevin) and n1be@mmra.org (Bob) to coordinate ride alongs if needed. Those hunters who have room and are willing to accommodate riders are also asked contact K1KWP and N1BE.
This information is also posted at: http://www.mmra.org/foxhunts.
Marconi Day, Special “Old and New” Communications, Kids’ Activities, April 25, 2009
On April 25, 2009 the Cape Cod National Seashore will have a full day of special old and new “communication” activities and programs to celebrate both International Marconi Day and National Junior Ranger Day. The event is free. A free shuttle bus will run between the sites in Eastham from 9:30 AM- 2 PM.
In celebration of International Marconi Day, the Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club, KM1CC, will operate from the Coast Guard Station, Eastham from 9 AM-4 PM. This is a global event, radio operators from around the world will make contact with KM1CC to honor the birthday of the “Wizard of Wireless,” Guglielmo Marconi, on his birth date, April 25, 1874. Morse code or continuous wave (CW), and voice operations will be used.
KM1CC Operating Plan for International Marconi Day, April 25, 2009 UTC
CW and Phone on the following bands (General and Extra Class allocations):
17M 18.160 SSB 18.080 CW 40M 7.130-7.260 SSB 7.035 CW
20M 14.260 SSB 14.035 CW 80M 3.660-3.860 SSB 3.535 CW
From 10 AM-1 PM, to expand the celebration of communication history on Cape Cod beyond Marconi, additional park sites in Eastham and the Marconi Station Site, Wellfleet that relate to communication history will be open. Eastham sites include: Nauset Lighthouse, Three Sisters Lighthouses, and the French Cable Hut at Nauset Light Beach. Kids can participate in a variety of activities at each site as part of a Kids’ Signal Jam: Talking and Texting with Wires and Without.” Activities will include: keys to practice sending Morse Code messages, walkie-talkies, rescue with signals, lighthouse flashing activities, signal flags, and testing wired equipment related to the early French Cable that sent telegraph messages from the Eastham and Orleans area to France for 80 years, 1879-1959.
At 2 PM at the Salt Pond Visitor Center, NASA space educator Rick Varner will revisit the recent space communications advances and offer speculation on visions for the future. Recently, NASA announced successful tests of software and satellite hardware that could essentially create an interplanetary internet. Such a communication network will open the gateway to the development of more complex missions and reliable communications for astronauts living and working upon the surface of the moon.
For more information see the enclosed press release, kid’s schedule, or contact Barbara Dougan, KB1GSO at 508-255-3421 x16.
W1P Special Event Station Commemorates Portland Loss
K1WCC, K2LP, KB1GSO and the KM1CC Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club will operate special event station W1P on November 28, 2008 commemorating the sinking of the Steamship Portland.
November 27, 1898 was New England’s “Night to Remember”, the day on which almost 200 souls lost their lives aboard the steamship Portland when she foundered off Cape Cod during the great gale which bears her name. She has often been called “New England’s Titanic” for the magnitude her loss had on local communities, especially her namesake city.
According to Henry Brown, K1WCC, “Since 2005, hams from the Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club have commemorated the day with a Special Event Station set up overlooking Cape Cod Bay. This year, on Friday, November 28th, Highland Light in Truro will be the location of the commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the tragedy. Two HF stations (CW and SSB) will be in operation from 9 AM local time to about 4 PM at the lighthouse, and tours will be conducted of the museum and lighthouse. Special Event callsign is W1P, with QSLs to K1WCC. We will also be activating Highland Light, USA-110, for those who collect lighthouse numbers.”
Operations are expected on the following frequencies:
CW: 7.030, 14.030 and 18.070
SSB 7.260, 14.260, 18.160
Adds Brown, “Combine a visit to the beautiful Outer Cape with a lighthouse tour and possibly some guest operating. Bring your portable HF rig and work us from the parking lot or beach.”
–Thanks, K1WCC
QRA Fox Hunt 3/27/08
Tom Charbonneau, NZ1X writes on the QRA mailing list:
The next [Quannapowitt Radio Assocation] fox hunt will be held Thursday night, March 27, starting at 7:00 PM from the Senior Center in Reading. Alex Svirsky, N1PRW, will be in place as the fox at that time using his new foxbox transmitting on 146.565 MHz. We will talk with the fox as necessary on the 145.290 repeater in North Andover. This should be more enjoyable than previous hunts because the foxbox will automatically transmit periodically (and fairly frequently), and we won’t have to keep making requests for the fox to start yapping so we can get a fix on him.
Hope to see you there,
Tom, NZ1X
International Marconi Day/KM1CC Operation, 4/26/08
Barbara Dougan, KB1GSO writes:
International Marconi Day starts on Saturday, April 26, 0000 UTC this year. That means KM1CC will start operating Friday night April 25 at 20:00 EDST and go thru early evening on Sat. April 26. You can always operate longer on April 26/27 if you want. It will be at the Coast Guard Station, Eastham.
Let me know if you want me to save you a bunk bed so you can spend Friday and/or Sat night. Operating on 80 meters is fun early in the morning! I am planning to provide a “Marconi Pasta Feast” on Saturday night.
Our operation will be open to the public from 9 am-4 pm, so we will need to take turns acting as amateur radio ambassadors to all ages.
Let me know if you have other ideas and if you will participate.
Barbara Dougan, KB1GSO/KM1CC trustee
Education Specialist
Cape Cod National Seashore
99 Marconi Site Road
Wellfleet, MA 02667
Phone: 508-255-3421 x 16
Fax : 508-240-3291
–Thanks, Falmouth ARA web site
Cape Ann ARA To Hold Winter Field Day Exercise
The Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association will hold a 24-hour “winter” Field Day exercise beginning at noon, January 26, 2008, according to CAARA’s Briggs Longbothum, AB2NJ.
“CAARA will exercise and demonstrate our capability to deploy and communicate under emergency conditions using portable/battery power. This event is similar to the ARRL’s well-known Field Day event held every June but will be conducted in January inside our club house but using non-permanent equipment and off-grid power,” says Briggs. “All are invited and welcomed to stop by and visit, operate, or enjoy a snack and some camaraderie at the clubhouse.”
AB2NJ says that this is the second annual winter Field Day, and the first time they’ve operated it in conjunction with the Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio’s [archive.org link] Winter Field Day.
—CAARA News, January 2008
Whitman ARC 2007 Plimoth Plantation Special Issue Newsletter
The Whitman Amateur Radio Club has produced a special edition of its newsletter, The Spectrum, highlighting the club’s special event operation from the Plimoth Plantation November 24-25, 2007.
According to WARC President Paul Burbine N1VTI, “There were twenty-six Whitman ARC members and five area hams who helped set up and operate three HF base stations, one Echolink station and two 2-meter base stations, along with portable antennas at the recreation of the 17th century Pilgrim Settlement and Wampanoag Indian Homesite.”
“The weather was great but – with the temperature in the low 30s – the gloves were on.”
The Whitman Times carried an excellent article on the event: Thanksgiving transmitted all around the world.
[See also: Plimoth Plantation Special Event, 11/24-11/25/07]QRA Fox Hunt, Oct. 10, 2007
Tom Charbonneau, NZ1X writes on the QRA mailing list:
(If you don’t have a radio and/or directional antenna, you’ll want to go in a car with someone who does.)
We will use the frequency of 146.500 as usual (simplex of course). A compass and a map of the area will help. My cell phone number is 781-258-0625 if you need to call me. Also, I’ll be monitoring the 145.290 repeater prior to the fox hunt.
QRA To Host Fox Hunt July 26
Tom Charbonneau, NZ1X writes on the QRA list:
QRA Fox Hunt, June 21, 2007
The Quannapowitt Radio Assocation will hold a 2-meter fox hunt on June 21, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. Participants are invited to meet in the parking lot of the Reading Senior Center, 49 Pleasant Street, Reading, MA.
“Even if you do not have a directional antenna, you can still participate and have a good time,” writes QRA’s Tom Charbonneau, NZ1X. “Some of us have built a popular 3-element tape measure beam that stows easily in the trunk or back seat and can take a beating. It costs less than $10 to build and works well. I urge you all to build one.”
According to Charbonneau, QRA plans to hold fox hunts on a regular basis.
[See also: QRA Members Go On A Fox Hunt–And A Fabulous Feast!]QRA Members Go On A Fox Hunt–And A Fabulous Feast!
Members and guests of the Quannapowitt Radio Assocation participated in a radio direction-finding “fox hunt” and also, were treated to an exceptional meal at the home of Tom Charbonneau, NZ1X on May 29, 2007.
According to QRA’s Bob Reiser, AA1M, he and Ron Draper, WA1QZK hid on a hill near the Stoneham-Reading town line near Route 28. “There was a small problem with the leads on the power supply in the repeater Ron set up, but this was bypassed and the hunt began.”
According to Reiser, the “foxes” were first found by WA1RHN, then a bit later by N1PRW and KB1OZS. All participants finally surrounded the target by 9:45 p.m.
“This was the first fox hunt held by the members of QRA in quite a while,” reports AA1M. “Everyone had a great time and Tom, NZ1X mentioned that maybe next time we will do it on a weekend day so all the participants can get home at a reasonable time.”
–Thanks, QRA News, June 2007
International Marconi Day – April 28, 2007
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Attention Radio Operators – Cape Cod National Seashore to Participate in International Marconi Day April 28th
Date: March 19, 2007
Contact: Barbara Dougan, (508) 255 – 3421 x16
International Marconi Day – April 28, 2007 UTC
FCC licensed radio operators are invited to operate with KM1CC at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham to celebrate International Marconi Day. International Marconi Day honors the birthday of the “Wizard of Wireless,” Guglielmo Marconi, on the Saturday closest to his birth date, April 25, 1874. Operators are needed from Friday April 27 at 8 PM (EDT) through Saturday April 28 6 PM (EDT).
The public is invited to observe operations at the visitor center from 9 AM to 4 PM. Between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM (EDT) weather permitting, KM1CC will use a kite antenna at the Marconi Site in South Wellfleet to operate on 20 Meters, a HF frequency.
For more information contact Barbara Dougan, KB1GSO. Barbara_Dougan@nps.gov . For park information, and maps visit: http://www.nps.gov/caco.
CW and voice operations: 17 Meters, 20 Meters, 40 Meters, and 80 Meters.
17M 18.160 SSB 18.080 CW
20M 14.260 SSB 14.030 CW
40M 7.260 SSB 7.030 CW
80M 3.860 SSB 3.530 CW
Note that there is a change in location this year-operations will be from the Salt Pond Visitor\’s Center on Route 6 in Eastham, not from the usual Coast Guard Building location.
Chelmsford HS ARC Kicks Off School Year With Outdoor Demo
Bryce Salmi, KB1LQC writes on the New England QRP Club web site:
“The Chelmsford High School Amateur Radio Club had its early kickoff today. We set up under an outdoor gazebo two stations. Both running Yaesu FT-897D’s (One the schools and one ours) connected to computers and running ham radio deluxe for logging. One radio was connected to the dipole the other to the 6M beam and 2M vertical. We started around 12 PM and really started operating at about 1, after lunch which was a cookout…yes it was raining out but you can’t extinguish that desire to operate! We made a few contacts on 20M voice and 6M voice, however both bands were dead…
We ended up building a 2M J-pole antenna for use at the high school this year for monitoring the ISS SSTV (Yeah its good enough for the ISS SSTV, though not circularly polarized). Many of the members got to help out and cut the copper pipe and solder it together. In the picture it is on a bench right in the center… its hard to see but its there! We came back operated a little and then played some CHSARC Football with my little brother HIHI, we were soaked by the end of it, but it was so fun!
Then we jumped back on the radio and started PSK31 on 40M. That was when we made a few more contacts, actually most of out contacts! We got Matt, one of the unlicensed members very interested in PSK and talked to someone using Flex Radio which was right up his ally since Matt is very good with computers. Gillian talked to Belgium and a few of us talked around the US. [more]
Intro To Radiosporting–YCCC-Style!
Attention all Northeast Area hams!
Did you know . . .
– You can work 100 countries or all 50 states in a single weekend?
– There’s a way you can compete with other hams locally or on a global scale?
– You can quickly gain new knowledge about radio, antennas and many other exciting technologies?
– You can easily meet and interact with some of the best and brightest technicians and operators in amateur radio?
The Yankee Clipper Contest Club invites you to attend it’s first “Introduction to Radiosporting – Amateur Radio Contesting” seminar at this year’s New England Division Convention in Boxboro, MA.
All are welcome to enjoy a taste of radio contesting. Get the scoop on what contesting is all about. Learn how you can get started and enjoy your first contest. Mingle with others who are just getting started. Hobnob with winners of the biggest international competitions. Learn about the simple and inexpensive equipment, antennas and software that will get you started in contesting.
What: Introduction to Radiosporting – Amateur Radio Contesting
Where: Holiday Inn, Boxboro, MA in the Federal Room
When: Saturday, August 26, 2006 1:00-3:30PM
Additional information about the convention, the seminar and YCCC can be found at www.boxboro.org and www.yccc.org
There’s plenty of room for all who wish to attend. Come alone or bring a friend! Experienced contesters welcome, too. No need to pre-register, but let us know if you think you’ll be there. RSVP to contestingintro@yccc.org You are also invited to join us for a YCCC general meeting at 3:30pm in the Federal Room following the seminar.
73 and we’ll look forward to seeing you at “Introduction to Radiosporting – Amateur Radio Contesting” in Boxboro!
Mark Pride, K1RX
President
Y C C C – The Yankee Clipper Contest Club
PS Questions or comments? Please email contestingintro@yccc.org