New England Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC and Assistant Director Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB traveled over 900 miles over the Field Day weekend to visit many clubs in New England. We operated Field Day from the mobile station in our F-150. This article is a summary of our travels.
Friday June 23 – Field Day Setup
On Friday, June 23rd, we visited clubs in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Cape Cod in Massachusetts, who were setting up their Field Day stations in preparation for operating on Saturday and Sunday.
Southeastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Society – SECARS
The first club we visited was SECARS, the Southeastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Society at Zagray Farm Museum in Colchester, CT. We enjoyed talking with the members about their Field Day plans.
Blackstone Valley Amateur Radio Club – Rhode Island
The next field date site we visited on Friday afternoon was the Blackstone Valley Amateur Radio Club site on historic Chopmist Hill. We had a nice chat with their club president Ken, N1RGK and the other club members about Field Day and the ARRL.
Falmouth Amateur Radio Association- Falmouth, Massachusetts
Our next site on Friday was the Falmouth Amateur Radio Association at Morse Pond School in Falmouth. All of their towers were setup by the time we arrived. We had a nice visit with the club members and toured their communication trailer.
Saturday, June 24th – Massachusetts and New Hampshire
Whitman Amateur Radio Club
Our first visit on Saturday morning was the Whitman Amateur Radio Club, at the Old Colony YMCA in East Bridgewater, MA. They were setting up their stations and antennas in a nice wooded area behind the YMCA. We enjoyed visiting with the members and touring their site.
Boston Amateur Radio Club
The next site we visited was the Boston Amateur Radio Club at Hale Education in Westwood, MA. We had a nice chat with the members about their plans for field day and about Satellite operating. They had a great satellite setup for Field Day.
PART of Westford
Our next visit was with PART of Westford at the Concord Rod and Gun Club. We had operated Field Day with them in the past – it is a great site. We got a tour of the site from Dale, KB1ZKD, and visited with Bob, W1IS at the CW Station, Andy, KB1OIQ at the GOTAs station, Alison, KB1GMX at the VHF station, and George, K1IG, at the SSB station. It was also nice to chat with Alan, W1AHM, Geoff, W1GCF, and the rest of the PART team!
Operating Field Day Mobile HF
Once it was 2:00 PM EDT on Saturday, we started operating from the F150 as we drove between sites. We operated in the Class C Mobile category. We were able to make a total of 115 contacts on the road over the weekend.
Nashua Area Radio Society
Next stop on Saturday was our home club, the Nashua Area Radio Society. Earlier in the day, we encountered some light rain, but by the time we arrived at the NARS Site, at Hudson Memorial School in Hudson, NH, the rain was pouring down. Despite the rain, we had a nice visit with Rick, KB1RGB, Jamey, AC1DC, Matt, WE1H, Peter, KC1FNF, Assistant Director Jack Ciaccia, WM0G, Andrew, AJ1AJ, Dave, KB1JCU, Ben, W1BPM, and Alan, KC1PWB.
Contoocook Valley Radio Club
Our last stop on Saturday was at the Contoocook Valley Radio Club at Dale (AF1T) and Mickie (W1MKY) Clement’s QTH in Henniker, NH. We enjoyed hearing about Dale’s latest VHF activities and chatting with the rest of the club.
Sunday June 25th – Maine
On Sunday, the rain had moved out of New England and we had a beautiful drive up the Maine coast to visit Field Day sites in Main.
New England Radio Discussion Society
The first site we visited Sunday morning was the New England Radio Discussion Society at the Sea Road Church in Kennebunk, ME. They also had a beautiful site and we enjoyed visiting with Susan, WB2UQP, and the other members of the club.
Wireless Society of Southern Maine
Our next stop was the Wassamki Springs Campground in Scarborough, Maine, the Field Day Site of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine (WSSM). Their site was spread out around the campground and we had a nice visit with operators at the SSB and the CW sites.
Androscoggin Amateur Radio Club
Our last stop was at Beaver Park, Lisbon, ME, the Field Day site for the Androscoggin Amateur Radio Club. We enjoyed visiting with Cory Golob, KU1U, his newly licensed son Simon, N1URA, Mike, KO4PPM, and the rest of the club members. The club had a great field day with successful outreach to the public, and an article in the Lewiston Sun Journal!
For more about their Field Day, see https://www.w1npp.org/2023/06/30/field-day-success/
As it was after 1pm, we headed home after the visit with the Androscoggin club and managed to make almost 100 QSOs on the ride down I-95 before the end of Field Day. We had a great time visiting with New England clubs over the Field Day weekend and we’re looking forward to next year.
