Month: May 2026

GSARA Brought Hands-On Ham Radio to Brian McCarthy Family STEM Day

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The Granite State Amateur Radio Association (GSARA) was proud to take part in the Brian S. McCarthy Memorial Foundation’s Family STEM Day 2026 on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Nashua High School South in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Family STEM Day brought together local organizations, families, students, educators, and curious minds of all ages for a day filled with hands-on science, technology, engineering, and learning. For GSARA, it was a great opportunity to share amateur radio with the community in a fun, interactive, and approachable way.

For our club, the day was about more than radios, antennas, and signals. It was about giving kids and families a chance to experience real-world communication, science, technology, and discovery in a way they could see, hear, and take part in.

Amateur radio, often called “ham radio,” has inspired generations of experimenters, makers, emergency communicators, engineers, public servants, and lifelong learners. At Family STEM Day, GSARA members helped introduce visitors to the many ways radio connects people across town, across the country, and around the world.

Throughout the event, visitors had the opportunity to explore several hands-on demonstrations, including Morse code, HF radio contacts using the club call sign N1QC, local “Talk with a Ham” experiences on area repeaters, and displays featuring SSTV, digital communications, and other radio-based technologies.

One of the highlights of the day was giving kids the chance to get on the air using handheld radios and talk with licensed amateur radio operators through local repeaters. With guidance from GSARA members, young participants were able to experience two-way radio communication in real time. For some, it may have been their very first radio contact — and that is the kind of moment many hams remember for years.

GSARA members also demonstrated how radio can be used to send images, data, voice, and coded messages without relying on the internet or cell phone networks. These demonstrations helped show how amateur radio brings together communication, electronics, problem-solving, public service, and fun into one hands-on STEM experience.

The event was a great reminder that STEM is not just something found in a textbook. It can be heard over the airwaves, tapped out in Morse code, decoded on a screen, and shared through a microphone.

The Brian S. McCarthy Memorial Foundation’s mission is to promote, advocate for, and fund STEM education and lifelong learning opportunities in the Nashua community. GSARA was honored to support that mission by helping young people discover the excitement of radio communication and hands-on technology.

The Granite State Amateur Radio Association, based in Bedford, New Hampshire, has served the local and global amateur radio community since 1974. As an ARRL Affiliated and Special Services Club, GSARA remains active in education, outreach, public service, emergency communication, and community engagement.

A big thank-you goes out to everyone who helped make Family STEM Day possible, and to all the families, students, and visitors who stopped by the GSARA exhibit, asked questions, tried the equipment, and helped make the day such a success.

Events like this are exactly why community outreach matters. Amateur radio continues to be a powerful way to spark curiosity, build technical skills, support public service, and connect people through the magic of radio.

Event Recap

What: Brian S. McCarthy Memorial Foundation Family STEM Day 2026
When: Saturday, May 16, 2026, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM
Where: Nashua High School South, 36 Riverside Street, Nashua, NH
Who: Families, students, educators, and curious minds of all ages
GSARA Website: gsara.org

About Granite State Amateur Radio Association

The Granite State Amateur Radio Association is a New Hampshire-based amateur radio club dedicated to promoting the hobby, supporting public service communication, encouraging technical education, and helping new and experienced operators connect through radio. GSARA members participate in local repeaters, emergency communication, portable operating, digital modes, Morse code, community demonstrations, and educational outreach.

About the Brian S. McCarthy Memorial Foundation

The Brian S. McCarthy Memorial Foundation honors Brian McCarthy’s memory, service, and commitment to education by supporting STEM education and lifelong learning opportunities in the Nashua, New Hampshire community.

 
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Senator Ted Cruz Praises Amateur Radio Volunteers for Emergency Preparedness

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From ARRL:

Cruz videoSenator Ted Cruz, in a strong pre-Memorial Day message publicly highlighted the critical role that Amateur Radio Service volunteers play during disasters, praising and thanking ham radio operators who provide essential communications when storms and emergencies knock out power and cellular networks and communities are cut off. Sen. Cruz observed that in these emergencies it is ham radio operators who step forward, bringing with them the tools, expertise, and the commitment to reconnect people when it matters most. He noted this dedication was clearly demonstrated in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey’s catastrophic flooding devastated communities across Texas and that it was demonstrated again more recently in the horrific Camp Mystic floods. He emphasized that as the Nation prepares for yet another summer storm season, ham radio’s role remains just as vital as ever. [more]

Hampden County Radio Association (HCRA) Featured on WWLP-TV Channel 22 InFocus – Sunday 4/12/26

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The Hampden Couny Radio Association (HCRA) was featured on WWLP-TV Channel-22 InFocus program on Sunday 4/12/26. WA4KRX-Nancy Rice and W1AEZ-Ez Moralez covered a myriad of topics from the HCRA to ARES/RACES/SKYWARN, public service and other facets of Amateur Radio. The Sunday 4/12/26 InFocus program can be seen on YouTube at the following link: https://youtu.be/p6WTTG0q3g8?si=mBr2_Dr1Dc7VMUGy

Congratulations to HCRA on this excellent piece of Amateur Radio PR!

Barnstable ARC (BARC) Adopts Cape Cod (MA) Coast Guard Station for New Ham Initiative

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BARC has completed its “Technician License in a Weekend” class at USCG Station Chatham (STACHM) on April 25 and 26, its fifth class in the last 15 months (four Technician and one General Class.)  This class was the first held for Coast Guard enlisted personnel and was unique in three ways.  As part of the most recent initiative and in recognition of their service and the state of funding for Homeland Security:

  1. all FCC and ARRL VEC exam fees  were underwritten by BARC. 
  2. All ARRL Technician License Manuals were provided by the Eastern Massachusetts Section Manager at no cost to the students.
  3.  Club member George, KB1GTG, donated a dual band HT for each of the new licensees.

Eight enlisted petty officers at the station attended the Technician License Course and all successfully passed the exam.  The Officer-in-Charge, Ross Comstock, KE5BM, expressed his appreciation for BARC’s outreach.

Interest in amateur radio at STACHM was spurred by the breakdown in normal communication and extended loss of electrical power during the February Cape Cod blizzard.  Local repeaters using emergency power generators and large capacity battery banks provided a lifeline for snowed-in hams, shelter operations and NWS reports.  The Officer-in-Charge made station personnel aware of the contribution of  Cape Cod ARES to the emergency response operations coordinated by the Regional Emergency Planning Committee.

A second license class, planned for early June, will include additional enlisted personnel unable to attend the earlier class.

The station has also hosted BARC’s annual Lighthouse weekend event, introducing the many visitors to Chatham Light to an amateur radio station on the shores of the Atlantic.

All attendees received the BARC New Ham Guide to give them a head start in becoming “radio-active.”

Chatham Coast Guard Station Officer-in-Charge, Ross Comstock, KE5BM, expressed his appreciation for BARC’s support in a statement he prepared that described the benefits of the BARC initiative to his crewmembers.

BARC is a Special Service Club and has maintained that status for over a decade.  BARC’s Coast Guard Technician Class initiative continues that tradition of service.

In the spirit of “The Year of the Club,” within the American Radio Relay League, BARC hopes that other clubs will adopt local military installations and hold license classes, both as a way to show appreciation for the service provided by these young men and women and to attract new, young people into amateur radio.

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