Operating

I placed the KD1D Fox out this morning. As usual, it transmits a 30 second message every 60 seconds on 146.565 MHz FM.

It is located in Westford Conservation land named after an aquatic mammal once highly prized for making men’s hats.

The Fox can be heard along Concord Rd somewhere between the 99 Restaurant and the railroad crossing at Forge Village. A good place to take a bearing might be near the Robinson School or the old cemetery at the corner of Concord Rd and Country Rd (Interesting, but useless fact – Country Rd used to be called Cemetery Rd, but that tended to “spook” the real estate folks, so it was changed.)

Happy Hunting and 73 de KD1D

“When we decided to have a group Parks-On-The-Air event on a gorgeous 70F spring day, coinciding with the relaxing of the COVID mask mandates, at this special location, I was pleased, but hardly shocked, at the great turn out. From my vantage point, who wouldn’t want to be here?! Several area clubs had members in attendance, including STARS, Wellesley Amateur Radio Society (WARS), Long Island CW Club (LICW), Boston Amateur Radio Club (BARC), K1USN, and the Mystic Valley Amateur Radio Group (MVARG). [Full story]

The fox is out as of 9:30 this morning. It is on the regular 146.565 MHz frequency transmitting every five minutes. Sending an * within five seconds of the end of transmission will halve the cycle time if you’re in range.

It was a beautiful morning for a walk, the trees and lilacs are in bloom and the turtles are sun bathing. But if you were thinking about a picnic lunch you are a few years too late. Since everyone found the intersection of Gould Road and Westford Road [in Westford, MA] last time it’s not a bad place to start.

Stan KD1LE

From GBARC groups.io wiki:

On Sunday May 16 2021 at 11am we will have our monthly fox hunt.  All members and non-members are invited to attend.  The purpose of the fox hunt is to track down a hidden transmitter and find some information, then relay that information according to the instructions on a sign where the fox is located. […]

Recommended Starting Location:  Home Depot Trumbull

Starting Time: 11:00 AM Local 

Fox Frequency:  147.485 MHz Simplex

Fox Power:  5W into a 1/4 wave antenna dropping to 1W at Noon

Sponsor:  Emily N1DID

Check in on:  441.700 or 146.445 Repeaters or Echolink

En-Route Communications:  Contact N1DID on 146.52 Simplex or call 203-522-6750

Larry Krainson,W1AST, writes on the WMAFoxHunters list on May 10, 2021 at 3:37 PM:

As of 3:00pm on Monday, May 10th, FB2 aka Fox Box 2 has finally been deployed!

All are invited to hunt for this Fox Box.

FB2 has a new, better hearing radio, is transmitting on 147.550 Mhz with a PL of 151.4. You can activate FB2 by depressing the DTMF key #1. A short depress will activate it if you are close enough. FB2 is transmitting at 1 watt into a tall ducky antenna.

I ask that all base stations and mobiles try to activate FB2 and then announce where you can hear it and how strong the signal or audio is. This will help the mobile hunters to find it.

This is a walk up foxhunt. You can park your vehicle and safely walk up to FB2. It is on public property in a safe area.

When you find FB2, please take a picture of it and post it here. Please do not say where you found it though.

Happy Hunting!

Cover: Field Day 2021 is coming, June 26-27! This issue of QST will help you prepare, with articles about antenna options, as well as a pull-out 2021 ARRL Field Day Guide that features helpful tips, a bonus points calculator, a handy Section checklist to keep near your operating position, and even a Field Day chili recipe!

On this month’s cover, members of the Nashua Area Radio Society, N1FD, in Nashua, New Hampshire, put their Field Day  setup through its paces in preparation for the big event. From left to right are Connor Finchum, KC1GGX; Abby Finchum, AB1BY; Vice President Jamey Finchum, AC1DC; Treasurer Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB; and President Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC. [Lori Pedrick, photo]

Dave Robbins, K1TTT, writes on the YCCC mailing list:

This July 4th is the 250th anniversary of Peru, Massachusetts being incorporated (originally known as Partridgefield).  To commemorate that event I will be running a special event station using the callsign K1P from June 28th through July 9th.  There will be a special QSL card featuring the new town seal.  There will also be pewter medallions of the new town seal for those who work us on the most bands/modes during that event and for the most productive guest operators from the station.

Bands: 160m, 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, 6m, 2m, 70cm.

Modes: SSB, CW, RTTY, FT-8/4, maybe FM on VHF/UHF (no repeaters)

QSL: LOTW or SASE (to K1TTT)  (no bureau unless I get a volunteer to handle them, should I use one of the outgoing bulk services??)

Check out my web page at:  http://wiki.k1ttt.net/Peru250thAnniversary.ashx (or look on left side of k1ttt.net for link) for all the most recent information before and during the event. 

Please email me at: k1ttt@arrl.net if you are interested in operating during the event. Please forward to ham friends and club lists.

ARRL Connecticut Section Section Manager Charles I Motes Jr, K1DFS, writes on the ARRL Members list:

Subject: The Annual 13 Colonies On-Air Weekend, July 1-7, 2021 Want to have some ham radio fun?  From July 1-7, the Annual 13-Colonies On-Air event will take place and Pete Chamalian, W1RM, has tentatively agreed to be the net manager in Connecticut.  The fun part is this – you get to be on a DXpedition to a very rare and sought-after location, Connecticut, signing K2D.  In this event the whole world is looking to work each of the original 13-colonies, and we are one of them!  Full details on the event can be found at: http://www.13colonies.us/.

No matter if you are a seasoned contester or DXpeditioner or if you want to try your hand at being on the receiving end of a pileup, this is a great place to start.  The best part is you get to operate from your home station, and you get to set your own hours, bands (160-2) and modes (CW, Phone, Digital).

The only requirement is that you keep the log electronically so contacts can be exported in the ADIF format.  It makes no difference which program you use.

If you are interested or would like to volunteer, please contact Pete, W1RM at w1rm@comcast.net

This looks to be an interesting project, and open to lots of Connecticut ham radio operators.  Try it!

Chuck Motes, K1DFS
ARRL CT Section Manager

A 14-year-old General class amateur in Farmington, New Hampshire is among a group of six youths across the United States who sponsor the Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest (WWSAC), an hour-long contest that runs from 0100-0200 UTC each Tuesday (Monday evening in North America). 

“We have decent activity,” writes Brayden Ebare, KC1KUG. “Last week the winner did 130 QSOs.” 

160 through 6 Meters on SSB are used in the General sub-bands. The exchange includes signal report and age group (OM, YL, Youth YL, or Youth). 

When not organizing WWSAC, Brayden spends a lot of his time on the air operating from the K1TTT superstation. He has competed in major DX contests, such as ARRL DX SSB/CW, CQ WW DX SSB/CW, and CQ WPX SSB/CW.

For more information about WWSAC, visit  https://wwsac.com/.