Public Relations

“Ham radio operators use their skills to support bike race”

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From The Berlin (NH) Sun Online:

GORHAM — At the end of August, when cyclists gathered at the Mt. Washington Auto Road to race to the summit of the Northeast’s highest peak, a group of amateur radio enthusiasts also brought their skills to the mountain to assist with communications during the race and sharpen their emergency radio skills.

Radio operators from New Hampshire and New England Amateur Radio Clubs took park at the 49th annual Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb on Aug. 20, sponsored by the Tin Mountain Conservation Center of Jackson.

They were joined by members from Central New Hampshire, Mount Washington Valley, Vermont and Massachusetts Amateur Radio Emergency Service units. [Full story]

Port City ARC (NH) to Highlight Amateur Radio at Navy History Day, September 10, 2022

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Sign for USS-Albacore Submarine Park, Portsmouth NHPreparations are underway by Port City Amateur Radio Club members to set up an Amateur Radio display at Navy History Day at the USS Albacore in Portsmouth, NH.

PCARC President Kriss Kliegle, KA1GJU, explains that the display will be geared towards younger children. “[We will] show them the code practice oscillator and teach them how to send code. There will be some paperwork with the Morse code characters. In the past, we have had them send their name or simple messages in code.”

 KA1GJU also plans to record “a swath of spectrum in the HF bands (IQ data) and play it back with my SDR Console software to demonstrate CW, and some of the digital modes on the bands. If we are allowed WiFi access, I could access my network of live SDR’s via the SDR Console Servers that I have. Using a real radio and antenna at the site is next to impossible due to the QRM from leaky HV power lines all around the museum.” Kriss adds, “This is where the club can present Amateur Radio to the younger generation, which is one of the most important aspects of our club… seek new members and get them active on the radio.”

The five hour event is estimated to have over two hundred adults and fifty children and young adults in attendance.

CNN: “8-year-old girl chats with ISS astronaut using ham radio”

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Isabella Payne spoke with ISS astronaut Kjell LindgrenLondon (CNN) – When Isabella Payne heads back to elementary school in September, she’s going to have the best “what I did in my vacation” story to tell.

In a tale of “right place, right time,” the 8-year-old girl from Kent in southeast England spoke with American astronaut Kjell Lindgren aboard the International Space Station (ISS) using her dad’s ham radio.
 

Algonquin ARC Leaders Interviewed on WMCT Cable TV

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AARC/Marlborough Minute video screenshotFrom ema.arrl.org:

Algonquin Amateur Radio Club [Marlborough, MA] President Ann Weldon, KA1PON, and AARC Emergency Operations Center Liaison Eric Williams, KV1J, were featured on a recent edition of “Marlborough Minute” on cable station WMCT-TV.

Ann and Eric presented a basic overview of Amateur Radio, in addition to describing the club and the club members’ involvement with emergency communications.

“The BIG E and Amateur Radio—Early Years”

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Betsey Doane, K1EIC, writes:

In the early 1990s, Larry Buck, K1HEJ, Luck Hurder, formerly KY1T (now WA4STO) and Betsey Doane, K1EIC, decided to make a plan for demonstrating Amateur radio at The BIG E. So we embarked on getting computer/modem accounts to communicate. And that we did.

There were literally loads of messages passed back and forth to plan the event. Larry was in charge of communicating with the exhibition leaders to be sure we would comply with all requirements.

We recruited many volunteers and opened our first booth which provided lots of Amateur radio information, good conversation among the visitors and hams attending, a full traffic handling area using 2 meter FM and packet and an HF station which we used as we could. Remember, there was no Windows OS, no small computers, and no RMS. But packet was extremely popular at that time. The CT N1DCS and later N4GAA packet nodes were among the largest, if not the largest in the country handling thousands of messages. The W1EDH, K1EIC and W1HAD nodes also assisted in the relay of traffic.

The young people who came up enjoyed writing messages to their families and friends. Thoroughly also enjoyed using the key to write their name as instructed by the chart provided. They had fun, the adults
enjoyed it and so did we.

We did this event every year for close to 25 years adding what we could with the constraints at the fair. Volunteers came from Connecticut, Western Mass and, I think, Rhode Island. We knew we had to staff it fully so there were backups planned.

Connecticut operators are proud to have been an exhibitor at The BIG E for so many years. We were well received. We are truly excited that so many New England amateurs and radio clubs are participating in this year’s BIG E exhibit, and that our New England Division Director, Vice Director, and Assistant Directors are helping to organize The BIG E Space Chat.  

Media Hits From ARISS Contact at Challenger Learning Center of Maine

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International Space StationRosalie White, K1STO, writes:

All, here are two nice media hits on the ARISS radio contact for Challenger Learning Centers–with these stories being specific to the Challenger Learning Center of Maine:

Kids in Bangor reach for the stars by speaking to astronaut – News Center Maine
Bob Hines called in using amateur radio, giving kids at Challenger Centers across the country the opportunity to ask questions.
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/kids-in-bangor-making-a-connection-to-space-maine/97-422d53cf-3d8c-449d-b4b9-6f2d5121df59

Challenger Maine campers speak with NASA Astronaut aboard ISS – WABI
The Challenger Center and the Amateur Radio on the ISS hosted the live conversation.
https://www.wabi.tv/2022/07/28/challenger-maine-campers-speak-with-nasa-astronaut-aboard-iss/

Amateur Radio Field Day Talk on WCAP 980 (Lowell, MA), June 24, 2022

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From ema.arrl.org:

Station WCAP 980 kHz will host a talk segment featuring two Eastern MA amateur radio club presidents today (June 24) at 4:10 PM. 

Gary Frascarelli, W1GFF, President of the Billerica Amateur Radio Society and Bruce Blain, K1BG, President of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club, will discuss ARRL Field Day on the program. 

The Class B station features a talk/oldies radio format. It covers the Merrimack Valley with 5,000 watts of power. 

Listeners outside of the area can tune in to the program on the web at <http://webcastsusa.com/wcap/player.html>.

This link seems to work:  <https://streampros.net/980wcap>

An audio recording of the program is also available

Northern Berkshire ARC 2022 Field Day Publicity: “Windsor: Ham radio club slates field day”

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Berkshire Eagle Field Day storyFrom The Berkshire Eagle, June 21, 2022:

“Ham radio operators from the Northern Berkshire Amateur Radio Club in Berkshire County will participate in a national Field Day exercise from 2 p.m. Saturday, June 25, until 2 p.m. Sunday, June 26, at 440 Peru Road [Windsor, MA]. The public is invited.

“Field Day has been organized since 1933 by the American Radio Relay League, the National Association for Amateur Radio in the United States. The event highlights ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent, wireless communications network.” [Full story]