Author: nv1w

Frequencies for Technician POTA Event

nv1w Outdoors, Uncategorized

Here are some suggested frequencies for the Technician POTA event at the Blue Hills State Reservation on Saturday, September 20. Frequencies in bold are where activators will start operating, and where hunters should concentrate. See also the POTA spotting site; search for BARC in the comments or park K-8402.

10 meters: Bottom of the Technician phone and image range (28.300–28.500 MHz SSB). Try 28.340 MHz. Note that 10 meter band openings are unlikely to be reliable or long due to very low solar ionizing radiation this weekend.

6 meters: Techs may use the full band, though remember only CW is permitted below 50.100 and avoid the DX window from 50.100–50.125 MHz. Try 50.130 MHz.

2 meters: 146.520*, 146.535, 146.550, 146.565, 146.580, 146.595, 147.405, 147.420†, 147.435, 147.450, 147.465, 147.480, 147.495, 147.525, 147.540, 147.555, 147.570, 147.585 (*National call frequency, †BARC simplex frequency.) If the activator is not having much luck, we will also try the national call frequency of 146.520 MHz.

70 centimeters: 445.9125, 445.9250, 445.9375, 445.9500, 445.9625, 445.9750, 446.0000*, 446.0125, 446.0250, 446.0375, 446.0500, 446.0625, 446.0750, 446.0875, 446.1000, 446.1125, 446.1250, 446.1375, 446.1500, 446.1625, 446.1750 (*National call frequency.) If the activator is not having much luck, we will also try the national call frequency of 446.0000 MHz.

Technician POTA Event, Saturday, Nov. 20

nv1w Announcements, Outdoors

The Boston Amateur Radio Club will host a Parks on the Air (POTA) event with a special invitation to Technician license holders and new hams on November 20th, 2021, from 10:30 to 4:00. The event will take place in the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton at the Mount Chickatawbut summit. We will attempt to “activate” the park according to POTA rules using VHF, UHF, and the Technician segments of the HF bands.

Bring your handheld and any other radio you want to try out on the summit. The club will provide some power sources and a few different antennas for you to experiment with. You will also have an opportunity to operate on six and ten meters. Brendan, NW1S, and Joe, NV1W, will be on hand to answer questions and help introduce you to amateur radio in the great outdoors. There will even be prizes for accomplishments things like most contacts made, farthest contact, and most Technician bands used. Afterwards there will be a social event of food and drinks.

You may park at a lower parking lot and hike the short path to the summit. The Boston Amateur Radio club is attempting to organize a car to bring those who cannot or wish to not walk the distance to the summit. Further information on the Blue Hills can be found at https://friendsofthebluehills.org.

Please email Brendan, NW1S at nw1s.brendan@gmail.com if you’re planning to attend. Final information on the event will be published here as the event approaches.

Join us at the 110 Grill in Braintree afterwards for some food and drinks! Please include in your email if you will be joining us at 110 Grill so we can make a proper reservation.

We look forward to seeing you at the summit!

Updates on the Tech POTA Day can be found at BARC.org, and @W1BOS on Facebook and Twitter.

Do you want to participate without making the trek up Mount Chickatawbut? You can hunt our operators on Saturday. Look for us on the POTA spot page, the @W1BOS Twitter or on the National Calling Frequencies. We invite your club to get on the Air with our Technicians and test out your VHF and UHF Equipment.

2021 Autumn New England Parks on the Air Day

nv1w Announcements, Outdoors, Uncategorized

Our friends down at the K1USN club are organizing an Autumn New England Parks on the Air (POTA) Day from 0000 UTC to 2359 UTC on Saturday, October 16 (8 pm Friday–7:59 pm Saturday). From their newsletter:

The goal would be to have one group/individual at each site to enable the activation of as many NE POTA’s as possible.

Officially listed POTA’s from throughout New England would be required. Maps and lists can be found here — parksontheair.com.

Since this is not a “contest”, official log submissions will not be required, but summaries would be encouraged. [NV1W comment: I think it’s polite to submit logs to the POTA website so hunters get credit.] A post-event link will be available at www.k1usn.com.

Remember that this will be a New England wide event so folks that attend Nearfest on Saturday, Oct 16th in Deerfield, NH may wish to activate a NH park on the way home.

Okay… Who is interested in jumping onboard the NE Autumn POTA event?

BTW, Bob, WC1N, has created a spreadsheet so that we can keep track of individuals/clubs as they sign on. You can sign up here — http://www.ilovepota.com/index.php.

Field Day 2020

nv1w Field Day

The deadline for submitting Field Day entries has passed, and the following members have submitted reports as members of BARC:

Scott, K1SU (1D EMA); Mark, KB1EKN (1D EMA); Joe, N1QD (2D NH); Joe, NV1W (1E EMA); Harry, WA1GXC (1D RI).

Field Day is this Weekend, June 27-28

nv1w Field Day

Field Day is this weekend, June 27–28. As noted in the current issue of The SPARC, there have been some temporary changes to the rules. Most notably, if you’re operating in class D (home stations using commercial power) you can count contacts with other stations in that class for points.

When you submit your logs, please set the “Club” field to “Boston Amateur Radio Club” to ensure that your points are added to the BARC total.

Several club members will be active; listen for us!