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Field Day Edition 2018                                                                                                                                    Volume 8, Issue 2

Falmouth 300th Anniversary Special Event
Falmouth, ME

by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ

K1F

FALMOUTH, ME - On the weekend of May 26-27, the town of Falmouth celebrated its 300th anniversary, and ham radio was part of the celebration, with the K1F special event.

Full Story


WSSM at NEARFest
Deerfield Fairgrounds, Deerfield, NH
by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ

NEARFest

For the first time, WSSM setup a display at the New England Amateur Radio Festival (NEARFest), in Deerfield, NH. Members were on hand to talk about the club, its activities, and sponsored events, and there was also a table setup for members to sell their gear. 

Full Story


QSL Corner

XR0YD Easter Island

In this issue, we'll take a look at some recent QSL's received by club members, including XR0YD (Easter Island), EL2BG (Liberia), JH0RNN (Japan), and OE11WG (Austria).

See More QSLs

2018 Field Day Preview

Scarborough, ME
by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ

Field Day 2017

SCARBOROUGH, ME - The WS1SM team will participate in their 8th annual ARRL Field Day on the weekend of June 23-24th, from Wassamki Springs Campground, in Scarborough, ME.

Full Story


DX News - CY0, Sable Island 2019
Announced DXPeditions
by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ


CY0 DXPedition

The 2016 CY9C DXpedition team has been working behind the scenes with Parks Canada to get permission to mount a DXpedition to Sable Island CY0. Since its park policy to not allow overnight stays on the island, the most recent DXpedition to Sable, in 2014 was only a one-day activity.

Full Story


Amateur Radio Direction Finding Activity
Windham, ME
by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ


ARDF

During the May 31st meeting, many club members got a chance to try out their skills in radio direction finding, by tracking down a hidden transmitter.

Full Story

Upcoming Meetings

June 14th from 7PM-9PM at the CCEMA Bunker, 22 High Street, Windham, ME.

July 12th from 7PM-9PM at the CCEMA Bunker, 22 High Street, Windham, ME.

August 9th - from 7PM-9PM at the CCEMA Bunker, 22 High Street,   Windham, ME


Classified Ads

Check out the ads on page 2 to view items for sale, upcoming hamfests, announcements, and wanted items.


KB1HNZ
From the Editor's Desk

For more news and articles, between newsletters, click here to visit our blog.
Field Day Reverie


Field Day has taken place annually on the fourth full weekend in June since 1933, and it has grown to become the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country. It's part competition and part test of the rapid deployment of radio communications equipment, operating skill, and endurance, as it takes place over 24 hours. 

Thinking back to our early Field Days, which have taken place at Wassamki Springs Campground since 2011, we've experienced a little of everything, from lightning storms to heavy rain, equipment malfunctions, and just about anything in between. We come together for the comraderie, the competition, the problem solving, and the good eats. Its exhausting, fulfilling, and fun. 

FD Camp Fire

Most of all, its about making memories. I remember our first year, when Tony (then N1AJB), stopped by during the overnight, and we operated PSK31 until the early morning hours. That was the year it was so cold, it almost snowed.

A couple years later a severe thunderstorm shut us down for over two hours, and we all gathered under a tarp eating hamburgers and hot dogs and telling stories. 

One year, Ryan KB1YTR and Sean W1MSA (then W1GFD) operated 40m SSB almost around the clock, amassing over 600 QSOs. The date also aligned with the running of the 24 Hours of LeMans, and Ryan was keeping us up to date with the race throughout the night.

In 2013 Rick K1OT and Dana K1RQ showed off their CW skills, making several hunderd contacts between the two of them, in just a few hours. That same year, Frank KR1ZAN, setup his Kenwood TS2000 and 2m/440 yagi, and several of us were able to contact the International Space Station.

In 2014 Rick K1OT showed up with a fully customized communications trailer, and in 90 degree temps, assembled a 40' tower, 40m yagi, and climbed up the tower to install it. It was extremely hard work, in the heat, for everyone who helped out! Since then, he's engineered it so the setup takes a lot less time. 

Another time, Sean W1MSA, brought along his drone and was flying it around the Field Day site, taking some aerial video.

Last year, despite suffering from interference from somewhere in the neighborhood that effected reception, we broke all our previous records for QSOs and equalled on bonus points.

2018 Field Day is just around the corner, and I'm looking forward to the challenge, fun and memories that it will produce. Hopefully the weather won't be the main story!

In other news, Informal meetings will be moving to Wassamki Springs Campground for the summer, beginning June 21st.

See you there!


73'


Tim Watson
KB1HNZ