Newsletter Field Day Edition 2018, The Radiogram, page 2 - Official eNews of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine

2018 Field Day Preview
Scarborough, ME
by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ

Rick's trailer setup at Wassamki Springs Campground for Field Day 2017.

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

“Field Day is an emergency preparedness exercise, but it is also a contest for fun, where we accumulate points and test and compare our operating skills with other clubs and individuals around the U.S. and Canada,” says club president, Rory McEwen, of Saco, ME.

During the event, participants will try to earn points by meeting specific goals as outlined by the American Radio Relay League. Some of these include handling and delivering messages, and making contacts with other amateurs through various methods, such as voice, telegraphy, satellites, and digital technology.

“This event gives us an opportunity to share our passion with the community and to improve our operating skills, all while getting everyone out there and on the air,” says McEwen.

Club members enjoy a cookout during a break from the action, in 2017.

Field Day, which has taken place annually since 1933, is designed to test radio operators’ ability to quickly setup and operate portable stations in emergency conditions.

For the past several Field Days, the WS1SM team has used battery power for the entire 24-hour activity, operating in the 3A category. In 2017, they finished 1st in Maine, all categories.

Click here to search our listing on the ARRL's Field Day locator.

Falmouth 300th Anniversary Special Event
Falmouth, ME

by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ

Above left: Paul W1IMD operates a Flex Radio, while Rick K1OT looks on, Above right: Stefania K1GJY operates SSB from the trailer.

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.

Organized by Joe Blinick, K1JB, and supported by several local hams, the highlight of the special event was the portable operation at the Falmouth 300 festival, using Rick Fickett K1OT's field day trailer. Several club members came out to operate, and by the end of the day on the first day of the festival, the QSO total was well over 1000.

Above left: Jeff W4EWK visits from Knoxville, TN, as Greg W1GF operates the Flex Radio, Above right: Joe K1JB operates from the trailer

Since the special call sign was available for two weeks, several others operated from their homes, activating on various different bands and modes, including SSB, CW, FT8, and more. The final tally was over 2,000 QSOs, in 90 countries and 26 out of 40 CQ zones. Way to go!

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

Above left: Thom W1WMG poses with the display. Above right: Some of the handouts at our table display.

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.

NEARFest, once described as the "Woodstock of ham radio," is one of the largest hamfests in the Northeast, and takes place twice a year (in the spring and fall). Visitors come from all the New England states and from around the country.

For the first time, the New England Tech Trek (NETT) took place simultaneously, featuring demonstrations on basic and advanced robotics, drone technology, kit building, 3-D printers, NWS high altitude baloon measurements and SKYWARN, HF remote communications, and more!

Above left: Thom W1WMG, had success selling some equipment during the hamfest, including this Drake TR4C, Above right: Rory KB1PLY, Thom W1WMG, and Peter KC1HBM hanging out at the WSSM booth.

It was great to see everyone who stopped by or spent time at the booth. We made new friends and caught up with some old ones, and Thom W1WMG made the most of the table space, selling off lots of old gear.

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

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.

The hidden transmitter that was being hunted is a kit based on a MicroHunt transmitter, designed by Doppler DF Instruments. It provides a 50 milliwatt modulated CW signal on 146.565 MHz. Another transmitter that was demonstrated is based on a SquawkBox, and features a voice message instead of modulated CW.

Participants chose a variety of methods to track down the "fox" ranging from a homebrew attenuator paired up with a rubber duck antenna, to different style tape measure yagis, including 2-element and 3-element variations. Plans for both tape measure antennas can be found on our Projects page.

DX News
June 5 - September 20
by Tim Watson, KB1HNZ

The Spring-Summer DX season is well underway, with the OJ0W DXpedition to Market Reef currently in progress, through June 16th. Upcoming DXpeditions of interest include the 3W9NH expedition to Vietnam from June 14-18, 8Q7DT (Maldives) in late June, and the OJ0Y expedition to Market Reef, also in late June.

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

A team consisting of N3KS, KM4HI, TI2CC, TI2JCC and TI2CDA will be active from Uvita Island, NA-155, Costa Rica as TE6DX between June 7-11, 2018. QRV on 160-6, CW/SSB/FT8/RTTY/FM Sats. QSL via TI2CDA, Club Log OQRS / LoTW.

For more information about upcoming announced DXpeditions, click here for the latest 425 DX News, by Mauro Pregliasco I1JQJ.

Upcoming DXpeditions

06/05 - 06/24
06/07 - 06/11
06/08 - 06/11
06/09 - 06/16
06/14 - 06/18
06/18 - 06/24
06/21 - 06/27
06/22 - 06/27
06/22 - 07/20
06/24 - 07/09
06/27 - 07/01
07/01 - 07/11
07/01 - 07/14
07/07 - 07/14
07/13 - 07/20
07/18 - 07/25
07/20 - 07/25
09/01 - 09/10
09/12 - 10/01
09/15 - 09/20

9X2AW
TE6DX
PJ4V
OJ0W
3W9NH
ZF2LT
H44XG
T88YL
V47JA
8Q7DT
KH1/KH7Z
VQ5Z
OX3LX
VP2V
A25A
YJ0GA
7Q7JK
EX0PL
T32AH
3DA0AO

Rwanda
Costa Rica
Bonaire
Market Reef
Vietnam
Cayman Is
Solomon Is
Palau
St. Kitts & Nevis
Maldives
Baker & Howland
Turks & Caicos
Greenland
BVI
Botswana
Vanuatu
Malawi
Kyrgyzstan
East Kiribati
eSwatini

By DF2WO; from Kigali; HF & 6m; CW, SSB, FT8, RTTY; QSL via M0OXO
By TI2CDA and others; from Unita I (NA-155); 160-6m; CW, SSB, FT8, RTTY
By N0JK and others; focus on 6m, 2m, some HF; CW, SSB, FT8
By OH3WS; 40-6m; CW, SSB, 100w, spare time operation
By JA0JHQ; from Hoi An (OK45ev); HF & 6m; CW, FT8
By K8HTC; from Grand Cayman I (NA-016); HF
By JA1XGI; from Honiara, Guadalcanal (OC-047); 40-10m; CW, FT8
By JJ1BDT; from Koror; 40, 17, 15m; SSB
By W5JON; from Calypso Bay; 160-6m, SSB
By SM0UDH; from (AS-013); HF, SSB, JT9, JT65, FT8
By N1DG and others; 160-6m; CW, SSB, and digital
By VE3IKV and others; from (NA-002); HF 7 6m; CW, SSB, and digital
By OZ1DJJ; from (NA-018); spare time operation
By N9DK; 80-2m; all modes
By NJ0F; 80-10m; SSB, CW, RTTY, FT8
By ZL3GA; from Efate I (OC-035); 80-6m
By WB6OJB; 40-10m; SSB; 500w
By SP9ONC and others; HF; QSL okay via buro or direct
By DL2AH; from Chrustmas I (OC-024); 80-10m; SSB, FT8, RTTY
By HA5AO; 80-10m; CW, RTTY, FT8

QSL Corner

In this issue, we'll take a look at some recent QSL cards from Easter Island, Liberia, Austria, and Japan.

If you received an interesting QSL lately that you'd like to show off, please send a digital image to kb1hnz@yahoo.com, and we'll highlight it in an upcoming issue!

	XR0YD - Easter Island for a QSO with Frank Krizan KR1ZAN: 03/09/18 0009 UTC 15m SSB 59 03/12/18 2136 UTC 17m SSB 59 03/13/18 2352 UTC 20m SSB 59 German DXpedition, March 2-15, 2018
	EL2BG - Liberia, West Africa for a QSO with WS1SM: 04/25/18 1909 UTC 20m SSB 55 EL2BG is also president of the Liberia Radio Amateur Association (LRAA).
	OE11WG - Austria for a QSO with Tim Watson KB1HNZ: 03/26/18 2010 UTC 20m SSB 59 Special Event Station, celebrating the 11th World Winter Games of Special Olympics.
	JH0RNN - Japan for a QSO with YO/KB1HNZ: 10/19/15 0951 UTC 15m SSB 59 Op: Hiroyuki "Hiro" Ikarashi, Kita-ward, Niigata City, Japan.