SCARBOROUGH, ME - In late June, the WS1SM team participated in their 7th Field Day from Wassamki Springs Campground, in Scarborough. With over 30 participants and guests, including visitors from Cumberland County EMA, the ARRL, and local public service representatives, the activities were many. On the air, we operated as 3A (which is a club station, on battery power, using 3 transmitters), maintaining a continuous presence on the bands on CW, SSB, and digital. We also had a Get on the Air (GOTA) station operating during most of the event, allowing beginners and new hams to operate HF. Click here to view photos of the event.

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2016 FIELD DAY AT WASSAMKI SPRINGS


SCARBOROUGH, ME - In late June, the WS1SM team participated in their 6th Field Day from Wassamki Springs Campground, in Scarborough. With over 30 participants and guests, including visitors from the state house, Cumberland County EMA, and local public service representatives, the activities were many. On the air, we operated as 3A (which is a club station, on battery power, using 3 transmitters), maintaining a continuous presence on the bands on CW, SSB, and digital. 2016 was our most successful Field Day to date, and the results, published by the ARRL in December, confirmed this, as we topped Maine overall. We'd like to thank all of those who contributed.

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2015 FIELD DAY AT WASSAMKI SPRINGS



SCARBOROUGH, ME -  The Wireless Society of Southern Maine took part in their 5th ARRL Field Day on the weekend of June 27-28, at Wassamki Springs Campground in Scarborough. Operating battery power, the WS1SM team matched their previous QSO record by the 11th hour. Heavy rain began at nightfall and continued throughout the day on Sunday, leaving much of the ground saturated and the CW trailer surrounded by water, but despite the damp and cold, everyone went on with their work, and contributed to our most successful Field Day to date!

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2014 FIELD DAY AT WASSAMKI SPRINGS



SCARBOROUGH, ME -  The Wireless Society of Southern Maine took part in their 4th ARRL Field Day on the weekend of June 28-29, at Wassamki Springs Campground in Scarborough. Operating battery power, the WS1SM team matched their previous QSO record by the 8th hour, amassing more than 650 QSO's on CW alone and another 380 on SSB. Once again, thanks to everyone who contributed to make this our best Field Day to date!

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SEGUIN ISLAND EXPEDITION SEGUIN ISLAND, ME - On July 26, an international team of hams set off to Seguin Island to activate it for the 2014 RSGB Islands on the Air Contest. Team members packed their gear aboard the Leeward which departed from Fort Popham early Saturday morning. Once at the island, our planned operating position, which was Seguin Island Head Light, vanished from view, since it was situated atop a large hill on the far end of the island. Gear was packed aboard an inflatable dinghy and a few people at a time were rowed to shore by one of the ship's crew. Once everyone and everything was unloaded on the small beach, the heavier equipment was piled onto a tram that was pulled to the top by a chain-driven diesel engine. We hiked along a trail on the side of the tram line, and made it to the lighthouse about 15-20 minutes later. Once there, we began to setup our 4 stations (3 HF, & 1 VHF). We used a variety of wire antennas, a BuddiPole, and mast and beam for VHF. We made many contacts with participating stations, including several other island expeditions around the world.

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WSSM TEAM ACTIVATES WEST QUODDY HEAD LIGHT FOR 2014 ILLW

LUBEC, ME - On the weekend of August 16-17, the WS1SM team activated West Quoddy Head Light for this year's International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend (ILLW). Operating 3 stations simultaneously on mixed HF with battery power, the team made over 200 QSO's, many of which were lighthouse-to-lighthouse contacts. Stations consisted of a Yaesu FT897d with a BuddiPole rotatable dipole, an Icom IC706 MKIIG with a SOTA Beams 40m dipole, and an Icom IC7000 with a fan dipole for 10/15/20m. International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend is an annual radio activity that started 16 years ago in Scotland by members of the Ayr Amateur Radio Group. It evolved from the Scottish Northern Lighthouses Award Weekend into a popular International event, which now sees over 450 lighthouses and lightships participating from over 85 different countries.

West Quoddy Head Light had the designator US0041 during the event.

CAMPOBELLO, NB - On Sunday, August 17, members Ryan Michaelson KB1YTR, Thom Watson W1WMG, and Tim Watson KB1HNZ, ventured to New Brunswick's Head Harbor Light Station, to activate their first Canadian light for ILLW. Using call sign VE9/WS1SM, the team setup Ryan's Elecraft KX3 with a random wire antenna for HF, and also used a Kenwood TMD710 to make several contacts on VHF, including a member of the Swallowtail Lighthouse ILLW team on Grand Manan Island.

East Quoddy Head Light (Head Harbor Light Station) had the designator CA0047 during the event.

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WSSM TEAM ACTIVATES PEMAQUID POINT LIGHTHOUSE FOR ILLW

BRISTOL, ME - WSSM members participate in the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, which takes place annually each August, as well as other lighthouse activations throughout the summer months. In recent years WS1SM has operated from Pemaquid Point Light (2011), in Bristol, and Wood Island Light (2012), in Biddeford Pool.

On August 18th, we returned to Pemaquid Point for this year's ILLW, making over 200 contacts with the help of multiple transmitters, including Steve's (N1EOE) "go box" which was outfitted with a Yaesu FT-897, tuner, and battery pack. We also used Tim's (KB1HNZ) Yaesu FT-857 on battery power, Ryan's (KB1YTR) Elecraft KX-3, and Charlie's (W1CPS) Icom IC-7000. Antennas included a BuddiPole rotatable dipole, a G-Whip end fed zepp, a 40 meter dipole, and a multi-band fan dipole.

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2013 FIELD DAY AT WASSAMKI SPRINGS



SCARBOROUGH, ME -  The Wireless Society of Southern Maine took part in their 3rd ARRL Field Day on the weekend of June 22-23, at Wassamki Springs Campground in Scarborough. Operating battery power, the WS1SM team doubled their previous QSO record by the 6th hour, amassing more than 120 QSO's on CW alone, 300 on 40m SSB, and another 220 on the various other bands, including 15m, 20m, 50 MHz, and 144. Thanks to everyone who contributed to make this our best Field Day yet!

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JOTA AT THE MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

BATH, ME - On October 20th, the WSSM team set up a JOTA station during the Boy Scouts Camporee weekend at the Maine Maritime Museum. Operating on battery power, we used a dipole antenna for 40 meters and a BuddiPole rotatable dipole for 15 and 20 meters. The transceiver used was a Yaesu FT-857D. The operating location was inside the museum, overlooking the Kennebec River and the historic Percy and Small Shipyard.

It was a lot of fun introducing amateur radio to all the scouts during Jamboree On The Air, but also in taking the time to talk to scouts from other JOTA events around the world. We even had some of our boys talking with scouts in other places, but they were most excited about making contacts with DX stations who were taking part in the DARC German Districts contest. One of the scouts had a QSO with a ham in Luxembourg, and after he set down the mic, asked, “Where’s Luxembourg?” So, besides being an opportunity to learn about the fundamentals of amateur radio, it also prompted some curiosity in geography.

 

The WS1SM team also demonstrated the techniques involved in radio direction finding. Hiding a small transmitter that bursts a low-power amplified morse code signal, the scouts who participated were able to track it down using triangulation techniques, and a specialized device known as a Vector Finder. Many of the scouts and visitors who took part said that this was the most fun they had all day. Though fun, they also learned about the importance of radio direction finding in aiding search and rescue operations.

This was our second year participating in Jamboree On The Air, and we’re already looking forward to next year!

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August 2012 - WSSM TEAM ACTIVATES WOOD ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE


GORHAM, ME - Kid's Day a success! The Wireless Society of Southern Maine kicked off the New Year with the Kid's Day Operating Event, held at the Gorham Recreation Department. The club set up several stations, including two HF radios, a VHF radio, a D-STAR setup, and a Morse Code Practice area. Several youths from the area stopped in to see what it was all about, and a few made contacts on the air. Each participant took home a special certificate and got to fill out an official WSSM QSL card to mail to the station they contacted.

Charlie sets up his station for Kids Day

Tony (background) greets visitors, while Tim contacts Spain via D-STAR

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August 2010 - WS1SM LICENSE GRANTED 

The Wireless Society of Southern Maine applied for a call sign on July 29th, 2010, and was systematically assigned the call KB1UPU on August 2nd.  About a week later, the club applied for a vanity call, and on August 24th, was granted WS1SM.

Good news! Although the call sign was technically official when it was posted on the FCC's website on August 24th, the paper license arrived in the mail on August 30th for WS1SM. Plans are to activate the station for our next meeting at Wasamki Springs Campground, and make a few contacts with the new call.

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September 2010 - FIRST ON-AIR ACTIVITY

SCARBOROUGH, ME - On Saturday, September 18, we made our first contact with the club call sign, WS1SM. Frank (KR1ZAN) had the honors. At 1351 UTC, on the 40 meter band, he worked Ron, W4CA, who was operating a special event called the "Blue Ridge Bonanza." Ron was located at a place called Rockfish Gap, at mile post zero, on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

By the end of the day, we were able to contact seven more Blue Ridge Bonanza stations, which qualified us for a certificate from the Roanoke Valley Amateur Radio Club.

During the day, we also had fun contacting participants in the South Carolina QSO Party, the Washington "Salmon Run," and made several DX contacts using an Icom 706MKIIG, and our 20, 40, and 80 meter dipoles - one of which was built by members at the most recent meeting. We operated from 8AM until 7PM, from the front lawn of the Wassamki Springs Campground in Scarborough. (Pictures follow).

Frank (KR1ZAN) makes the first contact for WS1SM

Ken (W5KLM) working a station on 20 meters