Most
Wireless Society of Southern Maine meetings include a rountable
dicussion period about the "topic of the night." These can range
from planning a field operation to ham radio basics such as
antenna modelling, dx'ing, operating QRP, digital modes, or even kit
building. As this page gets updated, you'll be able to keep up to date
with the latest topics, and some of the useful info that rises out of
our research, activities, and presentations. Explore the Topics
& Links Archive for
a history of meeting topics, events, and ham radio related resources.
2026 Events
October TBD
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The
WSSM-ECT will participate in the 2026 Maine Simulated Emergency Test. The emergency drill will
focus on
developing skills using FM Simplex, UHF repeater, digital NBEMS, and
PACKET communications within a simulated event.
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September
226-27th
Join
us the weekend of September 27-28th for the 14th Annual Maine QSO Party
contest.
The Maine QSO Party is a fun contest that
encourages Maine stations to expand their knowledge of DX propagation,
improve their operating skills, and station capability in a competition
where W/VE and DX stations have the incentive to work Maine. Click
here for more details.
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August
15th
The
WS1SM
team will activate a Maine lighthouse for the 29th Annual International
Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, which takes place August 15-16, 2026.
We plan to operate mixed HF
on battery power, as well as some VHF.
International
Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is an annual
amateur radio
activity started in Scotland by members of
the Ayr Amateur Radio Group. It evolved from the Scottish Northern
Lighthouses Award Weekend into an international event in 1998. This
year, nearly 450 lighthouses and lightships, in 85 different countries
are expected to participate.
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June 27-28th
The
WS1SM team will take part in their 16th ARRL Field Day during the
weekend of June 27-28th, at
the Windham High School Campus.
We'll be operating in the 3A category (3 full-time HF transmitters) and
also plan on having a Get on the Air (GOTA) station for visitors to try
out
Amateur Radio.
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March 14th
You're invited
to take part in a
fun and competitive 2m-only contest, on Saturday, March 14, from
12pm-4pm. Participants may be entered as either mobile (as a
rover), or fixed, and there are power levels for everything from a
handie-talkie to a high power base station. The contest exchange is
your callsign, the name of the town, township, or city that you are
operating from, and your power level.
For more information and complete rules, click here.
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January 24-25th
The
WS1SM team
will participate in their sixth annual Winter
Field Day
during the weekend of January 24-25. The
purpose of Winter Field Day is to foster Ham camaraderie, field
operation, emergency operating preparedness, and just plain on-the-air,
outdoor fun - in the midst of winter!
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2026 Meeting Topics
February's Topic: BBS (Bulletin Board System)
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Join
us
Thursday, February 12th, from 7pm-9pm at the South
Windham Fire
Station, 33 Main Street, Windham, ME. We’ll kick things off with a
presentation by Brad Brown, KC1JMH, on BBS systems, with a focus on
their use in packet radio. Because BBS systems operate independently of
internet infrastructure, they play an important role in emergency
communications, offering capabilities such as message handling,
store-and-forward messaging, and file transfers.
The presentation will be followed by our regular business meeting.
January's Topic: JS8 Call
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Join
us
Thursday, January 8th, from 7pm-9pm at the South
Windham Fire
Station, 33 Main Street, Windham, ME, as we'll begin with a
presentation by Dakota Dumont KB1YYC about the digital mode, JS8 Call.
Further hands on training using the mode will take place at theECT Meeting on January 22nd.
Following the presentation, will be the regular business meeting and a planning session for the upcoming Winter Field Day
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