“Brainstorming session for Wireless Engineering Club winter/spring activities” led by Seth Kendall, KC1PZY and Max Kendall, W0MXX

This will be a new program on Saturday mornings for STARS members of all ages, but any members of NEST are welcome. The idea is to focus on the "E" in STEM to get "hands-on" with wireless tech, electronics, and radio communications. Check it out: https://nescitech.org/wireless

ONLINE and IN-PERSON Meeting: Tuesdays, 7:00 pm. Come meet at NEST! 

3:00-7:00 - Radio room open; GET CHECKED OUT for the radio room. (Email on GroupsIO first.)

6:00 pm: Exam Session.

6:30 pm: “Brainstorming session for Wireless Engineering Club winter/spring activities” led by Seth Kendall, KC1PZY and Max Kendall, W0MXX

7:00 pm: Dec 12 holiday gathering planning and General Business, Updates 

8:30 pm: ADJOURN

To join the STARS Meeting at 7:00 pm link to https://zoom.us/j/231170127 Pw: STARS, or phone in: +1 929 205 6099, Meeting ID: 231 170 127, Pw: 192621

Opt out? Please don't leave us! Just "Update Profile" at the bottom of this page or send a note to info@nescitech.org. You are currently enrolled for Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society (STARS) mailings.

Tue Dec 5: “Brainstorming session for Wireless Engineering Club fall/winter activities” led by Seth Kendall, KC1PZY and Max Kendall, W0MXX.

December 9-10: ARRL 10 Meter contest

We are closing in on our goal of "Worked All States" (WAS), including contacts with Oklahoma and Wyoming this past weekend in the "November Sweepstakes contest. We still have a few states to work. We heard and called an Alaskan station in Sweepstakes, but he had many other callers and had to quit to eat lunch before the contact could be completed. Can we finish WAS by the end the year? We still need Alaska, Montana and a few others. Operators with any license class can operate in the 10 meter band, so get checked out at W1STR and help us toward our goal.

Tue, Dec 12: STARS/NEST Holiday Gathering.  

Description: STARS/NEST will provide a surprise entree for dinner, and it will not be pizza! Members are encouraged to bring a dessert or other appropriate snack/drink to share with the club. We will open the Zoom session but only have a brief opening business meeting. Come, hang out, operate, and celebrate the season and the friendships we have established through this great club!

Tue, Jan 2: Winter Field Day planning.

Description: STARS is planning its participation in Winter Field Day. We'll set the parameters of our participation and determine how we can make this an event we can share with all of NEST. Some considerations are use of the new patio and possibly our new communication trailer. The home page for Winter Field Day can be found HERE, the information PDF can be found HERE and a summary/rules can be found HERE.

Can you help us with this activity?

The 16th annual Santa Net will be on the air evenings at 6:00 PM ET between Thanksgiving and Christmas on 3.916 MHz. Check in is taken 30 minutes before the net begins. Youngsters can talk to Santa at the north pole using strategically placed operators who relay the voice of Santa. The Santa Net is a team effort by The 3916 Nets members, and they're expecting over 1,000 contacts this year.

In past years Rusty has led this activity. Who will help us this year?

STARS RADIO LECTURE SERIES

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Tue, Dec 19: “Factors Affecting Small Transmitting Loop Antenna Performance” by Augie “Gus” Hansen, KB0YH.

Tue, Jan 9: “An Introduction to Amateur Television” by Roland Hoffman - KC6JPG

Tue, Jan 30: “FEMA Communications” by Mike Corey, KI1U and Anthony Fowler. Note that this event will be an in-person presentation.

Tue, Feb 13: “VHF - UHF Test Bench Equipment - A Practical and Cost-Effective Approach” by Don Westacott VE6HQ.

Tue, Feb 27: “TARPN: A Modern Amateur Radio Packet Network” by Eric Sherk, WO2S.

Tue, December 19: “Factors Affecting Small Transmitting Loop Antenna Performance” by Augie “Gus” Hansen, KB0YH.

Description: This presentation is an updated version of one given in the first QSO Today Academy in September 2023. A Small Transmitting Loop Antenna (STL) of diminutive size can perform very well on both transmission and reception if care is taken in the design, material selection, and construction phases. The program STLcalc is used to reveal the performance impacts of main loop conductor material, size, shape, and length, as well as the type and quality of the tuning capacitor. Performance is gauged by efficiency, which is maximized by increasing radiation resistance while reducing loss resistance. In addition, some suggestions are provided on ways to obtain good coupling to the transmission line over a wide tuning range.

Bio: Augie “Gus” Hansen, KB0YH, is a semi-retired electrical engineer, computer programmer, author, and technical trainer. Although he has deployed numerous types of antennas for broadcast and ham radio use, he has worked on STL (a.k.a., magnetic loop) antenna design, construction, and operation for three decades, primarily to help those who are prevented from using visible antennas. This latest project, STLcalc, started as a Python language programming exercise. A forced march to produce something useful is a great way to quickly learn a new language!

Tue, Jan 30: “FEMA Communications” by Mike Corey, KI1U, and Anthony Fowler. 

Note that this event will be an in-person presentation.

Description: This presentation provides an overview of the mission and work of FEMA Disaster Emergency Communications (DEC) in Region 1 (New England). DEC staff will go over capabilities, core competencies, the Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group, ESF #2 Communications, and Community Lifelines. We will also offer a live demonstration of a FEMA deployable communications kit.

Mike Corey is an Emergency Management Specialist with FEMA Region 1 and works in the Response Division with the Disaster Emergency Communications Team. His primary areas of responsibility include emergency alerts and warnings, IPAWS/NAWAS, communications planning, and auxiliary communications. He is an ICS instructor and qualified Continuous Improvement Advisor Lead. He has been with FEMA since 2021. Prior to FEMA he served as Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at ARRL and as a Communications Officer at the University of Mississippi Police Department and Howard County Indiana Sheriff’s Office. He is an active amateur radio operator, callsign KI1U.

Anthony Fowler is a telecommunications specialist with FEMA Region 1’s Disaster Emergency Communications Branch within the Response Division. His area of responsibility includes managing the region 1 Land Mobile Radio (LMR) network, field deployable communications and secure executive transport for FEMA senior executive leadership. He’s been with FEMA since 2022. Prior to joining FEMA, Anthony served as an Assistant Director and Field Communications Supervisor within a city outside of Metro Boston and a large regional 911 center just south of Boston serving over 200,000 residents.

Tue, Feb 13: “VHF - UHF Test Bench Equipment - A Practical and Cost-Effective Approach” by Don Westacott VE6HQ.

Description:

Amateur radio operators are sometimes faced with the challenge of making effective test measurements while limiting investment in a large range of expensive test equipment. This presentation is aimed at practical and cost-effective methods that provide useful results for testing radio equipment operating at VHF and UHF frequencies.

Bio:

Don has pursued a lifelong interest in science and engineering beginning as a youth in western Canada, receiving his first amateur radio license at the age of 15. Don has a degree in Electrical Engineering and has worked in the Energy Exploration industry in Canada, the United States, Europe, South America, the Middle East and the Far East. He is the holder of numerous U.S. patents, has been a guest lecturer at the Colorado School of Mines, and received the prestigious Hart Energy Innovators Award. After more than 50 years, he rejoined the amateur radio ranks and is currently active on 20 meters and VHF / UHF bands.

Tue, Feb 27: “TARPN: A Modern Amateur Radio Packet Network” by Eric Sherk, WO2S.

Description:

Would you like to use ham radio to chat live with other hams using your computer but without using the internet? Take a look at the Terrestrial Amateur Radio Packet Network (TARPN) and a growing TARPN implementation: the North Carolina Packet network (NCPACKET). A TARPN is a stand-alone, point-to-point packet radio network that provides communication using only dedicated amateur radio links. You can chat live with, or send messages to, other hams in your network. To get started, you and a nearby ham set up a “node” based on a RaspberryPi, an inexpensive modem, and modest VHF/UHF radios. Each node can cost as little as $300 even if you have an empty junkbox! Whatever your age or skill level, TARPN is a fun way to learn new things, overcome interesting challenges, and chat with your ham friends!

Bio:

Eric received his Novice license in 1973 at the age of 12. Through the years he upgraded his license to General, Advanced, and achieved Amateur Extra in 1989. He held leadership positions in his college and local NY radio clubs. Eric received a BSEE from Michigan Technological University and an MSEE from Syracuse University. He is a chip design engineer working for Arteris IP. Previously he worked on chips used in computers, game systems, and cell phones at IBM, Qualcomm, and Marvell. He enjoys many facets of the hobby, including CW, SSB, FT8, digital voice, and of course TARPN.

RADIO ROOM CHECKOUTS AND OPEN HOURS

Do you want to use the radio room during open hours? Get checked out by Bruce N9JBT so you can operate unsupervised. Checkouts can be Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat afternoons and certain Sundays by appointment. Email info@nescitech.org.

Radio Room Open Hours generally are Tu-Fr-Sat 3-9 pm, Sat 9am-noon, alternate Sundays 12-4 pm. Late nights by appointment only.

W1STR Worked All States (WAS) Club Effort

ASK BRUCE, N9JBT, IF YOU CAN HELP. The STARS WAS activity is progressing well! Join us as we try to earn a mixed band, mixed mode Worked All States Certificate. We are using the club callsign, W1STR. We are confirming our contacts with QSL cards. Details and QSL cards are in the radio room. Green dots on the laminated US map on the bulletin board signify a contact has been logged, a blue dot is added when a QSL card for that state has been received.

• TECHNICIAN - GENERAL - AMATEUR EXTRA - Morse Code - and more.

GROUPS.IO COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM FOR STARS ACTIVITIES

• You can chose to receive direct emails, or daily/weekly digests.
• Subscribe to the NEST Main group first: main+subscribe@nescitech.groups.io
• Subscribe to STARS group second: stars-radio+subscribe@nescitech.groups.io
• You can send emails to stars-radio@nescitech.groups.io to talk to the group.

Club Repeaters

Please get on the air! Try any time of day. IRLP and ECHOLink enabled - W1STR-R.

Natick UHF: 446.325 PL 146.2 at New England Sci-Tech (linked)

Milton UHF: 449.125 PL 146.2 at Blue Hill Science Center (linked)

Milton VHF: 146.985 PL 88.5 at Blue Hill Science Center (linked)

South Natick UHF: 447.025 PL 146.2 (portable, on air, not linked, can be used for events)

Hopkinton UHF: 448.025 PL 88.5 (off air, newly acquired, needs new location)

Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society

16 Tech Circle, Natick MA 01760

508-720-4179 -- info@STARS.radio