HAPPY NEW YEAR! We are gearing up for Winter Field Day.

Tonight our guest speaker is the president of the Winter Field Day Association,

Marvin Turner, W0MET.

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.)

TUE JAN 2, 7:00 pm: “Winter Field Day” by Marvin Turner, W0MET.

8:00: Winter Field Day Planning

8:30: 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

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Tue, Jan 2: “Winter Field Day” by Marvin Turner, W0MET 

Description: In this engaging and timely presentation, Marvin will share insights into the annual Winter Field Day event that brings together amateur radio enthusiasts in a unique cold-weather setting. Winter Field Day is not just a contest—it's a community-building experience that challenges operators to set up temporary stations in winter conditions, fostering camaraderie and testing one’s skills. As the president of the Winter Field Day Association, Marvin provides a firsthand look into the planning, activities, and the sense of adventure that makes Winter Field Day a highlight on the ham radio calendar. Please join Marvin on a journey through snow-covered landscapes and radio waves, where passion for communication meets the beauty of winter.

Bio: Marvin has been active in amateur radio for over 25 years. In 2022, he became the president of the Winter Field Day Association. As the host of "The Ham Radio Guy Podcast," he shares his insights, experiences, and interviews with fellow ham radio enthusiasts. By day, Marvin serves as the IT Support Manager for a prominent healthcare company in Nashville, leveraging his technical skills to ensure the smooth operation of critical systems. Marvin loves to travel and explore, is happily married to his wife Heidi, and is accompanied by Otto, his loyal canine companion, on his ham radio adventures.

STARS RADIO LECTURE SERIES

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! See full details below.

Tue, Jan 2:  “Winter Field Day” by Marvin Turner, W0MET

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.

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.

Tue, Jan 2 and 16: 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.

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

Roland has been a ham since 1990 and began his career as a broadcast engineer for television stations and media production companies. Roland has produced numerous television shows for cable television, and has been involved in every position within the video production environment. He first learned about amateur television when local ATV repeaters in California aired NASA satellite feeds during the Space Shuttle missions. Today, Roland continues to be very active in television production, and especially within the ATV mode of ham radio operations. He hosts the Amateur Television Network's (ATN) "The Weekly Net" that runs every Wednesday.

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.

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