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Station Activities Archive
GORHAM
FOUNDER'S
FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENT
GORHAM, ME - The
Wireless Society of Southern Maine took part in the Gorham Founder's
Festival during the Memorial Day weekend, from May 27-30. Members set
up a table display and were on hand to answer questions about amateur
radio. They also operated the club station, WS1SM as a special event to
help celebrate the 275th anniversary of the founding of Gorham, Maine.
Thom,
W1WMG, talks to some
folks about ham radio at the Gorham Founder's Festival
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Tim, KB1HNZ, works a pileup on
20 meters Saturday afternoon. |
The
event was a success for the club, as they signed up new members, talked
to many perspective hams, and demonstrated to town officials and the
public, the capabilities of amateur radio. Members operating the
special event station made over 200 contacts, using several different
modes including SSB, CW, and digital.
More pictures
of the event can be found on the Gallery page.
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GORHAM,
ME
- It's Official! The American Radio Relay League, of Newington,
Connecticut, has accepted the Wireless Society of Southern Maine as an
affiliated club!
The ARRL
is known as the National Association for Amateur Radio, which
according to QST
magazine, is a "noncommercial
association of radio amateurs, bonded for the promotion of interest in
amateur radio communication and experimentation." The league focusses on
several areas of the hobby, including the relaying of information by
radio, public welfare, and they also serve as a representative to the
radio
amateur in legislative
matters. Our new club is proud to be affiliated with an
organization that has spent nearly a hundred years promoting,
improving, and preserving the hobby we love. Click here to visit the ARRL
affiliated club page, featuring WSSM. |
Rory
(KB1PLY), Thom (W1WMG), and Charlie (W1CPS)
operating
from the gazebo in front of Shaw School in Gorham
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Thom
(W1WMG) operates
from the "Fish Bowl" room
at the Gorham Recreation Department |
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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 |
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.
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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.
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.
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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 |
HAM RADIO DAY PROCLAMATION
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SCARBOROUGH, ME - Members
of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine pose with the official
proclamation which was signed by the Maine State Legislature,
recognizing April 18th, 2011 as World Amateur Radio Day. Tony
Bessey, representing the Maine Section of the American Radio Relay
League, was kind enough to bring the document to our monthly meeting on
June 9th.
From
left to right: Jason Andrews (KB1UXB), Frank Allen (WA1PLD), Thom
Watson (W1WMG), Charlie Shepard (W1CPS), Tim Watson (KB1HNZ), Frank
Krizan (KR1ZAN), and Tony Bessey (N1AJB).
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Wireless
Society of Southern
Maine 25 Graham Road, Westbrook, ME 04092
Contact Us
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