   
January / February
2014
Volume 4, Issue 1
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WSSM Members Teach Intro to Ham Radio Class
Peleton Labs,
Portland,
ME
by
Tim Watson, KB1HNZ
PORTLAND,
ME - On February 19th, WSSM members Thom Watson W1WMG and Tim
Watson KB1HNZ taught an Intro to Ham
Radio
course at Peleton Labs in
Portland. The course was hosted by Stuart Thomas KB1HQS, of
Preparedness Associates, and covered a variety of concepts, including
the radio spectrum, HF propagation, operating techniques, and how to
pursue earning a Technician class license.
WSSM
Members To Teach Course for Wells / Ogunquit Adult Education
Intro
to Ham Radio
by
Tim Watson, KB1HNZ
On Tuesday, May
6th, WSSM members will teach a 2
hour
course introducing Amateur
Radio to students of Wells / Ogunquit Adult Education. The course,
which requires preregistration, is designed to launch students on the
path toward earning their
first ham radio license. More information will become available as soon
as the Spring catalog is published.
QSL
Corner
Here's a QSL
card received recently by WS1SM for a 40m SSB QSO at 1453 UTC on
August 18th during this year's ILLW.
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Product
Review: GWhip End-Fed Zepp Antennas
Portland,
ME
by
Tim Watson, KB1HNZ
GORHAM,
ME - During most of last year's activities we deployed a pair of
end-fed zepp antennas manufactured by GWhip Antenna Products, in
England. These zepps are tough, utilyzing a 1/2 wave kevlar reinforced
transmission line with a metal eyelet on one end, and a unique matching
circuit that eliminates the need for a traditional counterpoise, on the
other.
DX News
February 26 - April 14
by
Tim Watson, KB1HNZ
The close
of 2013 and first months of the new year have seen lots of DX activity,
including the 9L1A activation of Sierra Leone and expeditions to the
Seychelles (S79ACR), Laos (XW0YJY), South Cook Island (E51CDW), and
Montserrat (VP2M).
A Closer Look at HamAntCalc
Developed by J Garber
by
Tim Watson, KB1HNZ
 
We'll take a look at Ham Calc, which
is a helpful tool for calculating antenna measurements in the field.
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March
13th - from
7PM-9PM at the Gorham Recreation Department
April
10th - from
7PM-9PM at the Gorham Recreation Department
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Check
out the ads on page 2 to view items for sale, upcoming hamfests,
announcements, and wanted items.
The Wireless Society of
Southern Maine would like to welcome the following new members:
LaMont Green, of Old Orchard Beach, ME, and Thomas Perron, of Falls
Church, VA.
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From the Editor's Desk
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Thinking Spring
Although
it seems like winter will never end, and a blizzard forced us to cancel
the last monthly meeting, Spring is fast approaching, (at
least according to the calendar). This means its time to plan for SOTA
expeditions, and summer activities, including Field Day, and lighthouse
events.
On
Wednesdays in March, WSSM members will teach Amateur Radio to the South
Portland Air National Guard, and we plan on offering a SKYWARN training
session at the Gorham Recreation Department in mid April - furthering
our commitment to education and community involvement.
Many are
looking forward to Field Day,
which will take place during the last weekend in June at Wassamki
Springs Campground, in Scarborough. Rick K1OT, has been enthusiastic
about his plans to assemble a standalone CW station, and he's been
actively recruiting more operators. In addition to this, we plan on
replicating our setup from last year, while improving our ability to
operate adjacent bands with better filtering.
In
recent weeks we've been finalizing details for an IOTA and
Lighthouse expedition in late July, where WS1SM expects to be QRV for
the RSGB IOTA contest. More information will be announced soon.
Even
though I like to think warm thoughts while working on my winter
projects, the last couple months have brought some great conditions for
DX, and some of the first contests of the year, including the UBA
(Belgian) and REF (French) HF contests, and the Maine 2 Meter FM Simplex Challenge,
which took place February 16th.
I
had a great time during the UBA contest, trying out a new HF
transciever for the first time, and together with Thom W1WMG, Dave
KB1FGF, and Sebastien Ames, who operated club station WS1SM, we had an
awesome time going mobile during the 2 Meter Challenge - each of us
achieving personal best scores. It was great to hear all the activity
on the air as we traveled around, and hopefully everyone else enjoyed
the event as well.
Till
next issue,
73,
Tim Watson
KB1HNZ
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