Geoff Allsup, W1OH Silent Key

Geoff Allsup, W1OH, became a "silent key" (SK) on March 23, 2023.  The term "silent key" is used by amateur radio operators (hams) to denote a ham who has died.  The term refers to the sending key used to send Morse Code (CW), which becomes silent upon a ham's death.

Geoff was a life-long ham who was licensed for nearly 60 years, being first licensed at the age of 12.  His interest in building and experimenting with radios led him to a career as a engineer working in research and development in the oceanographic field.

Geoff was a member of FARA for nearly 40 years.  He was a past President and a Board of Directors member for many years.  Geoff captained the GOTA (Get On The Air) station for several Field Days, introducing ham radio to the public.  He was particularly interested in encouraging young people to become licensed. 

Geoff was a "ham's ham", always willing to offer help or mentoring to less experienced hams.  He was a very active FARA member who made substantial contributions to the continuing success of the club.

Geoff, W1OH, SK, will be sorely missed by all of us.  

Titanic Special Event Operation - April 12-14, 2023

From Barry, KB1TLR:

I'm trying to put a Titanic Special Event Station together for April 12, 13, & 14 at the National Seashore Visitors Center in Eastham. I have calls in and have filled out an application. We will be restricted in the hours that we can operate.  I'm planning on operating on April 12-14 from 9 am until 4 pm EDT.  Operations will continue into the early hours on April 15 when she sank.  Those of us close enough to the operating site can finish up the event at home and send me the logging files.

I plan on setting up on the afternoon of the 11th, around 3 pm.  I could use some help. I will use an off center dipole 80-10 m and an R5 which covers 10, 12, 15, 17 & 20 m. For radios, we will be using 2 stations, both ICOM 7300's with power supplies, tuners, linked computers, foot switches (or hand pushbuttons) and headsets.  We will also have additional headsets available for extra loggers if necessary. 

This was originally a CW operation, so I am especially looking for CW operators.  SSB operators are always welcome. If you are CW operators you will need to supply your own keys or paddles.

Shifts each day will be 9-12, 12-2, & 2-4. I plan to be there all day each day.  I will operate as needed and also be a "tour guide" as it is a school vacation week.  We will have displays setup relating to the Titanic and the disaster. Take down will be after 4 pm on the 14th.

Contact Barry, KB1TLR, (w1mgycc@gmail.com) if you are interested in helping or operating during the event.

FARA Demo's Amateur Radio at Mashpee Maker's Fair

BARC (Barnstable Amateur Radio Club) and FARA members attended the Maker's Fair held at Mashpee High School on March 25 to provide demonstrations of amateur radio to Fair attendees.

Two ARES GO Kits were brought in for display by Henry, K1WCC and Jon, N1ILZ.  Jon’s portable antenna mounted on a commercial speaker stand was used to make contacts.  The antenna is one of  Frank O'Laughlin's, WQ1O, many creations. Visitors to the Fair were able to try the radios and make contacts with club members via the local repeaters.

Thanks to everyone who supported this event.

Photos courtesy of Chris, WA1CMR and Jon, N1ILZ

Booth Activity	Booth Activity
Go Kit	Go Kit
Go Kit Using a Small Cooler	Cooler Go Kit Ready to Go

HAM-CON ARRL Vermont Convention

HAM-CON, the ARRL Vermont Convention will be Saturday, February 25th, 8AM-1:30 PM at the Hampton Inn Convention Center, off of I-89 Exit 16 in Colchester.  Our theme for HAM-CON 2023 is “Getting On The Air” There are many facets to amateur radio, but the most popular and endearing activity is getting on the air and contacting other hams. Our lineup of forums and activities will emphasize just that.  More information at http://www.ham-con.org/  Thanks, K1BIF

Ham Clock for your Radio Shack

If you like the "Geochron" style ham clock, but don't like the price, there is free ham clock software available.  Recently, there was a QST article re: building an Arduino based ham clock.  The developer has continued to update the Arduino software and has added the "hooks" to port the software to run under Linux.  This means the software can also be run on Windows using the Windows Sub-system for Linux (WSL).  The instructions are on the developer's website: https://clearskyinstitute.com/ham/HamClock/

An example of the Windows display is shown below.  It can be setup to be accessible by web browser.  Basically free--just setup WSL, load Debian, download, make and load the app.  I used the directions on the developer's web site under the "User Contributed" tab, "More tips for Executing and Displaying Ham Clock on Windows 10".

Winter Field Day 2023

 

After a successful annual meeting with many in attendance and election of a new slate of officers and directors, some FARA members proceeded to Marine Park in Falmouth to set up for Winter Field Day. We had our FARA communications trailer on-site next to the bandshell, and were able to access street power from there. This meant not only power for the radios, but heating and lighting inside the trailer as well.

Using a spud gun, we set up an OCF dipole between the top of the bandshell and a tree in the northwest corner of the park. We also set up a PAR end fed 20 meter antenna as a vertical, using a Spyder pole for support. Then we went to lunch.

After lunch, we got the K3 and an Icom 746 up and running at two operating stations. Our CW operator had contracted COVID and was unable to attend, so we decided to run two phone stations. The 746, which had just had its tuner rebuilt, decided to quit on us and stopped RF output. We replaced it with another club radio, a Kenwood TS-570. At 2 PM we started running contacts, as K1RK. Mel, KC1ELB, a born contester, took over the K3 on the PAR antenna on 20 and started his pileup. Henry, K1WCC, was on the TS-570 and noticed a lot of signals starting to appear on 40 meters, mostly locals in CT, RI and Mass participating in WFD. Listening was one thing, making the QSO was another. Our OCF dipole, although about 130 ft. long, would not tune on 40 meters. Power output was halved and signal reports from even local stations were abysmal. So we switched to 10 meters, where the antenna really performed. 10 meters was in good shape and contacts were made into California and the Pacific Northwest.

We knocked off at 1830, since we had to move the comms trailer from the site that night. Within 30 minutes everything was wrapped up, the trailer ready to go, and all parties went home, some to continue operating at home stations. This was one of many times in the past two years when we proved the worth of our comms trailer-it was comfortable, bright inside with plenty of operating room. We were able to set up and knock down quickly, which would be required in an emergency situation.

Some highlights of the day: Many club members visiting the site after the meeting, our new club VP Jeremy WA1JRC making his first HF contact, some members from our recent Tech Class stopping by for a ragchew and observing the operation, a visit from Enterprise photographer Brenda Sharp and a beautiful, warm day (with a little wind to harass the spud shoot!).

Thanks to Ralph, N1YHS, Andy, N1SYM and Larry W1IZZ for their assistance with the trailer and hardware. There are only 143 days till summer Field Day at Morse Pond School!

Henry K1WCC

Algonquin ARC Ham Flea Market--18 Feb 2023

Algonquin ARC Ham Flea Market information: