Category Archives: Education

Amateur Radio Technician Class Begins Tuesday Oct 17th at 6 PM

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**** Due to a lack of registrations, this class has been canceled ***

An Amateur Radio Technician Class will be held ONLINE using ZOOM starting Tuesday October 17, 2023 at 6 PM.  The class is open to the public.  If you are interested, you may register using the link below.

Discover the fun of being able to communicate with fellow Amateur Radio Operators (Hams) in your local community or worldwide without depending on fragile infrastructure like cell phones or internet.  Add Amateur Radio capabilities to enhance other hobbies like hiking or boating, and be able to communicate in times of emergency.

This is an instructor-led course given in six sessions with a FCC required examination on Saturday December 9th. The class is suitable for middle school through adult learners.  Past experience says that 90%+ of the students that participate in the classes pass the exam.  No book is required but a couple of good references are listed below:

  • Gordon West’s Technician Class 2022-2026.  Available at Amazon.com
  • ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 5th Edition.  Available at Amazon.com
There is no fee for the class itself.  There is a $15 fee for the examination, payable when you take the exam, and a $35 fee payable to the FCC for the license itself.

What the heck is that: ÄRTEN™ Workshops Continue …

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The ÄRTEN™ project held it’s fifth bi-weekly workshop on April 3, 2023 at FabNewport.  Project members and students from Pull It Apart! – FabNewport joined in a “What the heck is that?” gameshow to identify electronics gear stored in the hamshack closet at All Saints STEAM Academy.  SPOILER ALERT – from left to right the team identified an antenna rotator controller, a signal generator, a Heathkit® power supply and its matching amateur radio transceiver the venerable HW-101.

Glowing with gameshow success, project members then attempted to integrate an Ethernet-enabled CO2/Temperature/Humidity sensor from TEMCO Controls with a notebook controller.  Unfortunately, the aura of invincibility wore off and attempts to communicate with the device were unsuccessful; no habla IEEE 802.3!   Stay tuned.

ARRL Foundation Club Grant Fuels NCRC VE Sessions

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On March 11, 2023 NCRC held its first Volunteer Examiner licensing session using iPads purchased using an ARRL Foundation Club Grant.  Side-by-each testing during 2022 VE Sessions showed that Apple iPads performed better than Android devices for WiFi network stability and user (test taker) eye strain.

Seven test takers joined the session with two successful upgrades from Advanced to Amateur Extra; three successful upgrades from Technician to General class and one freshly minted Technician.

NCRC Holds First Electronic VE Session

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Newport County Radio Club held its first electronic VE exam session today at the All Saints STEAM Academy parking lot in Middletown.  Two folks took the exam.  Congrats to new hams:

  • Bruce Bragga (Passed Technician)
  • James Garman (Passed Technician & General)

Because the exam was electronic, there was no paperwork to deal with.  The examinees used a tablet computer to select their answers.  Once they indicated they were finished, the exam was graded instantly and all the paperwork was filled in via a completely automated process .  When all candidates were finished, they received their signed CSCE copies via email, and the required paperwork was uploaded to the ARRL. Had the exam been held on a business day, the entry into the FCC ULS would have happened within an hour or so.

The slowest part of the process was getting the assigned VEs to electronically sign the paperwork (which required them to click a “Sign” button and enter their password).  In reality, one or one hundred students would have taken the same amount of time, and things were wrapped up in 30 minutes.

John K1JSM (left) helps student with tablet computer during the exam

The exam was not without its tribulations, however.  Originally the plan was to hold the exam indoors.  However no one came to let us into the building.  We quickly regrouped.  Rob KB1ZZU had a 115 Vac outlet in his car which was used to power the GoLocalMe WiFi HotSpot, allowing the exam to be held in the parking lot.  So hams, once again, prove adaptable and resilient.  The highlight of the morning was when two Middletown Police cruisers showed up to respond to a silent alarm in the building right before the exam began.  Imagine their surprise to find the parking lot full of radio nerds.

Police stop by to see what fun things were going on!

Our club is very grateful for John K1JSM, who undertook this project, got two tablet computers setup for the students along with the HotSpot.  He held a training session for our initial set of VEs.  Our thanks to the following VEs who assisted with the exam session:

  • John K1JSM
  • Mike AA1XQ
  • Rob KB1ZZU
  • Jim KA1ZOU
  • Nancy KC1NEK
  • Paul K1YBE
  • Bob WB4SON

More new hams and upgrades

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Thanks to Mike AA1XQ who led today’s VE session, and all the many VE volunteers for a successful VE exam session.  Three new Technician and five General upgrades were issued.  Congratulations to the following:

  • Frank Bianco KC1PLI Technician
  • Daniel Marasco KC1PLJ Technician
  • Anthony Torti KC1PLH Technician
  • Brian Cottle N1TBT General
  • Michal Ford KC1MJP General
  • Kevin Gilbody KG1HAM General
  • Stephen Kane KB1PPJ General
  • Robert Morris W2RBM General