Category Archives: GOTA

Virtual Ham Bootcamp May 13th

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The Nashua Area Radio Society will be holding an online Ham Bootcamp on Saturday May 13th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Eastern Time.

Ham Bootcamp is a program to help new, inactive, and prospective hams gain the skills and information that they need to Get on The Air. It is open to any interested Ham or Prospective Ham in the US and Canada and there is no charge to attendees.

The morning session is geared toward operating on the VHF/UHF bands:

  • Putting together a Station for Repeaters – How to pick an HT or Mobile Radio and an Antenna
  • Radio Programming Tutorial
  • Making Contacts and Joining a Repeater Net
  • Getting Started with Amateur Radio Satellites
  • Getting started with Fox Hunting

The afternoon session is geared toward operating on the HF Bands:

  • Putting together an HF Station for SSB, CW, and Digital
  • Picking and putting up an HF Antenna, Feedlines, and Grounds
  • Operating on the HF bands using SSB Voice
  • Getting started with WSJT-X and FT8 Digital

There will also be breakout sessions where attendee can choose one of the following topics:

  • Learning CW
  • Intro to EmComm
  • Finding DX, Logging and QSLing
  • Portable Operating

… and more! Registration is now open for the May 13th session. You can get more information about Ham Bootcamp, including a link to register at n1fd.org/bootcamp If you have any questions, you can contact us at bootcamp@n1fd.org. Registration is required to receive the link to the web conference.

Get On The Air Challenge

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Those of you who have been joining our monthly Zoom meetings know that we have a Get On The Air Challenge underway for at least the first quarter of 2021. The objective is to work as many SSB contacts as possible on the HF bands.  All you need to do to participate is to keep count of your HF SSB contacts and report them at the end of each month (just the count, no details on the QSO required).  If there is enough interest, we will extend the challenge throughout the year.  There will be prizes awarded in the form of certificates and bragging rights.  Email your results (or questions) to gota@w1sye.org

Also, so you can be kept advised of the goings on for the GOTA Challenge, please email gota@w1sye.org to let the folks know you are participating.

It goes without saying that Parks On The Air SSB contacts count as well, so you can operate as a Hunter or Activator and get credit for both POTA and GOTA.

Have a safe and happy 2021, and hope to hear you all on the air soon.

GOTA Challenge

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GOTA-C

Newport County Radio Club Get-On-The-air-Challenge

Your club is offering a challenge to all members to get on the air on the high frequency bands. The Challenge will start Jan 1, 2021 and is open to all members. Its primary goal is to encourage newer members and members who have not been on the air regularly to get on the air on the HF bands in SSB/phone mode. A General or Extra license is required.

A certificate will be awarded to anyone making 25 contacts during the challenge. We will also post the QSO counts on the club website. We ask for an email message from participants at the end of each month with a count of the number of HF SSB QSO’s made during that month. One does not need to submit a log.

Help is available for anyone needing assistance with an antenna, an HF radio, with understanding how to make HF contacts, logging software or any other radio issue. The Challenge is intended to be a learning exercise and club veterans are very willing to help participants.

GOTA-C communications will be via email to  gota@w1sye.org  Please send a message indicating your interest in the Challenge. We do not want to bug members who are not interested with unnecessary email messages.

Summary:

1. Send us a message that you are all in for the challenge.

2. Send us a message if you have a question or if would like assistance getting ready.

3. Starting Jan 1, 2021, record your SSB/Phone QSO’s on any HF band. Digital modes, FT4 or 8, and CW do not count. Maximum power is 100 watts.

4. At the end of January, February, and March send an email message with the count of your QSO’s.

At the end of March we will evaluate the challenge, continue it, or modify it depending feedback and experience.

In the coming weeks we will be posting tips on how to easily find a QSO opportunity on the HF bands. For example, how to use the following: Parks-on-the-Air spots, DX Summit web site, Winter Field Day, SSB contests, and more.