Joan, N1NUA, makes November Sweepstakes contacts during
the Sweepstakes Social in Milbridge on Sunday.
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Today is Saturday. Here is the latest ham radio news Downeast Maine:
Here it is December and the holidays are upon us! N1EP hopes Santa is good to you and leaves little qrp kits in your stockings and not coal!
The Ellsworth Amateur Wireless Association is holding their annual holiday pot luck social on Saturday, Dec 14 at noon at the Meadow View Apartments Phase IV Dining Hall, 25 Tweedie Lane, Ellsworth. The nominating committee will submit their report. Other than that it is Party Time!
Signals Downeast now has an on-line edition, with feature articles, project tracking, and more. Check it out: Signals Downeast On-Line
N1EP recently was plagued with awful RF noise that wiped out the entire 75/80m band each evening. Turned out to be a defective street lamp 300 feet down the road. Being blocked from parts of the spectrum because of RF interference can be a big downer!
Check the audio and video files here to try and identify the culprit if you ever have this awful experience!
Sunday, November 19, was a full day of fun and worthwhile ham radio activities in the Kansas Road in Milbridge, at the home of Phil N1EP and Brenda N1ZPV. Olin Blodgett successfully passed both his Technician AND General class license examinations during a morning VE session. 
session in Milbridge on Sunday. He earned his General class license!
A Sweepsstakes Social was held Sunday afternoon at the N1EP/N1ZPV QTH. The event was more social than contest, but the log does show 55 contacts made to states from CT to CA and Canada, thanks mostly to Joan N1NUA and the logging meister Brian KC1FXF! Most of the afternoon the rest of the group ate too much of the plentiful goodies that were avaialable, and chatted up a storm in person, instead of on the air.
The group had a surprise visit from Morgan NJ8M, who hails from Kansas, but is contracted to work in the Bangor area for a period. Morgan has enjoyed success as a contester and enjoyed coming Downeast to meet some of the local folk down this way.
Social to meet the local hams.
The Maine Ham Radio Society held their monthly meeting at the very same locale at 1800 that evening. Members decided to hold the December meeting at Brian Carlton KC1FXF residence in Jonesport on Thursday the 21st at 6pm. It will be a Xmas Potluck Junior, as Brian framed it. I guess he doesn't want a ton of leftovers, lol (I mean hihi). More info and diections will be posted soon.
The National Weather Service Caribou office sent Meterorologist Donnie Dupont to Ellsworth to conduct SKYWARN training on November 9. 
Carlton KC1FXF at the WX Spotter Training.
There will be a Volunteer Examination (VE) Session on Saturday, November 18 at 1:00pm in Ellsworth. The fee is $15 and a legal photo id is required. You will also need to provide your social security number OR a FCC Registration Number (FRN) that you can apply for in advance at fcc.gov.
Location of the exam is 25 Tweedie Lane in Ellsworth at Meadow View Apartments Phase IV Dining Hall. For more information, contact phil.n1ep@gmail.com
The Narraguagus Bay Amateur Radio Club has been taken out of its long suspended animation period and is active again, but with a new name. Members voted to rename the club the Maine Ham Radio Society.
The next scheduled meeting is Sunday, November 19 at 6pm at the home of Phil & Brenda Duggan, 195 Kansas RD, Milbridge. N1EP & N1ZPV are hosting an all day ham radio social at their home that day for people to operate ARRL Sweepstakes (phone) and to socialize and enjoy some finger foods.
For more information on the club, visit their web page at http://mainehamradiosociety.com.
The Poverty Hill Amateur Radio Group is planning ahead for September 2018. That is when Ellsworth, Maine COC celebrates their annual Autumn Gold event, a fun weekend of activities that draws crowds. What an opportunity it is to promote ham radio to the public. And that is what PHARG intends to do. They have invited members of the Ellsworth Amateur Wireless Association and the Maine Ham Radio Society to participate in a special event, and have even secured a special 1X1 callsign: W1G (Whisky One Gold).
PHARG can use the W1G call from Sep 20 through Oct 1, 2018. That leaves several extra days to use W1G for other special events, such as a QRP outing, etc.