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All Things Ham Radio!

Welcome to my home page, a launching pad to many fascinating ham radio activities in Maine and around the world.

Checkout the new PROMOTE page with sampe amateur radio promotion documents, including public service announcements and press releases:

promote

Get Outside!

Spring is here and it is time for the portable ops season! Clubs in Downeast Maine are already planning portable operations for the coming weeks. The Ellsworth Amateur Wireless Association will be heading to the banks of the Union River soon for some QRP fun. The Maine Ham Radio Society is conducting a special event outside in Milbridge on Sunday, May 22 at the home of N1EP. Details coming soon. The Saint Croix Valley ARC is doing a foxhunt in downtown Calais in May!

More backpacking and portable park events will pop up as well. And of course, the mother of all portable ops, Field Day is June 25 - 26! So gather your lightweight portable rigs and antennas and let's get outdoors for awesome amateur radio fun!

Where It All Started

Many ham radio operators first became intereted in radio as short wave listeners (SWLers), and I was one of them. As a kid, and even while I was in the Navy, I loved tuning around and finding broadcast stations, military communications, commercial transmissions, and ham radio transmissions. Recently, I discovered that my Kenwood TS-890s has a cool retro-look display option for the SWL bands, so I have been re-discovering the fun of SWL. I was surprised to hear air traffic controll communications on 6586 kHz USB. It was interesting hearing Delta, Jet Blue, and others communicate with air traffic control on the HF bands. I have heard rumors that you can find pirate propaganda broadcasts from Russia and the Ukraine as they posture for a possible war. I will be searching for them!

N1EP Running For Maine ARRL Section Manager

Yes, you read correct, I submitted my ARRL Section Manger nomination package a couple weeks ago. Bob Gould, N1WJO, is not seeking re-election. Some of my goals and objectives if I am elected include:

• Recruitment of more hams, especially youth, into our hobby. This will be one of my top priorities.
• Create and maintain a statewide Elmer/Mentor listing of hams who are willing to advise and assist both new or prospective hams and seasoned hams who need help for whatever reason. We need to follow up after VE sessions to help new hams get on the air and learn the ropes. I will appoint a Youth Coordinator who will work with myself, Assistant SMs and clubs to find ways to make ham radio attractive to new people, and to offer help when it is needed. Follow up is KEY! It will not only benefit ham radio, but club memberships as well.
• The Amateur Radio Emergency Service in Maine needs vital improvement and participation. I will work with the Section Emergency Coordinator to try and make sure all 16 Maine counties have effective ARES teams.
• YL Inclusion. We all know that the vast percentage of operators on the air and at clubs is male. I want to find out why more of the licensed YL hams are not participating, and also reach out to YLs in recruitment drives. I would like to appont a "YL Champion" to assist me in this endeavor.
• Space Comms and Technology. I will task my Youth Coordinator to help clubs and others to learn and become efficient in the latest amateur radio technolgies and space communications. The Youth Coordinator will seek out and find success stories and resources and share these within the Maine section. Kids are more apt to get interested in these categories, as well as kit-building, portable operations and other fun events. If every club gave demonstrations at schools, scouts troops, 4H groups, and other youth organizations, the amateur radio community could inspire a whole lot of kids in how much fun ham radio can be.
• I will maintain regular communications with ARRL leadership and with Maine ARRL members via the amateur radio bands, newsletters, and email. One of the duties of a section manager is to listen and get feedback from ARRL members, and I will do that.

District 3 News

Click here to read the latest Maine ARRL District 3 News

Latest Signals Downeast Newsletter!

Click here to view the latest edition of the Signals Downeast Newsletter.

WCARES Launches Web Site

The Washington County Amateur Radio Emergency Service in Maine has launched a web site. Check it out at WCARES - WN1EOC

MHRS YouTube Channel

Do not miss out on any Maine Ham Radio Society MHRS RadioActive YouTube videos. The channel is available here: MHRS RadioActive YouTube Channel

The latest video features Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, and his Engaging Young People and New Hams presentation. Do not miss this video. It is really inspiring!

Summer Portable Ops

Warmer temps are here and it is time to get outside for some portable operations fun, whether it be QRP or 100 watts. My portable ops will be mostly at campsites when I take the RV out, but I will also be doing some out in the yard here in Milbridge, as well as in the back 80 acres. I want to take my KX3 and a wire out there and see how many qrp contacts I can make.

Another fun thing to do is bring the qrp gear out to local parks and other scenic areas and put those locations on the air!

Optimize!

Get More Signal For Your Buck

Amateur radio is an awesome hobby and public service. We all love to get on the air and chat using a multitude of modes and frequencies. But sometimes we wish the signals we are hearing were stronger, and that our own transmissions could reach out farther to get the attention of that rare DX or contest station.

Read full article here: Optimize Your Ham Radio System!

Pi This Winter!

Dec 11, 2019

A nifty tiny but powerful device that can complement any ham shack is the Raspberry Pi mico computer. The new Raspberry Pi 4 is quite an upgrade from the previous model and can run all the open source office suites, browse the Internet, and run many ham radio applications.These include packet/APRS, NBEMS/FLDIGI and associated programs, logging and rig control, echolink, and much more!

My winter projects relating to the Raspberry Pi include the fllowing:

I'll post my progress on this web site. 73 de N1EP

Sundays Sweepstakes Social Was Fun!

Check out the sweepstakes social article under the NEWS section!