Links to NEQRP Boxboro activities:
1PM to 2PM
Speaker: Dave Benson – K1SWL
Presentation Title: Field Operating
Talk Summary:
Since the conclusion of the ‘National Parks on the Air’ program hosted by ARRL in 2016, there’s been considerable interest in maintaining outdoor-themed QRP activities. Dave, K1SWL, will spotlight a number of programs supporting these interests. If you haven’t already taken your QRP rigs into the field, now’s a fine time! September means great weather here in New England. A review of the ‘Field Basics’ follows, with suggestions for minimizing weight and maximizing success. Ideas for portable antennas from the ‘casual’ to the more ‘engineered’ will be presented. The occasional field ‘mishap’ will be shared, serving to illustrate the point that “An expert is someone with a wealth of experience, much of it bad.”
Speaker Bio:
Dave Benson, K1SWL, is well known to the QRP community. He graduated 1976 from the University of Connecticut with a BSEE. Experience included design and systems engineering on the F-15, F-18 and other defense and aviation programs. He began writing for publication in the early 1990s, initially with the QRP Quarterly. A series of articles in QST magazine followed – most notably the ’40-40′ and the ‘blockbuster’ RockMite designs. Other QST articles described SSB and PSK31 transceivers. He founded Small Wonder Labs in 1996, leaving the corporate world to fend for itself. Dave closed the ‘Labs in 2013 to pursue other interests. A homebrewer at heart, wintertime is ‘peak season’ for new projects. He and his wife of 46 years live in a rural setting outside Newport, New Hampshire.
2PM to 3PM
Speaker: Rex Harper – W1REX
Presentation Title: Build in the Field
Talk Summary:
Have you ever build an electronic kit? Assembled a crystal radio, transmitter, or transceiver, that you made a contact with? If so, you know that ‘special feeling’ you get from communicating hundreds of miles with something that was just electronic parts before you assembled it. It’s an especially exciting and gratifying feeling. Rex will go one step further, showing how he builds kits ‘in-the-field’! That’s right, kit building from a park bench, grassy field, or even in the woods.
Speaker Bio:
Rex Harper, W1REX, is the owner and operator of QRP ME, a Maine based kit company. He started his career in electronics as a young boy learning from his dad, everything from radios to TVs and more. He was a field service engineer for Texas Instruments and later went out on his own opening a computer store. Sales and service was his focus. A QRP-ARCI “Hall of Fame” recipient, Rex is well known around the world for his tuna-tin canned kits.
3PM to 4PM
Speaker: Greg Algieri – WA1JXR
Presentation Title: Computer Antenna Modeling
Talk Summary:
Have you ever wanted to know if your antenna was efficent? Wanted to know where it was radiating? Wanted to get peak performance from your antenna? Then this talk will show you how computer modeling can be very beneficial to all Amateur Radio Stations for getting you signal heard, locally, and around the World. Greg will show how computer modeling of antennas can give you lots of technical information and increased performance for your station needs.
Speaker Bio:
Greg Algieri, WA1JXR, got bit by the bug of radio as a young boy. In the mid 1960’s he got his first Amateur Radio License and that started the ball rolling in his career of electronics. A long time Raytheon employee, Greg has put in lots of time in our hobby, especially in the area of EZ-NEC modeling of antennas.
We’ll also be selling our NEScaf Kit at our table in the Vendor Hall on Saturday and Sunday. This is a Worldwide known kit that we’ve sold thousands of to Amateur Radio Operators Worldwide. Word of mouth in the radio circuit attest that this kit is a winner for CW ops.
Don’t forget to sign up for Rex’s Build-a-Thon – registration is done Register for Build-a-Thon