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Sorry I didn’t get this posted sooner. Right before things kicked off I got kind of busy and posting from my phone isn’t that much fun…

Cookie production is in full swing as Field Day 2025 approaches.

The Newsletter Editor has a surprise article from the antipodes that will be appearing in the July Signal.

While NVARC does not hold club meetings in July and August, the newsletter remains in production. (Oh, and I’m always looking for content. Always.)

John, KK1X

Mark it on your calendar – ARRL Field Day is just two weeks away!  Once again this year, the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club will participate from the Heald Street Orchard in Pepperell (entrance is adjacent to 112 Heald Street).  We will be setting up Saturday, June 28^th after 9 AM, with operation from 2 PM Saturday June 28 ^th through Sunday June 29^th at 2 PM.

We will feature four operating stations – an HF phone station (primarily for voice operation), an HF CW station (primarily for Morse code and data operation), a VHF/UHF station (which will also communicate via satellite), and a GOTA station.  GOTA stands for “Get-on-the-Air”.  This station is specifically set aside for unlicensed operators (operating under the supervision of a licensed operator), newly licensed hams, and generally inactive hams.

Besides the Field Day stations, there will be educational activities, social activities, food, etc.  Something for everyone!  Please come and join us.  Bring your family, friends, kids, and grandchildren.  Everyone is welcome.

Here is the official press release which will give you more information.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Bruce, K1BG

2025-06 is a link to the June Signal, containing articles
on POTA, SOTA, and 6M DXing.
And a couple of recipes. I warned you.

The 48^th NEWS VHF/UHF/Microwave Conference was held in Windsor, CT from May 8^th thru 11^th.  This event brings together VHF/UHF/Microwave enthusiasts from around the Northeast and Canada.  They always have an interesting lineup of speakers.  This year there were two presentations that really caught my eye.

The presentation on Basic Light Communications by Paul W1VLF gave a good overview of the subject including an interesting story on how he scavenged 140 IR diodes for his optical transmitter from old tv remote controls when he worked for a CATV company.  Fred K1FMS followed this up with a presentation on the details of his equipment and a series of 940nm (319 THz) contacts he made with Paul at up to 25 miles so far using basic DIY hardware.

The optical equipment consists of simple available components that are mounted on a tripod.  A common transmitter consists of a bank of Infrared LED diodes combined to make a high-power emitter.  A cheap square wave generator powers the LED bank with a simple switch to send CW.  The receiver consists of an IR optical receiver IC behind a projection TV lense.  The output of the optical receiver feeds a trans-conductance amplifier and then a software defined receiver (SDR) like an AirSpy.

Following the presentations Paul W1VLF & Fred K1FMS displayed their equipment and gave a demo.  For more information visit Paul’s YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/user/W1VLF/videos .