Meeting Announcement – This Thursday!

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
7:00 – 9:00pm at Wassamki Springs Campground
56 Saco Street, Scarborough, ME

Please join us this Thursday at 7:00 PM at Wassamki Springs Campground, in Scarborough, for an informal in-person meeting!

We will be meeting outside near the Ham Shack (which is located at the former camp store). Please bring a lawn chair, and follow social distancing protocol. Out of respect of the owners and their customers, we also ask that everyone wear a face covering.

The Ham Shack will be open, but because of its small space, there will only be two people allowed inside at a time. We plan on setting up an HF radio, so meeting attendees can take turns operating with the Special Event call sign, W1V!

Since we are meeting outside, and the weather forecast is calling for showers Thursday evening, if anyone has an EZ-up that they bring along, that would be appreciated!

See you there!

73′

Tim
KB1HNZ

W1V Special Event Update

One week down – One to go!

The WSSM 10th Anniversary Special Event continues through July 25!

The W1V Special Event is off to a flying start! In the first week of activities, we’ve had 12 different operators activating as many as 16 different band slots per day! So far, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday have been the busiest.

Special thanks to the following operators for putting W1V on the air:

Eric Emery, N1RXR
Mike Fandell, N5QYQ
Rick Fickett, K1OT
Susan Bloomfield, WB2UQP
Stefania Watson, K1GJY
Charlie Shepard, W1CPS
Jason Andrews, W1SFS
Brad Brown, KC1JMH
Ronald Dahle, K4FET
Rory McEwen, KB1PLY
Roger Pushor, NK1I

We’ve been active on multiple different bands and modes, including Phone, CW, FT8, PSK31, and even D-STAR. And, this past Saturday, a few club members ventured up to the summit of Mt. Washington, in New Hampshire, to activate it for Summits on the Air (SOTA), where they made over 70 contacts!

If you’re a chaser, be sure to look for W1V on the spotting networks, including DXSummit.fi. Operators are encouraged to spot themselves to help chasers find them.

Stefania, K1GJY reported last night that many stations that she contacted said it was either their second or third band, so they’re definitely looking for us.

Conditions on some of the upper bands haven’t been great, but keep trying. 6 and 10 meters, especially, can be enhanced by Sporatic E openings, which come and go pretty quick.

Keep up the good work, and thanks for helping us celebrate our 10th Anniversary!

73′

Tim
KB1HNZ

If you’re interested in operating W1V during the event, please click here to request access to the operator signup sheet.

W1V Special Event Update

On-Air Activities begin at 0000 UTC, July 12th (Saturday night at 8PM)!

Thanks to the everyone who checked-in to our kick-off / coordination net last evening. Some good topics came up, including questions about a script to use, QSL information, logging, and how chasers and operators can earn a certificate.

We’ve created a simple fillable PDF for certificate requests, which is available here.

Tips for operators:

Since this isn’t a contest, it’s okay to self-spot! We suggest spotting on DX Summit to help chasers find you.

Feel free to use social media to post your operating frequencies and modes, and to tell a story about your operating conditions, etc. If you tag us, we’ll be sure to share your posts.

Please use electronic logging, and send your logs, in ADIF format to: kb1hnz@yahoo.com when complete. This is so we can upload to LoTW, eQSL, Clublog, etc.

Operations are not limited to HF. You can get on 6 meters, VHF/UHF, DMR, and D-STAR as well.

Although we don’t suggest any specific frequencies, try to stay around the lower end of the General portion of the bands, when on HF.

We suggest the following for a script:

“This is Special Event station W1V, celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the founding of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine. For information about obtaining a certificate or QSL, please visit www.ws1sm.com“

Most importantly, Have fun!

To help encourage participants to activate as many bands and modes as possible, we’re offering certificates to operators as well as chasers. More information can be can be found on the event website.

If you’re interested in operating W1V during the event, please click here to request access to the operator signup sheet.

WSSM 10th Anniversary Special Event

We’re celebrating our 10th Anniversary with Special Event operations using the call sign W1V, between July 12 – July 25!

During the two weeks, club members will take turns activating the call sign and we are offering a special certificate with the following endorsements for contacts:

Certificates will be available to anyone who works our station, in three achievement levels:

• GOLD – For anyone who contacts W1V on 10 or more different bands / modes
• SILVER – For anyone who contacts W1V on 5 to 9 different bands / modes
• BRONZE – For anyone who contacts W1V on 1 to 4 different bands / modes

We will also be offering certificates for operators, in the same levels. For example, if you activate 10 or more different band slots, you are eligible for a Gold level certificate.

Click here for more details, and to find out how to sign up to operate W1V during the event.