Ham Shack
We are currently (Jan 2022) bringing up the MakeIt Labs Ham Shack on the 2nd floor in the brick building.
A "Ham Shack" is an area set up as an Amateur Radio (aka Ham Radio) station. Ham radio operators are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and are allowed to transmit radio signals within certain guidelines. Most people think of ham radio as Morse code and listening to signals with lots of static... Today's ham radio still has that, and all sorts of modern communication modes as well.
If you're interested in ham radio, you need to take a license test, which is a fairly straight forward multiple choice test - no Morse code is required, and all the test questions/answers are published in advance.
Go to Slack #resource-ham-shack for Ham Shack specific discussions.
Go to Slack #general-amateur-radio for more information about license classes in the Nashua area, and anything else Ham Radio.
Track ideas for ham shack improvements and projects on the wiki. Add your ideas here.
Approval for use of MakeIt Labs Ham Shack equipment will require attending an authorization session. We will go over the equipment currently installed, very basics of how NOT to break the equipment, and what you can, or can not do (at least not without permission), with MakeIt's ham radio resources.
In order to TRANSMIT with the equipment in MakeIt Labs Ham Shack, you must have an Amateur Radio license. MakeIt Labs does not currently offer classes or license sessions. Please utilize the great local amateur radio resources who offer these services.
!!! ONLY LICENSED AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS APPROVED BY THE RESOURCE MANAGER AND ON THE AUTHORIZED CONTROL OPERATOR LIST MAY TRANSMIT !!!
Ham Shack Checklists
Current equipment:
Sloping wire antenna and Icom AH-4 Tuner
Yaesu ATAS-120A antenna (on the roof)
Nashua Area Radio Society
Club, classes, exam sessions
https://www.n1fd.org/amateur-radio-license-class/
https://www.n1fd.org/amateur-radio-license-class-registration/
Billerica Amateur Radio Society
Club, exam sessions
https://www.w1hh.org/get-your-license/ve-sessions/
Granite State Amateur Radio Association
Club, exam sessions
http://www.gsara.org/ham-licensing.html
American Radio Relay League
Exam Session Finder
http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session