Tag: NN3SI

Smithsonian’s NN3SI to QRT during museum renovations

— submitted to ARRL.org by Murray Green, K3BEQ

NN3SI, the Amateur Radio station exhibit at the Smithsonian Institutes’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, will QRT in late August while the museum undergoes renovations that will include the ham station. The museum is scheduled to reopen by the summer of 2008. Inaugurated in 1976 and supported by a volunteer staff, NN3SI occupies a corner in the “Information Age” exhibit on the first floor of the National Museum of American History, and it’s been open daily for visiting radio amateurs to operate.

I was a guest op at NN3SI earlier this year.

What’s been going on with AD7MI?

It’s been a busy summer so far.

– Memorial Day: I really enjoyed the special event station operation – W4M. I operated from Fort Monroe on Saturday and Sunday from a WWII coastal artillery battery overlooking the Chesapeake, wonderful weather and some great contacts. I setup a G5RV for the antenna and used a portable generator for power.

– The Smithsonian, NN3SI: During my trip to Washington DC, I had the opportunity to be a guest operator at the Smithsonian’s own amateur radio station, located at the Museum of American History.

– Lighthouse Activations: Enjoyed a relaxing few days down in the Outer Banks, NC and was able to activate the Bodie Island Lighthouse (USA-067) and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse (USA-212). Link here to the Outer Banks Repeater Association: http://obra.aginet.com/


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From : W2EHD
To : ad7mi
Subject : Re: 442.850

Scott – It was a pleasure to meet you – if only on the air.
Re: the the UHF side of the mobile radio. Might consider selecting medium or low power when running mobile – especially when the repeater of choice is not far away.
–
I am sending along a URL for a tape measure beam. Originally, I think the author meant to use it in DFing – Direction-finding – competitions – but despite the fact that it’s rather ugly and makes lots of noise when the wind blows the elements – it seems the ideal solution for accessing a repeater from a remote (vacation) location.
I bought an el cheapo grande 25 ft. tape measure a few years ago, and 8 bucks worth of the PVC tubing he recommends.
There are several of these antennae in my workshop. One thing I did was to cast a couple of concrete bases – using galvanized pails that I bought at ACE.
One 60-odd bag of Sak-Crete will let you make a couple of bases. Glue some scrap carpeting to the bottom and you’ve got built-on floor protection.

As presently described, the tape measure antenna is only good on 2 meters. The author mentions that it may well be possible to change the element dimensions and spacing to put it into the UHF portion of the spectrum. I may try one out on 70 cm, with a watt meter in the line, just for grins.
Keep in touch.
If you wish, I will add your address to the OBRA email list, which will keep you informed about major doings around here. You would not get a lot of mail from OBRA, believe me.
73,
Jack
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Next project: I’m working on a portable HF/VHF/UHF system. Intent is to build a complete setup (rig, power supply, tuner, SWR meter, NOMIC RigBlaster, etc.) into an easily transportable box.

Amateur Radio Station NN3SI

From The Smithsonian: Natural Museum of American History web site

For nearly a century, amateur radio operators (HAMs) have energized the airwaves around the world. Exploring radio science and technology, providing emergency communications, or simply “calling CQ” to chat, HAMs are part of radio history. At the Museum’s HAM radio station, NN3SI, visitors learn about radio while they watch and talk with volunteer HAMs operating the station.

The unusual call sign, NN3SI, comes from the station’s origin in the Museum’s bicentennial exhibition “A Nation of Nations.” The FCC assigned a temporary call NN3SI for Nation of Nations-US zone 3-Smithsonian Institution, and later granted a request to make the call permanent.

The station participates in special events. During the dedication of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, station operators made many contacts and taught children visiting the Museum how to spell their names in Morse code. Over the years, operators at NN3SI have logged contacts with HAMs in all parts of the world and with astronauts and cosmonauts in orbit.

The station operates on a range of frequencies from 3.5 to 450 MHZ. Licensed HAMs planning a trip to Washington, D.C., can sign up to operate the station during their visit.


Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley (at left), ARRL President Harry Dannals and operator Joseph Fincutter inaugurate station NN3SI in July 1976.


Volunteer operators Stan Schretter (at left) and Don Sylvain making contacts during the 2004 Memorial Day weekend.

… I sent an email an asked how I’d go about arranging an appointment to be a guest operator at NN3SI and got the following response:

From : Carl Lagoda
Sent : Thursday, December 1, 2005 8:52 PM
To :
Subject : Re: NN3SI

Hello Scott:
You are certainly welcome to visit NN3SI and , while there, operate the station as a guest operator. We only ask that you present a photo ID to identify yourself. As you probably already know, the station is located in the National Museum of American History. I suggest that you enter the building by the Constitution Avenue entrance. NN3SI is in an exhibit called “Information Age”. The duty operators are there between 10am and 3pm with time out for lunch. Since the station depends on volunteer operators, we do not have continuous coverage so that you may not find an operator on duty. If you could name a specific date and time for your visit, we will try to have someone there for you. Regards de Carl w3cl

Maybe I can take a quick trip up to D.C. in late December when work slows down a bit. I think it would be really neat to be a guest operator at the Smithsonian’s amateur radio station! 🙂