Amateur "Ham" Radio - Full Menu

CLUBS AND GROUP ACTIVITIES

Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society (STARS) - A club not only for adults, but for families and youth as well. STARS welcomes radio enthusiasts of all ages from New England and beyond. We meet both in Natick and on-line. Members include students, parents, mentors, and supportive individuals of all ages.

Wireless Technology Club - a series of workshops that gets hands on with wireless tech, electronics, and radio communications.  Have a ham radio license, but want to get your hands dirty?  Come join us as we tinker and learn together.  Don’t have a radio license?  No problem.  Come give it a try and see if this is a hobby and subject that appeals to you.  These workshops can be taken a la carte, as they interest you.  There is NO expectation of regular attendance!

New England Amateur Radio (NE1AR) - NE1AR provides educational services to the amateur radio community including license exams, courses, and technical support. NE1AR is colocated with New England Sci-Tech in Natick, MA.

Clay Center Amateur Radio Club (CC-ARC) - Legacy link for preservation of the history of the club that evolved into STARS. If any alums from CC-ARC are looking for their club, it has been reincarnated in 2018 as Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society (STARS) in Natick.

FIND A HAM RADIO EXAM

Amateur Radio License Exam - Offered every other Tuesday and Sunday in Natick, MA.The examiner team of New England Amateur Radio, Inc. (NEAR) offers regular in-person amateur radio license exams at NEST. Arrive approximately 10 minutes before exam time.

Hamstudy.org/sessions - Find a ham radio exam session near you! Use the filters to look for available in-person by zip code or remote sessions and take your exam using video conferencing from the comfort of your home!

ARRL.org/exam-sessions - Find a ham radio exam session near you! Use the filters to look for available in-person by zip code or remote sessions and take your exam using video conferencing from the comfort of your home!

HamStudy.org - Excellent free study website, or get the app for your smartphone. Also has links about radio: What it takes, where to go, and how to get started with your amateur radio license.

YEARLY PUBLIC RADIO ACTIVITIES

ARRL Radio Field Day - Every summer in June. Family Friendly Event! Ham Radio Field Day has Educational Demonstrations, Maker Activities, Telescopes (weather permitting).

Amateur Radio Winter Field Day - Every winter in January. Ham Radio Event, radio contest, maker activities, guest speakers, planetarium shows, games, movie night, all in one!  Open to all licensed amateur radio operators worldwide, Winter Field Day is both a contest and a practice exercise of radio skills.

Northeast HamXposition - Marlborough MA - Every summer in August. The Northeast HamXposition, aka HamX, is held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center in Marlborough, MA. The event attracts hobbyists, makers, science and STEM enthusiasts, school and scout groups, and amateur radio operators from all over New England. Come join us!

HamXposition - Youth Forum - Youth of school and college age are invited to join a round-table discussion at the HamXposition about what their interests are in STEM, electronics, radio, and how they see wireless technology and ham radio in their future. This HamX Youth Participation Document on this web page is for all youth/scouts and their parents/leaders to read and discuss.

HAM RADIO COURSES AND WORKSHOPS

Workshop: Ham Radio – TECHNICIAN - This ONLINE ham radio class will get you ready to take the Ham Radio TECHNICIAN license exam, the FIRST of three certification levels. Geared toward adults, as well as junior high, high school, and home-school students.

Wireless Electronics Course - For Scouts, Home School, or After School students in grades 4-12, this IN-PERSON wireless electronics course will prepare you to take the Amateur Radio TECHNICIAN license exam. Parents are encouraged to participate with their students.

Workshop: Ham Radio – GENERAL - This ONLINE ham radio course will get you ready to take the Ham Radio GENERAL license exam, the SECOND of three certification levels.  

Workshop: Ham Radio – EXTRA - This ONLINE ham radio license course will get you ready to take the Ham Radio AMATEUR EXTRA license exam, the THIRD of three certification levels.

Morse Code Workshop - Beginner Level – This is a condensed Morse code course with only six 1-hour lessons! Appropriate for children in 5th grade and up. Adults without children and children without adults are welcome.

OTHER RADIO-RELATED WORKSHOPS

Scout Merit Badge Activities - Learn about amateur radio, the science of radio electronics and the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Learn about radio frequencies, electronic concepts, and communication protocols. Explore how amateur radio supports severe weather spotting, public service, and emergencies. Make contact over amateur radio and participate in amateur radio direction finding.

Workshop: Electronic Gadgets - Learn how to solder electronics to make cool gadgets such as snowflake ornament, FM radio, crystal nightlight, spinning top, and more. Kit is included in the workshop price. Topics learned while building kits include soldering safety, basic electronics parts and their functions, and elementary DC circuitry.

Workshop: Ham Radio Open House - FREE Ham Radio Open House on certain dates for up to an hour. Visit our radio room to see a variety of radios and electronic equipment, make your first long-distance radio contact, and learn what to do to participate in this fun life-long hobby.

Volunteer Examiner Training - Calling all amateur radio licensed Generals and Amateur Extras! Become an ARRL VEC accredited VE (volunteer examiner) and join a local team.  This class can be done ONLINE by appointment! Take this class if you want to get accredited or if you are already accredited and need a refresher.

HIGH ALTITUDE RADIO ACTIVITIES

Hunt for Radiosondes - Twice a day, every day, radiosondes are launched all around the world. These are tiny high altitude balloons with electronic sensor packages and radio transmitters attached.

New England Weather Balloon Society - dedicated to launching high altitude balloon projects. This club brings together like minded tinkerers, engineers, and hams to work on exciting projects and launches. We work with middle school, high school, and college students as well as new and experienced adults.

StratoScience - Exciting youth electronics and coding class hosted by the New England Weather Balloon Society. This 9-month program combines concepts like space science, radio and wireless communications, Arduino coding and microcontrollers, electronic circuit design, soldering, PCB design, and soft skills like planning, scheduling, public speaking, and the scientific method.  

Cubes in Space™ (CIS) - A specialized activity specifically for students ages 11-17 who are members of NEST, we join a program by iEDU to teach students about the atmosphere, rocketry, high-altitude balloons, general laws of physics, radio communications, satellites, and space science. Students work in teams to design and propose experiments to launch into a near space environment on a NASA sounding rocket. After the flight they evaluate their projects and give a report at an amateur radio conference. Students achieve an FCC Amateur Radio License (beginner level) during this program.

HABGab and StratoScience - HABGab 2023 was a special event for the ham radio community in New England.  A 2000g weather balloon carried 3 payloads at the edge of the atmosphere, one containing a crossband UHF/VHF repeater, built from two linked Baofeng BF-F8HP HTs.

OTHER RADIO-RELATED LINKS

Resources: Amateur Radio - Amateur Radio Resources, links that you might find helpful.

Yard Sale - New England Sci-Tech, a non-profit STEM Education Center and Makerspace, needs to get rid of accumulated surplus electronics, ham radios, file cabinets, tables, and more. Items we have left are listed on this page. LOTS of DOLLAR BINS – $1 items. Lots of FREE items. If not marked with a price, make an offer and pay only what you want to pay.