RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for January 5, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
1. OPN Manager Appointed
The Section Managers of Ontario are pleased to announce the
appointment of Pat Dopson, VE3HZQ as the Manager of the Ontario Phone
Net, effective January 2. Mr. Dopson is the Section Traffic Manager
of the Ontario North Section and has a wealth of experience working
traffic nets in Canada and the United States.
The Section Managers also wish to thank Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV for his
commitment to the net, acting as interim Manager following the
retirement of the previous Manager. The Ontario Phone Net is the
primary traffic net for the province of Ontario and operates daily on
3.745 MHz +/- QRM at 19:00 ET.
-- George Duffield, VE3WKJ, GTA Section Manager
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. NTS Traffic School on YouTube
The Los Angeles ARES group has created a three-part YouTube video
presentation called "TFC School, the Art of Passing Radio Traffic".
Session 1 can be found at tinyurl.com/tfc-school and links to
sessions 2 and 3 can be found on the right side of that page.
-- via Glenn Killam, VE3GNA
3. Canadian Hellschreiber Award
The Feld Hell Club now offers the Worked All Canada award. The basic
award requires contacts in Hellschreiber with the ten Canadian
Provinces. The complete award requires additional QSO's be held
with Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Hellschreiber
was originally a mechanical mode, now sent digitally, that transmits
text using facsimile technology. It was patented by Dr. Rudolf Hell
in 1929.
You must be a member of the Feld Hell Club to be eligible, but
contacts with non-members are valid for award credit. For more
information visit tinyurl.com/Hellschreiber-Canada-Award.
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
4. Cleaning Receive Relays
Sometimes relay contacts that handle received signals (such as
transmit-receive relays) develop thin films of oxide that present a
high resistance to low voltage signals. Tom W8JI has published a
contact cleaning procedure that may help you clear up an intermittent
receive problem caused by a relay contact. View it at at
tinyurl.com/relay-cleaning
-- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for January 12, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. British Columbia QSO Party
The British Columbia QSO Party will run from 1600z Feb 2 to 0400z
Feb 3. The objective for stations outside BC is to contact as many
BC stations as you can. Full details, including rules, exchange and
multipliers, can be viewed at www.orcadxcc.org/bcqp.html [9]
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Niagara Hamfest
The Niagara Peninsula Amateur Radio Club will hold its "Big Event 35"
Flea Market and Hamfest on Saturday, February 2, at the Merriton
Community Centre, 7 Park Ave. in St. Catharines. General admission
at 9 am; talk-in on VE3NRS 147.240 (+) with 107.2 Hz tone.
For more information visit www.nparc.on.ca/content/bigevent [10]
-- RAC Events Database
3. 4-H Special Event
Special event callsign XM3Z will operate from from Coldwater,
Ontario, between 15 January and 15 February, to celebrate 100 years
of 4-H in Canada. QSL via VE3JPP.
-- VA3RJ Events Page
4. Bedford NS ARISS Contact
CBC News covered an ARISS contact between Canadian astronaut Chris
Hadfield, aboard the International Space Station, and the students
at the Charles P. Allen High School, Bedford, Nova Scotia, on
Saturday January 5. See the story at tinyurl.com/ariss-bedford
-- RAC Bulletin Service
5. Satellite Pass Predictions via APRS
The KJ4ERJ satserver will send live tracking data to your APRS radio
anywhere, anytime. For the International Space Station, just send an
APRS message to "ISS" from any APRS radio (on the national APRS
channel). If you are in range of an APRS IGate, the satserver will
respond with the time to AOS and the direction of AOS, max elevation
and LOS.
This also works for other satellites. For example, send a message to
"FO29" and get its prediciton for your location. The satserver will
use the last APRS position you have transmitted. For a full
description, visit aprsisce.wikidot.com/doc:satsrv
-- AMSAT News
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for January 19, 2013
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Newfoundland ARISS Contact
The Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs (SONRA), partnering with
the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and the Admiralty House Museum and
Archives, hosted an ARISS contact on Saturday January 12.
A group of Air Cadets in Mount Pearl had the opportunity to talk with
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on the International Space Station.
CBC coverage of the event can be viewed at tinyurl.com/sonra-iss
Special thanks to Everett Price VO1DK, RAC Atlantic Regional Director
for the Maritimes, for facilitating this event, and to ARISS mentor
Wayne Harasimovitch VE1WPH.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. Canadian Ski Marathon seeks radio operators
The Canadian Ski Marathon will take place February 9th and 10th
between Lachute and Buckingham in western Quebec - snow or shine.
The Marathon depends on ham radio volunteers to provide important and
timely safety and logistical communications for the benefit of the
skiers. The amateur radio CSM web page is at www.radio-1.ca [13] and is
up and running with 2013 information.
If you would like to volunteer this year, please email Harold
VA3UNK at radio1 (at) admin2.ca or va3unk (at) gmail.com.
Assignment requests cannot be promised, but are generally are on a
first-come, first-served basis.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. Nominations Open for Hamvention Awards
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 Dayton Hamvention
Awards. Awards are granted to three individuals in the Technical
Excellence, Special Achievement, and Amateur of the Year categories,
and to one club with the Club of the Year Award.
Nomination forms, criteria, and more information may be obtained at
www.hamvention.org/awards.php [14]. Nominations must be submitted no
later than February 15, 2013
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
4. Submitting Bulletin Items
Amateur Radio groups in Ontario that wish to announce upcoming
events, or report on their activities, are invited to send brief
items to the Official Bulletin Manager email address,
obm (at) ve3rhj.net. Items should be no more than twelve lines long,
and must be received by Wednesday for the next week's bulletin,
-- Brad Rodriguez, VE3RHJ, OBM
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for January 26, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. New Brunswick ARISS Contact
An International Space Station school contact was successful with
participants at Saint Rose Elementary School, Saint John, New
Brunswick on 17 January. The contact was direct between NA1SS and
VE9LC and was conducted in English. The Loyalist City Amateur Radio
Club and ARISS mentor Wayne Harasimovitch VE1WPH supported this
event.
Students in grades three to five had questions ready for
International Space Station Canadian Commander, Chris Hadfield. A
video of the contact can be found at tinyurl.com/a5fv8qk (Alpha Five
Foxtrot Victor Eight Quebec Kilo). The video is under "LifeStyle",
then select "Misc." The title is "Students talk to Space Station".
-- AMSAT News and RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Radio-Sport.Net Re-Launches
Ham radio contesting website Radio-Sport.net, long operated by Jamie
Dupree NS3T, has been re-launched under the new management of Jeff
Demers N1SNB.
The new site will support ongoing discussions and comments, and users
will be able to add opinions, news and even share photographs. It is
designed as an interactive platform for everything ham radio
contesting related.
-- Ham Radio Daily and QRZ Forums
3. QNI Traffic Newsletter
QNI is an independent newsletter by and for amateur radio traffic
handlers. It is distributed free to members of the NTS-EAN Yahoo
group. Any ham is welcome to join this group, at
groups.yahoo.com/group/NTS-EAN. The February issue, a PDF file,
can be viewed on-line at ve3gna.wordpress.com
-- Glenn Killam, VE3GNA
4. AMSAT Web Site Compromised
On or about 20 January 2013, AMSAT-NA's main web site www.amsat.org [17]
was compromised by an attacker, with the contents of the supporting
database, including non-public information, posted on other publicly
available web sites. Out of an abundance of caution, the main site
was shut down. Work is underway to move to a more secure
infrastructure. In the interim, www.amsat.org [17] will have limited
content.
-- AMSAT News
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for February 2, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
1. Burlington Flea Market
The Burlington Amateur Radio Club will hold its Spring Flea Market
Saturday, February 23, at the Royal Canadian Legion, 828 Legion Road
in Burlington. General admission at 9 am; talk-in on VE3RSB
repeater, 147.210 (+) 131.8 Hz tone. For more information visit
www.barc.ca [20]
-- RAC Events Database
2. GAREC 2013
The 2013 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Conference (GAREC) will be
held in Zurich, Switzerland from June 25th to 28th. The topics will
include the relevance of Amateur Radio Emergency Communication in the
'first world,' and the HAMNET high speed data network. There will
also be presentations from the three regions of the IARU and talks by
groups with recent experience in disaster relief communications.
More information on the venue, registration, and agenda can be found
on-line at www.garec2013.ch [21].
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
3. SWL Contest Logging Software
Marek SP7DQR has released version 1.2.0 of SWL_DQR_Log, a contest
logging program for SWLs. The program can be used in at least 90% of
the international contests having a SWL section. Download it at
tinyurl.com/sp7dqr (Sierra Papa Seven Delta Quebec Romeo)
-- ARRL Contest Update
4. RigReference.com
The website RigReference.com calls itself the "reference guide for
ham radio equipment." Currently it has photos and descriptions for
over 3000 rigs, and manuals for nearly 300, from 155 different
manufacturers -- new and old.
-- ARRL Web
5. International Space Station Calendar
A free 2013 NASA Calendar, featuring images from the International
Space Station, can be downloaded at tinyurl.com/iss-2013-calendar
It's a 4.6 megabyte PDF file.
-- AMSAT News
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for February 9, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Director Election / Appointments
Mr. William (Bill) Gipps, VE7XS was recently acclaimed as the RAC
Director for British Columbia/Yukon, from January 1, 2013 to December
31, 2014. Mr. Gipps ran unopposed, eliminating the need for a
balloted election.
Mr. Everett Price, VO1DK was recently acclaimed as the RAC Director
for Atlantic, from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014. Mr. Price
ran unopposed, eliminating the need for a balloted election.
Mr. Derek Hay, VE4HAY was recently appointed as the RAC Director for
Midwest. Mr. Hay has generously stepped forward to continue his RAC
Director's role after there were no eligible nominees resulting from
a second call for nominations. His term will end on December 31,
2014.
Congratulations are extended to all three gentlemen.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
2. Ontario-South Section Traffic Manager Appointed
Mr. James Davidson, VE3TPZ / VA3WR has accepted the appointment of
Section Traffic Manager in the Ontario-South Section. James is a
former Manager of the Ontario Phone Net and is active in the ARES
program. Congratulations James.
-- Ian Snow VA3QT, ONS Section Manager
3. TPN Seeks Net Controllers
The Trans-Provincial Net is seeking net controllers. TPN meets daily
on 7.055 MHz, lower sideband, from 7 am to 5 pm Eastern Time. If you
can help by taking a regular shift, please contact Shawn VE3PSV,
from 3 to 4 pm any day on the TPN, or via NTS message.
-- Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Free Download of ITU Radio Regulations
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is offering an
electronic version of the 2012 International Radio Regulations at no
charge. These regulations incorporate the decisions of the World
Radiocommunication Conferences WRC-95, WRC-97, WRC-2000, WRC-03,
WRC-07 and WRC-12. Article 25 defines the Amateur Radio Service.
You can download the file at www.itu.int/pub/R-REG-RR-2012 [24].
-- ARRL Web
5. Field Day 2013 Packet Available
Field Day is June 22-23, and the ARRL Field Day Packet is now
available for download at www.arrl.org/fieldday [25] . The packet includes
the complete 2013 rules, forms, ARRL Section abbreviation list, entry
submission instructions, guidelines for getting bonus points,
instructions for Get-On-The-Air stations, a publicity kit, and a
"What is Field Day" flyer for clubs and individuals to reproduce.
New for 2013: Stations operating as Class A or B may begin setting up
at 0000 UTC on Friday (Thursday 8 PM Eastern Time). The groups may
start and stop their set-up, resuming the set-up later, but may spend
only a maximum of 24 hours cumulative time for setting up their
sites.
-- ARRL Web
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for February 16, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. TCA Correction
A recent issue of The Canadian Amateur incorrectly lists IRLP node
9034 for the Weather Radio Listeners Newsletter Net. The correct
node is IRLP node 9038, and also Echolink node VE3ZHR-L 591897. The
net meets on Saturday evenings at 7:00 PM Eastern Time and will
either have a roundtable topic or connect to the Skywarn Hurricane
Prep Net at 8:00 PM. For more information, or to join the mailing
list, email Gord VA3WXA, blindgordie (at) gmail.com.
-- Gord Maybee, VA3WXA
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. North American QRP CW Club
The North American QRP CW Club (NAQCC) is open to radio amateur or
SWL worldwide with at least some interest in CW/QRP operation. There
are no dues or membership fees. Encouraging use of CW and helping
all hams increase CW speed and proficiency is a top club priority.
The club runs several weekly slow-speed nets, and monthly sprints.
For more information vist www.naqcc.info [28]
-- NAQCC Web Page
3. Noise Blankers Hijinks Site
Be sure to check out the "Ham Hijinks" page on the Noise Blankers'
web site. The Arkansas group writes fictional and satirical news
items, like the recent one blaming ham radio for the Super Bowl
blackout. Find their latest jokes at www.noiseblankers.com/hijinks [29]
-- Ham Radio Daily and QRZ.com forums
4. Multi-purpose Portable Satellite Station
Ivo Klinkert PA1IVO has posted an article describing his relatively
simple, portable setup to work amateur radio low-earth orbit
satellites. This is an expansion of his talk at the AMSAT-UK
Colloquium. Read it at tinyurl.com/ivok-sat
-- AMSAT News
5. Understanding Wave Behaviour
The wonderful and timeless Bell Labs training film, "Similarities in
Wave Behavior," hosted by Dr J.N. Shive, is now available online as a
28-minute YouTube video. The mechanical version of a transmission
line is used to show velocity of propagation, reflections, standing
waves, and other phenomena. If you've ever been mystified at how SWR
"works", watch this video. See it at tinyurl.com/att-waves
-- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for February 23, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
1. GTA West DEC Appointed
Glenn Marrett, VE3CEZ, has been appointed as the District Emergency
Coordinator for Peel and Halton Regions (GTA West) in the Ontario GTA
Section.
Licensed in 1994, Glenn brings much experience to the position. He's
served as Emergency Coordinator for Milton ARES and before that was
involved with Peel ARES. He is currently part of Oakville ARES. Glenn
has been a CANWARN net controller for 13 years, a participant in
various SET's, Field Day events both group and individual, Winter
Field Day, and has provided radio support for a number of local
charitable events.
Congratulations Glenn, and welcome to the team.
-- Rick Harrison, VA3NV, GTA SEC
2. Oakville EC Appointed
George Davis, VE3OGP, was recently appointed as Emergency Coordinator
for Oakville ARES.
Licensed in 1983, George has been a member of Oakville ARES for the
past 23 years and has served as an Assistant Emergency Coordinator
with that group for the past 7 years.
-- Rick Harrison, VA3NV, GTA SEC
3. Help Needed for Burlington Event
Burlington ARES is looking for radio operators to help with
communications for the Chilly Half Marathon charity event in
Burlington on Sunday March 3. The event raises funds for the Joseph
Brant Memorial Hospital.
If you are available to help please contact Burlington ARES Emergency
Coordinator Kevin Andrews, VA3KRA by email, va3kra (at) cogeco.ca
-- Rick Harrison, VA3NV, GTA SEC
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Postal Service Special Events
Two special event stations will commemorate the 250th Anniversary of
Formalized Postal Service in Canada. From February 28 to March 28,
listen for call sign VX3Z, QSL via VE3JPP. From March 9 to April 7,
call sign CF3A will operate, QSL via VA3RVK.
-- RAC Special Events Database
5. Maritime Storm Response
Amateur radio operators responded to the blizzard that hit the
northeast U.S. and Atlantic Canada on Saturday, February 9th.
On Friday morning the call was made to activate CANWARN in Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island. At 8 a.m. Saturday morning, Net
Control began operations by linking up 13 repeaters throughout Nova
Scotia through the MAVCOM system, IRLP, Echolink and HF operations on
3.770 MHz. CANWARN spotters were asked to record snowfall amounts
each hour, visibility, wind speed, direction and storm surge.
Over the next 12 hours Net Control recorded close to 200 messages.
Environment Canada advised that the net could be closed after the
high tide at 10 pm. The net activated again Sunday morning for only
one hour to take damage reports.
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
6. Winnipeg ARISS Contact
On February 13, an International Space Station contact was made with
participants at Chief Peguis Junior High School, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
This is a grade 7-9 school with about 550 students and staff. The
contact was made with a telebridge between NA1SS and VK5ZAI.
-- AMSAT News
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for March 2, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Brit Fader Scholarship Call for Applications
The Brit Fader Scholarship is for assistance with the cost of
tuition, room, board, books and/or other fees at an accredited
Canadian post-secondary technical school, college or university.
An applicant must be a Canadian Citizen, without regard to gender,
race, national origin, handicap status or any other factor. The
applicant must be performing at a high academic level, and must hold
an active Basic Class or higher Canadian Amateur Radio license.
Preference is given to applicants who have been accepted into a
program in the field of electronics or electrical engineering, or
related area.
An application package can be downloaded at www.Halifax-arc.org; [34]
follow the link under the "Education" tab. Application submissions
must be postmarked no later than July 12th, 2013.
-- via D. Howard Dickson, VE1DHD
2. RAC Field Organization seeks Secretary
The RAC Field Organization National Secretariat and the CFSO Council
is seeking an individual to join the organization as Secretary.
Duties for the position are: recording the minutes of all monthly
teleconferences; distribution of minutes to Section Managers,
Advisers and members of the groups in a timely manner; preparing
monthly teleconference agendas in consultation with the CFSO;
maintaining control of relevant documents; and maintaining an up to
date nominal roll of all active participants.
If you are an individual who would like to apply for this important
volunteer position, please contact Chief Field Services Officer Doug
Mercer via email, dougvo1dtm (at) gmail.com.
-- Doug Mercer VO1DTM, RAC CFSO
3. RAC seeks Regulatory Affairs Officer
Radio Amateurs of Canada is seeking an organized, knowledgeable and
diplomatic individual to undertake the role of Regulatory Affairs
Officer. This is a senior executive level position reporting to the
President. The position has a key role in managing our relationship
with Industry Canada. This includes monitoring and analyzing
Industry Canada initiatives, generating policy options and advising
IC of RAC's position on issues of importance to our members.
In the interim, Mr. Ian MacFarquhar, VE9IM, has taken on the duties
of Regulatory Affairs Officer. Mr. MacFarquhar will continue in the
role of Vice President but will be assisted in that role by Mr. Doug
Mercer, VO1DTM.
-- via Geoff Bawden VE4BAW, President and Chair, RAC
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Weather Net Name Change
The "Weather Radio Listeners Newsletter" has changed its name to "The
Weather Newsletter," and the net will now be known as The Weather
Newsletter Net. This is to emphasize that Weather Radio isn't the
only topic. The net will continue to meet Saturdays at 7 pm Eastern
Time, on IRLP node 9038, and Echolink node VE3ZHR-L 591897.
The latest issue of the newsletter is now out. If you would like to
join the mailing list, send an email to Gord VA3WXA at blindgordie
(at) gmail.com and you will be sent all issues of the newsletter as
well as monthly reports.
-- Gord Maybee, VA3WXA
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for March 9, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Planning Session
This February the Board and Executive of RAC met in Ottawa to develop
the planning context for 2013 and 2014 and the vision for RAC over
next five years.
Over the course of the next few months we will be undertaking
regional "webinars" with Club Presidents and Field Service members,
chaired by the President and the local Regional Director. At these
meetings we will discuss our plans for 2012/2013 in more
detail.
More information will come out in The Canadian Amateur and the RAC
Report so stay tuned.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. Amateur Radio Exam Revisions
Radio Amateurs of Canada has been contracted by Industry Canada to
review the questions used for Canadian amateur radio examinations.
The work began on 28 January, based in part on responses received
from the amateur community last summer, and will be delivered to
Industry Canada on 17 April. Radio Amateurs du Quebec Inc. (RAQI) is
working with RAC on the French language component. Industry Canada
will make the final decision on all revisions.
The curriculum for the qualifications (Basic and Advanced) is
not changing, so while individual questions may be changed the main
areas of knowledge required for certification will not change.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. Ham-Ex 2013
The Peel and Mississauga Amateur Radio Clubs will hold the Ham-Ex
hamfest on Saturday, March 23, at the Brampton Fall Fair Grounds,
12942 Heart Lake Road in Brampton. Exhibits open 8 am, flea market
opens 9 am. Talk-in on VE3PRC 146.88(-) with no tone, and also
VE3MIS 145.43(-) with 103.5 Hz tone. For more information visit
www.ham-ex.ca [37]
-- RAC Events Database
4. Laval Hamfest
LAVAL HAMFEST 2013 --- (108 days from now) The Club Radio Amateur
Laval - Laurentides will hold its 2013 hamfest on Saturday, March 23,
at Georges-Vanier High School, 3995 Boulevard Levesque E. in Laval,
Quebec (just north of Montreal). General admission at 9 am; talk-in
on VE2REL repeater, 147.315(+) no tone. For more information visit
www.ve2crl.qc.ca [38]
-- RAC Events Database
5. FAR Scholarship Applications Open
The Foundation for Amateur Radio is now accepting applications for
scholarships for the 2013-2014 academic year. Licensed Radio Amateurs
who compete for these awards must be planning to pursue a full time
course of studies beyond high school and be enrolled, or have been
accepted for enrollment, at an accredited university, college or
technical school. Non-US residents are eligible to apply for some of
the scholarships.
Applications must be received by April 15th. For additional
information and an application form, visit www.farweb.org [39]
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
6. "Last Man Standing" features Ham Radio
In an episode scheduled to air Friday, March 15, the hit ABC comedy
Last Man Standing -- starring Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, KA0XTT --
will feature a secondary ham radio storyline. This is the first time
that the show will highlight Amateur Radio in its plot.
In the episode, Mike's daughter Mandy uses Mike's basement shack to
make faraway friends. The home shack is a brand new set built just
for this episode. The ARRL provided many of the awards and
certificates that appear on the shack wall.
-- ARRL Web
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for March 16, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Field Organization meets with Industry Canada
Following up on last year's Canadian Amateur Radio Advisory Board
meeting, RAC recently met with Industry Canada in Ottawa. During the
meeting RAC described the Field Organization Review Project and our
Training Working Group. Industry Canada presented an outline of their
District Emergency Telecommunications (DET) emergency telecom
organization. They also explained their initiatives relating to use
of their HF radio system, voice and digital for exercises, regular
drills and emergencies. IC expressed an interest in building on
their interactions in this area with RAC members.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. IARU GlobalSET
This is a reminder that this year's IARU GlobalSET takes place April
13 and April 20. If you plan to participate, please note that you
must register by contacting the RAC Vice President of Field Services,
vo1dtm (at) rac.ca. This is a great opportunity to practise your
traffic passing skills.
-- Doug Mercer VO1DTM, RAC VP Field Services
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. GLETN Time Change Update
Effective March 10th, the Great Lakes Emergency and Traffic Net is
holding its main net at 8:30 pm, Eastern Time. The "pre-net" will
start at 8 pm. GLETN meets on 3.932 MHz, 365 nights a year. All
amateurs are welcome.
-- Grant Watson K8VFZ, via Shawn VE3PSV
4. Nominations Open for ARRL Awards
Nominations are now open for the ARRL Technical and Educational
awards. The nomination deadline for most of these awards is March
31st. For more information, and nomination forms, visit
tinyurl.com/arrl-awards-2013
-- ARRL Web
5. Canadian DMR C-Bridge Launches
On February 23rd, Canada took its first step toward the creation of a
national amateur radio DMR network with the launch of the first
inter-provincial DMR networking server. This server, known commonly
as a "c-Bridge," will serve as a network hub for Canadian amateur
radio DMR repeaters, allowing them to reliably link to one another
and to the larger DMR-MARC global network using the Internet.
The Canadian c-Bridge is located in Montreal and is currently
supporting several DMR repeaters in Ontario and Quebec, including the
VA3XPR digital DMR repeater located in downtown Toronto. For more
information see tinyurl.com/dmr-c-bridge
-- via Ham Radio Daily and eHam.net News
6. Canadian ARISS Contacts
On February 22, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact was made with with participants at Uplands Elementary
School, Penticton, BC. The contact began at approximately 19:36 UTC
and lasted 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact was a telebridge
between OR4ISS and IK1SLD.
On March 7, an ARISS contact was completed with the Stonepark
Intermediate School, Charlottetown, PEI. The contact was direct
between NA1SS and VY2PEI.
-- AMSAT News Service
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for March 23, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
1. Ontario East Seeks SEC
Effective immediately, Scott Carter, VE3CGN has resigned as the
interim Section Emergency Coordinator for Ontario East Section.
Scott is stepping down so he can fully focus on the growing ARES
activities in Ontario South Section.
I wish to thank Scott for being the acting SEC, giving me time to
settle into my job as SM. Finding a good SEC with experience and
dedication is no easy task and I appreciate the help that Scott has
given this Section. With that said, I will be looking for someone to
become the SEC for Ontario East Section.
-- Michael Hickey, VE3IPC, Ontario East Section Manager
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Iroquois Fleamarket
The Iroquois Amateur Radio Club will hold its 17th Annual Fleamarket
on Saturday, April 6, at the Iroquois Civic Centre, 1 Dundas Street,
in Iroquois. Take exit 738 Off highway 401. Open to the public at 9
a.m., admission is free. Talk-in on VE3IRO repeater, 145.290. Email
inquiries to va3nc@rac.ca [44].
-- RAC Events Database
3. Young Ham of the Year Nominations Open
Nominations are now open for the 2013 Amateur Radio Newsline Young
Ham of the Year Award. The award recognizes a radio amateur age 18
or younger for his or her accomplishments in service to the nation,
his or her community, or to the advancement of the amateur radio
state of the art. Nominees must reside in the United States, U.S.
possessions, or any of the 10 Canadian provinces.
Complete details, rules and a required nominating form in PDF format
can be found online at www.arnewsline.org/yhoty [45]. Nominations must be
received by May 30, 2013.
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
4. "Modern Amateur Radio" video
Modern Amateur Radio is the title of a new, bi-lingual video produced
by Donald Boucher, VE2XT. Boucher, who owns a video production
company in Montreal, put the show together in full wide screen High
Definition and it includes some truly breathtaking aerial footage of
the Canadian countryside.
What makes Modern Amateur Radio unique is its international flavor.
While the narration is in English most of the natural sound
background conversations are in French. You can see it for yourself
at tinyurl.com/modern-amateur-radio
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
5. PSK-31 Code Accepted by ITU
The code behind the popular PSK-31 digital mode has now been
officially endorsed by the International Telecommunication Union and
given its own "recommendation" number. The ARRL reports that the
technical characteristics of "Varicode," developed by Peter Martinez,
G3PLX, in the 1990s and which serves as the underpinning of PSK-31,
has been officially enshrined by the ITU as Recommendation ITU-R
M.2034, Telegraphic Alphabet for Data Communication by Phase Shift
Keying at 31 Baud in the Amateur and Amateur Satellite Services.
-- CQ News Service
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for March 30, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Section Managers reaffirm support of NTS
Section Managers representing all RAC Sections coast to coast
concluded discussions recently regarding NTS (National Traffic
System), and they confirmed ongoing support of NTS encouraging
operators to continue to support NTS by passing traffic on a regular
basis. NTS digital and Win link 2000 is the preferred system for ARES
Units to remain interoperable and functional in a digital world and
operators who have digital capability are encouraged to keep the
system busy.
-- Doug Mercer VO1DTM/VO1DM, RAC Chief Field Services Officer
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Montreal Spring Fleamarket
The Montreal Amateur Radio Club will hold its spring fleamarket on
Saturday, April 13, at Royal Canadian Legion Hall Branch #212, 7771
Bouvier (Corner of Shevchenko), Ville LaSalle, Quebec. General
admission at 9 am; talk-in on VE2BG repeater, 147.060 (+). For more
information visit www.marc.qc.ca [48]
-- RAC Events Database
3. Young Ham of the Year Update
Last week's bulletin mentioned that amateurs from the "10 Canadian
Provinces" could be nominated for Young Ham of the Year Award. In
response to a query, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has confirmed that young
hams from the three Canadian territories -- Yukon, Nunavut, and
Northwest Territories -- are also eligible. The deadline is May 30;
for more information visit www.arnewsline.org/yhoty [45]
-- Bill Pasternak and Amateur Radio Newsline
4. World Amateur Radio Day April 18
April 18 is World Amateur Radio Day, commemorating the founding of
the International Amateur Radio Union on that day in 1925. 2013 is
also the 100th anniversary of the first recorded instance of amateur
radio providing communications in a natural disaster, during a 1913
flood in the U.S. Accordingly, the theme of this year's World
Amateur Radio Day is "Amateur Radio: Entering Its Second Century of
Disaster Communications." IARU member societies are encouraged to
arrange demonstrations and public displays during this week.
-- IARU News
5. CANWARN Training April 16-20
CANWARN training will be offered on the following dates:
Leamington, April 16, 7 PM, at the Kinsmen Recreational Complex, 249
Sherk St.
Sarnia, April 17, 7 PM, at the Upper Hall Clearwater Arena, 1400
Wellington St.
London, April 18, 7 PM, at Fanshawe College Building T Room T1003,
1001 Fanshawe College Blvd. Free parking at any metered spots on
campus after 6 PM
Hamilton, April 20, 9 AM, at the Nash Auditorium, Chedoke Hospital,
Sanatorium Road. Free parking in lot across from the auditorium.
Please RSVP by email to canwarn.ontario (at) ec.gc.ca with the
session you plan on attending. For those attending the Sarnia
session, please RSVP directly to Bill Hoad at bhoad (at) xcelco.on.ca
6. Smartphone-based Ham Satellite Now in Orbit
The University of Surrey has launched the UK's first cubesat, called
STRaND-1. The satellite is built around a Google Nexus One smartphone
with an Android operating system. It has a 9600 bps AX.25 packet
radio downlink on 437.568 MHz. The purpose of the project was to
demonstrate the feasibility of using a smartphone to control a
spacecraft. For more information visit tinyurl.com/cum2rm8 (Charlie
Uniform Mike Two Romeo Mike Eight).
-- CQ News Service
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for April 6, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Ken Pulfer VE3PU, Silent Key
J. Kenneth Pulfer, VE3PU, of Ottawa, passed away Sunday, March 31
after a long illness. He was 80. Pulfer has served as RAC's
Secretary, Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President for Government
Affairs, and Vice President for International Affairs. In 2009
Pulfer became Chairman of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector's Working
Party 5A Working Group 1, which addresses Amateur and Amateur-
Satellite services. He served as an IARU Technical Representative
for 15 years, culminating with the 2012 World Radiocommunication
Conference (WRC-12). For more details, visit tinyurl.com/ve3pu-sk
-- ARRL Web
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
2. Ontario East seeks SEC
The Ontario East Section is looking for a Section Emergency
Coordinator (SEC). The candidate should have previous experience as
a District Emergency Coordinator (DEC), but consideration will be
given to an experienced and dedicated Emergency Coordinator (EC) who
understands the bigger picture of ARES.
This position requires a self-motivated and personable ham with
leadership skills and administrative abilities. If you are
interested in this position, please contact Section Manager Michael
Hickey, ve3ipc (at) rac.ca, or telephone 613-679-4474.
-- Michael Hickey, Ontario East Section Manager
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. Durham Region Hamfest
The South Pickering ARC and North Shore ARC will hold their annual
hamfest on Saturday, April 20, at the Pickering Recreation Complex,
1867 Valley Farm Road, Pickering. General admission at 9 am; talk-in
on VE3SPA repeater 147.375 (+) no tone. For more information visit
drhamfest.tripod.com.
-- RAC Events Database
4. 2013 Ontario QSO Party
The 16th Annual Ontario QSO Party will be held from 1800Z April 20 to
0500Z April 21, and 1200Z to 1800Z April 21. Stations outside
Ontario contact as many Ontario stations as they can. Ontario
stations contact as many amateur radio stations as possible both in
Ontario and world-wide. For rules, county multipliers, and more
information, visit www.va3cco.com/oqp [51]
-- Contest Club Ontario
5. Orangeville Basic Course
The Dufferin County ARES group will hold a Basic Amateur
Qualification Course starting April 22 at the Edelbrock room, 30
Centre Street in Orangeville. The course will run Monday from 7 to 9
pm for 10 weeks, with the Industry Canada exam on the last week. For
more information, email Jason Miles, ve3tyg (at) rac.ca
-- RAC Events Database
6. CANWARN Training April 27
CANWARN training will be offered on April 27 at the following
locations:
Orillia, 9 AM, at the Rama Fire Hall, 7454 Williams Road in Rama.
Ottawa, 9 AM, at the Nepean Sailing Club, 3259 Carling Ave. in Nepean.
Please RSVP by email to canwarn.ontario (at) ec.gc.ca with the
session you plan on attending.
-- Geoff Coulson, Environment Canada
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for April 13, 2013
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Field Organization on Twitter
To help to improve communications to our ARES members, the RAC Field
Organization is taking advantage of Twitter. Watch us at
"RACARES@ares_rac" for appointment updates and other ARES news.
-- Doug Mercer VO1DTM/VO1DM, RAC Chief Field Services Officer
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. CANWARN Training April 25 and May 1-4
CANWARN training will be offered at the following locations:
Wingham, April 25, 1 PM, at North Huron Wescast Community Complex,
Hot Stove Lounge, 99 Kerr Drive.
Exeter, April 25, 7 PM, at the Exeter Firehall, 55 William Street.
Kitchener, May 1, 7 PM, at Bingemans Conference Centre, 425 Bingemans
Centre Drive.
Toronto, May 4, 9 AM, at Environment Canada Headquarters, 4905
Dufferin St.
Please RSVP by email to canwarn.ontario (at) ec.gc.ca with the
session you plan on attending.
-- Geoff Coulson, Environment Canada
3. CW Operators Special Event
From May 1 to May 31, special event call signs VX2X and XM3X have
been authorized to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the First
Class CW Operators Club. QSL via VE3HX.
-- RAC Special Events Database
4. George Hart W1NJM Silent Key
George Hart, W1NJM passed away Sunday, March 24. He was 99. An ARRL
Charter Life Member, Hart spent more than four decades as a member of
the ARRL Headquarters staff. In 1984, he was named an ARRL Honorary
Vice President.
Hart may be best known to Canadians for his development of the
National Traffic System (NTS) in 1949. He was inducted into the CQ
Hall of Fame in 2010 for his contributions to the NTS, and since 2009
the ARRL has awarded the George Hart Distinguished Service Award
annually for exemplary service to the ARRL Field Organization.
-- ARRL Web
5. Hammond Mfg. to Take Over Peter Dahl Transformer Line
Hammond Manufacturing of Guelph, Ontario and Cheektowaga, New York,
is the new manufacturer of the Peter Dahl line of transformers.
Since Dahl's death several years ago, Peter Dahl transformers have
been manufactured by Harbach Electronics. Harbach announced early
this year that they would stop making the transformers, and has
entered into an agreement for Hammond to acquire the product line.
The deal was to be completed by March 31.
-- CQ News Service
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for April 20, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
1. CANWARN Training May 8
CANWARN training will be offered in Toronto on May 8, at 7 pm, at
Environment Canada Headquarters, 4905 Dufferin St. Please RSVP by
email to canwarn.ontario (at) ec.gc.ca if you plan to attend.
-- Geoff Coulson, Environment Canada
2. Toronto Amateur Radio Course
The Central Toronto Amateur Radio Club offers a variety of amateur
radio certification courses throughout the year. The next Basic
Qualification course begins on May 1 and runs for 10 weeks. For more
information, visit www.va3cta.net/get-a-licence [56]
-- RAC Events Database
3. Smiths Falls Flea Market
The Rideau Lakes Amateur Radio Club will hold its 29th Flea Market
on Saturday, May 11, at the Smiths Falls Curling and Squash Club,
Old Sly's Road, in Smiths Falls. This is the same location as last
year. General admission at 9 am; talk-in on VE3RLR repeater, 147.21
(+). For more information visit ve3rlr.dyndns.org
-- RAC Events Database
4. Canadian ARISS Contacts
On April 6, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) Contact was made with participants at 820 Chris Hadfield
Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, Milton, Ontario, starting at about
20:25 UTC. The contact was by a telebridge between NA1SS and LU8YY.
On April 9, an ARISS Contact was made with participants at Sir George
Simpson Jr. High, Albert, AB, starting at approximately 20:00 UTC,
lasting for about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact was a
telebridge between OR4ISS and IK1SLD.
On April 12, an ARISS Contact was made with participants at Innalik
School, Inukjuak, Nunavut, starting at approximately 17:30 UTC,
lasting for about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact was a
telebridge between OR4ISS and IK1SLD.
-- AMSAT News Service
5. Radio Amateurs at the Boston Marathon
Over 200 Amateur Radio operators participated in communications for
the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15. This year's marathon will
be remembered for the bombings that took place at the finish line.
Steve Schwarm, W3EVE, reports that "Within minutes, cell phone
systems became overloaded and making phone calls and text messages
was difficult. Amateur Radio operators performed communication duties
under duress and performed admirably. No Amateur Radio volunteers
were injured on the course in this terrible act."
For a more detailed report of the amateur radio response, visit
tinyurl.com/br52dun (Bravo Romeo Five Two Delta Uniform November).
-- ARRL Web
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for April 27, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
1. CANWARN Training May 14 and 15
CANWARN training will be offered at the following locations:
Peterborough, May 14, 7 PM, at the Public Library, 345 Aylmer St.
North.
Dufferin County, May 15, 7 PM, at the Centre Dufferin Recreational
Complex, 200 Fiddlepark Lane, in Shelburne.
Please RSVP by email to canwarn.ontario (at) ec.gc.ca with the
session you plan on attending.
-- Geoff Coulson, Environment Canada
2. Weather Newsletter Needs a New Web Home
Recently the Weather Newsletter has been on the Maritime Amateur
website. However, it has been removed to streamline that site. Due
to this development, there is no place on the Internet where all the
issues published can be found.
If you can spare web space for the newsletter and some other Weather
Radio related material please email Gord VA3WXA, blindgordie (at)
gmail.com.
-- Gord Maybee, VA3WXA
3. Canadian ARISS Contacts
On April 17, the International Space Station made an amateur radio
contact with participants at John McCrae High School, Nepean,
Ontario. The contact was completed via telebridge between OR4ISS and
IK1SLD.
On April 23, the ISS contacted participants at Gray Mountain Primary
School, Whitehorse, Yukon. The contact was completed via telebridge
with IK1SLD.
-- AMSAT News
4. Web-based Software Defined Radio
Chris Moulding G4HYG has made a web-based Software Defined Radio
available on the new RSGB website. With a web browser that supports
Java and Javascript you can listen to any frequency in the 5, 7 and
14 MHz bands from the receiver's location in Bolton, England. Find
it at tinyurl.com/rsgb-sdr
-- AMSAT News
5. 3830scores Web Site
There is a new contest score reporting service at the improved and
upgraded 3830scores.com website, managed by Bruce Horn, WA7BNM. You
can view a summary of contest activity from any call sign, including
for the operators of multi-op entries, for the past few years, and
compare activity from contest-to-contest, too. Find it at
www.3830scores.com [59].
-- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for May 4, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC completes Exam Review
RAC and RAQI have completed the second and final phase of the
Industry Canada contract to review the Canadian amateur radio
examination questions. The curriculum has not changed. Rather, the
review concentrated on the accuracy and clarity of the questions and
answers, taking special care that the English and French versions
conveyed the same information. Industry Canada will make the final
decision on all changes, and will publish updated question banks.
For more details visit blog.rac.ca
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. CANWARN Training May 21 to 26
CANWARN training will be offered at the following locations:
Fort Erie, May 21, 7 PM, at the Fire Station, 444 Central Avenue.
Sudbury, May 25, 9 AM, at the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre, 239 Montee
Principale, in Azilda.
Belleville, May 25, 10 AM, at the Belleville Library, 3rd Floor
Conference Room, 254 Pinnacle Street.
Espanola, May 26, 1 PM, at the Pinewood Inn, 378 Centre St.
Elliot Lake, May 26, 7 PM, at the Renaissance Centre, 20 Veterans Way.
Please RSVP by email to canwarn.ontario (at) ec.gc.ca with the
session you plan on attending.
-- Geoff Coulson, Environment Canada
3. XL3T Special Event
From May 24 to June 23, special event station XL3T will commemorate
the 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Arctic Expedition. QSL via
VA3RVK.
-- RAC Special Events database
4. New Amateur Satellites in Orbit
On April 19, OSSI-1 from the Open Source Satellite Initiative was
deployed. Listen for CW beacon on 145.980 MHz CW, and 1200 baud
packet on 437.525 MHz. More information at www.opensat.cc [62].
On April 26, CubeBug-1 and TURKSAT-3USAT were launched on a Long
March CZ-2D rocket. CubeBug-1, from Argentina, is the first
demonstration mission for a new open-source CubeSat platform design.
Listen for 1200 baud packet on 437.445 MHz, callsign LU1VZ-11.
Please send reception reports to cubebug1 (at) satellogic.com. Their
website is 1.cubebug.org (that's the digit "1", not "www").
TURKSAT-3USAT, from the Turkish Amateur Satellite Technologies
Organisation, has an inverting V/U linear transponder supporting
SSB/CW communications. The transponder input is 145.940-145.990 MHz
and the output is 435.200-435.250 MHz. On 437.225 MHz is either a CW
beacon or 9600 baud AFSK. Read more at tinyurl.com/TurkeyTAMSAT
-- AMSAT News
5. Radio Foxtrot 100
Tony Bond, EI9GMB, says he is again operating Radio Foxtrot 100, an
internet radio station that has topics related to ham radio in
addition to its music programming. Find it at www.foxtrot100.info [63].
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for May 11, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Radio Amateur of the Year
Scott Wood, VE1QD of Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been selected as the
Canadian Radio Amateur of the Year for 2012. Scott has been a ham for
sixty years, and his local, regional, and international leadership is
recognized with this award -- in particular, his commitment to
excellence in the area of Amateur Radio DXing through the
establishment and management of the Maritime DX Forum for eight
consecutive years.
A presentation will be made to Scott by the RAC President at the
Dayton Hamvention, and a more detailed article will appear in The
Canadian Amateur.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. Brit Fader Scholarship Call for Applications
The Brit Fader Scholarship provides assistance with the cost of
tuition, room, board, books and/or other fees essential to the
post-secondary education of the recipient.
The applicant must be a Canadian Citizen, must hold a Basic Class or
higher Canadian Amateur Radio license, and must be performing at a
high academic level. Preference is given to applicants who have been
accepted into a program in the field of electronics or electrical
engineering, or related area.
Application submissions must be postmarked no later than July 12th.
An application package may be downloaded from the Halifax Amateur
Radio Club webiste, www.Halifax-arc.org [66].
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. CANWARN Training May 27 to 31
CANWARN training will be offered at the following locations:
Sault Ste. Marie, May 27, 7 PM, at the Delta Sault Ste. Marie, 208
St. Mary's Drive.
Timmins, May 29, 7 PM, at the Holiday Inn, 30 Algonquin Blvd West.
North Bay, May 31, 6:30 PM, at the OPP Communications Centre, 877
Gormanville Road.
Please RSVP by email to canwarn.ontario (at) ec.gc.ca with the
session you plan on attending.
-- Geoff Coulson, Environment Canada
4. SS Keewatin Special Event
Amateur station VA3VGC, on board the SS Keewatin, will be active for
the Museum Ships Weekend Event (MSWE), June 1 and 2. Operation will be
from 8 am to 6 pm Eastern Time. Frequencies are listed on the event
web page, www.nj2bb.org/museum [67].
After decades in Michigan as a tourist attraction, the "Kee" returned
to its home port in Port McNicoll last year. Local hams are helping
to restore the original radio room, and will install a permanent
amateur station during this season. For more information about the
station visit tinyurl.com/keewatin; for ship information visit
www.sskeewatin.com [68].
-- Dave Krull, VA3DK
5. Canadian ARISS Contacts
On March 26, The Laval Laurentides A.R.C. under the call VE2CRL made
their second International Space Station (ISS) contact. Station
commander Chris Hadfield spoke with students at Des Cardinaux School,
Sainte-Rose, Laval, Quebec, via telebridge between NA1SS and K6DUE.
The contact lasted about 10 minutes 30 seconds.
On April 25, the ISS contacted participants at Maani Ulujuk
Ilinniarvik, Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, via telebridge between OR4ISS and
IK1SLD. The contact lasted approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
On April 29, the ISS contacted Polyvalente de Black Lake, Thetford
Mines, Quebec. The 9 minute contact was direct between NA1SS and
VA2VDL, and was audible over portions of eastern Canada.
On May 3, the ISS conacted participants at Hay River, NWT, via
telebridge between NA1SS and VK4KHZ. The contact lasted 9 minutes
and 30 seconds.
-- AMSAT News
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for May 18, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Planning Webinars
On May 1st, RAC held the first in a series of webinars with club
presidents and Field Organization volunteers to discuss the
activities of RAC from January 2010 to date and RAC's goals and
2013/14 plans. This first webinar was in the Atlantic region. For a
brief summary, visit the RAC Blog, blog.rac.ca
Over the next couple of months we will have webinars with each
Region. The next will be for Northern and Eastern Ontario with
Director Bill Unger, VE3XT. Invitations will be going out shortly.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
2. Eastern Ontario ARES District meeting
DEC Lance Peterson, VA3LP has scheduled his first ARES District
meeting to be held in the City of Clarence-Rockland (just east of
Ottawa) for May 25. Lance will be inviting the leadership teams of
each ARES group within his District. He is also inviting other
interested persons to attend. Besides a discussion on the Mutual Aid
plan for ARES, there will be a focus on how ICS-213 Message
Manager/Outpost can be presented to clients as a useful Emcomm tool.
-- Michael Hickey, VE3IPC, Ontario East Section Manager
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. CANWARN Training May 27 to 31
The final 2013 CANWARN training sessions will be offered at the
following locations:
Sault Ste. Marie, May 27, 7 PM, at the Delta Sault Ste. Marie, 208
St. Mary's Drive.
Thunder Bay, June 3, 7 PM, at the McIntyre Building, Room 274,
Confederation College, 950 William St.
Atikokan, June 4, 7 PM, at the Atikokan Fire Hall, 101 Goodwin St.
Fort Frances/Emo, June 5, 7 PM, at the Emo-Lavallee Community Centre,
78 Colonization Road, Emo.
Renfrew, June 5, 6:30 PM, at the Best Western, 760 Gibbons Road.
Kenora, June 6, 7 PM, at the Fire and Emergency Services Training
Centre, 100 14th Street North.
Dryden, June 7, 7 PM, at the Dryden Fire Hall, 189 Colonization Ave
South.
Please RSVP by email to canwarn.ontario (at) ec.gc.ca with the
session you plan on attending.
-- Geoff Coulson, Environment Canada
4. Central Ontario Hamfest
On Sunday, June 2, the Guelph ARC and Kitchener-Waterloo ARC will
hold their Central Ontario Hamfest and Fleamarket, at the Waterloo
Regional Police Association Recreation Centre R.R. 2, 1199 Rife Rd.,
North Dumfries Township, near Cambridge. General admission at 9 am;
talk-in on VE3KSR 146.970 (-) with 131.8 Hz tone, and 146.520
simplex. For more information visit www.hamfest.on.ca [71]
-- RAC Events Database
5. Bread and Honey Special Event
On June 1st and 2nd, the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club will operate
a special event station at the Streetsville Bread and Honey
Festival. Operation will be SSB on 7.300 and 14.240 MHz +/- QRM,
from 1400 to 2000 UTC both Saturday and Sunday. Send requests for QSL
cards to MARC, c/o Michael Brickell, VE3TKI, 2801 Bucklepost
Crescent, Mississauga, ON, L5N 1X6, with an SASE.
-- RAC Events Database
6. Arctic Expedition Special Events
From June 1 to July 1, two special call signs will commemorate the
100th Anniversary of the 1913-1916 Canadian Arctic Expedition.
Station CK3C will operate 10m, 20m, and 40m during the month -- find
information online at events.ve3rhe.ca/ck3c, and QSL via VE3RHE.
Station XM3A will also be active; QSL via VE3JPP. Both call signs
will be active during the Canada Day Contest.
-- RAC Special Events Database
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for May 25, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Foundation Grants
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) is seeking applications for grants
from amateurs across Canada in the following categories: Scholastic
Grants for deserving Amateur Radio Operators; Research Grants for
research and development related to Amateur Radio; Community Grants
for charitable institutions, senior homes, and youth centres; and
Emergency Grants for radio equipment for emergency service groups
We are especially interested in awarding grants to young amateurs at
the College or University level studying Electrical Engineering, or
another Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics program.
Send your College or University name, recent transcript, Amateur
Radio Certificate and a brief biography to RAC. For details and
application forms visit tinyurl.com/rac-grants
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. VE3RCN on air for Museum Ships Weekend
On June 1 and 2, the retired Canadian submarine HMCS Ojibwa will join
95 other museum vessels around the world for the Museum Ships Weekend
amateur radio event. Operation will be primarly SSB and CW using
call sign VE3RCN (Royal Canadian Navy). For more information about
the event visit www.nj2bb.org/museum [67]
-- RAC Events Database
3. WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami will conduct its annual
station test on Saturday, June 1, from 1300-2100 UTC. The purpose is
to test all of their radio equipment and antennas, on as many modes
and frequencies as possible, in preparation for this year's hurricane
season. It is not a contest or simulated emergency exercise.
WX4NHC will be on the air on HF, VHF and UHF, as well as 2 and 30
meter APRS. Suggested SSB frequencies are 3.950, 7.268, 14.325,
21.325 and 28.425 MHz, +/-QRM. WX4NHC also will be on the VoIP
Hurricane Net from 1700-1900 UTC (IRLP node 9219/EchoLink WX-TALK
conference node 7203). Exchange call sign, signal report, location
and name, plus a brief weather report, such as "sunny," "rainy" or
"cloudy." QSL via WD4R with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
-- ARRL Bulletin Service
4. London Vintage Radio Flea Market
The London Vintage Radio Club will hold its annual flea market on
Saturday, June 8, in the parking lot of Hammond Manufacturing, 394
Edinburgh Road North (NW corner of Speedvale Avenue), in Guelph.
This is NOT the Hammond Museum Location. Entrance is from Speedvale
Avenue ONLY. Open at 7 am. For more information visit
lvrc.homestead.com/fleamarket.html
-- RAC Events Database
5. VE3GWS Silent Key
After a battle with cancer, George Sansom VE3GWS passed away on
Monday, May 20. George was a former Electronics Technologist with
the Canadian Armed Forces, Correctional Service of Canada and Ontario
Provincial Police, and was an avid amateur radio operator.
-- via Glenn Killam, VE3GNA
6. Tesla Laboratory Saved
Thanks to an Internet fundraising campaign, the Tesla Science Center
has been able to purchase Wardenclyffe, the last remaining laboratory
of Nikola Tesla, located in Shoreham, New York. Over 33,000 people
from 108 countries contributed. The group plans to restore the
laboratory, turning it into a science centre and museum.
-- via TheOatmeal.com
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for June 1, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
1. TPN Seeks Net Controllers
The Trans-Provincial Net is seeking net controllers. TPN meets daily
on 7.055 MHz, lower sideband, from 7 am to 5 pm Eastern Time. If you
can help by taking a regular shift, please contact Shawn VE3PSV, on
the TPN, or via NTS message.
-- Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV
2. Ontario-South Field Day Section Manager Message Traffic.
Field Day digital Radiogram message traffic destined for
Ontario-South SM Ian Snow VA3QT may be addressed to "va3qt at winlink
dot org". Voice/CW messages should be sent to the IC address
(telephone 705-302-4321), or via the Barrie ARC club station VE3GCB
during the event.
-- Ian Snow, VA3QT
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. XL3S Special Event
From June 15 to July 15, special call sign XL3S will commemorate the
200th Anniversary of Laura Secord's role in the War of 1812. Special
operation on June 22, from 1300 to 1800 UTC, from the actual trail
Laura Secord used. For more information search XL3S on qrz.com
-- RAC Special Events Database
4. Weather Net Changes
As of Saturday May 18th the Weather Net will be referred to as the
Weather Radio Net, emphasizing that it is a place to discuss weather
radio as well as weather. It conitnues to meet at 7:00 PM Saturdays
on IRLP reflector 9038 and on Echolink node VE3ZHR-L 591897.
Also, the newsletter has reverted to the original name, the Weather
Radio Listeners Newsletter, and is now distributed independently.
To subscribe, please contact Gord VA3WXA by email, blindgordie (at)
gmail.com.
-- Gord Maybee VA3WXA
5. Yellowknife ARISS Contact
A succesful International Space Station school contact was conducted
between participants at Yellowknife R.C.M.P. Headquarters, and
Expedition 34 Commander Chris Hadfield, on May 12 at approximataely
17:55 UTC. The contact was via telebridge between NA1SS and K6DUE,
and lasted about 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
-- AMSAT News
6. Heathkit is back with a survey
Heathkit, it seems, is not quite dead. There is a new "Spring 2013
Customer Survey" on their website at www.heathkit.com/survey [76]. Be
warned -- it's a fairly long survey, asking a lot of questions about
possible new products, including amateur radio products. It also
offers the opportunity to sign up for email updates.
When Heathkit's owners declared bankruptcy in 2012, the Heathkit
name, logo, and rights to previous equipment designs were put up for
auction. It is not currently known who acquired them.
-- Southgate ARC News and CQ News Service
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for June 8, 2013 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. BC-Yukon Section Manager re-elected Congratulations to Paul Giffin VA7MPG who was recently re-elected for a two year term of office that will begin on July 1, 2013. He ran unopposed eliminating the need for a balloted election. -- Doug Mercer VO1DTM, RAC Chief Field Services Officer 2. IARU WRC-15 Agenda The Administrative Council of the International Amateur Radio Union has set forth the IARU positions on the agenda items that will be considered during the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015 (WRC-15). A summary of those positions can be read at the RAC blog, blog.rac.ca, and the full document at www.iaru.org/news--events.html [79] [Note: two dashes between 'news' and 'events'] -- RAC Bulletin Service ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 3. OPN Frequency Change Effective immediately, the Ontario Phone Net has moved from 3.745 MHz to 7.055 MHz. The net meets every evening at 7 pm Eastern Time to handle National Traffic System traffic for the province of Ontario. All are welcome to check in, regardless of NTS experience. -- Pat Dopson, VE3HZQ, OPN Net Manager ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. Field Day June 22 Just a reminder: Field Day runs from 1800 UTC Saturday June 22 to 2059 UTC Sunday June 23. For more information visit www.arrl.org/field-day [80] -- ARRL Web 5. Waterloo Maker Faire The Waterloo Mini Maker Faire will be held on Saturday, June 15, from 10 am to 10 pm, at the Kitchener City Hall, 200 King Street West in Kitchener. Admission is free. "Makers" range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers, and the Maker Faire is a showcase of their work. For more information visit www.makerfairewaterloo.com [81] -- via Diyode Community Workshop 6. Shortwave Radio Archive The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive is a collection of shortwave radio recordings that you can download or listen to as a podcast. With many broadcasters leaving the air, it is vital to preserve historic shortwave radio broadcasts. The site also seeks to archive current broadcasts. If you have any shortwave recordings you can contribute, or to listen to the archive, visit www.shortwavearchive.com [82] -- Southgate ARC news
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for June 15, 2013
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Canada Day Contest
The RAC Canada Day Contest is July 1, from 0000 to 2359 UTC.
Operation is CW and phone on 160, 80,40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 metres.
Stations in Canada send RS(T) and province or territory; VE0s and
stations outside Canada send RS(T) and a serial number. For complete
rules visit www.rac.ca/en/rac/programmes/contests/ [85]
-- RAC web page
2. Scouts National Jamboree
From July 5 to July 13, Scouts Canada will be holding a National
Jamboree at Camp Woods Sylvan Lake near Red Deer, Alberta. We will
have an Amateur Radio station and will be using the call signs of
VE6JAM and VA6JAM. The Jamboree will operate HF on the JOTA
Frequencies, plus VHF/UHF and PSK31, and plan on contacting the
International Space Station.
JOTA Phone frequencies are 50.160, 28.390, 24.960, 21.360, 18.140,
14.290, 7.090, 7.190, 3.690, and 3.940 MHz.
-- Ralph Jenkins. VE3RJE
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
3. Laurentian Net seeks net controllers
The Laurentian Net is looking for additional Net Control Operators.
This is an information and traffic handling net that meets at 18:45
Eastern Time, seven days a week, on 3.755 MHz. If you would like to
help, please contact Shawn VE3PSV on the net, or via NTS message.
-- Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Special Event Stations
From July 1 to July 31, special event callsign CF2I will commemorate
the 250th Anniversary of Formalized Postal Service in Canada (1763-2013)
QSL via VA2BK.
From July 4 to August 3, special event callsign CF3X will commemorate
the 70th Anniversary of Operation "Husky", the Canadian Military
liberation of Sicily. QSL via VA3JPP.
-- RAC Special Events Database
5. Contest University Videos
Dayton Contest University Videos Available on YouTube
Several videos of Contest University 2013 sessions from the 2013
Dayton Hamvention now are available on YouTube. You can find them by
visiting www.youtube.com [86] and then searching for "CTU Segment". They
have been posted by Icom America, a CTU sponsor.
-- ARRL Web
6. SSB Using a Raspberry Pi
Guido Pen Dolle, PE1NNZ, has released the code to enable the
Raspberry Pi computer board to generate SSB on the 7 and 14 MHz
bands. The code generates SSB modulation by controlling the PLL on
the Raspberry Pi board. For the highly-technical details, visit
tinyurl.com/raspberry-ssb.
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for June 22, 2013
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Power Line Interference Contact Information
Industry Canada has just posted contact information to report Power
Line Radio Interference, at tinyurl.com/sf10641 (Sierra Foxtrot One
Zero Six Four One). The information is provided with the cooperation
of the Canadian Electricity Association, and covers all the major
Power Line companies in Canada. Please use this reporting
information when confronted with suspect power line interference.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. New Certified Emergency Coordinator
Congratulations are extended to Ken Long, VE7JU for successfully
completing his Certified Emergency Coordinator qualification exam.
All EC's, DEC's, AEC's are encouraged to complete this program of
study along with the IMS-100 and IMS-200.
-- Doug Mercer VO1DTM/VO1DM CEC, RAC Chief Field Services Officier
3. Operators Needed for VC2CGJCS
Le Club Radio Amateur de l'Estrie will be running the VC2CGJCS
Special Event station for the Canada Games from August 2 to August
17 in Sherbrooke, Quebec. QSL via VE2RAE.
As we are a small club, we are looking for operators to fill the
operating positions for the duration of the event. The location that
we will be operating from is air-conditioned and on-site. If you
need more information or if you want to volunteer, contact Daniel,
va2sch (at) gmail.com, or via telephone at 1 819 446 1190.
-- Daniel Schaller, VA2SCH
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. VOA Radiogram
The Voice of America is experimenting with sending digital text and
images via shortwave broadcasting. The broadcasts are transmitted
with AM, and so can be received by any inexpensive shortwave
receiver. The schedule is
Saturday 1600-1630 UTC 17860 kHz,
Sunday 0230-0300 UTC 5745 kHz,
Sunday 1300-1330 UTC 6095 kHz, and
Sunday 1930-2000 UTC 15670 kHz,
all via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.
Reception reports are welcome.
Visit their web page, www.voaradiogram.net [89], for more information
about the software required. The free Fldigi program, as well as
MixW, MultiPSK, DM780, and EasyPal will work, with a simple audio
patch cable from the receiver output to your sound card input.
-- via VA3FAL, VA3ROM, and VE3GNA
5. Trusted QSL Software 1.14.1 Now Available
Logbook of The World users will be pleased to know that the new
Trusted QSL software is now available for downloading from the ARRL
Logbook of The World page,www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world [90]
-- ARRL Web
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for June 29, 2013
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin
NATIONAL NEWS
1. ARES Support for Southern Alberta Flooding Ended
As of June 24, all ARES operations in Alberta have been stood down by
their respective agencies. ARES will remain on standby during the
recovery process. A temporary link between the SARA provincial
linking system and the VE6HAT Medicine Hat Elkwater repeater will
remain in place until recovery operations are complete.
Thanks to all the operators that provided countless volunteer hours
to support the served agencies with priority and emergency traffic.
A provincial debrief meeting will be held, date and venue to be
announced.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. Possibly Canada's Youngest Ham
Congratulations to Miss Eilis (AY-lish) Isobel Wotherspoon, for
passing the amateur radio licence exam, with honours, on June 17th.
At ten years of age, she may currently be the youngest amateur radio
operator in Canada. Eilis was one of seven new hams who successfully
completed the course offered by the Peterborough Amateur Radio Club
-- including her mother Melissa, who also achieved honours standing
on the exam.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
3. Collingwood ARC Meeting Change
Effective immediately, the Collingwood Amateur Radio Club will no
longer meet Tuesday evenings at the town hall. Meetings are
currently suspended for the summer, and resume in September. At that
time, club meetings will be combined with the club breakfast on the
first Saturday of the month, 9:30 am, at the Georgian Family
Restaurant, near the hospital.
-- Helena Short, VE3GFS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Milton Hamfest
The Burlington Amateur Radio Club will hold its 39th annual Ontario
Hamfest on Saturday, July 13, at the Milton Agricultural Fairgrounds
in Milton. General admission at 9 am; talk-in on 146.52 simplex.
For more information visit www.barc.ca [20].
-- RAC Events Database
5. Weather Radio Net Change
As of July 3rd the Weather Radio net will be moving from Saturday
evenings to Wednesdays at 7:00 PM. It will remain on IRLP reflector
9038 and Echolink node VE3ZHR-L 591897. This change is necessary in
order to further promote Weather Radio and hopefully can encourage
guest speakers to come to the net.
For more information email to Gord VA3WXA at va3wxa@gmail.com [93].
-- Gord Maybee, VA3WXA
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for July 6, 2013
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Incoming QSL Bureau
Please remember that all VE/VA cards to VE/VA Amateurs are to be sent
to the RAC Incoming Bureau in Saint John, not to the Outgoing QSL
Bureau. This QSL service is only available to RAC members.
Also, if you choose not to receive QSL cards via the bureau, please
notify your respective bureau and also post your QSL requirements to
services such as QRZ.com. Thousands of QSL's are received annually
and never claimed. Bureau volunteers would appreciate your assistance
with this issue.
-- The RAC Report
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
2. Submitting Bulletin Items
Amateur Radio groups in Ontario that wish to announce upcoming
events, or report on their activities, are invited to send brief
items to the Official Bulletin Manager email address,
obm (at) ve3rhj.net. Items should be no more than twelve lines long,
and must be received by Wednesday for the next week's bulletin,
-- Brad Rodriguez, VE3RHJ, OBM
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. VHF/UHF Portable Quad
Wayne N6NB has published an inexpensive design for a tri-band
144/222/432 MHz cubical quad antenna, for roving or portable VHF/UHF
operation. Several of these are in use around Southern California.
See it at tinyurl.com/vhfquad
-- ARRL Contest Update
4. Center for the Advancement of Science in Space
CASIS Academy is an interactive learning website created to educate
middle school students about the International Space Station (ISS)
and to pique their interest through multimedia videos and features.
Students are most likely to lose interest in science fields while in
the middle grades. CASIS Academy targets students at this critical
age, using the excitement of space as a tool to increase interest in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.
For more information, please visit www.casisacademy.org [96].
-- AMSAT News
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for July 13, 2013 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. Proposed Revisions to Frequency Allocations Canada Gazette notice SMSE-004-13 proposes revisions to Canadian Amateur Frequency allocations, following WRC-12. Included is the new International Amateur MF band between 472 and 479 KHz (600 metres). Not included is the proposal for spot frequency channels in the range 5230 to 5240 KHz, as petitioned by RAC in 2010 and considered by SMSE-10-12 issued by Industry Canada last year. This is an omission and should not mean an unfavourable decision on the 5 MHz channels. Public comments on the proposed revisions are invited until September 27th, 2013. Radio Amateurs of Canada will be responding directly to this Consultation. If you chose to comment to Industry Canada please send a copy to RAC as we would be interested in your views. -- RAC Bulletin Service ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. August Special Events From August 1 to August 31, call sign XM3B will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Sea-King helicopter. QSL via VE3JO. On August 3 and August 4, the Niagara Peninsula ARC will operate Special Event Station VE3WCD for the 35th Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival. Operation will be 9 am to 5 pm Eastern on Saturday, 9 am to 3 pm Sunday, on most HF bands in SSB. For more information visit www.nparc.on.ca [99] and look under "Community Events". Le Club Radio Amateur de l'Estrie will be running the VC2CGJCS Special Event station for the Canada Games from August 2 to August 17 in Sherbrooke, Quebec. QSL via VE2RAE. -- RAC Special Events Database 3. Slow Speed CW Traffic Handling Have you ever wanted to give CW traffic handling a try, but weren't sure your speed would suffice? Here are some traffic nets where you can "get your feet wet" with slow speed CW. The Hit And Bounce Slow Net (HBSN) meets daily, on 7114 kHz, at 7:30 am Eastern (1130Z summer, 1230Z winter). CW speeds are typically between 10 and 15 wpm. The Maryland Slow Net (MSN) meets daily, on 3563 khz, at 7:30 pm Eastern (2330Z summer, 0030Z winter). The net is centred in Maryland but they welcome checkins from anywhere with or without traffic. -- Glenn Killam, VE3GNA 4. Amateur Radio in the Edmonton Journal The Edmonton Journal has published a nice article on modern amateur radio, and its role in emergency response, with mention of the southern Alberta floods. Read it at tinyurl.com/k392obb -- via Paul Caccamo, VA3PC, Ontario North Bulletin Manager 5. WWVB Celebrates 50 Years WWVB, the 60 kHz time standard station that many digital clocks and watches follow, went on the air on July 5, 1963, broadcasting with 7 kilowatts of Effective Radiated Power. "Wired" has an interesting article on the station's half century of service; find it at tinyurl.com/wwvb-history. -- Amateur Radio Newsline
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for July 20, 2013 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 1. New CQ World Wide Contest Rules The sponsor of the CQ World Wide DX Contest has completely rewritten the contest rules, effective with this fall's SSB and CW weekends. RTTY is not affected. A new "Classic Overlay" category is for traditional single-operator, all-band entries. A new "Rookie Overlay" is for amateurs licensed 3 years or less. "Xtreme Contesting" and "Team Competition" categories are removed. For the new rules visit www.cqww.com/rules.htm [102]. The SSB event takes place October 26-27, the CW event November 23-24. -- ARRL Web 2. Scouts ARISS Contact On July 8, a successful contact was made between the Scout Canada Jamboree, in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada and Astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP using callsign NA1SS. The contact was a telebridge via VK5ZAI, and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Canada Jamboree '13, the largest gathering of Scouts in Canada, brought up to 6500 youth, leaders and volunteers to Sylvan Lake from July 6-13. -- AMSAT news 3. Detroit, Michigan Communications Failure On July 5th, around 5:30 am, Detroit's digital trunked radio system failed. This system is for communication between 911 dispatchers and Detroit's police, fire and Emergency Management Service crews. The failure, during the 4th of July holiday weekend, caused a backlog of hundreds of calls. Like most new digital systems, Detroit's is dependant on centralized computer control. Failure of the central computer can bring the entire system down. The backup system also failed. Finally, Michigan State Police allowed Detroit to use the state's communication system, for the several days required to restore the Detroit system. For more info see tinyurl.com/detroit-radio-down -- Amateur Radio Newsline 4. Harness Saves Tower Climber A certified tower expert who had taken apart hundreds of towers was likely saved by his harness after he fell while disassembling a ham radio tower above a west Edmonton home last week. District Fire Chief Lorne Corbett said, "He had on the proper harness, that's what saved him." When firefighters arrived, he was stuck 10 metres above ground. He was able to walk to the ambulance after being rescued. For news coverage, visit tinyurl.com/oz6to92 (Oscar Zulu Six Tango Oscar Nine Two) -- via Ham Radio Daily 5. HAARP Facility Shuts Down The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) has ended. The 35-acre ionospheric research facility in Gakona, Alaska, has been closed since early May. The site is currently abandoned, and might be dismantled next year. One reason for the shutdown is that the site would need expensive new diesel generators to meet U.S. EPA standards. For more info, visit tinyurl.com/haarp-down -- ARRL Web
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for July 27, 2013 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. New RAC Corporate Secretary I want to welcome Alvin Masse, VE3CWP, as RAC's new Corporate Secretary. Al comes to us with a wealth of organizational skills, history and wisdom and will be a great benefit to RAC. I am looking forward to working with Al. I want to thank Linda Friars, VE9GLF, for serving as Acting Corporate Secretary and also Paul Burggraaf, VO1PRB, for all his support. -- Geoff Bawden, VE4BAW, President and Chair RAC ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend This year's International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend will take place on August 17 and 18, starting at 0001 UTC and continuing for 48 hours. The basic objective of the event is to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration, and at the same time to promote amateur radio and to foster International goodwill. For more information visit www.illw.net [105]. -- ILLW web page 3. IARU Region 2 Meeting The IARU Region 2 Eighteenth General Assembly will take place in Cancun, Mexico from September 23 to 27. This event is hosted by the Federación Mexicana de Radio Experimentadores (FMRE). Cancun 2013 will deal with many important issues regarding the promotion and defense of amateur radio, HF, VHF and higher band plans and other issues of importance to Member Societies within Region 2. For more information please visit the event webpage, www.cancun2013.info [106] -- IARU Region 2 News 4. The K9YA Telegraph The K9YA Telegraph is a general interest ham radio e-Zine, published by the Robert F Heytow Memorial Radio Club. It is free, and is delivered in PDF format by email. A subscription link and sample issues can be found at their web site, www.k9ya.org [107] -- via Glenn Killam, VE3GNA 5. The Return of Western Electric The Western Electric name has been resurrected for a new vacuum tube manufacturing venture in the United States. The Rossville, Georgia operation will make vacuum tubes mainly for use in high-end audio components, starting with some exact reproductions of Western Electric "classics," such as the 300B power triode. Read the full story at tinyurl.com/western-electric-lives. -- Amateur Radio Newsline
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for August 3, 2013 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. Simulated Emergency Test Date The Ontario SET is scheduled for 26 October. ARES groups will receive further scenario information in early September to assist with local planning and message generation. -- Ian Snow, VA3QT, Ontario South SM 2. Ontario South ARES Seminar With the support of the Hamilton Amateur Radio Club executive, there will be an Ontario-South ARES leadership seminar at 10:15 AM on 5 October, held in conjunction with the Hamilton Hamfest. This will be followed at 11:00 with a "town hall" meeting, open to all Amateurs. Section Manager Ian Snow VA3QT will provide updates on ARES and Section developments, and will be open to questions from the floor. -- Ian Snow, VA3QT, Ontario South SM 3. Ontario Phone Net Schedule A reminder: the Ontario Phone Net has moved to 7.055 MHz for the summer. The traffic-handling net meets every day, 365 days a year, at 7 PM Eastern Time. On October 1st, OPN will return to 3.745 MHz. -- via Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. Monitoring Times Going QRT Monitoring Times magazine will be shutting down after its December 2013 issue. After 33 years, publisher Bob Grove and his wife Judy have decided to retire. Grove also said that "a combination of a down-turned economy, as well as the ready availability of free listening and technical information on the Internet, has reduced sales and subscriptions throughout the marketplace." -- CQ News Service 5. Forty Dollar SDR Stephen Cass, KB1WNR, has published an article in IEEE Spectrum magazine describing a Software-Defined Radio costing only $40 in parts. Cass's radio uses a Freeview P250 dongle, an indoor TV antenna and a Model B Raspberry Pi microcontroller. You can read the article and see a video of the device at tinyurl.com/inexpensive-sdr -- Amateur Radio Newsline 6. Zone to Zone Propagation Chart ZoneProp shows a 40 zone by 40 zone matrix that is updated hourly at approximately 20 minutes past the hour. The intersection between a row and column gives the band on which a contestant in the first CQ zone is most likely able to contact a contestant in the second CQ zone. Find it at www.radiosport.ca/zoneprop [110] -- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for August 10, 2013
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
1. Junk In The Trunk Event
The 5th Annual Junk-in-the-Trunk swapmeet will be held on Saturday,
August 24th, in the parking lot of the Newmarket Theatre, 505
Pickering Crescent, in Newmarket. Free admission for buyers. Open at
7:30 am; talk-in on 146.520 simplex or the 147.225 repeater. For more
information see the RAC Events page, rac.eton.ca/events/upcoming.php
-- RAC Events Database
2. Hamspots web page
Ever wonder what's going on with all those new digital modes? Check
out www.hamspots.net [113] -- you can find a listing of current activity on
a particular band, who is currently active on the various digital
modes, and activity by digital club members. If you are logged in,
you can also chat between club members to coordinate on air
activity. Its sponsored by VK3AMA and is a great step up from a DX
cluster raw feed.
-- via Paul Caccamo, VA3PC, Ontario North Bulletin Manager
3. MACS Net Time Change
The Michigan Amateur Communications System (MACS) is seeking new
participants to learn traffic handling. As of August 1st the net
meets daily at 1000 Eastern Time on 3.952 MHz, with an alternate
frequency of 7.232 MHz. The net begins with member comments,
followed by traffic handling. Net Manager Mike Horn WB8TQZ says
"Rest assured that we've got time to take the time to break in new
operators." Give traffic handling a try!
-- ARRL ARES E-Letter, 15 jul 2013
4. Field Day Logs Received
The ARRL Contest Branch has posted a list of all logs received from
participants in the 2013 ARRL Field Day. You can get this list as a
PDF file, at tinyurl.com/2013-fd-logs It includes logs sent via the
web applet, e-mail and hard copy summaries. Some logs were
designated "checklog" because the entry was missing information --
contact the ARRL Contest Branch Manager, Mike DeChristopher, N1TA, to
have your entry reclassified properly.
Because of an e-mail issue at ARRL Headquarters in early July, some
e-mail submissions may not have been received. If your entry is
missing from the list, contact the Contest Branch to resolve this
issue.
-- ARRL Web
5. Antique Wireless Association Convention
The 52nd Antique Wireless Association World Convention August 20-24
in Rochester, New York, will have a dual theme -- the grand opening
of the new AWA Museum (on August 20), and Heathkit history and
equipment -- the keynote speaker will be Dick Goslee, K2GI, the
former manager of the Rochester Heathkit store. The annual event --
essentially the "Dayton" of the vintage radio collecting community --
includes a huge flea market, an expanded old equipment contest,
forums and presentations, a banquet, and special event station W2AN.
For more information visit www.antiquewireless.org [114]
-- ARRL Web
6. "MM" Applications Released for Open-Source Development
Mako Mori, JE3HHT, the author of MMTTY, MMVARI and MMSSTV, has
released these programs to open-source development under the LGPL
license. This license enables developers and companies to use and
integrate these programs, while ensuring that all improvements to
source code are made publicly available. MM-Open has been established
to facilitate this development; find it on-line at www.mm-open.org [115]
-- ARRL Web
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for August 17, 2013
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin
NATIONAL NEWS
1. New Certified Emergency Coordinators
Congratulations to Canada's newest Certified Emergency Coordinators,
Peter Gauld VE7PGX of Surrey, BC, and Shawn McDonald VA3MFD of
Burlington, ON.
-- RAC Blog
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Special Prefixes Authorized
From September 1 to October 30, special prefixes have been authorized
for Canadian amateurs to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Ile
Royale -- modern day Cape Breton Island. Use CJ for VA, CK for VE,
CY for VO, and CZ for VY.
-- RAC Special Events Database
3. WRTC-2014 Team Leader Applications Open
World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 is accepting applications
from individuals who would like to participate in WRTC-2014 as team
leaders. You must use the application form on their website,
www.wrtc2014.org [118], and applications are due by September 13, 2013.
WRTC-2014 is a competition among two-operator teams. 54 team leaders
will be selected from the top qualifiers in 29 regions around the
world. Each team leader then selects a teammate for the competition.
The team leader qualification formula considers 12 scores selected
from 55 qualifying contests between October 2010 and March 2013.
-- ARRL Web
4. Weather Radio Net
This is just a reminder that the Weather Radio Net is on Wednesday
evenings at 7:00 P.M. on IRLP reflector 9038 and Echolink node
VE3ZHR-L 591897. We try to discuss Weather Radio in both Canada and
the US, but we also touch on topics such as CANWARN and SKYWARN,
among other related items. If you would like to join the mailing list
for the newsletter that goes along with it please email Gord VA3WXA
at va3wxa (at) gmail.com or blindgordie (at) gmail.com.
-- Gord Maybee, VA3WXA
5. AMSAT.ORG Make Over
AMSAT has revamped their web site, www.amsat.org [17], with a new, more
colorful theme and some updated content. The AMSAT web site is now
using the popular WordPress package, so it will be easier to maintain
and update, and will be familiar to many users.
-- AMSAT News
This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
=====================================================================
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager Brad Rodriguez, VE3RHJ.
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for August 24, 2013 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 1. Ottawa Hamfest The Ottawa Amateur Radio Club will hold its 17th annual Hamfest on Saturday, September 7, at the Carp Agricultural Fairgrounds, 3832 Carp Road, in Carp. The event is in the W. Erskine Johnston Arena at the north end of the fairgrounds. General admission at 9 am; talk-in on VE2CRA repeater, 146.940 (-), 100 Hz tone. For more information visit www.oarc.net/fleamarket [121] -- RAC Events Database 2. EmComm East EmComm East, the U.S. east coast amateur radio emergency communications conference, will be on Sunday, September 29th, at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York. This year's featured guest speaker will be the ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B. Amateurs within driving distance of Rochester are encouraged to attend (take your passport)!) Previous year presenters include Ontario-East Section Manager Mike Hickey VE3IPC, on the Deployable Mutual Aid Plan, and Ontario-South Section Manager Ian Snow VA3QT, on an ARES Qualification Proposal. For more information visit www.emcommeast.org [122] -- Amateur Radio Newsline 3. U.S. MARS "High Pressure Test" On August 3-4, U.S. Army MARS and Air Force MARS underwent a high-pressure nationwide test. The six hour drill evaulated performance of the volunteer radio operators under heavy traffic conditions, relaying encrypted data between individual members in the 50 states and the headquarters station at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The scenario called for breakdown of normal channels, including cell phones and the Internet, with MARS and other unspecified military assets replacing essential circuits MARS, the Military Auxiliary Radio System, is a Department of Defense unit for specially-trained Amateur Radio operators who volunteer their skills and equipment to support government communications when normal channels are disrupted. Separate branches exist for the Army, Air Force and Navy-Marine Corps. -- ARRL Web 4. Manuals for Chinese Rigs One complaint about inexpensive Chinese ham rigs is their user manuals. The Radio Documentation Project is working to produce high-quality, in-depth, open-source manuals for Chinese-built handhelds. The first one completed is for the Baofeng UV-5R dual-bander. Download the free PDF at tinyurl.com/new-uv5r-booklet You can also find information, Frequently Asked Questions, and software, for Baofeng handhelds at www.miklor.com [123] -- CQ News Service and Handi-Ham News 5. Introductions to Contesting If you need a presentation on getting into contesting, here are two. Rick N6XI has a web page on "Radio Contesting" at tinyurl.com/n6xi-contesting. Kirk K4RO has a PDF file of a PowerPoint presentation, "Contesting 101," that would be suitable for presentation to a club -- find it at tinyurl.com/k4ro-contesting. -- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Section Bulletin for August 31, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. DXCC Suggestions Wanted
The ARRL Board has directed the DX Advisory Committee (DXAC) to do a
comprehensive review of the DX Century Club (DXCC) Rules. This has
not been done for at least ten years.
As your representative on the DXAC I need to hear your views. Please
advise me as soon as possible of anything in the DXCC rules that
concerns you. I will do my best to bring your concerns to the
attention of the rest of the committee. Contact me by email at ve1js
(at) ns.sympatico.ca
-- John Scott, VE1JS, RAC DX Advisory Committee Representative
2. Alberta ARES Members Commended
On July 27, 2013, Alberta ARES members met to debrief following a
four day Emcomm deployment during the recent Alberta floods.
In attendance to present each member with a RAC Public Service
Honour roll and Public Service Commendation was RAC Regional
Director for AB/NWT/NU, J.T. Mitchell VE6OH. For a list of
recipients and a group photo, visit blog.rac.ca
-- Doug Mercer VO1DTM/VO1DM, RAC Chief Field Services Officer
3. 2013 RAC Simulated Emergency Test
This year's national Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is now scheduled
for October 19, 2013 due to a conflict with Thanksgiving on October
12. Please visit the RAC website for details.
Groups are encouraged to hold their SET on any weekend that is
convenient. [See next item.]
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
4. 2013 Ontario Simulated Emergency Test
The Ontario SET is scheduled for October 26. An SET scenario will
be issued in early September when planning is complete.
One requirement this year will be to send a "Declaration of
Emergency" letter, on behalf of your municipality's Head of Council,
to a simulated Provincial EOC Duty Officer. Any method of delivery,
including email, is acceptable provided that an amateur radio link is
used at some point. A sample letter will be included in the SET
scenario, but we recommend that ARES Group Coordinators meet
immediately with their Community Emergency Management Coordinator to
draft a letter more specific to your municipality.
-- Ontario Section Managers Council
ITEMS OF INTEREST
5. Kingston Hamfest
On Saturday, September 14, the Kingston Amateur Radio Club, and the
Military Communications and Electronics Museum, will hold their
annual hamfest, at the Communications Museum, 95 Craftsman Blvd., in
Kingston. This is about 1 km east of Hwy.#15. General admission at
9 am; talk-in on VE3KBR repeater, 146.940 (-) 151.4 Hz tone. For
more information visit www.ve3kbr.com [126]
-- RAC Events Database
6. Sudbury-Manitoulin Hamfest
On Saturday, September 14, the Manitoulin Amateur Radio Club, with
assistance from the Sudbury Amateur Radio Club, will hold a hamfest
at the Garson Arena Community Hall, 100 Church St. in Garson.
General admission at 9 am; talk-in on 147.060 (+) 100 Hz tone. For
more information visit www.sudburyamateurradio.com [127].
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for September 7, 2013 NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. Ontario South "Town Hall" Meetings The Ontario-South Section Manager will hold two "town hall" meetings in conjunction with the Hamilton ARC Hamfest on October 5. The first will be for ARES/EMCOMM leaders, and will focus on team building within Ontario South. RAC Chief Field Services Officer Doug Mercer, VO1DM will be present. The second will be open to all Amateurs but especially club executive officers. This meeting will provide a relaxed forum where club officers can provide guidance on improving the relationship between clubs and section management. RAC President Geoff Bawden, VE4BAW will be in attendance Club executives are encouraged to read RAC "Briefing Note 4", a PDF file at tinyurl.com/kbrvmgp (Kilo Bravo Romeo Victor Mike Golf Papa), particularly the Section Manager administrative functions shown on page 4. Advance comments may be sent to va3qt (at) rac.ca prior to the meeting. -- Ian Snow, VA3QT, Ontario South SM 2. TPN Seeks SET Net Controllers The TransProvincial Net (TPN) is looking for volunteers to serve as net control stations for the National Simulated Emergency Test on October 19, and the Ontario SET on October 26. Net control operators are also needed for regular shifts on all days of the week. TPN meets daily on 7.055 MHz, lower sideband, from 7 am to 5 pm Eastern Time. If you can help by taking a shift, please contact Shawn VE3PSV, on the TPN, or via NTS message. -- Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. London Swapmeet The London Amateur Radio Club will hold its 36th Annual Flea Market on Sunday, September 22, in a new location: the Hellenic Community Centre, 133 Southdale Rd. W., in London. General admission at 9 am. Talk-in on VA3LON repeater, 147.060, 114.8 Hz tone. For more information visit www.larc.ca [130]. -- RAC Events Database 4. Radio Talk 2013 Special Event On September 21st, special event station VE2013RT will operate in conjunction with the Radio Talk 2013 event in Montreal. QSL via VE2DDZ. Radio Talk 2013 is not a hamfest. It is an educational event with presentations, displays, and demonstrations. It will be held at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish 4455 West Broadway Montreal. For more information, visit their web page, radiotalk2012.wordpress.com -- RAC Special Events Database 5. Say Hi to Juno On October 9, NASA's Juno spacecraft will fly past Earth for gravity boost, putting it on course for Jupiter. To celebrate, the Juno mission is inviting Amateur Radio operators around the world to say "HI" to Juno in a coordinated Morse code message. If enough operators participate, Juno's "Waves" radio and plasma wave experiment should be able to detect the message. All transmissions will take place on 10 meters, with the precise (suggested) frequency determined by the last letter of your call sign. Participants can receive a QSL card. For more information visit www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno [131] -- ARRL Web 6. Collins Radio Anniversary Special Event Four club stations will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Collins Radio Company. Stations W0CXX and N0CXX Cedar Rapids, Iowa; W5ROK Richardson, Texas; W4CRC Melbourne, Florida and W6CXX Tustin, California will be on the air September 21-23 and September 28-30. Operation is from 9 AM to midnight local time for each station based on operator availability. A special QSL card and commemorative certificate are available. For more information visit www.w0cxx.org [132]. -- Amateur Radio Newsline
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for September 14, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Annual General Meeting
On Saturday, October 5, at 1 pm, RAC will hold its Annual General
Meeting in conjunction with the Hamilton ARC Hamfest, in Marritt Hall
at the Ancaster Fair Grounds in Ancaster. Many thanks to the
Hamilton Amateur Radio Club for the invitation! RAC will also have a
booth at the hamfest. For more information see the PDF file at
tinyurl.com/racagm2013
For those unable to attend in person, we will be using Go To Webinar
and you can join over the Internet or by phone. Slots are limited;
to register, please email racgm (at) rac.ca.
-- RAC Web Page
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. October Special Events
From October 1 to October 11, special event callsign CY0P will be
activated for the Sable Island Expedition. QSL via VE1RGB.
From October 1 to October 31, special event callsign VC2O will
commemorate the 90th anniversary of The Mauricie Amateur Radio
Association (VE2MO). Operation will be 80-10m, CW and SSB. QSL via
VE2NMB.
-- RAC Events Database and VA3RJ Special Events Page
3. ARISS Contact
On August 12 a successful contact was made between 14th World Scout
Moot Canada 2013, Camp Awacamenj Mino, Ottawa-Gatineau, Quebec, and
Astronaut Astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP, on the International
Space Station, using callsign IRØISS. The contact was telebridged via
IK1SLD and lasted about nine and a half minutes. VE3TBD served as
ARISS mentor.
-- AMSAT News
4. Space Station Slow Scan TV Active
The International Space Station (ISS) is transmitting SSTV images on
145.800 MHz FM. To receive them, all you need is to connect your
rig's audio output via a simple interface to the soundcard on a
Windows PC or an Apple iOS device. You can even receive pictures by
holding an iPhone next to the radio's loudspeaker.
The ISS puts out a strong signal on 145.800 MHz FM, using standard 5
kHz deviation, and a 2m handheld with a 1/4 wave antenna will be
enough to receive it. To decode the signal, on Windows PCs use
MMSSTV, on Apple iOS devices use the SSTV app. The website
www.issfanclub.com [135] will show you when the space station is in range.
For more tips visit tinyurl.com/sstv-iss
-- AMSAT News
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for September 21, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
1. Hamilton Hamfest
The Hamilton Amateur Radio Club will hold its 2013 Hamfest on
Saturday, October 5, in the Concession Building at the Ancaster Fair
Grounds, 630 Trinity Road in Ancaster. This is the south-west
corner of highways #52 and #53, just west of Ancaster. General
admission at 9 am; talk-in on VE3NCF repeater, 146.76 (-), 131.8 Hz
tone. For more information visit www.hamiltonarc.ca [138]
-- RAC Events Database
2. VX31763 Special Event
From October 6 to November 5, special event station VX31763 will
commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Royal Proclamation of 1763,
which laid the foundation for the relationship between First Nations
people and the Crown. QSL via VE3RHE (Bureau or Direct). For
operating schedule visit www.ve3rhe.ca [139]
-- RAC Events Database
3. Two Silent Keys
Wayne Green, W2NSD, died on September 13 at the age of 91. Green was
editor of CQ magazine before going on to found 73, 80 Micro, Byte, CD
Review, Cold Fusion, Kilobaud Microcomputing, RUN, InCider, and
Pico.
Jack Althouse, K6NY, died of a massive stroke on September 15, at the
age of 90. Althouse was president of Palomar Engineers, one of
amateur radio's foremost providers of ferrite and powdered-iron
toroidal cores, baluns and balun kits. The family has asked that
those having outstanding orders with Palomar please cancel them, as
Palomar is closed for business and not taking new orders. Questions
regarding paid orders should be emailed to palomareng (at) gmail.com
-- CQ News Service
4. AX.25 Open Source Soundcard Modem
Radio amateur Alejandro Santos LU4EXT is developing extmodem, an open
source, APRS compatible, AX.25 packet radio modem. It runs three
different demodulators in parallel to improve reception. Download
extmodem for Windows from extradio.sourceforge.net. Source code is
available for Linux.
-- AMSAT News
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for September 28, 2013 NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. New EC for Renfrew County East As of September 27, Debra Anne Bee, VE3IEH is the ARES Emergency Coordinator for Renfrew County East. Debra is the new President of the Champlain Regional RPT Association, a CANWARN spotter for three years, has her Basic, Morse, and Advanced privileges, and has leadership and management experience. Congratulations go to Debra for accepting this important position. Please help me welcome her aboard. Her predecessor, Ron Sinclair, VE3JRN, has been EC of Renfrew County East since December 2011. Ron is stepping down primarily due to health reasons. We thank Ron for the time he served and wish him well in all his future endeavors. -- Michael Hickey VE3IPC, Ontario East Section Manager. ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. Nominations open for International Humanitarian Award Nominations are now open for the 2013 ARRL International Humanitarian Award, conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and international understanding through Amateur Radio. Nominations should include a summary of the nominee's actions that qualify the individual (or individuals) for this award, plus verifying statements from at least two people having first-hand knowledge of the events warranting the nomination. All nominations and supporting materials must be submitted in writing in English to ARRL International Humanitarian Award, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 USA, no later than December 31, 2013. For details see www.arrl.org/international-humanitarian-award [142] -- Southgate ARC News 3. Jamboree On The Air, October 19-20 Scouting's 56th Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is the weekend of October 19-20, from 0000 local time Saturday to 2400 local time Sunday. JOTA provides an opportunity for Boy Scouts to experience Amateur Radio firsthand. It is the largest Scouting event in the world, with nearly 750,000 Scouts participating from 6000 stations in 150 countries. JOTA is not a contest. The idea is to contact other Scout stations and allow as many Scouts as possible to talk to other Scouts and learn about who they are and what they are doing. Licensed amateurs often open their stations to Scouts on JOTA weekend, serving as control operators. Operation will be on 80 through 6 meters and 2 meters and 70 centimeters FM simplex, all modes. For more information visit www.arrl.org/jamboree-on-the-air-jota [143] -- ARRL Web 4. ConSat-1 CubeSat The Canadian ConSat-1 CubeSat is one of the educational CubeSats chosen for Phase 1 of the "Fly Your Satellite!" initiative. It aims to analyze radiation characteristics in the South-Atlantic Anomaly, a plasma cloud 200 km from the Earth's surface, located above the east coast of South America. It appears to be constantly growing in size and a NASA report speculates that by 2240 it might cover approximately half the southern hemisphere. A launch date has not yet been announced. For updates, visit www.spaceconcordia.ca [144] -- AMSAT News 5. QScope Log Statistics QScope.org is a new online application that provides statistics and charts from amateur radio logs. While some features are designed with contesting in mind, most of the statistics will be useful for DXers and DXpeditions. You just import your ADIF 2 or Cabrillo logs into QScope database and then browse the statistic and charts pages. Registration and access to the website are free at www.qscope.org [145] -- Amateur Radio Newsline
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 5, 2013 NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
1. Loyalist ARES DEC stepping down. The Loyalist ARES DEC has stepped down as of September 30th. George Williams, VE3SIQ has tendered his letter of resignation after one year into his term. This was due to changes in his personal life and could no longer perform his duties. We thank George for the time he was able to give and wish him well.
Michael Hickey, VE3IPC - Ontario East Section Manager
2. OPN Frequency Change As of October 1st, the Ontario Phone Net has moved back to 80 metres. The traffic net now meets on 3.745 MHz, at 7 pm Eastern Time, 7 days a week. All stations are welcome to check in. -- Pat Dopson, VE3HZQ, OPN Net Manager ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Montreal South Shore Hamfest The Montreal South-Shore Amateur Radio Club will hold its hamfest on Saturday, October 19, at the Place Desaulniers, 1023 Taschereau Blvd., Longueuil (10 minutes from downtown Montreal). General admission at 9 am; talk-in on VE2RSM repeater, 145.390 (-) tone 103.5 Hz. For more information visit www.ve2clm.ca [148]. -- RAC Events Database 4. Voice of Russia Going QRT The Russian news service RIA Novosti reports that the Voice of Russia will stop its shortwave broadcasts on January 1st, 2014, due to funding cuts. The Voice of Russia was established in 1929; as of next year, it will have only three low-power medium-wave transmitters and an Internet radio presence. -- Amateur Radio Newsline and RIA Novosti 5. DXLog DXLog is a free contest logging program being developed by Chris, 9A5K. DXLog resembles Win-Test, and supports the CT command set. Over 160 contests are supported, and new contests can be defined with rule sets in plain text files. DXLog supports CW, phone, and MMTTY for RTTY operation. It requires Windows XP or a later version of Windows, and Microsoft.NET Framework version 4.0. Download it at www.dxlog.net [149]. -- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 12, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Scholarships Granted
Radio Amateurs of Canada is pleased to announce the granting of three
$500 academic scholarships, to Ms. Paulyn Mulles, VE3PJM at Carlton
University, Mr. Jason Deglint, VE7TJD at University of Victoria, and
Mr. Liam Bindle, VE5LRB at the University of Saskatchewan.
RAC has also awarded a $500 community grant to Shaftesbury High
School in Winnipeg, to assist them to become the only permanent
Amateur Radio ARISS Telebridge Station in Canada under the guidance
of Mr. Robert Striemer, VE4SHS.
RAC would like to thank all the Amateurs from across Canada who have
generously contributed to this fund. If you want to contribute,
please contact RAC HQ. If you want to apply for future scholarships,
details and an application are available at the RAC web site.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. OQ4CLM Special Event
From October 16th through November 25th, special event station OQ4CLM
will commemorate the Canadian Liberation March, a 33km march by
Canadian troops coming from the town Hoofdplaat in Holland to
liberate the town Knokke in 1944.
This is the 32nd year for this special event, which in previous years
used different call signs. For more information visit www.oq4clm.be [152]
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. Nominations Open for Hamvention Awards
The Dayton Hamvention is soliciting nominations for its 2014 awards
for Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement, Technical Excellence,
and Club of the Year. All Amateur Radio operators are eligible.
Nominations must be received by January 17, 2014. Winners will be
recognized at the 2014 Dayton Hamvention. For more information and a
nomination form, visit www.hamvention.org/awards.php [14].
-- ARRL Web
4. ARRL Centennial QSO Party
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ARRL, the ARRL Centennial
QSO Party will start on January 1 and run for the entire year 2014.
Participants can accumulate points and win awards. The event is open
to all, although only ARRL members and appointees, elected officials,
HQ staff and W1AW are worth points. During 2014 W1AW will operate
portable from every state (at least twice) and most US territories.
To qualify for points all contacts must be two-way using CW, phone,
or any digital mode, on 160, 80, 40, 30, 17, 15, 12, 10, 6, 2 or 1.25
meters, plus 70 centimeters and satellite. No cross-band or
cross-mode contacts. For more information see
www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party [153]
-- ARRL Web
5. Guide to DSP
"The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing," by
Steven W. Smith, Ph.D. is available for free download. The book is
written for students and professionals and is "low math." You can
download each chapter in PDF format, or read it online, at
www.dspguide.com [154]
-- Southgate ARC News
6. Free PCB Design Software
DesignSpark PCB is a free printed-circuit board layout program for
Windows. DesignSpark Mechanical, just released, allows 3-D mechanical
design. For more information, or to download these free programs,
visit www.designspark.com [155]. And follow the link to DesignShare, a
collection of open source projects contributed by DesignSpark users.
-- via ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 19, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
1. York Region Hamfest
The York Region Amateur Radio Club will hold its 37th Annual Hamfest
on Saturday, November 2, at a new location: the Newmarket Community
Centre, 200 Doug Duncan Drive, in Newmarket. General admission at 9
a.m.; talk-in on VE3YRA repeater, 145.350 (-) 103.5 Hz tone. For
more information visit www.yrarc.org [158].
-- RAC Events Database
2. Special Prefixes Authorized
From November 5 to December 5, special prefixes have been authorized
for all Canadian amateurs to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the
Royal Proclamation of 1763, which laid the foundation for the
relationship between First Nations people and the Crown. Use VG for
VA, VX for VE, XJ for VO, XK for VY.
-- RAC Special Events Database
3. IARU Emergency Communications Workshop
The first IARU Region 2 Emergency Communications Workshop was held
September 24-25 in Cancun, Mexico in conjunction with the IARU Region
2 General Assembly. Sponsored by IARU Region 2 and the ARRL, it
explored international issues facing Amateur Radio's response to
emergencies and disasters. For more information visit
tinyurl.com/iaru-ecw
-- ARRL ARES E-Letter
4. Solarham Web Site
VE3EN has created a "space weather" web site specifically for
amateur radio operators, with all the latest solar statistics. Find
it at www.solarham.net [159].
-- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 26, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. New RAC Director for Ontario South
Congratulations are extended to Mr. Rod Hardman, VE3RHF who was
recently acclaimed as the RAC Director for Ontario South. His term
as Director will be for the two years starting January 1, 2014 and
ending December 31, 2015.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. RAC Member Recognition Program
In an effort to properly recognize our valued volunteers, a committee
has been named to manage the RAC Member Recognition Program (MRP).
Two awards are available.
Any full member of RAC is eligible to nominate a fellow member for an
"Individual Award." All you need is to provide a short essay on why
you think that your candidate is deserving. Also, an "Extraordinary
Award" is available for an individual or group that has gone above
and beyond the call of duty.
Send nominations to any one of the MRP committee members:
Jeffrey Stewart, VA3WXM, va3wxm (at) sympatico.ca
Doug Mercer, VO1DM, vo1dtm (at) rac.ca
Normand Pitre, VE2NHK, ve2nhk (at) rac.ca
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. JOTA on the Keewatin
On Saturday Oct. 19th, the SS Keewatin Radio Operators opened the
doors to the historic ship, and the ham radio station on board, to
welcome Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, and their leaders for the
2013 Jamboree-on-the-Air.
Using the original call sign from her historic years on the Great
Lakes, VA3VGC operated 0900 to 1700 local time from Port McNicoll,
Ontario. 150 youths from the region were in attendance supported by
the Keewatin crew and their own leaders. Everyone is looking forward
to next year!
-- via Micheal Moreau, VE3LKI
4. Small Wonder Labs closes
Small Wonder Labs, a stalwart in the QRP arena since the mid-1990s,
announced October 10 that it is closing. New sales have been
discontinued, and the last several dozen orders are in the process of
being shipped. Founder Dave Benson, K1SWL, says he is coordinating
with another QRP vendor to have him assume production and sales of
the RockMite.
-- ARRL Web
5. New Release of Audacity
Audacity is free, open source, cross-platform software for recording
and editing sounds. Version 2.0.5 is now available, for Windows,
Mac, and Linux. Download it at audacity.sourceforge.net.
-- Handi-Ham News
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 2, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
1. Special Event CJ3T
From October 26 to November 24, special call sign CJ3T has been
authorized to commemorate the 300th Anniversary of Louisbourg
(1713-2013). QSL via VA3RVK.
-- RAC Special Events Database
2. New IARU Region 2 Band Plan
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 (the Americas) has
published a revised Band Plan for all allocations from 137 kHz to
250 GHz, effective September 27, 2013. The plan was adopted during
the recent General Assembly in Cancun, Mexico. Download the plan, in
PDF, at tinyurl.com/iaru2-bands
-- ARRL Web
3. Free E-Book on Image Communications
Martin Bruchanov, OK2MNM, has written a Free e-book for hams and
SWL's interested in special communication modes for image
transmission and reception. This includes such modes as SSTV,
Digital SSTV and radio facsimile to name only a few. You can
download the entire book or view on line at www.sstv-handbook.com [164]
-- Amateur Radio Newsline
4. More on Station Grounding
Before winter sets in, you may be working on your antennas. Tom W8JI
has provided a web page on lightning protection with a number of
helpful photos that may help you design your own station. See it at
www.w8ji.com/station_ground.htm [165]
-- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 9, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Recognition Awards
Jeff Dovyak, VE4MBQ, has been nominated to receive our first RAC
Member Recognition Award. An Amateur since 1994, Jeff has been very
active with Winnipeg ARES, and is the Emergency Coordinator for
Winnpeg since 1994.
For the very first time, a group has been nominated to receive the
Extraordinary Service Award. The VE4WWO CANWARN Net Controller Team
has been serving the Prairie and Arctic Storm Prediction Center
(PASPC) in Winnipeg. They number 13 strong, and spend long hours
doing Net Control duties and storm spotting.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. RAC 2013 AGM concluded
The Radio Amateurs of Canada held the Annual General Meeting on
October 5th in Ancaster, Ontario. RAC President Geoffrey
Bawden's report is available on the RAC website. Of particular
interest is that, after a two and a half year effort, RAC has
returned to financial solvency, as confirmed by the audit report.
RAC would like to sincerely thank the Hamilton Amateur Radio Club and
its volunteers for hosting the event, and ICOM Canada and Radioworld
for generously providing two transceivers for the hamfest draw.
The 2014 AGM will take place in Vancouver, during the Pacific
Northwest DX Convention, July 25-27th. Convention details can be
found at: www.orcadxcc.org/vancouver2014/home.html [168]
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
3. New Certified EC
Congratulations are extended to Ken Brightling VE3ETP of London,
Ontario. He's Canada's newest Certified Emergency Coordinator (CEC).
-- RAC ARES Twitter Feed
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Salisbury Special Event
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact
is scheduled for the Salisbury Middle School, in Salisbury, New
Brunswick, for the week of November 18th.
Leading up to this event, members of the Moncton Area Amateur Radio
Club and the Tri County Amateur Radio Club will set up a temporary
station in the school on November 15th, to give students a chance to
contact hams in distant lands, and perhaps decide to join the world
of amateur radio. Operation will be from 1300 until 1830 UTC, on 40m
to 10m plus VHF/UHF, using special event callsign VC9SMS. QSL via
VE9GFD. For more information search VC9SMS on qrz.com.
-- RAC Special Events Database and qrz.com
5. Another "Last Man Standing" Ham Episode
"Last Man Standing" producer John Amodeo, NN6JA, reports that lead
character Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) finally gets on the ham bands
during the program's Thanksgiving episode, which was shot in
mid-October and scheduled to air on November 22 on ABC.
According to John, Mike heads to his basement ham shack to escape a
house full of guests waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be served.
This is the second "Last Man Standing" episode to include ham radio
as a story element, and the first in which Allen's character is seen
operating his ham station.
-- CQ News Service
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 16, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. SHARP 3.1 Successful Mission
RAC congratulates the students, volunteers, and teacher Robert
Streimer VE4SHS, at Shaftsbury High School in Winnipeg for a
successful launch of the Shaftsbury High Altitude Robotics Project.
The SHARP 3.1 helium filled balloon carried an assortment of sensors
plus four cameras to an altitude of 35,727 meters (117,214 feet).
RAC would like to recognize Bill Unger VE3XT for being instrumental
in assisting this event through a $500 community grant from RAC.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
2. OPN Seeks Net Controllers
The Ontario Phone Net is looking for additional net control
operators. The net meets every night, 365 days a year, at 19:00
Eastern Time, on 3745 kHz. If you would like to help out, please
contact Shawn VE3PSV on the Ontario Phone Net, or via NTS message.
-- Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV, acting net manager
3. Submitting Bulletin Items
Amateur Radio groups in Ontario that wish to announce upcoming
events, or report on their activities, are invited to send brief
items to the Official Bulletin Manager email address,
obm (at) ve3rhj.net. Items should be no more than twelve lines long,
and must be received by Wednesday for the next week's bulletin,
-- Brad Rodriguez, VE3RHJ, OBM
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Philippines Emergency Response
In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, ham radio emergency communicators
in the Philippines are handling a large volume of vital message
traffic. The Ham Emergency Radio Operations (HERO) network is active
in the disaster areas and sending messages on 40 meters and 2 meters.
Cellular service is starting to be restored in hard-hit Tacloban, but
ham operations are expected to continue for another week. Outbound
traffic is being carried on 14.277 MHz, and amateurs not involved in
the relief effort should keep that frequency clear.
-- ARRL Web
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 23, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Amateur Radio in Schools Does your school or college have an amateur-radio (ham radio) station, program or special project involving this fascinating hobby? If the answer is YES, Radio Amateurs of Canada would like to hear about it! Contact Vincent Charron, VA3GX/VE2HHH, RAC Director of Communications and Fundraising, via email, communications (at) rac.ca -- RAC Blog ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. IOTA Special Event From December 2 to December 31, special event station VX3X will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Islands on the Air (IOTA). QSL via VE3JO. -- RAC Special Events Database
3. FUNcube-1 Satellite in Orbit A Russian Dnepr rocket carried AMSAT-UK's FUNcube-1 and 18 other satellites to orbit at 0710 UTC on Thursday, November 21. Ground stations began receiving telemetry from FUNcube-1 soon after deployment and the satellite appears to be functioning normally. One of the satellites on the launch, UniSat-5, will deploy the CubeSats PUCP-SAT-1, HumSat-D, estar-2, Icube-1 and the PocketQubes Wren, Eagle-1 (BeakerSat), Eagle-2 ($50Sat), and QB-Scout1. PUCP-SAT-1 will release a further satellite Pocket-PUCP. Additional Amateur Radio satellites on the launch include HinCube, ZAcube-1, First-MOVE, UWE-3, Velox-PII, CubeBug-2, Triton-1, Delfi-n3Xt, and GOMX-1. For a frequency list, see tinyurl.com/nov2013sats. Orbital elements for FUNcube-1 are available at tinyurl.com/funcube1. -- ARRL Web
4. 2013 Field Day Results Posted ARRL has posted the results of the 2013 ARRL Field Day. Less-than-ideal conditions this past June likely accounted for a slight drop in participation from 2012. Nonetheless, there were more than 2500 entries, and more than 35,500 people participated. Download the PDF file at tinyurl.com/fd2013results -- ARRL Web
5. BBC News Highlights Ham Radio The BBC's on-line "News Magazine" has a story about ham radio in the United Kingdom. "The Very Particular World of Amateur Radio" is a three and a half minute video reporting on the recent growth in licensing, and following the operation of the Chorley and District Amateur Radio Society as it took part in the an operating event from Astley Hall in the city of Lancashire. The video and accompanying text story can be found at tinyurl.com/BBC-news-ham-radio. -- Amateur Radio Newsline
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 30, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Affiliated Clubs Deadline Approaching
All current RAC club affiliations expire 31 Dec 2013, and clubs
failing to renew by that date will be removed from the affiliated
clubs list on the RAC Web Site. Affiliation applications must be sent
to the address found on the application form NOT to RAC
Headquarters. Forms can be found at tinyurl.com/m6rflvq (Mike Six
Romeo Foxtrot Lima Victor Quebec).
For clubs participating in the "Club Challenge," the top three clubs
in each category will receive special recognition by RAC in the TCA
magazine and on the RAC web site and will be able to download a
certificate recognizing the club's achievement. For more information
about the Challenge, visit the RAC Blog, blog.rac.ca
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. RAC Officers Elected
At its regular monthly meeting, the Board of Directors representing
the Radio Amateurs of Canada elected the following officers for a
two year term beginning January 1, 2014 and ending December 31, 2015:
Geoff Bawden, VE4BAW - President
Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA - First Vice President
Paul Burggraaf, VO1PRB - Chief Information and Technology Officer
George Gorsline, VE3YV - International Affairs Officer
Doug Mercer, VO1DTM/VO1DM - Chief Field Services Officer
Marcel Mongeon, VA3DDD - Honorary Counsel
Dorothy E. Brown, VA7DBR - Treasurer
Al Masse, VE3CWP - Corporate Secretary
-- Al Masse, VE3CWP, RAC Corporate Secretary
3. Hall of Fame Appointments
The Board of Trustees of the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame is
pleased to appoint Ken Pulfer VE3PU of Ottawa, ON and Earle Smith
VE6NM of Grande Prairie, AB to the Hall of Fame for 2013. Both
appointees are Silent Keys; their families will receive this
posthumous award in early 2014. A summary of their contributions to
amateur radio will be published in "The Canadian Amateur" magazine.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Weekly Solar Forecast
Every Monday, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issues a free
weekly report, "The Preliminary Report and Forecast of Solar
Geophysical Data", called "The Weekly" for short. It summarizes a
week of space weather activity and provides outlooks for solar and
geophysical activity for the next solar rotation -- 27 days. Find it
at www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly [175]
-- ARRL Contest Update
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for December 7, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Maple Leaf Operator Members Newsletter
Beginning in Decembrer, RAC will launch a new electronic newsletter
for its Maple Leaf Operator Membership. This newsletter will be
issued six times per year, in between TCA issues. This is a new
benefit of belonging to the MLOM.
One feature will be MLOM Member's Corner, to share anything deemed
"newsworthy" -- ham related personal story, electronic tidbit, DX
success story, station photos, Silent Key tribute, etc. Any MLOM may
send submissions. The deadlines are the 15th of November, January,
March, May and July and September. For this month, submissions
can be sent in up to December 15th. Member submissions will be
subject to approval prior to publishing.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
2. VX9MRC Special Event
The Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland VX9MRC has been endorsed to
conduct transmissions on 472-479 kHz by Industry Canada for 14 and
15 December to bring attention to the potential new Amateur band and
to the role played by Amateur Radio in emergency communications.
A special message from the mayor will be sent on CW on 478 kHz as a
beacon transmission on these days, said Joe Craig, VO1NA. Those
receiving the message are invited to forward it to their respective
municipal representative.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
3. Canadian National Institute for the Blind
The CNIB has recently confirmed to us that they still have amateur
radio study guide/resources available in various formats for those
who are blind or vision impaired. If you wish to avail yourself of
these services, please contact RAC and we will assist you in
contacting CNIB.
-- Vincent Charron, VA3GX/VE2HHH, RAC Director of Communications and
Fundraising
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
4. Help Wanted: Two ARES District Coordinators
Ontario East Section is looking for two amateurs to serve as ARES
District Emergency Coordinators. The first is for Loyalist District,
which includes a strong ARES group in Frontenac County and two other
groups. Their previous DEC has stepped down.
The second is for Severn District, which includes the strong ARES
group in Peterborough. Severn has not had a DEC for several years,
and effort is needed to cultivate new ARES groups.
As a District Coordinator you will receive my full support,
assistance, and ARES guidance. Interested hams with ARES leadership
experience please email me at VE3IPC (at) rac.ca or telephone
613-679-4472.
-- Michael Hickey, VE3IPC, Ontario East Section Manager
ITEMS OF INTEREST
5. GLETN Time Change
Effective immediately, the Great Lakes Emergency and Traffic Net will
meet 15 minutes earlier than its usual start time. The pre-net will
convene at 7:45 pm and the main net at 8:15 pm, Eastern time. This
is due to band conditions, and will continue until further notice.
GLETN meets 7 days a week on 3.932 MHz. All are welcome.
-- Jack Wiswasser WA8IAL, via Shawn VE3PSV
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for December 14, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. Canada Winter Contest
The RAC Canada Winter Contest will take place from 0000 to 2359 UTC
on December 28. Operate CW and phone on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6
and 2 metres. Stations in Canada send RS(T) and province or
territory; VEØs and stations outside Canada send RS(T) and a serial
number. For complete rules and information see
www.rac.ca/en/rac/programmes/contests/ [85]
-- RAC Web Page
2. RAC letter regarding Medical Devices in 70 cm band
In the Sept/Oct 2013 issue of TCA there was an article entitled:
"Industry Canada Releases a Radio Standard Specification (RSS) for
Medical Devices Operating in the Band 413-457 MHz". In the article,
we mentioned RAC would be responding to IC with a letter of comment.
This letter is now posted for public viewing on the Industry Canada
web site at tinyurl.com/rac70med We encourage members to read it.
-- Norm Rashleigh, VE3LC, RAC Representative the Radio Advisory Board
of Canada
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2014
This year's AMSAT Straight Key Night on OSCAR is being held in memory
of Robert Morris W2LV. All radio amateurs throughout the world are
invited to participate. Simply operate CW through any amateur
satellite from 0001 through 2400 UTC on 1 January 2014, using a
manual, non-electronic key. Note that "bugs" are allowed now.
There is no need to send in a log, but please nominate someone you
worked for Best Fist. Your nominee need not have the best fist of
those you heard, just of those you worked. Send your nomination to
w2rs (at) amsat.org.
-- AMSAT News
4. ARISS Contact
On November 20, a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station contact was made between Salisbury Middle Schools in
Salisbury, New Brunswick, and Astronaut Michael S. Hopkins KF5LJG,
using callsign NA1SS. The contact was telebridged via W6SRJ and
lasted about nine and a half minutes. The ARISS Mentor was VE1WPH.
-- AMSAT News
5. Winlink 2000 Video Presentation
Al Nollmeyer W3YVQ's presentation on using radio-email via Winlink
2000 (WL2K) is now on YouTube, at tinyurl.com/w3yvq-speech. It
describes the use of WL2K as a common interoperable messaging layer
for ARES and NTS leadership and personnel.
This presentation is intended for ARES and NTS leadership, and anyone
else interested in effective public service communications. You are
welcome to share this with your ARES and NTS members provided that it
is not used for any commercial use. The copyright is retained by Al
W3YVQ and the ARRL NTS Winlink Committee.
-- Dave Struebel WB2FTX, via Glenn Killam VE3GNA
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for December 21, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC 0-30 MHz Band Planning Committee
Al Penney, VO1NO has agreed to chair RAC's 0-30 MHz Band Planning
Committee. The previous chair, Jim Fisher, VE1JF has retired but will
continue to serve the BPC for a time. Other continuing committee
members include Scott Wood VE1QD, Mel Martin VE2DC, Don Moman VE6YJ,
and Frank Vanderzande VE7AV.
Al was first licensed in 1977. He has been active on all bands from
160M to microwave, and enjoys DXpeditions for IOTA and VHF/UHF
contests. He is a past president of the VE2CMR Club, Halifax Amateur
Radio Club, Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association in Colorado
Springs, and the West Carleton Amateur Radio Club in Ottawa. He is
currently President of the Greenwood Amateur Radio Club in Nova
Scotia.
-- RAC Bulletin Service
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. December Newsletters
The December 2013 issue of QNI, the independent newsletter of the
National Traffic System, is now available online in PDF format, at
ve3gna.wordpress.com.
The December issue of SatMagazine is now online and can be downloaded
in PDF format at www.satmagazine.com/download.php [182].
The European Radio Amateurs' Organization Winter Newsletter is now
online, and can be downloaded at www.eurobureauqsl.org/newsletter [183]
This newsletter comes out quarterly, and can be read either in PDF
or as a web page.
-- Glenn Killam VE3GNA, and AMSAT News
3. Voice of Russia ending shortwave broadcasts
Voice of Russia (VOR), the former Radio Moscow during the USSR era,
will cease shortwave broadcasts as of January 1, 2014.
Voice of Russia currently broadcasts to 160 countries in 38 languages
for 151 hours per day on short and medium waves, on FM, via
satellite, and via the Internet. Earlier this year shortwave
transmissions were cut to 26 hours a day in all languages, down from
more than 50 hours a day in 2012.
-- ARRL Web
4. ARRL Offers Free QST Articles
Beginning December 2, a selected article from each issue of QST will
be made available to non-members and non-hams on the Web at
www.arrl.org/this-month-in-qst [184]. The open-access articles will be
posted for downloading during the first week of each issue month.
The December article is "Colorado Flooding and Ham Radio: Public
Service at its Finest" by Sean Kutzko, KX9X, ARRL Publication
Relations Manager.
-- ARRL Web
5. Juno hears hams say "HI"
On October 9, NASA's interplanetary Juno spacecraft detected Amateur
Radio signals transmitting "HI" as it looped past Earth for a
gravity-assisted boost on its way to Jupiter. More than a thousand
radio amateurs around the world spread out across 10 meters to
transmit "HI" in very slow speed CW, sending 30 second dits
punctuated by 30 second spaces and 90 seconds between characters.
"The second 'HI' was detected clearly," according to researcher Don
Kirchner, KD0L. The experiment involved 16 identical rounds and ran
a bit longer than 2-1/2 hours. The object of the experiment was to
see if Juno's onboard "Waves" experiment could detect the
collaborative RF.
-- ARRL Web
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for December 28, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS
ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS
1. TPN Net Controllers Needed
The Trans-Provincial Net is seeking net controllers. TPN meets daily
on 7.055 MHz, lower sideband, from 7 am to 5 pm Eastern Time. If you
can help by taking a regular shift, please check into TPN and speak
with a net control station, or contact Shawn VE3PSV via NTS message.
-- Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV
2. OPN Net Controllers Needed
The Ontario Phone Net has an urgent need for net controllers. OPN is
a National Traffic System net, meeting on 3.745 MHz daily at 7 pm
Eastern Time, usually lasting less than 15 minutes. No previous
experience is required. If you can help by taking a single shift per
week, please contact Brad VE3RHJ on the OPN Mondays and Wednesdays,
or via email at ve3rhj (at) rac.ca
-- Brad Rodriguez VE3RHJ, OPN NCS
3. NTS Traffic for Carribean
We now have a viable link to the Carribean for third party traffic.
There is a daily net in operation on 7188 kHz with regular scheduled
liaisons to the region who are anxious to have traffic sent their
way.
Any country in the Caribbean area with which we have a third party
agreement can now receive NTS traffic from North America. This
includes Guyana, and many hurricane-prone areas. Please note that it
is essential that the sender provide a phone number, because many
recipients in the Caribbean have only cell phones, which are not in
the telephone directory.
-- Glenn Killam, VE3GNA
4. New Certified EC
Congratulations are extended to Anzil Rock VE3HDR of London Ontario.
He's Canada's newest Certified Emergency Coordinator (CEC).
-- RAC ARES Twitter Feed
ITEMS OF INTEREST
5. Voice of Russia to Continue Broadcasts
A correction to last week's bulletin: SWL Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL,
contacted VOR, and was informed that "the Voice of Russia will stay
on the air in 2014, however, considerable changes in our frequency
schedule are expected." The schedule through March 2014 can be found
at tinyurl.com/vor-schedule
-- ARRL Web
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[10] http://www.nparc.on.ca/content/bigevent
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[20] http://www.barc.ca
[21] http://www.garec2013.ch
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[23] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1049%23comment-form
[24] http://www.itu.int/pub/R-REG-RR-2012
[25] http://www.arrl.org/fieldday
[26] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1050%23comment-form
[27] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1050%23comment-form
[28] http://www.naqcc.info
[29] http://www.noiseblankers.com/hijinks
[30] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1051%23comment-form
[31] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1051%23comment-form
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[34] http://www.Halifax-arc.org;
[35] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1053%23comment-form
[36] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1053%23comment-form
[37] http://www.ham-ex.ca
[38] http://www.ve2crl.qc.ca
[39] http://www.farweb.org
[40] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1054%23comment-form
[41] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1054%23comment-form
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[43] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1056%23comment-form
[44] mailto:va3nc@rac.ca
[45] http://www.arnewsline.org/yhoty
[46] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1061%23comment-form
[47] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1061%23comment-form
[48] http://www.marc.qc.ca
[49] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1060%23comment-form
[50] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1060%23comment-form
[51] http://www.va3cco.com/oqp
[52] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1059%23comment-form
[53] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1059%23comment-form
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[55] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1067%23comment-form
[56] http://www.va3cta.net/get-a-licence
[57] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1068%23comment-form
[58] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1068%23comment-form
[59] http://www.3830scores.com
[60] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1069%23comment-form
[61] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1069%23comment-form
[62] http://www.opensat.cc
[63] http://www.foxtrot100.info
[64] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1070%23comment-form
[65] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1070%23comment-form
[66] http://www.Halifax-arc.org
[67] http://www.nj2bb.org/museum
[68] http://www.sskeewatin.com
[69] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1071%23comment-form
[70] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1071%23comment-form
[71] http://www.hamfest.on.ca
[72] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1072%23comment-form
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[76] http://www.heathkit.com/survey
[77] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1113%23comment-form
[78] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1113%23comment-form
[79] http://www.iaru.org/news--events.html
[80] http://www.arrl.org/field-day
[81] http://www.makerfairewaterloo.com/
[82] http://www.shortwavearchive.com/
[83] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1112%23comment-form
[84] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1112%23comment-form
[85] http://www.rac.ca/en/rac/programmes/contests/
[86] http://www.youtube.com
[87] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1111%23comment-form
[88] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1111%23comment-form
[89] http://www.voaradiogram.net
[90] http://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world
[91] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1110%23comment-form
[92] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1110%23comment-form
[93] mailto:va3wxa%40gmail.com
[94] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1109%23comment-form
[95] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1109%23comment-form
[96] http://www.casisacademy.org
[97] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1108%23comment-form
[98] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1108%23comment-form
[99] http://www.nparc.on.ca/
[100] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1107%23comment-form
[101] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1107%23comment-form
[102] http://www.cqww.com/rules.htm
[103] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1106%23comment-form
[104] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1106%23comment-form
[105] http://www.illw.net/
[106] http://www.cancun2013.info/
[107] http://www.k9ya.org/
[108] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1105%23comment-form
[109] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1105%23comment-form
[110] http://www.radiosport.ca/zoneprop
[111] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1104%23comment-form
[112] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1104%23comment-form
[113] http://www.hamspots.net
[114] http://www.antiquewireless.org
[115] http://www.mm-open.org
[116] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1103%23comment-form
[117] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1103%23comment-form
[118] http://www.wrtc2014.org
[119] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1102%23comment-form
[120] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1102%23comment-form
[121] http://www.oarc.net/fleamarket
[122] http://www.emcommeast.org/
[123] http://www.miklor.com/
[124] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1118%23comment-form
[125] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1118%23comment-form
[126] http://www.ve3kbr.com
[127] http://www.sudburyamateurradio.com
[128] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1117%23comment-form
[129] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1117%23comment-form
[130] http://www.larc.ca/
[131] http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno
[132] http://www.w0cxx.org/
[133] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1139%23comment-form
[134] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1139%23comment-form
[135] http://www.issfanclub.com
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[137] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1140%23comment-form
[138] http://www.hamiltonarc.ca
[139] http://www.ve3rhe.ca
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[141] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1141%23comment-form
[142] http://www.arrl.org/international-humanitarian-award
[143] http://www.arrl.org/jamboree-on-the-air-jota
[144] http://www.spaceconcordia.ca/
[145] http://www.qscope.org/
[146] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1142%23comment-form
[147] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1142%23comment-form
[148] http://www.ve2clm.ca/
[149] http://www.dxlog.net/
[150] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1143%23comment-form
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[152] http://www.oq4clm.be
[153] http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party
[154] http://www.dspguide.com
[155] http://www.designspark.com
[156] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1144%23comment-form
[157] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1144%23comment-form
[158] http://www.yrarc.org
[159] http://www.solarham.net
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[164] http://www.sstv-handbook.com
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[166] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1154%23comment-form
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[168] http://www.orcadxcc.org/vancouver2014/home.html
[169] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1153%23comment-form
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[175] http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly
[176] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1179%23comment-form
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[182] http://www.satmagazine.com/download.php
[183] http://www.eurobureauqsl.org/newsletter
[184] http://www.arrl.org/this-month-in-qst
[185] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/login?destination=comment/reply/1176%23comment-form
[186] http://www.ve3nbc.ca/user/register?destination=comment/reply/1176%23comment-form