RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for January 3, 2015 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. Canada Day Results Posted Results for the 2014 Canada Day contest are posted on the Radio Amateurs of Canada website at www.rac.ca/en/rac/programmes/contests. Certificates will be sent out via email, so look for them starting in late January. -- ARRL Contest Update 2. New ARRL HF Contesting Guidelines ARRL's Contest Advisory Committee has revised the HF Contesting Guidelines. The revisions address recent technological changes, including remote station operation, and present a current understanding of contesting standards and practices. The goals of the document are to provide guidance and advice, especially for new contesters, and to encourage contest operation that advances the spirit and integrity of radiosport. Find it in HTML and PDF at www.arrl.org/hf-contesting-guidelines -- ARRL Web 3. Nominations Open for ARRL Technical Awards The ARRL also seeks nominations for awards to individual radio amateurs or groups, that recognize educational and technological pursuits in Amateur Radio. The Microwave Development Award is for contributing to the development of the Amateur Radio microwave bands. The Technical Service Award is for providing Amateur Radio technical assistance or training to others. The ARRL Technical Innovation Award is granted for developing and applying new technical ideas or techniques in Amateur Radio. The nomination deadline is March 31. The awards appear to be open to non-ARRL members, but nominations must come from an ARRL member. For more information see www.arrl.org/technical-awards -- ARRL Web 4. Amplitude Demodulating BPSK31 Amplitude demodulation for phase-shift keying? That's what the web site "Analog Zoo" has done, with nothing more than op amps and a 555 timer. It's a clever and instructive low-tech "hack". Find it at tinyurl.com/am-bpsk31 -- via Ham Radio Daily 5. Repeaterbook.com unveils Worldwide Search www.repeaterbook.com, which describes itself as "the best free resource for amateur radio repeater information in the United States, Canada, and Mexico", is expanding to cover the rest of the world. RepeaterBook relies on users to provide up-to-date information, so please check out their listings for the repeaters in your area. -- Southgate Amateur Radio 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.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for January 10, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. New RAC Membership Benefit. RAC is pleased to announce that it has recently reached a deal to provide members with a 10% discount on books available from the Radio Society of Great Britan. Check out the Jan/Feb 2015 issue of The Canadian Amateur (Page 8) for details. ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. 2014 DX SOUND BITES! Tom, K8CX, has done it again. He has provided DXers with 152 memorable rare DX sound clips (in MP3 format) from 2014. Visit Tom's famous "HAM GALLERY" Web site at: http://hamgallery.com/dx2014 While there you can also check out other features on his Web page, such as: 17 years of "Rare DX Sound Clips" of the past, QSL Card Museum, and Dayton Photo Galleries. and speaking of Dayton --- 3. 2015 Dayton Hamvention venue Despite financial struggles dogging the owners of Hara Arena, site of the Dayton Hamvention® since the 1960s, the 2015 Hamvention General Chairman Jim Tiderman, N8IDS, has told ARRL that he expects the world’s largest Amateur Radio show to continue there — this May and in the years ahead. “Both Hamvention and DARA have absolute confidence in the Wampler family’s guiding their corporation through reorganization and have plans in place to keep Hara operating for years to come,” Tiderman said. Last year, Dayton Hamvention attracted nearly 25,000 visitors. 4. Dayton Contest University 2015 Registration is now open for the 2015 Dayton Contest University (CTU). Sessions will take place on Thursday, May 14, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Dayton. 2015 will mark the ninth year in a row that CTU sessions have been held in Dayton, in conjunction with Dayton Hamvention.® More than 3700 students have attended Dayton CTU, and more than 80 instructors have shared their contesting experience and expertise. For more information check out www.contestuniversity.com 5. PAY PHONES MAY DISAPPEAR IN DA BIG APPLE Pay phones on New York City streets would become a remnant of the past under a plan that would replace them with standalone devices offering free Wi-Fi and nationwide phone calls. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio calls the project LinkNYC. He describes it as a plan proposed by the CityBridge group who have been selected to replace the pay phone system. If the plan is approved up to 10,000 devices with touch screens for users to access city agencies would be installed. The devices will also display advertising and announcements. New York City leaders claim that advertising revenue from these devices would bring in $500 million over the next 12 years. The only phones left would be three booth-style pay phones on New York's Upper West Side that would be preserved as pieces of New York City history. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for January 17, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. Jim Dean, VE3IQ passes on... a pillar of the Radio Amateurs of Canada has left this earth. As many of you know, Jim Dean, VE3IQ has been a pillar of RAC for many years and his counsel was sought by a great many in the amateur community both nationally and internationally. Among his many roles he served internationally as our man in Geneva for WRC conferences, domestically as a Canadian Amateur Radio Advisory Board (CARAB) liaison and an advisor to many RAC Presidents including myself. He will be missed. Geoffrey Bawden VE4BAW; President and Chair, RAC ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. Niagara Peninsula Amateur Radio Club's Big Event! When: Saturday, February 7, 2015 Where: Merriton Community Centre 7 Park Ave. St. Catharines, Ontario Times: Open at 7:00 AM for Vendors and to the Public at 9:00 AM. Out-of-the-Cold Reception area is open at 8:15 AM Admission: $7.00 per person - see website for table pricing. Talk-in:VE3NRS 147.240+ Tone 107.2 Hz For more info: http://www.nparc.on.ca/bigevent.php 3. K1N Navassa DXpedition It is looking like K1N will be QRV the first two weeks of February. It has been over 22 years since Navassa was activated and USFWS will not allow another operation for at least 10 more years. Everyone can make the most of this opportunity by LISTENING to the operator's instructions. We will not be working all modes on all bands, but limiting most bands to a specific mode, so that we can work the pileups down to the last caller. For more information see www.navassadx.com 4. Special Event Callsign Active 2015-02-01 to 2015-03-01 CG350F Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Canadian Maple Leaf Flag QSL to: Robert Emerson VE3RHE 5. CQ Combining January/February 2015 Issues, Closing CQ Plus Digital Supplement: CQ magazine today announced that it will be publishing a combined January/February 2015 issue and will be ceasing publication of its "CQ Plus" digital edition supplement as of the March 2015 issue. Both moves are intended to help restore the magazine's normal schedule for its print edition and to strengthen its foundations moving forward. CQ will continue to publish both print and digital editions, but the digital edition will no longer contain the 50-60 additional pages each month that constituted "CQ Plus." Ham radio will remain the magazine's primary focus, as it has been for the past seven decades. CQ is marking its 70th anniversary of publication as of its January/February issue. Subscribers to both the print and digital editions of CQ will have their subscriptions extended by one month due to the combined January/February issue. From CQ Magazine. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for January 24, 2015 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. Special Callsign for February 2015-Feb-04 to 2015-Mar-06 To commemorate the 2015 Canada Winter Games VE3X QSL's to VE3JO (no announcements as yet for operating times) 2. FCC Licenses wideband HF Data Communications experiments in the US The FCC recently granted two companies experimental licenses for data communications at greater bandwidths and data rates than have been used by amateur radio operators in the USA MITRE said it will develop a 100 kHz bandwidth waveform that can achieve approximately 256 kbps with forward error correction (FEC) coding. Read the article at http://www.tvtechnology.com and search for "hf data" 3. Android App shows real time propagation using WSPR network. WSPR World Watch is a free Android app showing real-time HF propagation conditions on a world map. Its available at the google play store. Search for "WSPR World Watch" for pics and more information. 4. ARRL DXCC rules have been amended. The ARRL Board of Directors has tweaked the DX Century Club (DXCC) rules regarding remotely controlled station technology, putting greater ethical responsibility on operators. The modified rules make clear that contacts with legally licensed, land-based, remotely controlled stations count for DXCC, but the control point operator can be anywhere. Transmitter location continues to define the station’s location, and, for DXCC purposes, all transmitters and receivers must be located within a 500 meter diameter circle, excluding antennas. Under the old rules, if either station was operated from a control point in another DXCC entity, the contact did not count for DXCC. The Board further adopted a new rule, puting greater responsibility on individuals applying remote technology ethically and responsibly. -- ARRL 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.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for January 31, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame Nominations Nominations are now being accepted for the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. An appointment as Member of the Hall, is made for outstanding achievement and excellence of the highest degree, for serious and sustained service to Amateur Radio in Canada, or to Amateur Radio at large. RAC Membership is not mandatory for nomination or appointment. All nominations for Member of the Hall must be received at RAC Headquarters by the close of the last business day of September. Late nominations will be considered in the following year. For complete information see http://wp.rac.ca and scroll down to "recent posts" ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. Winter Storm Report Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) teams and SKYWARN weather observers along the US Eastern Seaboard went on alert Monday, January 26, as a winter storm began working its way into the Northeast. Amateur Radio operators across Southern New England checked into SKYWARN Nets, providing situational awareness information for the National Weather Service, and other agencies. Elsewhere, ARES and SKYWARN volunteers relayed ground-level weather conditions to NWS offices as the severe storm continued its northeasterly trek. Ares Groups in Eastern New York stood down at midday on January 27. In Maine, where heavy snowfall and high winds battered eastern and coastal communities, ARES bumped up its alert status to standby. Maine ARES Section activated ARES Weather and SKYWARN Net sessions on HF, but no served agencies requested ARES communication support. For the full write-up see http://www.arrl.org/ and scroll down to the article of Jan 28th. -- ARRL News 3. Changes to ARRL VHF Contesting Rules The ARRL Board adopted changes at its annual meeting January 16-17 2015, to the ARRL VHF/UHF contest rules to encourage greater participation. Rules now permit spotting assistance with no effect on entry category; permit self-spotting for all operator categories; and allow single operators to transmit on more than one band at a time. The changes become effective with the 2015 June ARRL VHF Contest. -- ARRL News 4. Where is that DX? An Azimuthal map customized for your station location is available for download at http://ns6t.net/azimuth/azimuth.html The map has many output options, e.g. save it as the desktop background of your hamshack computer. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for February 7, 2015 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. RADIO SHACK USA - Founded in 1921 is expected to shut its doors soon. Multiple news sources are reporting what many have expected for awhile: that the longtime electronic goods retailer RadioShack, will shut down. Expected to file for bankruptcy, RadioShack is reportedly going to sell half of its 4,000 stores to Sprint, and close the other half. It's actually quite a sad day for the company, which filled a market need for everyone from amateur computer makers to ham radio enthusiasts to audio/visual equipment lovers. - eHam.net News 2. RESCUE RADIO: ARES CALLED OUT IN OHIO PHONE OUTAGE ARES volunteers in northeast Ohio were activated on January 13th. This after 9-1-1 and other telephone services went down in six counties due to a power failure at a major AT&T center in Akron. Amateur Radio tactical communication regarding the status of systems and repairs confirmed what was being reported via The Ohio State Multi-Agency Radio Communication System. The Amateur Radio activation terminated after 4 hours, once the 9-1-1 system was brought back online. --- ARRL News 3. COCOS ISLAND IN FEBRUARY 2015 In DX up front, TI9A will be active from Cocos Island between February 16th and the 23rd, 2015. It has been 6 years since the last TI9 operation, and because of this Cocos Island is ranked 26th on the most wanted DX list. The operators will be using two radios on 80 through 10 meter CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via 3Z9DX as directed by www.nielsen.net/ti9a -- ARRL News 4. U+ LTE Radio Transceiver APP LG UPlus has launched a unique mobile application which can be used as a portable radio transceiver, enabling communication between up to 500 users at the same time across the globe. The company said in areas where LTE networking or wifi is available, users can communicate by simply pushing a button on the app. There are no additional charges for the app, but using the app for 30 minutes a day will result in approximately 430MB of data use a month, according to the company. --- Korea Bizwire This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for February 14, 2015 This is V_3___, Offical Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin. NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO NEWS 1. Burlington ARC Spring Fleamarket When : Saturday February 28th. Sellers 7:00am, Buyers 9:00am Where: Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 70, 828 Legion Road, Burlington, ON Info : Talk in VE3RSB 147.21+ (131.8Hz Tone) General Admission $7.00, Tables $12.00 Webpage:http://www.barc.ca/barc-events/spring-fleamarket/ Contact: springfleamarketchair @ barc.ca Tables: hamfesttables @ barc.ca --- RAC Events ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. The Code: A declassified and unbelievable hostage rescue story. How the Colombian army sent a hidden message in Morse Code to hostages... using a pop song See the article at http://www.theverge.com/ and scroll down to the bottom of the page and use "morse code" in the search box. --- submitted by Brad, VE3RHJ 3. Realtime Band Conditions Website. Bandconditions.com is a new experimental website designed to provide 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, 365 day a year real time band condition information to amateur raido operators. This information is not based on any software predictions or any kind of satellite based readings. Instead it uses a new Ionospheric sounding method called "HF Ionospheric Interferometry" which operates very similarly to the PolSAR system used by NASA. Its in cyberspace atwww.bandconditions.com. --- (OPDX) 4. Motorola up for sale? The last vestige of the Motorola empire is on the block after struggling with stagnant earnings. Motorola Solutions Inc., the $15.6 billion maker of two-way radios and other communications equipment, is exploring a possible sale, according to people familiar with the matter. A sale could mark the final step in the dismantling of Motorola Inc., which was split up four years ago into Motorola Solutions Inc. and a handset (Cellphone) unit, which was purchased by Google Inc. Motorola Solutions is working with financial advisers as it seeks a buyer. A transaction isn’t imminent, though a sale process has been under way for several months. The full article is available athttp://www.bloomberg.com and search for Motorola This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for February 14, 2015 This is V_3___, Offical Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin. NATIONAL NEWS 1. Government of Canada helping amateur radio in Saint Lucia. The Government of Canada will provide a grant of more than $25,000 (CDN) to the Saint Lucia Amateur Radio Club to improve Amateur Radio coverage and communication in the small Caribbean island nation in the event of a disaster. The project will install two repeater systems including solar back-up power, train 90 radio operators, and increase coverage for all of Saint Lucia’s 18 districts. The nearly year-old Saint Lucia Amateur Radio Club secured support for this project through the Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund (CCDRM), part of Canada’s $600 million Caribbean Regional Program. The fund is designed to support Caribbean-based non-governmental organizations working at the community level to reduce risks from natural hazards and climate change. — Thanks to the Canadian High Commission, Bridgetown PROVINCIAL NEWS OTHER NEWS 2. ARRL warns experimental licensee to avoid interference to HF ham activity The ARRL has asked a Massachusetts company that plans to conduct experimental transmissions over wide portions of the HF spectrum either to avoid Amateur Radio allocations or to announce the times and frequencies of their transmissions in advance. As reported a couple weeks ago, The U.S. FCC last fall granted MITRE Corporation of Bedford, Massachusetts, a 2-year license to operate 21 transmitters at 10 fixed New York and Massachusetts sites. MITRE plans to test wideband HF communication techniques on a variety of bands between 2.5 MHz and 16 MHz. The full article is available on the arrl.org website 3. Baofeng handhelds on BBC News A BBC News report on insurgents in Ukraine show them to be using what appears to be Baofeng UV-5R handheld radios. The Baofeng UV-5R is a popular 5W dual band FM amateur radio which costs about $32 US. The extract of the news report on the BBC website which has a clip of the radio at the 01:40 mark can be seen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31491767 The radios are also showing up in several popular TV shows that have aired recently. ---Southgate News 4. NEW RASPBERRY PI 2 CAN REBOOT IF EPOSED TO XENON CAMERA FLASH The latest version of Raspberry Pi's mini computer appears to be camera shy. At least the Raspberry Pi 2 does not like the spurt of high intensity light from Xenon camera flashes and may reboot itself when exposed to it. Raspberry Pi creator Eben Upton termed it an unintentional educational bonus and an interesting demonstration of the photoelectric effect. The reason seems to be that a chip on the board is not light-resistant and the fix appears to be to cover the offending integrated circuit. The company that created the Raspberry Pi2 says that it has received in excess of 300,000 orders for the new $35US device since its launch two weeks ago. More about this story is on the web at tinyurl.com/raspberry-pi-reboot -- Southgate News This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications?
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for February 28, 2015 This is V_3___, Offical Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin. NATIONAL NEWS PROVINCIAL NEWS 1. Are you prepared for the next winter storm? visit the E.M.O. website and take a 10 question quiz to determine your knowledge of what to do in an emergency. You can find it at: http://beprepared.emergencymanagementontario.ca/epquiz/ Other areas of the site will help you build an emergency kit to help keep your family safe when disaster strikes. OTHER NEWS 2. DX UP FRONT: VK0EK HEARD ISLAND DXPEDITION With the K1N Navassa Island operation now over, Heard Island appears to be the next up as far as top 10 Most Wanted entities in the DXCC Program's list. Based on this need, the next Heard Island Operation is tentatively scheduled for the 2015 southern hemisphere summer. The planned expedition will operate from about November 22nd to December 8th. The callsign to be used will be VK0EK. Heard Island was last activated eighteen years ago back in 1997. From Amateur Radio Newsline 3. No One in the Shack as Station Logs 4200+ Contacts in ARRL DX CW Contest A group of six operators operating as K3TN in the ARRL DX CW Contest may have made Amateur Radio history by operating the first completely remote-controlled multioperator contest effort. The K3TN team worked via the Internet through the station of Jack Hammett, K4VV, in Northern Virginia. Three of K4VV’s well-equipped operating positions can be operated via remote control from anywhere in the world. The “Team K4VV” contingent made 4224 contacts and logged 556 multipliers for a claimed score of more than 7 million points. Not a Top 10 score but respectable. For comparison, the top-scoring multi-multi station, K3LR, has claimed 18.85 million points. They are now hoping to gather a team of operators to mount a similar multi-multi effort in the ARRL DX Contest SSB event in March. --- ARRL News 4. German Radio Amateurs Breathe New Life into “Orphaned” Shortwave Channel When 'Deutsche Welle' decided to close down one of their 500 KW short wave broadcast transmitters near Munich at the end of 2012, a group containing some German radio amateurs applied for and were allocated the then available short wave frequency of 6070 KHz. DARC Radio — which has a business association with the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC) but is privately owned — now has a 10 kW broadcast station, built from parts of the 500kW transmitter. Its branded “Channel 292,”, and a new Amateur Radio DX program will debut next month. The DARC is planning a weekly Amateur Radio-oriented magazine of DARC news, contest schedules, DX information, interviews, DXpedition reports, market reviews, technical hints, and “some nice old music from the 70s and 80s.” It will debut on Sunday, March 22, at 1000 UTC. The program will be in German, but the RSGB has expressed interest in contributing English-language program segments. The inaugural show will be repeated on Monday, March 23, at 1600 UTC. Channel 292 was monitored via a web SDR in Toronto, the best time to hear the station is when both ends of the path are in darkness. In North America Canadian broadcaster CFRX occupies 6070 kHz, transmitting at 1 kW and beaming west; Radio Havana also uses the channel. All reception reports to Channel 292 will be answered with a QSL card. Outgoing cards will go out via the DARC QSL bureau. For the full story, see ARRL News. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications?
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for March 7, 2015 This is V_3___, Offical Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin. CANADIAN NEWS ONTARIO NEWS 1. Hamex 2015 is on Saturday March 28 - mark your calendars. Sponsored by: Peel Amateur Radio Club & Mississauga Amateur Radio Club It will be at the Brampton Fairgrounds, 12942 Heart Lake Road, Caledon, Ontario L7C 2J3 Times: Vendors 7:00 am, Exhibits & Demonstrations: 8:00 am, Flea Market: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Cost: $7.00 Talk-in frequency: VE3PRC 146.880 (no tone) or VE3MIS 415.430 (103.5 Hz tone) For more info: www.ham-ex.ca OTHER NEWS 2. HAM RADIO RESPONDS AS TWO CYCLONES HIT AUSTRALIA Amateur Radio volunteers with Australia's Central Queensland Amateur Radio Association called up emergency response nets on both the High Frequency and VHF bands in the wake of category 5 cyclone Marcia that came ashore the weekend of February 20th; generating winds of nearly 150 miles per hour. After making landfall, Marcia left 1,500 homes damaged across Queensland state while downing trees and power lines. Upward of 50,000 residents were without electrical power and the cyclone also interrupted normal communications including telephone and wireless mobile service. full report at www.arnewsline.org 3. NOMINATING PERIOD OPEN FOR 2015 YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR AWARD Amateur Radio Newsline is seeking nominations for its 2015 Young Ham of the Year Award. A nominee must be 19 years or younger, reside in the US or Canada, hold a valid Amateur License and have used amateur radio in some way that has benefited his or her community or encouraged technological development directly or indirectly related to communications. The deadline for submitting an application is May 30th 2015. For more info, or to download an application form see: www.arnewsline.org/yhoty/ 4. VOA RADIOGRAM HAS BROADCAST ITS 100TH PROGRAM VOA Radiogram is an experimental Voice of America program on which digital text modes familiar to amateur radio are transmitted on a 50-year-old analog AM shortwave broadcast transmitter in North Carolina. The half-hour show is on the air four times each weekend. In the first weeks, digital modes were tested side by side, using the various flavors of BPSK, QPSK, MT63, Olivia, and Thor. Reports were received from shortwave listeners and amateurs throughout Europe, North and Latin America, Asia, and New Zealand. MFSK32 worked best on the shortwave broadcast transmitter. It provided the best combination of speed - 120 words per minute and performance under typical shortwave reception conditions. Furthermore, it can transmit images as well as text. It is also received on any radio, including cheap portables with no sideband capability. The results show that digital text via analog transmitter often results in 100 percent copy even in conditions where voice broadcasts are difficult to understand. For more information, visit the website voaradiogram.net. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. RAC Bulletin Outage Attention RAC Members, Our provider at eton.ca that handles RAC bulletins, RARAN, and ARES had its internet service changed on Friday Feb 27, 2015 and all of these applicable mail servers were down for a period of time between 12 noon and 5 PM. This affected RAC bulletins, RARAN, and ARES reflectors and any of the affiliated information pages for those services. However, it did not impact the RAC email alias service. Paul Burggraaf VO1PRB RAC Chief Information and Technology Officer PROVINCIAL NEWS OTHER NEWS 2. MARCONI AND THE POLDHU MARCONI CENTER An article published in "The Register" about inventor Guglielmo Marconi and his Poldhu radio laboratory contains an interview with radio amateur David Barlow, G3PLE. Barlow is an administrator at the Poldhu Marconi Center that these days houses modern radio equipment, which can be used by licensed amateur operators. The complete article can be found by using the search feature at www.theregister.co.uk from southgatearc.org 3. NASA RELEASES SOUNDS OF SPACE RINGTONES NASA has released a set of sound files suitable for use as ringtones or computer notifications. One of them is one of the Morse code "HI" messages picked up from the Juno instrument during the earth flyby in 2013. Other tones include the roar of a space shuttle launch or Neil Armstrong's "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" audio clip. The tones are available in both MP3 as well as M4R format for iPhone users. The MP3's are at tinyurl.com/space-ringtones. The M4R files must be downloaded and imported via iTunes. Item Submitted by KD0L 4. BEARTOOTH ADDS VHF AND UHF COMMUNICATION CAPABILITY TO SMARTPHONES You have all heard of Bluetooth and some of you may be familiar with goTenna. Now a new communications device called Beartooth adds analog VHF and UHF voice and data communications capability to smartphones. Beartooth can operate anywhere in the 137 to 174 MHz and 400 to 470 MHz bands with an ERP of two watts of amplitude or phase modulation - transmitting voice, data and telegraphy. The Beartooth unit is described as a software-defined analog radio receiver and transmitter that interfaces with supported devices and includes a battery to double a smartphone's battery life. Uses include personal, industrial, and public safety communications. Beartooth was introduced at the recent Techcrunch gathering looking at new and future communications devices. More on is at www.beartooth.com. 5. SPACEWEATHER AND RADIO PROPAGATION FORECASTS This web site offers regularly updated reports that are both entertaining and give good clues as to what radio conditions will be like in the short term. check out http://spaceweather.tv submitted by John, VE3EJ This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for March 21, 2015 This is V_3___, Offical Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin. NATIONAL NEWS PROVINCIAL NEWS 1. 18TH Annual Iroquois FleaMarket Sponsor: Iroquois Amateur Radio Club Date: Saturday, April 4, 2015 Times: Vendors 8AM, Public 9AM Cost: Tables $10. Admission Free Location: 1 Dundas Street, Iroquois Ontario, Take Exit 738 on 401 Talk-in frequency: 145.29 (-) For Table rental contact Mike at va3tufham at aol.com -or- Don va3nc at rac.ca. For more info: Don, va3nc at rac.ca 2. Ontario QSO Party on April 18th and 19th Here is a good chance to test your NVIS antenna or portable operation to see if you have Province wide coverage. The 18th running of the OQP is coming up in about a month. This is a "low stress" SSB/CW operating event. The exchange is signal report and location - one of Ontario's 58 multipliers (single tier municipality, county or district). Full details are available at http://www.va3cco.com/oqp/index.htm We would like to have stations "on the air" in all of Ontario's 58 multiplier areas. If you plan to operate, please send your info to oqp at va3cco.com OTHER NEWS 3. SOLAR ACTIVITY: FIRST X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE OF 2015 CAUSES SHORT HF RADIO BLACKOUT According to Space.com, the X-class flare, which is the strongest category possible, peaked at 16:22 GMT Wednesday March 11th, from a sunspot known as Active Region 12297. It registered as an X 2.2 sun storm on the scale. Active Region 12297 had previously fired off a number of medium-strength flares over the preceding few days. The event on March 11th caused at least an hour-long blackout in high-frequency radio communications over wide areas. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured stunning video of this X-class solar flare as it erupted. More details including links to the space.com video and photos are on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/ARNewsline (space.com, ARNewsline) 4 HAM RADIO NEAR SPACE: HABEX-10 TO LAUNCH APRIL 25 The HABEX-10 Mission is scheduled for launch on Saturday April 25th. HABEX is the acronym for High Altitude Balloon Experiment. This flight is part of the Global Space Balloon Challenge for 2015. More information about HABEX and its ties to amateur radio can be found on the web at www.habex.za.net (South African Radio League) 5. How cops are finding "grow ops" with AM radios The original article was posted by Keith Graves on his blog (www.PoliceOne.com). Graves is a police sergeant in the San Francisco area and he describes how police are starting to use AM radios in their vehicles to locate illegal indoor marijuana farms by listening for RFI caused by poorly designed electronic ballasts for high intensity lighting equipment. The full article is is available at www.policeone.com This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for March 28, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. Appointment of RAC C.F.S.O. RAC is pleased to announce that Mr. Bill Boskwick (VE4BOZ/VE4IR) has accepted the position of Chief Field Services Officer (CFSO). This is an executive level position within RAC and reports to the President. One of the significant roles within Field Services is the enabling of amateur emergency communications at the regional level. Emergency disaster response is a provincial/municipal responsibility in Canada. Bill comes to RAC with a significant leadership and communication background in the Canadian Armed Forces. Bill is available at VE4BOZ @ RAC.CA Geoff Bawden, VE4BAW RAC President ONTARIO NEWS OTHER NEWS 2. WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY 2015 Mark down April 18th as the day that radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day. It was on that day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union or IARU was formed in Paris, France. Since its founding, the IARU has worked tirelessly to defend and expand the frequency allocations for Amateur Radio. Today, Amateur Radio has more than 3,000,000 licensed operators scattered around the globe. In helping to keep with the spirit of the event, the IARU is providing a downloadable poster for World Amateur Radio Day 2015. Its in Adobe PDF format at tinyurl.com/ward-poster-2015 3. CYLONE PAM DEVISTATES VANUATU Packing winds of close to 200 miles an hour, Category 5 Cyclone Pam caused severe damage when it hit the Pacific nation of Vanuatu on March 13th, isolating it from the world. As far as we have been able to determine, this was a case where not even amateur radio could fill in the communications gap due to the very few hams living there. The restoration of communications with Vanuatu required first responders from other nations arriving with their own communications gear, primarily satellite telephones. It was only then that the full extent of the devastation that Cyclone Pam caused to Vanuatu was made known to the world. Amateur radio likes to claim that its there when all other means of communications have failed. But in this case, there were simply no hams on Vanuatu to respond. from postings on QRZ.com 4. DX0P - SPRATLY ISLANDS IN APRIL The exact dates are still not known for the D-X-zero-P operation from Pagasa Island taking place sometime in April. Over the past two weeks it was mentioned that the team must leave Manila for Palawan Island on April 13th to recover their stored equipment. The plan was to stay overnight in Palawan and than go the next day to Pagasa. One there, activity is planned for 160 through 10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and JT-65. QSL's are to go via WA6LOS. For the latest information and updates be sure to check facebook.com/DX0P2015. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for April 4, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. 39th Annual Durham Region Hamfest Sponsored by : North Shore Amateur Radio Club and South Pickering Amateur Radio Club When : Saturday, April 18, 2015, Vendors 07:30, Public 09:00 - 13:00 Admission : $7. 12 and under free. Talk-in : VE3SPA 147.375+ (103.5 Tone) Location : Pickering, Ontario : Take Brock Rd Exit, North to Hwy 2, West to Valley Farm Road, Turn south towards Hamfest (Pickering Recreation Centre) Website : http://www.durhamregionhamfest.com or on facebook "Durham Region Hamfest" Tables (pre-registration only) see the website for pricing and for bookings. 2. Canwarn training - for Week of April 19th to 25th April 21 – 9 AM – Windsor – Windsor-Essex Health Unit - 1005 Ouellette, Windsor, Room 1A Boardroom, April 21 – 1 PM – Windsor - Windsor-Essex Health Unit - 1005 Ouellette, Windsor, Room 1A Boardroom, registration for the above two sessions through https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/storm-spotter-training-registration-15848853347 April 21 – 7 PM – Tilbury – Knights of Columbus Hall - 20 Dupuis St, Tilbury April 22 – 7 PM – Sarnia – Sarnia Yacht Club - 1220 Fort St, - RSVP to bhoad@xcelco.on.ca April 23 – 7 PM – London – Fanshawe College - Room T1003, Building T, 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd, free parking in any metered spot after 6 PM Unless specified otherwise, please RSVP to canwarn.ontario @ ec.gc.ca if you plan to attend. ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. BENCHER PRODUCT LINE SOLD TO VIBROPLEX The Bencher amateur radio product lines have been sold to Vibroplex, LLC of Knoxville, Tennessee. This includes Iambic, single lever, Hex and Mercury Paddles, and Hand Keys. Vibroplex says that it will continue to offer Bencher products through existing marketing channels. It has also agreed to honor the manufacturer's warranties of all covered products, and to offer parts and support for these products as well. Vibroplex may be contacted at www.vibroplex.com (Vibroplex news release) 4. NEW HAM-ORIENTED DATA NETWORKING FIRMWARE FOR THE LINKSYS AND UBIQUITI PRODUCTS Broadband-Hamnet has released version 3.1.0 firmware for the Linksys WRT54G and Ubiquiti families of products. This firmware returns to the use of patch updates, while also supporting add-on tools such as HamChat created by Nikolai Ozerov, VE3NKL and a tunneling solution optimized by Darryl Quinn, K5DLQ. Many Hams were concerned about future Broadband-Hamnet support of the Linksys units. The core team has listened to these concerns and has decided to continue support of Linksys devices. For more information, see www.Broadband-Hamnet.org 5. IARU EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS GUIDE AVAILABLE ONLINE The International Amateur Radio Union's Administrative Council has approved the publication of an IARU Emergency Telecommunications Guide. This handbook was developed to provide the IARU member societies with materials suitable for training their members to participate in emergency events. It is also designed to guide the individual amateur to enhance their ability to participate in these events or to simply have a better understanding of the process. The publication can also be used in to train radio operators in the basic theory and practice of handling emergency communications traffic. You can find it at iaru.org/emergency-telecommunications-guide.html. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for April 11, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. Ontario North Section, new ARES appointments. Due to family commitments Dave Hayes VE3JX has retired as SEC effective April 1st. Thanks Dave for your years of support to the ARES program. Stiig Larsen, VE3LBX has been appointed to the SEC position effective April 1st. Jim McLean, VE3LJM has been appointed to the DEC position for Killarney District. Al Boyd VE3AJB, SM Ontario North 2. Canwarn training - Week of April 26th to May 2nd. April 29 – 1 PM – Central Huron/Blyth – Emergency Services Training Centre, 40193 Blyth Road April 29 – 7 PM – Goderich – Town of Goderich Council Chambers, 57 West St May 2 – 9 AM – Toronto – Environment Canada Headquarters, 4905 Dufferin St please RSVP to canwarn.ontario @ ec.gc.ca if you plan to attend these sessions. 3. Indoor / outdoor HAM RADIO Swapfest Sponsor: Barrie Amateur Radio Club and the Junk in the Trunk Event Newmarket Date/Time: May 2nd - 07:30 to 11:30 AM Closest town: South / West end of Barrie, Ontario Location: Grenfell Community Centre / Arena - 1989 Sunnidale Road, Grenfel, ON L0L 1Y0 Take Highway 400 to Dunlop Road West (Hwy 90), Head 5km west on Dunlop Road West to Pinegrove Road, turn right proceed north 1 km to Sunnidale Road. Turn Right, proceed 500m. Grenfell Community centre is on your right. Vendors/tailgators $7.00 - Set up inside or out !! - Bring a table for your set up. Rain or Shine. Cost: General Admission FREE !! ! ! Talk-in frequency: Talk In - 147.000 + Tone 156.7 Coffee and snacks available. For more info: Mike VE3MKX - mkx@bell.net Webpage: http://www.barriearc.com/ 4. Ontario QSO Party next weekend. Please don't forget to operate in the Ontario QSO Party next weekend on Saturday April 18 from 1800Z to 0500Z April 19, and 1200Z to 1800Z on April 19. See how many of the 58 Ontario areas you can work on ssb and cw. Your exchange is a signal report and your county, district or single tier municipality. Full details are at http://www.va3cco.com/oqp/index.html ITEMS OF INTEREST 5. DIGITAL VOICE - WHICH WAY TO GO If your club is thinking of replacing its current repeater with a new Digital Voice system but don't know what the right choice is, help has arrived in the form of a new video release from HamRadioNow.TV. The VHF/UHF DV System Comparison is the story of a group of Digital Voice enthusiasts in Charlotte, North Carolina, who have repeaters for every digital voice system available except P-25. They have D-STAR, DMR/ MotoTRBO and even a new Yaesu System Fusion machine. So they're in a pretty good position to evaluate the various technologies. In episode 195 of HamRadioNow, Roland Kraatz, W9HPX gives a simple to understand talk at the Charlotte Hamfest, comparing all three. The hour long presentation is at tinyurl.com/hrn-on-dv (ARNewsline, HRN) 6. South African ISP commercial This internet provider commercial (1:15) is worth a watch, it should have been a ham radio commercial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxU1ZhINaHk (or search youtube for MTN Internet 'Space') This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control. <?pre>
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for April 18, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. Incident Command System Training ARES under direction from their respective SMs, offers support to municipalities across Canada in providing a back-up communications capability for the municipal emergency management team. Some of these municipalities or served agencies use ICS and where that exists, there could be a request that ARES radio operators be trained at least to the ICS-100 / 200 levels in order to be familiar with its concepts. RAC does not have the resources nor is it structured to offer in-house ICS training. In Ontario, there is online training available at the emergencymanagementontario.ca website for IMS100 which is functionally equivalent to the ICS-100 course mentioned above. ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Canwarn training - Week of May 3rd to May 9th. May 4 – 6 PM – Kingston – City Library ; 935 Gardiners Road May 6 – 6:30 PM – Ottawa – Greenboro Community Centre ; 363 Lorry Greenberg Drive May 7 – 7 PM – Waterloo – Adult Recreation Centre ; 185 King St South May 9 – 9 AM – Hamilton – Nash Auditorium, Wilcox Building, Chedoke Hospital, Sanatorium Road in Hamilton, free parking across from Wilcox building May 9 – 9 AM – Frontenac County – Frontenac County Building ; Frontenac Room, 2069 Battersea Road, Glenburnie please RSVP to canwarn.ontario @ ec.gc.ca if you plan to attend these sessions. ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. SOUTH AFRICA HAMS GAIN FULL KILOWATT PRIVLEGE Hams in South Africa have been granted a transmit power increase to a full kilowatt. For decades the maximum South Africa output power was limited to 400 watts peak envelope. A workgroup was established to campaign for higher power. After negotiating for several years, South African telecommunications authorities were satisfied that the call was well motivated. The updated regulation was then published in the South African Government Gazette and the new 1 kilowatt output power privilege became effective on April 1st. (ZS6FDX) 4. FOUR DAYS IN MAY QRP CONFERENCE IN OHIO Four Days in May is the annual conference of the QRP Amateur Radio Club International that takes place May 14th through the 16th in parallel with the Dayton Hamvention. This gathering is open to everyone and should appeal to anyone interested in home brewed antennas, portable operation, Arduino and more. Seminars begin on Thursday May 14th. Friday May 15th features a late afternoon Build-a-thon this year constructing four pieces of test gear. Saturday May 16th will host the Four Days In May Grand Banquet with awards and prizes being given. Bus service to and from the Hamvention will be available. The venue this year is the in Holiday Inn Fairborn just to the East of Dayton Ohio. Details are on the web at www.qrparci.org/fdim This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for April 25, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. Rideau Lakes Amateur Radio Club's 31st Annual Flea Market When: Saturday, May 9, 2015 - Vendors 07:00, Public 09:00 Where: Smiths Falls, Ontario - Smiths Falls Curling and Squash Club, Old Sly's Road. Cost: $5.00 (includes a door prize ticket), under 16 free. Talk-In VE3RLR on 147.21 MHz+ Description: Our 31st Annual Flea Market includes; -a large number of Commercial and Private Vendors -a Canteen -a Consignment Table -a Test Table Email contact: ve3rlr @ gmail.com Webpage: http://ve3rlr.dyndns.org 2. Canwarn training - Week of May 10th to May 16th. May 12 – 7 PM – Toronto – Environment Canada Headquarters, 4905 Dufferin St May 12 – 6:15 PM – Cornwall – Cornwall Public Library, 45 Second St E May 13 – 7 PM – Dufferin County – Dufferin County Museum 936029 Airport Rd in Mulmur (Highway 89 and Airport Road) May 16 – 9:30 AM – Belleville – Belleville Public Library, 254 Pinnacle Street please rsvp if you plan to attend to canwarn.ontario @ ec.gc.ca ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. GLOBAL AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY CONFERENCE CANCELLED The ARRL reports that the sponsors of the 2015 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Conference or GAREC 2015 have announced that the event has been cancelled due to a lack of interest. GAREC 2015 registrations were too few, and the decision was largely financial. GAREC was set to mark its 10th anniversary this June in Tampere, Finland, where the first GAREC was held. 4. Is your Icom radio genuine? The "3D GENUINE Icom label" is attached to the models listed below. If the label is not attached to the radio when you purchased it, the radio is probably counterfeit. The labels have been attached to radios manufactured after October, 2013. The labels are attached to: IC-V80, IC-U80/L, IC-V82, IC-V88/U88, IC-G80, IC-80FX, IC-2300H, IC-V8000 IC-F1000/F2000, IC-F16/F26, IC-M23/M24. IC-M304, IC-M411/412. More information is available at http://www.icom.co.jp/world/genuine-info/ This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for May 2, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNTIONAL NEWS 1. Nepal earthquake As the time passes the situation in Nepal, hit by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake over the past weekend, seems to be getting worse. Rescue teams are moving away from capital of Kathmandu, to reach devastated villages near the quake's epicenter. There is very limited or no power available, cellular towers are down and cell/satphone recharging is impossible. In spite of the appalling conditions, HAM radio operation is in progress and the Nepalese Government has started issuing HAM licences to visiting HAMs, with callsigns that have the 9N7 prefix. The authorities have asked for radio stations to be set up at different places to cover most of devastated areas. Health and Welfare traffic is using 20m for out of country traffic and vhf frequencies are in use locally. Please keep 14.205 - 14.215 clear for emergency traffic while the operation is ongoing. (various sources) ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Canwarn training - Week of May 17th to May 23th. May 20 – 7 PM – Thornhill – Thornhill Community Centre, 7755 Bayview Ave May 20 – 6:30 PM – Renfrew – Best Western, 760 Gibbons Road May 21 – 7 PM – Peterborough – Peterborough Public Library, 345 Aylmer St. North May 23 – 9 AM – Orillia/Rama – Rama Fire Hall, 7454 Williams Road, just north of Casino Rama May 23 – 9 AM – Greater Sudbury – Lionel E. Lalonde Centre, 239 Montee Principale, Azilda Please RSVP to canwarn.ontario @ ec.gc.ca if you plan to attend these sessions. ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. THREE 2015 DX OPERATIONS APPROVED FOR CREDIT ARRL DX Advisory Committee reports that several 2015 operations have been approved for DXCC credit. These include 3XY5M from Guinea, E30FB from Eritrea and C21EU from Nauru. You can file for DXCC credit for working these operations now. (DXCC) 4. ZL100ANZA COMMEMORATING ANZAC DAY IN NEW ZEALAND New Zealand telecommunications regulator Radio Spectrum Management has given permission for use of the special call ZL100ANZA until May 26th. This to assist hams in New Zealand to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ZL100ANZA will start operations on April 25th at midday New Zealand time and will last of one month. All logs will be on a regular basis posted to both Logbook of the World and Club Log to enable other operators to check their QSOs. QSL via the bureau. - Amateur Radio Newsline 5. NEW ALUMINUM BENDABLE BATTERY Scientists have built a flexible aluminum battery which they say could be a cheap, fast-charging and safe alternative to current designs. The prototype consists of a soft pouch, containing aluminum for one electrode and graphite foam for the other and all surrounded by a special liquid salt. It can recharge in less than a minute and is very safe and durable compared to lithium-ion batteries. The only drawback is that the new design currently only delivers about half the voltage but work is ongoing to improve this. On the plus side and unlike other designs, this battery will not catch fire even if accidentally punctured or drilled through. The work appears in the journal Nature. You can find it at tinyurl.com/aluminum-salt-battery (BBC, Nature.com, Science Today) This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for May 9, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. RAC is pleased to announce that RAC Directors, Executive members and other volunteers will be in Southern Ontario to meet with members and other amateurs. Come and see what your national society is up to and provide your input. The public session is on the evening of May 23rd hosted by the Mississauga and Peel Amateur Radio Clubs. **Time and location to be announced.** Please put a placeholder in your busy schedule to come and attend. Feel free to question and challenge the volunteers of the society that represents amateurs to your regulator and to the world. Thanks to the Mississauga and Peel Amateur Radio Clubs for their support in helping to create an opportunity for amateurs to meet and discuss issues of regional and national importance. Geoff VE4BAW ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Canwarn training - Week of May 24th to May 30th. May 24 – 1 PM – Espanola – Pinewood Inn – 378 Centre St May 25 – 6:30 PM – Sault Ste. Marie – Essar Centre , Angelo Bumbaco Room, 269 Queen St E May 26 – 6:30 PM – Timmins – Timmins Fire Hall, 133 Cedar St South May 27 – 6:30 PM – New Liskeard – College Boreal, 280 Armstrong St N May 28 – 6:30 PM – North Bay – OPP Regional Headquarters - Cathy Burns Training Room - 911A Gormanville Road 3. Ontario is marking the 20th anniversary of Emergency Preparedness Week by officially unveiling the new Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC). The centre co-ordinates the Ontario government's response to major emergencies while also serving as a key resource for municipalities and First Nations that require provincial assistance. Staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with emergency management experts, the new centre features an 82-seat operations room, which includes a 21-metre-wide wall display that gives a real-time view of emerging emergencies. The screens can show up to 20 feeds from data, image, or video sources, such as traffic camera systems, social or broadcast media. This year's theme for the 20th annual Emergency Preparedness Week -- Know the Risks, Reduce them Together, promotes emergency preparedness for those living in multiple unit apartment buildings, condominiums, and seniors residences. Emergency preparedness is especially important for seniors or people with disabilities who might have difficulty coping with power outages, severe weather and other emergencies. Quick Facts •Ontario will use the hashtags #EPweek #ONready to promote preparedness on Twitter and Facebook. •The new Provincial Emergency Operations Centre is located within the Forensic Services and Coroner's Complex in the Downsview area of Toronto. -- EMO website ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. Extra second to be added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) A bulletin advises authorities an extra second will be introduced to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) during the final minute, of the final day of June. That means that right after the clock hits "23h 59m 59s," it will strike "23h 59m 60s" UTC. Another way to think about it: Instead of 86,400 seconds we normally experience in a day, we're getting 86,401. This "leap second" system started in 1972, so our clocks stay in sync with how long it takes the Earth to rotate on its axis. "Leap seconds ensure that, on average, the Sun continues to be overhead on the Greenwich meridian at noon to within about one [second]." IERS already has added 25 leap seconds to Coordinated Universal Time -- most recently in June 2012. Leap seconds can only be added in June and December. -- INTERNATIONAL EARTH ROTATION AND REFERENCE SYSTEMS SERVICE (IERS) This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for May 16, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. HAM RADIO EFFORTS CONTINUE IN WAKE OF NEPAL EARTHQUAKE Ham radio continues to provide service to the people of Nepal in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit last month. A second large quake hit this week in the northern part of Nepal. Operations are taking place on a number of frequencies in the 40, 20 and 15 meter bands with 9N1SP and 9N1AJ providing the Nepal end of the radio link. 9N3AA and 9N1SD have started operating from the hard to reach rural areas of Nepal. Other operators are reported on their way to other devastated regions with some expected to take to the airways by the time you hear this newscast. Also, a repeater donated by the group CAN-USA that had been held up by Nepal's customs is now released and ready for deployment. It will compliment the current 9N1KS 70 centimeter to 2 meter cross-band repeater set up in 2012. Many countries' radio amateurs remain active in the area as Nepal has very few licensed amateur radio operators, which is why hams from other countries have traveled to provide their help. -- Amateur Radio Newsline 2. Location of May 23rd Ontario Section RAC meeting announced. In conjunction with the semi-annual RAC Planning Meeting, the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club and Peel Amateur Radio Club are co-hosting a Public Meeting to give RAC members and interested radio amateurs an opportunity to meet members of the RAC executive and Board and consider RAC's activities and future directions. This open meeting will take place Saturday evening May 23 in the Quality Suites Toronto Airport Hotel from 7pm to 9pm. Those who cannot attend in person can participate in a webcast by registering with the RAC Office at rachq @ rac.ca The next RAC public meeting will be the Annual General Meeting in July at the Saskatchewan Hamfest in Martensville from July 3 to 5, 2015. More information is available at http://wp.rac.ca under the "news" banner. -- Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA - Director, North and East Ontario ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 3. Canwarn training - Week of May 31st to Jun 6th. June 2 – 7 PM – Oakville – 1151 Bronte Road – North Auditorium – due to construction parking will be on the north side of building only. - RSVP to bepreparedhalton@halton.ca ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. Explaining Standing Waves: When K0NR teaches the Technician License Class, he provides a simple explanation of Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) that emphasizes the concept of impedance matching. HamRadioNow just republished this video of an excellent standing wave demonstration by Bill Hays, AE4QL. Bill actually goes well beyond just standing waves and shows some antenna and transmission line theory as well. The first 35 minutes of the video explain standing waves. Posted by K0NR - follow the link at http://www.k0nr.com or Full link: http://www.k0nr.com/wordpress/2015/04/explaining-standing-waves/ This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for May 23, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin INTERNATIONAL/NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. Canwarn training - Week of Jun 7th to Jun 13th. No Training this week 2. Fleamarket: Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo ARC's Date: Sunday, June 7, 2015 Loc'n: Waterloo Regional Police Association Recreation Centre (Near Cambridge, ON) Beside Hwy 401, between Exit 275 (Homer Watson Dr) and Exit 268 (Cedar Creek Rd) We recommend you use Exit 268 (Cedar Creek Rd) and watch for the signs. Time: Vendors 7am, Tailgaters 8am, Public 9am to 12 noon Admission $7 (under 12 free) Talk-in frequency: Talk In: VE3KSR repeater on 146.970 (CTCSS 131.8) and 146.520 Simplex Description: 41 years and still going strong, Indoor tables and tailgating; major vendors; free prize draws, tasty refreshments. Easy parking. For more info contact: info@hamfest.on.ca Webpage: http://www.hamfest.on.ca ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Short History of Radio Shack (as the bankruptcy proceeds). The company was formed in 1921 by brothers Milton and Theodore Deutchmann, to supply marine radio equipment, hence its name. From supplying maritime installations, it grew to include a mail order business for hobbyists after World War II. In 1951 they started manufacturing audio equipment under their brand name "Realistic." In 1962, Charles Tandy purchased the company and rescued it from its creditors. For the complete article see: http://wshu.org/post/farewell-old-friend 4. WX4NHC to conduct annual station test Amateur Radio station WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center in Miami will conduct its annual station test on May 30, 1400 until 2200 UTC. They will try to use the Hurricane Watch Net frequency 14.325 MHz, but could be on any nearby frequency. Look for spots on your local cluster. The purpose of this event is to test Amateur Radio station equipment, antennas, and computers in advance of the 2015 hurricane season, which starts June 1 and runs through November 30. --- ARRL News 5. Northern Ontario Repeater Listings website upgrade. A request for repeater sponsors in Northern Ontario to update their information on the redesigned N.O.R.L. website. Feedback is also requested to improve users' experience. The site is now responsive to mobile devices as well as regular web browsers. it can be found at http://www.ciinet.org/norl --- Paul VA3PC and Kevin VA3KVC. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for May 30, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. ALBERTA ARES REQUESTS NATIONAL USE OF 14.135 and 7.135 and 3.675 Fires in Alberta have resulted in the activation of Emergency Management Alberta and the subsequent activation of amateur radio assets. RAC requests that Canadian and US amateurs honour the request of Alberta ARES that priority be given to Alberta amateurs on 14.135, 7.135 and 3.675 in their support of the Alberta government during the emergency. Bill Boskwick, VE4BOZ (ve4boz @ rac.ca) RAC Chief Field Services Officer -- also see write up on arrl.org website. ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Canwarn training - Week of Jun 14th to Jun 20th. June 15 – 7 PM – Thunder Bay – Lakehead Region Conservation Authority – 130 Conservation Road June 16 – 7 PM – Fort Frances-Emo – Emo-Lavallee Community Centre – 78 Colonization Road, Emo June 17 – 1 PM – Kenora – Red Cross Office – 1008 Ottawa St in Keewatin, RSVP to kenora @ redcross.ca June 17 – 7 PM – Kenora – Red Cross Office – 1008 Ottawa St in Keewatin, RSVP to kenora @ redcross.ca June 18 – 7 PM – Dryden – Dryden Fire Services Training Room – 189 Colonization Ave S Unless otherwise indicated, please RSVP to canwarn.ontario @ ec.gc.ca 3. Fleamarket - London Vintage Radio Club Date : Saturday, June 13, 2015 Location: Hammond Manufacturing, 394 Edinburgh Road. Guelph, ON - East side of the parking lot. Times : 7AM for public and vendors alike. Cost : $10.00 for vendors, no charge to public Description: This flea market is an annual club event, held outdoors at Hammond Manufacturing Ltd in Guelph. Bring your own table. You will find antique and vintage radios, ham radio equipment, tubes, radio collectables, parts, magazines and all sorts of radio goodies for sale, trade etc. More info: Visit the club website. Google "London Vintage Radio Club" or "LVRC" Email contact: larry.asp @ sympatico.ca ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. Communications is ham radio group’s specialty The Kingston Whig-Standard reports that if something really bad happens in Frontenac County, there is a small group of volunteers who will try to make sure that at the very least, emergency services can talk to each other With about 22 members, the Frontenac Amateur Radio Group uses some high-tech gear to communicate with an almost century-old short wave radio method. And, in the event of a disaster, the group would be called upon to help co-ordinate relief efforts. Read the full story at http://www.thewhig.com/2015/05/25/communications-is-amateur-radio-groups-specialty Frontenac County Emcomm Group Website: http://fecg.ca/ This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for Jun 06, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. RAC Comments on the ARRL proposed changes to HF Band Plans The ARRL published proposed changes to the U.S. HF band plan for comment in the April edition of QST. The RAC Band Planning Committee reviewed the proposals for potential impacts on Canadian Amateurs. The proposed changes increase the U.S. digital sub-bands by extending frequency limits upwards into segments normally used for phone communications outside the U.S. As Canadian phone operations in the 80m and 40m bands can take place below the current US phone sub-bands, the effect of the proposed changes would be to reduce the space available to Canadian Amateurs. On 40m and 20m, the proposed changes would also negatively impact DX phone operations throughout the Americas. RAC has formally communicated our concerns to ARRL with the request that they include these concerns in their consideration of any changes to the U.S. sub-bands. -- George Gorsline, VE3YV - RAC International Affairs Officer 2. New RAC Site is now operational RAC announces they have officially cut over to the Word Press based Radio Amateurs of Canada website. This site can be accessed via wp.rac.ca or www.rac.ca. The old site is no longer available. The webmasters are still moving content over from the old site as required. If there is a particular article from the old site that you cannot locate please email the webmaster and he will endeavour to port that content over to the new site. In the coming weeks we will be launching further enhancements to the site. -- Paul Burggraaf VO1PRB ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS -- NIL -- ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Some DX to look out for over the next week: Jun 5 to 18th - Maldives - 8Q7CQ Jun 15 to 22nd - Cape Verde Islands - D4C 4. HEX-BEAM® Manufacturer Traffie Technologies Shutting Down Traffie Technologies, the Massachusetts-based family business that has pioneered and manufactured the HEX-BEAM line of compact rotatable wire beams, is closing its doors. The company’s principal, Mike Traffie, N1HXA, has indicated that he is open to having someone else take over the business. The small firm came into being in 1992, and HEX-BEAM antennas have been developed for 40 meters through 2 meters in various monoband and multiband versions. The company’s latest product is the HX5Bi, which covers 10, 12, 15, 17 and 20 meters. -- ARRL 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.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for Jun 13, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. RAC Announces Post Secondary Scholarships. Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) is pleased to announce that in 2015 we will be offering scholarships to young Amateurs who are enrolled in post secondary studies in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs. The deadline for applications is July 31, 2015. In 2014 RAC gave out three Education Scholarships of $500 each. Details on all four categories of scholarships and applications can be found at Scholarships Canada http://www.scholarshipscanada.com Further information is also available on the RAC Website - search for: Grant Information. RAC would also like to thank the Canadian Amateurs whose generous donations over the years enable RAC to assist the leaders of tomorrow. If you are able to help further the work of the RAC Scholarship Program with a charitable donation please contact: -- Bill Unger VE3XT - Scholarship Coordinator, Radio Amateurs of Canada ve3xt @ rac.ca ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Section Manager for Ontario South Announced. Allan Foley, VE3XAL of New Lowell Ontario has accepted his appointment as Radio Amateurs of Canada Section Manager for Ontario South, effective immediately. Al has been an amateur for more than 25 years and has been active and involved in amateur radio community service, and emergency planning. Al has spent many years at various locations throughout Ontario with his work in MNR. Allan lives in New Lowell, with wife Peggy VE3PGY and son Don VE3DZA. RAC welcomes Allan aboard and is confident that he will bring positive things both to his Section and to RAC Field Operations. Allan may be contacted by email or phone 705-424-7424 -- Bill Boskwick (RAC CEC) VE4BOZ, RAC Chief Field Service Officer ve4boz @ rac.ca ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. the Planetary Society is requesting signal reports on their LightSail satellite. http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/2015/20150607-lightsail-deployment-initiatied.html According to their mission control page http://sail.planetary.org/missioncontrol (scroll down to the bottom), the downlink signal is: Frequency: 437.435 MHz Protocol: AX.25 Encoding: FSK Baud: 9600 bps Call sign: KK6HIT and data should be sent to lightsail@planetary.org. -- Brad ve3rhj @ rac.ca ITEM OF INTEREST 4. Citizens Assist Radio Service The Toronto ARES Group has launched a new emergency radio communications program. The goal is to link Amateur Radio Operators to citizens needing help when normal lines of communication are down. The program called Citizen Assist Radio Service uses GMRS radios to communicate using specific channels. Details are outlined on the CA-RADIO web site – https://citizenassistradioservice.wordpress.com/ Until the system is widely established, Amateur Radio Operators are asked to run scheduled field tests in their area followed by citizen involvement. Get the media interested to spread the news. Put a link on the your club web site. -- Joe Cusimano – VE3OV, Net Manager, Toronto ARES Group Ve3ov @ rac.ca 5. Free on-line course on satellite remote sensing There is a new online course on satellite remote sensing made available by the European Space Agency at http://www.futurelearn.com It's called: Observing Climate Change from Space There is no fee - it is free, and it's the state of the art about what satellites do in measuring climate and other factors from space. Lesson 1 started on Monday. So go to http://www.futurelearn.com and look for: Observing Climate Change from Space -- Andy G0SFJ This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for Jun 20, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. RAC Canada Day Contest is Coming! July 1st is Canada Day. Join in our country's birthday celebration by entering our Contest. Rules are found here: http://wp.rac.ca and search for Canada Day Contest. You can also go to our new website and use the drop down menu "Programmes" on the upper left side to go to Contesting Results. The rules and past results as well as other resources will be on that page. --- RAC Events ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Burlington AMateur Radio Club 41st ONTARIO HAMFEST Date : Saturday, July 11, 2015 Location: Milton Agricultural Fairgrounds Times : 07:00 Inside & Commercial Vendors; 08:00 Tailgate Vendors; 09:00 General Admission; Cost : General Admission: $7.00 Talk-in : 146.520 Simplex - Ontario Hamfest Talk-In SPECIAL GUEST - Greg Jurrens (K5GJ) VICE PRESIDENT, SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FlexRadio Systems Courtesy of RadioWorld.ca Vendor costs and regulations, please see the website. For more info: ontariohamfest @ barc.ca Website: http://ontariohamfest.ca --- RAC Events ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. A reminder to use caution when erecting antennas. The sudden passing due to electrocution of a well known member of the amateur radio fraternity, reiterates the need for due diligence when installing or repairing antennas. -- ARRL West Virginia Section Manager Charles Hardy, WV8CH, of Fayetteville, died June 14, apparently as the result of an accidental electrocution while he was working on an antenna at his home. He was 50 and had been a radio amateur since 2008. Hardy was the President of the Plateau Amateur Radio Association (PARA), the Summit Repeater Association, and held many ARRL positions besides Section Manager. Survivors include his wife, Jane, WV8JH. --- Glenn Killam VE3GNA ITEM OF INTEREST 4. Weather Radio Net The Weather Radio Net is back and has been since March 16. The net can be heard on Monday evenings at 1900 hours local on IRLP reflector 9038 and on Echo Link node VE3ZHR 591897, (the Ontario Public Service Reflector). The net's main focus is: Weatheradio Canada&U.S. and other related topics like CANWARN and SKYWARN. the net also promotes the Weather Radio Listeners Newsletter which is published quarterly in: February, May, August and November. If you wish to join the Weather Radio Listeners Newsletter mailing list, please email Gord VA3WXA at wxrnewsletter @ gmail.com - There is also a twitter feed, contact Gord for the details. --- Gord VA3WXA This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for June 27, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. Appointment of new RAC Corporate Secretary - Sukwan Widajat, VA3WID Sukwan Widajat is originally from Indonesia and moved to Canada in 2011. He has been working as a VP of Finance/Corporate Secretary for the past few years of a paper product distribution company in Brampton, ON. Sukwan lives with his wife and three children in Mississauga. He obtained his first amateur radio license in 1998 in Indonesia. He received his Basic with Honours certificate in November 2013, and became a member of RAC and the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club in early 2014. He enjoys RTTY, satellite work and is also a dxer. He holds three call signs; YB0SWI, VA3WID and AB1XM. -- Paul Burggraaf VO1PRB, RAC Chief Information and Technology Officer ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. Ham radio enthusiasts describe hobby Prince Edward Island amateurs Robbie Robertson VY2SS and Bill Glydon VY2LI talk about amateur radio in the Journal Pioneer. They are among 250 licensed amateur operators in Prince Edward Island which Robertson says is a good spot to operate a ham radio. “It has a high iron content. It’s like a big reflective mirror down on the ground for radio signals, and it’s also close to salt water, which seems to add a bit of punch to your signals.” In P.E.I’s iron-rich soil, Robertson’s currently getting by with a 33-foot antenna and 16 radials. Read the full story at http://www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2015-06-19/article-4188599/HAM-enthusiasts-describe-hobby/ 3. Solar storms this week (or what happened to the HF bands?) Geomagnetic storming reached the G4 — severe — level at 0513 UTC on June 23. The storm began a day earlier. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center said more geomagnetic storming, although perhaps not quite as severe, could lie ahead. In a G4 event, electrical power systems can experience “widespread voltage control problems,” possibly tripping some protective systems. For radio amateurs, HF radio propagation can become sporadic, and satellite navigation degraded for hours at a time. Auroral displays may be visible as far south as Alabama and California (approximately 45° latitude). According to the SWPC, the geomagnetic storm began as forecast, quickly ramping up to severe levels. This followed a G4 storm alert on June 22, after the storm slammed into Earth at 1839 UTC. The June 25 prediction is for G1 (minor) to G2 (moderate) geomagnetic activity over the next 24 hours. HF radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes, and aurora may be visible as far south as Idaho and New York. -- SWPC (Space Weather Prediction Center) 4. Work some DX the second weekend of July. IARU HF Contest is on July 11 beginning at 1200Z Saturday, for 24 hours. Its open to all licensed amateurs worldwide. Mixed mode (SSB/CW) The object is to contact as many other amateurs, especially IARU member society HQ stations, using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands. The exchange is a signal report and IARU zone (most of Ontario is zone 4) For full particulars see: http://www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-championship This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for July 4, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS 1. Defense of Amateur Radio Fund Donation. The Defence of Amateur Radio Fund (DARF) is pleased to announce a $10,000 donation from an anonymous ham. The donor noted that he based the amount on the projected costs to support the travel and living expenses of the RAC respresentative for the upcoming World Radio Conference in Geneva in November 2015. International Telecommunications Union World Radio Conferences are held every three or four years. Participation is very expensive, requiring almost a month’s stay in Geneva, one of the world’s most expensive cities. Canada is one of a small number of countries where a radio amateur is part of the official delegation. While Industry Canada (IC) is very supportive of having a RAC representative as part of Canada’s WRC delegation it does not provide any funding. The DARF Trust was established in 1992 to support travel expenses associated with a RAC representative at World Radio Conferences and related preparatory meetings to defend existing bands and work toward new amateur frequency allocations. -- George Gorsline VE3YV, RAC International Affairs Officer ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. 140,000 Thai amateur licenses invalidated The Thai National Broadcasting & Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has invalidated a total of 140,000 amateur radio licences which had been expired for more than two years Prior to the NBTC's action there had been over 248,000 amateur radio licenses in Thailand of which some 247,000 were for the Basic Entry Level licence. A reason for so few upgrading is because of the lack of exam sessions. No exams were held to upgrade to Intermediate between 2004 and 2012. -- http://www.qsl.net/rast/ 3. US NAVY-MARINE CORPS MARS PROGRAM TO END The US Department of Defense is phasing out the US Navy-Marine Corps Military Auxiliary Radio System or MARS program. Its operational mission will transition to the other MARS service branches (Army and Air Force) by the end of September. The Navy-Marine Corps MARS program also supports the US Coast Guard as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the US Department of Homeland Security, and local emergency management agencies. (US NAVY-MARINE CORPS, ARRL) 4. Pattern of Contact Padding Prompts Disqualifications, The CQ World Wide Contest Committee said this week that it plans to review all past contest logs, after its investigation revealed a pattern of routine QSO padding on the part of one top-scoring CQ World Wide Contest operator. This follows in the wake of the disqualifications of some two dozen 2014 CQ WW SSB contest operators in April, and another 30 contestants in the 2014 CQ WW CW event. "Radiosport competition is built on a simple foundation — the expectation that all contacts are made over the air and correctly logged,” the committee said. “Since operations are performed from the privacy of our stations and without supervision, we all trust that everyone is playing by the same rules.” As a result, CQ has disqualified UT5UGR’s entries in which they detected log padding and removed them from the official score database. In addition, any entry into a CQ-sponsored contest until July 2020 in which UT5UGR is the operator or listed as a participant will be reclassified as a check log. The CQ WW Contest Committee has announced that new log checking processes are being developed to improve the detection of log padding. “We intend to test these methods against all submitted logs from 2011-2014. If other entries are found to have added unverifiable QSOs, we will address them on a case by case basis,” CQ said. -- CQ Contest Committee. This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for July 11, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. CANWARN Training Summary for 2015 Geoff Coulson reports "Across the province, just shy of 1500 people came out this year. Of that total, about 500 were first time attendees, so the overall number of spotters in the database now rests at around 6500. Also for those of you interested in learning more about Weatheradio, a CANWARN volunteer of long-standing, Gord Maybee, has been producing a Weatheradio Newsletter for the last little while. If you’d like more information about the newsletter, please feel free to contact Gord at blindgordie@gmail.com Keep your eyes to the sky and feel free to report occurrences of severe storms that you may experience." -- Geoff Coulson, Environment Canada ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. AM transmitters switched off in Germany Radio Magazine reports on the shut down of two German AM broadcast transmitters on July 6. While there is general gnashing of teeth regarding some countries plans (or lack thereof) to shut down their FM networks, there seems to be no equivalent with respect to plans on shutting down AM medium-wave stations. At 2 a.m. local time, July 6, both of the WDR (West German Radio) MW transmitters were turned off for good. Funds thus saved will be re-allocated for DAB+ radio. The transmitters were in Langenberg (720 kHz @ 63 kW) and Bonn (774 kHz @ 5 kW). The programs that had been transmitted via the two AM stations are already available via the internet, over DAB+, satellite radio, and on local cable systems. -- http://www.radiomagonline.com/trends/0004/wdr-will-switch-off-mw-stations-reallocate-funds-for-dab/36701 3. Satellite Made "on the Cheap" Closing in on 2 Years in Orbit and Still Ticking At just a few months shy of turning 2 years old, the Amateur Radio “PocketQube” microsatellite — also known as Eagle 2 (MO-76) — is still operating, although it’s not entirely well either. The satellite, which transmits on 437.505 MHz at a power of 100 mW, may be heard using a handheld transceiver, but it does not include a transponder. The tiny satellite actually was constructed from about $250 worth of parts and measures just 5 × 5 × 7.5 cm and weighs 210 grams. One of the builders said the power situation on board continues to deterioriate, the satellite requires 3300 mV for the transmitter to fire up. “we never really thought it would last this long. We would have been happy if it just worked, and really happy if it lasted a month or two." -— Full story available on ARRL.org in the news section. 4. From the Project Bin (RTTY keyer) .. If you are considering Tinyfsk for FSK transmit with 2Tone decoder, all you need is an Arduino Board, a 2N2222 and 1K resistor to drive the FSK TX port on your transmitter. After you get it working, you might want to put it in a little metal box for RFI protection. For the full article see: http://www.frontiernet.net/~aflowers/tinyfsk/ or google "tinyfsk arduino" This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for July 18, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Dayton Hamvention attendance up this year. The official attendance at the 2015 Dayton Hamvention® was 25,621. That’s an increase from the official count of 24,873 visitors last year. The 2013 attendance was 24,542. Hamvention attendance peaked in 1993 at 33,669, before the 1996 change in date from April to May. While attendance has fluctuated over the years, Hamvention has grown to international proportions, attracting members of the worldwide Amateur Radio community each spring. The sponsoring Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) already has begun counting down the days to the next Hamvention on May 20-22, 2016. — Thanks to Henry Ruminski, W8HJR ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Ontario QSO Party results are now posted on the Contest Club Ontario website. We are happy to report that we received 95 logs. While not record setting, the organizers do appreciate everyone who submitted a log. Having other contests running on the same weekend is a mixed blessing – more activity is always welcome, but can add to a bit of extra QRM. As several folks noted – conditions were less than stellar, but a good time was had by all. You can check out the results at http://www.va3cco.com/oqp -- VA3PC ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. SAQ suffers feed line short circuit and fire. Sweden’s Alexanderson alternator station - SAQ - said this week that a feed-line fire adversely affected the tally of listener reports from the station’s June 28 “Alexanderson Day” transmissions. Lars Kalland, SM6NM, at SAQ said there was a problem with the antenna on the first transmission from the vintage equipment at 0900 UTC. An insulator in the antenna feed system caught fire, during the startup and tuning of the Alexanderson Alternator. As a result, the transmitter was shut down, and no transmission was made at 0900 UTC. Kalland blamed the incident on a short circuit and said the problem was repaired in short order, in time for SAQ to return to the air for its scheduled 1200 UTC transmission. SAQ transmits on 17.2 kHz. The vintage SAQ Alexanderson alternator, dating from the 1920s — essentially an ac alternator run at extremely high speed — can put out 200 kW but typically is operated at less than half that power level. Once providing reliable transatlantic communication, it is now a museum piece and only put on the air on special occasions. The next planned SAQ transmission will take place on Christmas Eve, Dececember 24, 2015. -- ARRL News. 4. VY1AAA Put Northern Territories on the Air for Field Day, Canada Day If you worked VY1AAA in Yukon Territory (Northern Territories Section) during Field Day 2015 or Canada Day, the operator was actually remote. VY1AAA is a club station call sign for the station of J Allen, VY1JA, near Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Gerry Hull, W1VE, was among those operating VY1AAA remotely from the K1B Field Day site of the Contoocook Valley Radio Club (CVRC) in New Hampshire. The operation was part of a project to provide remote control capability for VY1JA, and Hull said the point of the VY1AAA call sign was not to burden Allen with QSL chores. VY1AAA uses Logbook of The World (LoTW) but will have some QSL cards printed too. He added that he’s already received “a ton” of requests as a result of the Field Day and Canada Day operations. Andy McLellan, VE9DX, has been working on getting WSJT, PSK31, and RTTY modes up and running. Hull said he doesn’t think there’s been much digital mode activity from Yukon Territory for some time now. -- For the full article, see the ARRL News at www.arrl.org This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for July 25, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. Acting Section Manager for GTA Section. I would like to confirm that Rick Harrison VA3NV has volunteered to assume the responsibilities as Acting SM for GTA in addition to his position as SEC, until a permanent assignment has been made. -- Bill Boskwick VE4BOZ, CFSO ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. The popular QRZ.com website has been undergoing a major upgrade since last Friday, and things are going a bit more slowly than initially anticipated. QRZ.com Founder and President Fred Lloyd, AA7BQ, said the site’s engineers “have encountered some unforeseen problems.” “What started out as a simple update that went bad is now almost over - We’ve replaced our forums software and are reconfiguring it for use with QRZ. While we realize that many folks have been concerned, we want to express our sincere thanks to those who have been patient and understanding with us as we work overtime to put the system back online.” The outage does not affect call sign lookups, logbook, and other site features. QRZ.com is “looking forward to a shiny new user interface and a bunch of new features for our wildly popular Ham Radio Forums.” -- QRZ.Com 3. IARU Voting to accept additional members. A revote is in the works among International Amateur Radio Union members on whether to admit the Republic of Kosovo's national amateur radio association. A previous membership vote, taken last year, failed narrowly when just 49 ballots were cast in favour before the voting period expired. Additional votes of approval arrived not long after voting had concluded, rendering these votes ineligible for being counted. The Republic of Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, has had a formal amateur radio organization, known by the letters SHRAK, since 2000. In 2008, the government set aside the call prefix of Z6 for the nation's hams. The IARU did vote to admit Burundi, with 67 affirmative votes clinching membership for the African Republic. -- Amateur Radio Newsline. 4. Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields The EC Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) has published their opinion on potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) The report notes: "Overall, the epidemiological studies on RF EMF exposure do not show an increased risk of brain tumours. Furthermore, they do not indicate an increased risk for other cancers of the head and neck region." Read the report at http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/emerging/docs/scenihr_o_041.pdf -- Southgate 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.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for August 01, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Updated RAC Band Plan After a year long review, The RAC Band Planning Committee has released an updated band plan for all LF and HF (0-30 MHz) amateur allocations. This includes the new LF bands at 2200m and 600m, the 60m USB channels, and changes to reflect current best practice on other bands. Special thanks go to Vince d’Eon, VE6LK, for designing the single page graphic. The RAC Band Plan is available for viewing at: http://wp.rac.ca/rac-0-30-mhz-band-plan/ or by navigating through the “How to Start?” tab on the RAC home page. A downloadable PDF file is available by clicking the image. Comments and suggestions are welcome using the comment form http://wp.rac.ca/executives/ and select International Affairs Officer. Comments will be acknowledged and forwarded to the full RAC Band Planning Committee for consideration as future updates. -- George Gorsline VE3YV ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. 7th Annual Junk-in-the-Trunk Event --- FREE Admission ! Date : Saturday, August 22, 2015 Location: Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket Theatre, 505 Pickering Cr. Newmarket, ON Opening times: 07:30 AM until 12 noon Cost: ** Proceeds are donated to the Theatre group ** Buyers - - FREE Admission ! ! ! Sellers - - $5 Per space per car - **** additional spaces $5 Talk-in frequency: 146.520 local repeater is 147.225 For more info: Nick - VE3NJG - nickve3njg@rogers.com Mike VE3MKX - mkx@bell.net Webpage: http://ontarioswapshop.com -- RAC Events Database ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Melbourne party balloon almost circumnavigates the globe three times Andy, VK3YT is a network engineer by day. But in his spare time he delves into "the balloon scene" where he gets to indulge his love of amateur radio. He makes the tiny electronics that accompany the helium-filled party balloon he launched more than 9000 metres into the air. And he's just recorded a record run. A standard silver party balloon he launched on May 23 ended up spending eight weeks travelling the globe at high altitude, clocking up more than 110,800 kilometres, before crashing into the Indian Ocean south of Madagascar on July 18 – falling just short of completing its third circumnavigation of Earth. Carrying a homemade shortwave transmitter, a GPS, solar panel for power and antennae throughout its journey, the balloon known as PS-46 weighed 11 grams. Andy said the west-to-east path taken by the balloon was determined by global wind patterns. Its longevity was helped by good weather and good timing, as the journey missed the summer cyclones in the Pacific. At 9000 metres the temperature hovers between minus 50 and minus 55 degrees and the air is so thin that UV radiation is a serious consideration. The shortwave transmitter he built for the balloon had 25 milliwatts output, and transmitted its location every 30 minutes, with the signal picked up by receivers across the globe. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au and search for "melbourne party balloon" -- Bridie Smith, Science Editor, The Age 4. RFinder is now the official repeater directory of FMRE Mexico. FMRE Mexico will be responsible for maintaining the very latest MX repeater data for RFinder - The World Wide Repeater Directory. RFinder is a steadily growing worldwide repeater directory which has over 50.000 repeaters in over 170 countries. An annual subscription to RFinder provides access to repeater data through its collections of Apps on smartphones, web, RT Systems and CHIRP radio programmers. The RFinder team is proud to add Mexico as our newest member country," says Bob Greenberg, W2CYK, the creator of RFinder. RFinder is also the official repeater directory of RAC. Canadian Hams that purchase RFinder support RAC. -- RAC 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.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for August 08, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. RAC Public Group Followers, "WE HAVE MOVED" Come and visit us at our new Business Page at: https://www.facebook.com/radioamateurscdn In a few days we will be shutting down the RAC Facebook public group to enable us to utilize future integrations and applications that can tie into our main web site. We are also complying with the Facebook regulations as they apply to a business operating Facebook pages. So pop on over...register a "Like" and renew your book marks to our new page at: https://www.facebook.com/radioamateurscdn -- Paul Burggraaf, RAC Chief Information and Technology Officer ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Victoria Haliburton Amateur Radio Association Hamfest Date: Saturday, August 29, 2015 Location: Lindsay, Ontario at the Masonic Temple, 10 Ridout Street Times: Doors open Saturday August 29th, 2015 from 8:00 AM to 11:00AM Vendors: 7:00 AM Set-Up Cost: FREE General Admission! Vendors - see webpage for more information. (http://www.vhara.ca) Vendors are required to supply their own tables and chairs Talk-in frequency: VE3LNZ Repeater 147.195 MHz + Webpage: http://www.vhara.ca -- Len, VE3VSR ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Drone Air Traffic Control? The drones that one day will deliver groceries, toiletries or a box of pizza could swarm haphazardly over cities, occasionally colliding with other drones and careening to the streets below. Or they could form a buzzing symphony as complex and coordinated as a bee colony. The latter vision -- orderly, multitiered highways in the sky -- is what Amazon, Google and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration have in mind as they collaborate to develop an automated air traffic control system for unmanned aircraft. Equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology and sensors that allow them to avoid fellow drones and other objects, the drones could deliver their goods or complete other missions without much human intervention. They would stay below a buffer zone to ensure they don't hit planes and helicopters but could also be programmed to move away if a helicopter arrives. Amazon and Google, along with Verizon and other partners, have been working with NASA for months on developing scenarios for a cloud-based control system that could track drone traffic using cellphone networks, satellites and radar. For the full story see: http://www.mercurynews.com/ and search for "drone traffic control" -- Matt O'Brien. Follow him at Twitter.com/Mattoyeah. 4. Arduino CW Decoder Project Dan Trudgian M0TGN has been blogging recently about his latest project, an Arduino Morse decoder He wanted to create a project that would “inspire” young electronically minded students that might have an interest in radio – (i.e the Morse code) some coding experience and some construction / electronic interest.. He is using a very simple single tone detector interface between his radio and the Arduino microcontroller board. Single tone detector circuits first became popular in the UK around 1980 when they were used for RTTY as well as CW. The circuit Dan is using is based on one published in QST magazine and only needs a few components. Read Dan's blog http://www.m0tgn.com/ -- Follow Dan on Twitter @M0TGN This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for August 15, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's Bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. WWV 25MHz signal restored to its original antenna. Time may seem to stand still – at least for a few moments - at WWV, in Fort Collins, Colorado. The time and frequency standard station is celebrating the completion of its successful first year with a restored vertical dipole, one it had stopped making use of in 1977. Last year, the 25 MHz signal went back to transmitting at the antenna’s original location on an experimental basis. The experiment, it seems, worked just fine. The decision was made to resurrect the older vertical dipole which after restoration now looks just like it looked in 1977. The vertical dipole has a lower angle of radiation and now has a transmitter of its own, radiating 2.5 kilowatts. WWV welcomes signal reports and comments sent to its email address at wwv-at-nist-dot-gov (wwv@nist.gov ). -- ARRL 2. THREE HONORED BY YASME FOUNDATION Three hams have been given the Yasme Excellence Award for what the group’s directors deem a significant contribution to amateur radio – whether operational, technical or organizational. They are: Mike Mertel, K7IR, of Washington State, for his revolutionary invention of a tunable Yagi antenna that was later made available to the amateur radio community under the brand name SteppIR Koos Fockens, PA0KDF, of the Netherlands, for his investigations, measurements and publications regarding noise in the amateur radio bands that played a key role in the global fight against Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) interference James Ying, N2IW, of Rochester, New York, for his creation of an on-line scheduling application that was used by many W1AW/portable operations during the 2014 ARRL Centennial and remains available without charge The award consists of a cash grant and an engraved crystal globe. -- arnewsline.org ONTARIO NEWS 3. Subject: Toronto Star Article on Ham Radio Here is an informative article on amateur radio published by the Toronto Star Newspaper with tie-ins to CANWARN and emergency preparedness. You can check it out at: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/08/02/local-hams-take-to-the-airwaves.html -- Stiig VE3LBX ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. Podcast site authored by Eric 4Z1UG. http://www.qsotoday.com/ There are 53 interviews on the site with interesting radio amateurs. New interviews are added regularly. I find the interviews to be enjoyable. Take a look, maybe you will too. -- Rick ve3mm This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for August 22, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. DIRECTOR ELECTION IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO Two nominations were received for this position. Following a review of the documentation submitted the Committee determined that the nomination papers were complete and in order for Mr. Philip A. McBride, VA3QR/VA3KPJ, and Mr. Igor Slakva, VE3ZF/VA3YDX. The Committee recommended a Ballot by Mail, for Director, Ontario South Region for the completion of the 2014-2015 term. Ballots will be mailed to the applicable postal codes from the RAC Office in the near future. The closing date for the ballot is August 31, 2015 noon time. Please see the ballot information for the bios of the candidates, and take the time to vote. -- Sukwan Widajat VA3WID, RAC Corporate Secretary 2. New Peterborough ARES EC. Congratulations and warm welcome to Jim Bird, VA3CC, as the new Peterborough ARES Group Coordinator (EC). Jim is now retired and has the time, energy and interest in taking the ARES group to the next level. Jim is replacing Terry, VA3MTT who is stepping down due to increased demands related to his work position, but is remaining an active member. I wish to thank Terry for the work he has done for the group and wish him well in his endeavors. I will be glad to provide any support and guidance Jim and his leadership team may need. -- Michael Hickey - Ontario East SM 3. Ottawa Amateur Radio Club, Inc. CARP Fleamarket Date: Saturday, September 12, 2015 Location: Carp Agricultural Fairgrounds, 3832 Carp Road, Ottawa (Carp), Ontario (the W. Erskine Johnson Arena) Times: Commercial Vendor Setup: 7:30 am, Private Vendor Setup: 8 am, Fleamarket Open to Public: 9 am - Noon Cost: $6 General Admission, Talk-in frequency: Talk-in on VE2CRA, 146.94-, 100 Hz The Ottawa region's largest fleamarket and hamfest. Major doorprize draws! Breakfast, coffee, and lunch concession. Volunteer organizations and displays. On-site Amateur Radio licence exams. Get your licence, or upgrade during the hamfest! Webpage: http://www.oarc.net/fleamarket Email contact: fleamarket at oarc.net -- Ed, VE3WGO ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. Mechanical Filters being discontinued by Rockwell Collins For many radio amateurs, it’s the end of an era: Rockwell Collins, which designed and manufactured mechanical filters for more than two generations of hams, will discontinue the filters’ production. The company posted on its website: “Over the past several years, we have seen a dramatic reduction in demand for narrowband analog filters. Due to this and other economic reasons, Filter Products will be discontinuing its mechanical filter products in the near future.” The company acknowledged that the filters have since been eclipsed by digital signal processing, and this was a significant factor in its decision. Highly popular mainstays for many hams, the mechanical filters were valued for being able to achieve bandwidths of between 0.05 percent and 5 percent, with input and output transducers converting the electrical signal to and from mechanical vibrations. Rockwell Collins has not yet announced a date for the final production run. -- AR Newsline (and others) 5. Undergrad radio ham uses Reverse Beacon Network in research project A Virginia Tech undergraduate researcher and radio amateur has used Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) and Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) data to study how solar flares impact HF radio propagation with communication loss related to both flare intensity and distribution. Carson Squibb, KM4MBQ, recently summarized his findings in a poster presentation, “Dayside Ionospheric Response to X-Class Solar Flare Events Observed with Reverse Beacon Network High Frequency Communication Links.” As most HF operators understand, higher-intensity flare events can cause complete signal loss on HF, while weaker flares may only partly inhibit radio propagation. Read the full ARRL story at http://www.arrl.org/news/undergrad-radio-amateur-uses-reverse-beacon-network-in-research-project This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for August 29, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. WRC 2015 5MHz Proposal in Limbo With the deadline to submit proposals to World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) now less than 2 months away, it’s still unclear how at least one agenda item of importance to the Amateur Radio community will fare. That is agenda item 1.4, which calls on the delegates to consider a secondary Amateur Radio allocation at 5 MHz (60 meters). In the US and in most other countries that have privileges there, ham radio has a set of fixed channels at 5 MHz — not necessarily the same from one country to the next, although most are common. For the full story see ARRL Website > News. -- ARRL News ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. London Amateur Radio Club Inc. Fleamarket Date: Sunday, September 20, 2015 Location: HELLENIC COMMUNITY CENTRE. 133 Southdale Rd.W., London, ON Times: 9am - 12pm Cost: Admission- $8 Talk-in: VA3LON, 147.060 PL 114.8 Description: Sale of new and used radios, Free parking, Coffee and muffins for small fee Commercial Dealers and wheelchair access. See website for table pricing details. Email contact: larchamfest@gmail.ca Webpage: http://www.larc.ca -- RAC Events Database ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. IC-7300 HF/50/70MHz Transceiver launched at Tokyo Ham Fair 2015 Icom Inc. had a huge amount of interest at the Tokyo Ham Fair 2015 with the unveiling of the IC-7300 HF/50/70MHz Transceiver. The launch, which caught most people by surprise, saw the manufacturer introduce a new base station transceiver incorporating the latest RF direct sampling system, a first for an Amateur radio transceiver. -- Full story at southgatearc.org 4. Repeaters in Spain now listed in the RFinder Directory Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles (URE) and RFinder are pleased to announce a new partnership agreement effective 20 August, 2015. URE has now joined as the latest federal member society of RFinder. RFinder is a steadily growing worldwide repeater directory which has over 50.000 repeaters in over 170 countries. An annual subscription to RFinder provides access to repeater data through its collections of Apps on Android and iPhone, RadioBuddy on iPhone, web, RT Systems and CHIRP radio programmers. -- Mike Kelly, VE3FFK (RAC HQ) This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for September 05, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Washington State Wildfires News out of Washington State, where the largest wildfires in the state's history have left casualties, consumed more than half a million acres and destroyed at least 200 homes. The fires surrounding the central Washington town of Twisp, where three firefighters died, were considered among the hardest to contain. Police Chief Paul Budrow, KG7PTU explained how a collective of relatively new hams in the police department, working with hams in the community, has allowed residents to help one another by keeping those all-important channels of communication open. He also added that all members of his police department are now licensed amateurs. -- amateur radio newsline article ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. Ham-Cyclist Now in the Maritimes. Cyclist Thomas Andersen, OZ1AA/K9DXX, completed his 6 week ride up the US East Coast on August 29 and now is in the Canadian Maritimes, the 38th country he has visited since beginning his “Cycling the Globe” adventure in Copenhagen 5 years ago. Andersen already has put more than 26,000 miles on his bicycle — more than the distance around the equator. After crossing the border from Maine into New Brunswick, he stopped over at the home of Andy VE9DX, near St John. Once he reaches Newfoundland, Andersen will catch a flight back to Denmark for a 3-month break to visit with his family. Right after Christmas he’ll complete his round-the-world journey in Africa, His idea is eventually to head through Morocco and then to Spain on his way home to Denmark. While he does carry a VHF/UHF FM handheld, Andersen said he really has not used it that much. He said he “definitely” wants to have some sort of HF radio with him as he travels through Africa. -- from arrl newsletter 3. Learning about CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) A CERT educates ordinary citizens about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical procedures. One aspect of this training is communications. Many CERT teams use Family Radio Service (FRS) radios for this. East Lake CERT based in Palm Harbour, FL realized the shortfalls of FRS and began to recruit and train Amateur Radio operators to be their communicators through Amateur Radio licensing classes, mentoring and word of mouth. from an ARES e-newsletter August 19th, forwarded by Dave, VE3JX Note: Ontario at one time had a CERV program (Community Emergency Response Volunteer), but it was cancelled in 2005. 4. HIHI: LOL of the 19th century ? An article by Lauren Collister, an Associate at the University of Pittsburgh, looks at short forms and abbreviations used in the early days of Morse to make messages as concise as possible - a predecessor to today’s SMS textspeak. See her complete article at http://theconversation.com/lol-in-the-age-of-the-telegraph-42578 This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for September 12, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 1. RAC would like to welcome our new Director .. Phil McBride VE3QR "As Director, I intend to use my knowledge of Amateur Radio, business management and corporate governance to serve RAC, and through RAC, the broader Amateur Radio community in Canada, by encouraging not only membership, but participation within the organization. With both small and large wireless communications firms working to acquire vast amounts of RF spectrum, it is vitally important, now more than ever, to have a strong, unified lobby that can sit across the table from our country's wireless regulators and represent the collective interests of the thousands of Amateur Radio operators throughout the country. I look forward to working with all of those currently involved in the management of RAC, and welcome anyone with questions or concerns to contact me via e-mail at va3qr @ rac.ca." -- Phil A. McBride, VA3QR 2. The Hamilton Amateur Radio Club Flea Date: Saturday, October 3, 2015 Location: School Fair Building at the Ancaster Fair Grounds, 630 Trinity Road, Ancaster, L0R 1R0 (south-west corner of highways #52 and #53, just west of Ancaster) General Admission: Doors open at 9:00 a.m. Vendor access : After 7:00 a.m. Cost: General Admission: $7.00 per person Talk-in frequency: Talk-in 146.76 (-) with tone 131.8 VE3NCF Visit the HARC website at: www.hamiltonarc.ca for further info. Email contact: ve3htf @ hamiltonarc.ca ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Chess and Morse code The BBC reports on a case of a chess player who allegedly used Morse code to cheat. Officials believe the 37-year-old was using a camera, hung around his neck, to transmit the game to someone with a chess computer program, who was feeding back moves using Morse code. The 37-year-old player was also "batting his eyelids in the most unnatural way", the referee said. "Then I understood it, He was deciphering signals in Morse code." When the player refused to open his shirt, officials asked him to pass through a metal detector which picked up a pendant hanging underneath his shirt. The pendant contained a tiny video camera connected to a small box under his armpit, officials said. -- Read the BBC story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34184940 4. 156 YEARS AGO, A GEOMAGNETIC MEGA-STORM: On Sept. 2nd, a billion-ton coronal mass ejection (CME) slammed into Earth's magnetic field. Campers in the Rocky Mountains woke up in the middle of the night, thinking that the glow they saw was sunrise. People in Cuba read their morning paper by the red illumination of aurora borealis. Earth was peppered by particles so energetic, they altered the chemistry of polar ice. It really happened -- exactly 156 years ago. Sept. 2, 1859. As the day unfolded, the gathering storm electrified telegraph lines, shocking technicians and setting their telegraph papers on fire. Magnetometers around the world recorded strong disturbances in the planetary magnetic field for more than a week. The cause of all this was an extraordinary solar flare witnessed the day before by British astronomer Richard Carrington. His sighting marked the discovery of solar flares and foreshadowed a new field of study: space weather. According to the National Academy of Sciences, if a similar storm occurred today, it would cause a trillion dollars in damage to society's high-tech infrastructure and require four to ten years of repairs for a complete recovery. In fact, a similar flare did occur just a few years ago. On July 23, 2012, a CME of rare power rocketed away from the sun. The storm was in all respects at least as strong as the 1859 Carrington event. The only difference is, it missed the earth. no harm done. The July 2012 event serves as a reminder, however, that extreme space weather is not a thing of the past. -- spaceweather.com This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or clarifications? Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for September 19, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Russian military in 7 and 14 MHz Ham Radio bands The latest IARU Monitoring System newsletter reports Russian Military traffic in the amateur radio 7 and 14 MHz bands has increased. The Russian Navy has often been active on 14192.0 using mode F1B and the Russian Over The Horizon (OTH) radar in Gorodezh (near Nizhny Novgorod) has been causing strong interference daily. The International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring System (IARUMS) Region 1 August 2015 newsletter can be read at http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/news2015/news1508.pdf [80] Reports of Amateur Band intruders can be logged on the IARU Region 1 Monitoring System Logger at http://peditio.net/intruder/bluechat.cgi -- SouthgateARC News 2. Norway becomes the first Country to shut down FM broadcasting. Norway will shut down FM radio in the country beginning in 2017, Radio.no reports. The Norwegian Ministry of Culture finalized a shift date this week, making it the first country to do away with FM radio entirely. The country plans to transition to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) as a national standard. Read more at theverge.com and search for Norway -- This week in Amateur Radio News ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Dipole and Inverted V Antenna Basics In this Youtube video Dave Tadlock KG0ZZ explains how dipole and inverted V antennas work and how to build an hf antenna. It includes tips for construction, mounting and tuning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyOWRTWdDKM or search youtube for "KG0ZZ dipole basics" -- SouthgateARC News 4. SolderSmoke ebook free on Amazon The SolderSmoke ebook in kindle format by radio amateur Bill Meara N2CQR/M0HBR is available for free download on Amazon. Bill Meara started out as a normal kid, from a normal American town. But around the age of 12 he got interested in electronics, and he has never been the same. SolderSmoke is no ordinary memoir. It is a technical memoir. Each chapter contains descriptions of Bill’s struggles to understand radio-electronic theory. Why does P=IE? Do holes really flow through transistors? What is a radio wave? How does a frequency mixer produce sum and difference frequencies? If these are the kinds of questions that keep you up at night, this book is for you. Soldersmoke on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/SolderSmoke-Global-Adventures-Wireless-Electronics-ebook/dp/B004V9FIVW/ -- southgateARC 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for September 26, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. WRC-15 and 5 MHz (60m) The S.A.R.L. reports a European Common Proposal (ECP) for an allocation of 100 kHz at 5350-5450 kHz has now been accepted This was a hard fought proposal with 7 abstentions and 5 against. It is now up to the African block to support the agenda item at WRC which starts in Geneva, Switzerland on 2 November. Source: South African Radio League (SARL) http://www.sarl.org.za/ The WRC 2015 Agenda and Relevant Resolutions can be downloaded from http://www.itu.int/go/wrc-15 -- Southgate Amateur Radio News ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 2. Ontario S.E.T. Scheduled for October 7, 2015 The Simulated Emergency Test is a North America-wide exercise in emergency communications, administered by the ARRL and the RAC Emergency Coordinators and Net Managers. Both the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) and the National Traffic System (NTS) are involved. The SET weekend gives communicators the opportunity to focus on the emergency-communications capability within your community, while interacting with NTS nets. RAC administers our Canadian SETs. Among other objectives we aim to strengthen the relationship between ARES and served municipalities and relief agencies. It is vitally important that this be done at the local EC level. for more details see -- http://wp.rac.ca/welcome/simulated-emergency-test/ -- RAC Website ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. South Sandwich/South Georgia DXpedition Dates Announced The Intrepid DX Group has announced its itinerary and operating schedule for its January 2016 South Sandwich/South Georgia VP8SGI/VP8STI DXpedition. South Sandwich Islands is No 3 on ClubLog’s Most Wanted DXCC List; South Georgia is No 8. "We expect to arrive at South Sandwich on January 17, dependent on the weather and sea conditions." The team will spend 10 days on South Sandwich, operating as VP8STI before sailing to South Georgia Island to start operations as VP8SGI about February 1. -— Thanks to the Intrepid DX Group 4. Ham Radio Team Supports Road Race Using High-Speed Mesh Network Radio Amateurs in Utah have made use of a broadband ham radio mesh network to support a public event. A group of ham radio volunteers set up a high-speed broadband ham net mesh network in the rugged mountains of northern Utah to provide communication along the final 30 miles of the September 11-12 Wasatch 100 Mile Mountain Endurance Race. Other hams covered the first 70 miles of the race using more conventional technology, including FM voice and packet. BBHN MESH uses ordinary Wi-Fi technology on Amateur Radio frequencies, which meant the mesh network was able to cover a considerable amount of real estate, even in the challenging mountainous environment. The group employed TeamTalk software for race communications. -- ARRL News Letter 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 03, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Updated ARES training manual available An updated version of the ARES Training manual has now been posted on the RAC website. http://wp.rac.ca/wp-content/uploads/files/ares/ARES%20Complete_manual_revised%20Aug%202015.pdf or search for "ARES manual" on the RAC website. -- Mike Kelly, VE3FFK (RAC HQ) 2. Hurricane Watch Net activated for Hurricane Joaquin. [UPDATED 2015-09-30 @ 1940 UTC] The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has made it official: It’s Hurricane Joaquin, a Category 1 storm. But the NHC said that Joaquin is gaining strength and “could become a major hurricane during the next couple of days.” The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) activated at 1500 UTC September 30 on 14.325 MHz (after nightfall, the net will convene on 7.268 MHz). WX4NHC at the NHC is not active at this time. Please give these two frequencies some consideration over the next few weeks of hurricane season. -- ARRL News ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. CQ World Wide DX Contest Committee Conducting Survey to gather feedback The survey responses will help improve the contest and make important decisions about the rules. Anyone who has participated in the CQ WW DX Contest in the past 3 years is invited to take the survey, which should take about 10 minutes to complete. An invitation with a link to the survey has been sent via e-mail to everyone who submitted a log in the 2014 SSB and CW CQ WW events. Participants should only take the survey once. The deadline to submit surveys is October 10. -- ARRL News 4. LICENSE CHANGES OVERSEAS Changes are coming to two European amateur radio licensing systems. In the UK, starting on Oct. 1, amateur radio license exams will be overseen by the Radio Society of Great Britain, which is picking up the responsibility from the Radio Communications Foundation. Examinations will continue to be available to all, regardless of RSGB membership, and changes will have minimal impact on the conduct of the examinations at local level. In the meantime, the formerly free licenses issued in The Netherlands are now subject to a fee of 31 euros. The Dutch government announced the imposition of the new fee on Budget Day, Sept. 15. The move is being protested by the Dutch radio communications agency, VERON. -- Southgate Amateur Radio 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 10, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Password Reset Issues on the RAC Website We are experiencing issues with the password reset system due to an upgrade in our version of Word Press. If you have issues, please contact the webmaster or RAC Office and you will receive a new temporary password. Please login with the temporary password (Copy and paste) Once logged in scroll to the bottom of the Membership Details page and set your password back to what it was and SAVE. -- Paul Burggraaf, RAC Chief Information and Technology Officer 2. Hamvention “Fully Committed” to Hold 2016 Show at Hara Arena Dayton Hamvention® General Chairman Jim Tiderman, N8IDS, is downplaying talk that Hamvention might move from Hara Arena as early as next year. Tiderman characterized the reports “all speculation and rumor.” “We still keep an open mind to alternate plans, in case they become necessary. All successful businesses need to do that, and Hamvention is no different in that respect.” Last May, the show attracted some 25,000 visitors. Dayton Hamvention 2016 will take place May 20, 21, and 22. Tiderman told the Dayton Daily News that “something catastrophic” would have to happen to cause Hamvention to move from Hara Arena. -- ARRL News ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 3. York Region ARC Hamfest date: Saturday, October 31, 2015 Location: 10801 McCowan Rd, Markham, ON Opening times: Vendors: 0630 - 0830. General public is admitted to the indoor gathering area commencing at 0730. No more braving the elements while waiting for the event to open! Have breakfast on site. Doors open to the vendor areas at 0900. Cost: $7.00 per person and this includes a door prize ticket. Children twelve and under admitted free. Talk-in: VE3YRA 145.350 MHz (-) T: 103.5 Hz OR VE3YRC 147.225 MHz (+) T: 103.5 Hz Email contact: yrarc.hamfest @ gmail.com Webpage: http://yrarc.org -- Geoffrey Smith VA3GS ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. New OSCAR Satellite Status page Thanks to the efforts of Joe KM1P and Peter 2E0SQL, and with the permission of David KD5QGR, we have set up a copy of the OSCAR satellite status page This page will be maintained by multiple volunteers, and we will be able to keep information links current. It will take a few days to populate the database, but please begin using this page as soon as possible. 73, Drew KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations OSCAR Satellite Status Page is at http://www.amsat.org/status -- Southgate Amateur Radio 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 17, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. IARU Administrative Council Stresses Importance of Antenna Systems for Amateur Radio The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Administrative Council has adopted a resolution calling on IARU member societies to encourage governments to recognize the importance of the Amateur Radio Service and of Amateur Radio antennas. The antenna resolution called on member societies “to advocate for planning and development regulations that properly recognize the importance of an Amateur Radio antenna and do not place undue restrictions on the erection of antennas.” It also urged member societies to discourage the imposition of any fees related to ham antennas, “particularly in view of its popularity in the student and senior communities.” -- see the full article at the arrl website news section. 2. RAC announces further Scholarships At a recent Board of Directors meeting the Directors voted in favour of granting a $500 Educational Scholarship to Michael Shamash, VE2MXU. Michael recently graduated from West Island College and has enrolled at Marianopolis College in Westmount, QC in the Honours Health Services Program. After two years at the College, he plans to go into McGill's school of Medicine and obtain an MD degree. RAC is pleased to be able to grant Scholarships to young Canadian Amateurs who are furthering their education. We would also like to thank those who have generously given to this Scholarship Program. Without your continued support this would not be possible. If you are able to help support this worthy endeavour and would consider donating to this program, please contact RAC HQ at racgm @ rac.ca -- Bill Unger VE3XT. Chairman, RAC Scholarship Foundation ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. FlexRadio update (video) from the 2015 Digital Communications Conference FlexRadio's Stephen Hicks N5AC hits EIGHT important topics related to the Flex radios in this talk from the 2015 ARRL and TAPR DCC in Chicago You'll learn some fairly advanced concepts about SDR... and he'll bust a myth that some hams have delighted in propagating. The rest of the DCC episodes will be presented more or less in the order they appeared at the conference, beginning in early November. The content in this program is the property of FlexRadio Systems, and is presented by HamRadioNow with their permission. -- Look on Youtube.com for HamRadioNow episode 220. 4. LICENSE NUMBERS ARE DOWN, DOWN UNDER The number of licensed amateurs in Australia has fallen. According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, there are almost 400 fewer license-holders this year than in 2014. Most of the losses are the result of cancelled call signs and Silent Keys, many of them amateurs who got their licenses following World War II. Even Australia’s most populated states, New South Wales and Victoria, reported a decline in licensed amateurs. -- full article at SouthGate Amateur Radio 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 24, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. From the CQ Newsroom: Attention Contesters: Please protect the Mexican hurricane emergency net frequency of 7060 kHz during the upcoming CQWW SSB DX Contest as potentially catastrophic Hurricane Patricia heads for Mexico's Pacific coast. As of Friday morning, the Category 5 storm had maximum sustained winds of 200 miles per hour (322 km/h).Please avoid 7055-7065 kHz during the contest, to provide a clear frequency for the net on 7060. Thanks and good luck in the contest! 2. VHF frequency 146.52 OK'd for ARRL VHF contests. The ARRL VHF and Above Revitalization Committee has proposed removing the rule prohibiting the use of 146.52 MHz simplex for making contest contacts. The change will go into effect starting on January 1, 2016. The committee felt that permitting the use of 146.52 MHz would allow new/curious contesters possessing only FM-mode radios to stumble upon more contacts, increasing their chances of being drawn further into VHF+ contesting — the primary aim of the Revitalization Committee. Advance notification of the rule change now has been communicated to the full Board, and the change becomes effective starting with the ARRL January VHF Contest. The change also will be incorporated into the ARRL Field Day rules. -- Thanks to Dan Henderson, N1ND, Regulatory Information Manager/Acting Contest Manager ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS 3. DEC Appointment for GTA West Kevin Andrews, VA3KRA, has been appointed as the District Emergency Coordinator for GTA West (Halton and Peel Regions). Kevin has served as the Emergency Coordinator for Burlington ARES for the past 10 years and has a wealth of knowledge related to emergency communications. Congratulations Kevin. -- Rick Harrison, VA3NV, Section Manager - GTA Section ITEMS OF INTEREST 4. REF L’association Réseau des Émetteurs Français partners with RFinder REF France has now joined as the latest Member Society of RFinder. RFinder is the official repeater directory of Radio Amateurs Canada. Canadian Hams that purchase a subscription to RFinder support RAC. Check out RFinder.net for the full list of supported countries. -- RAC HQ. 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 31, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Jim Dean VE3IQ (SK) and Hoppy Hopwood VE7RD appointed to the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame The Board of Trustees is pleased to appoint Jim Dean VE3IQ (SK) of Ottawa, ON and Farrell (Hoppy) Hopwood VE7RD of North Vancouver, BC to the Hall of Fame for 2015. The awards will be presented at local ceremonies in coming months. A summary of their contributions to amateur radio will be published in The Canadian Amateur magazine. -- read more at the RAC website under news. 2. ITU World Radiocommunication Conference gets underway Nov 2, 2015 in Geneva Preparations have been under way since the last WRC wrapped up in 2012. Held every 3 or 4 years, WRCs review, and, if necessary, revise the Radio Regulations — the international treaty governing the use of the radio frequency spectrum. Delegates will consider several items of interest to the Amateur Radio community during the nearly month-long international gathering. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, and several others will be on the IARU team or in other delegations. -- read more at arrl.org website under news. ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. North Country DX Association (NCDXA) Operating Event Operating from several different locations in Alaska, Yukon and Northwest Territories using KL7RST, VY1RST and VE8RST to further promote Amateur Radio up north, this may just be a first for the north - a joint-venture KL7, VY1 and VE8 special event. The object is to work or log (SWL) as many NCDXA “RST” stations as you can from their different locations. Watch for DX spots as we plan to have stations on from Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Anchorage, Fairbanks and many other cities (maybe an Alaskan glacier or two!). QSL manager is K7ICE. SPECIAL EVENT DATE: February 15 (0001Z) through March 27 (2359Z), 2016 -- see qrz.com forums for full details. -- de “Yukon John”, KL7JR 4. Heathkit is back ! Any ham radio operator who’s been active for more than a few years is familiar with Heathkit radios. Heathkit hasn’t been doing much kit building in the last generation or so, but that looks like it’s about to change… The Heathkit president wrote to the Heathkit Insiders group: During the past year: We assembled a team of very talented, hard-working, inventive people. We acquired another company and merged its management, products, assets, and operations gracefully into Heath Company. We ensured we own every last bit of Heathkit intellectual property, unencumbered and in perpetuity. We built a company division and acquired a line of vintage add-on designs to sustain vintage products. We developed and integrated our eBay site, so you can buy or bid on auctioned items. We authored and published an Android software app on Heathkit’s GooglePlay site, with more apps to come. You can see and order the Explorer Jr. at https://shop.heathkit.com/ now., with anticipated shipping time of 30 days. Think about whether there’s anyone who would love one of these kits as a holiday present. And thanks for your loyalty and patience as we brought back to you Heathkit’s incredible legacy of the world’s best kits again. Sincerely, Andy (President) and the team at Heathkit -- Full News release at https://shop.heathkit.com and click on the News tab. 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 07, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. US Government has a plan in case we are hit with catastrophic solar flares We take the nation's power grid for granted. But what would happen if the power went out all over the country, or all over the world? This scenario has resulted in the US Government coming out with a contingency plan if a massive solar flare hits. Most of us are familiar with the devastation caused by hurricanes, earthquakes, and even droughts. But there is one natural phenomenon that could devastate our technology-driven society, and that is space weather. Full article here: http://www.digitaljournal.com/science/white-house-prepares-six-step-plan-for-catastrophic-solar-flares/article/448073 To read the White House plan in its entirety: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/10/28/enhancing-national-preparedness-space-weather-events -- multiple sources 2. ARRL Field Day 2015 Results Now Available: Results of ARRL Field Day 2015 now are available. These include the searchable scores database, the soapbox link, and the QST results article (PDF). A total of 2720 stations submitted entries for the June 27-28 event. While propagation was on the sorry side for Field Day 2015, the number of contacts for this year’s event rose slightly over 2014 — a modest 1.1 percent — and the number of CW contacts account for all of that increase; phone and digital contact numbers dipped slightly in 2015. Nearly 1.3 million contacts were logged during FD 2015. The number of logs received appears to be an all-time ARRL Field Day record. This year saw 35,369 participants, down slightly from 2014. -- arrl news ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Free Frequency Allocations Handbook The National Academies Press have made available the Handbook of Frequency Allocations and Spectrum Protection for Scientific Uses: Second Edition (2015) as a free PDF The 281 page handbook sets forth the principles for the allocation and protection of spectral bands for services using the radio spectrum for scientific research. Download the handbook via http://www.nap.edu/21774 Although it asks for an email address as part of the registration procedure no emails are sent as part of either registration or download procedures. --- southgate amateur radio news 4. Polish Radio Amateur May Be a Step Closer to Activating North Korea Polish radio amateur Dom Grzyb, 3Z9DX, has indicated that he’s moving forward with his plans to operate from North Korea early next year. Earlier this year Grzyb announced that he had secured written permission to operate from North Korea in January or February 2016 and that he would be going to the capital, Pyongyang, for a final meeting to discuss guidelines for the operation. Grzyb now has informed DX News.com that he will head to North Korea in December, radio gear and GP7 vertical antenna in tow, to pin down the details of his ham radio plans. Grzyb is said to have already procured a license to operate as P5/3Z9DX on three bands with 100 W. If he succeeds in being allowed to operate from North Korea, the P5/3Z9DX operation would be for 5 days, SSB only, on 20, 15, and 10 meters from a secured location with 24/7 government supervision. He has said he plans to concentrate on 20 meters. The Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea remains the most-wanted and elusive DXCC entity on the globe. -- Thanks to DX News.com 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 14, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Fragile Agreement for 5 MHz Amateur Allocation Clears First Hurdles at WRC-15 At WRC-15, in Geneva, consensus continues to shape up around a new 15 kHz-wide global secondary 60 meter Amateur Radio allocation at 5351.5-5366.5 kHz. On November 12, Conference Working Group 4B agreed to the global secondary allocation, with power limits designed to protect primary services from harmful interference. Sub Working Group 4B1, had presented its output document with two options, the other being no change — a position many administrations favored going into the conference. The current compromise making the allocation possible still must clear two more levels at the conference. This won’t happen until next week, and the issue is not final until it does. -- arrl.org/news ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. New symbol graphics at aprs.fi and better support for mobile devices The new aprs.fi symbol set will be soon be published as open source on GitHub, in both vector and raster formats. Other APRS applications may then use them at no cost. The symbol set release even comes with a little piece of javascript which crunches out the 3 PNG files (primary, secondary, overlay characters) at the 4 resolutions in a few seconds. aprs.fi will now work better than before on mobile devices. the signup/login flow and most of the text and data table views were fixed to scale more nicely on small devices, allowing horizontal scrolling of tables. It'll need some more work to make it very nice, but this is a good start. -- aprs.fi news 3. WRC-15 allocates flight tracking spectrum Following the loss of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 in March 2014, WRC-15 has agreed to allocate spectrum for global flight tracking. The frequency band 1087.7-1092.3 MHz – currently being utilized for the transmission of ADS-B signals from aircraft to terrestrial stations within line-of-sight – has also been allocated to the aeronautical mobile-satellite service (Earth-to-space) for reception by space stations of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) emissions from aircraft transmitters. This extends ADS-B signals beyond line-of-sight to facilitate reporting the position of aircraft equipped with ADS-B anywhere in the world, including oceanic, polar and other remote areas. the full story is available at http://newslog.itu.int/archives/1146 -- Southgate Amateur Radio News 4. South African Disaster Exercise. The Hamnet Summer Communications Exercise held in late October in South Africa was such a total disaster – just as everyone had hoped - that it proved to be a total success. Disaster was the whole idea, in fact, since the 60 or so participating hams, working in teams, had committed to operating their field stations in remote locations while living off the grid, as if some cataclysm had struck. All activities, including cooking, lighting and of course, radio communications were done under simulated emergency conditions. But the 16 stations across South Africa, and in Namibia, benefitted from fortunate propagation conditions and the experiment went forward on Oct. 24 and 25 as planned. Plans are under way for next years' exercise. -- SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO LEAGUE, SOUTHGATE radio 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 21, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) approves 60m band. WRC 2015 has approved an allocation of 5351.5-5366.5 kHz to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis with a power limit of 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP). The November 18 decision on Agenda Item 1.4 was adopted on two back-to-back readings. The Amateur Service has obtained its first new global HF allocation since 1979. The new band will not become available in each member country until it adopts the Acts of the Conference and establishes operating rules. Until then, existing rules remain in place. The IARU team continues to monitor several other WRC-15 items that appear to be headed toward acceptable conclusions. WRC-15 continues through the signing of the Final Acts on November 27. -- arrl news. ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 2. Fox-1A (AO-85) has been formally commissioned and turned over to AMSAT Operations. The Fox-1 Project is a series of CubeSats. A total of five will be built and flown. Launches already have been scheduled for three more, and a new NASA CubeSat Launch proposal will be submitted for the fifth launch. The Fox Team notes that an apparent lack of receiver sensitivity and difficulty in turning or holding on the repeater with the 67 Hz CTCSS tone are probably the most notable observations about AO-85. The November/December edition of AMSAT Journal will include full details on these technical issues. AMSAT has provided guidelines for using AO-85 - see their website for details. — Thanks to AMSAT News Service via Jerry Buxton, N0JY 3. The DX Magazine Ends its Annual “Most Wanted” Survey The DX Magazine will no longer solicit input or publish its traditional, annual “Most Wanted” DXCC survey. The last survey was conducted in the fall of 2014. The list typically has appeared in the newsletter’s January/February issue. The DX Magazine’s editor, said the ClubLog website survey and “Most Wanted DXCC List” closely paralleled his publication’s survey and feels that should suffice going forward. — Thanks to The Daily DX 4. Radio Waves Magazine available for download The PDF of the Fall 2015 issue of the Radio Waves Magazine is now available for free download Radio Waves is published by ARRL Education Services. Download the Fall 2015 issue from http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Radio%20Waves%20Newsletter/Fall%202015%20Radio%20Waves.pdf Download previous issues from http://www.arrl.org/radio-waves -- Southgate Amateur Radio 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for November 28, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. Amateur Radio Certificate Center e-mail change: Please note that effective immediately, the Amateur Radio Certificate Service Centre email has been changed to: ic.spectrumamateur-spectreamateur.ic@canada.ca Amy Hoffman Amateur Radio Service Centre Industry Canada 2 Queen Street East, Sault Ste Marie ON P6A 1Y3 , Sault Ste Marie ON P6A 1Y3 Telephone | Téléphone 1-888-780-3333 Facsimile | Télécopieur 705-941-4607 2. Revised RAC 0-30 MHz Band Plan Released The revised RAC 0-30 MHz Band Plan has been released with the effective date of December 1, 2015. This replaces the January 1, 2015 Band Plan version. It incorporates several updates to reflect feedback received on the earlier version. The Band Plan graphics have also been changed to improve readability and make it easier to determine which segments are recommended for which modes, especially for those who are colour-blind. The updated Band Plan is available on the RAC web site: wp.rac.ca/rac-0-30-mhz-band-plan or by navigating through the “How to Start?” tab on the RAC home page. A downloadable PDF file is available by clicking the image. The French version may be found at wp.rac.ca/qc/rac-du-plan-de-bande-0-30-mhz The RAC 0-30 MHz Band Plan is a living document. Comments and suggestions are welcome. George Gorsline VE3YV International Affairs Officer ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Ham Radio Deluxe Version 6.3.448 Released: HRD Software, LLC announces the release of Version 6.3.0.448. This release includes new enhancements and maintenance updates. Everyone that has purchased HRD since February 2012 will get the fixes at no charge. The HRD staff continue to work on new features and fixes and is doing more frequent releases. -- Ham Radio Deluxe.com 4. Martti Laine, OH2BH, Article on Working DX Pileups Now Available An article by legendary DXer and DXpeditioner Martti Laine, OH2BH, on how to work DXpedition pileups is now available. The Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) has published the article, “The DX Chase: It Takes Two to Tango,” in a special edition of the NCDXF Newsletter. The article was written in cooperation with the DX University founded by Wayne Mills, N7NG, and the “original” edition appears on the DX University website. Laine’s “original” article mentions the recent VK9WA Willis Island DXpedition, which he has called a “very pleasing experience” and “the most balanced and fair” geographically speaking. Mills will write a follow-up article, “The DX Chase: It Takes Two to Tango — Part 2.” — Thanks to NCDXF, DX University, and Martti Laine, OH2BH 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for December 05, 2015 This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada, with this week's bulletin NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. RAC Winter Contest, December 19th, 2015. Mark your calendars for the 24 hour RAC Winter Contest. Its a CW/Phone dual mode contest 160m - 2m (except warc bands). Exchange - Canadian stations send RS(T) and Province or Territory. Other stations send RS(T) and serial number. See The Canadian Amateur magazine Nov/Dec 2015 (page 46) for further information. The RAC website should be updated soon with the 2015 info. -- TCA Magazine 2. WRC-15 Concludes. The WRC-15 (World Radiocommunication Conference 2015) concluded its deliberations by allocating spectrum to mobile broadband, amateur radio service, emergency & disaster relief, search & rescue, earth observation satellites, unmanned aircraft & wireless avionics, flight tracking, maritime communications and road safety. See the full article at http://bit.ly/1NiVrKA ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST 3. Magic Moments By Bruce Murray — VE6BRZ The other day a friend asked what kept me interested in amateur radio. I’m not a contester, I enjoy the occasional rag chew, chase a little DX and have done some community service but why am I still involved in this day of instant communication and the Internet? After much introspection (old guys become good at this) I concluded it was because I enjoyed the “Magic Moments.” I’ll explain by way of example. Assembling my first Heathkit and the smoke stayed in, the lights lit up and it worked. Making my first contact ever, getting APRS or PSK 31 to work or building my first J-pole antenna and finally reaching that repeater. It includes things like helping my son get his own amateur licence or mentoring a new ham and sharing their excitement. These experiences created “Magic Moments” that let me feel I had accomplished something of value and gave me pleasure. see the full article at http://www.sunnysouthnews.com/blog/2015/11/17/magic-moments/ 4. APRS Cave-Link Repeaters Get the Signal Out of Mammoth Cave Imagine that you’re coordinating a large scale search-and-rescue mission in a cave. You need to know where all your groups are, and whether or not they’ve found anything. But how do they all communicate to the command center? You’d guess radio, but you’d guess wrong. Radio doesn’t propagate well at all in a maze of twisty passages; rocks absorb radio waves, especially in the VHF/UHF range that’s best suited for most small radios. Some experiments by groups of amateur radio operators, and cavers, with APRS digipeaters aim to change that. Now, GPS still doesn’t work underground, so the cavers need to bring an accurate map along with them and enter their own location. But even getting important messages (“we found him!”) passed around inside a cave environment is enough of a challenge. For the full story see Hackaday.com 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 Posted by: Paul Caccamo (/pre>
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