Special Prefixes to Celebrate Opening of the New Canadian War Museum and VE Day + 60 (Mar. 31 2005)
The year 2005 has been declared The Year of the Veteran by the Canadian government in recognition and commemoration of the determination, service and sacrifice of Canada's WW II veterans. Canadian radio amateurs are authorized to use the following special event prefixes during the period 1 May to 31 May, 2005 inclusive: CF for VA stations
(Jim Dean, VE3IQ Vice President Regulatory Affairs Radio Amateurs of Canada)
Eleven New Hams Join the Radio Amateur Ranks The 2005 Basic Amateur Radio class conducted by the Halifax Amateur Radio Club has seen eleven of its members successfully pass the 2005 Basic Amateur Radio examination this year. Joining the Halifax Ham community are:
*** Terry makes twelve. Terry contacted the course organizers after the course was well underway and so was too late to register for the 2004/2005 course. However, eager to get his license this year, he bought the Study Guide and did the work on his own, successfully passing the Basic exam this winter. So, a special CONGRATULATIONS to Terry.
When you hear these folks on the air, please congratulates them and involve them in your on-air discussions. We hope that they will all now want to become full members of the Halifax Amateur Radio Club and that they will take an active role in all of our Club's upcoming activities, starting with the Down East Flea Market and Field Day this June. The following will give you a sense of the diverse backgrounds of these individuals and some of the reasons why they got interested in Ham radio. Lorne is a Spectrum Management Officer with Industry Canada, working out of both Sidney and Halifax. Lorne's interest in Amateur Radio was clearly driven by his new job with Industry Canada. Andrew is a computer programmer and he studied digital electronics in collage. Andrew is interested in CW and has written software to assist with learning Morse Code. Wes is an insulator mechanic and a member of the Halifax Ground Search and Rescue Group. Wes became interested in Amateur Radio because so many of the GS&R team members are Hams, and so much of their communication is carried out on the Amateur bands. Jason Humphrey is an electronics technologist working with a company at Shearwater. Jason is also in the military reserves. His interest in public service and communication in general brought him to the course this year. Jason also recently completed his CW exam. Nicole King is the youngest member of the 2005 class. Nicole is in grade eleven and took the course out of interest in Amateur Radio that she has had since childhood. Her dad is Wayne King - VE1NR. Jerry is a freelance journalist and editor. Jerry is also a sailor and was introduced to Amateur Radio when the Canadian Power Squadron Off-shore Sailing class visited the Halifax Amateur Radio Club Station last year to learn about operating marine mobile HF on the Amateur Radio bands. Frank is an avionics technician and was convinced by a friend to get involved in Amateur Radio. It is the communication aspect of the hobby that appeals to Frank. Khaleel works for a local company in the information technology field. Khaleel's interest in public service and making new friends brought him to Amateur Radio. Ken is a retired maintenance engineer, radio operator and radio navigator with thirteen years service in the R.C.N., Air Traffic Control and Marine Communications with the D.O.T. Ken is interested in using Amateur Radio in Search and Rescue and in general communication with other Hams around the world. Ken has also successfully completed his CW course and literally "blew the Examiner out of the water" with the speed that he could send with his 'straight key'. Ralph is an optometrist practising in Dartmouth. A dentist neighbour of Ralph's took the course recently and convinced him to sign up this year. Ralph has had a long-standing interest in Amateur Radio but had never made the time or commitment to get formally involved. Bob is a Canadian Forces Air Navigator and a sailor. Although his technical background is a natural for Amateur Radio, it was his desire to get his sailboat equipped with Amateur Radio HF gear that brought him into the course this year.
SONRA
Born in 1959 - The Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs (SONRA) was formed, from the dissolution of the Newfoundland Radio Club. The main purposes of SONRA are to secure the pleasures and benefits of persons interested in Amateur Radio by furthering co-operation among its members, further the interest of Amateur Radio in the community, and provide services to its membership related to Amateur Radio. Serving Radio Amateurs of Newfoundland & Labrador - For a number of years, SONRA provided services to all the Amateurs of the Province in the form of a VO Callbook, Call-plate administration, VO Newsletter, just to mention a few, but the growth in the Amateur population over the past few years made this task increasingly difficult. The advent of new regional and local clubs around the Island and in Labrador, plus a shift in the Amateur population density from the Avalon Peninsula area to the remainder of the Province, resulted in SONRA being overwhelmed with the expense of providing the services to roughly 1000 Amateurs from the funding base of a membership of roughly 300. A provincial organization starts and falters - As a result, in 1991 the thrust was reinitiated to form a Provincial organization to administer to the entire Amateur population of the Province and in 1994, through the work of Don Wyatt (VO1KX) and Mac Moss (VO1AT), the Provincial organization, VOARA, was formed, taking on many of the provincial responsibilities that had been a part of SONRA's mandate in the past, thus allowing SONRA to be one in a list of many clubs operating to serve its members and general area. Unfortunately, VOARA is no longer actively operating so all provincially-oriented activities, such as the WAVO award, Smallwood Field Day trophy and the provincial call book were returned to SONRA for continued administration. SONRA has continued to operate and holds meetings regularly. The main thrust of the club is in the area of the education of the Amateurs and the operation of those services which have proved to be of great benefit to not only the membership, but to the community as well. Currently, SONRA is involved in many facets of the Amateur Radio service to the local community, as well as Amateurs themselves. SONRA is affiliated with the local Emergency Measures Organization, providing emergency communications when called upon. We are affiliated with Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) and support the Incoming VO Bureau. We operate an HF station from the site where Guglielmo Marconi received the first wireless transatlantic signal in 1901 and operate a multi-function station from another historic site, Admiralty House, which was used during World War II as a major communications post for the North Atlantic. We are the only group officially sanctioned to operate special Marconi events from Signal Hill through our partnership with Parks Canada. SONRA helped make history on June 25th, 1997, as Paul J. Piercey (VO1HE) and Dan Goodwin (VO1MX) assisted Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in making the first amateur radio contact by a reigning British Monarch. The contact was between VO500JC, at Cabot Tower in St. John's, NF and GB500JC in Bristol, UK. Martyn Phillips (G3RFX) responded to Her Majesty on behalf of the people of Bristol and amateurs around the World. SONRA & the Marconi Anniversiary
- December 12, 2001 marked the 100th anniversary of the reception of the
first wireless trans-Atlantic signal by Guglielmo Marconi. Once again,
our club, in co-operation with several levels of government and amateur
groups around the world, provided a showcase event while making the historic
contact with Poldhu at 1600 UTC.
The SONRA WWW page (http://www.sonra.ca)is just another step that takes advantage of all communication methods possible. If you are interested in our organization you can contact us via the following methods: Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs
Five New Fredericton Hams Get Callsigns Congratulations to the following members of the Fredericton Amateur Radio Club who have just received their callsigns: Tony Brayall VE9TB Charles Nickerson VE9CN David Nickerson VE9DCN Jim Ingraham VE9JI Colin Ingalls VE9CJI If you hear any of these fellows on the air please say "Hello" and welcome them into the Ham fraternity. Our Youngest New Ham Congratulations to Caleb Crain who successfully challenged the Basic Exam recently. At the ripe old age of 15, Caleb will be the youngest amateur in our Club. It's really great to see someone of this age taking an interest in our hobby. Caleb is the grandson of Phil Crain (VE9PC) who dutifully transported Caleb to the classes two nights each week for the duration of the course. We're not sure who is more proud - grandson or grandfather. This means that, with the exception of one student who we believe is out of the country and hasn't yet written, all of our students have now passed the Basic Exam. Thanks to all the instructors and examiners who contributed to another successful course. David Hildebrand (VE9AV)
Montreal Hamfest and Fleamarket
LaSalle (Montreal), Québec Saturday, April 9 2005
HAM-EX 2005 (Saturday, April 9, 2005) Sponsored by: The Peel Amateur Radio Club / Mississauga Amateur Radio Club Location: Brampton Fall Fairgrounds, located on Heart Lake Rd @ Old School Rd (North of Mayfield Road). Opens: Vendors: 7am Public: 9am Cost: $6 to the public Talkin: VE3PRC 146.880(-) and VE3MIS 145.430(-) Notes: Featuring Amateur Radio Equipment Manufacturers, Major Amateur Radio Retailers, New & Used Equipment / Parts, Computers, Parts, Software, Tables & Tables of Radio & Electronics Gear, Licensing Exams for Basic, CW, & Advanced Qualification, DXCC Card Checking, Exhibits, Demos, & Seminars, Gala Banquet with Guest Speaker, Door Prizes Galore & $1000 Grand Prize Draw For more info visit:http://www.ham-ex.ca
Winnipeg A.R.C. Spring Fleamarket (Sunday, April 17 2005) Location: Heritage Victoria
Community Club, 950 Sturgeon Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Durham Region Amateur Radio Hamfest
(Saturday, April 23, 2005)
Location: This is the hamfest you always knew as "Pickering", the big one. It's still at the Iroquois Park Recreation Centre on Victoria Street at Henry Street. Get to the Brock STREET exit in Whitby on the 401 then turn south on Brock and west on Victoria (right) (first street south of 401). A couple of blocks and you'll see the site. Opens: Vendors 7:30 am, Public
9 am to 1 pm
Notes: Lots of parking for all. Vendors enter west entrance on Victoria Street. Public enters from Henry Street. If lot is full, use (approved) parking at GO station right across the road. ATM machine on site. 3 food outlets on site. For more info visit: http://drhamfest.tripod.com
Ham & Computer Electronic
Swapmeet (May 8, 2005)
Location: 12460 Harris road Pitt meadows In the old Rec Center Upper Floor. Pitt Meadows BC Opens: Vendors 7:30AM Open
for public 9:am
Notes: A Pancake breakfast
will be held between 8AM & 9AM. Coffee & Donut will be available
throughout the event.
For more info visit: http://www.qsl.net/ve7rmr
Annual Spring Hamfest and Fleamarket
(May 14, 2005)
Location: The Westway United
Church, 8 Templar Dr.,Etobicoke Ont. (Free Parking Available) Toronto ON
Notes: Templar Drive is the first east of Kipling running north off The Westway. (The Church backs onto Kipling Avenue). Or turn east off Kipling Avenue at Holywell Drive four blocks south of Dixon Road. If you are drivig East on 401, exit at Eglinton Avenue, go east to Kipling Avenue and then north (left) to The Westway, then east (right) on The Westway one block to Templar Drive. If you are driving West on 401, take the Belfield Road exit to Kipling Avenue, then go south (left) on Kipling to Holywell Drive (four blocks south of Dixon Road) then east (left) one block to Templar Drive. If you are driving on the QEW or the Gardner, take the Kipling Avenue exit north to The Westway, then east (right) on The Westway one block to Templar Drive then north (left) to the Church. Door Prizes --- Buy --- Sell --- Trade --- Browse Chat with your friends in the Eyeball Room where you can get Coffee -- Doughnuts -- Hotdogs __ Etc. For more info visit: http://www.webhome.idirect.com/~jproc/sarc
21st Annual Smiths Falls Amateur
Radio Fleamarket (May 14, 2005)
Location: Smiths Falls Youth Arena (behind the Community Centre) Corner of Cornelia St. (county road #43)and Elmsley St.Across from the Smiths Falls Hospital. Smiths Falls, Ontario. Opens: Vendors: 7:00 am Public:
9:00 am
Notes: Last year we sold 96 tables for amateur radio equipment sales. A food canteen operates on the site. For more info visit: http://www.falls.igs.net/~rlarc
Calgary and Area Flea Market (May 14 2005) Sponsored by: Calgary Amateur Radio Association, Calgary Communications Club and The Southern Alberta Repeater Association Location: EASTSIDE CITY CHURCH 1320 Abbeydale Dr SE, Calgary, AB (Take Memorial Drive East off of Deerfoot Trail and go all the way to the East end, then turn South) Time: Saturday, May
14, 2005 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Notes: 50/50 draw, lunch available and more.... Need more information and table rental? CONTACT: Tim Thompson, VE6BZ 403-253-4893 or 403-829-4893 tlt46@telus.net
Hamfest 2005 (May 29,
2005)
Location: At the corner of
Victoria and Simcoe St. near the Amherstburg Arena at the Scout hall in
Amherstburg ON
For more info visit: http://amherstburg.hfradio.net Call VE3CFQ Cary Collard at 1 (519)736-7694
32nd Streetsville Founders Bread
& Honey Festival (June 4, 2005)
Location: Special Event Station Streetsville ON Opens: Operating Times 1400Z-200Z June4 and 5 Notes: Frequencies (MHz): 7.227, 14.240, 21.315, 28.480 +/- QRM. A certificate will be awarded to those who QSL. Please note that non-Canadians will need to send either 2 green stamps or 2 IRC's to cover cost of postage as we cannot use US postage in Canada. QSL Info:
For more info visit: http://www.marc.on.ca
Little Bear Lake A.R.C.Open House
(June 10, 2005)
Location: 3Km.
off Highway 106 (Hanson Lake Road to Flin Flon, Mn.)
Opens: 9.00 AM to 10.00PM Cost: Donations Talkin: 146.85_ repeater (VE5NLR) Notes: Camp ground reservations at Glen & Grace Raynor. See www.littlebearlake.ca OR Larks Inn - limited rooms, good food. Rooms are set-up for light house keeping. ph. (306) 426-2491. The Ham station is on the Campground lease on a high hill with pine trees. HF beam, dipoles, verticals. Kenwood HF units, both AC & battery or bring your own rig.Noise level "0", good building wood stove, all the comforts of home. For more info: Call Ken Bindle/VE5KRB (306) 373-3403 or ve5krb@rac.ca
Central Ontario Fleamarket &
Hamfest (June 11, 2005)
Location: Newly renovated full-featured Fergus Community Centre. Large spacious indoor & outdoor facilities. Fergus, ON Opens: Public 8 am to 12:30
pm
Notes: 31st Annual! Famous for lots of space, much to see. Enjoyed by vendors and visitors. Clean, spacious, full-hookup camping on site. Free draws for many items, including Grand Prize Gift Certificates. For more info visit: http://www.hamfest.on.ca
DOWN-EAST FLEA MARKET (Saturday,
June 11, 2005)
The Down-East Flea Market is the largest Ham Fest in Atlantic Canada. Details on Commercial Suppliers and associated Flea Market events will be published over the next couple of months. Location: Halifax Forum Complex
at the corner of Young and Windsor Sts. in Halifax
Tables: free and can be reserved by contacting David Nimmo at ve1nn@rac.ca Talk in Frequency: VE1PSR 147.270(+) Associated Social Events: Friday 10th Evening - 1900 at The Jolly Mug - for info contact Hugh ve1pq@rac.ca Saturday 11th Breakfast - at the Steak and Stein - 6061 Young St, Halifax Talk by Wayne-VE1WPH on the ISS set up Hope to see you there
Whitby Amateur Radio Club Hamfest
(June 18, 2005)
Location: Royal Canadian
Legion Br. 43, 471 Simcoe St. South, Oshawa, ON. ( 401 Exit # 418 to Simcoe
St.N.)
Opens: 7:00 A.M. Vendors, 9:00 A.M. General Public V.I.P. Admission paid by May16, 2005 will let you in 15 Min. ahead of general admission Cost: Vendors 8ft. table $10
plus $5 Admission per person General Public $5 per person. No tailgaters.
Notes: Vendors limited
to Amateur, Scanner, Short Wave and Computer related equipment. All vendors
prepaid and reserved by May 16, 2005 will be entered in a special draw
for $50 ( 2 draws) No $50 or $100 bills accepted.
Website: http://www.whitbyarc.org/
ONTARIO HAMFEST (July
9, 2005)
Location: Milton Agricultural
Fairgrounds...SAME as Last Year Milton ON
Talkin: 146.520 Mhz Simplex within Milton Area. Notes: This is our 31st Annual "FUN" Day..Don't Miss it! Amateur Radio & Computer Electronics & MORE One of the "few" Fleamarkets that has OUTSIDE/Tailgating & Inside Vendors. For more info visit: http://home.cogeco.ca/~barc/Ontario%20Hamfest%202005.html
Saskatchewan Centennial Hamfest
2005 (July 22, 2005)
Location: Travelodge Saskatoon
106 Circle Drive West, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada
For more info visit: http://www.saskhamfest.com
VHARA Hamfest 2005 (August
27, 2005)
Location: Manvers Arena - Corner Of Hwy. 7A & 35 (North Of Bowmanville/South Of Lindsay) GPS: Lat. 44D 09M 40S, Long. 78D 39M 30S Opens: Indoor Vendor Set-Up 7:00AM Free Vendor Continental Breakfast 7:00AM - 8:30AM Outdoor Tailgate Set-Up 9:00AM General Admission 9:00AM Cost: General Admission $5.00
Indoor Tables (With 1 Vendor Admission + 1 Continental Breakfast) $10.00
Additional Vendor Pass (Working Helper) + Continental Breakfast $5.00 Outdoor
Tailgate Positions (With 1 General Admission) $5.00
Notes: Limited Indoor Vendor 120V AC Power Available (Please Specify When Registering) Door Prize & Super Draw Prizes Will Be Drawn Throughout The Hamfest For more info visit: http://www.va3kvd.ca/vhara/
Ottawa Amateur Radio Club 9th
Annual Hamfest
(September 3, 2005)
Location: Carp Agricultural Fairgrounds 3970 Carp Road (at Falldown Lane) Ottawa (Carp), Ontario. From Ottawa, take Highway 417 West to Carp Road exit, North to the fairgrounds. We are in the arena, so follow the signs on the site. Opens: Building Vendor setup:
8 am Tailgaters Open: 9 am Building Opens: 10 am until 1 pm
Notes: Immediately following the fleamarket will be the RAC Forum and Technology Update moderated by RAC Ontario North Director, Doug Leach (VE3XK). Topics of interest to the amateur radio community are planned and admission is free. For more info visit: http://www.oarc.net/fleamarket
Vancouver Island Ham Happenings
(September 10, 2005)
Location: Departure
Bay Activities Centre 1415 Wingrove Street Nanaimo BC ( Aka the old Departure
Bay Fire Hall ) Take Departure Bay road from either end down to the beach,
Wingrove st. is right across from the Departure Bay beach.
Opens: Sellers setup from 7am to 10 am, doors will be open to the Buyers and general public at 10am and close at 1pm Cost: Cost of tables are $15.00 ea. includes 1 admission. There will be no charge for the table for anyone reserving a table from the lower mainland. Helpers and general admission $5.00 each. Talkin: VE7ISC at 146.640 open repeater Notes: There will be a RAC table, equipment manufactures tables, local dealers tables, a collectors display table and many, many sellers tables. We will be holding the annual QLF (Left foot CW) CW contest. There will be hourly door prizes as well as a major door prize of an Icom IC-V82 Handheld radio. If you are coming the night before we have many hotels and motels close by, and for RVs we have three malls in the area that allow overnight parking for self contained RVs. For more info visit: http://www.nara.nisa.com
Barrie Hamfest (September
10, 2005)
Location: Oro Medonte Fairgrounds Just north of Barrie on Hwy #11 to Oro-Medonte Line 7. Watch for Airport sign at exit. Take Line 7 Northwest 2 Km to the 15/16th sideroad and you're at the Fairgrounds. Co-ordinates are 44 30 17 N 79 33 17 W Opens: Open for Inside Vendors
at 7 am, Taigaters at 8 am, General public at 9 am till 1 pm.
Notes: Our second year
at the new bigger location. Wheelchair accessable and handicap parking
available.
For more info visit: http://www.barriearc.com
London Amateur Radio Club 28th Annual Fleamarket (Sept. 25 2005) Sunday, September 25, 2005, located at the Western Fair Grounds Special Events Building, London Ontario. 9:00am to 1:00pm Vendor setup at 7:30am. Admission: $6.00 , tables $ 10.00 Free parking, Air conditioned, commercial dealers, snack bar facilities, wheelchair accessible with handicap washrooms Inquiries: email: hamfest2005@hamster.foxhollow.ca
or phone / mail to Doug Tompkins, VE3IDT (519) 439-5113
Website: http://larc.ca/newsletter/LARC-HAMFEST-2005.pdf
SHF 2005 Committee...Hamfest Update The SHF 2005 committee has undertaken a centennial history project. Through the years, we have noticed a decline in the archiving of photographs and history of radio in our Province. We would like to restore our past and make it accessible for everyone. Do you have old photographs that you can part with for a while? Can you make us copies? How about writing up a few pages about what has happened over the last one hundred years in your home area. Anything you can help us with is much appreciated. Please contact the SHF 2005 Committee with any information you can share. Also, as this is the celebration of the province’s one hundredth birthday, we want to make this the biggest, best hamfest the province has ever seen! Do you have ideas that you would like us to explore? Let us know! The committee has also developed a survey for gathering input from the ham community. Visit the website, www.saskhamfest.com and fill it out online!
Emergency Management Ontario...Emergency
Preparedness Week 2005 (May 1-7 2005)
With increased levels of fear and
anxiety throughout Canada and the world, it makes sense to prepare for
the unexpected. Everyone should be prepared to take care of themselves
and their families for up to three days in the event of an emergency or
disaster. For example, it could take that long to clear roads due to a
severe winter storm.
For more information on Emergency Preparedness (EP) Week 2005 visit the EMO website
The Ontario Provincial Communications ARES (Procom) Net In an emergency situation, the Procom Net would be used to pass traffic between Agency Control Centres across Regional Zones. It would be used be such agencies as The Red Cross, Salvation Army, St. John Ambulance as well as other Social Service Departments, Emergency Operation Co-Ordinators and other Emergency Departments. The Net meets every Thursday evening at 8:30pm using four linked UHF repeaters, one linked VHF repeater and one simplex frequency. The repeater list is as follows: VE3SNM 442.850 (136.5) Toronto
For more information visit:oeco.hfradio.net/procom.html
Getting Environmental Canada Weather Updates by Email Were you aware that Environment Canada has a FREE service whereby they will send you weather warnings, forecasts, etc. by email. Sterling (VE9SK) tells me that various services are offered including bulletins only for specific locations, forecasts up to three times a day, everyday, selected days, etc If interested you can go to www.weatheroffice.pyr.ec.gc.ca/e-products and select the subscription(s) of your choice. David Hildebrand (VE9AV)
The 9th Annual Ontario QSO Party 2005 (April 16-17 2005)
The Ontario QSO Party is open to all amateur radio operators regardless of license class and shortwave listeners world-wide. Objective: For Ontario stations to contacts as many amateur radio stations as possible on as many bands as possible world-wide. For stations outside Ontario to make as many contacts with Ontario amateur radio stations as possible. Frequencies: (Phone/CW) All HF Bands 160-10 meters with the exception of the WARC bands. All VHF/UHF Bands. For full details about this fun event visit the ODXA website:http://www.odxa.on.ca/oqp/index.html
The Sandbox Net airs every evening
starting at 6:30pm EST on 7.0635 MHz and or 3.732.5 Mhz ..
The Sandbox Net has been in operation since September 1990, never missing a day, no matter whether band conditions were good or bad. The dedication and the perseverance of Paul Uttaro, VE2QR and a core group of loyal supporters of The Sandbox Net have made it the number one International Round Table Net on 40 meters. The beginning of the Sandbox Net goes back to June 1990 when Paul's brother Dave VE1TY was transferred to Turo, Nova Scotia from Pointe Claire, Quebec. They set up on 40 meters to just talk and keep in contact every night, soon some friends would join in as well. One of the first was Don VE3ESE, then came John VE3JWS, Tommy VE3OIM, George VE3MMQ, Ed VE3FE, Roy VE3ALK and many others to follow. By September 1990 the numbers had grown substantially so the group decided to form a net and started kicking around suitable names for it. This went on for several weeks but most names that were suggested seemed to be too long or inappropriate. Since the group were in round table discussions on varied topics, people would break in and say they would be back shortly due to the call of nature. Tommy, for one would announce that he had to go to the "sandbox" and this became the regular phrase when someone had to leave the net for a short period. John VE3JWS, jokingly commented that since everyone on the net were always going to the sandbox, why not call it " The Sandbox Net ". Every one agreed and that is how The Sandbox Net got its' name ! The controllers are a varied lot, each bringing their own brand of humor, thought provoking comments, and by expressing opinions ( of others and their own ) to generate interest and further comments from the round table known as the Sandbox Net! The one thing they all have in common is their dedication to volunteer their time and efforts so that we may all enjoy this respite from the daily hassle of modern day living. For more information visit the Sandbox website: sandbox.hfradio.net
5MHz (60 metre) Activity Day Canadian Hams can listen but can NOT Transmit by D. Howard Dickson – VE1DHD I recently was informed that there will be a 5 MHz Activity Day on April 8th/9th 2005. This event has been arranged by Marko Saarela OH2LRDs and they hope to involve other licensed Hams in the EU and elsewhere. For example, there are now 18 club stations in Finland with the 5 MHz license, and Norway received authorisation to use 5 MHz in February of this year. Here in Canada, the 5 MHz or 60 metre band has NOT been approved for general use by Radio Amateurs, although it has been approved for Hams in some European countries. However, Industry Canada has given special permission to Joe Craig – VO1NA – of the Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland (MRCN) to operate on a limited basis on 60 metres for propagation testing purposes. Other Canadian Hams may listen, but are NOT permitted (even if their equipment permits) to transmit on 60 metres. Joe informs me that the MRCN will
be participating in this 60-metre event and that they are greatly honoured
to represent Canada and Radio Amateurs of Canada for the 5 MHz Activity
Day. At present, they are able to transmit CW on 5260.5 kHz and USB on
5327.5 kHz and
In terms of propagation reporting on 60 metres, Canadian Radio Amateurs may want to listen on 60 metres during this event on April 8th and 9th and make any SWL reports either Direct or via Bureau to MM1RAH. For further information on the 5 MHz event go to: http://www.netronic.co.uk/
Maritime Swap Shop The Maritime Swap Shop is held every Monday at 7:30pm local time on 3.750 MHz. All station are invited to checkin and post their wants and items for sale. The Maritime Swap Shop list can be found on many places on the internet, here are just a few: The Loyalist City Amateur Radio Club , hfradio.net , VE1AIC's Home Page and Truro Amateur Radio Club Please Note: The Maritime (on-air) Swap Shop, which was formerly held on Tuesday evenings, will now take place on Monday evenings at 1930 local time on 3750.
The Swap Shop list is posted every Monday on the Trans Provincial Net website, Ontario Swap Shop Listings , the swap shop list can also be found on packet by calling up VE3DID (Nick VE3NJG)
With his deep passion for, and involvement in Amateur Radio, Wayne's children couldn't help but be exposed to the hobby all their lives. Wayne tells me that he is so very pleased to have his youngest daughter Nicole joins the Amateur Radio fraternity. And while Wayne's wife and Nicole's mom has always been understanding about the hobby he loves, she has never had the desire to become a Ham. I first met Nicole in September of last year when she arrived at the first of our Basic Ham classes, and I was impressed both by her keen desire to learn and by her dedication to the hobby. I think she only missed one or two of our weekly sessions and then because of school work. As a former teacher I can understand that! Nicole tells me that from a very young age she has been listening to the sounds of numerous voices coming across the airwaves, and crackling through the two-meter radio in the family car as the family drove to some destination or other. As Nicole tells it, it was always, "Ssshh.. daddy's going to talk on the radio now." In fact, as Nicole says, "All my life my father has been a radio amateur operator and now I have become one too." Nicole is an eleventh grade student in Halifax, and has been exposed to the vast world of amateur radio for all of her seventeen years. She tells me that it was about four years ago when she first started to get really serious about becoming a 'Ham'. However it took a few years of "bugging her father" before he realized that she was serious and he then eagerly arranged for Nicole to join our class. As I said, Nicole was a great student and she passed the Basic exam with flying colours, and is now so pleased to be able to "follow in my father's footsteps." As Nicole puts it, "I have always enjoyed the hobby as a passive listener - I'm just so used to listening to the sometimes awfully distorted noise of other people's voices, and the laughter when my dad spoke to them, and I really wanted to be part of his Amateur Radio world, making contact with different people around the world. Now I am getting that chance and I am so proud to say I am a Radio Amateur Operator. "
CNIB
AMATEUR RADIO PROGRAM
Dear Fellow Amateurs: Kelly Sapergia’s (VE5KJS) hobbies as a child were music and computers. When he was 14, friends in his home town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, introduced him to ham radio. He’d always been a radio listener, especially shortwave, so being able to chat to people over the radio had great appeal. Blind since birth, Kelly found ham radio to be a great way to make friends all over the world. He remembers his first international calls, when he picked up signals from Italy and Hungary: “It’s so exciting to get a contact from another country.” Getting his ham radio licence was a group effort. The CNIB provided training courses on cassette, and with coaching from other hams, he easily passed his exam. He then bought a radio through the CNIB, which he paid for through installments. “I still have that radio and it’s a dandy,” he says. Kelly remembers certain conversations like they happened yesterday. One was the Moose Jaw flood in 1997. He remembers the chill of hearing another operator yell, “Oh my God, the bridge is going out!” Kelly’s been part of his local Amateur Radio Emergency Services since he was about 17. On Halloween, he sets up his command post at the local police station and other ham radio operators patrol the streets, radioing in any problems to Kelly, who notifies the police. Operators also sometimes help motorists in distress and pass messages in weather emergencies. The article above will be made available to blind and visually impaired CNIB clients from across Canada in the Spring 2005 Vision magazine. We count on clubs such as yours to
support us in helping members such as Kelly. We are pleased to receive
individual donations of money or equipment as well as your club’s
donation. We will provide income tax receipts and credit such donations
to their Club for the Club award program. Donations of equipment
and money are also welcome from
Please visit our website: http://cnib.ca/eng/national/amateurradio/ Many thanks,
The German Navy,
U-Boats & Magnetic Antennae
Introductory comment by VE1DHD
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The majority of the following material was taken, with permission, from the website of Bill Galloway - http://www.bill.gallowaysystems.com/index.html Background: Back during World War II, the German Navy U-Boats were having great difficulty communicating with their Headquarters, which I think was in the heart of Germany.
If we submerge an ordinary dipole antenna in seawater, you will very quickly realize that it just won't work. The seawater being very conductive causes the antenna to be unusable. A dipole operates with a very high intensity electric field as the basis of transmitting. With conductive seawater all around the antenna, the Electric Field coming off a dipole would be attenuated to nothing in short order. The German Navy therefore needed an antenna that would not use the electric field as the basis of transmission, but instead the magnetic field. The magnetic field would not be affected to the same degree by seawater as the electric field. And so, the Magnetic Antenna was born and it has been in use ever since. Basic Antenna Design and Function:
I would show that the strength of the E-field near the dipole is very high relative to the strength of the H-field or magnetic field (shown as B in Figure 1 above). Specify that as the field moves away from the antenna, the strength of the E-field increases somewhat and the strength of the H-field decreases to achieve a ratio of E to H of 377:1 A Dipole antenna can be classified as an Electrostatic Dominant Antenna, or just simply an Electric Antenna. A Magnetic Dominant Antenna is called a Magnetic Antenna. Why a Magnetic Antenna?
To be more specific, the Magnetic Antenna is a loop whose circumference is 1/4 wavelength at the operating frequency. For 14 MHz 1 wavelength is 300/14 = 21.216 m. 1/4 wave length is 21.216/4 = 5.304 m. The diameter is 5.304/3.14159 = 1.688 m. A Magnetic Antenna can be tuned from the designed frequency frequency and still maintain acceptable efficiency. A word or two about Radiation
Resistance.
Now we come to the capacitor
The Transceiver must be connected directly to the Faraday Shield Loop. Tuners must not be used. The other type of feed system is the Gamma Match. Here the shield of the coax is electrically connected to the electrical centre of the large loop. The inner conductor of the coax is electrically connected somewhere along the large loop to obtain a 50 ohm match once the antenna is in resonance at the operating frequency. Tuning the Magnetic Antenna is done by adjusting the capacitor so resonance is achieved at the operating frequency. Magnetic Loops are fed with unbalanced co-axial feeders. Until the capacitor is tuned to the correct transmit frequency the antenna will not resonate, and cannot be loaded properly. Once tuned however, the smaller loop used to load the antenna then needs to be positioned to effect a 50-ohm match. Any mismatch will result in standing waves on the coax cable, which in turn will radiate and reduce one of the advantages of a magnetic loop - its narrow band-pass filter effect. So in other words, adjust the tuning capacitor to obtain resonance of the antenna as indicated by the lowest SWR. If the SWR isn't 1:1 the smaller feed loop will have to be deformed somewhat. Deform the smaller loop by forming it into an ellipse for example. You will notice a corresponding change in SWR. Once the 1:1 SWR is achieved nothing else will have to be done to the feed loop. You now have a tuned loop, and have positioned the smaller driver loop to get a 50 ohm match, you can retune the transmitter and main loop without having to worry about altering the driver loop - the 50 ohm match works for all resonant frequencies without further adjustments. I found greater success using the Faraday Shield Loop feed system. The Gamma Match feed system tended not to have optimum VSWR on all bands and it has more noise pickup than the Faraday Shield method. I made a Single Turn Magnetic Antenna as a test of different capacitor types and achieved success right away. I was sold on the idea when it was just as good as my Telex Vertical but with a much lower noise figure. You may physically place the Magnetic Antenna almost anywhere and it will function quite well. You don't need to be high above the ground. For that matter you can place it on the ground and it will perform well. The Magnetic Antenna operates best when it is mounted vertically. The wheels of a vehicle are in the vertical plain. If you look through the "hole" in the middle of the loop, you are looking along the only point of a Magnetic Antenna from where there is no radiation - a Null. The maximum radiation is 90 degrees to the null or off the ends of the loop. As was mentioned earlier, the Electric field near the Magnetic Antenna is very weak whereas the Magnetic field is strong. The further away you get from the antenna the stronger the Electric field becomes and the weaker the Magnetic field becomes. At around 2 or 3 wavelength from the antenna the ratio of Electric and Magnetic field strengths is 377:1. A Magnetic Antenna -- the practical solution to a difficult situation. I wanted to have a Magnetic Antenna in my attic that would cover the 20, 30 and 40 meter bands. The problem is my attic is only 35 inches high! I decided to make a two turn loop which put both the feed point and the capacitor at the bottom. A great number of questions needed answers after determining the physical aspect. Questions like, what is the total overall length of copper pipe needed, how far apart will the turns be, how do I tune within a band and how do I tune from one band to another, what size of capacitor(s) do I need, how do I feed the two turn loop. I decided to make the total length of pipe somewhere around 15 feet. That value was mostly determined by the physical size the antenna must be to fit in the attic in a vertical plane. I made it up using a kitchen cutter board at the bottom to hold everything there solidly in place. I wanted to use a Trombone-type capacitor to tune it. I performed numerous tests and came up with a design that met my needs. After putting it together without the feed loop, I used a dip meter to determine its self-resonance point. It was just above the 20-meter band, which was great. If it hadn't been, I would have adjusted the spacing between the turns to increase or decrease the capacitance. I ended up with approximately a 2-inch separation between the two loop turns. I pushed the Course Trombone capacitor in slowly, tracking it down in frequency until I got to the low end of 40 meters. That was good. I added a Fine Trombone for tuning within bands, leaving the Course Trombone for Band changing. I used the Faraday Shield feed loop design. Since it should be 1/5 the circumference of the large loop I decided it should contain 1/5 the length of pipe for the two turns of the large loop. That resulted in about 3 feet. With the Antenna installed and the
feed loop in place it was time for the first test. The SWR was terrible,
everywhere. I deformed the feed loop to be approximately 16.5 inches high
and 5.5 inches wide. The resulting best figures for all three bands are
as follows:
Bandwidth on all bands at the SWR of 2:1 points: 70Khz. As far as performance is concerned, I tend to use it all the time. As compared to my Telex Vertical, it has a much lower noise figure, Some signals are the same strength on the S meter as the Vertical, and some are less. Reports back indicate that my signal strength is satisfactory. I don't see any difference with the Vertical My Magnetic Antenna is but inches from the household power lines and alarm system line. It doesn't get into either. It doesn't get into anything in the house.
CF3VEDAY
The station is operated by members of The Wireless Set No. 19 Group, a Canada-based world-wide group of Radio Amateurs who collect, restore and/or operate vintage military communications gear. This website [ www.qsl.net/vc3vday ] will compliment the CF3VEDAY station by providing information about station operation, including times, frequencies and names of operators. The month of May will see the official opening of the new Canadian War Museum and this station will also conduct on-air activities from Ottawa to mark that event, using vintage military equipment. Amateur Radio operators are encouraged to invite a veteran into their shacks to allow contact with other veterans and to have contact with CF3VEDAY during its brief existence. They may even hear the "chirp" of a WS#19, renewing old memories for some. Radio Amateurs could also consider inviting young people in to view and use their radio equipment, to learn more about the stellar contribution of Canada's war veterans and to demonstrate what Amateur Radio is all about. This in itself could be a valuable history lesson to those persons under 65 who have no memory of, or appreciation for, the historic contributions of Canadians during a bitter fight against tyranny on the sea, on the land and in the air. We will be offering an original, colourful QSL card to all Amateur Radio stations that contact and send a QSL card to CF3VEDAY, as well as to SWLs who hear the station and who submit a full reception report. Please read the QSL/SWL report information: www.qsl.net/vc3vday/ Please visit the CF3VEDAY website for full details: www.qsl.net/vc3vday/ Bob Cooke VE3BDB
Interesting web site for Nikola Tesla I just wanted to let you know that the March 2005 edition of Scientific American has a feature of Nikola Tesla, the inventor of much radio and alternating current technology. There's also some info on the web at:www.tesla-museum.org Laurie Mersereau |
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