A daily service that brings you the latest in Amateur Radio News from around the world, with a weekly synopsis to keep you up to speed with current events on the Amateur Radio Scene. Delivered to over 2400 hams every week.
Update on RAC Morse Code Proposal (Jan. 7 2005)
Even when the summary and responses are posted on Strategis, Industry Canada will still have to make its decision on whether to implement all, some or none of the RAC proposal. A decision until the spring, perhaps April, seems unlikely. As soon as Industry Canada posts the comments, summary and any other information, RAC will put out a bulletin and also will post a notice on the Latest News page on tthis web site. Thanks to VIce President Regulatory Affairs Jim Dean, VE3IQ (RAC News Service)
The Future of Forty Metres (Jan. 7 2005)
There are over 3 million licensed Amateur Radio operators around the world, and the 7000 kHz band is one of the most heavily used. In Region 2 (the Americas) the band 7000 to 7300 kHz is allocated to the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services on a primary basis. Until 1938, this was a worldwide allocation. Beginning in 1938 and at successive World Radio Conferences, the upper portion of the band has been gradually transferred to the HF Broadcasting service in Regions 1 and 3 (the rest of the world) , so that since 1979, only the band 7000 to 7100 kHz has been available for Amateur use worldwide. Status at the beginning of 2005 At the present time, short wave broadcast stations in Europe, Africa and Asia are licensed to transmit in the frequency range from 7100-7300 kHz. Furthermore, amateurs operating in the 40-metre band in the Americas must accept any interference caused by the broadcasters. Outside the Americas, most amateurs have only 7000-7100 kHz, although since 2003, some are allowed to use 7100-7200 with limited power, on a non-interfering basis. In 2003 after a lot of hard work by the IARU, strongly supported by Radio Amateurs of Canada, we succeeded in getting a ruling from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to remove broadcast stations from 7100 to 7200 kHz beginning in 2009, and to allow amateurs in those countries to increase the size of their 40 metre band from 100 kHz to 200 kHz. What's Next? At the next World Radio Conference in 2007, we have another chance to finish the job. The remaining range from 7200 to 7300 kHz is now being reviewed. The gains made at 7100-7200 kHz by the amateur service at WRC-2003 are not subject to the review, but because of the claimed needs of other radio services around 7 MHz, there is a very real danger that the amateur service in Canada could lose or at least be forced to share 7200-7300 kHz. We cannot be complacent. Responding to the challenge, the IARU has maintained its objective of a world wide exclusive allocation to amateurs for the full range from 7000 to 7300 kHz, and has argued in favour of such a change at the pre-conference study meetings taking place at the ITU. RAC has followed the IARU lead, but so far no consensus has been reached with other spectrum users in Canada. Although we already have the full 300 kHz, moving broadcasters out of the top 100 kHz in other regions is not popular amongst two groups in our country. First of all, the Canadian shortwave broadcasters – mainly Radio Canada International, would be happy to see us give up the top 100 kHz so that they could use it for broadcasting here. They have not taken a strong position however, and we may be able to convince them to stick with the status quo. Secondly, the other principal users of the HF spectrum, the fixed and mobile users – mainly the Department of National Defence, do not want to give up any spectrum to broadcasters, and any upward movement of broadcasters in other regions might well be traded for broadcast access to spectrum currently being used by DND in Canada. That is what happened in 2003, with Canadian fixed users losing 50 kHz of bandwidth. Of course we have the rest of the world to convince too. Prospects do not look good at this time. In spite of strong lobbying by the ARRL, in 2003 the fixed and broadcast interests ensured that the US did not support an expansion of the 40 metre amateur band in other parts of the world. There is no reason to believe that they will be more supportive in 2007. Most countries in Asia strongly resisted any expansion of their 40 metre amateur bands in 2003, with India and Korea taking the lead. Their broadcasters were not happy that they will lose the segment from 7100 to 7200, and have already made it clear that they will once again opposed any expansion in 2007. Although, like us, Australian amateurs already have access to the full 300 kHz, Australia is also opposed to any further expansion in other parts of the world. European countries, after much arguing, finally agreed to support the amateur case in 2003, but CEPT, which represents the interests of up to 40 countries including many of the former Soviet countries, has made it clear that they do not intend to support us this time around. Russia is almost certain to oppose new amateur allocations. In 2003, we were able to enlist the support of the majority of Central and South American countries. However given strong fixed interests and some broadcast interests, it is unlikely that they will support a further increase to the worldwide amateur allocation in 2007 unless it includes some sort of sharing which would ease the burden on fixed and mobile users. That leaves the African and the Arab countries. Africa might be convinced to support us, based on amateur capabilities for disaster relief communications. Almost all Arab countries have little sympathy or interest in amateur radio, and can be counted on to oppose any change to existing amateur bands. Reading the above would certainly convince most amateurs that our chances at WRC 2007 are almost negligible. Only representatives of countries have a say in the outcome of a World Radio Conference. Organizations like the IARU can twist arms, but are not permitted to argue from the floor during conference meetings. So, we certainly have our work cut out for us. Our best hope is to come up with strong convincing arguments for why we need the full 300 kHz worldwide. Both RAC and the IARU are hard at work preparing to meet the challenge. RAC played a strong role in the negotiations at WRC-03, and had a major impact on the outcome. Thanks to the support of DARF donors, Jim Dean, VE3IQ was a key player for the entire duration of the WRC. Jim has once again been chosen by the RAC Board to be the Canadian Amateur Radio representative at WRC 2007. Unfortunately, attending a WRC can cost up to $10,000 per person, even with "seat- sale" airfare, and minimal hotel and meal expenses. RAC does not have the resources to pay for Jim's attendance at a WRC, and so he has to depend on the generosity of Canadian donors to the DARF fund to cover his costs. Please consider donating. Donations may be made by cheque or
credit card.
Defence of Amateur Radio Fund
(RAC News Service)
Howard Dickson - VE1DHD
Maritime Repeater News and Updates Fredericton Amateur Radio Club - David Hildebrand (VE9AV) reports that the Club VHF repeater VE9FNB - 147.300+) has a new home at the Aliant site on Priestman Street in Fredericton. Preliminary tests indicate greatly improved coverage. David asks Radio Amateurs in the Fredericton area to try out the VE9FNB repeater from a variety of locations in and around Fredericton and let him know know how it now works.
Nova Scotia Repeater Updates - Neil Hughes (VE1YZ) reports that on Friday, Dec 10, he, Lorne (VE1BXK), Brad (VE1ZX), and Rick (VE9RWS) went to the Parrsboro, N.S. and the VE1PAR repeater site, where they removed several antennas and installed a new high gain dual band antenna. VE1PAR is located 5 miles Northwest of Parrsboro on Kirkhill. The antenna is 1000' above sea level and overlooks the Minas Basin and the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. VE1PAR is unique in that it is completely solar powered. There are no power lines for miles. VE1PAR operates on a frequency of 145.470 (-) MHz with a power output of 50 watts. The repeater is also connected to the MARCAN linking system via VE1BHS. Access codes are 158* on, and 159* off. The footprint of this repeater is extremely large. The coverage area includes the Nova Scotia Minas Basin, Highway 101 from Lower Sackville, NS in the east, to Middleton, NS in the west. It also extends north from the Cobequid Pass on the Trans Canada Highway 104 through to Moncton NB, and south through Albert County NB, including Fundy National Park. Neil reports that the new antenna installation exceeds their expectations, and the repeater works very well indeed, making this is an ideal repeater to use when travelling from Halifax to the Moncton area. The photographs below were taken by Neil (VE1YZ).
Halifax Amateur Radio Club
HARC is dedicated to the fostering of Amateur Radio in Halifax and the surrounding area. The club is made up of Amateur Radio operators and other persons with an interest in radio communication and technical experimentation. The Halifax Club provides a focal point for members who are interested in participating in a broad range of public service, traffic/message handling activities and the advancement of technical skills in diverse areas of electronic, communications technology. The HARC Station is located on the second floor of the Bloomfield Centre at the corner of Robie, Almon and Agricola Streets in Halifax. The station provides meeting space for up to a dozen or so people and contains a number of radios, including 2-metre voice; APRS; HF and 6 meters (with SSB and digital capabilities); as well as a complete satellite station. Antennas are located on the roof of the building and include a 3-element HF beam; HF dipole, HF vertical and several verticals for VHF, as well as the satellite tracking antennas and a halo for 6M. The club sponsors the Brit Fader Memorial QSL Bureau (VE1 / VE0 incoming) as well as using Brit's call VE1FQ as the club station call sign. Brit ran the incoming bureau for the Maritimes for 49 ½ years until he had to give it up due to failing eyesight. The club also sponsors VE0MMA a station on the Hydrographic ship Acadia, berthed at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax. The HARC membership is clearly committed to public service and members work closely with the Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO) in Metro Halifax and the Province of Nova Scotia, assisting with emergency radio communication in times of disaster. Halifax Amateurs have provided assistance during emergencies dating from the Moose River Mine disaster in 1936, to the unprecedented grounding of planes at Halifax in Sept. 11, 2001, and smaller incidents as well. Over the past few years, the Club has attempted to involve the membership by encouraging the development of several Special Interest Groups. There are now four groups: DX/Contesting; Satellite; APRS, and Digital Modes; as well, the club runs an annual Basic Amateur Radio course and, as interest dictates, an advanced license course. The Club also maintains two VHF repeaters, as well as a UHF and a 6-meter repeater, along with associated UHF links for the Maritime terrestrial link system and the IRLP system. Monthly club meetings usually include an invited guest speaker or a field trip to a local point of interest. In 2004 the club visited the Canadian Coast Guard Radio Station in Dartmouth and saw Halifax Coast Guard Radio in action. Speakers this year have included talks on the use of radio telemetry in the televising of international sporting events, as well as a talk on "magnetic antennas". Other annual Club activities include
a collaborative effort with the Dartmouth ARC in hosting the DownEast Flea
Market each year. The HARC also holds an annual Christmas Dinner in December;
an annual Ham Breakfast in February; participates in JOTA and GOTA each
year; provides radio communication support each year for the Halifax MS
Walk and the Nova Scotia MS Bike Tour; and participates in the annual ARRL
Field Day event. The club co-sponsors, with the Cowichan Valley ARS, a
plaque for the top Canadian station in the 2-Alpha class. With 8888 points
in 2004, HARC brought home the Canadian 2-Alpha trophy and took top honours
nationally overall. The club also sponsors a plaque for the top Canadian
2-Foxtrot class. The Halifax Club also publishes the Maritime Amateur Radio
Callbook every three years, and in 2004 the Club established the Maritime
DX Forum. It is hoped that this Forum will be an annual event that brings
Hams interested in contesting and DX together for a day of seminars and
camaraderie. Although there are no formal meetings over the summer months,
everyone is welcome to drop by the Club Station in July and August for
the informal Summer Pizza Nights.
Fantastic Aurora (Jan. 8 2005) You might want to have a look at the Aurora images and movie on this site. Don't know if you city folk even noticed, but on the way home last night I caught a fantastic Aurora. I snapped a few photos and sent them to Spaceweather.com, and they put them up on their site: www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01jan05.htm Also, check out Remi Boucher's Aurora movie taken near Sherbrooke, Quebec. It's really cool! Brent, VE1JH
Maritime Swap Shop The Maritime Swap Shop is held every Tuesday at 2330z or 7:30 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
Notice: Amateurs in the Atlantic Region are asked to submit their news items for 'The Canadian Amateur Radio Bulletin' to our 'Atlantic Regional Correspondent'. D. Howard Dickson - VE1DHD dhdickson@hfx.eastlink.ca
The "Ontario Open Roundtable Net" Sundays at 11:00AM on 7.063MHz. The " Ontario Open Roundtable Net " is open to any amateurs to join in with any info, questions or topics relating to amateur radio. ALL!!! opinions are encouraged. Feel free to express all your thoughts about our hobby and share with us your projects, and experiments. We encourage antenna and audio testing at any time. We are a relaxed very friendly group.We have a good amount of very knowledgeable amateurs usually on the net. We use VOX and avoid a strict formal structure.All hams at all levels are made to feel very welcome. Check in even in CW if you would like. The net runs for one hour. (Nick VE3NJG)
Northwest Ontario ARES Net. The Northwest ARES net operates on a frequency of 3.750 mhz, and runs 365 days a year. The net meets at 0115z (0015z summer time), or if you wish, 8:15 pm local time in the Eastern Time Zone. The net handles both formal and informal traffic and bulletins of interest to amateurs. The frequency has served as a Northwest Call Frequency, and we have check-in from all over Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, and Sakatchewan,and when propagation is good, we get checkins from the west coast, as well as various check-ins east of Thunder Bay. Net control stations from Thunder Bay, Longlac, Geraldton, and Dryden can be heard running the net on various nights of the week along with regular check-ins and a host of others who are always willing to lend an ear and relay when needed. All check-ins with or without traffic, on phone or CW are always welcome to join the net. (Fred Lesnick, VE3FAL)
Ontario Amateur Radio Service celebrates 33rd Anniversary (Jan. 08, 2005) Just a reminder that the ONTARS Net will celebrate its 33rd anniversary on January 08, 2005. The net was founded by Bruce Carveth, VE3BC (SK) in 1972. The net operates seven days per week from 7 am to 6 pm on 3.755 mhz, with a different controller each hour. (Shawn Gartley, VE3PSV, ONTARS Net Manager)
Kitchener Waterloo Linux Users Group "install-fest" (Jan. 11 2005) The Kitchener Waterloo Linux Users Group is holding a Linux "install-fest" Tuesday night, 11 January 2005. This is an opportunity for you to install Linux on your computer with the assistance of experienced Linux users. It starts at 6 p.m. at the Cambridge Holiday Inn (200 Holiday Inn Drive). The event is free but pre-registration is required. For more information visit http://www.kwlug.org/fest.php. (Brad Rodriguez, VE3RHJ, AEC Grey County)
Big Event 27
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)
RAC Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Ontario Section
Weather Radio Upgrade. Weather Radio is receiving an upgrade, to allow it to be used to alert the public about all types of emergencies, rather than just weather related problems. This upgrade would allow a municipal authority to inform the public in a specific municipality about an emergency, without bothering others that are not involved. This means that the Toronto WeatherRadio station could inform Mississauga residents of an alert / warning or emergency, without notifying people in York Region who are not impacted. ARES leaders should consider how useful this ability will be in their local area. More information is available on the Ontario ARES website at http://racaresontario.ca (Gord Hewit, VE3GIH, Scugog DEC)
ARES Software Upgrades (Jan. 2, 2005) Larry - VA1KGM - has released a new version of the Net Manager software package - V 2.0 - that includes both packet and psk modules along with the NTS.exe module to allow traffic to be managed during a net. This program has been developed and tested over the past few years by and for ARES operations. It makes the duties of any NCS station a breeze, prioritizing the order and sequence of stations, managing the database of stations, preparing net reports, and interfacing with WinPack to allow for direct forwarding of NTS formatted messages. You can find the program and additional modules at Larry's web site – www.levektronix.com. If you find in using it that you have additional needs that would enhance the program, feel free to contact Larry direct or forward an explanation of your idea / need to me - ve3lki@rac.ca (Michael Moreau, VE3LKI)
Anthony Rodgers VA7IRL WPGARES By Jeff, VE4MBQ Emergency Coordinator Thirteen ARES members operated VE4WWO at the Prairie and Arctic Storm Prediction Centre (PASPC) for 24 hours SAT 04 DEC during the NWS-AARL SKYWARN Recognition Day Special Event. Final results are not in but we had either 92 QSOs including contact with 25 NWS Offices or 80 QSOs with contact with 29 NWS Offices. Thanks to our volunteer operators VE4s: YYL, GWN, KAZ, ACX, KEH, DWG, HAZ, AJR, KU, DAR, CRS, ALW, MBQ Special thanks to Glen VE4GWN for being QSL Manager again and to our web-master Don VE4DWG for posting our SRD photos: http://www.winnipegares.ca/SRD2004.htm As mentioned at the DEC WARC meeting we might be involved in providing volunteer Amateur communications for Festival du Voyageur opening ceremonies 1800-2200h FRI 11 FEB 2005. Anyone interested in volunteering please let me know a.s.a.p. (Jeff VE4MBQ)
Looking for VE4QH
Could they be canvassed at a Club meeting or via E-mail? - -k4ef@iglou.com (Ev K4EF)
ADVANCED COURSE + CODE for Amateur
Radio Operator Certificate
2006 QCWA National
Convention, Calgary, AB
The organizing committee has adopted a QCWA Convention - 2006 logo (see below) that will be available in a lapel pin. Only 200 pins have be ordered and should be available in early January, 2005. These are expected to move fast and pricing is $5.00 for each lapel pin. If you wish to receive yours now, send $5.00 for each pin plus $2.00 mailing charges to mail in Canada and $2.50 mailing charges to mail in the USA. The mailing charges are for mailing up to 10 pins in one envelope. If you wish to reserve your pin and pickup at convention time, just mail $5.00 and the committee will have you pin(s) available at the registration desk. Make Cheque or Money Order payable to "QCWA National Convention - 2006" and mail to Jack Ambler, VE6CAQ at 9994 Hidden Valley Drive NE, Calgary, AB T3A 5G3. And finally - as a point of
interest the QCWA National Web site is already promoting the convention.
Visit the 2006 Convention page on the QCWA web site at http://www.qcwa.org/2006convention.htm.
49th ANNUAL QCWA QSO PARTY - April
3, 2005
Saskhamfest 2005 2005 is the Centennial Celebration for Saskatchewan. The Saskatoon Amateur Radio Club and the Meewasin Amateur Radio Society of Saskatoon are hosting the Saskatchewan Amateur Radio League annual Hamfest for 2005. Join us at the Travelodge Saskatoon for our Centennial Celebrations July 22-24, 2005. The theme of the Saskhamfest 2005 will be the last century of amateur radio, a look at the role of amateur radio in Saskatchewan and discussions about the future of ham radio operations in Western Canada. All proceeds of the Saskhamfest 2005 will be contributed to the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. Anyone who wishes to participate in the Saskhamfest 2005 may contact the Saskatchewan Amateur Radio League at www.sarl.ca
Notice: Amateurs in the Western Provinces are asked to submit their news items for 'The Canadian Amateur Radio Bulletin' to our ' Western Provinces Correspondent'. Anthony Rodgers VA7IRL
Subscribe to this bulletin and have it delivered to your e-mail box automatically every week, please put your name and callsign (if you have one) in the body of the text. hfradio@look.ca Acknowledgments
|
