Industry Canada has analyzed the responses to the public consultation called under Canada Gazette Notice DGRB-003-04. A summary of the comments received and the individual replies are now available on the Industry Canada web site at  http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf08280e.html

(RAC News Service)

Atlantic Region Correspondent Needs Your Help PLEASE, if there is something interesting being planned, currently going on, or has taken place in Amateur Radio in your location, drop me an email and let me know so I can share your news with others in the region and across the country. D. Howard Dickson - VE1DHD dhdickson@hfx.eastlink.ca

Planned dates:
Janurary 30th 2005 - CW section (VE1BBL Memorial Contest) 
February 13th 2005 - SSB section (VE1ALB Memorial Contest) 

Operating Times & Frequency: Both sections are on 80M, open to hams in the three Maritime provinces only and run from 7 -11 am and 2 - 6 pm local time (AST). 

Exchange: Call, Name, RST, County, Province, Serial #. 

Scoring: 6 points / QSO (1 point per correct exchange item). 

Multipliers: Counties and Memorial station will count as multipliers. 

Awards: A plaque will be awarded for first place in each section and certificates will be awarded for 25+ CW contacts and 50+ SSB contacts 

Submission of Entries within 30 days to: 
Avery Crowell ve1hs@rac.ca
PO Box 82 
Digby, NS B0V 1A0 

As of now we are not 100% sure that we have a CW Op for the BBL section, but will keep everyone advised. We are recommending that the CW section operation be kept to 3.700 kHz and below. 

73 Avery - VE1HS

Planned Date: February 6, 2005. 

Participants: Open to all three Maritimes Provinces, Newfoundland & Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, as well as the State of Maine.  ALL are welcome, indeed encouraged, to participate in order to make this an interesting and challenging contest.

Operating Time & Frequency: between 7am &10am AST, and from 4pm to 6pm AST on the 80 metre band only. 

Exchange: Call sign; Name (personal); White-cane status (White Cane or not)

Scoring: two points for a White Cane contact; one point for a non-white cane contact.

Multipliers: there are no multipliers

Awards: will be two Certificates - one for a White Caner and one for a non-White Caner. 

Log Submission: no later than February 28, 2005. Late submissions will NOT be counted.

Format - Logs will be accepted in ANY format (i.e. Brail, audio tape; email and direct mail.

Totals - Logs should show at the bottom the total number on white cane contacts and the total number of non-white cane contacts.

HAM Radio Celebrating 15 Years
of Supporting the MS Bike Tour

by Rick Gardiner, VE1RGG MS Bike Tour Planning Committee (Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada - Atlantic Division) and a Member of the Halifax Amateur Radio Club

Over a dozen members of the Halifax Amateur Radio Club, along with several members from the Truro Amateur Radio Club, have been providing emergency communications for the MS Bike Tour held in Nova Scotia each year. The 2004 RONA MS Bike Tour marked the 15th anniversary for the tour which has been a major fundraising event for the MS Society's Atlantic Division since 1990.

The Bike Tour is a two day weekend event traveling along very scenic maritime routes. Frequent rest stops with food and refreshments are provided along the route to aid in the comfort of the cyclists. There is a stop-over on Saturday night where several activities and an Awards Banquet are planned. The return trip on the following day ends with a BBQ back at the Saturday morning start point. The Bike Tour Planning Committee, which includes MS Staff and several volunteers, checks any planned route months in advance to ensure that the route is suitable for cyclists and that there will be adequate places available for rest stops.

PHOTO: Rick VE1RGG stopping at one of the planned Rest Stops and checking communications along the route. Over a dozen service vehicles are provided for the two days to help ensure the safety of the cyclists. Several vehicles are designated for First Aid and Bike Repair while others patrol the route frequently to watch for cyclists in need of assistance. HAM radio operators are also assigned to each Rest Stop in case there is a need to call for assistance or for supplies. PHOTO: Tom Caithness VE1GTC is show in the photo (wearing the Light blue HARC shirt) assisting with communications in the Cyclesmith bike repair van.

When the route from Musquodoboit Harbour to Truro was chosen there was a substantial gap in the communications along the route. Almost two-thirds of the route did not have adequate coverage by cell phone or HAM radio repeater. A mobile HAM radio repeater built into an EMO trailer was called into service and a ham radio operator towed the trailer to the top of a hill located near the centre of the route in order to fill the void.
 

PHOTO: David Musgrave VE1EDA is show in photo attending the mobile repeater located in the EMO trailer.

Participation in this event has increased to an average of 400 cyclists each year. Over a hundred volunteers also help make the event a success by participating as Rest Stop Support, Route Flagging, Luggage Transport, Cheering, Route Set-up and Tear Down, Route Signing, Banquet Planning, and many other activities.

Modern electronics were used in the Bike Tour this year with several of the vehicles carrying GPS units connected to Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) radio equipment. This equipment automatically reports positions of vehicles by sending out packets of information that it receives from the GPS units. Contained within each beacon is the latitude and longitude of the vehicle. When this is used in conjunction with the proper monitoring equipment the position of each vehicle can be tracked on a computerized map. This helps to shorten response times by knowing where vehicles are located. It also helps to keep the service vehicles spread out along the route when not dealing with a particular emergency.

PHOTO: APRS equipment being used to track service vehicles. The red circles indicate the tracked vehicles. The letters indicate the call signs and the sub-station identifiers of the participating HAM radio operators.

Funds raised in Nova Scotia are in the order of $300,000 annually which goes towards research for finding a cure for MS and in the short term finding medications to help relieve the symptoms and provide comfort for those stricken with this disease. For more information on MS or the RONA MS Bike Tour see the MS web site at the following: http://www.mssociety.ca/atlantic/

Twenty-five years or so ago Dwight Hamilton (VE3NAZ), a keen sailor, decided to sail his Sloop to the Caribbean Islands. He had two friends, Doug Last and Dr Ernest Myers from Mississauga, Ontario, who, intrigued with the project, decided to follow Dwight on a daily basis. To do that they had to get their Ham licenses and Doug became VE3NBL and the Doctor VE3EGM.  Dwight set sail from Toronto and daily the three made contact on 14.122.5. The consistency of their daily contacts attracted other ham such as 6Y5DA in Jamaica, VP9V in the Bahamas and so on, and many of them became excellent relay stations. As the net grew, it became to be recognized as the Mississauga Maritime Net. Currently the net receives on an average of some 5000 "calls-in" a year from yachts at sea. The net has also served well in the several Caribbean storm disasters as an emergency communication facility.  VE1WIN (Winfield Hartlin) in Halifax, is one of those "relay stations" that works the net every day of the year. The constancy of Win's daily support deserved recognition. On our visit to the Maritimes recently, my wife, Dianne, and I met Win face-to-face. He went out of his way to make our stay informative and pleasurable.

On December 5th Win Hartlin (VE1WIN) was made an Honorary Member of the Toronto Marine Amateur Radio Club for his contributions to the Mississauga Maritime Net, along with his excellence in the philosophy of amateur radio.
 
 

I was ecstatic when I passed my 12-wpm CW exam in the spring of 1995, and was eager to get onto the HF bands.  However, it was the worst possible time to be setting up an HF station - believe me!  We were at the bottom of sunspot cycle #22, which was coming to an end. The prospect at the time for good long-range propagation was dismal for at least the next five years.  The reason is that long-range HF propagation is a result of signal "multi-hop", which is dependent upon the degree to which the ionosphere is ionized, and this is in turn directly related to the number of sunspots.  As it turns out, the solar flux index correlates well with sunspot numbers and so we Radio Amateurs use this index as a way of predicting the quality of HF propagation. 

Fast forward to 2005, and we are now in just about the same position that I was in 1995, and HF propagation is getting worse by the month.  As a result, I thought that it might be timely to provide a bit of a tutorial on the relationship between sun spot numbers and HF propagation.  In teaching the propagation chapter this year for the HARC Basic Amateur Radio Course, I found that it was good to review the theory in preparation for teaching it.  I hope that you find this review worthwhile too.

The following tutorial was compiled in part from excerpts taken from:

the NASA page on the Sunspot Cycle - 
http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/sunspots.htm

The Sun, the Earth, the Ionosphere: What the Numbers Mean, and Propagation Predictions--a brief introduction to propagation and the major factors affecting it. By Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html

Fig. #1 - Sunspots

Over the years, monthly averages of sunspot numbers have shown us that the number of sunspots visible on the sun waxes and wanes in approximately an 11-year cycle. Sunspot Cycle Predictions Although sunspots themselves produce only minor effects on solar emissions, the magnetic activity that accompanies sunspots produces dramatic changes in the sun's ultraviolet and soft x-ray emission levels. Over the solar cycle, these changes have important consequences for the Earth's upper atmosphere - the ionosphere,

The sun emits several forms of electromagnetic radiation that effect our upper atmosphere:

• ultraviolet radiation ionizes the F region
• soft X-rays ionize the E region, and 
• hard X- rays ionize the D region. 

Solar matter, (i.e. electrons and protons) is ejected from the sun on a regular basis, and results in what we know as the solar wind.  Solar storms (Fig. #2) occur when this solar wind becomes intense, and this can happen very quickly, with dramatic disruption to radio communication on Earth.
 

The sun's solar wind is important because of its significant impact on the Earth's magnetic field.  The Earth's magnetic field is normally compressed by the solar wind on the side facing the sun and is stretched out on the side away from the sun (the magnetotail, which extends tens of earth radii downwind) - see Fig. #3. While the sun's electromagnetic radiation can impact the entire ionosphere that is in daylight, the charged particles ejected by the sun behave differently.  They are guided preferentially into the ionosphere along magnetic field lines and thus they preferentially impact the higher latitudes where the magnetic field lines go into the Earth. The result of intense bombardment of the upper atmosphere by solar matter is an impressive nocturnal light display - the "Aurora Borialis".

Fig. #2 - Sun showing solar storm activity on the surface.

Fig. #3 - Sun lower left showing a solar storm; Earth at upper right showing the magnetic field in blue.

Variations in the Earth's magnetic field are measured daily. Two measurements that Radio Amateurs use on a regular basis are the daily A index and the three-hour K index. The A index is an average of eight 3-hour K indices, and uses a linear scale that goes from 0 (quiet) to 400 (severe storm). The K index uses a semi-logarithmic scale, which goes from 0 to 9 (with 0 being quiet and 9 being a severe storm). Generally speaking, an A index at or below 15 or a K index at or below 3 is best for propagation.  The following web site provides an excellent and current summary of HF propagation information - http://dx.qsl.net/propagation.

As we now know, sunspots come and go in an approximate 11-year cycle. The rise to maximum occurs over 4 to 5 years, and is usually faster than the descent to minimum, which takes from 6 to 7 years. 

Near the maximum of a solar cycle, the increased number of sunspots causes more ultraviolet radiation to impinge on the atmosphere, resulting in significantly more F region ionization.  This in turn allows the ionosphere to refract higher frequencies (15, 12, 10, and even 6 meters) back to Earth, supporting improved DX contacts. 

At and near the minimum between solar cycles, the number of sunspots is so low that higher frequencies go through the ionosphere into space. However, when we have a solar minimum there is less absorption of radio waves by the lower levels of the ionosphere, and as a result, we enjoy the best propagation on the lower frequencies (160 and 80 meters). 

As this piece was being written in late December 2004, the average daily sunspot number had declined to 26.9, and average solar flux was down to 88.7.  Sunspot counts have been quite low, and will continue their retreat for about two more years.  However, the long-range prediction for this cycle (the predicted smoothed sunspot number) for December 2005 it is 10, and the lowest value is projected to be five sometime in December 2006 or January 2007.  So, we are not at the bottom of cycle 22 yet! 
 

*  Cycle 21 started in June 1976 and lasted 10 years and 3 months. * Cycle 22 started in September 1986 and lasted 9 years and 8 months. * Cycle 23 started in May 1996.

On an optimistic note, once we get past December 2008, the monthly sunspot count for cycle 24 should start to increase rapidly.  In the meantime, there could be some long spells with no sunspots at all.  Looking on the bright side of things, remember that cycles rise faster than they decline, and so we should be seeing improved HF propagation conditions in about three or four years from now, sometime in 2008 or 2009.

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
Time: Doors open for sellers at 0630 and at 0900 for buyers
Entry Fee: $3.00 per person

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
73's -- VE1EGG -- Ed Grace
ve1egg@rac.ca

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

Charles Leggatt - VE3CFL is the President of the Toronto Marine Amateur Radio Club

This article is about the importance of having "long-range" communication facilities onboard sailing vessels. On November 16, 1982 South Bound II under skipper Herb Hilgenberg (VE3LML & VP9LM) set sail from Beaufort, NC, with Herb, his wife and two young children aged 6 and 14. Herb had no long-range communication facility such as Marine or Ham SSB onboard his vessel. During the passage, they were hit by one violent storm after another, and in the process Herb broke his arm (1).  Fearing not only for his own life, but also for his wife and children, he struggled on in great pain. Six days later they arrived in the Virgin Islands. Thankful for his life, he decided then and there that he would never go blue-water sailing again without having SSB capabilities onboard.  Secondly, realizing the poor weather reporting systems that existed in those days, he would study weather and all it variations, and start a weather network for sailors at sea. Those of you who have used Herb's daily SSB network know how terribly important this life saving facility has been over the years(2). He had decided that "History", as far as he and his family were concerned, would not be "repeated"!

Moving forward in time, it was late fall of 1988.  As I sat at home one Sunday morning the telephone rang with a request from a group of sailing pals.  They had earlier gotten together and had taken a Blue-Water Sailing Program. It involved, as I remember, a professionally supervised sail-training program from Toronto to Bermuda and back. It covered celestial navigation, chart work and of course vessel handling under all situations. The vessel had a SSB receiver on board but no transmitter. In short, they had no "long-range communication capability".  Off the coast of Bermuda they were hit by a tremendous storm. They could hear other vessels calling for help but they were too far offshore for VHF communication. They were alone with the very real possibility of losing their lives. The memory of that fear and the concern they had at the time for their families was understandably high as they talked to me that Sunday morning.  Their request was simple. As a group, they had collectively agreed that they would never go blue-water sailing without SSB/Ham or SSB/Marine transceiver equipment onboard. They now wanted to know how to obtain a course of instruction that would give them that SSB capability. For them, there would be no repeat of History.

Herb Hilgenberg (VE3LML & VP9LM)

The call had been made from the Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club, and I joined them to discuss the problem. The outcome of that meeting was the formation of the Toronto Marine Amateur Radio Club, and we would teach them.  That was fifteen years ago, and in the intervening years, close to 380 members of the sailing community have taken the course of instruction and gained their Amateur Licence. 

In 2003, at a meeting of the World Cruising Association, held at Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club, Herb Hilgenberg was asked how many lives he thought he had saved over the years.  He answered " We gave up counting at 25!". Had those 25 plus sailors not had "long-range communication facility" they would in all probability have lost their lives.
 
 

What choices are available in 2005 for long-distance communication at sea? Cellular Phone; the GMDSS (Global Marine Distress Safety System), which is not to be used in the Great Lakes, but only off the coasts; and of course, Marine and/or Ham Single Side Band (SSB) radio. If you are planning blue-water sailing, check www.tormarc.com (via Google) for more information on the "what and where" of Long-Range Communication and the How" to get it. Charles Leggatt VE3CFL - President and founder: The Toronto Marine Amateur Radio Club. Tel: 416 486 6025 Fax: 416 486 0417 Email: charles.di@sympatico.ca

Schooner on St. Margaret's Bay in Nova Scotia - Summer 2000 - by Howard Dickson - VE1DHD

Big Event 27
Sponsored by: The Niagara Peninsula Amateur Radio Club 
Start date: Saturday, February 5, 2005 
Location: 
Canadian Auto Workers Hall
124 Bunting Rd St. Catharines Ont. 
Opens: Vendors 7:00 am -- Public 9:00 am till 1:00pm 
Costs: Admission $6.00 Tables $20 (includes one admission) 
Talkin: VE3NRS 147.240 + Tone 107.2 
Notes:
New This Year --- VE Testing on Site NO CW --- More vendor tables --- New dealer draw --- Improved Food Menu
Radioworld --- Durham Radio --- Maple Leaf Communications and other vendors.
Door Prizes -- CanWarn -- Ares --OSLBureau -- RAC
Don't forget your GRAND PRIZE TICKET $1000.00 Gift Certificate from Radioworld.
Beef on a Bun -- Sandwiches -- Pop -- FREE COFFEE 
For more info visit: www.nparc.on.ca

Scarborough Amateur Radio Club

The Scarborough Amateur Radio Club was founded in 1946 and became Incorporated in 1977 as a non profit organization with the following objectives:

• The advancement of Amateur Radio as a hobby by providing, to Club Members aspiring to participate in that hobby, training in basic radio theory and the International Morse Code. 
• The Active support of Radio Amateurs of Canada, Inc. 
• The active support of Government and local community authorities when such support is in the best interests of our community and our Club. 

Our club has been active in Public Service Communications.
At present many of our members are active in ARES. (Amateur Radio Emergency Services). Scarborough Club Past President, Bob Chrysler, VE3IEL is ARES EC for Scarborough. In the past we have participated in varous Community Communications Activities such as the Warrior's Day Parade and the Labour Day parade in 2004. We have also provided communications for various "Walks", "Fun Runs", "Bike-athons", & "Horse Trials". In association with ARES many of our members participated in assisting community authorities during the recent power blackout. 

For more information about our club visit our website at: www.ve3we.ca

Looking for that special piece of radio gear to finish off your ham station? Do you have extra radio gear you'd like to turn into some cash?

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 

For the latest ARES news in Ontario visit the RAC ARES Ontario site at: racaresontario.ca RAC Ontario Section Newsletter: racaresontario.ca/public/display_official_bulletin.php

Hello from Red Deer

For the past 34 years our club has sponsored a picnic and hamfest on the Father's Day weekend. We have moved the picnic last year from Burbank to the Agricultural  Society Campground at Pine Lake, S.E. of Red Deer. Please let any amateurs in your area know of the changes  and we look forward to seeing you at this year's picnic. Thank you.

Central Alberta Amateur Radio Club  (Formerly Central Alberta Radio League) 35th  Annual Picnic and Hamfest
Sponsored by the Central Alberta Amateur Radio Club 
Date: June 17,18 and 19, 2005

Place: Pine Lake Agricultural Campground, Pine Lake, AB.

Directions: Go south of Red Deer to highway #42, go east to secondary highway #816, turn south 1 km to Crossroads Ag Society and Hub Community Center

Time: Registration starts Friday afternoon June 17th.

Talk-in: VE6QE 147.150 +600 and 146.52 Simplex

Information: Brian Davies VE6CKC,  (403)- 227-4409, bcdavies@telusplanet.net,

Jack VE6JRH (H) (403)  556-6775  (W) 556-3839  amateurradio@shaw.ca

Website: www.caarc.ca

73 de VE6JRH
John R. (Jack) Humphries
ve6jrh@rac.ca
403-556-3839
 

BC QSO  Challenge, a new provincial contest sponsored by the Delta Amateur Radio Society.

Participation is encouraged from everyone, Canadian and DX alike. It's a 24 hour contest, starting on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 1800z.

For rules and information, please visit the DARS website at:  www.deltaamateurradio.com/bcqsochallenge.html
 

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
va7irl@rac.ca

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