 |
 |
|
|
|
Trans-Pacific Canadian Amateur LF Signals Confirmed Heard (Oct.14 2005) The first confirmed trans-Pacific reception of Canadian amateur LF (2200m) signals occured on the morning of October 4, 2005. The slow speed (QRSS) CW signals of VA7LF were confirmed heard near Wellington, New Zealand, at the Wellington Amateur Radio Club station at Quartz Hill. Signals from the ZM2E club station
were heard in Canada as well but propagtion was not of sufficient duration
to enable a QSO to be completed. VA7LF was located on South Pender Island,
British Columbia and operated by VE7TIL, VE7SL and VE7MM. The Quartz Hill
station was manned by ZL2CA and ZL4OL. The present amateur radio LF world
record two-way is shared by ZM2E and UA0LE, a
Both stations were operated on 137
kHz using DFCW QRSS120. VA7LF was running approximately 1 watt erp while
ZM2E
(RAC News Service)
VO1MRC continues experiments on 60 metres (Oct. 11 2005) The Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland (MRCN) station VO1MRC will be conducting an experiment from 0000-2400 UTC on the 22nd and 23rd of October 2005. During this period, a CW beacon will be in operation on 5269.5 kHz to determine the diurnal variations in propagation. Signal reports from local and distant stations will be gratefully received. VO1MRC will be open briefly for 2
way contacts with stations authorized to transmit on 60 metres starting
0000 UTC each of these days and will operate
The experiment was proposed by MRCN, endorsed by Radio Amateurs of Canada and authorized by Industry Canada. For further information, please check the MRCN web site by searching for VO1MRC on the Internet. (Joe Craig, VO1NA) (RAC News Service)
Industry Canada releases updated amateur call sign policies (Oct. 09 2005) On Friday October 7th, Industry Canada released a revised version of Radio Information Circular (RIC) 9, updating their policy on Radio Amateur Callsigns and Special Event Prefixes. According to IC, this new issue reflects recent modifications to the international Radio Regulations pertaining to the amateur service resulting from decisions made at the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference of 2003 (WRC-2003). If you want to know more about the recent revisions, and how they may affect you, visit the IC web site at: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf02102e.html . A more detailed review of the events leading up to the release will be available on this web site soon, and will also appear in the next issue of the Canadian Amateur. (RAC News Service)
Approximately 20,000 Basic-Only Canadian amateurs gain access to HF bands (Oct. 4 2005) Industry Canada reports that since the new regulations were implemented on July 30, 2005, 19,995 Canadian amateurs who have held a Basic Only certificate since April 2, 2002 have been granted access to the HF bands. There remain 2450 amateur operators in Canada that do not possess HF privileges. This does not imply that they have not met the 80% pass mark but that as of today, Industry Canada has had no requests from these individuals for HF privileges. Here full story, as reported by RAC Vice President Jim Dean, VE3IQ, The New Regulations for HF Access - What do They Mean? In response to the RAC Proposal on Morse Code and Related Matters, and in line with the decisions taken at WRC-2003, Industry Canada has removed the Morse Qualification as a mandatory requirement for access to the HF band below 30 MHz. However, qualifying in Morse still remains an option. The pass mark for both the Basic and Advanced Qualification examinations has been raised to 70%. Some other recommendations from the RAC proposal were also implemented. The necessary regulatory changes have been incorporated by revisions to RIC-2 and RIC-3 (see Issues dated July 2005), which govern operations by Canadian radio amateurs. Every amateur should obtain a copy of these RICs from the Industry Canada web site at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/h_sf06073e.html . So what do the new regulations mean? For the most part, they only affect those amateurs who hold just the Basic Qualification. Well, first they mean that Industry Canada has responded positively to the proposal from RAC and to the wishes expressed by the majority of amateurs who responded to the RAC internet survey of 2003 and to the Industry Canada public consultation of 2004. Industry Canada was not able to implement all of the proposed restructuring of the amateur service to accommodate an Intermediate Certificate because that would have required changes to the Radiocommunication Regulations, which requires approval of the Cabinet and promulgation by Order of Governor-in Council. That can be a very lengthy process. Industry Canada made changes to the extent possible through amendments to RIC 2 and RIC-3, which can be approved by the Minister. Second, they mean that the HF bands are now available for use by those of the approximately 23,000 Basic-only certificate holders who were previously restricted to operating above 30 MHz, but who now meet simple eligibility criteria. This provides a great opportunity for them to go on HF under the new rules and expand their technical and operating knowledge and experience. The increase in the pass mark from 60% to 70% means that Basic and Advanced Qualification candidates will have to study a little harder to achieve these qualifications. For access to the HF bands, candidates will have to achieve the Basic + Honours Qualification (80% or greater on the Basic exam), or qualify under one of the other options shown in Schedule 1 of RIC-2. This was not done to make it more difficult to become a radio amateur, but was done in recognition of the fact that operation in the HF bands requires special knowledge and skills not necessary for most operations in the bands above 30 MHz. It was also done because it was determined that the old pass mark of 60% for the multiple-choice examinations did not provide a sufficient test of the candidate's ability. Holders of only the Basic Qualification who were certified before 2 April 2002, are considered to have accumulated enough experience to be permitted to also operate on the HF bands. Holders of the Basic Qualification who were certified after 1 April 2002, will have to demonstrate to Industry Canada that they achieved 80% or greater on their exam. These amateurs should get their Accredited Examiner to fax their mark to the Amateur Radio Service Centre, or obtain a certified copy and fax it themselves. Those who achieved less than 80% and wanting to operate on HF, will either have to rewrite the Basic exam, or take the options of writing and passing the Morse or Advanced exams. Retaining Morse as a voluntary Qualification means that it still can be included on the holder's certificate. This may be needed in some countries that still require a Morse capability for reciprocal operation. Indeed, it is understood that some countries that drop Morse as a mandatory requirement for HF access, may still require a Morse qualification to operate using the CW mode within their country. The new rules have invalidated some of the current Basic examination questions. RAC will be working with Industry Canada to determine how best to identify and handle these questions and advise Accredited Examiners. Industry Canada has also recognized that it will have to find a method of noting the Basic + Honours Qualification on the Amateur Certificate and Call Sign (ACCS) data base that is displayed on the RAC web site. It is understood that Industry Canada is planning to revise the ACCS, but that will take some time to realize. As an interim measure, the names of holders of only the Basic Qualification who were certified before 2 April, 2002, have been grandfathered as Basic + Honours and their names now have been annotated with a (+) sign on the data base to show this. Those amateurs holding only the Basic Qualification who were certified after 1 April, 2002, should now contact the Accredited Examiner (AE) who tested them. The marks should be available as RIC-1 requires Accredited Examiners to retain the examination results for three years. If your AE has your mark, and if it is 80% or greater, then ask him to fax the information to the Amateur Radio Service Centre at (613) 991-5575 or fax the information yourself if he provides you with a copy. Under the new rules, holders of the Basic Qualification may now assemble, install and operate commercially available transmitter kits of professional design. Basic holders have always been able to build, install and operate receivers and station accessories; only designing and building or modifying transmitters was prohibited. This is a positive step to expand the practical skills of amateurs. All in all, the rule changes mean that Industry Canada has followed the trend to delete Morse as a mandatory qualification, but has provided flexibility in options to meet Canadian requirements for HF access. The technical and regulatory knowledge requirements and the examinations to become an amateur remain unchanged. CW remains an honoured and standard mode of amateur communication. RAC will notify radio amateurs of corrections in the examinations and the update of the Call Sign data base through announcements on the RAC web site and in the pages of TCA. Note: The Industry Canada French Language rules are available at : http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/fr/h_sf06073f.html (Thanks to RAC Vice President Regulatory Affairs, Jim Dean, VE3IQ)
Radio Amateurs of Canada
I have had a chance to chat, via telephone, with someone representing each of the schools in the YEP. There have been some changes, but everyone seems quite keen to get on with another school year and hopefully, we will see some additions to the program. Now that the YEP is firmly established, of the things that we will have to work on this year is promotion. We need to draw attention to the benefits of the YEP on a local, provincial and national level. If any of you has ideas or means of bringing this about, I would love to hear from you. I’ve been asked to put together a Power Point presentation for Industry Canada later this fall. If possible, could you send me a .JPG picture of something to do with your involvement in the YEP? Perhaps a picture of your students doing something radio related? Below, is a brief summary of the situation in each of the program’s schools: LESTER B. PEARSON HIGH SCHOOL
- Burlington, ON
While Mark has retired from teaching, he is still very much involved with the school and its program and expects it to continue. A very enthusiastic new teacher, Andrew Lychy (VA3AJJ) is teaching the Grade 12 course and may be able to incorporate the YEP into his program. The support from the Burlington Amateur Radio Club has been excellent and continues, with Mark as this year’s club president. Last year, the school YEP was able to graduate 20 students as Amateurs in the first semester and a further 10 students in the second semester resulting in 30 new hams. Excellent work, and Mark hopes that this can continue for the current school year. Mark describes two major goals: 1. To introduce Amateur Radio to students 2. To maintain the students’ interest in Amateur Radio DRINKWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -
Duncan, BC
The BC schools are experiencing a special challenge: they are experiencing job action province wide, which will have a potential effect on extra-curricular activities and thus on the YEP. Certainly, teachers and administrators are focused on issues other than Amateur Radio while this is taking place. However, Mike spoke enthusiastically about the Mt. Everest contact last year and how excited the students were about it. This year, he is going to try to establish an Echo Link system for his program to get students ‘on the air’. The school has only limited access to the IRLP repeater due to heavy traffic from the established Amateur community. He would like to get on to HF and has access to the transceiver, but maintaining an HF antenna on top of the school is not practical. He is looking for something that could be put up and taken down in an hour to protect it from potential vandalism. CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL - Victoria,
BC
This school, like all the others in BC, is working under the job action restrictions, and the YEP activity may well be affected. However, Terrance hopes to continue with the program. When I talked with him, the enrichment programs were just getting started. MONSIGNOR DOYLE CATHOLIC SECONDARY
SCHOOL - Cambridge, ON
The program will continue into this school year. Three students achieved their Amateur Radio license last year and he will be using Amateur Radio with the Grade 11 and 12 students again this year, as an independent study program involving demonstrations and satellite work with VHF and UHF. In this school, a five year construction plan will include facilities for an Amateur Radio station. Peter intends to stay with VHF and UHF for the time being, although there is a possibility of obtaining an HF station from the sponsoring club - the Kitchener-Waterloo Amateur Radio Club. SIR JAMES DUNN COLLEGIATE - Sault
St. Marie, ON
This school is new into the program. Grant says that his students are quite interested in getting involved with Amateur Radio and he hopes to establish an IRLP connection for them. He does have the equipment set up to establish a node. He is also looking at the possibility of establishing an HF station. RALPH McCALL SCHOOL - Airdrie,
AB
Brian has been teaching since August 11th and is very enthusiastic about his program. He continues to have a daily contact with Neil Carleton at the R. Tait McKenzie Public School in Ontario and his students are already well acquainted with the students in the Ontario school through the magic of IRLP. Brian is planning a contact for his students with Tasmania in the near future. The school board for Brian’s school has provided and set up a VHF/UHF computer controlled tracking antenna system which should soon be in operation. CHESTERMERE LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL
- Chestermere, AB
Brian has left this school to work in Airdrie, but has maintained his contact with the school in the hope of getting the YEP to continue. There is not, currently, a licensed teacher in the school, but Brian hopes to infect someone on staff with his enthusiasm, by going to the school during some free time to set up equipment and run some demonstrations. He hopes to establish an IRLP link so that students can monitor ARISS activity and is looking into linking this school with his Airdrie school via ATV. The students are excited, the administration is very willing and the QCWA Wild Rose Chapter 151 is very supportive of the program. He just needs a teacher who is willing to take advantage of the advantages offered through an Amateur Radio program. R. TAIT McKENZIE PUBLIC SCHOOL
- Almonte, ON
Last month’s newsletter provided detail about Neil’s program. This year, he has 31 students involved in the program doing SWL and Amateur Radio. One of his main goals this year is to get an HF antenna set up on the school WALTER MURRAY COLLEGIATE - Saskatoon,
SK
With the unfortunate death of teacher
Brian Walter, last spring, the program has been interrupted. However, Derek
will be making a presentation to the school staff about the use of Amateur
Radio as a part of the program. A new teacher on staff has shown some interest
and might be a possible recruit into the program. An HF station and antenna
are ready to be installed, but will have to be put on hold until the situation
is
HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL - Grimshaw,
AB
This program will be ongoing. Forbes is trying to get a youth group going in the school and to increase interest in ARES, with particular reference to recent situation in the US.. The school has access to HF equipment with the donation of two transceivers and the McKenzie Regional Radio Club will provide support and possibly help with establishing an HF antenna. On the strength of this school’s involvement with the YEP, another school, 100 km distant, may be interested in coming into the program as well. GRAND MANAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL -
Grand Manan Is, NB
Roger has left this school and now resides in Ottawa and holds the callsign VE3RLA. Unfortunately, he program on Grand Manan can not continue without him. What can you provide for a subsequent newsletter? Please send me an update of your program or any other information that might be of interest to the rest of the YEP participants. Bj. Madsen - VE5FX
Tri-County Amateur Radio Club Finds New Home Club President Don Courcy (VE1CY) tells me that new life has been breathed into the Tri-County Amateur Radio Club in Moncton since the Club recently secured a new home. Don states that "Our club has
been homeless for a while and it has affected the membership. Members miss
the days when they could meet on Saturday mornings to participate in tinkering
sessions or in experimental projects. Well…, reminisce no more !
It is time to enjoy. We have a home again ! Thanks to the efforts of Elliott,
VE9EWR, we now have a new clubhouse on the second floor of the Centennial
Park Maintenance Depot. It is now up to us to make it better than the last
one. There is a lot of work ahead; setting up the clubhouse, putting up
a tower & antennas, installing the club station… We need your help
to make this happen before the winter. Dave, VE9FQJ is already working
on a floor plan. Eric VE9JR has been busy trying to get the place cleaned
up and ready for painting. I know that Ola VE9OLA, Laurie VE1AWJ and many
others have helped as well. There is excitement in the air."
Don goes on to point out in the Club's recent Newsletter that, "One of the biggest challenges that our club faces is maintaining and increasing our membership. We must find ways to attract new members from the pool of Certified Ham Radio Operators in southeastern New Brunswick. To do that, we must do things so they will "want" to come and join us. There are many ways to do that: finding interesting guest speakers, coming up with building projects, testing new technology, maybe restarting the Saturday morning experimental sessions, etc… We need your ideas and proposals. The problem of decreasing membership is not restricted to our club. It is also a problem faced by the entire Amateur Radio community. We are all getting older and we need new blood. The only way to do that is to promote our hobby in the media and to offer Amateur Radio Courses. The club has just started a Basic Amateur Radio Course with seven students enrolled. I just heard tonight that we might be getting an eighth student for the course. Many requests have also been made for an Advanced Course and we are considering the possibility of offering one beginning in January 2006. Morse code training is also being considered." The Tri-County Amateur Radio Club in Moncton appears to be up to the many challenges that our hobby faces. Getting into their new Club facilities will give the members a big boost and we wish Don and his colleagues in Moncton well in their endeavour to build enthusiasm for Amateur Radio and build the base of Hams in the Moncton area. D. Howard Dickson - VE1DHD
Westcumb Amateur Radio Club News (Sept. 22 2005) WARC River Hebert Army Cadet Corp Radio Demonstration: On Saturday afternoon, the 15th of October, several retired military radio operators belonging to the WARC will give a demonstration to the River Hebert Army Cadet Corp. They will have a HF station operational for SSB and CW. VHF setup will include a base setup and seven HTs. They will be using the Amherst 147.285 repeater for their demonstrations and small exercise. (That should liven the repeater up). It should be noted that when the cadets are using the repeater, they will be under the supervision of a licensed Amateur. - from Jim Hannon, VE1AFH. The Red Cross in Amherst is looking
for a volunteer Amateur Radio Operator for one day a week.
Every Thursday morning @ 11:45 am, the Red Cross has a province-wide radio net. This net involves Amateur VHF working through the VE1BHS repeater (145.350 - MHz.). We will very soon have a fully operational, licensed Amateur radio station at the Red Cross Building, 16 Church St. Amherst. If anybody would like to take on the task of doing the Red Cross radio net, please drop in and see Angie Lohnes. There is always a fresh pot of tea and a cookie to be had. E-Mail: angela.lohnes@redcross.ca Jim Hannon, Emergency Measures Coordinator,
For more information about the Westcumb Amateur Radio Club visit:www.westcumb.com
Hamilton Amateur Radio Club "HAMFEST
2005" (Oct. 15 2005)
Greenwood Annual Flea Market
(Oct. 15 2005)
Montreal South-Shore Hamfest 2005
(Oct. 22 2005)
Winnipeg Amateur Radio Club Fall Flea Market (Oct. 23 2005) Sunday, October 23, 2005 Held at the Heritage Victoria Community Club, 950 Sturgeon Rd. Come on out and socialize before the winter hibernation sets in. It is a great opportunity to have "Eyeball QSO's" with your friends. The W.A.R.C. Flea market is a great
way to turn that corner of unused "Stuff" into spendable CASH!! Book your
vendor's table now!
There will be a talk-in on 147.390+
York Region Hamfest (Oct.
29 2005)
For more info visit: http://www.yrarc.on.ca
Ham Radio, Electronic & Computer
Swap Meet (Nov. 6 2005)
River Watch 2005 / Water level advisory for Fredericton NB (Oct. 14 2005) FREDERICTON (CNB) - The following St. John River advisory is issued by River Watch 2005 and the Department of Public Safety's New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization on Friday, Oct. 14. Throughout the St. John River basin, the river systems and their tributaries have been slowly decreasing from last weekend's heavy rainfall. The heavy rainfall forecasted for Saturday, Oct. 15 will result in a sharp increase in water levels on smaller streams and tributaries, particularly in the western part of the province. It is expected that the St. John River water levels will rise rapidly beginning on Sunday and Monday. With rising water levels, people living or working along the lower St. John River and its tributaries, and those in low-lying areas, should be on the alert for possible flooding and take steps to protect their property. This alert will be of particular concern to boaters who still have boats or docks in the water and to farmers who have livestock or farm equipment on islands or in low lying areas adjacent to the St. John River or its tributaries. The River Watch 2005 website can be found at: http://www.gnb.ca/public/Riverwatch/index-e.asp. A variety of self-help advice is
also available on the NB-EMO Public Alerts site at: http://www.gnb.ca/public/info-e.asp.
Provincial Emergency Operations Centre Activation SET 2005 (Oct. 30 2005) The Provincial Emergency Operations Centre Amateur Radio Station VE3EMO and the Toronto Emergency Operations Center Amateur Radio Station VA3EOT will both be activated on Sunday October 30th from 10:00hrs to 13:00hrs. Both stations will be engaged in the sending and receiving of simulated emergency test messages with any Amateur Radio Station anywhere, on HF /6 Mtr FM and VHF / UHF. On HF, the activity will be centered on 7.055 Mhz., the frequency of the Trans Provincial Net with 3.755 (Ontars Net) as the backup frequency. The ProCom Net will also be activated to get messages in and out of the EOCs. 40 Meter PSK31 will be tested by stations equipped with that mode. It is suggested that the updated version of Digipan be used for quick and easy "ARES" identification. Further details to follow, comments or questions may be addressed to: va3ku@hfradio.net Jim Taylor, VA3KU
Trans Canada PowWow Club back on the air! (Oct. 1 2005) The Trans Canada PowWow Club
kicked off its its activities for the 2005/06 Season on October 1st
at midnight EST / 05:00 UTC on 3750.00khz.
The link provided here is somewhat dated but it will give you a good idea of what happens on the Club frequency. Please click on this link for further information TRANS CANADA POW WOW CLUB (Thanks to Hart VA3OU)
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.
Well the place to visit is the 'Ontario Swap Shop' held every Sunday at 12 noon on 7055 kHz and 7:00pm on 3755 kHz. Nick VE3NJG and Ken VE3YK host the hour long program and all amateurs are invited. 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 Introducing the "Ontario Swap Shop Club" a place where you can record your e-mail address or phone number where it will always be available even if you have nothing currently listed on the swap shop.
The Manitoba Repeater Society
Swap & Shop
The Screwdriver antenna was invented by Don Johnson, W6AAQ of Esparto, California back in 1991. I am not going into any detail on the antenna as all the information is available from Don for five dollars US, however, I will discuss common problems encountered when checking to see why the particular antenna does not perform as well as it should.
I constructed my first DK3 in early 1993 and immediately realized that
it was superior to any antenna that I had used since 1960 while mobiling.
I had over 250 requests for information on the antenna as I mobiled all
over Ontario due to the outstanding signal it was putting out. I had hams
say I was running an amplifier, that 100 watts would not produce the signal
they were hearing. I also had some hams follow the coax from the antenna
back to the transceiver looking for a "boot" ! It was incredible
to be able to carry on conversations for hours at a time as I traveled
throughout Ontario from Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Timmins and Kirkland
Lake to Sudbury, North Bay and Ottawa, from Kingston to Windsor ..... literally
every part of the province.
There are some DK3 antennas out there that are not performing the way they should and the fault lies with the installation itself normally. a) The ground connection from the toroid must be as short as possible, mine is about 4 inches or so. b) The portion of the antenna where the coil is exposed should be at least 18 inches above the highest part of the vehicle and clear of any metal. c) The mast portion may be as close as 4 to 5 inches from the body with no detrimental effects. d) Do not use Junk Box coax, buy a new piece, it only costs a few bucks and will save you all kinds of headaches. e) Use heavy wire as bonding between frame and the point you are using as ground. Also you may need to bond various parts of your vehicle together due to the construction practices used in modern vehicle assembly. f) The transceiver is not grounded . Every transceiver has a grounding post on the back! It is there for reason, use the shortest piece of at least # 10 wire to go from that post to the firewall or to the metal floor. Make sure that there is no resistance readable from transceiver to vehicle body. NOTE! Apparently transceiver installation guides for new vehicles say that the transceiver is NOT TO BE GROUNDED, but should be left floating to prevent damage to the various Electronic Control Modules (ECMs) in new vehicles. Improperly installed ham gear has caused ECMs to fail and resulted in very costly repairs to the units and are not covered by warranty. For more information on this go to http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/carproblems.html . There you will be able to get the numbers for Installation Guides that pertain to your vehicle. They can be ordered from your dealer. Be advised that I have had no problems in any of the vehicles, in which I have had transceivers installed ( and Grounded) and I will not change the grounding at this stage of the game. Hope I have been able to get across the above basic points for getting exceptional signal reports from your mobile instead of mediocre ones. Fingerstock, Contacts , etc
One of the most frequently asked questions about the DK3 Screwdriver antenna
is about the contact arrangement or "fingerstock" used.
Ted has a website that has a lot of great information: www.tnws.com/ve3dxg
|
