FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 07 November 2008 - The Global ALE High Frequency Network (HFN) has become the first network to operate continuously for more than 500 days on all international amateur radio shortwave bands simultaneously. The main purpose of the network is to provide efficient emergency and disaster relief communications to remote areas of the world.

Beginning with a core group of 6 North American radio operators in June 2007, HFN rapidly expanded to cover large areas of the planet with 24/7 digital communications. It was designed to be an open framework for amateur radio emergency services of the world to interoperate on high frequency (HF) using the global standard Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) system.

Relying on ionospheric radio communications, the system of interconnected HFN base stations scans the radio bands every 10 seconds, from 3.5 Megahertz to 28 Megahertz. Through this net, ham operators stay connected with each other at all hours of the day or night in any mode of operation, and can send internet email or cell phone mobile text messages from the field. 

All ham operators are invited to participate in HFN, especially during ALE On The Air Week (AOTAW) from 7 November through 17 November 2008. The AOTAW event encourages ALE techniques and emergency preparedness. To track the operations of the Global ALE High Frequency Network, please see the HFLINK.NET website for more information. 

About HFN
Global ALE High Frequency Network (HFN) is a international amateur radio service organisation of volunteer ham operators in various countries of the world, dedicated to emergency / relief radio communications.

HFN website: http://hflink.net
Contact: Bonnie Crystal, VR2/KQ6XA (HFN International ALE Coordinator)
Contact email: hfn2008@hflink.net

Effective November 1, 2008, the Eastern Canada Net (ECN) the traffic link from Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces to the National Traffic System (NTS) has ceased operation. This decision was reached after many months of discussion by various members of both ARRL and RAC. Traffic into and out of the six provinces will now be routed through 2RN (Second Region) in the US. 
 
The Ontario Phone Net is seeking the assistance of additional operators to liaise between 2RN and OPN at least once daily. 2RN operates at 1:45 pm and 6:30 pm local on 3925 khz (LSB) and 7:45 pm and 9:30 pm local on 3576 khz (CW). This station has been assigned the Monday liaison duties from the 6:30 net to EAN 4 at 8:30 pm.
 
Interested parties are asked to contact the Acting OPN NM, Glenn Killam, VE3GNA via either NTS message or via e-mail to ve3gna at sympatico dot ca expressing their desire to assist and also to advise which days and/or timeslots would be suitable for their participation.

Thank you and 73,
Glenn Killam, VE3GNA / VA3OPN 
Acting OPN NM, Ontario STM

Effective November 2, 2008, the Ontario Phone Net (OPN) has reverted to a year-round start time of 2300Z. This will mean that we start at 6:00 pm during the winter months to help alleviate poor or non-existent propagation within the province after sunset.

Those of us who have 160 meter capability should also consider the possibility that use of that band may become necessary from time to time.

73,
Glenn Killam, VE3GNA / VA3OPN, Acting OPN NM

The current Bill before the Ontario legislature, as well as a second one that is looming, appears to have the potential to negatively affect the efforts of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service to provide communications when such a need arises.   That remains to be seen, due to the Bill's unspecific wording, and RAC is seeking clarification, but clearly there is a trend and no Radio Amateur in any province should be complacent about it.  It is moving across the country.  I'm not saying Amateurs should necessarily be allowed to chit-chat while driving, but that the public service value be recognized and protected.

This trend emphasises the need for and importance for ARES and non-ARES Emcomm groups alike to document each and every instance where Amateur Radio is provide as a community resource, whether it be a Terry Fox run, a parade, a local Emcomm exercise or a full-blown disaster such as flood, forest fire, ice storm or tornado, or man-made events that impact on public safety.

For that reason, RAC has for many years provided a Public Service Activity Report form.  Some Emcomm groups use it, some don't.  Those forms that are received are used to document the value of Amateur Radio when threats like these laws arise.  We need to be in a position to educate government about Amateur Radio. 

I earnestly urge every Radio Amateur to make use of and submit those forms to the RAC VPFS at every opportunity.  Governments understand statistics and paper, it seems, and what you are doing as Emcomm operators has an effect on the public and therefore on government.

The form may be viewed and downloaded at http://www.rac.ca/fieldorg/arespubservrpt157r.htm  and in French at http://www.rac.ca/fieldorg/aresrapport157F.htm .

RAC is doing what it can to address the Ontario matter but is only as strong as the support if gets from other Radio Amateurs.  The active participation of every Radio Amateur is vital.  How many times must that be said?

For more info about the Field Services Organsiation and the ARES, please see http://www.rac.ca/fieldorg/ .

Thank you.
R.D. (Bob) Cooke VE3BDB
Vice President Field Services
Radio Amateurs of Canada Inc.

Courtesy RAC_ARES_SEC_DEC_EC@yahoogroups.com

From Monday's Globe and Mail October 26, 2008 at 9:52 PM EDT

The Ontario government may table a bill to ban drivers from using electronic devices as early as Tuesday, a move that would see the province follow Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, which have all banned drivers from chatting and texting on handheld devices while on the road.

On Friday, Ontario Safety League president Brian Patterson said he has been working to develop such a bill with the Ministry of Transportation and that he was called to meet with Transportation Minister Jim Bradley Tuesday. Nicole Lippa-Gasparro, a spokeswoman for the minister, would not confirm or deny the report Friday night, and could not be reached Sunday.

Transport Canada's 2008 report on driver and phone use rates states that 37 per cent of drivers reported using a cellphone while driving and those people had “the most commonly seen unsafe driving behaviours,” such as tailgating or speeding.

Also, the Ontario Medical Association has concluded that driving and talking on a cellphone creates the same risk for the driver as being at the legal limit for alcohol consumption. OMA research, conducted in September, found that talking on cellphones impaired drivers' visual concentration, the speed at which they process information and their reaction time. Some drivers also abandoned checking their mirrors entirely while on the phone.

Premier Dalton McGuinty announced in May that he was considering legislation that would ban all hand-held devices, not just cellphones, forcing drivers to use headsets or speaker systems instead. Police officials had advised Mr. McGuinty to ban all gadgets that have the potential to distract multitasking drivers, and that would include GPS navigation systems that see drivers typing in street addresses on screens mounted in their cars. The Premier had also asked Mr. Bradley to look at “next generation” legislation that would take into account electronic devices that are still on the drawing board.

In 2003, Newfoundland and Labrador became the first province to ban hand-held cellphones behind the wheel. Penalties in the province range from $11 to $400, plus four demerit points. Officials in the province have also tried to discourage drivers from using hands-free devices such as Bluetooths and headsets, but admit such a ban would be difficult to enforce.

In April, Nova Scotia enacted its cellphone ban: Drivers face a $164.50 fine for a first offence, $222 for a second violation and $337 for any subsequent offences.

That April, Quebec also banned drivers from using hand-held cellphones, but gave Quebeckers time to warm up by only issuing warnings for the first three months. The law was fully enacted on June 30, and drivers now face a $115 fine and three demerit points. The province also added another twist: Penalties apply even if drivers are not talking but are spotted with a cellphone in their hands.

Quebec's coroner's office has blamed cellphones for 24 fatal car crashes in the province between 2000 and 2006.

About 50 countries, including Australia and Japan, have restrictions in place.

In the United States, the District of Columbia and 17 states have laws that restrict cellphone use for teenage drivers. But critics have said that communication-hungry teens are flouting the laws, which they say are difficult to enforce because police officers must correctly guess the driver's age.

Although the hand-held cell has taken most of the blame, critics suggest bans that push for hands-free devices miss the point: They say drivers' minds are distracted by the conversation, not by whether one or both hands are on the wheel.

“For many people, hands-free may be worse because some studies indicate people tend to talk longer with hands-free, don't pull over to the right and don't slow down,” Raynald Marchand of the Canada Safety Council said in March.

Manitoba and Prince Edward Island are also considering a ban, but in Alberta, Premier Ed Stelmach spoke out against a private member's bill introduced in the legislature to ban drivers from using cellphones.

As for whether the bans actually work, in Newfoundland, statistics show an eight per cent drop in the number of collisions between 2003 and 2005, shortly after the law came into effect.

Last Updated: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 | 8:44 PM ET  CBC News

New drivers in Ontario may be forced to forgo cellphones and other gadgets by the end of the year if a private member's bill passes a key hurdle on Thursday.

MPP Kevin Flynn says his Bill 135 would add to the current range of restrictions on novice drivers under the province's graduated licensing system, and has the potential to save lives if it passes second reading in the legislature.

"Graduated licensing has reduced death and injury by up to 60 per cent among young people and I think this bill could push that figure higher," he told the CBC.

Flynn, a Liberal who represents Oakville, said the public and MPPs have reacted positively to his bill to amend the province's driving laws and he thinks that will translate into support in the legislature on Thursday.

If Bill 135 receives a second reading at Queen's Park, it will be referred to committee for discussion and public comment before returning to the legislature for a third reading and Royal Assent — something Flynn predicted could occur in December.

Tory legislator's bill similar

Private member's bills rarely reach that stage, as opposition Conservative MPP John O'Toole well knows.

O'Toole, a Conservative MPP for Durham, has been trying to get a similar bill passed into law since 1999.

His Bill 68 is before committee now. It would ban the use of portable devices for all drivers, with the exception of cellphones being used in hands-free mode.

"My bill was adopted almost verbatim in Newfoundland and Labrador," O'Toole told the CBC, referring to that province's decision in 2003 to pass a law that bans the use of cellphones for all drivers.

If Flynn's bill becomes law, it would be the second such piece of legislation enacted in Canada.

At least 14 countries have banned all drivers from using cellphones, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Chile, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Africa and Spain.

In November 2001, New York became the first state in the U.S. to ban the use of handheld cellphones by drivers.

The Canadian Automobile Association supports a total ban on using cellphones while driving.

Drivers on phones act like drunks, study found

A University of Utah study published in June in the journal Human Factors concluded that drivers who talk on a cellphone — whether it is handheld or hands-free — behave as impaired as drunken drivers.

"We found that people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cellphone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit" of 0.08 per cent, said study co-author Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology.

That amount is the legal limit in many provinces and U.S. states.

"If legislators really want to address driver distraction, then they should consider outlawing cellphone use while driving," Drews said.

Flynn acknowledged that the debate is continuing on whether using hands-free cellphones is safer than holding one while driving.

"While that debate is going on, why not do what most people would agree is sensible? This is something we can do in the short term," he said.

"I'm going to keep plugging away at it until it becomes law."

For more info visit: www.ve7rmr.ca

(End News)

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