If you are interested in evaluating the Solar Eclipse effect on radio communication capabilities, here is your chance on Oct 14th between 11:15 to 15:45?
RAC looking to gather RX and TX signal strength and quality along with your TX watts details on all bands and all modes of HAM radio communications with main focus within Canada, before, during and after the Solar Eclipse.
Owen Sound Area Solar eclipse times: Begins 11:52 hrs Maximum 13:06 hrs Ends 14:22 hrs
SET repeater net check-in during eclipse maximum on OSR repeater (146.940MHz) from 13:00-13:30 hrs.
Suggested gathering modes using VHF, UHF and/or HF; (you choose) Listening only or TX/RX GBARC NET check-in only during Eclipse MAX (Net open at 13:00 hrs till 13:30 hrs) ONTARS Contact HAM contacts FT8 Winlink by radio Other Digital modes Beacons CW Skimmer CW QRP Other ( your personal preference )
SET station location and electrical power:
No limits. Can be done from home or remote site, with or without main line 120 volt electric power. Report on LOG per guide TAB your electric power mode used; AC Mains, battery, generator, solar, combination. Also report on your capabilities if only one mode of electrical power was used and you have other modes available. Also identify on log if you have generator battery charging capabilities.
You can use the attached LOG file with included user guide tab or your own.
Forward a soft copy of your LOG file to Frank, V3-GUF ( va3-guf@outlook.com ) who will gather and forward a summary report of all LOG data.
Contact Frank by email or post reply with questions or clarification requests.
Have a great time this Saturday.
Cheers
Frank
VA3-GUF / VE0-GUF / VE0-VET Grey County ARES/ACS co-ordinator
This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Simulated Emergency Test 2023: "Operation Dark Skies"
The Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is a Canada-wide exercise in
emergency communications,
which is administered by Radio Amateurs of Canada’s Community Services
Officer and
Section Managers. This year ‘s event is known as “Operation Dark Skies”
and will be held in
two parts as described below.
Operation Dark Skies: Part 1 - Saturday, October 14
Part 1 of the SET will be held for five hours on October 14, 2023,
including the solar eclipse.
The objective is to gather information on Amateur operations before,
during and after the event.
All data will be reviewed for future planning of emergency events.
Radio Amateurs of Canada is looking to engage as many operators as
possible and utilize
all bands and modes.
For more information, check out the article on the RAC website
-- Jason Tremblay, VE3JXT, RAC Community Services Officer
Operation Dark Skies: Part 2 - Monday, October 16
Part 2 of the Simulated Emergency Test will be held on Monday, October
16 in partnership
with Niagara Regional Emergency Management and the Niagara’s Community
Emergency
Response Team.
Radio Amateurs of Canada is looking for three teams to set up staging
areas for the SET and teams
that are willing to deploy for both operational and demonstration
purposes for
Emergency Management officials.
More details will be available at the training sessions which will be
held on September 22, 23 and 25
at 7 pm Eastern. Please contact set@rac.ca to register.
SET Reporting will not be done this year so please attend the training
sessions for more information
on the reporting procedures.
-- Jason Tremblay, VE3JXT, RAC Community Services Officer
2. Hurricane Ian to impact Atlantic Canada this weekend.
According to the hurricane track page at Environment Canada the centre
of hurricane Ian will arrive
in Nova Scotia as a post-tropical storm at 1500 local on Saturday with
winds of 110 km/h,
tracking north east into New Brunswick with winds dropping to 85 km/h.
The projected path
will take it across the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Northern Peninsula
of Newfoundland by 2100 local
on Sunday with winds of 75 k/h.
Updated information is available at: https://weather.gc.ca/hurricane/track_e.html
-- Environment Canada
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. Calling All Amateurs: We Need Your Help During Solar Eclipses!
Members of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) will be
making radio contacts
during the 2023 and 2024 North American eclipses, probing the Earth’s
ionosphere. It will be a fun,
friendly event with a competitive element – and you’re invited to
participate.
Both amateur and professional broadcasters have been sending and
receiving radio signals around
the Earth for over a century. Such communication is possible due to
interactions between our Sun
and the ionosphere, the ionized region located roughly 80 to 1000 km
overhead.
The upcoming eclipses (October 14, 2023, and April 8, 2024) provide
unique opportunities to
study these interactions. As you and other HamSCI members transmit,
receive, and record signals
across the radio spectrum during the eclipse, you will create valuable
data to test computer models
of the ionosphere.
4. Wi-Fi 7: The Next Big Leap Or A Whole Lotta Nothing?
For most people, the Wi-Fi hardware of today provides a perfectly
satisfactory user experience.
However, technology is ever-evolving, and as always, the next
advancement is already around the
corner. Enter Wi-Fi 7: a new standard that is set to redefine the
boundaries of speed, efficiency,
and connection reliability.
Wi-Fi 7 is recognized in the official naming convention as IEEE
802.11be. It’s headline feature is
speed. Wi-Fi 7 is expected to provide speeds up to up to 46,120 Mbit/s.
That’s over four times
faster than Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, or over 4,000 times faster than 802.11b, the
first Wi-Fi standard the
world fell in love with. Wi-Fi 7 is also engineered with advanced
features to combat latency, bolster
capacity, and enhance stability and efficiency. And while it will be
backward compatible, like prior
Wi-Fi standards, unlocking its full potential will require users to
upgrade their devices.
Both standards utilize the same frequency bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6
GHz. Yet, Wi-Fi 7
boasts some distinct enhancements.
- Hackaday https://hackaday.com/2023/09/11/wi-fi-7-...a-nothing/
This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V_3___ returning the frequency to net control.
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC
This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Call for Nominations of Regional Directors for the regions of Quebec,
Alberta/NWT/NU, and Ontario South (postal codes L, M and N).
The deadline for all original nominations and supporting documentation,
including a
biographical sketch, must be received by the RAC Secretary at RAC head
office by 12 noon
on Tuesday, October 2, 2023.
2. Climate change is affecting telecommunications infrastructure.
As Atlantic Canada gears up for another hurricane season after a year of
unprecedented
disasters linked to climate change, iincluding post-tropical storm Fiona
last September,
amateur radio operators say a simple technology can play a part in the
response to disasters
across the region.
When Fiona hit Nova Scotia, it affected electrical grids and
telecommunications networks,
leaving some people unable to call for help. That experience in
particular prompted a renewed
interest in amateur radio which allows non-professional users to send
messages without requiring
the internet or cell phone networks.
-- Full article on RAC website (including a link to the CBC sory)
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
3. HAMILTON ARC Hamfest
Date : Saturday, September 30, 2023
Location : Ancaster Agricultural Fairgounds, 630 Trinity Road,
Ancaster, ON
Talk in : Simplex 146.52 MHz, VE3NCF 146.760- Tone 131.8 hz
Times : 7:30 am for vendors, 9:00 am for the general public.
Cost : $5.00 each
Talk-in frequency: Simplex near event: 146.52MHz or VE3NCF 146.760 MHz
Description : Hamilton ARC hamfest with ham radio/electronics
retailers in attendance.
Note: There will be no tailgating.
Email : ve3isx@gmail.com
Webpage : https://hamiltonarc.com/Ancaster/index.html
-- RAC events page
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Long wave radio fans mourn fading frequencies (UK)
As he turned the dial gently but purposefully, the sound of people
speaking in foreign languages
and the lilt of unfamiliar music burst through a haze of crackle and
buzz. Back then, in the late
1970s, there were dozens of long wave stations broadcasting. Now, only a
handful are left.
Among them are those in Denmark and Iceland – but they are due to shut
by the end of 2023
and during 2024, respectively.
The BBC still broadcasts Radio 4 on long wave as well as on digital
radio, FM, and online.
However, separate scheduling of BBC radio programmes on long wave will
end in March next
year – for example Test Match Special will not be available on long
wave. The long-term future
of the BBC’s long wave output is far from certain.
This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V_3___ returning the frequency to net control.
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC
This years fundraiser by the Terry Fox Foundation takes place in Owen Sound on Sunday September 17th. The GBARC club has been asked if we can help with communications again this year for the run. The organizers truly appreciate the service that we provide for them on that day...and it is a great charity event.
Unfortunately we don't have a coordinator in place yet and at this point we don't have much time left to get organized. I am hoping that we don't let them down this year.
Who would like to volunteer to bring a radio and help for this event? My understanding is that it will only take part of the day and should be easy and fun to do.
Many of you have participated in prior years, so you will already know more than I do about how it works.
So far I am trying to make sure we have enough volunteers to make it happen. Please let me know if you can help out...
This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. The September-October issue of TCA is now available
The digital version of the September-October 2023 The Canadian Amateur
is available for
viewing or download. The paper version is now at the printer.
To download your copy please visit: https://www.rac.ca/digitaltca/
--- RAC website
2. Hurricane Idalia: Amateur Radio Serves Critical Functions
Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday, August 30 on Florida's Big
Bend region as a
Category 3 storm sustaining winds of 125 miles per hour. The storm
tracked across Georgia and
into South Carolina, and on Thursday morning it had moved offshore of
North Carolina.
ARES volunteers would be staffing the radio room at the state Emergency
Operation Center (EOC)
until 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 31 and will provide additional
service if needed. "So far there
does not appear to be a large communications impact that would require
amateur radio support."
The Florida Statewide Amateur Radio Network (SARnet) was the primary
emergency
communications system used during the storm. The system is a series of
linked UHF repeaters that
covers the entire state. There were also HF nets linking counties to the
state EOC.
Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said the storm
called for
"all hands on deck". Ahead of impact, the intensity and track of the
storm greatly concerned him.
"I have been watching and plotting hurricanes for over 35 years. I have
witnessed, many times,
a Hurricane cross a state line into another as a hurricane...two states
were hit by the same hurricane.
Never have I seen a storm cross three States as a Hurricane," said Graves.
-- Full article at ARRL newsletter
3. Hurricane Idalia: FCC Approves ARRL Petition to Aid Emergency
Communications
The ARRL has received approval from the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) for an
emergency waiver to facilitate amateur radio emergency communications
for hurricane relief.
The waiver, which was granted August 30, is for a 60-day relief period
from the rules, based
upon the immediate need related to the threat of Hurricane Idalia. It
would cover use directly
related to any additional hurricanes that may develop within the 60-day
period. Only messages
related to these hurricanes would be permitted to be sent via the
higher-speed modes, and only
publicly documented modes would be allowed.
-- Full article at arrl website
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Sep-Oct 2023 SARC Communicator is now available
Our biggest issue to date, read in over 145 countries, we bring you 132
pages of Amateur Radio
news from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff
and ads than other
Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related
articles, projects, profiles, news,
tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby. This issue is of
particular interest to POTA, SOTA
and WSPR enthusiasts with several related articles and a quick and
inexpensive antenna build
project that is sure to pull in HF stations. You can view or download it
as a .PDF file at: https://tinyurl.com/SARC23Sep-Oct.
-- Amateur radio daily news
This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V_3___ returning the frequency to net control.
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC
This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Basic Qualification Amateur Radio Course: Fall 2023
Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Amateur Radio
course so that individuals
can obtain their Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Basic
Qualification.
It is open to everyone across Canada and even abroad. Classes will be
recorded, so occasional absences
are not a problem.
The course will be held on Thursdays and Sundays commencing on Sunday,
September 24 and end
on Thursday, November 30.
Classes will be held on Thursday evenings from 6 pm to 9 pm (1800 –
2100) Eastern Time and
Sunday afternoons 1 pm to 4 pm (1300 – 1600) Eastern Time. There may
also be a handful of
additional classes if necessary.
The registration fee for the course is $50 plus GST/HST. The cost of the
Basic Study Guide is extra
and an order link will be provided upon completion of payment.
-- Full info on RAC website
2. Tropical Storm Hilary: Amateur Radio Activates
Amateur Radio operators activated on Sunday, August 20, 2023 to provide
communications and
information for Tropical Storm Hilary. As of mid-morning last Sunday,
the system was moving up the
Baja Peninsula of Mexico, expected to cross into Southern California.
Heavy rains were falling in
San Diego, and local media reported that 250 airline flights had been
canceled.
Amateur radio operations began Sunday morning. WX4NHC was on the air on
the Hurricane
Watch Net frequency 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz depending on propagation.
We will also be
on VoIP Hurricane Net (IRLP node 9219 / EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node
7203). http://www.voipwx.net/
HWN also exists to provide backup communications to official agencies
such as emergency
operations centers, Red Cross officials, and storm shelters in the
affected area.
-- ARRL Website
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
3. Simcoe County Hamfest
Sponsor: Simcoe County Amateur Radio Enthusiasts
Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
Location: Grenfel Community Centre, .1989 Sunnidale Rd, Springwater
Township
Times: Setup 0800, Opening 0900, Knockdown and cleanup around noon
Cost: Vendors $5.00, Visitors Free (donations are welcome)
Talk-in: 146.55 Mhz simplex no tone
Description: Vendors, tailgate or bring your own table. If the
weather doesn't cooperate we can
set up under the rink's roof.
More info: Brant Smith ve3ume@scare-radio.com 289-802-1480
Webpage: http://scare-radio.com/Scare-Radio.com/Home.html
ITEMS OF INTEREST
4. Arecibo Observatory (Puerto Rico) Officially Shuts Down
The Arecibo Observatory, which suffered catastrophic damage to its
305-meter telescope in 2020,
has officially shut down all research efforts as of August 14th.
Since the collapse of the main telescope, the US National Science
Foundation (NSF) had intended
to convert the facility into an educational research center, but doubts
have risen whether that plan
will pan out.
-- Nature.com article
This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V_3___ returning the frequency to net control.
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC
