GBARC 2M NET                                                                                                                                                    14 Feb 2024
146.94 &146.73 Mhz
VE3OSR &VE3GBT Tone 97.4 Echo link node 333014

This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1.  Barrie Crampton, VE3BSB, appointed to Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame

The Board of Trustees of the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that Barrie Crampton, VE3BSB, has been named to the Hall of Fame, and Radio Amateurs of Canada and the Board of Trustees of CARHOF sincerely congratulate Barrie on his appointment to the Hall of Fame.

A detailed account of his achievements will be presented in an upcoming edition of The Canadian Amateur magazine.

For more information on the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame visit:
https://wp.rac.ca/carhof/
--- RAC website

ONTARIO SECTION NEWS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

2.  Potential for Canada to Ban SDR Devices

Over concerns of devices such as the Flipper Zero that can record and replay wireless signals used for remote keyless entry in cars, Public Safety Canada is proposing a ban of such devices which could include software defined radios (SDR).  Pursuing all avenues to ban devices used to steal vehicles by copying
the wireless signals for remote keyless entry, such as the Flipper Zero, which would allow for the removal of those devices from the Canadian marketplace through collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
Flipper Zero has requested evidence that their devices have been used in criminal activity, suggesting there currently is none.

-- : RTL-SDR.com        https://www.rtl-sdr.com/

3.  Magic Band Revealed (3rd edition) PDF booklet.

We call it the magic band because magical propagation occurs just when we least expect it.  A more accurate name might be the fickle band because 6 meters provides short periods of random excitement followed by long periods of severe quiet. And that is why we like it so much.  Jim Wilson K5ND recently completed the third edition of the book Magic Band Revealed.
Of course, I had to read it and I surely did enjoy this book. Jim hits all of the different operating and propagation modes that hams use on 50 MHz: sporadic-e, F2, TEP, meteor scatter, ionoscatter, etc. The WSJT-X modes have had a huge impact on what’s possible on the band, so Jim provides a good overview of the various options (FT8, FT4, MSK144, Q65).
Jim also provides some helpful information on VHF contests and operating as a rover.  The best attribute of the book is that it is primarily written as a first-person account of K5ND’s operating experiences. Reading the book is just like having a friend tell you about what they’ve experienced on the band, along with some great operating tips. Great work, Jim!
The book is available as a free PDF download from Jim’s website or in
print version via Amazon.
Go to https://k5nd.net/2023/11/magic-band-revealed/
-- de Bob K0NR

4. New Page On VE7SL Radio Notebook!

Thanks to May (VA7MAY) and Mark (VA7MM) spending the time to scan my 630m QSL card collection, I have now been able to complete their work by posting a dedicated page for the cards.

If you've ever wondered what can be worked on this 'below the broadcast band' MF amateur band, then viewing the cards and reading their comments may give
you some insight into its character.
The new page can be found here. https://qsl.net/ve7sl/630mqsls.html

--Steve McDonald VE7SL via Amateur Radio.com

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

Found on Amateur Radio Weekly:

A book on 6 meters Magic Band Revealed by Jim Wilson K5ND is available as a free PDF download from his website:

https://k5nd.net/2023/11/magic-band-revealed/

73
Dave, VE3WI

This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1.  World Radio Day

World Radio Day 2024 will be on February 13, and this year's theme is, "A Century Informing, Entertaining and Educating."

World Radio Day was first celebrated in 2012, following its declaration by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It was
subsequently adopted as an International Day by the United Nations General Assembly.

The EA Digital Federation will celebrate the day and have nine special event stations on the air February 9 - 18. The stations will be active on different
bands and modes, including phone, CW, and digital. You can locate the stations through the DX cluster or the agenda of activity on their website.

Operating times and special QSL information can be found on their website.
   https://www.fediea.org/news/?news=20240213

-- from the ARRL Letter (Feb 9,2024)

ONTARIO SECTION NEWS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

2.   Heil Radio Donates Equipment to W1AW

The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW, at ARRL HQ in Newington, CT, has received a generous donation of equipment from the Heil Ham Radio
division of Heil Sound.  At Bob Heil`s (K9EID) direction, the company donated four headsets, three headphones, two PTT foot switches, two microphones, and various adapters. The equipment has been placed into service for use by visiting operators, and for bulletins transmitted each weekday evening by W1AW.
-- full article at arrl news

3.  CATS - a new open source Communication And Telemetry System

At its core, CATS is a packet radio standard primarily designed for autonomous position reports, but is versatile enough to support a much wider scope of communication.  CATS is ultimately meant to be a replacement to APRS. Although APRS was magnificent when it was first developed, current technology allows us to do better. APRS also suffers from decades of bloat, making the standard difficult to learn. Here are some of the ways CATS is better than APRS: APRS is transmitted as AFSK over FM. This is an inefficient encoding technique which leaves a lot of performance on the table. In contrast, CATS uses raw FSK. This alone
provides a significant coding advantage.  APRS is typically used at 1200 baud. CATS sets the standard data rate to 9600 baud.  Whereas APRS typically uses 2m for RF transmission, CATS uses 70cm.  CATS is extremely work-in-progress. Once things are solidified a bit more, the standard will be locked down and all new changes must be backwards compatible.
for more information check out: https://cats.radio/

4.  FEMA: 2023 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness.

Since 2013, FEMA has conducted the National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness.  This survey of people from across the United States gauges disaster
preparedness actions, attitudes, and motivations. Results from the 2023 survey (7600 responses) indicate that slightly more than half (51%) of Americans believe they are prepared for a disaster and 57% took three or more actions to prepare for a disaster within the last year. The most common actions people took to prepare for a disaster were assembling or updating disaster supplies (48%) and making a plan (37%); the least common actions were planning with neighbors (12%) and getting involved in their community (14%).

Key Findings include:
- There were big shifts in the way people prepared for disasters in 2023 compared to the year before.
- Only 50% of people believed that that taking steps to prepare for a disaster would help them in getting through a disaster and were confident in their ability to
take those steps to prepare.
- There was a strong association between having awareness of how to prepare for disasters and taking action to prepare.
- There was a disconnect between the 60+ community's perceived preparedness and their preparedness actions.
-Cost barriers may prevent people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged from taking important preparedness actions.
- People living in areas at higher risk of flood and wildfire impacts had lower levels of risk perception for those hazards.

-- full article at arrl.org ares newsletter
http://www.arrl.org/ares-el?issue=2024-01-17#toc04


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.   First Amateur Station on the Moon, JS1YMG, Now Transmitting

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully landed their Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on January 19, 2024. Just before touchdown, SLIM released two small lunar surface probes, LEV-1 and LEV-2.  LEV-2 collects data while moving on the lunar surface, and LEV-  receives the data.  The JAXA Ham Radio Club (JHRC), JQ1ZVI, secured amateur radio license JS1YMG for LEV-1, which has been transmitting Morse code on 437.41 MHz since January 19.  The probe uses a 1 W UHF antenna with circular polarization and is transmitting "matters related to amateur business." Radio amateurs have been busy analyzing JS1YMG's signal, with Daniel Estévez's, EA4GPZ, blog introducing the method and extraction results for demodulating Morse code from the signal, as well as extracting the code string.  It's unclear how long signals will be heard. JAXA has said that SLIM was not designed to survive a lunar night, which lasts about 14 days, and is due to return in a few days. SLIM's landing made Japan the fifth country to achieve a soft touchdown on the moon. The landing was achieved with exceptional precision -- within 180 feet of its targeted touchdown location.
--arrl news

ONTARIO SECTION NEWS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

2.   YLISSB Celebrates 61 Years On the Air

February 8, 2024, marks the 61st anniversary of the YL System, now known as the YL International Single Side-band System (YLISSB), founded by Vera
Tallman, K4ICA (SK), in 1963.  Though the system's name includes "YL," the amateur radio term for "young lady," membership is open to both women and men. YLISSB is a community of radio amateurs who provide support, service, and fellowship to one another and to the rest of the amateur radio community. YLISSB also encourages amateur radio skill development through both personal and system-wide support programs.
The YLISSB operates on 14.332 MHz every day of the year. On February 8 - 11, from 1323Z to 1323Z, special event station K4ICA will operate on 14.240 - 14.340 MHz and 7.230 - 7.260 MHz to commemorate the system's 61st anniversary.
-- arrl news

3.  Raspberry Pi Net each Sunday on EchoLink and AllStarLink

The official Raspberry Pi Net takes place each Sunday at 5:00 PM Eastern / 22:00 UTC on the ROC-HAM EchoLink Conference node 531091 and on AllStar node 2585, 47620, 47918, 531310.  Join W2JLD/John, GW8SZL/Dave, or W4RFJ/Chief each Sunday where they talk about Raspberry Pis, Linux, AllStar, Supermon, programming, and everything else Raspberry Pi.  With a wide cast of characters and plenty of Pi to go around, join us as we sit back and enjoy great fellowship and most of all have fun while learning something new. We often have a question and topic to get the net started. Loads of info is to be had. You bring the coffee, we will supply the Pi....  Many slices... One Pi.
--  From ROC-HAM Radio Network:

4.  Two Arrested After Theft of Copper From Destroyed Radio Tower

Two people have been arrested in Texas in connection with the recent theft of copper from a broadcast tower in Hugo, Oklahoma last month. The Choctaw County Sheriff said that the two were identified by scrap yard employees in Paris, Texas, where one day after the January 15th incident, they tried to sell copper wiring from the coax line. Authorities said that Payne Media Group, the broadcast station's owner, was contacted and confirmed that the copper had come from the tower for KITX, a 50,000-watt station serving southeast Oklahoma and northeast Texas. Paris, Texas, is one of the communities in the station's coverage area.  The station has been live streaming and operating with limited broadcast range following the destruction of the tower. Its guy wires had been cut and its backup  generator also was destroyed.
-- Amateur Radio Newsline

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

Net Control
VA3TS - Tom

VHF/Echolink
VE3DDU Ray - Nottawasaga
VA3RCA Kevin - Alliston
KO4DXQ Bob - Soddy Daisy, TN
VE3VCG Marvin - Paisley
VA3EAC Janet - Paisley
VA3MFO Jim - Mount Forest
VE3OZW Richard - Otter Creek
VE3BQM Bernie - Georgian Bluffs
VA3DNY Dan - Owen Sound
VE3DGY Doug - Anan
VE3WI Dave - Port Elgin

HF – 3.783 MHz
VA3MFO Jim - Mount Forest
VE3BQM Bernie - Georgian Bluffs
VE3DDU Ray - Nottawasaga
VA3RCA Kevin - Alliston
VE3OZW Richard - Otter Creek
VA3DNY Dan - Owen Sound
VE3RRN Dave - LAKEFIELD

Topic
Your thoughts on the current pricing of used transceivers.

A lively conversation was had, many points made, enjoyed by all.

After spending the afternoon with club WFD event in Ferndale, Ontario and lot of time left to get some of my own WFD contacts. 
It wasn't till almost 8:00 pm local when I made first QSO. I did a little S&P for first little while then started Running and QSOs started piling up. Near midnight the bands faded out except for 160 meter which was really packed with the 160 meter CW contest so I didn't bother calling CW WFD and I didn't hear anyone else doing the same. Decided to call it a night after logging 150 QSOs.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz time. 
Got back to it again early morning about 5:00 am but it was slim picking until around 8:00 am. I managed to get few more QSOs on 80 meters then 40 meters opened up and was really productive as well as 20 meters. Snagged few on 15 meters but nothing on 10. By Sunday noon I didn't hear many new stations so called it a day. 

All in all, it was still fun. I could only qualify for 2 Objectives; points and operating 6 hours.

I worked 2 stations which were probably most active this WFD.
W4LX from Ft. Myers, FL operating 14O SFL and N5ILQ from Oklahoma, operating 11H OK.

My operating stats below