2026-10-03, 08:45:34
This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs
of Canada with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Affiliated Club Insurance 2027 Renewal due soon
During October, clubs will be reminded to submit their renewal
to the RAC Insurance Program. It provides comprehensive
liability coverage to protect against liability claims arising
from accidents or damage incurred during normal club activities.
Liability coverage is often requested by external groups such
as businesses, libraries or municipalities as a prerequisite
for the organization of (or participation in) public events
held in areas administered by other groups.
For more information see: https://www.rac.ca/insurance/
-- Paul, VA3PC Ontario Sections Bulletin Manager
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. HelioClock - a subscription free alternative to GeoChron
HelioClock is a fully customizable live Earth clock and situational
awareness display built specifically with ham radio operators in
mind, and it's quickly becoming known as the subscription free
alternative to GeoChron.
HelioClock runs entirely on your own hardware with no cloud service
in the loop and no subscription required. Every data feed, including
radar, space weather, tropical storms, lightning, and earthquakes,
pulls directly from free public government and research sources,
so if any single source goes down the rest of the display keeps
running.
For hams specifically, HelioClock tracks the live day and night
terminator, also known as the greyline, which is the band of dawn
and dusk that opens up long distance HF propagation. It also
includes a DX cluster feed, band condition data, solar flux and
K index readings, live NASA SDO solar imagery, EME moon bounce
planning tools, NCDXF beacon tracking, and a full built in ham
radio desk reference, all on one screen.
HelioClock is available preloaded on an SD card for your own
Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, as a bootable live USB stick to bring old
PC hardware back to life, as a turnkey appliance ready to plug
in, or as a multi display Pro Server built for NOC walls, EOCs,
and trading floors.
See the recorded interview with its creator KA9NWM at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-YdPKqTQ64
-- amateur radio weekly
3. A WSJT-X Mode That Ignores the Clock - JTTY
For two decades, the major modes from the WSJT project have
followed the same pattern: transmit in one period, listen in
the next, decode at the end of the cycle.
JTTY breaks that pattern. It was announced on September 23,
2026 with WSJT-X 3.2.0-rc1. It is a keyboard-to-keyboard mode
that transmits when you press a key and prints text as it
arrives, just like RTTY.
The development team describes the goal as the operating feel
of RTTY with much better weak-signal performance and a much
lower error rate. The target audience is clear: RTTY contesters
who have watched FT8 and FT4 take over activity but still prefer
running with function keys and a serial-number exchange.
This is a release candidate, not a general-availability build.
The team wants on-air testing and feedback before an early GA
release of 3.2.0.
-- WSJT-X Development team
4. The Yagi turns 100
The Yagi-Uda beam antenna was invented 100 years ago, in 1926,
and Contest University (CTU) is celebrating its centennial
with a Zoom webinar recorded Saturday, September 19, 2026.
The free webinar is located at: https://youtu.be/qD3dBDOBkwE
-- Contest University and ARRL 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
of Canada with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. RAC Affiliated Club Insurance 2027 Renewal due soon
During October, clubs will be reminded to submit their renewal
to the RAC Insurance Program. It provides comprehensive
liability coverage to protect against liability claims arising
from accidents or damage incurred during normal club activities.
Liability coverage is often requested by external groups such
as businesses, libraries or municipalities as a prerequisite
for the organization of (or participation in) public events
held in areas administered by other groups.
For more information see: https://www.rac.ca/insurance/
-- Paul, VA3PC Ontario Sections Bulletin Manager
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. HelioClock - a subscription free alternative to GeoChron
HelioClock is a fully customizable live Earth clock and situational
awareness display built specifically with ham radio operators in
mind, and it's quickly becoming known as the subscription free
alternative to GeoChron.
HelioClock runs entirely on your own hardware with no cloud service
in the loop and no subscription required. Every data feed, including
radar, space weather, tropical storms, lightning, and earthquakes,
pulls directly from free public government and research sources,
so if any single source goes down the rest of the display keeps
running.
For hams specifically, HelioClock tracks the live day and night
terminator, also known as the greyline, which is the band of dawn
and dusk that opens up long distance HF propagation. It also
includes a DX cluster feed, band condition data, solar flux and
K index readings, live NASA SDO solar imagery, EME moon bounce
planning tools, NCDXF beacon tracking, and a full built in ham
radio desk reference, all on one screen.
HelioClock is available preloaded on an SD card for your own
Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, as a bootable live USB stick to bring old
PC hardware back to life, as a turnkey appliance ready to plug
in, or as a multi display Pro Server built for NOC walls, EOCs,
and trading floors.
See the recorded interview with its creator KA9NWM at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-YdPKqTQ64
-- amateur radio weekly
3. A WSJT-X Mode That Ignores the Clock - JTTY
For two decades, the major modes from the WSJT project have
followed the same pattern: transmit in one period, listen in
the next, decode at the end of the cycle.
JTTY breaks that pattern. It was announced on September 23,
2026 with WSJT-X 3.2.0-rc1. It is a keyboard-to-keyboard mode
that transmits when you press a key and prints text as it
arrives, just like RTTY.
The development team describes the goal as the operating feel
of RTTY with much better weak-signal performance and a much
lower error rate. The target audience is clear: RTTY contesters
who have watched FT8 and FT4 take over activity but still prefer
running with function keys and a serial-number exchange.
This is a release candidate, not a general-availability build.
The team wants on-air testing and feedback before an early GA
release of 3.2.0.
-- WSJT-X Development team
4. The Yagi turns 100
The Yagi-Uda beam antenna was invented 100 years ago, in 1926,
and Contest University (CTU) is celebrating its centennial
with a Zoom webinar recorded Saturday, September 19, 2026.
The free webinar is located at: https://youtu.be/qD3dBDOBkwE
-- Contest University and ARRL 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