2023-02-18, 08:50:22
This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Changes to the RAC Email Alias/Forwarding System
As previously reported, in January many RAC members whose email
addresses used the format
“callsign@rac.ca” experienced problems sending and receiving emails.
Thankfully, our IT volunteers were able to resolve the issue, but we had
to make significant changes
to the system to be compatible with internet, web hosting and cloud
service providers in order to
prevent future outages.
The result is that we need to be able to separate the email addresses of
RAC officials, staff and
volunteers from those of our members. In order to achieve this:
RAC members will switch to “callsign@myrac.ca”
RAC officials and volunteers (“corporate users”) will use “position@rac.ca”
Both the “callsign@rac.ca” and the “callsign@myrac.ca” email addresses
will work simultaneously
until Sunday, May 15 to give RAC members time to update their user
information on any websites
and subscriptions.
We understand that this is a big change and it is definitely not one we
take lightly, but it is a necessary
step to ensure that we continue the important work in support of Amateur
Radio in Canada and
internationally. We appreciate your understanding and continued support.
A Q&A which provides more information on the reasons for this change can
be found on our website
at: https://www.rac.ca/cybersecurity/
-- RAC website.
2. 1x1 Special Contest Callsign List (UK) Expanded
The holder of a UK Amateur Radio Full Licence or Full (Club) Licence may
apply for a Special
Contest Call sign (“SCC”). This call sign may only be used in amateur
radio contests of no more than
48 hours duration, run with the aim of contacting as many other stations
as possible in a given period
of time and run by an amateur radio club, national or international
amateur radio association or another
organisation (including amateur radio publications), generally accepted
within the amateur radio hobby
(locally, nationally or internationally) as being a bona fide contest
organiser.
The call sign will be in the format ‘G’ or ‘M’, followed by a chosen
digit and a chosen suffix letter.
Examples are G8Z or M7R. We have made 520 call signs available,
(G)(#)(&)(A-Z) and (M)(#)(&)(A-Z),
where ‘#’ is an applicable Regional Secondary Locator (if any) and ‘&’
is a digit from 0 to 9.
The RSGB publishes a list
(http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/information/scc.shtml) of SCCs, which is a guide
to availability. Applications take up to four weeks to be processed.
Full details of how to apply for a Special Contest Callsign, including
the complete qualifying criteria,
can be found on the RSGB website.
-- RSGB website
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. The US Airforce may have shot down an Amateur Radio “Pico Balloon”
over Canada
Since the famous takedown of a suspected Chinese spy balloon, US jets
have shot down a total of
three more unidentified balloon objects, now confirmed to have been
‘commercial or benign’. There
is speculation that at least one these three objects may have been an
amateur radio ‘pico’ balloon.
One part of the amateur radio hobby is launching high altitude balloons
with various radio and other
payloads. Larger amateur radio balloons launched in the USA require FAA
clearance, need a radar
reflector attached, and usually continually transmit APRS telemetry
before naturally popping and falling
back to earth after a few hours, just like a weather balloon.
However there is also the simpler ‘pico’ ballooning hobby, which
involves the use of mylar helium party
balloons to launch small solar powered payloads that are only a few
grams in weight. They typically
transmit low power WSPR at HF frequencies and can only transmit whenever
there is sufficient solar
power available. Amateur radio or SDR hobbyist stations around the world
can pick up these
transmissions, and report them on amateur.sondehub.org and/or
wsprnet.org. Well built balloons can
totally circumnavigate the globe several times over several months
before degrading.
Read more – RTL-SDR Blog: http://bit.ly/3xAeGMl
-- This week in Amateur Radio
4. Special Theme for World Amateur Radio Day 2023 Announced
The International Amateur Radio Union announces that Human
Security for All, HS4A, will be the theme
of World Amateur Radio Day on 18 April 2023. For the first time, the
United Nations Trust Fund
for Human Security and the World Academy of Art and Science are
partnering with IARU in a
campaign to highlight the role that amateur radio plays in
addressing the world’s most pressing needs.
Human Security measures security at the individual level. First
introduced by the U.N. in 1994, the
concept identifies seven interrelated dimensions of security
that are essential to an individual’s wellbeing:
economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and
political.
The partners believe Amateur Radio is uniquely positioned to address
people-centered, context-specific
security challenges by promoting technical knowledge,
practical skills, innovative technology, and the
deployment of backup systems at the community level that can be
called upon in times of emergency.
The pandemic, climate change, natural disasters, and armed
conflicts on several continents undermine
our security and respect no boundaries. Amateur Radio has
repeatedly demonstrated its ability to address
human security needs. It is a truly global communications
medium comprising some three million radio
enthusiasts connecting communities and the peoples of the world.
In celebration of World Amateur Radio Day, IARU and its
member-societies will be conducting a special
two-week on-the-air event 11–25 April. Special event stations will be
operating from around the world,
making two-way radio contacts to call attention to the HS4A campaign.
-- IARU.org website
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
with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Changes to the RAC Email Alias/Forwarding System
As previously reported, in January many RAC members whose email
addresses used the format
“callsign@rac.ca” experienced problems sending and receiving emails.
Thankfully, our IT volunteers were able to resolve the issue, but we had
to make significant changes
to the system to be compatible with internet, web hosting and cloud
service providers in order to
prevent future outages.
The result is that we need to be able to separate the email addresses of
RAC officials, staff and
volunteers from those of our members. In order to achieve this:
RAC members will switch to “callsign@myrac.ca”
RAC officials and volunteers (“corporate users”) will use “position@rac.ca”
Both the “callsign@rac.ca” and the “callsign@myrac.ca” email addresses
will work simultaneously
until Sunday, May 15 to give RAC members time to update their user
information on any websites
and subscriptions.
We understand that this is a big change and it is definitely not one we
take lightly, but it is a necessary
step to ensure that we continue the important work in support of Amateur
Radio in Canada and
internationally. We appreciate your understanding and continued support.
A Q&A which provides more information on the reasons for this change can
be found on our website
at: https://www.rac.ca/cybersecurity/
-- RAC website.
2. 1x1 Special Contest Callsign List (UK) Expanded
The holder of a UK Amateur Radio Full Licence or Full (Club) Licence may
apply for a Special
Contest Call sign (“SCC”). This call sign may only be used in amateur
radio contests of no more than
48 hours duration, run with the aim of contacting as many other stations
as possible in a given period
of time and run by an amateur radio club, national or international
amateur radio association or another
organisation (including amateur radio publications), generally accepted
within the amateur radio hobby
(locally, nationally or internationally) as being a bona fide contest
organiser.
The call sign will be in the format ‘G’ or ‘M’, followed by a chosen
digit and a chosen suffix letter.
Examples are G8Z or M7R. We have made 520 call signs available,
(G)(#)(&)(A-Z) and (M)(#)(&)(A-Z),
where ‘#’ is an applicable Regional Secondary Locator (if any) and ‘&’
is a digit from 0 to 9.
The RSGB publishes a list
(http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/information/scc.shtml) of SCCs, which is a guide
to availability. Applications take up to four weeks to be processed.
Full details of how to apply for a Special Contest Callsign, including
the complete qualifying criteria,
can be found on the RSGB website.
-- RSGB website
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. The US Airforce may have shot down an Amateur Radio “Pico Balloon”
over Canada
Since the famous takedown of a suspected Chinese spy balloon, US jets
have shot down a total of
three more unidentified balloon objects, now confirmed to have been
‘commercial or benign’. There
is speculation that at least one these three objects may have been an
amateur radio ‘pico’ balloon.
One part of the amateur radio hobby is launching high altitude balloons
with various radio and other
payloads. Larger amateur radio balloons launched in the USA require FAA
clearance, need a radar
reflector attached, and usually continually transmit APRS telemetry
before naturally popping and falling
back to earth after a few hours, just like a weather balloon.
However there is also the simpler ‘pico’ ballooning hobby, which
involves the use of mylar helium party
balloons to launch small solar powered payloads that are only a few
grams in weight. They typically
transmit low power WSPR at HF frequencies and can only transmit whenever
there is sufficient solar
power available. Amateur radio or SDR hobbyist stations around the world
can pick up these
transmissions, and report them on amateur.sondehub.org and/or
wsprnet.org. Well built balloons can
totally circumnavigate the globe several times over several months
before degrading.
Read more – RTL-SDR Blog: http://bit.ly/3xAeGMl
-- This week in Amateur Radio
4. Special Theme for World Amateur Radio Day 2023 Announced
The International Amateur Radio Union announces that Human
Security for All, HS4A, will be the theme
of World Amateur Radio Day on 18 April 2023. For the first time, the
United Nations Trust Fund
for Human Security and the World Academy of Art and Science are
partnering with IARU in a
campaign to highlight the role that amateur radio plays in
addressing the world’s most pressing needs.
Human Security measures security at the individual level. First
introduced by the U.N. in 1994, the
concept identifies seven interrelated dimensions of security
that are essential to an individual’s wellbeing:
economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and
political.
The partners believe Amateur Radio is uniquely positioned to address
people-centered, context-specific
security challenges by promoting technical knowledge,
practical skills, innovative technology, and the
deployment of backup systems at the community level that can be
called upon in times of emergency.
The pandemic, climate change, natural disasters, and armed
conflicts on several continents undermine
our security and respect no boundaries. Amateur Radio has
repeatedly demonstrated its ability to address
human security needs. It is a truly global communications
medium comprising some three million radio
enthusiasts connecting communities and the peoples of the world.
In celebration of World Amateur Radio Day, IARU and its
member-societies will be conducting a special
two-week on-the-air event 11–25 April. Special event stations will be
operating from around the world,
making two-way radio contacts to call attention to the HS4A campaign.
-- IARU.org website
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