2023-03-04, 09:10:13
This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. March-April 2023 eTCA is now available
The digital (eTCA) version of the March-April 2023 TCA is now 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
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Answering Some Pico Balloon Questions
When the US Air Force shot down some suspected Chinese spy balloons a
couple of weeks ago,
it was widely reported that one of the targets might have been a much
more harmless amateur radio craft.
The so-called pico balloon K9YO was a helium-inflated Mylar balloon
carrying a tiny solar-powered
WSPR beacon, and it abruptly disappeared in the same place and time in
which the USAF claimed one
of their targets. When we covered the story it garnered a huge number of
comments both for and against
the balloonists, so perhaps it’s worth returning with the views of a
high-altitude-ballooning expert.
https://www.daveakerman.com/?p=3137
Dave Ackerman has been sending things aloft for a long time now, we
think he may have been one of
the first to put a Raspberry Pi aloft back in 2012. In his blog post he
attempts to answer the frequently
asked questions about pico balloons, their legality, whether they should
carry a beacon, and what the
difference is between these balloons and the latex “weather balloon”
type we’re familiar with. It’s worth
a read, because not all of us are part of the high-altitude balloon
community and thus it’s good to
educate oneself.
Hackaday Blog -
https://hackaday.com/2023/02/24/answerin...questions/
3. Former FEMA Execs Push To Save AM Radio in EV’s
Former FEMA Head Craig Fugate, who’s always been a proponent of local
radio, has signed a letter,
along with other former FEMA officials, asking the federal government
for help making sure all
automakers include AM radio in Electric Vehicles.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the letter Monday. In it
Fugate says “When all else fails,
radio stations are often the last line of communications that
communities have.”
Some automakers are dropping AM radio from their newer Electric vehicles
because they say the
vehicles generate electromagnetic frequencies on the same wavelength as
AM radio signals, creating
buzzing and signal fading from the interference.
The letter sent to members of Congress included signatures from 7 former
FEMA administrators.
The letter was also sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Read more – Radio Ink: http://bit.ly/3kE7PyH
-- This Week in Amateur Radio News
4. A Linux Distro For All Your Ham Needs
For anyone new to the world of ham radio, one of the things that takes a
little getting used to is visiting
the websites of authoritative experts in various fields and feeling like
you’ve traveled back to the Internet
of 1999. As a hobby that lends itself to extremely utilitarian amateurs,
the software side can feel a little
left behind like that. Andy, KB1OIQ, on the other hand, is also a Linux
enthusiast and has been putting
together a complete Linux distribution to operate your station.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/kb1oiq-andysham/
While most ham radio software seems to be developed for Windows, there
is a lot available for Linux.
It just takes a bit of tinkering and experimentation to get everything
configured just right. Andy’s Ham Radio
Linux, or AHRL, takes a lot of the guesswork out of this. The
distribution includes everything from contact
logging software to antenna modeling, propagation forecasting, and
electronic design. While tools like this
are largely optional for operating radios themselves, there are also
tools included to allow the user to
operate various digital modes as well, which require some sort of
computer interface to use.
--- Hackaday
https://hackaday.com/2023/02/23/a-linux-...ham-needs/
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. March-April 2023 eTCA is now available
The digital (eTCA) version of the March-April 2023 TCA is now 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
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Answering Some Pico Balloon Questions
When the US Air Force shot down some suspected Chinese spy balloons a
couple of weeks ago,
it was widely reported that one of the targets might have been a much
more harmless amateur radio craft.
The so-called pico balloon K9YO was a helium-inflated Mylar balloon
carrying a tiny solar-powered
WSPR beacon, and it abruptly disappeared in the same place and time in
which the USAF claimed one
of their targets. When we covered the story it garnered a huge number of
comments both for and against
the balloonists, so perhaps it’s worth returning with the views of a
high-altitude-ballooning expert.
https://www.daveakerman.com/?p=3137
Dave Ackerman has been sending things aloft for a long time now, we
think he may have been one of
the first to put a Raspberry Pi aloft back in 2012. In his blog post he
attempts to answer the frequently
asked questions about pico balloons, their legality, whether they should
carry a beacon, and what the
difference is between these balloons and the latex “weather balloon”
type we’re familiar with. It’s worth
a read, because not all of us are part of the high-altitude balloon
community and thus it’s good to
educate oneself.
Hackaday Blog -
https://hackaday.com/2023/02/24/answerin...questions/
3. Former FEMA Execs Push To Save AM Radio in EV’s
Former FEMA Head Craig Fugate, who’s always been a proponent of local
radio, has signed a letter,
along with other former FEMA officials, asking the federal government
for help making sure all
automakers include AM radio in Electric Vehicles.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the letter Monday. In it
Fugate says “When all else fails,
radio stations are often the last line of communications that
communities have.”
Some automakers are dropping AM radio from their newer Electric vehicles
because they say the
vehicles generate electromagnetic frequencies on the same wavelength as
AM radio signals, creating
buzzing and signal fading from the interference.
The letter sent to members of Congress included signatures from 7 former
FEMA administrators.
The letter was also sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Read more – Radio Ink: http://bit.ly/3kE7PyH
-- This Week in Amateur Radio News
4. A Linux Distro For All Your Ham Needs
For anyone new to the world of ham radio, one of the things that takes a
little getting used to is visiting
the websites of authoritative experts in various fields and feeling like
you’ve traveled back to the Internet
of 1999. As a hobby that lends itself to extremely utilitarian amateurs,
the software side can feel a little
left behind like that. Andy, KB1OIQ, on the other hand, is also a Linux
enthusiast and has been putting
together a complete Linux distribution to operate your station.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/kb1oiq-andysham/
While most ham radio software seems to be developed for Windows, there
is a lot available for Linux.
It just takes a bit of tinkering and experimentation to get everything
configured just right. Andy’s Ham Radio
Linux, or AHRL, takes a lot of the guesswork out of this. The
distribution includes everything from contact
logging software to antenna modeling, propagation forecasting, and
electronic design. While tools like this
are largely optional for operating radios themselves, there are also
tools included to allow the user to
operate various digital modes as well, which require some sort of
computer interface to use.
--- Hackaday
https://hackaday.com/2023/02/23/a-linux-...ham-needs/
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