Marc Newsletter 2010 January (va3tpv)

Transcript

VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 From the Gavel… Greetings again and welcome to 2010! I hope everyone had a relaxing and joyous Christmas season. It’s always a good time for me to wind things down, ponder the past 12 months, reconnect with friends and family and look forward to the new year. While the new decade doesn’t technically begin until January 1, 2011 most people feel that we’re now out of the first decade of the millennium. The British coined a term for the last ten years: the “naughties” which takes its root from the word “naught” used to represent “zero”. So I guess we’re out of the naughties now! Since the last time we met our contest group headed up by Asim XAP put in a good effort during the RAC Winter Contest this year held before Christmas from December 18 to December 19. Also occurring in the weeks leading up to Christmas was the annual MARC Christmas Pot Luck. Several hearty club members braved the absolutely frigid temperatures to partake in the festivities. The food was great and an enjoyable evening was had by all. Finally, the 6m repeater has been moved to its new home at the club station and is on the air. Dave XDS and yours truly braved some early December temperatures to install the repeater antenna on one of the towers and run the feedline. Other club members assisted over the Christmas holidays to tweak the repeater bits and pieces though there is still some work to be done to improve its performance. Looking forward to 2010 a number of events will be happening that I’m sure MARC members will find fun and interesting. Starting in February a project building special interest group headed up by Michael TKI, Robin VVS and Ed TPV will meet on a regular basis at the club station. The first project will be band pass filters which will be used at Field Day this year. As one would expect, Field Day presents a challenge in terms of the potential for interference amongst the various stations particularly since the amateur radio bands are harmonics of each other. It is hoped these filters will help alleviate any problems that may crop up due to, say, a digital station operating fullduty cycle on 40m while a phone station tries to work a contact on 20m. Coming up on March 27 is our annual Ham-Ex fleamarket and exhibition. Rick IMG is the co-chair for MARC and he has been working away with his counterparts from the Peel Amateur Radio Club to ensure this year’s event goes off without a hitch. The financial benefit to our club is irreplaceable which is why I urge you to get involved and help out where you can. Numerous volunteer positions will need to be filled in vendor assist, set up, parking, ticket sales, etc. Rick will be making his pitches during the upcoming general meetings so please consider helping out. Finally, 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club. Ed TPV and his committee are putting together a few things to help celebrate the quarter century existence of MARC. Stay tuned for further details. Just to close things off I would like to put out a request to MARC members to consider submitting an article or two to the Communicator. If you’ve worked on an interesting amateur radio project, if you’ve acquired some fancy new amateur radio gear or if you’ve done anything interesting in amateur radio, write it up and pass it along to Ed our newsletter editor. He always welcomes new articles. With that I’m signing off for this month. Welcome to the new year and see you at the club meetings! 73, Jeff VA3WXM This Month 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 8. 9. 10. 10. 11. 14. From the Gavel Commentary Club Calendar Education Update Club Project Nights Homebrewing A 50 Ohm Dummy Load Technical Web Site of The Month The Roving Reporter Solar-Terrestrial Data On Your PC Desktop, iPhone, iPod, or Blackberry RAC ARES Certification Training Red Cross OZONE Antenna Repaired The Amateur’s Code Amateur Radio Band Plans Part 2 RAC Application Form Sunday Brunch Sunday brunches are held on the first Sunday of each month. Time is 9:30AM at Shopsy's, 6986 Financial Drive Unit 5 Mississauga (at the corner of Mississauga Rd and Derry Rd). All are welcome to come out and have an opportunity to chat in an informal setting. Club Nets 2 Metre Tuesday Night Phone Net Join in on the chatter starting at 8:30PM every Tuesday on the club repeater. Hosted by various net controllers. 145.430MHz Tone 103.5 Minus (-) offset. Contact our VHF Net Manager, Lorne (VE3CXT), if interested in becoming a net controller. 75 Metre Sunday Night Net Starts at 8:30PM every Sunday. Hosted by various net controllers. Contact our HF Net Manager, Michael (VE3TKI), if interested in becoming a net controller. The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 2 Commentary It is January and the winter weather is with us. Jeff, VA3WXM, in From the Gavel, has given a wrap up of December activities and a forward look into club events for 2010. The Communicator articles this month are a potpourri of topics suited to a variety of interests. Earle, VE3XEL, in Education Update, writes about the Basic Examination held in December, 2009. Michael, VE3TKI, gives the exciting news about the soon to be launched Club Project Nights, a topic often discussed and now being implemented. Ki, VA3PEN, describes an easily built Homebrew 50 Ohm Dummy Load to add to your station accessories. New hams will want to read the Technical Web Site of the Month which was suggested by Richard, VE3RHD. Back again by popular demand, The Roving Reporter presents an interview with John, VA3XJL. For the DXers, the article on Solar-Terrestrial Data On Your PC Desktop, iPhone, iPod, or BlackBerry will be appealing. No more searching for that terrestrial data web site. Thomas, VA3TMB, in RAC ARES Certification Training has given some insights into what happened during that event held in November. Daniel, VE3NI, in Red Cross OZONE Antenna Repaired gives an update on the Red Cross OZONE antenna farm. For the new Ham, The Amateur’s Code, by Paul M. Segal, W9EEA, is just as valid today as when written in 1928. Amateur Radio Band Plans Part 2 continues where Part 1 left off. This article is a must read for the new Ham or those just wishing to refresh their gray matter. Be sure to see the handy HF Band Plan chart on page 13. The Communicator is one of MARC’s methods for communicating information to club members and is your newsletter. Let me know what you would like the newsletter to be and what you would like it to include. Without your constant support in the form of ideas, suggestions and article submissions, we would not have such a fine newsletter month after month. I look forward to hearing from all you budding or aspiring authors. Your experience is what makes amateur radio what it is. Let’s hear from you. I can be reached at any club meeting or via email at va3tpv @ rogers.com (remove spaces). Executive Directors President 1st Vice President: 2nd Vice President: Treasurer: Secretary: Past President: Jeffrey Stewart, VA3WXM Rick Brown, VE3IMG Ki-Hup Boo, VA3PEN Scott Gregory, VA3NMI Asim Zaidi, VE3XAP Rick Brown, VE3IMG Club Managers Membership Manager Education Manager House / Visitor Host Manager Newsletter Editor Net Managers HF Net VHF Net Repeater Manager Assistant Assistant Assistant Trustee Club Station Manager Assistant Assistant Field Day Joint Chairman Joint Chairman FSV Manager Assistant Program Manager Assistant Webmaster Manager Assistant Legal Consultant Public Info/ Media Relations Education Basic Course Prime Advanced Course Prime Dave Harford, VA3DFH Earle Laycock, VE3XEL Murray Yewer, VE3JMY Edward Spingola, VA3TPV Michael Brickell, VE3TKI Lorne Jackson, VE3CXT David Shilling, VE3XDS Michael Brickell, VE3TKI Sheldon Pimentel, VE3SPJ John Lorenc (Sr), VA3XJL John Duffy, VE3DRZ Rick Brown, VE3IMG Stefan Bejusca, VA3OBR Asim Zaidi, VE3XAP Lorne Jackson, VE3CXT Thomas Godden, VE3TWG David Malar, VA3MLR John Duffy, VE3DRZ Thomas Bernard. VA3TMB Lorne Jackson, VE3CXT Dave Harford, VA3DFH Rick Brown, VE3IMG Lorne Jackson, VE3CXT Tony Champion, VA3QC Earle Laycock, VE3XEL Thomas Bernard, VA3TMB Audit Committee Auditors Coordinator Basil Burgess, VE3JEB Public Service ARES Emergency Coordinator Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant Dan Goodier, VE3NI Thomas Bernard, VA3TMB Michael Brickell, VE3TKI David Malar, VA3MLR Bob Boyer, VE3XBB John Duffy, VE3DRZ CANWARN Manager Peter Mosher, VA3PKM Special Events / Walks Manager Bob Boyer, VE3XBB Special Interest Groups Contests Manager: Assistant Asim Zaidi, VE3XAP Rick Brown, VE3IMG QSL Manager Michael Brickell. VE3TKI The Communicator VE3MIS/VE3RCX Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club Vol 13.01 January, 2010 CLUB CALENDAR FOR 2010 January, 2010 03 Sun Sunday Brunch – Shopsy’s 03 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 04 Mon Advanced Class 1 05 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 07 Thu Exec Meeting 09 Sat North American QSO Party 10. Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 11 Mon Advanced Class 2 11 Mon CW Class 1 12 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 14 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 16 Sat North American QSO Party 17 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 18 Mon Advanced Class 3 18 Mon CW Class 2 19 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 21 Thu ARES Meeting 21 Thu Pizza Nite (Basic Graduation Ceremony) 24 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 25 Mon Advanced Class 4 25 Mon CW Class 3 26 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 28 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 29 Fri CQ WW 160-Meter Contest 31 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net February, 2010 01 Mon Advanced Class 5 01 Mon CW Class 4 02 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 04 Thu Exec Meeting 07 Sun Sunday Brunch – Shopsy’s 07 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 08 Mon Advanced Class 6 08 Mon CW Class 5 09 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 11 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 14. Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 16 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 18 Thu ARES Meeting 19 Fri ARRL International DX Contest 21 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 22 Mon Advanced Class 7 22 Mon CW Class 6 23 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 25 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 28 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net March, 2010 01 Mon Advanced Class 8 01 Mon Advanced Class 7 02 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 04 Thu Exec Meeting 05 Fri ARRL International DX Contest 1. 2. 3. 07 Sun Sunday Brunch – Shopsy’s 07 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 08 Mon Advanced Class 9 08 Mon Morse Class 8 09 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 11 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 14 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 15 Mon Advanced Class 10 16 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 18 Thu ARES Meeting 20 Sat Russian DX Contest 21 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 22 Mon Advanced Class Ex 23 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 25 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 26 Fri CQ WW WPX Contest 27 Sat Ham-Ex 28 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 29 Mon Advanced Class Ex 30 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net April, 2010 01 Thu Exec Meeting 03 Sat SP DX Contest 04 Sun Sunday Brunch – Shopsy’s 04 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 06 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 08 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 11 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 13 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 15 Thu ARES Meeting 17 Sat Ontario QSO Party 18 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 20 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 22 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 25 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 27 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net May, 2010 02 Sun Sunday Brunch – Shopsy’s 02 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 04 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 06 Thu Exec Meeting 09 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 11 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 13 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 16 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 18 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 20 Thu ARES Meeting 23 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net 25 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 27 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker’s night 28 Fri CQ WPX Contest 30 Sun HF – 75/80 Meter Net NOTES Meetings start 7:30PM at St. Thomas A Becket Church Hall, 3535 South Common Court unless otherwise noted. Brunch is at 9:30AM unless otherwise noted. Classes are from 7:00PM - 9:00PM at Meals On Wheels at 2445 Dunwin Drive Visit our website: http://www.marc.on.ca for any updates of the calendar. Page 3 The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 4 Education Update By Earle Laycock, VE3XEL One of the greatest thrills for me is to see a new ham enter our great hobby and public service. This year we had another successful Basic Class with 9 graduates so far. 2009 BASIC Graduating Class Front: Bob Ahrens (+) VA3AHR, Indra Singh-Ali VA3IRS, John Coones (+) VE3JOC and Brian Teh (+) VA3ZEE Rear: Andrea Franco VE3ASS, Daniel Goral VE3PLO, Dennis Ritchie, Gordon Wood (+) VA3CNU, Robert Emerson (+) VE3RHE and Alan Chandler (+) VE3BZC. MARC’s education classes are becoming well known in the ham community. Most of that is due to the work of our instruc-tors. I thank those who have contributed this past year to make our Basic the success that it was: • • • • • • for Meals on Wheels and Susan FitzGerald, the Disaster Management Coordinator. Both of these people have provided unyielding support for our education and ARES events. MARC encourages close cooperation with the Red Cross and encourages Red Cross personnel to become licensed radio operators. Some Pre-exam Concentration! Indra Singh-Ali VA3IRS summons courage before starting the Basic exam. Basil VE3JEB –always willing to give an extra hand! Jody VE3ION –our inspiration to all of the shy YLs and XYLs out there! Ed VA3TPV –new kid on the block with lots of feedlines and interesting hardware to show. Dave VA3XDS –another new instructor with an amazing knowledge of repeaters. The class was amazed at Dave being a recent MARC Basic/Advanced graduate. Peter VA3PKM –drops by unannounced to give information on satellites and Echolink! Earle VE3XEL –someday I may actually get on the air! Writing the Basic Exam Just 100 multiple choice questions but the wording sometimes seems designed to confuse. Second guessing your first answer is usually fatal. I would also like to thank the Red Cross Meals on Wheels for use of their classroom for our classes and especially Tara Monks-Canfield, Community Services Coordinator Getting Ready to Write the Exam What’s coming up for 2010? Advanced Course Our very popular Advanced Course is being taught again by Thomas VA3TMB and Basil VE3JEB. This boot style course begins Monday January 4th at 7 PM at the Meals On The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 5 Wheels/Canadian Red Cross building, 2445 Dunwin Drive, Mississauga. Students should already have their Basic Qualification in order to take the course. Industry Canada examinations? Just contact Earle VE3XEL or Basil VE3JEB to arrange your Basic, Advanced or CW examination CW Course Pizza Nite Basic Course Graduation Night aka "Pizza Nite" is scheduled on Thursday Jan 21st 7 PM at the Club Station. Because of continued demand, Frank VE3HTX and Earle VE3XEL will be holding a CW Class beginning Monday January 11th at 7 PM (note one week after the Advanced Course begins!). This class will only run for about 30-45 minutes each Monday and would require about 15-30 minutes of daily practice to be successful in obtaining the Morse Code qualification. The successful candidate will need to r3eceive and send at 5 words per minute for three minutes. Industry Canada Examinations The Industry Canada examinations are included in the fees for both courses which is $30. Non MARC members are asked to join the club as a course prerequisite. Did you. know that joining MARC enables you to take unlimited As usual, we would feature: • meet the Executive • introduce the Basic Graduates • hand out the awards to the top scores • demo the station on the air by some experienced station people • eat some pizza in the process All Basic, Advanced and CW students are welcome to attend and meet the club executive. Club Project Nights By Michael Brickell, VE3TKI The idea of making it possible for club members to get some hands-on experience in the construction of radiorelated projects of one sort or another has been discussed several times over the years. Well, the time has finally arrived! Michael VE3TKI, Ed VA3TPV, and Robin VE3VVS are now doing the planning to set up a project building special interest group for MARC, as soon as possible, in the new year. Help with such things as construction and soldering techniques, the use of test instruments such as oscilloscopes, and circuit simulation using the LTspiceIV program will be provided. We are seeking member input regarding what projects would be of interest through a poll on the member yahoo group. However, we would also like to hear from you directly via email to VE3TKI, VA3TPV or VE3VVS if you have anything in particular you would like to build. For the past several years, we have had inter-station interference problems at Field Day. Several designs for band pass filters have been described in the ARRL’s QST and QEX magazines. We have decided to make the construction of two 5-band filters, one for the digital station, and one for the multi-band cw station the first construction project. The construction of these filters, which cover 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m, is described in the article Inexpensive Interference Filters, by Alan Bloom, N1AL, in the June 1994 QST. Although the article is about building a 5-band filter package, it is also possible to build individual single band filters. Anyone who would like to build his/her own multi-or single band filter is welcome to do so at a project night. Other possible projects include: the construction of simple power supplies for handheld radios, dummy loads for use with either handhelds or hf radios, battery chargers and conditioners for NiCd and/or NiMH batteries, Gel cell battery chargers, low power battery booster/regulators, swr/power meters and so on. It is also possible to build programmable microprocessor based projects. We need your ideas! We have set up a club project folder (Club Project Building) in the “files” area of the members Yahoo group. We will put articles and other useful material there as the need arises. The Club Project Building folder may be accessed via the MARC_Members Files http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MARC_Members/files/ or via this direct link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MARC_Members/files/Club%2 0Project%20Building/ We propose to allocate Wednesday evenings at the club station for member construction projects. Stay tuned to the club web page for further details as plans progress. The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 6 Homebrewing A 50 Ohm Dummy Load By Ki Hup Boo, VA3PEN Parts list: I recently built a 60W 50-ohm dummy load that I have been planning for a long time. This dummy load is air cooled and will endure 60 watts of RMS power. This article presents my motivation and detailed construction notes. In my junk box, I had some ground wire and SO-239 female connector. So what I needed was 20 pieces of 1K ohm, 3 watt, resistors. I could have visited a local electronics store to buy the resistors but I added them to my shopping list for Mouser Electronics since I was ordering some parts from there for other projects. Motivation An ideal way of operating a tube amplifier is to tune the transmitter into a pure resistive load with the same impedance. I have a Kenwood TS-830S but my antennas are not always ideal. I tend to set up my antennas with zero reactance (as opposed to minimum SWR) and usually end up having an impedance (pure resistive, well... almost) of any value other than 50 ohms. This is not good when tuning my 830, or even I cannot tune at all if the antenna impedance is a way off. I had to have a dummy load. If you ask why I do not use an antenna tuner in the first place, I can use an antenna tuner it only after the transmitter is properly tuned. It is like a chicken and egg game. Anyway, I have been looking for an Kenwood AT-230 Antenna Tuner to accomplish one of my missions of building up a complete line of the 830 station. The price of the tuner is simply too high today. Slowly, the eBay price has infected local swap shops and they sell them at around $250.00 lately. With this money, you can buy a decent TS530S. If you look what is inside, and consider they are about 30 years old, and if you are like me, there is no chance that you would pay this bloated price to get one. So, I am waiting for a few more years until the bubble collapses down (or not?). Meanwhile, I grabbed an AT-230 manual and flipped through the pages to find this interesting dummy load design. So I decided to give it a try. Oh, by the way, I would have to warn you that building this dummy load may cost more than buying a used one which you could find at around $15.00 if you are patient. Do I need a 100W (as opposed to this 60W, that is) dummy load as most of the rigs are 100W? My answer is no. In tune mode, the output power of the 830 is about 30 watts. So the 60W dummy load has sufficient wattage for the rig. So far, I have not found any reason why I would need a dummy load rated more than 60 watts. Perhaps, I may need one if I would be operating a KW linear amplifier, or I would be measuring an accurate output of such amplifiers using a Bird 43, but still it does not convince me. I am not building a commercial radio station after all.



14AWG ground wire x 30cm (ground wire, $0.19/f, durhamradio.com) 3W 1% 1K resistor x 20 (71-CPF31-K0000FKE14, $0.70, mouser.com) *see note SO-239 (GDA-229-1, UHF chassis jack, sayalkits.com) crimp-on butt connector x 2 ($4.99 for a pack of 20, thesource.ca) *note: This is a metal film type resistor. It is small sized, has good high frequency response, is non-flammable, and cheap. It sounded good to me so I ordered this one. These resistors have 1% tolerance. So the combined resistance of 20 pieces has a high probability of being between 49.5 and 50.5 ohms. Photo 1 Construction All the parts were ready. I started to work on this project on a weekend. I cut two pieces of insulated ground wire, 15cm each. Using a sharp cutter, I carefully made a slit on the wire insulator to peel it off as shown in Photo 1. Next, I started to solder the resistors on the one wire leaving about 2 cm from the wire end. I reserved about 2mm spaces between the resistors and cut the resistors' leads as short as possible. After this, I soldered the opposite side leads of the resistors to the other wire. To keep The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX the wires run in parallel, I soldered two resistors on both ends first while maintaining the same distance between the two wires. Once, this is done, I moved on to finish the rest. Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 7 I also tested this dummy load with a SWR meter between 1.8Mhz and 54.0 Mhz and its SWR is flat - i.e. 1:1 throughout the frequency range. I have yet to test against the VHF/UHF bands. There may exist some reactance, I could imagine, but it is too small to measure with my poor man's test tools. Usage I already noted about where I intend to use this dummy load but here I summarize where I could use this dummy load:
tuning up a tube amplifier
measuring an output of an amplifier without interfering the frequency
building/repairing a transceiver
aligning homebrew measurement tools such as impedance bridge
homebrewing RF filters along with a signal generator or like
and the rest is your imagination. Photo 2 Now, it was time to make the series of resistors in a ring. I trimmed both ends of the wires leaving 0.5cm from the first and the last resistors. I slowly and gently formed a loop by bending both wires little by little so that both ends almost meet together. I used two butt connectors (shown in Photo 3) to which the wire ends are inserted and soldered to complete the loop. Once this is done, I soldered the centre pin of the SO-239 to one of the butt connectors, and used a short length of the same #14 wire to make a connection between the other connector and the ground lug of the SO-239. It took about an hour or so to complete the construction work of this project. Enhancements I wanted to use an enclosure for the dummy load but I cannot because I do not have necessary tools. If you have a tool with which you can make a mounting hole for the SO-239 on a thin aluminum case, you could find several types of proper sized aluminum project boxes at Sayal Electronics at a reasonable price. It would help reducing the amount of RF energy being radiated from the dummy load. (A proper size hole for an SO239 would be produced by a 5/8” Greenlee chassis punch. Editor) That’s all there is to building a very useful dummy load for tuning your transmitter. I briefly tested to verify that the resistance measured from the SO-239 is around 50.1 ohms and this is more than enough for practical use. Technical Web Site of The Month By Ed Spingola, VA3TPV For new hams, Richard Kennedy, VE3RHD, suggests the very popular eHam.net web site. For the new ham, click on “New to Ham Radio?” on the left sidebar and you will be directed to Guide to Amateur Radio for New Hams(http://www.eham.net/newham/), by New Ham Topics Manager, Don Cassel, VE3XD. There you will find articles on the following topics:


Photo 3
What is Amateur Radio, Operating Modes What Hams Do, IRLP in Depth How to Become a Radio Amateur, Amateur Activities
Call Signs, Guide to Choosing Your First Radio
Amateur Radio Bands, Glossary of Terms Basic Operating, QSL Cards The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 8 The Roving Reporter By Anonymous Each month your roving reporter goes out into the cold dark night to clandestinely meet with an unsuspecting soul for the purposes of holding an interview. The poor follow who is sucked in this month is our former Treasurer, John Lorenc (VA3XJL). Without further ado, let’s see what he has to say. Bio: From: Rural SW Ontario, near Blenheim Profession: Information Tech Security Personal: John Lorenc(VA3XJL) Amateur Status: licensed since 2004 holding Basic + certification RR: What was it that drew you to MARC? VA3XJL Well I was looking around for an examiner and attended a local club and went to a meeting. I asked questions about examiners and was not getting good answers, nor did I feel anyone was interested in helping me. I continued my search for examiners and somehow, I don't remember how, I landed on the MARC web site and connected with Earle/VE3XEL. Earle conducted my basic exam and sold me on coming out to join the club. It is all history from there. MARC's gain, the other club's loss. RR: Definitely our club’s gain John. How did you become interested in amateur radio? VA3XJL I first became interested in radio around the age of 12 to 13. My parents had a vintage Marconi desktop SW radio and then moved up to a Grundig console hi-fi that also had SW capability. From there I moved on to a Heathkit GR64 SW receiver, which I still have. I had a long wire antenna that worked pretty well for round the world SWL. I parked SWL for a number of years while going to school and raising a family. Then my son John/VA3JBT found my SWL QSL's, self studied and got his basic and cw endorsements from the Kitchener club while at University of Waterloo. Not to be outdone by my son, I followed suit and became licensed with Basic+ in August, 2004. RR: It’s amazing how many of us became interested in the hobby in the same way. What are your favourite aspects of the hobby? VA3XJL What I like about amateur radio is that it allows me to communicate with other means than telephone, cell, internet, ... May be a bit archaic in this modern day, but I enjoy the ability to communicate via a microphone attached to a radio that I don't have to pay air time for. The integration of amateur radio with the Internet is also of interest. Again, trying to use as many available communications means as I can, including a BlackBerry, which is packet radio, is it not? RR: What other interests do you have and enjoy? VA3XJL I enjoy a bit of winemaking along with woodworking and home fix-its that I can do myself. RR: What does your station consist of? VA3XJL I have a Yaesu FT897 with the LDG AT897 autotuner; a Diamond X200 dual band 2m/440 atop of a light duty 30' TV tower; and a Hustler 6BTV ground mounted vertical for HF. I also have a SignaLink USB for digital stuff; a Yaesu VX7R and a backup HTX-202 for handheld use. For mobile, I have a Kenwood D710A dual band with GPS configured as an APRS station. RR: Great stuff John and thank you for your time. I’m done. My coffee’s done, so we might as well head off into the night and return to our respective homes. Also thanks for the bottles of wine. As always, it was a pleasure speaking with you. Solar-Terrestrial Data on Your PC Desktop, iPhone, iPod, or BlackBerry By Ed Spingola, VA3TPV Have you ever wanted to have solar-terrestrial data and propagation data available whenever you wanted it? If you are an avid DXer, the current solar-terrestrial data and propagation data is important to identify when the HF bands are open. Now, there is no more searching for that web browser and web site to get the latest solar-terrestrial data and HF propagation info. You can have the information available whenever you boot your PC, iPhone, iPod, or BlackBerry. While recently researching for propagation prediction data, I discovered the Paul L. Herrman, N0NBH, web site. http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html Paul L. Herrman, N0NBH, has made available on his web site solar-terrestrial data and propagation data which may be accessed via the internet. The N0NBH web site automatically maintains the data and provides a convenient way for you to access this information. The propagation info can be added to The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 your PC desktop. You are, however, required to have the Google Desktop running on your PC. The solar-terrestrial data and propagation data can also be added to your iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry or club web site. The N0NBH web site reloads the panels every hour so the 3-hour update rate on your PC, etc. will be adequate. Two display formats are available for PC's as follows: Page 9 To get the propagation data, do the following:
First install the Google Desktop application if you already do not have it. http://desktop.google.com/
Next, in Google Desktop, select Add Gadgets and search for Solar. Select either of the N0NBH gadgets.
Select either or for the panels shown above.
Activate the Google Sidebar to get the display. respectively That's all there is to it. You now have propagation data on your PC desktop. If you have difficulty, see the appropriate VISTA, WINDOWS 7, or XP section of the N0NBH web site for further explanation Note that for Windows 7/VISTA desktop, the link on the N0NBH web site directs you to the K7MHI web site for the gadget. Enjoy! and RAC ARES Certification Training By Thomas Bernard, VA3TMB On November 21st and 28th, 2009 nine Mississauga ARES members gathered at the Red Cross Meals on Wheels location to take a two day training course based on Radio Amateurs of Canada ARES Certification program. The course ah-ha moments. In the end, each one of us came out knowing more than when we went in with. was developed by Thomas, VA3TMB, using the RAC program material, which is available on the RAC website. The course focussed on emergency preparedness and radio operations. in an emergency situation. wasted no time. Ed, VA3TPV, ensured fresh coffee was always available when participants needed it, John, VE3DRZ, with his unique brand of humour kept the sessions from turning into a drag and Daniel, VE3NI, and Bob, VE3XBB, constantly pitched in to educate the group on their expertise in ARES, and Public Service respectively. Basil, VE3JEB, was always ready to clarify technical aspects of the operations. The days were packed, with only brief breaks for coffee and lunch, but the group had a lot of fun. The sessions were based on group discussions with Ed, Thomas, and Daniel leading the sessions. The discussions ranged from heated debates to roll-on-the-ground laughter to serious John, VA3XJL, was elected the time keeper and did a great job ensuring that the sessions ran like clockwork and the group The most important lesson, in my opinion, was that preparation was everything. As any good Project Manager will tell you, The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX successful projects spend 90% of the time planning and 10% executing. This can’t be truer for ARES. By completing this training, the participants met the basic criteria for RAC ARES Certification and will soon be receiving ARES ID Cards from RAC. Thanks to these nine ARES members who willingly gave up two weekends (and it was not even winter!) to prepare Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 10 themselves for an emergency situation, Mississauga now has more certified ARES operators ready to serve their community should the need arise. The nine ARES members starting from the left are Basil, VE3JEB, Michael, VE3TKI, Ed, VA3TPV, John, VA3XJL, Daniel, VE3NI, Bob, VE3XBB, Dave, VA3MLR, Thomas, VA3TMB, and John, VE3DRZ. Red Cross OZONE Antenna Repaired By Daniel Goodier, VE3NI During the week of December 14, 2009 it was noticed that there appeared to be an issue with the 40m/80m dipole antenna on the roof of OZONE. This antenna is of primary importance in local communication in an emergency situation, and is also used for the Club’s 80m Sunday night nets. Also, during the October SET, we had tested the yagi for 10m/15m/20m and found that the rotor would not turn. On December 28, a work group consisting of Michael/VE3TKI, John/VE3DRZ, Thomas/VA3TMB and Daniel/VE3NI went to OZONE to investigate and if possible fix the problems. The morning of December 28 proved to be an excellent day to do the work. The roof was clear of snow, the temperature was about -3C, and the only discomfort was that there was a windchill. The problem with the 40m/80m dipole was quickly identified as a failed halyard on the mast holding the center of the dipole. The immediate resolution was to replace the halyard on the center mast (approximately 60' of clothesline). This involved removing 4 bolts holding the mast in place, taking the mast down, rethreading the halyard through the pulley, and finally, reinstalling the mast. An examination of the halyard, on the other mast. holding up the other leg of the dipole also indicated that it should be replaced. This will be done in the Spring Next we looked at the rotator for the yagi antenna. Visual inspection indicated there was some sort of issue as it had a pronounced lean. Further investigation indicated that there was some sort of physical failure within the shell of the rotator. We will wait till spring to remove the rotator from the mast and determine what the exact problem is. In the meantime the yagi cannot be turned. The Amateur’s Code The Radio Amateur is CONSIDERATE...never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others. LOYAL...offers loyalty, encouragement and support to other amateurs, local clubs, and the American Radio Relay League, through which Amateur Radio in the United States is represented nationally and internationally. PROGRESSIVE...with knowledge abreast of science, a well-built and efficient station and operation above reproach. FRIENDLY...slow and patient operating when requested; friendly advice and counsel to the beginner; kindly assistance, cooperation and consideration for the interests of others. These are the hallmarks of the amateur spirit. BALANCED...radio is an avocation, never interfering with duties owed to family, job, school or community. PATRIOTIC...station and skill always ready for service to country and community. --The original Amateur's Code was written by Paul M. Segal, W9EEA, in 1928. The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 11 Amateur Radio Band Plans Part 2 By Ed Spingola, VA3TPV Operating Procedures In Amateur Radio Band Plans Part 1, in the October issue of The Communicator, we had a look at the origins of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), and the relationship between legislated Radio Regulations and the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) Band Plans. In Part 1 of this article, it was stated that the IARU is responsible for band plan recommendations throughout their member countries and that Band plans are an attempt to present a voluntary, gentlemen’s agreement for the guidance of amateurs without which chaos on the bands would prevail. The band plans specify the uses (in sub-bands) within each of the Amateur Radio allocated bands. The band plans are intended to give some guidance as to how the sub-bands are to be used. Most of the general operating procedures of interest to Amateur Radio Operators are either hidden within the plans, requiring you to read between the lines, or are implied. It can be a daunting task for the new operator to sort this out. The following paragraphs will attempt to provide some guidance with examples from the RAC Band Plans. Amateur Radio Frequency Bands The following bands in the HF frequency spectrum have been allocated for Amateur Radio Service:
160 meters – 1.8 to 2.0 MHz
80 meters – 3.5 to 4.0 MHz
40 meters – 7.0 to 7.3 MHz
30 meters – 10.1 to 10.15 MHz
20 meters – 14.0 to 14.35 MHz
17 meters – 18.068 to 18.168 MHz
15 meters – 21.0 to 21.450 MHz
12 meters – 24.890 to 24.990 MHz
10 meters – 28.0 to 29.96 MHz No Contesting Bands The WARC bands are three portions of the shortwave radio spectrum used by licensed amateur radio operators. The WARC bands consist of 30 meters, 17 meters and 12 meters. They were named after the World Administrative Radio Conference, which in 1979 created a worldwide allocation of these bands for amateur use. The WARC bands were opened for use in the early 1980s. Due to their relatively small bandwidth of 100 kHz or less, there is a sort of gentlemen's agreement that the WARC bands may not be used for general contesting Propagation Beacons The Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF)3, in cooperation with the IARU, constructed and operates a world wide network of high-frequency radio beacons on 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24.930, and 28.200 MHz. These beacons help both amateur and commercial high-frequency radio users assess the current condition of the ionosphere. The entire system is designed, built and operated by volunteers at no cost except for the actual price of hardware components, shipping costs, and so on. Three articles about the beacons have appeared in QST within the past few years and these articles are now available online at the IARU web site4. These articles have a lot of interesting details about the beacons. Most of the hardware used in the beacons is regular commercial equipment, but the controller is specially designed and is described in detail in the Beacon Controller article4. The NCDXF3 web site has a lot of information on this beacon project. I leave it up to the reader to search out this information. See also the beacon information on the AC6V web site5. Please keep your signals out of the beacon frequency subbands. Sideband Usage The HF Band Plan suggests that, for voice operation, Upper Sideband (USB) be used for all frequencies above 10 MHz and Lower Sideband (LSB) be used on all bands below 10 MHz. In a recent issue of QST2,7 it was explained that this accepted practice is derived from the early days of SSB, the 1950’s, when one common SSB implementation used an SSB generator that produced a USB signal at 9 MHz which then heterodyned with a VFO covering 5 to 5.5 MHz. The mixing of the 9 MHz +/- the 5 MHz VFO then produced the 20 meter and 80 meter bands. However, the 80 meter band had a reverse tuning direction resulting in LSB. This mixing scheme allowed the use of only one crystal oscillator to produce SSB signals on all bands both above and below 10 MHz. The exception to the LSB and USB usage was apparently the US military which standardized on USB on all the HF bands. The use of surplus US military radios is why we sometimes hear USB on the 40 meter band. There are no regulations specifying which sideband is to be used on any band. However, to avoid chaos and also to be heard, the LSB/USB 10 MHZ rule is usually used. HF Band Plan Sub-bands The RAC HF Band Plan is described in many pages. A graphical presentation would be helpful. The Summerside Amateur Radio Club has a full colour chart of the RAC HF Band Plan on their website1. The HF Band Plan chart is attached herein at the end of this section with the permission of the Summerside Amateur Radio Club. As an example of a band plan, lets take a look at the 20 meter band plan which is given below: The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX 20m BAND PLAN (July 8, 2008) 14000 - 14070 CW (Note 1) 14070 - 14095 CW, Narrow band digital (Note 2) 14095 - 14099.5 CW, Narrow band and Wide band digital (Note 3) 14099.5 - 14100.5 Beacons 14100.5 - 14112 CW, Narrow band and Wide band digital (Note 4) 14112 - 14350 CW, Phone (Notes 5 & 6) BAND PLAN NOTES: 1. 14025 - 14060 CW Contest preferred 2. 14070 - 14073 PSK-31 and other Very Narrow Band Digital 3. 14089 - 14099 Automatically controlled data stations (unattended) 4. 14101 - 14112 Automatically controlled data stations (unattended) 5. 14190 - 14200 SSB DXpedition priority 6. 14112 - 14285 SSB Contest preferred In addition, the following “Centres of Activity” are recognized: 14040 IOTA CW 14055 CW QRS Centre 14060 CW QRP Centre 14130 Digital Voice Centre 14140 Canadian Cross-country SSB Centre 14230 Image Centre 14260 IOTA SSB 14285 SSB QRP Centre 14286 AM Centre 14300 Global Emergency Centre GENERAL BAND PLAN NOTES: • Where Notes are shown, these activities have priority over other activities. • During major weekend Contest activities, activity in certain modes can spill over into other segments. • Phone modes should not operate closer than 3000Hz to the upper band edge. • Wide band digital refers to any digital mode using more than 500Hz bandwidth. • Narrow band digital modes: All modes using up to 500Hz bandwidth. • Image modes: Any analogue or digital image using bandwidth up to 2700Hz. CW Mode You may occasionally hear CW in the phone portions of some bands. This is acceptable. A close examination of both the IARU and RAC band plans shows that CW QSO’s are accepted across all bands, except within the beacon segments. You are more likely to be heard if you are in the CW sub-band. Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 12 DX Windows Several of the HF bands have frequencies designated as DX Windows. In these specific DX Window frequencies allocated for CW and SSB, international operation is given priority over any non-DX operation. These DX Window frequencies provide a convenient place for DXers to find DX stations. Please stay at least 3 kHz away from these DX frequencies in order to avoid interference to these usually weak signals. As an example, in the 20 m band, the frequencies 14.0 to 14.025 MHz are give priority for international CW operation. Similarly, on the 20 m band, the frequencies 14.190 to 14.200 MHz are given priority for international SSB operation. DX Window assignments are also allocated on the 160, 80, and 40 m bands. Consult the RAC band plans6 for more information. Calling Frequencies Occasionally in the HF band plans you will find frequencies designated as calling frequencies. In the 80 m band, the frequencies 3.885 MHz and 3.985 MHz are designated as the AM phone and QRP SSB calling frequencies respectively. The intent of a calling frequency is that you make initial contact on these frequencies and then QSY to a mutually agreed clear frequency. It is inconsiderate operation to camp on these frequencies and ragchew. Know Your Bandwidth Out of band contacts are by definition contacts made on frequencies which are outside of the authorized band plan. In order to avoid out of band contacts you must be aware of your transmitting signal bandwidth. For instance, double sideband (DSB) AM is considered to have a 6 KHz bandwidth. SSB has a bandwidth of no more than 2700 Hz. The frequencies shown in the band plans are those of your transmitted frequencies and not those of the suppressed carrier. Remember that the dial reading on your transceiver shows the suppressed carrier frequency. Know the bandwidth of your transceiver output. Any modulation will either add to (USB) or subtract from (LSB) this indicated frequency. For example, when using USB, the voice signal extends from the suppressed carrier frequency plus 2700 Hz. In order to comply with the band plan, your transceiver dial reading must be lower than the upper band edge by at least 2700 Hz. Notes: 1.) HF Band Plan by Summerside Amateur Radio Club, http://www.summersidearc.com/hfbandplan.htm 2.) The Doctor Is In, QST, December, 2009, page 45. 3.) NCDXF http://www.ncdxf.org/beacons.html 4.) IARU web site articles at http://www.iaru.org/articles/ 5.) AC6V web site http://www.ac6v.com/beacons.htm 6.) RAC Band Plans http://www.rac.ca/en/rac/services/bandplans/hf/hfplan20080711.pdf 7.) Feedback, QST, January, 2010, page 31. The Communicator VE3MIS/VE3RCX Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Figure 1. HF Band Plan by Summerside Amateur Radio Club Page 13 The Communicator Newsletter of the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club VE3MIS/VE3RCX Vol 13.01 January, 2010 Page 14 RAC MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION/TCA SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS For two- or three-year memberships or renewals please contact the RAC Office given at bottom of this page. Please enter applicable choice(s) Please indicate New or Renewal: 1 year RAC membership; (includes $45.00 subscription for TCA) @$50.00 plus GST or HST as applicable Total $52.50 in BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, PE, NT, NU Total $56.50 in NL, NS, NB 1 year RAC membership only; for a blind person NO MAGAZINE @$20.00 plus GST or HST as applicable Total $21.00 in BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, PE, NT, NU Total $22.60 in NL, NS, NB Family membership; price per extra family member @ $20.00 plus GST or HST as applicable per year (one TCA per family) (Does not apply to simple subscriptions.) Total $21.00 in BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, PE, NT, NU Total $22.60 in NL, NS, NB CONTACT INFORMATION Name: Call sign: Address: City/Town: Province: Postal Code: Family Member Name Family Member Call sign: If you enter something on line above, a charge of $20.00 (plus taxes) will be added to your membership Family Member Name Family Member Call sign: If you enter something on line above, a charge of $20.00 (plus taxes) will be added to your membership Email: Telephone #: DONATION OPTIONS Donation to the RAC Foundation enclosed $ Donation to the Defence of Amateur Radio Fund enclosed $ Donation to the Youth Education Programme enclosed $ Donation to the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES ) Programme enclosed $ Grand Total: $ PAYMENT OPTIONS (Cheque or) Visa/MasterCard No: Card Expiry Date (MM/YY): Security code on back of card (CVV2): Name of person credit card is issued to: Mail to: Radio Amateurs of Canada Inc. 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217 Ottawa, ON, K1G 0Z5 Telephone #: 614-244-4367 or 877-273-8304, Fax: 613-244-4369 Email: [email protected]