24 hours to go

Its Saturday morning (0900) eastern time and in approx 24 hours from now the VC3C team and myself will (should) be arriving at the Champlain Lookout and starting to set up…

From Previous outings I know that my 70cm, 2m and 6m antennas/station will take approx 45 min in total before I am on the air….

I AM KEEPING A CLOSE WATCH ON THE WEATHER AT THIS TIME

but so far its only raining, and raining and raining…..

The only thing that will stop me from going however is thunder and lightning…..

I will be posting more this afternoon

73bob

Weekend and the weather

It seems that this weekends events will be very dependant on the local weather….

The special event station VC3C which will be operating from the Champlain Lookout on Sunday could be getting a bit wet….

MAP

If you checked the map….you would see the far left side of the map there is a turn around area which is our hoped for operating area….

If we get the rain they are forcasting I believe there is a sheltered pavillion (roof but no sides) at the “Belvedere Champlain” which is in the center of the map.  I tried looking at the satellite pictures but they don’t go into enough detail to see the shelter…

If the Thunder and Lightning predicted for Saturday stays with us for Sunday…I will be “scrubbing the mission” as I don’t mind getting wet but a metal antenna, on a metal 20 foot high post, in an open area, on the top of a mountain, in a thunderstorm just does not seem like one of my better ideas for safety…

WEATHER FORCAST HERE

This event is something I am looking forward to ….Lets hope the WX cooperates…..

Due to the chance of bad wx on Saturday….Don’t think there will be much radio time outside of the local repeaters….I will repack Sunday equipment to make sure I have all the right stuff packed and ready to go….

Look for VC3C on APRS

And if it shows us on Sunday North of Ottawa we are out there….

Setup should be complete by 1000 EASTERN on Sunday AM and we as a group should be transmitting somewere…

For my part look for VC3C on144.250 USB, 432.150 USB, 50.150 USB

The beam will be aimed south east to south west as far as the mountain side will allow.

I will post a weather update on Saturday advising how things look

73bob

 

Reminders and newsworthy Items

Just to remind some of you….This Sunday is the start of the VC3C special event station.  As previously mentioned I will be operating the 2m/70cm/6m station from the Champlain Lookout on Sunday June 1st.  Hope to hear you there….

In the Canadian Media there are notes about the Premier of Ontario wanting to bring stronger penalties to those “Distracted Drivers”.  This would be those of us who talk on a cell phone, play with our GPS, Text Message while driving, look behind to the back seat to corral the kids or the dog, look down at the road map, try and figure out how to change CDs in the new player.  I should mention also it could apply to Amateur Radio Distractions as well…

A direct quote from the Premier is:  

McGuinty said he’s spoken with police about cracking down on people who drive while talking on their phone. The police told the premier the law needs to reach further than just cell phones.

“What about people who tapping on the GPS system? What about people who have road maps open on the steering wheel while they’re driving? What about the next gadget that hasn’t been invented yet?” McGuinty said the police asked him.

Between having a pet in the car, finding a song on an iPod or texting on a Blackberry, there are a number of distractions to drivers that can easily lead into a serious accident, said the premier. “

Details of the proposed bill are not available at this time but I think it could be good idea.  Not only are some cell phone users easily distracted but so are some amateur operators. 

How many time have we heard a ham say ” I better let you go for now so I can concentrate on the traffic! ”  The bigger question is how many times SHOULD we have heard that phrase? 

Now one item that concerns me and I’m sure it will be looked at is that there is a difference between driving while distracted and causing an accident while driving distracted….

If I answer my cell phone, put it on hands free and then have my conversation am I distracted?  I have both hands on the wheel… I’m just talking to a person who just as easily could be a passenger in my truck or car. 

 If I have a mike in my hands talking to you on a 2m repeater am I distracted?  I’m not changing frequencies…Just talking on a radio THE SAME AS ALL OF OUR POLICE OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, AMBULANCE/PARAMEDICS do on a daily basis.

To define “Driving while distracted” will be hard to do…To charge someone with causing an accident while driving distracted is like closing the gate AFTER the horse has gotten out!

I understand the intent of what the Premier is trying to do….I actually agree with the principal…

The premier is not picking on any one group (including Amateurs) but more saying that driving a vehicle in the Province is a job that requires 100% of your concentration.  We can still use our toys, we can still read a map, we can still quiet the kids or the dog…just pull over to the side of the road to do it.  Please!!!!  After all I might be in the car thats approaching you and I don’t want to meet you by accident.

Check out the CTV Website for more details

Check out the CFRA Website for more details

Check out the CBC Website for more details

Now keep in mind that given the fact that this is not law yet, and it takes time to get anything done even with a majority goverment in Ontario…It could take a bit of time…

73bob

If I can’t laff at my self!

This morning I headed out for a morning of QRP-Portable work and yes I remembered my log book this time.  Rig was the FT817 with a recharged 5ah battery pack.  The antenna was my 10-80 windom which I wanted to try again seeing that it worked so well last night (Saturday evening)

The usual operating places were busy…There is a major Soccer tourney going on this weekend and to make matters worse this is the National Capital Marathon Race weekend and there were many street closures to make the race safe for the runners.

I finally found a place to setup and I started to get going….

Lets see now….radio <check>, antenna <check>, battery pack <check> weighted line (to get antenna into trees) <check> Folding camp chair and table for operating <check> …..coax <DOH!!!!!!>

Thats right….  I forgot the fracking COAX…

At least I had practice getting the line thru the trees….

No one is perfect and I fall into that catagory…..Other than that its been a good radio weekend so far…

73bob

Norm’s antenna

Norm VE3NLH bought a new antenna for his bug while at Dayton….

The pics of it are here.

Enjoy

73bob

 

Picnic (and QRP) in the park…

Liz (the XYL who tolerates my hobby) and myself just got back in from a evening in the park.  We combined a picnic at Andrew Hayden Park which is in the west end of Ottawa.  Dinner was picked up at the closest Kentucky Fried Chicken location and the Picnic Tables and the scenery provided by the City of Ottawa.

After dinner Liz picked up a good book and I stretched some wire between the trees and tried to keep the mosquitoes away by putting some RF into the air…

The rig was my FT 817 with the 5AH battery pack and my antenna for the night was my home brewed 10-80m windom antenna.  I was able to eliminate the tuner with this antenna (my G5RV needs the tuner).  The windom at QRP Levels seems to be resonant in all the right places…No tuner was needed on 20, 40 and 80m and these were just the bands I tried…Should of tried the rest but…maybe next time…

Contacts were made only on 80m with stations in Cambridge Ontario, Brampton Ontario, Ingersoll Ontario, the Laurentians (north of Montreal) Quebec, Hartland New Brunswick…

ALL THIS WAS DONE WITH THE FT 817 WHICH IS ONLY 5 WATTS!!!!!

My noise level was non existant….Its been so long since I have had NO NOISE I forgot how nice it could be.  At home on a good day my noise level is S9 and at the trailer in Cornwall with all the power lines close to my locations S7 to S9 is a normal occurance.  With the ZERO Noise in the park it was fantastic.  80m was in good shape and it was quiet…

Good Supper….Good Radio and my XYL was in a good mood as well

73bob

VHF/UHF/6M TESTING UPDATE

Well today (Saturday AM)  I loaded up the pickup and headed out to test my gear in preparation for the June 1st outing with VC3C from the Champlain Lookout.

The destination this morning was ECCOLANDS PARK in the South end of Ottawa.

I set up the masting with the 2m/70cm  beam at approx 20 feet above the ground and the 6m beam approx 15 feet above the ground.  I am still using the “Armstrong Rotator” as I have not found the time to get out and either build a cable or buy some cable for my rotor.  I did find out however that the 350w inverter I was going to use to power the rotor is non functioning (fubar) so I will have to pick up a new one in the near future….

Local testing was done with the help of Mark VA3UMP and although we were fairly close it was good enough to determine that the beams worked as I was able to bring his signal down froma s9 +20 to a s1 just by swinging the beams…

I also was VERY pleased to find out that the beams has no ill effects from being on the same mast at the same time, hooked up to the same radio (FT 857).  The SWR did not change from the last time when the beams were used seperately.

I also heard some splatter when I was on 6m and quickly spun the dial and workded a “W0″ station in Ohio.  Now if I had been prepared for this event and brought a log book and a pen with me I would have had a new qrid square, a new state as I have never worked an Ohio station on VHF and not be laffing at myself for….NOT REMEMBERING TO PACK THE LOG BOOK!!!

Anyway….the test was a great success and my system will be ready for Sunday June 1st with VC3C….

Hope to work you from there….

73bob

VE5AA (Saskatoon ARC) Balloon Update

http://sarl.ca/ve5aa/balloon_3.html

LANDED…. AND BETTER YET FOUND

The balloon was launched on May 17 and had some “issues” with the GPS Tracking system and was “MIA” for a while…

The balloon was found approx 200 kms from the launch point and as they have some pics on the website…looks like the payload was intact as well…

CONGRATS!!!

73bob

Tuesday nite in the park

Last night I decided to brave it and feed the mosquitoes and head outside to test out my  new dual band beam that I have mentioned in earlier posts.  I was planning to operate from Ottawa South but ended up near Mooneys Bay….

The location finally chosen as for the empty parking lot was:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2820+springland+drive&sll=45.401876,-75.627676&sspn=0.025974,0.058022&ie=UTF8&ll=45.364011,-75.684578&spn=0.006498,0.014505&z=16

I brought a 20 foot telescopic mast along with my FT857, 30 AH battery pack and of course the beam itself.  There was not real 2m or 70cm openings but I did make a contact with Rick VE3CVG who lives in Cumberland Ontario and it proved the set up worked fine:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?ie=UTF8&q=MINOGUE+CRESCENT+,+CUMBERLAND&ll=45.504407,-75.406637&spn=0.006482,0.014505&z=16&iwloc=addr

The below link shows both locations on the map…

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=2880+springland+drive&daddr=MINOGUE+CRESCENT+,+CUMBERLAND&sll=45.504407,-75.406637&sspn=0.006482,0.014505&ie=UTF8&z=11

Now I will be the first one to admit the approx 30k (18 miles) diatance as the crow flies is not even concidered DX or either band but….Everyone has to start somewhere and this is my start….The next antenna tested will be the 6m beam and then both antennas with the rotator…

This station setup at a location with some serious altitude such as Foymount for the July CQ VHF contest or the Champlain Lookout for the ARRL VHF QSO PArty in June will be not only fun but it will make some serious contacts…

The first real shakedown for the complete station with some attitude (I mean altitude) will be on June 1st from the Champlain Lookout as the VHF/UHF/6M component of VC3C which I have also mentioned earlier….

So far for those of you keeping score….

The home made mounting device for the masting (attaching it to the pickup truck) worked fine and supported the 20 foot mast…

The dual band beam has a very acceptable SWR and worked well….

So far we are 2 for 2…

73bob

VA3QV/P Weekend report

Saturday morning Toby and myself departed Ottawa for my trailer in Cornwall Ontario for a bit of “R & R” (Radio and Radio)….

I had promised that I was finally going to get the antennas up and running and this was to be the weekend that I “GitRdone”!

I attached my Wireless 19 Set 33 foot copper telescopic mast to the trailer and attached to the top of mast is a Larsen 6m mobile antenna with a radial kit.  This gives me 6m and as the antenna is also resonant on 2m a dual band capability.  I then went with a G5RV attached just below the 6m antenna but although it usually works fantastic at Cornwall it seems to pick up a great deal of static.  I switched over to my 80m hamstick dipole and the noise level dropped….

I SHOULD MENTION THAT AS MY CAMPER IS PARKED AT A LOCATION AT THE CORNER OF CORNWALL CENTER ROAD AND POWER DAM ROAD … ELECTRICAL NOISE IS TO BE EXPECTED…

I was able to check into the Ontario Phone Net (3.742) at 1900 hrs local and was heard by several stations.  Later the band opened up and contacts were made in Ottawa, Montreal,  Halifax, Heartland NB, Toronto, and Dayton Ohio (VA3MPM/W8) who was mobile driveing back to his motel from the hamvention…I guess it works…

Sunday morning I had contacts in Montreal, Ottawa, South River, Elliot Lake before the OVMRC Pot Hole Net.  During the net I checked in with VE3JW (VA3CMD op) and was heard by VE3EJJ near the Civic Hospital. 

The band was starting to drop out and my noise level was increasing so I quickly went outside and lowered the antenna (collasped the mast) down to approximately 15 feet.  My noise level dropped enough to hear VE3JW (again) and I was able to say 73 before I lost the band altogether.  Perhaps there is something to this NVIS stuff.  As soon as I can find a couple of 40 sticks I will be running this antenna system as a 40m/80m hamstick dipole with the dipoles sharing the same feedline.  This antenna has a very small footprint and is perfect for limited space situations.

On the VHF side of things…I had easy communications with repeaters in Montreal, Cornwall, Iroquois, Alfred and several in the States all on 2m.  Unfortunately NO 6m contacts were made.  This is leading me to think about replacing the 2m/6m vertical with a 2m/70cm vertical as i am not really looking for dx but rather local comms…

All in all another great weekend!

 

73bob