The word for the day is “Listen”

Hi group,

This posting is just a reminder…For the next couple of days (give or take a week or so) listen carefully before you transmit on HF …  Why you might ask????

Because by tomorrow afternoon Hurricane Gustav is going to be giving the Gulf Coast of the USA one heck of a kicking…

If things go bad… the bands could be crowded with lots of weak signals (forced qrp in power failures with dipoles strung off damaged towers do that to signals).  Excited operators (they get that way when their house has just floated away … or blown away) could not be following exact proceedures when asking for help…

DON’T ADD TO THE PROBLEM

Now some of you are going to be saying but my signal could not interfere with anyone all the way down there… but think about it…  The band conditions are strange in most cases anyway…  And your s3 signal down to the gulf might not seem like much to the NCS who you can hear at a S9 … but what about the poor person sitting on his roof (all thats above the water level) with an ICOM 703 or a YAESU 817 with a buddistick trying to check in to the net so he can ask for assistance…Who will the NCS hear??? His S1 or your S3 (if he hears either of you)

Watch where you play for the next few days is all I’m saying…  Check the ARRL site for the list of Hurricane Freqs and please give them a wide berth. 

One day it could be us needing a clear frequency and a competant operator at the other end…

73bob

VE8RCS/vy0 on the cluster

http://www.dxwatch.com/

Saw that VE6AO worked the boys on 20m 14.166

Nothing heard at my station in Ottawa however…

73bob

 

 

1720 Z

JUST HEARD AN OTTAWA STATION WORKING THE ON 14,166  I CAN’T HEAR THEM WHATSOEVER…

WISH I HAD A BEAM

73bob

VE8RCS- CFS Alert Posting

If you have been following the blog you will not see any NEW info in this post…

If you are arriving here for the first time through a DX link then here is all the info I have at this time:

The group are set up and operating from Alert

The group have been heard on 20m voice.  They have been heard in the 14.140 to 14.170 area so far.  Their expected frequency was 14.165.  I have been listening in this area and have not heard them or anyone working them so far.  But people have heard them…

The group is in contact with the event organiser via Winlink email

I believe a new crew or additional operators will be leaving Trenton for Alert in the next few days.  When you book your trip with “Service Air” nothing is confirmed so times or dates along with availability of seats could change with no notice.

Listen for VC3RCS at CFS Leitrim, VE8RCS at CFS Alert and VE3RCS at CFS Kingston.  Sept 12 is a date that they might to be able to coordinate a net with 3 very important control stations.  If the travel conditions and the DX conditions are with us.

More info will be posted as it comes in

ANOTHER UPCOMING EVENT

EMO (Emergency Management Ontario)

ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service)

SET (Simulated Emergency Test)

ARES Ontario and Emergency Management Ontario will be conducting their yearly SET on Saturday September 27th.

For more inforation please visit their websites:

EMO ARES Group

ARES Ontario Group

More information will be posted here including the participation of VA3QV/VA3RCS from a yet to be determined location in EASTERN ONTARIO.

73bob

As an afterthought… Check out the link to my website which covers the SET idea a bit.  This is a rather old opinion , but it still holds true. 

3 Years ago Katrina threw the states into the dark ages and tomorrow Gustav threatens to hit the same area again. 

DEJA VU???

There will be a series of posts on the topic of EMCOMMS (again it will be from the “cheap seats”)just before and after the Ontario SET.  Basically it would be my predictions, comments then a “de brief of sort”

By that time we will have learned how our neighbors to the south coped with Gustav and also if we have learned anything from our neighbors experiences…

bob

73bob

UPCOMING EVENT

For those of you with either the equipment or the intrest in VHF/UHF operations…  The best time to check out your equipment and make a few contacts is usually during a contest.  With that in mind…

===============================

ARRL September VHF QSO Party

Saturday Sept.13, 2008 1800 UTC to Monday Sept.15, 0300 UTC

see http://www.arrl.org/contests for details

50MHZ and above, all modes

Exchange is 4 character Maidenhead Grid Square (i.e. FN25) and call

=============================================

The above information was taken from the West Carleton Amateur Radio Club website.  They have a pretty good site and are a good bunch of guys.  Check their website out at:

www.wcarc.on.ca

 

I will be participating in this event from either Foymount Ontario (at the old radar site- great altitude and operating location) or my trailer in Cornwall (warmer, dryer, better chairs, inside washroom) so its a tossup of which location suits my needs more…

73bob

APRS and ECHOLINK back

I found the time to get some software re installed today after the hamfest.  To be honest my computer wizard (Liz) really was a big help…

UI View running with the assistance of AGWPE is now working fine again and my beacons are out in the airwave…

ECHOLINK is back up and running so if you are so equipped look for VA3QV on your computer screen or if you are near an rf source try connecting to “278707“.

The process of recovering all the stuff I lost when the system crashed continued….

73bob

You heard it here first….

Today in a comment posted on this blog we hear the following…

You are welcome, Bob. Get ready for the next one…the 100th of the Royal Canadian Navy…with yours truly VE3RCN. Special event call sign to be confirmed soon.

The RCN has a 100th coming up.  Alert is having its 50th…  Its a great time to be an amateur radio operator who likes special events stations…

Kevin please keep us in the loop as to what your plans are…

73bob

OARC HAMFEST WAS FIRST RATE EVENT

I just got home after attending the OARC Hamfest in Carp Ontario.  The club did an excellent job of setting up the event.  The place had a good attendance and people were willing to part with their money.  The snack bar makes a good coffee and a really good bbq hot dog….

There were a good mix of commercail vendors and people parting with their treasures…

When buying my next radio I will be remembering which YAESU DEALER supported our local hamfest and if I have to order it anyway… Might as well save the Ontario tax and deal with the Dealer that came all the way to our event…

Congrats to the OARC for a job wll done

73bob

VE8RCS UPDATE AS OF AUG 30

I have heard from Ken VE3SRS that he recvd an winlink email from the boys advising that they have started operations.

Several comments in this blog would confirm that as well.  Thanks to Kevin for the updates…  They have been heard on 20m causing quite a pile up.  The signal was heard in Welland Ontario…

Ken reported that they were heard on 80m in the evening

Keep Listening and more info when I get it

73bob

Directions the APRS way

I just tried something for the first time….

VE3YUI Dan was calling on 2m (repeater VE3TWO) looking for directions to the VE3JW Station at the Museum of Science and Technology on Lancaster Road.

I am sitting at home monitoring VE3TWO and watching the APRS on aprs.fi  I notice VE3YUI-9 on my screen….

It sure does make the talk in a lot easier when I know where the person I am trying to talk in is at the time.  No doubts… Dan was beaconing about every minute but there was one time that I asked him to “force a beacon” so I could see exactly where he was. 

The easiest time I ever had giving directions to an out of town mobile…  We find another good use for APRS…

73bob