Thursday afternoon in the Park

Seeing that something different happened in Ottawa this afternoon (NO RAIN) I decided to take some toys out to Hutton Park and play a little bit of radio for a couple of hours.

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I set up at the end of the park closest to Hutton St at the area behind the baseball diamond backstop.  I actually used the backstop to support one end of my W3EDP antenna which was the antenna of choice today with my Yaesu FT 817 Radio.

Just to refresh your memory the W3EDP is a 85 foot end fed antenna that uses a 17 feet counterpoise.  It will work on 10-80m with a tuner and is fairly easy to set up.

In the above diagram I show a 1:1 Balun being used.  To be honest it would work better if I used a 4:1 Balun and one of these days I will get around to getting one and using it.

Today was not a QRP Day but I was able to make several contacts on 40m with the NCS stations for the ECARS Net and although I was able to be heard the signal reports were not the best.  I tried several times to check into the Maritime Mobile Service Net on 20m (14.300) but had no luck.

The contact of the day however turned out to be on 80m with a contact with Ian VE3MUD who was monitoring the ONTARS Frequency of 3.755 who happened to hear my call asking if there was a NCS that hour.

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Ian and I go back quite a few years to when I first got my ticket and it was great sitting in the park talking to an old friend.  With the noise level at home this contact would not have happened but sitting in the park with an antenna stretched out between a tree and a baseball backstop it was the “contact of the day”

Although the distance between us was only 68miles (if you can trust the QRZ.com mapping setup) it was a nice QRP/NVIS contact as my antenna was only about 10 feet AGL at the park and my FT 817 output was only 5w.

I stayed and we chatted until the local ball team needed the Diamond and then I took the gear down and headed home but it was a GREAT way to spend the afternoon.

In addition I got a chance to test out the equipment I plan to use on the Lighthouse Event which will be for the next few Saturdays so its good to know in advance that everything is working.  All I have to remember is to charge up the battery pack on Friday night and all will be good.

73bob

Who do you believe????

As previously mentinoned in this Blog I am planning to activate the Lighthouse at the Museum of Science and Technology here in Ottawa (weather permitting) on Saturday August 1st.

I will be operating from the Lighthouse known as CAN 865 H Cape North.  It is called the Cape North Lighthouse as that where it used to be before it was relocated to the Museum here in Ottawa.

Above is a Picture of the actual lighthouse on the Museum Grounds

Operating is not a problem using my FT817 along with my W3EDP antenna as I can set up approx 300m north of the lighthouse where the trees are in the right locations for aiming the antenna North East/South West which is where I hope my best chances for contacts will be.

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If you check the above map you will see the lighthouse very close to the corners of Lancaster and Gladwin.  North of the lighthouse you will see a sidewalk that runs between St Laurent and Gladwin cresent.  Just North of that on the side of the field closest to Gladwin you will see some trees that are running North-South and that is where I plan to operate from.

However now there seems to be some “confusion” as to what is actually going on as what I thought was one group is actually two groups and they seem to be running two different events in the same time frame…

Here is first group and here is the second group

And to be totally honest I don’t know which is the official group and also to be more honest I don’t really care….

So heres the plan….This Saturday (August 1) I am going to walk over to the museum with my rig and antenna.  I am going to operate for as long as the band conditions allow taking into concideration the weather and battery life and hopefully give out lots of contacts.  If everything works out fine I might even try again on the Sunday afternoon.  I figure that there will be lots of confused people like me out there so I will give out contacts and see what parts of the world I can talk to with 5w of power.

I will try again the following weekend (Aug 8-Aug 9 ) if the weather permits and we will see what happens after that.

I’m not sure what group is running this event or events but I figure I might as well get out there and play radio if the band condtions and the weather conditions are in agreement.  July has been the wettest month on record here in Ottawa so what are the chances of having two dry weekends in a row…

73bob

Driving while Distracted- an update

Today from the RAC Blog we get an update on the Ontario Ministry of Transportations attempt to stem “Driving while distracted…”

If you head over to the RAC Blog you will find a link to the Canadian Press Story on this item.

I did a Google search and ended up at the CTV Ottawa website where I found the same article and although I am not a lawyer or a Police Officer I will give you my comments as I look at how the new law (as mentioned in the article) will impact the amateur radio community in Ontario.

The following article courtesy CTV News

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Cellphone ban for Ontario drivers takes effect in Oct.

Updated: Fri Jul. 24 2009 15:17:29

// <![CDATA[// The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Ontario’s ban on the use of cellphones, BlackBerrys and other hand-held electronic devices by drivers will take effect in October.

Transportation Minister Jim Bradley says motorists can expect an education period when the ban first comes into effect, which means police will show some leniency.

He says that’s what happened in other jurisdictions when they banned cellphones for drivers, and Ontario will follow that pattern.

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Ontario drivers could be fined up to $500 if they’re caught using their hand-held cellphones or BlackBerrys to talk, email or send text messages while behind the wheel.

Bob sez… No where does it mention anything with a microphone like an amateur radio/cb radio/private commercial radio.  So far…so good.

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

Bradley says hands-free devices aren’t covered by the legislation, but they are not recommended for use while driving.

Ontario is the fourth province to enact such a ban, following Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Manitoba has introduced similar legislation.

Drivers are also banned from using portable video games and DVD players but they are allowed to use their cellphones for 911 calls.

Global positioning systems are allowed, as long as they’re properly secured to the dashboard.

Bob sez… Once again no mention of anything that resembles amateur radio equipment unless you are running APRS with UI View or Winaprs on your laptop.  But then WHY are you using your laptop while driving???  Once again so far so good…

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There are no demerit points attached to the Ontario law, unlike in other provinces.

However, Bradley says Ontario motorists using a banned cellphone could also be charged under careless driving laws and face fines, six demerit points, a driver’s licence suspension and even jail time.

Bob sez… This is where it could hit us…. The careless driving issue no matter what distracts you.  If there ever was a reason for properly mounting your radio equipment and making sure the control head is in a place easily accessable that is not obstructing your vision….  This is it….

The article seems to imply that they are targeting cell phones and small electronic toys but they do (and always have had )  the option of laying the “Careless Driving charge”.

Now we are going to have to wait and see how the law will actually effect us once they get it out to the public.  It will be interesting to see how the Police Forces will enforce the law.

I am predicting that there will be a couple of test cases real early in its enforcement life….  The first person who is found to cause a serious accident who was witnessed using an electronic “toy” will most likely get the book thrown at him/her…

The second test case will most likely be someone like “Joe Average” who forgot to hang up before leaving the parking lot.

The third test case I am willing to bet will be someone like a volunteer fireman, off duty police officer, off duty first responder who will be doing something that if they were on duty would be exempt but because they were doing something on their own time will find a fellow officer who goes by the book and will lay the charge.

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Either way lets be careful out there.  Use your radios, but remember the law and use them in a way that your 15 min of fame is not because you were the first Ontario Amateur Radio Operator charged under the new law…

Like I have said many times in the past…Use common sense and don’t drive while distracted as you might be driving towards me in the future…

73bob

IOTA wrap up

Well for the contest from my point of view there was not that much to report…  I used three antennas (Inverted L / Base Loaded Vertical for 10/15/20m/ Inverted VEE for 20m) and had a great time.

The contacts as much as I could hope for and I even managed some rare(for me) locations of the world.  I am at the stage in that I don’t really chase DX (yet) but I do enjoy working a rare station if for no other reason than to prove that I can…

This contest has proven to me that I need to still work on my antenna system a bit more but with the size (and location) of my yard I am severly limited by how much I can put up before the landlord reminds me about the “out of sight out of mind rule we seem to have”.  What this translates to is that my lease says no antennas but as he never updated the rules when everyone went with Sat dishes he ignores my antennas for amateur radio UNTIL he receives a complaint or they just become too obivious. Keeping verticals just above roof height and in the tree branches seem to be OK as there has been NO complaints recently…

I would like to keep the inverted L up for 40/80/160 and then switch to a vertical for 10/12/15/17/20/40 but for it to be efficient I would have to have it above roof height which would have a 20 foot long antenna (or so) on a 25 foot mast which might just not fit in with the my unofficial arrangement on antennas.  More on this as I try and figure out how to get the most without losing what I have…

Now back to IOTA…

If you check out John’s  Blog you will see how he did from Banks Island (NA-129) and I must admit I am impressed.  The logistics and cost of air freight  would of been a nightmare.  However he did manage it and there are a lot of stations in the world today that have VE8 in their log along with some rare IOTA islands thanks to him…

There were some other Canadian IOTA activations including VY2Z to Prince Edward Island and VE1TFS who was operating from an island group off the Nova Scotia Coast along with CG200I who was operating from the Gulf of St Lawrence but flying in to a remote island….and Bob said “WOW”….

Like I have said in the past “contests are good for the ego” and if you set goals for yourself it makes it more fun….

Getting my 2nd contact at VE8 was one of my goals and that made it fun…

We have the “Lighthouse/Lightship event” coming up and I plan to operate at least on the two Saturdays if the WX cooperates.  This will be a QRP setup for the first Saturday (FT 817 and W3EDP antenna) and if I can find some logistical support (along with favourable weather) the 2nd Saturday could be QRO with the FT 897 and a Windom for 10-80.  I’m not getting any younger and the QRP setup weighs so much less than the QRO setup ( small gell cell vs 30ah sla pack) that I am leaning towards the QRP…

Once again more on this later…

73bob

I worked “the” MOON

Or to be more precise VE3MOON…

Now you would have to go back a couple of weeks ago to my posting on this special event station VE3MOON but I was able to make my first contact with the Station Operator on APRS and then we switched over to 2m FM Simplex to make the contact that got me into the log.

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If you consider where I live compared to where the station was operating from about 1km of wire and two tin cans would of done the job as well. This contact is just to get me in the log…  We are so close that groundwave does not even get mentioned…

But it was a legal contact and in effect no worse than someone running the bands with a local station during a contest…

Besides…  How many stations can say they talked to the MOON using 2m FM and 5w???

73bob

Thinking out loud

Well group,

How was your radio weekend?

Mine was fantastic with lots of 20m IOTA Contacts made and even a 10m contact made.  Heard a few station on 6m but was not able to get the tuner to help out enough as my 6m feed line was switched over to the 20m inverted Vee.

I managed to knock off a few islands incluiding  VE1TFS, W4T, AA4V, KB0HDA (10m), VY2Z, N2BJ,  and of course VC8B up on Banks Island.

This weekend we have the Lighthouse Event and although I do intend to participate to be honest I am just not sure where from.  I have two local locations to chose from.  The first is at the Museum here in Ottawa where I have operated from in the past and the second location is at Britannia Park where although there is no actual lighthouse there it has a historical assignment as there was a lighthouse there at one time…

More on my choice of locations once I take a look at how much rain they are predicting for the weekend.  Britannia Park has a shelter where the Museum does not have any structures close to the lighthouse.

Enjoy your week

73bob

Summer of our discontent: Coldest, soggiest July in 17 years

Some of you might have noticed me complaining… whinning or b!tching about the lousy wetter thats been happening this summer??? in Ottawa.

Thought you might like some info on what its like just so you don’t think I am making this stuff up…

73bob
Summer of our discontent: Coldest, soggiest July in 17 years

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Just to prove July 1st was not a fluke

The highlight of my RAC Canada Day contest was my first contact with the NWT (VE8).  I made my first ever contact into the Canadian North West by reaching John VE8EV.  That contact was made using my Yaesu FT 847 at the 100w setting and an Inverted L antenna with the help of a LDG Z100 auto tuner.  The highest point of the inverted L is approximately 25-30 feet above the ground.  The band was the 20m band.

Today at 0012 UTC on July 26th (2012hrs July 25 EDST)  using once again my FT847 at 100w along with a 20m dipole at 20 feet above ground in an inverted VEE configuration and no tuner found VC8B (being operated by John VE8EV)  John was operating from Banks Island NA 129 in the IOTA contest.

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Trusting the mapping program at QRZ.com thats a distance of just over 3900 kms or just over 2400 miles from my QTH in Ottawa to where he was camping out.

I took the following video just after the contact.  If I had remembered it earlier you might of seen a clip of my contact but now you can see how strong his signal was into Ottawa.

Not too bad for a wire dipole and 100w….

73bob

How to interest youth in Amateur Radio

That could be the question that if answered correctly to ensure our hobby continues on…  In these days of “Twitter”, “Facebook”, Cell Phone Text Messenges, and numerous chat programs on the internet how do we interest the youth of today in our fantastic hobby?

When I was growing up we did not have any of the above but we did read.  I seem to remember a couple of Hardy Boys books that mentioned amateur radio and how they boys used these communication tools to save the day…

Recently I found out the even ARCHIE comics had a ham radio adventure and although I did not find out what it was about I did find a cover of the comic on the internet…

In more recent times I have noticed ICOM giving us the Zack and Max series.  And although my own kids are no longer of the “Comic” generation they have browsed this series and given it a “thumbs up”.

Now if you go to the ICOM America site you can download the Zack and Max series (1 through 6) as a Printable PDF file.

They also have a Calender that does a countdown to Dayton as well.

I must give credit where credit is due and give ICOM all the credit I can for doing what they can to make Amateur Radio interesting to your youth.

It also explains some of the newer stuff in terms I can understand…

73bob

VC8B- An update from the soggy south

Well the cluster says VC8B is out there around 14.240 (as of 1000 eastern at least) and the pile ups I have heard would seem to indicate that something rare is out there…

Seeing at we are getting what if you believe the forcasters is rain for the next 10 hours or so I will be sitting in the shack with my FT897 hooked up to my 20m Vertical and my FT847 hooked up to a 20m Dipole in an Inverted V configuration aimed North West.  I also have the tried and True Inverted L antenna but to be honest I am hearing more on the two 20 antennas…

I had the good fortune to work John VE8EV during the Canada Day Contest and seeing that he is out on a DXPedition to Banks Island (NA-129) I am hoping to work him again if nothing else to prove the first contact was not a fluke…

Nothing to do today but stay dry in the shack and try and rack up a boatload of 20m contacs and I am hoping for VY0O in Hudsons Bay (Ottawa Islands) and VC8B on Banks Island…

73bob