New Years Resolutions

New Years Resolutions

As we start another year,  it is traditional to make some Resolutions or promises that one usually breaks concerning what we would like to do in the upcoming year…  Lose weight(I’m still FAT), Quit Smoking (done many years ago) be nicer to my fellow man/woman(oh well)  are some of the easier ones to make and also break.

Here are my resolutions as they pertain to Amateur Radio (as this is an amateur radio themed blog)

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Spend more time enjoying my hobby-  On any given day I spend about 3 hours a day on some aspect of this blog.  Writing it, answering comments or doing research for it.  But very few times do I spend equal time making contacts on the radio.  I’m not sure if I can cut down the time spent on the blog or would want to as I do enjoy what I do, but I want to have a little more air time…  This resolution fits right in with this next one.

Quit complaining about my hobby-  This especially applies to local clubs and National Organisations…  If I don’t like what they are doing I will just quietly not support them.  If they are doing that bad of a job there is no point b!tching about it…  Hit them where it hurts (in the pocket book) by not renewing your memberships.  They will succeed or fail depending on if everyone else shares your opinion.  If you were wrong and they continue,  then you can quietly renew your membership (albeit slightly late) and everyone is still happy.  Even if I’m not a member I can always say how good of a job they did on some issues.  But if I’m not happy I’ll just stay quiet as its less stressful that way and we all have to remember its only a hobby.

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Do something different in my hobby-  This year I really would like to participate in a DXPediton that did not involve me taking a City Bus to get there.  Granted there are lots of Islands or special event locations you can normally find in your back yard but…  I’m not getting any younger so if I am going to do something on my “Bucket List” I better get started on it now while I still can.  This year I am hoping to get an IOTA, CISA  or SOTA event under my belt if I can find something I can do without endangering myself of the SAR People who have to come and get me after… 

March 2010 Foymount DXPedition with the Polar Bears

So there you have it…  Here are some of the things I would like to do in 2012 and to be honest I have a chance on most of them.  What about you???

OH….. By the way… Happy New Years  from

Liz, Erika, Trisha and the pets (Saber & Shadow) and of course myself

73bob

A new addition to the VA3QV Blogroll- The Oakville ARC

Please join me in welcoming the Oakville Amateur Radio Club and their blog to my blogroll.  You can find their blog link on the right hand side of your page in the Blog Roll catagory.  If you just want to get there from there then you can click the following link as well and get there even faster:

http://ve3hb.wordpress.com/

If you are thinking of setting up your first (or almost the first) HF Station there is a series of posts on how to do it easy and more importantly cheap as you work your way down the pages.  The author of these articles is Peter VE3HG.  Those of you who follow my blog will notice that I have mentioned his articles before as good reading and this time is no exception.  If your new or not so new give the Oakville ARC Blog a look through.

Happy New Year

73bob

CY0 DXpediton Updated status to Postponed

The following was taken from the DXPedition website ….

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

CY0 DXpedition – Postponed

Fellow DX’ers

Unfortunately, we had to postpone the Sable Island CY0 DXpedition due to the landing area on the island being under water. A winter storm with 20+ foot swells pushed water onto the sand "runway" on Wednesday evening. Al Wilson, the OIC on Sable, made an assessment of the landing area Thursday. Ron and I talked with Al and there was no possibility of a flight to the island in the next five days. After that, it would depend on how quickly the water would drain from the landing area and if any other storms affect the island. At that point, we decided to postpone the DXpedition.

Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed that we have had to postpone the DXpedition. We have learned first-hand there is really no
season of the year that is ideal for flights to Sable. Late yesterday morning, we met with Ted of Maritime Air.  Ted advised it has been the worst year he has experienced as far as scheduling flights to Sable. Maritime Air provides logistical flight services to Environment Canada on the island.

Even though we are disappointed, we are not defeated. Maritime Air allowed us to store our equipment to help facilitate our next attempt. We are
discussing two options with the Sable Island station.

We appreciate your interest in the DXpedition. We have received a lot of encouragement from DX’ers around the world. Continue to check the
DXpedition website for updates.

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

Like so many of you I was hoping to get the DXPediton in the log…  Hopefully they will be back with good WX in the near future

Thanks for trying guys…

73bob

CQ Canada updated

This post was edited at 2127est to fix a broken link…  Sorry about that!!! 

This evening after returning home after supper I found the following from John HK3C which stated that he had updated the website he runs on behalf of all Canadian Amateur Radio Operators.

CQ Canada

I suggest you read though it and then pay particular attention to the “Wrap Up” Section…

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

Bob,

 

I’ve added two paragraphs to the very last section of CQ Canada (Wrap-up)

http://www.cqcanada.ca/wrap-up

 

Thanks

 

John

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

So there you have it…  John has some interesting views on the state of Amateur Radio and our National Organisation.  Your opinion might not be the same but whatever your views are, you might should  find the website interesting…

73bob

CY0 DXPedition has been “Delayed”

Just picked this up from the official website…. 

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UPDATE: 30 December 2011 - 0400 UTC

CY0 DXpedition - Delayed

The "beach runway" still has standing water.  A Friday landing is not possible. 
Due to the uncertainty of when the runway will be suitable for landing, we decided to delay the dxpedition and return to the US. We will announce any future dates via the various DX bulletins.

We are obviously disappointed, but have come to recognize that there is no perfect time to attempt travel to Sable Island.

Thanks for your interest in this dxpedition.

Murray, WA4DAN and Ron, AA4VK

==========

Hopefully they will try again later when the weather is cooperating.  As you can tell from the above picture the island is quite narrow which makes it difficult to keep the landing area dry…

73bob

73bob

Canadian Ski Marathon 2012 is getting closer

The following found it way to my email inbox today.  The Canadian Ski Marathon is a fantastic way to test your skills as a communicator.  It takes place in a “Rustic” location where commercal radio services are scarse and the cell phone technology has not really found its way yet.  Amateur Radio provides 99% of the communication needs of the Ski Marathon.  Logistical, Safety and Security traffic starts on Friday evening and continues on for the whole weekend.

Military Radio Operators sitting in the same room controling a Military Net (as the Canadian Land Forces Reserve Units provide logistical support as a training exercise) with Amateur Radio Operators controling several amateur nets on various VHF/UHF Frequencies. 

Please read the following and then see if you can free up some time in your weekend plans…

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Subject: Looking for Amateur Radio Operators for the Canadian Ski Marathon 2012 – February 11-12, 2012 in Western Quebec/Ottawa Valley

From: Harold Hamilton

I would appreciate it if you would help me by spreading the word throughout your local ham radio communities. We are looking for radio operators.

Once again the Canadian Ski Marathon (CSM) is spooling up. This year is the 46th anniversary for the CSM. Radio is a few years behind that.

The CSM depends on ham radio volunteers to provide important and timely safety and logistical communication for the benefit of the skiers. The amateur radio CSM web page (
http://www.radio-1.ca
) is up and running with 2012 information. The event runs between Buckingham and Lachute in western Quebec – snow or shine.

If you would like to volunteer this year, please email Harold VA3UNK (radio1@admin2.ca). Although I can’t promise anything, assignment requests are generally first-come, first-served.

Please join me the second weekend in February (11th-12th) and help make 39th our best year yet!

Bye for now,

Harold VA3UNK

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

Hope to see you there….

73bob

 

Thursday- Sable Island (CY0) DXPedition update

I just got this off the DXPedition Website.  Its a quick and simple cut and paste job.

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UPDATE: 29 December 2011 - 1300 UTC

NO FLIGHT TODAY

The "beach runway" is covered with water. 

The OIC on Sable is assessing the beach, looking for a dry location to land.
The advantage of the Britten-Norman Islander plane is that it only requires a short runway for landing.
Assuming that a dry area can be identified on the beach, we will make another attempt on Friday.

Murray, WA4DAN and Ron, AA4VK

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

I am following this DXPedition fairly closely as I want CY0 in my log…  

Also to be honest these guys are spending a boatload of $$$$$ to get the equipment just to the airport to try and get it to Sable Island.  I think it would be  a goshdarn shame if the WX causes a scrub after all the plans and costs just to get the gear to Halifax. 

Please take the time to check with their website for other details

73bob

Sable Island DXPedition Update

Just got the following of the website for the DXPedition:

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

UPDATE: 28 December 2011 - 1500 UTC

Flight to Sable Island DELAYED. Severe winds on the flight path to Sable made it unsafe to fly this morning.

We will try again at 1200 UTC on Thursday morning. Even though conditions look better, a new concern is forecast for winds from the South in combination with high seas which could bring water onto the “beach runway”. If this were to happen and the “beach runway” is lost due to standing water, there could potentially be no access to Sable Island for the next 4-5 weeks. 

Continue to monitor this website for the latest update.

Thanks for your patience and 73, Murray WA4DAN and Ron, AA4VK

 

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

Check their website for more info

73bob

 

 

So whats the story with the KX3?

This morning I found a tweet that aimed to to a blog that stated that the KX3 was now available for ordering.  I went over to the  Elecraft Website  and could find nothing new on this.  I was figuring that this would of been splattered all over the front page of their site and was rather shocked when I could not find much.

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So I follow the website links to the Order Page and find nothing…  I’m starting to feel like I’ve been duped…  I glance at the calender and no its not April 1st…

So feeling slightly confused I retrace my steps…  I go back to Twitter….  I follow the link to the blog…. This time I read the blog a bit more closely and I follow the link from the blog which brings me here….

So although this is not being really flogged by Elecraft it is on their website so break out your wallets guys and be the first on in your neighborhood to get the new one….  I am really happy with the thought of a new QRP Portable rig making its way out into the public.  It looks really fantastic and if it works as great as the videos show it will be a fanatastic rig. 

If I had to replace my FT817 for any reason the KX3 would be a contender but for now I will stick with my FT817 as I have almost figured out to use most of the features and only after  7 years…  Now that I have it figured out I might as well stick with it…

73bob

Heavy SNOW Warning for Ottawa and Area

Well it looks like Mother Nature could be making up for all that non snowy weather we had before Christmas…  From the Environment Canada Website  comes the following:

——————————————

Environment Canada’s Official Weather Warnings  

Warnings

Ottawa South – Richmond – Metcalfe
10:48 AM EST Tuesday 27 December 2011
Snowfall warning for
Ottawa South – Richmond – Metcalfe continued

Heavy snow tonight.

A developing low over Kentucky will track northeast along the Appalachians today and intensify as it tracks into Southern Quebec tonight. In advance of this system precipitation mainly in the form of light rain will spread into Eastern Ontario this afternoon. As the low intensifies the rain will change into heavy wet snow in the evening. Before the snow ends Wednesday morning general total snowfall amounts of up to 15 cm are possible. Near the St Lawrence river Valley the amounts may be reduced somewhat as the change over to snow will occur later in the evening. The highest amounts are expected near the Quebec border where snowfall may possibly exceed 15 cm.

In addition, as the low moves into Quebec, a sharp Arctic cold front will cross the area overnight tonight into Wednesday morning. The much colder air behind the front means that temperatures will drop sharply from near zero to well below freezing in a matter of hours. The combination of the snowfall and plummeting temperatures will make for a difficult Wednesday morning commute.

Ottawa North – Kanata – Orléans
10:48 AM EST Tuesday 27 December 2011
Snowfall warning for
Ottawa North – Kanata – Orléans continued

Heavy snow tonight.

A developing low over Kentucky will track northeast along the Appalachians today and intensify as it tracks into Southern Quebec tonight. In advance of this system precipitation mainly in the form of light rain will spread into Eastern Ontario this afternoon. As the low intensifies the rain will change into heavy wet snow in the evening. Before the snow ends Wednesday morning general total snowfall amounts of up to 15 cm are possible. Near the St Lawrence river Valley the amounts may be reduced somewhat as the change over to snow will occur later in the evening. The highest amounts are expected near the Quebec border where snowfall may possibly exceed 15 cm.

In addition, as the low moves into Quebec, a sharp Arctic cold front will cross the area overnight tonight into Wednesday morning. The much colder air behind the front means that temperatures will drop sharply from near zero to well below freezing in a matter of hours. The combination of the snowfall and plummeting temperatures will make for a difficult Wednesday morning commute.

———————————————–

And don’t blame the messenger…

So seeing there is nothing I can do to stop it…  Heading over to the store to pick up some comfort food…  and a 6 pack….  I have salt and gravel mix for the sidewalk after if it decides to freeze so there is not much else I can do other than talk about it…  To anyone out there who will be driving back home today..  Please be careful…  Time is not important but arriving home safely is…

73bob