Happy Canada Day 2012

Seeing as I plan to operate in the RAC Canada Day Contest as well as get some family stuff into play I am posting this just before the contest starts

I hope to work you in the Canada Day Contest and I will be operating from home on 2m to 160m and  the rig will be the  Yaesu FT 450 along with my S9 Vertical.  I will be using my FT897 and the home brewed Delta Loop for the VHF bands

The rest of today will be spent making sure the batteries for the 817 are charged and that the BBQ Tanks are filled and that the Canada Day Contest Software is installed on the Netbook. If I manage any “Rare Contacts” I will be updating the blog with my brag list…

This is being posted a little early but later tonight time will be a factor with family, the BBQ and the Canada Day Contest all demanding my time… and I can only be in one place at one time…

73bob

And yes for some of you who might notice I am recycling last years post as it seems to do well on Canada Day…

HAPPY CANADA DAY

Here is a screen shot from the Hill Cam at Parliament Hill

The above picture is a capture from the same cam in 2006

CANADA

1867 to 2012

Happy Birthday Canada

And with many more to come

Canada’s Sport is Hockey…

Canada’s symbol is the Maple Leaf…

Its on our Flag…

Its on our Money

And as you can see its just about everywhere…

Canada’s Nationial Animal is the “Beaver”…

No not that one…

This one…

And we are a proud people…

So in honour (not honor) of the Birthday of Canada, our national holiday please excuse me for making a non amateur radio related post today when I say…

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA”

Happy Birthday Canada from a Proud Canadian…

73bob

A quiet afternoon- before the contest

I’m not hearing much on the bands right now…  Hoping its because everyone is resting up for the RAC Canada Day Contest which starts at 0000 hrs UTC on July 1st… 

For this contest I will be operating 10-160m using my S9 43 foot vertical with my Yaesu FT450 as the radio of the day.  I am hoping for 160m if my LDG z100 autotuner can bring the SWR down low enough for the built in AT in the 450 to bring it down the rest of the way.  It won’t be very efficient but if I can just grab a couple of extra multis it could make the difference…

For the VHF side of the contest as we are allowed 2m and 6m I will be using my newly built 6m delta loop on 2m and 6m ssb with my FT 897 .  I’ll also have my JPOLE up at about 15 feet or so (where it usually sits) for the outside chance of some 2m fm contacts.  Actually after looking through my logs for the last few years I really could/should ignore the vhf stuff altogether as its just not really popular in the Ottawa Area unless its a VHF Contest.  It always amazes me seeing as Ottawa is on the border with Quebec so anyone in the National Capital Area could made an easy 4 multis (2m and 6m in VE2 and VE3) with very little effort which makes a weak station’s score a little more respectable…

I just got the RAC CONTEST SOFTWARE  (scroll down and follow the links) installed on the last computer in the house old enough to still run it.  Its a good thing that one computer in the house still runs XP.

For the rest of the day it will be taking life easy…  resting up… sitting in the backyard in the shade… and getting ready for the contest

73bob

Testing of the 6m Delta Loop

First of all if your looking for Scientific Testing….  sorry keep on looking…

Today would be more operational testing using my Yaesu FT 897 with the home made 6m delta loop and comparing it with my FT450 and the S9 43 foot vertical.  Both Antennas are using the same tree in my back yard for support so its about as close as I can make it for this unscientific test…

The above picture is not my actual setup.  I just found a picture that best shows what my loop looks like.  I am using a bamboo boom and the loop is top center fed.  I normally support it with a 17 foot crappie pole.  The pole used to be 20 feet but at one time the antenna I was trying to raise was a bit heavier than I though so….

The above is more of what my loop looks like…  just imagine it suspended off the bamboo boom in a fashion alike the upper picture and you have it…  Its not pretty but its lightweight and it works…  I am using it at home this weekend for my VHF Station in the RAC Canada Day Contest but other than that the next time it sees RF will be when I take it to the great outdoors with some altitude and attitude.  This would mean a SOTA style activation with my FT 817…

Right now I am hear KZ4RR call CQ DX Europe on 50.170 (1308 utc) and he has a booming S2 signal but a fantastic  clear crisp audio.  I am hearing him on the Delta Loop which is aimed west and he is south of me…

I can’t hear him on the Vertical but I can hear bursts of static on the 450 when I hear him talking on the FT 897…

So IMHO the home brewed Delta loop is working better than the vertical… I have made some local contacts on 6m but yet have to make a contact outside of FN25 with it…  Perhaps if I am lucky this weekend in the RAC Canada Day Contest could be the time but I know its more than a dummy load and how much more is yet to be determined.

73bob

Don’t forget the RAC Canada Day Contest

Its getting closer…  Sunday July 1st for 24 consecutive hours starting at 0000UTC…

Its a great contest to participate in and its very low key so to speak…

2012 RAC CANADA DAY CONTEST

Each year on July 1, the anniversary of Canada’s Confederation, Radio Amateurs of Canada sponsors the

Canada Day Contest. Amateurs all over the world are invited to Canada’s Birthday Party on the air.

Contest Period:

0000 UTC to 2359 UTC July 1, 2012.

Bands and Modes:

160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 and 2 metres, CW and phone (SSB, FM, AM, etc.).

Suggested frequencies:

CW – 25 kHz up from the band edge and for SSB – 1850, 3775, 7075, 7225, 14175,

21250, 28500 kHz. Check for CW activity on the half-hour.

Exchange:

Stations in Canada send RS(T) and province or territory. VEØs and stations outside Canada send

RS(T) and a serial number.

QSOs:

Contacts with stations in Canada or VEØs are worth 10 points. Contacts with stations outside Canada

are worth 2 points. Contacts with RAC official stations are worth 20 points. RAC official stations are: VA2RAC,

VA3RAC, VE1RAC, VE4RAC, VE5RAC, VE6RAC, VE7RAC, VE8RAC, VE9RAC, VO1RAC, VO2RAC,

VY0RAC, VY1RAC and VY2RAC. You may work any station once on each of the two modes,

on each of the eight contest bands.

It is

prohibited to make CW contacts in the conventional phone sub-bands and phone contacts in the

conventional CW sub-bands. Contacts or soliciting QSOs through a repeater during the contest period is not

allowed.

Multipliers:

Thirteen in total, Canada’s 10 provinces and 3 territories. Each multiplier may be counted once on

each mode on each of the eight contest bands. The multipliers, with their postal abbreviations and prefixes are:

Nova Scotia [NS] (VE1, VA1, CY9, CYØ); Quebec [QC] (VE2, VA2); Ontario [ON] (VE3, VA3); Manitoba [MB]

(VE4, VA4); Saskatchewan [SK] (VE5, VA5); Alberta [AB] (VE6, VA6); British Columbia [BC] (VE7, VA7);

Northwest Territories [NT] (VE8); New Brunswick [NB] (VE9); Newfoundland and Labrador [NL] (VO1, VO2);

Nunavut [NU] (VYØ);Yukon [YT] (VY1); and Prince Edward Island [PE] (VY2). Certain special Canadian

prefixes in use at the time of the contest may also apply; however there may be no more than 13 multipliers on

each band/mode. Please use the multiplier abbreviations, in square brackets, noted above.

Final Score:

The total QSO from all bands multiplied by the total number of multipliers from all bands.

Categories:

The following 9 categories are eligible for plaque’s or certificates as detailed in the Awards section

of the rules.



Single Operator All Bands High Power (>100 Watts) – Radioworld



Single Operator All Bands Low Power (max. 100 Watts output) – Contest Club Ontario



Single Operator QRP (max. 5 Watt output) All Bands & Single Band ** – QRP Canada



Single Operator All Bands CW only, any authorized power – Maritime Contest Club



Single Operator All Bands PH only, any authorized power – Saskatchewan Contest Club



Single Operator Single Band, any authorized power *** – Elkel Products



Multi-Operator Single Transmitter High Power (>100 Watts) * – Alfa Radio



Multi-Operator Single Transmitter Low Power (max. 100 Watts output) * – Tony Allsop VE3FTA

Memorial by the Mississauga ARC



Multi-Operator Multi-Transmitter, any authorized power – Radioworld

For the Canada Day Contest a special trophy is awarded for the highest Single Operator (no power

classification) Foreign Entrant –

Larry Kayser VA3LK Memorial by Alan Goodacre, VE3HX.

Special thanks to our sponsors for their support of the RAC contests.

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

For the complete set of rules please go to the RAC Website

Hope to work you in the contest

73bob

Wednesday at the Iroquois Lock Station

As you know (yesterday) a bunch of us from Ottawa made our way south to the St Lawrence Seaway and set up shop at the Iroquois Ontario Lock Station.  The purpose of this was to have a bit of a “Meet N Greet” with Connie NR4CB as she continues on her summer road trip which is well documented on her Blog…

Doug VE3DLJ and his friend Carmen drove me down and we arrived at the Lock Station around 130pm.  As we arrived and unpacked the BBQ and the Radio Toys (FT 897 LDG Z100 auto tuner and a W3EDP Antenna) we were met by Bob VE3MPG and his fantastic camera.  The following pictures are all courtesy of Bob (unless otherwise noted) and we thank him for providing them and allowing me to share them with you…

FT 897 with auto tuner and Marine Battery for Power

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NR4CB and VA3QV

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And if I remember then you hit this button…

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NR4CB making contacts

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CQ de VE3/NR4CB

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Bionic Nerd on the air

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NR4CB playing radio and having fun

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As I mentioned the above pictures were courtesy of VE3MPG

Our visitor from the Iroquois Amateur Radio Club (who were nice enough not to complain when we were putting out more that a few calls on their club repeater for the afternoon)  was Dave VE3JLV.   I don’t know if we got a picture   If we did I’ll get it posted once I see a copy of it…  But thanks for showing up Dave…

We managed to watch a few ships go through the locks as the operating location was about 100 feet south of the actual lock station and so the view was fantastic…

This one was taken with my camera phone so we can’t blame a poor picture on Bob MPG… 

We also had some visitors from the VE3ORF 3730 Group in Ottawa…  Mike VA3MPM, Darrell VA3RDC, Ed VE3ES and Geoff VE3YCB all made the trip from Ottawa and we all sat around telling lies about contacts made.

Mike also showed us the new Alinco HF Rig…  Being a Yaesu Fan I hate to admit it but the rig looked nice and it had a very large display which will make it easy to read…  When I replace the FT450 it would be in contention as it would be nice to operate a radio without my glasses on…  Thanks to Sean VE3HXP of Professional Radio Service of Kemptville Ontario  for loaning it to Mike VA3MPM so he could show it to us…

Around 1900 local after a great BBQ Supper Connie figured she had better get on the road as her last stop of the day was to be in Watertown NY.  After she left  we packed up the gear and lowerd the antenna and we were on the road by 8pm and made it back to Ottawa by around 9pm.  It was a fantastic day with fresh air…  a great operating location and some some friendly visitors as well…

Hope Connie has the same reception as she continues on her travels…  Thanks to all who attended…

73bob

Getting packed for the trip to Iroquois

Well…  the 897, Tuner and W3EDP are packed up…  The food is ready to be packed in the cooler and I have two green cans of propane for the BBQ…

We’re going to Iroquois….

As you know from the previous blog postings a bunch of us from the VE3ORF/3730 Group are heading down to Iroquois Ontario at the Lockstation to treat NR4CB to a afternoon or Portable Operations…   Its a group effort…

To refresh your memory….

Today (Wednesday) a bunch of us are planning to head out of Ottawa around noon to noon thirty and motor south of Ottawa to the St Lawrence Seaway Lock Station at Iroquois.

Most of the participants so far are from the VE3ORF/3730 Group out of Ottawa and the surrounding area.

View Larger Map

We hope to arrive and be on the air by around 2pm. The purpose of this visit will be to play radio from the Island that the Lock Station Park is located on as well as meet and greet the Bionic Nerd NR4CB as she makes her way west from VE2Land on her trip. If you check her blog (above link) you will see that she has been busy for almost a month now and has been sightseeing along with playing radio along the way…

So like I way saying… We set up a HF station at the park along with a VHF station (we will be monitoring the Iroquois Ontario Repeater on 145.290 with a negative offset) once we get set up but will be jumping also to VE2RM repeater on 147.000 with a non standard negative 600 offset rather than the positive offset your radio will try and do… read the book… in case Connie has changed her travel times… As far as HF freqs go we will use whatever band is open. The rig of the day will be my FT897 along with the W3EDP antenna and the LDG Z100 tuner, The power will be supplied by Doug’s marine battery (VE3DLJ) and as we are not sure of frequencies if you happen to hear us please spot us…

We will have a BBQ set up but food is a bring your own style (you supply the grup but we supply the bbq to burn it on) and there is also a take out stand and gift shop at the lockstation as the picnic area is fairly popular during the summer months…

For a little more info on our destination here is their website.

The times are not carved in stone… We will however be set up by around 1400 and will be staying till it ends… If you want to come and visit concider this your invite… If you want to work us on the air then you know where we will be and roughly what times…

….So that should bring you up to speed

So like I said…  I will be leaving Ottawa around 1230 and should be there around 1330 and hope to be on the air by 1400.  We know that NR4CB reached Cornwall last night after spending a couple hours parked on the 401 wb after a large accident happened miles infront of her in Lancaster Ontario.  She spent the night in Cornwall and will be meeting us in Iroquois around 1400 eastern.  If you follow VA3QV-7  on aprs.fi you will be able to see when we get to Iroquois and I would assume that on the air about 30 minutes later…

Check the clusters for VE3/NR4CB as I’m not sure what bands will be open and what skeds that Connie has already arranged…

Enjoy your day…  A bunch of us will be having a BBQ and Playing Radio in the Great Outdoors so I know we will be enjoying ours…

73bob

 

Field Day Video courtesy of VA3CME

Now I bring you back a few days in time when I mentioned the following:

“This year if your looking for Field Day locations in Ottawa and area according to the ARRL Field Day Map on line you have a few to choose from.

According to the map the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club will be operating VE3RC at St Pauls University in Old Ottawa East. Set up would start around 10am and as usual the talk in would be on the club repeater VE2CRA 146.940 (-) CTCSS 100.0 The OARC normally runs a 2A station. Check their website for more information.

.

The Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club will be at on the grounds of the Canada Science and Technology Musuem on St Laurent Blvd. Their website has not been updated with their Field Day info yet but I have heard some people talking about the Club Communications trailer being set up for Field Day so they will be there. The OVMRC Club Repeater is VE3TWO and its Frequency is 147.300 (+).

.

The Ottawa Valley QRP Society will be set up in the Hampton Park area of Ottawa just north of the 417 on Island Park Drive. Once again setup should be around 10am and they are less structured (more efficient) than some of the larger clubs. Last year they did very well concidering they were operating at QRP power levels. Well worth dropping in to visit them if you have the chance.

,

.

Well as it turned out Chris VA3CME took my suggestion to heart and visited the 3 sites that were in Ottawa and to make it more interesting he took his video equipment with him when he did…

The results are below…  Just wanted to thank Chris for allowing me to share this with you and also thank him for all his work editing the images after.  He did this rather than have fun screaming CQ Field Day…

73bob

Finally rested up so its time to start again

Well…  a good nites sleep on Sunday evening and a good nites sleep on Monday Night and I think I have re charged the batteries after the fantastic field day I just had…

After all these years I think I have finally got the perfect place for Field Day in my mind…

Its not really an emergency exercise….  I just can’t see me ever having to talk across the country in any emergency senario…  Amateur Radio seems to be used more for communications out of the effected area rather than for point to point communications…

Its not really a contest because the structure is not there and the operators are for the most part too green to be contesters…

It is however an excellent introduction to amateur radio for the general public and the newer hams…  When I guest operated at the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club Site I noticed lots of new blood (and a few of the old pharts) instlling antennas and operating the radios.  A few of the real new hams most likely set up their first HF antenna and made their first HF contact this weekend…

As the OARC site and the Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club sites were located in Public Places I saw amateurs taking the time to describe the goings on to non amateurs (members of the public) and so our hobby was showcased to the public… 

For me it was a great social event mixed in with some operating as I managed to get the FT 817/W3EDP combo fired up and made some contacts on Sunday from a nature walk area just south of Ottawa…  The scores were nothing to talk about but contacts were made from coast to coast on 5w of ssb and dang it we had fun…

So now lets look ahead to whats happening for the rest of this week…

Tomorrow (Wednesday) a bunch of us are planning to head out of Ottawa around noon to noon thirty and motor south of Ottawa to the St Lawrence Seaway Lock Station at Iroquois.

Most of the participants so far are from the VE3ORF/3730 Group out of Ottawa and the surrounding area.

View Larger Map

We hope to arrive and be on the air by around 2pm.  The purpose of this visit will be to play radio from the Island that the Lock Station Park is located on as well as meet and greet the  Bionic Nerd NR4CB  as she makes her way west from VE2Land on her trip.  If you check her blog (above link) you will see that she has been busy for almost a month now and has been sightseeing along with playing radio along the way…

So like I way saying…  We set up a HF station at the park along with a VHF station (we will be monitoring the Iroquois Ontario Repeater  on 145.290 with a negative offset) once we get set up but will be jumping also to VE2RM repeater on 147.000  with a non standard negative 600 offset rather than the positive offset your radio will try and do…  read the book… in case Connie has changed her travel times…  As far as HF freqs go we will use whatever band is open.  The rig of the day will be my FT897 along with the W3EDP antenna and the LDG Z100 tuner,  The power will be supplied by Doug’s marine battery (VE3DLJ) and as we are not sure of frequencies if you happen to hear us please spot us…

We will have a BBQ set up but food is a bring your own style (you supply the grup but we supply the bbq to burn it on) and there is also a take out stand and gift shop at the lockstation as the picnic area is fairly popular during the summer months…

 For a little more info on our destination here is their website.

The times are not carved in stone…  We will however be set up by around 1400 and will be staying till it ends…  If you want to come and visit concider this your invite…  If you want to work us on the air then you know where we will be and roughly what times…

This will not be a serious activation of the Island and it is also not an IOTA Island but if you follow the Canadian Islands Programme it is what I believe to be ON271.  But as it is not a planned activation you might have to tell the operator of the the Island so he can give it to you for the official contact…  The purpose of the trip is to meet NR4CB and we are using that as an excuse for a summer BBQ along with an excuse to set up a station and play radio…  No structured events…  Just hams having fun…

For those of you who seriously chase islands I believe that there will be an activation of this island in the near future….  Once they recover for field day…

Anyhow…  Thats the way it is for now…  Hope to see you on the Island and failing that hope to hear you on the air…

73bob

Goodbye Field Day and Hello RAC Canada Day Contest

Get ready for one of the most laid back and fun events of the Canadian Radiosports Season…  The RAC Canada Day Contest.

The contest starts at 0000hrs UTC on July 1st and runs straight through till 2359.59 on July 1st

The rules of the Contest can be found here… as well as a link to some really easy logging software designed for the contest that makes scoring a breeze…

The RAC Canada Day Contest and the RAC Canada Winter Contest are the two most operator friendly contest I think you will ever find…   Highly recommended for fun and also if you are looking to fill in any gaps in your Worked all Canadian Provinces slot in your log…

This year the contest should be especially exciting as we havebeen experiencing excellent conditions on 20m and the VY0RAC station this year is a powerhouse.  Check out his QRZ.com webpage using the link.

This year I will be participating from home…  Starting in the shack using the FT450 and the S9 Vertical along with the 6m homebrewed Delta Loop.  If the weather is nice later on in the contest I’ll move the rig and power supply out to the patio and enjoy the nice WX along with the advantage of shorter feed lines to finish things off…

Hope to hear you and work you in the contest

73bob

Ham radio still going strong — and still useful — in the age of the smartphone

I just noticed this after reading the Ottawa Citizen on line …

Always nice to see some good press on our hobby…

Ham radio still going strong — and still useful — in the age of the smartphone.

Congrats go out to the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club for providing the background and a big THANK YOU to the Ottawa Citizen for the article…

73bob