But you know that already…

Good Monday Morning….

The weekend (Radio Wise) was not a total bust but to be polite the bands are less than optimal…  To be honest…. They would have to improve to be concidered Poor…

But you know that already!!!

I managed a couple of QRP Contacts on Friday PM from the Mer Bleu Swamp on 20m and 40m but not much else after that.  On Saturday I had a couple of great contacts from home including CK6S which is a special event station from the Calgary Stampede in Calagry Alberta (VE6).  That contact was a bit of a teaser as I listened along for about an hour after and I heard everyone that made contact with Calgary.  I thought things were starting to look up…  Like I said it was a teaser…

Later in the afternoon I walked over to VA3PSJ’s qth and we jumped in his jeep and took his IC703 over to Mer Bleu and tossed his Par End Fed into the air and tried to make some contacts…  Although it was not rare DX we did manage a couple of contacts on 40 and 20 but we did have to work for it… The 13 colonies special event stations did help and they were strong and were also listening…

Yesterday (Sunday) was a complete bust…  Nothing in the log although I did try a few times….

Actually with the exception of the RAC Canada Day Contest there have not been many log entries made this month and the RAC Log does not get posted in HRD as I  use the RAC logger for that one and can’t figure out an easy way to merge the logs…  Its on my list of things to do…

This week the plan is to try and get some yardwork done today and tomorrow (Tuesday) with the main idea being to get the radials for the S9 Vertical stretched out a bit better and then cover them with a topsoil and grass seed mixture so I won’t continue to trip when I walk in the back yard…  From my previous posts you should remember that the back yard is only 20 feet X 20 feet so its not as strenous as it sounds…

I’ve managed to check into the ECARS Net on 7.255 so far today with K1WTX in Turner Maine, who was the NCS for the hour.   Guess the band was a bit long…  Thats about 275 miles East-South-East of my home in Ottawa.  Not booming but he was a solid 5/7.

I guess its about time to head over and find the grass seed and the bags of topsoil that is available at the Property Managers Office and get to work before the sun gets too hot for yardwork…

73bob

 

 

 

Canada Day in Ottawa and the RAC Canada Day Contest

Well its over for another year…

From all reports Kudos go out to the good citizens of Ottawa-Gatineau who were able to party without filling the holding cells for another year…  My own neighborhood was exceptionally quiet…  Its noisier on any Friday night and it seems everyone who would be loud was downtown and got it out of their system before they made it home…

Only 9 stayed the night in the “City Hotel” and they would of been released this morning (with a slight headache) after show cause… Even the fans from the soccer finals were well behaved…

No serious crowd issues but there were a few fires and unfortunately a couple of people drowned swimming where they should not of been.  Unfortunately you can’t leglisate common sense…  My condolonces to the families involved…

For me the day was spend Calling CQ contest and sitting on the deck enjoying life in general…I started at 8pm on the 30th (0000 hrs utc) and ran till about 1am and it was hard going…  I then made it back to the shack at 8am and operated until I lost my voice then I took a couple of hours break…  Coming back after that was a one hour on and then one hour off schedule and I finally gave it up at 6pm when the family needed me on the deck to BBQ supper.  I hade the best of intentions of making it back for the finish but…  The food was good and the tall boys cold….  Needless to say I had a good time…

If you participated in the RAC Contest then you know that the bands were not the best…  But for those who were patient there were some stations out there to be contacted…

I ran as a Single Opertor SSB only 100w station and my results are as follows

64 Canadian Contacts plus 8 RAC Stations and 15 DX stations  for a total of 87 contacts.  This cave me a total of 830 points and with 26 multis my final score was 21,580 points.

On a band by band breakdown heres how I did…

2m- 2 contacts and 2 multis (Ontario and Quebec)

6m- 1 contact and 1 mult- (Ontario)

10m- 1 contact and 1 multi (Ontario)

15m- 1 contact and 1 multi (Ontario

20m- 31 contacts with stations in NL, NS, NB, ON, MB, SK, AB, BC, NU

40m- 26 contacts with stations in  NL, NS, NB, QC, ON, MB, SK, AB

80m- 28 contacts with stations in NL, NS, NB,  ON

I made no contacts on 160m.  If you remember that earlier this week I mentioned that I had to bring up all the antenna radials so I could make the yard safe for some fence contractors?  When then finished I tried to get them back exactly where they were before but I guess I missed something because I was unable to get the tuner to load up the antenna on 160…  It used to before but this time no luck…  That might of been good for a few extra contacts but no use complaining about missed contacts or poor band conditions as the conditions were the same for everyone…

This year I did not hear any VE8 or VY1.  I did hear a VY2 but he was searching and pouncing looking for multis and I never was able to find him calling CQ and when I was calling CQ he never heard me…  Looking at the cluster VE8 and VY1 seemed to be really rare…  Anyone work one???

Given my current location (same one I have had for 25 years) there is not much I can do or could of done to improve my operating circumstances….  IMHO the antennas are the best I can get away with and keep the landlord happy…  Yes I did use the words Antenna(s)and Landlord Happy…

So the only way my scores are going to get better is if the bands get better or I knuckle down and take this contesting more seriously.  Knowing me…  The bands are going to have to get better…

So anyhow…  I did enjoy another Canada Day….  I did have fun and I hope you did as well.

73bob

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

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

RAC Canada Day Contest VA3RAC

The following came to me via email:

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

Help Wanted

The Radio Amateurs of Canada Contest is fast approaching and we are looking for a VE/VA Amateur to operate under the VA3RAC call sign.
You do have to be a RAC member and once the contest is over you are required to submit a copy of your log to RAC Headquarters so if anyone wants a QSL for your contact we can verify the QSO.

For complete rules goto:
http://www.rac.ca/en/rac/programmes/contests/files/2012%20RAC%20Canda%20Day%20Contest%20Rules%20-%20English%20and%20French.pdf
Here is your chance to be a rare one and never have to leave your home QTH.

Reply to Jeff at va3wxm@sympatico.ca<mailto:va3wxm@sympatico.ca> and myself ve3xt@rac.camailto:ve3xt@rac.ca

Hope to work you on July 1st.
Jeff Stewart VA3WXM                                    Bill Unger VE3XT
Director South Ontario                                    Director North East Ontario

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

Posted as a service to the Ontario Amateur Radio Community

73bob

Tuesday was a bust…

You know its not very often that I find a day that absolutely NOTHING happened with me in the radio world but yesterday was one of those days…  It was wet and nasty and I had to work around the house….  I tried listening a few times but just did not hear anything but mostly static and very low signals from people running KWs…

The sad part is that so far Wednesday is not looking much better so far…

However Tuesday I started to clean up the basement area and have most of it done so far…  Suprise…  I have a floor under the boxes…  I found a little more floor this morning as well…  My daughter’s new computer arrived and so I get the old one…  I will be using a 2 year old desktop in place of the laptop in the shack…  What I am hoping for is that the metal case might eliminate the slight issues I have with my FT450 throwing RFI at the computer that is trying to control it using HRD…

I don’t know for sure if its going to work but I am hoping it will and we should know soon if my efforts will be rewarded…

So rather than radio its more cleaning and computers…  but I do want everything set up and working PROPERLY in time for the RAC Canada Day Contest coming up on July 1st.  More on that in upcoming posts…

73bob

A reminder from RAC

The following came into my email inbox this am…  I felt it to be worth sharing with you…

————————

*RAC Bulletin 2012-031E – Canada Day Contest* 2012-06-04

A reminder to all Amateur Radio Operators that our Canada Day Contest is just over three weeks away. This is a great opportunity have a little fun on the airways and compete with others over a twenty four hour period. What better way to celebrate Canada’s birthday!
Whether you choose to operate as an individual or as part of a group, get on the air and see how many Official RAC stations that you can rack up. Also, check with your Regional Director to ensure that all possible RAC call signs for your Section are on the air, giving folks the best possible opportunity to pick up the “bonus points”.

RAC Canada Day Contest – 0000 – 2359 UTC – July 1, 2012

 For all of this years rules and details, please visit theRAC website <http://www.rac.ca/en/rac/programmes/contests/files/2012%20RAC%20Canda%20Day%20Contest%20Rules%20-%20English%20and%20French.pdf>.

The very best of luck to everyone and have fun!
http://www.rac.ca/en/rac/programmes/contests/files/2012%20RAC%20Canda%20Day%20Contest%20Rules%20-%20English%20and%20French.pdf
73
Doug Mercer VO1DTM/VO1DM CEC Chief Field Services Officer
**—-**

——————————————–

One nice thing this year is that with Field Day finishing on the Sunday afternoon then the RAC Canada Day Contest starting on the Friday evening (EDST) is that I can fix all the problems I had with my portable station and get set up for the Canada Day Contest while things are fresh in my mind.   The weather on Canada Day will ultimately decide where I will be operating from for the RAC Canada Day Contest but I do know where I will be for Field Day…

73bob