Winter Field Day: Update #2

Hello Team,

Here’s the latest update for our Winter Field Day preparations:

  1. Antenna Setup

    • We will set up the same End-Fed-Half-Wave (EFHW) antenna as in previous years.
    • Coaxial cable and the Kenwood 450 radio will come from the trailer.

  2. Footwear Reminder

    • Please bring slippers or indoor footwear!
    • We’ll leave our snowy or wet boots at the door to keep the floor clean and dry.

  3. Setup Timing

    • Next week, we will decide on a time to meet and start the setup process. Stay tuned for more details.

  4. Event Day

    • During the event, we’ll also explore setting up various antennas, depending on the layout of the playing area.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out. Let’s make this Field Day a success!

Further update is to come

73,

Joel – VA3WBK

RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for 04 Jan, 2025

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ONTARIO SECTION NEWS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

1.  Ham Map of WWFF, POTA, SOTA sites

A map for WWFF, POTA, and SOTA locations and activity.
See the interactive map at https://ham-map.com/
— OK1SIM

2.   STRAIGHT KEY MONTH IS HERE

Calling all CW operators! January is the month to put your paddle in the drawer and dust off your straight key. It’s time for the 19th annual Straight Key Month, hosted by the Straight Key Century Club.

Throughout the month, you’ll be able to work K3Y stations in all US call areas. In addition, stations from regions within the IARU in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America will also be on the air.

Taking their cue from the ARRL’s long-running Straight Key Night every January 1, the SKCC extends the event from the 2nd to the 31st of the month. Whether you’re a seasoned operator or just beginning your CW journey, you’ll find Straight Key Month to be a great deal of fun while increasing your skills.
Information for this event can be found at skccgroup.com/k3y.
–Randy Sly, W4XJ  (SKCC)

3.   SCAMP Digital Mode Available in Fldigi

Simple Conversational Amateur Message Protocol (SCAMP) is a weak signal digital mode developed by Dr. Daniel Marks (KW4TI). Originally integrated with the RFBitBanger transceiver, SCAMP is now available for broader use through the Fldigi software suite.

Like other weak signal propagation modes such as the popular FT8, SCAMP is an orthogonal frequency shift keying mode with a low symbol rate, forward error correction, and synchronous signaling. Unlike FT8 which has been designed to exchange signal reports, SCAMP must be able to communicate arbitrary messages that may be required in an emergency situation. [1] 

For additional information, view KW4TI’s video presentation (youtube – open research institute) on SCAMP.

[1] Jensen (W7DGJ), Dave. “Trials and Errors Issue 26.”
QRZ, 31 Aug. 2023, www.qrz.com/articles/node_1692683709.
— amateur radio daily news

4.  Single Crystal Electrode Lithium Ion Batteries Last a Long Time

Researchers have been testing a new type of lithium ion battery that uses single-crystal electrodes. Over several years, they’ve found that the technology could keep 80% of its capacity after 20,000 charge and discharge cycles. For reference, a conventional lithium cell reaches 80% capacity after about 2,400 cycles.

The researchers say that the number of cycles would be equivalent to driving about 8 million kilometers in an electric vehicle. This is within striking distance of having the battery last longer than the other parts of the vehicle. The researchers employed synchrotron x-ray diffraction to study the wear on the electrodes. One interesting result is that after use, the single-crystal electrode showed very little degradation. According to reports, the batteries are already in production and they expect to see them used more often in the near future.

— Blog – Hackaday.com (Dec 16, 2024)

Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC

PR-ARES Group Activity Report - Dec 2024

The PR-ARES Group had a busy month in December. On the 12th Lance VA3LP Group Coordinator, participated in the Nation Township annual tabletop exercise. The scenario was one of a storm that blew through on the Friday before the May long weekend. Each department provided input into their responsibilities as well as a healthy discussion about escalation. In the end there was a tremendous amount of work that would be done, but as we identified the risks it became apparent that there would not be a state of emergency declared. As we went through each stage of the emergency, we reviewed the requirement for declaration and throughout it  was decided not to declare and that the township could handle the situation on their own. The PR-AREs gave a brief description of the capabilities that could be provided as supplemental communications support. In this case we would have remained on standby. 
On the 17th, Lance VA3LP and Harry VA3ZAK were invited to the East Hawkesbury EOC for their annual tabletop exercise. It turns out the exercise was all about what the PR-ARES Group would provide if required. Lance gave a detailed description of our capabilities and answered all their questions on how we would provide supplemental communications. At the completion of the exercise the CEMC requested that we provide information on how they can support us by installing antennas and coaxes. Harry took some pictures and the matter was referred to Mike VE3IPC who has experience in providing detailed information on equipment and installation.
The PR-ARC rounded out the year with a Christmas party at the restaurant located at the Hammond Golf Course.
 

RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for 28 December, 2024

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1.  Contest prefill files now available on Writelog Website

I took an interest in creating prefill files for use in the RAC Canada Day and Canada Winter contests and was having difficulty finding anyone who hosted these files.  I had seen mention of two prior individuals who did host files but those sites were no longer active.

I reached out to Wayne at Writelog and asked if he would host prefill files if I created some and he agreed.  I thought this would be one of the best longer term solutions to the issue of hosting prefill files for the longer term for the Writelog contesting community.

While developing a process to create the required ADIF files used by Writelog I expanded it to include conversion of some of the files from N1NM call history files (CHF).  I reached out to and received permission from Claude Duberger, VE2FK to use his files with attribution back to him and the folks at N1NM.

Thanks to his work and the other supporting those efforts I was able to create 11 additional prefill files as a starting point.

If you would like to have a prefill file created for contests supported by Writelog, I will do my best to accommodate such requests.
The dependency will be availability of data.

I hope the contesting community and Writelog users will find these files of value in their contesting efforts.  As always with data of this sort, use the prefill information as an aid. Be sure to verify the data and ultimately log what the station sends.  Never assume the prefill data is 100% correct.

If anyone is interested in assisting in this process, I would be happy to share the resources I created in Excel.

— Bart Ritchie – VE5CPU

ONTARIO SECTION NEWS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

2.   ARRL Systems Service Disruption Update

In October, we reported that the ARRL DXCC® System had been returned to service. Since then, over 3,000 DXCC applications have been logged into the DXCC System for
processing. It is important to understand that the queue of the 

submitted applications is very large, and has included nearly 6 months of applications for processing. ARRL Awards staff and additional staff and volunteers have been working
extended hours and weekends to process applications. On December 13, the Online DXCC Application was returned to service. We have resumed mailing orders for paper DXCC Certificates and endorsement stickers. Over 350 certificates were mailed on December 26. The easiest way to determine if your DXCC application has been processed is to review your LoTW account. From the Award Account Menu, select Account Status. The “Awarded” column will reflect those QSOs that have been awarded to you after your application(s) has been fully processed.
Stand by for further updates.
— ARRL news

3.  ARRL Kids Day – January 4, 2025

ARRL Kids Day runs January 4, 2025 from 1800 UTC – 2359 UTC. Operate as much or as little as you like.

The event is designed to give on-the-air experience to young people, to foster interest in getting a license of their own, and give older hams a chance to share their stations and love for amateur radio with their children.
There will be a second ARRL Kids Day on June 21, 2025.

More information, including frequencies, suggested exchanges, and
how to download a certificate, can be found on the Kids Day web page
at    https://www.arrl.org/Kids-Day
— ARRL News

4.  WINTERHEAT Contest Runs Through January

In its 6th year, WINTERHEAT is a month-long simplex contest active January 1 through January 31. The event encourages hams to get on the air and accumulate as many VHF/UHF
simplex contacts as possible. The 2024 event saw 785 hams make over 214,000 contacts.

Contacts are to be made via FM voice, including digital voice modes such as DMR, Fusion, and D-STAR.

Visit http://hamactive.com to register.

— ham radio daily news


Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC