RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 12, 2024
Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada with this week’s bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Special Advisory Notice: Hurricane Milton Update
Radio of Amateurs of Canada has received a request from the Winlink Development team to
issue the following statement about Hurricane Milton:
The Winlink Development Team from the United States has requested that all non-essential
traffic on the Winlink system be suspended, including tests, weekly nets, etc., until after
Hurricane Milton. They are still experiencing high volumes of traffic from Helene, so please
keep the gateways open.
Due to FCC part 97.221 American Amateur Radio regulations, band restrictions limit
frequencies that are used to transmit and receive Winlink traffic.
Finally, a US end-user may also use RMS gateways from other countries since they are present
as a control operator (not under automatic control). This would include the RMS gateways in
Canada, Mexico, ITU sponsored gateways in Central America and the Caribbean.’
Please respect that gateways will be operating at their best capabilities, but overuse of
non-essential traffic may impact their ability to provide support to storm-affected areas.
Thank you.
— Jason Tremblay, VE3JXT, RAC Community Services Officer
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. POTA Activity Weekend is October 19-20
The weekend of October 19th is Parks On the Air (POTA) autumn activity weekend. Four times
a year POTA encourages activators and chasers alike to support local parks by getting out
and having fun. The autumn activity weekend runs October 19th and 20th UTC.
The next activity weekend takes place January 18-19, 2025.
— POTA (via amateur radio daily news)
3. COLORADO CHOSEN AS SITE FOR NEXT YOUNG AMATEURS’ CAMP
As many as 50 licensed amateurs between the ages of 15 and 25 will be headed for Colorado
next June as the Youth on the Air Camp for the Americas enters its fifth season. The online
application period begins on December 1st and is open to young radio operators from North,
Central and South America. The camp will take place from June 15th through to the 20th.
Prospective campers living outside the United States are being given priority and are
encouraged to leave sufficient time to obtain the required passport and tourist Visa
where applicable. First-time campers are also being given priority. Attendees from past
years are welcome to apply to serve as leaders.
Meanwhile, plans are in the works to inaugurate two other camp experiences next year:
subregional camps and a YOTA Junior USA camp serving hams younger than 15.
Visit youthontheair dot org – For additional information, please contact Camp Director
Neil Rapp, WB9VPG via director at youthontheair dot org ([email protected])
— YOUTH ON THE AIR (via ham radio newsline)
4. FEDERAL FUNDS TO STRENGTHEN U.S. BROADCASTERS’ RESILIENCY
With disaster resiliency on almost everyone’s mind in the US, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency has made an additional $40 million available to public radio and TV stations to permit
them to upgrade their infrastructure. The money is being released through the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting. The funds are designed to permit radio stations’ investments in new
transmitters, generators, backup power supplies, antennas and related equipment for handling
emergency messages. The equipment is capable of handling messages through the federal agency’s
Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and its Common Alerting Protocol. For TV stations,
the funds are to support training their personnel in the use of new or upgraded equipment.
FEMA has already released two rounds of funding to public broadcasters – this third round will
mean that $136-million has been spent during the course of three fiscal years to assist public
media’s capabilities during disasters.
— RADIO WORLD (via ham radio newsline)
This concludes this week’s bulletin.
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 12, 2024
