RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for February 17, 2024
Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada with this week’s bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Barrie Crampton, VE3BSB, appointed to Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame
The Board of Trustees of the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame is pleased to announce
that Barrie Crampton, VE3BSB, has been named to the Hall of Fame, and Radio Amateurs
of Canada and the Board of Trustees of CARHOF sincerely congratulate Barrie on his
appointment to the Hall of Fame.
A detailed account of his achievements will be presented in an upcoming edition of
The Canadian Amateur magazine.
For more information on the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame visit: https://wp.rac.ca/carhof/
— RAC website
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Potential for Canada to Ban SDR Devices
Over concerns of devices such as the Flipper Zero that can record and replay wireless signals
used for remote keyless entry in cars, Public Safety Canada is proposing a ban of such devices
which could include software defined radios (SDR).
Pursuing all avenues to ban devices used to steal vehicles by copying the wireless signals for
remote keyless entry, such as the Flipper Zero, which would allow for the removal of those
devices from the Canadian marketplace through collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
Flipper Zero has requested evidence that their devices have been used in criminal activity,
suggesting there currently is none.
— : RTL-SDR.com https://www.rtl-sdr.com/
3. Magic Band Revealed (3rd edition) PDF booklet.
We call it the magic band because magical propagation occurs just when we least expect it.
A more accurate name might be the fickle band because 6 meters provides short periods of
random excitement followed by long periods of severe quiet. And that is why we like it so much.
Jim Wilson K5ND recently completed the third edition of the book Magic Band Revealed.
Of course, I had to read it and I surely did enjoy this book. Jim hits all of the different operating
and propagation modes that hams use on 50 MHz: sporadic-e, F2, TEP, meteor scatter,
ionoscatter, etc. The WSJT-X modes have had a huge impact on what’s possible on the band,
so Jim provides a good overview of the various options (FT8, FT4, MSK144, Q65).
Jim also provides some helpful information on VHF contests and operating as a rover.
The best attribute of the book is that it is primarily written as a first-person account of K5ND’s
operating experiences. Reading the book is just like having a friend tell you about what they’ve
experienced on the band, along with some great operating tips. Great work, Jim!
The book is available as a free PDF download from Jim’s website or in print version via Amazon.
Go to https://k5nd.net/2023/11/magic-band-revealed/
— de Bob K0NR
4. New Page On VE7SL Radio Notebook!
Thanks to May (VA7MAY) and Mark (VA7MM) spending the time to scan my 630m
QSL card collection, I have now been able to complete their work by posting a dedicated
page for the cards.
If you’ve ever wondered what can be worked on this ‘below the broadcast band’ MF
amateur band, then viewing the cards and reading their comments may give you some insight
into its character.
The new page can be found here. https://qsl.net/ve7sl/630mqsls.html
–Steve McDonald VE7SL via Amateur Radio.com
This concludes this week’s bulletin.
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for February 17, 2024
