RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for March 11, 2023
Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada with this week’s bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Special Event Call Signs for the Coronation of King Charles III
The Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III will take place on Saturday May 6. The Ceremony
will take place at Westminster Abbey, London, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada has approved the use of special
call prefixes from May 5 to July 2.
These dates correspond to the early summer operating season and will be available to all
Canadian Amateurs who wish to use the special event prefixes on all occasions including Field Day
and the RAC Canada Day Contest.
To use the special call sign, substitute the prefix normally assigned to your province or territory by
the special prefix. VE1 (NS) – CK1, VA1 (NS) – CJ1, VE2 (QC) – CK2, VA2 (QC) – CJ2,
VE3 (ON) – CK3, VA3 (ON) – CJ3, VE4 (MB) – CK4, VA4 (MB) – CJ4, VE5 (SK) – CK5,
VA5 (SK) – CJ5, VE6 (AB) – CK6, VA6 (AB) – CJ6, VE7 (BC) – CK7, VA7 (BC) – CJ7,
VE8 (NT) – CK8, VE9 (NB) – CJ9, VO1 (NF) – CY1, VO2 (LAB) CY2, VY0 (NU) CZ0,
VY1 (YT) CZ1, VY2 (PEI) CZ2, CY0 Sable Island N/A, CY9 St-Paul Island N/A
For more info on the coronation, please visit: https://www.royal.uk/coronation
— RAC website
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
2. Planning for the 26th annual Ontario Qso Party – April 15th, 16th, 2023
This event is held annually on the third full weekend of April. Beginning in 1998 under the
thoughtful guidance of Bob Chandler VE3SRE it quickly became a popular event among
Ontario hams and beyond. In 2006 the organization of the party was turned over to
Contest Club Ontario (CCO) who now manage the event. The OQP counts for the
QSO Party challenge sponsored by ICOM.
In the contest, stations outside Ontario make as many contacts with Ontario amateur radio stations
as possible. Ontario stations contact as many amateur radio stations as possible both in Ontario
and elsewhere. See the full set of rules for the contest exchange, frequencies, modes and categories.
Full rules http://va3cco.com/oqp/rules.htm
Even if you operate casually, please accounce your activity on the “Who’s On” page at
http://va3cco.com/oqp/plan.htm We would like to get all multipliers in Ontario active this year.
— OQP Committee
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. 2023 Hamvention Awards Announced
The Special Achievement Award recipient is Dr. Jason McDonald, MD, N2TPA. He is an active,
well-known Amateur Extra-class operator who earned his license in 2003. Dr. McDonald began as
a radio frequency engineer before changing careers to become a trauma surgeon. Dr. McDonald’s
amateur radio interests range from operations on the air to international disaster response.
The Amateur Radio Club of the Year is the Delaware Valley Radio Association (DVRA), an ARRL
Affiliated Club formed in 1930 and serving the Trenton, New Jersey, metropolitan area. The club has
tripled in size over the last 6 years due to the wide range of amateur radio activities and events they offer.
An all-purpose club, the DVRA’s activities include public service events, operator training/mentoring,
informational monthly meetings, POTA events, and the operation of W2ZQ a world-class club station.
The Technical Achievement Award recipient is Dr. James Breakall, WA3FET, whose work has been
instrumental in amateur radio antenna technology for decades. As a professor of electrical engineering
at Penn State University from 1989 to 2022, Dr. Breakall developed cutting-edge antenna technology
and mentored his students in amateur radio, resulting in 700 new licensees.
Amateur of the Year 2023 Carsten Dauer, DM9EE, has been active in European amateur radio
through the World Radiosport Team Championship and Youth on the Air for 30 years. Recently,
he has spearheaded a movement that provides amateur radio equipment to war-torn Ukraine by
collecting donations and personally delivering the approximately 5,000 kg of radios, power banks,
solar packs, and first aid kits to Ukraine. On the return trips from Ukraine, Dauer transports
war refugees to havens in Germany, including his own hotel.
You can read more about the 2023 Hamvention Awards at the Hamvention website or at ARRL.org.
— www.hamvention.org
4. Cycle 25 exceeds all expectations
The current solar cycle 25 far exceeds the predictions of the international panel convened for this
purpose in 2019. The solar cycle is important in determining the lifetime of satellites in low-Earth orbit
because satellite drag correlates with the solar cycle. In addition, the forecast gives a rough idea of the
frequency of space weather storms of all kinds, from radio blackouts to geomagnetic storms to radiation
storms, and is therefore used by many to estimate the expected impact of space weather in the coming
years.
For full article see: https://www.iaru-r1.org/2023/solar-cycle-25-exceeds-all-predictions/
This concludes this week’s bulletin.
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for March 11, 2023
