RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 21, 2023
Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada with this week’s bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. Hurricane Watch Net Activates for Hurricanes Tammy and Norma
In an e-mail sent on the morning of Friday, October 20, 2023, HWN Net Manager
Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, wrote:
This morning, we have 2 Hurricanes threatening landfall.
In the Atlantic, we have Tammy which strengthened into a Cat 1 Hurricane
overnight.
In the Eastern Pacific, we have Hurricane Norma. Once a Cat 4 Hurricane,
it is now a Cat 3 storm, threatening Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of
Baja California.
On Saturday, we will activate on 14.325 MHz (USB) at 8:00 AM EDT (1200 UTC)
and remain active until no longer required. If propagation dictates, we will utilize
operations on 7.268.00 MHz (LSB)
— arrl news
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
2. Amateur Radio Supports 2023 Chicago Marathon
On October 8, 2023, more than 140 amateur radio operators from five Midwest states
assisted 2,000 volunteer medical personnel at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
This is the 15th consecutive year that amateur radio operators have helped coordinate
medical responses and arrange for medical resupplies.
About 49,000 runners entered this year’s event.
The event uses six main repeater channels and deploys four temporary repeaters.
New this year was official use of the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) after
organizers trialed the system at their other events, including the Bank of America
Shamrock Shuffle and the Chicago 13.1. APRS radios were deployed to amateur
communication teams in Chicago’s Grant Park after the race was finished.
A total of 30 radio operators worked in various capacities before and after the race.
Also, there were 100 ham radio operators stationed at each of the 20 course medical
tents and the medical hub. In Forward Command, 10 amateur radio operators served
as net controls, traffic handlers, logging specialists, and expediters.
— full article at arrl news
3. A POTA Book for Park Activators and Hunters
The Parks on the Air book gives you a look at the setups and processes of 14 operators
from a variety of skill levels and backgrounds and offers advice and motivation for taking
your radio out to a park. Each chapter includes a detailed gear list so you can see exactly
what your fellow operators are using, whether they’re leaders of the pack or folks just getting
started with Parks on the Air. Setups cover satellite operating, QRP, urban backpack
portable, activating tailgate-style, wire antennas for POTA, and more.
The Parks on the Air Book may be purchased from the ARRL Store
https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2013464221
4. Using Amateur Radio to Play Chess
Playing chess using amateur radio? The concept may have begun in 1912 when a group
of college students from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) wanted to challenge
chess players at The Ohio State University (OSU). Though the official origin is still being
debated, clippings from a 1912 issue of The Case Tech, one of CWRU’s former student
newspapers, reveal that the challenge was made when the CWRU Wireless Club procured
a Morse code transceiver.
Nowadays, chess moves are relayed over the air by voice using EchoLink through a
Cleveland, Ohio, repeater with algebraic chess notation relayed by voice. In the future,
each chess team will determine what method works best for them based on skill level and
participation.
HAMCHESS is a great way to reenergize amateur radio clubs and involve other college
organizations. In 1945, the United States and the USSR squared off in a radio chess
tournament using CW. In the 1980s, Chess and Amateur Radio International, a club with
more than 200 members, used 20-meter SSB in a match between five US players and five
players in Oceania, a geographical region spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres.
— full story at arrl news
This concludes this week’s bulletin.
Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for October 21, 2023
