GUYWIRE

SEPTEMBER 2004

Editor VE5SC sewert@sasktel.net


The online publication of the REGINA AMATEUR RADIO
ASSOCIATION is published monthly except July and August
and is distributed free of charge as a service of RARA
to all licensed hams in the Regina Area who have e-mail
addresses. Anyone NOT wishing to receive future copies
should send an e-mail to the editor and your name will
be removed from the mailing list.

The RARA WEBSITE can be found at
http://www.gpfn.sk.ca/hobbies/rara/index.html
It contains RARA news, repeater lists as well as links to other
amateur resources.
Club meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of each month, with
the exception of July and August, at the Science Center.

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NEXT MEETING - SEPT. 8TH 7:30 PM Science Center - Imax Boardroom

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CLUB NEWS

Our fall amateur classes made it into the Program Guide and we have Tuesday
evenings 7:30 to 9:30 at Henry Braun School which is up in Parkridge
(northeast corner). It runs 8 nights from Sept 28th to Nov. 16th.
If you know of anyone interested in attending, have them call VE5EE.

73, Bill EE

From your President's desk

It has been a busy summer for the Regina Amateur Radio
Association. Field day was on June 25 and 26. We got good publicity.
We had a lot of fun, but again we did not have a sufficient crew to work
through the night. Weather was pretty good. Thanks to every one that
participated and helped prepare. Next year I am going to get lessons on
how the computers work before I go to bed. I will have a more detailed
report on this year's Field Day next month.

We said goodbye to the radio room in the Science Centre. I went there
for a very few hours during the Canada Day Contest. Thanks to Bart,
VE5CPU, who graciously waited for me to remember how to set the 850
so that I could try to send code on the agreed upon band. He agreed
that my mistakes were perfectly formed while I was using my paddle
and the Kenwood 850's built-in keyer. Anyway, he and I worked all bands
CW. Now if I could just recognize the characters, and use a straight key
more proficiently!

We successfully moved all RARA property that had been in the radio room to
the Club Room on the 4th floor on July 8, 2004. Although we had been given
an eviction notice, we were in process of negotiating a "Memorandum of
Understanding" which effectively extends the lease with some modifications.
One term was to move all "radio" equipment to the club room by July 15.
More about that later. Thanks go to Bill Wood, VE5EE for organizing the
crew and to the moving crew: Bill himself, and Gudmund Thompson, VE5TA, Alex
Taylor, VE5MAB, Jim Goldie, VE5SHK, Stan Ewert, VE5SC, Allan Tidball,
VE5LAT. I tried to help too. We even pulled the coax and control cables out
of the conduit to the now abandoned radio room. Malcolm, VE5ZG, I would like
to see your picture of the moving crew. In the process of throwing out some
old broken circuit boards and some surplus magazines, we may have
inadvertently thrown out a power cable for one of the packet cluster radios.

We had a special directors' meeting on the late afternoon of July 5 to deal
with the Science Centre's proposed Memorandum of Understanding. I asked
Bob McDonald, VE5MH, to assist in this discussion. I discussed the proposals
with the Executive Director of the Science Centre, Scott Langen, at a
meeting on JULY 8. This resulted in the Science Centre proposing a new
version of the "Memorandum of Understanding. I have assaulted the Executive
and Directors with a flurry of e-mails this summer, about this and other
topics. On the topic of "Memorandum of Understanding" I added Bob McDonald
and Malcolm McLeod to the list. I really appreciate their advice and support
of this group as we were groping our way to an agreement. I signed their
proposed Memorandum of Understanding on August 18. Our existing lease is
thereby continued, with the exceptions noted in the MoU.

Changes -
we will share the club room with other community groups (we always did).
Our equipment will have to be there too now.
There are undertakings for joint consideration by both the Science Centre
and RARA included:
"To consider the possibility of locating the radio equipment on to the SSC
exhibit floor for special occasions. " and
"To consider the possibility of locating the radio equipment on to the SSC
exhibit floor on a permanent basis, and to developing an Amateur Radio
exhibit."
To follow up on this MoU, I am meeting with John Snell and the President of
the Regina Astronomical Society on Tuesday, September 7.
We hope that our relationship with the Science Centre will always be
mutually beneficial.
Our stuff was in the upstairs club room, but it was spread over the space
like a growing fungus. I asked John Snell if they had any use for the orange
desk that our radios had been on (I was amazed at the amount of stuff that
had come out of or from under that desk.) The Science Centre has taken
apart that heavy desk and transported it up the stairs for us. Our radio
equipment occupies it again. That has improved the look of the club room
quite a bit. At the same meeting John Snell promised to have a conduit put
through the wall for our cables from the antenna. I have to thank Terry
White, VE5TLW, and Allan Tidball, VE5LAT for assembling the desk. I also
thank Allan and Stan Ewert for their work in consolidating the equipment to
the desk and generally tidying the room.

We hope to have our Science Centre radios operational in the very near
future.

Stan Ewert has asked SARL to find another home for the Hamfest trophies
as we are very short of storage room.

Bart stumbled across the fact that we were not up to date with the Great
Plains Free Net, were the RARA web page is hosted. We had an e-mail
virtual motion to renew our membership and to donate a sum that rounded
our cheque to the GPFN to $100. We paid that and ratified the action at
the September Executive Meeting.

The club faces many challenges in the immediate future. The first is the
financial challenge. Our forecasted deficit for this year will exceed
$1000, due to higher insurance, mailbox and telephone costs. Our major
source of revenue is memberships. Our membership year starts on April 1; if
you have not yet renewed your membership, please do so. Any fundraising
ideas are welcome. Hamfests seem not to be as lucrative as they have been in
the past. Unfortunately we need to have income to operate and it our
financial needs are growing due to developments outside the club.

The second challenge is to promote amateur radio, show why it is fun and
useful and maybe as a consequence, attract new members. We should do
this inside and outside the relationship with the Science Centre. I welcome
ideas on any of the above. I have been dabbling with some that involve the
Science Centre. Here are some potential events:
1. 47th Scout Jamboree on the Air - 16-17 October 2004, Saturday, Sunday
2. RAC CANADA WINTER CONTEST 0000 UTC to 2359 UTC on December
18, 2004, Saturday
2. 3. CLARA/GOTA (Guides on the Air) February 19th and 20th, 2005??
Saturday, Sunday
4. IARU Celebrates World Amateur Radio Day 18 April. On this, the 78th
(2003) anniversary of its inaugural meeting in Paris, the IARU dedicates
World Amateur Radio Day to the radio amateurs, educators, and administrators
who use Amateur Radio to support technology education in the classroom.
Monday, April 18, 2005 (We may be able to develop this into an information
session.)
5. RAC CANADA DAY CONTEST 2004 0000 UTC to 2359 UTC July 1, 2005,
Friday

We have in the past hosted all of these events at the Science Centre except
for World Amateur Radio Day.

To succeed at any one of these endeavours, we need enthusiasm, we need
volunteers, we need to co-ordinate with the Science Centre, and we need to
be there. Let's apply directed enthusiasm! We will have to co-ordinate with
the Science Centre if we wish to invite large groups to the Club Room.

If the club is enthusiastic, I will take this list to the Science Centre to
advise them what we would like to do, and to investigate moving the radios
to the exhibit floor for part of these events.

Another part of this challenge will be to investigate developing a permanent
amateur radio exhibit at the Science Centre.

There is yet another challenge, the upkeep on the Burnside School building
that the club owns. We need to fix the roof, evaluate the bulging wall and
persuade the mice to live outside. This will need a lot of thinking.

That's all I have time for. See you at the meeting.

So to wrap up, if you see an executive member or other director, thank him
on behalf of the club for responding extraordinarily to the problems of the
club in the Summer of 2004.


73
John Allen, VE5SJA, RARA President


PUBLIC SERVICE REPORT

The Red Cross is holding a Registration & Inquiry Training
session on October 19th & 20th, 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm each night, this
year...this would be an excellent opportunity for amateur operators to
learn how we would assist the Red Cross in a disaster...probably one
evening would do the job for the amateurs...the agenda has not been
set as of this date but will be forthcoming...
73 - Bruce. VE5RC


IRLP NEWS

HURRICANES CHARLEY AND FRANCIS
A combined system of IRLP and Echolink supplied a valuable com-
munication resource at the time Hurrican Charley blew across
Florida, enabling stations on repeaters in the storm area handheld
coverage. This operation once again proved the usefulness of merging
Internet and Ham Radio technologies. An internet site was also set
up to provide a streaming audio feed of the on-air net activities for
those stations wanting to listen to the communications via internet.
As a result of lessons learned from Charley, there now is a listen-only
reflector which allows IRLP repeaters to listen to the traffic without the
possibility of interfering with the nets, or overloading reflectors
used for emergency communications. The reflector used for Francis
is 9206. It allows us locally to dial up our repeater to listen to the
emergency nets.

The Internet Radio Linking Project Reflector 9257 is used to
communicate American Red Cross disaster communication plans and
practices nation wide. The net meets every first and third Sunday
Evening at (9 PM)2100 Hrs. EDT, (8 PM)2000 Hrs. CDT, (7 PM)1900 Hrs.
MDT, (6 PM)1800 Hrs. PDT, (5 PM)1700 Hrs. AKDT, (3 PM)1500 Hrs. HAST
(0100Z Monday) on the IRLP Western Reflector (channel 9257). The net
is also intended as a forum for coordination between ARC,
ARES /RACES, FEMA, and Homeland Security.

REPEATER NEWS

The Stranraer repeater, VE5UB on 147.03 received a lightning strike
which destroyed most of the repeater equipment. The repeater will
be off the air until further notice.

SILENT KEYS

Johnny Sandison, VE5AAS, became a silent key on August 17th. He was
well known as a radio and TV announcer, but he was also an active
amateur. His passion was CW which he learned as a radio operator in
the navy, and later turned to ham radio to maintain his proficiency. He
acted as Master of Ceremonies at several Regina Hamfests. He was 78.

With sadness we report the death of Ina Brander, formerly VE5HO. Ina was
the xyl of Sid Brander, ex VE5DO - now VE7SBE), and was one of the early
YLs licenced in Saskatchewan. They were both very active in Regina and
moved to the Victoria area after Sids retirement. Our sympathies go out to
Sid and their two sons.


TECHNICAL CORNER

WHICH WAY DOES CURRENT FLOW? submitted by VE5RC

Flow, that is the word that got me thinking. Our common concept of
current flowing like liquid in a pipe or water in a hose is wrong. When a
potential is applied to a wire the electrons move a bit until they hit another
electron which moves a bit more until it hits another electron, and so
on until one or more move at the other end of the wire. The electrons never
get too far from where they started. Current is more like a bunch of people
lined up shoulder to shoulder. when you apply a potential or shove the
first person moves over a bit , the next person has to move a bit, pushing the
next person over a bit, and so on, until the last person in line moves
over as much as the first one, or nearly so, there are always losses. With AC
the electrons move back and forth, bumping into eachother and pretty much
keeping there original positon.

Of course the concept of flow is left over from the days when
electricity was thought to be a fluid. Stored in Leyden jars. Maxwell borrowed
heavily from fluid dynamics to generate his equations. The vector equations
concerning the flow of incompresssible liquids will look familar to
anyone who has taken E&M.

Of course this is all a bit of a nit, but it is more relevant to QRP
than much of what has been on the list lately. You won't read this in the NY
times. or find it in your operating system, broadcast near the QRP
calling frequency, or even in the book of Genesis (Why is this so if God
created electrons? Or is it that he isn't clear which way they flow either? You
would have thought that he would have gotten around to explaining this
to us by the time the Book of Revelation came around :^)=). It's not in your
dictionary, on e-bay or in the necronmomicon. I suppose that one might
have found it on the internet in the old days, but active denial doesn't
function that way.

Off the soap box. - Dr. Megacycle KK6MC
______________________
James R. Duffey KK6MC/5
Cedar Crest NM 87008 DM65

NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

AUSTRALIAN HAM RADIO CHANGES

Canadian amateurs may be interested in reading the following news item
(Thanks to QNEWS) from Australia. The government down there has
decided on several changes to the way amateurs will be licensed
and regulated in the future.

The Australian Communications Authority (ACA), in concluding its inquiry
into Amateur Service regulation, has decided to introduce a new entry
level licence giving access to the 3.5, 7, 21 and 28 MHz bands, plus 2m
and 70cm, with a 10-watt transmitter power limit be it voice or morse.

The only restriction is to "voice modes" or "morse code". There seems no
restriction as to modulation method except that it comply with an 8 kHz
bandwidth below 28 MHz.

Licence syllabuses are to be overhauled to provide greater emphasis on
interference resolution, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposure
requirements and RF safety. In the future all new radio amateurs in
Australia will be required to undergo a practical assessment in addition
to a written examination or continuous assessment by a credited institution.

The new Foundation licence will require the passing of an examination with
emphasis on the safe operation of amateur radio equipment, and a
practical element involving the operation of transmitters and receivers.

There will be no age limit nor tenure limit for this licence. It requires the use
of commercially made transmitting equipment. The ACA has decided on a
three-tier licence restructure - Foundation (new entry level), Standard
(Novice-Limited and Novice) and Advanced.(Limited, Intermediate and
Unrestricted). None of these licences will require the passing of tests in
Morse code telegraphy.

Those who currently qualify for the Standard licence will gain access to
the 20m, 6m and microwave bands in addition to their current Novice
and Novice-limited privileges. A 100W PEP limit will apply.

The Advance licensees will gain access to 2-letter suffix callsigns if available.


The ACA will leave current callsign arrangements, to enable ready recognition
of licence type and geographic location. It will introduce four-letter callsign
suffixes in 2005. Some rearrangement of callsign blocks will be required
when the new licensing options are introduced.

In early 2005 Canadian radio amateurs with a CEPT permit are expected to be
able to operate in Australia without the need to take out a temporary VK licence.

Speaking of overseas operators, the ZL's are said to be awaiting THEIR
ministries announcement, reportedly due in hours and rumored to also be
leaving their call signage alone, as ACA have done with ours, and
empowering their limited licences with General class privileges.

The removal of restrictions on amateur stations connecting to the telecoms
network will be welcome by those using IRLP and Echolink and who want to
pursue future communications technologies as they evolve.
As the proposed ACA changes require amendments to legislative instruments
an implementation date is not known although early 2005 has been mooted.
From RAC

HAM RADIO ROCKET MAKES HISTORY

Ham Radio-Carrying Rocket Exceeds Goal; Avionics Recovered Intact
(May 19, 2004) -- An Amateur Radio direction finding team has recovered
intact the ham radio avionics package from an amateur rocket that made
history by breaking through the barrier of space May 17. Following its
launch from Nevada's Black Rock Desert, its sponsors say the solid-fuel
rocket easily exceeded its primary goal of attaining an altitude of 100 km--
62 miles--considered the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space.
Avionics Team Leader Eric Knight, KB1EHE, told ARRL that the 21-foot,
10-inch diameter Civilian Space Xploration Team (CSXT) GoFast vehicle
reached an altitude of 77 miles according to its onboard instruments,
making it the first amateur rocket to do so.

RAC NEWS

RAC Bulletin 04-22E - Industry Canada Gazette Notice DGRB-003-04
on Morse Code.

On Saturday, 28 August, 2004, Industry Canada published Canada
Gazette Notice DGRB-003-04 - Consultation on "Recommendations
from Radio Amateurs of Canada to Industry Canada Concerning Morse
Code and Related Matters", and invited comments. Amateurs have
sixty days in which to respond.

The RAC Proposal deals with the WRC-2003 decisions concerning
Morse as a mandatory qualification for HF operation in the Amateur
Service. RAC has recommended that Industry Canada delete the
mandatory requirement for Morse testing but leave it as a voluntary
qualification as it may be required for reciprocal operation in those
countries retaining a Morse requirement.

Amateurs should address comments to Industry Canada as directed
in the Notice. RAC recommends that Canadian amateurs endorse
this proposal.

Amateurs with questions for RAC should direct them to their regional
RAC Director.

The Notice is available at:
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf06456e.html

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

KINGSTON, R.I. -- June 2, 2004 -- Rob Vincent, an employee in the University
of Rhode Island's Physics Department, proves the adage that necessity
is the mother of invention.

An amateur radio operator since he was 14, Vincent has always lived in
houses situated on small lots. Because he couldn’t erect a large antenna
on a confined property, he has been continually challenged over the years
to find a way to get better reception.

"I was always tinkering in the basement. Thank goodness, my parents were
tolerant. I can still remember my poor father driving up our driveway after
a hard day’s work to see wires wrapped around the house," Vincent recalls.

"The Holy Grail of antenna technology is to create a small antenna with high
efficiency and wide bandwidth," explains Vincent. "According to current theory,
you have to give up one of the three—size, efficiency, or bandwidth—to
achieve the other two."

After decades of experimentation, combined with a 30-year engineering
career and Yankee ingenuity, Vincent has invented a revolutionary antenna
technology. The distributed- load, monopole antennas are smaller, produce
high efficiency, and retain good to excellent bandwidth. And they have multiple
applications.

With this technology it will be possible to double, at minimum, the range of
walkie-talkies used by police, fire, and other municipal personnel. Naval ships,
baby monitors, and portable antennas for military use are other applications.
An antenna could be mounted on a chip in a cell phone and be applied to
wireless local area networks. Another application deals with radio frequency
identification, which is expected someday to replace the barcode system.

"It could even make the Dick Tracy wrist radio with all the features, such as
Internet access, a possibility," Vincent says.

The inventor pursued his quest to build a better antenna in earnest eight years
ago when he and his significant other moved into a house situated on a 50-foot
by 100-foot lot in Warwick. There was nothing on the commercial market that
could fit the lot that would provide the performance Vincent needed to be
heard in distant lands and that would be acceptable to his neighbors. All the
small antennas being sold were inefficient and lacked bandwidth, which
resulted in low performance and high frustration.

Vincent looked at the techniques that were currently used to reduce antenna
size and realized something was missing in the way everyone was approaching
the problem.

He began to model various combinations into a computer program called
MathCad. His first attempt produced a 21 MHz band antenna that was
18 inches high. Normally, antennas for this band are 12 to 24 feet high.

Vincent installed the antenna in his back yard. The legal limit that amateurs
can operate is 1,000 watts with the norm being 100 watts. The amateur
radio operator experimented with 5 to 10 watts. He reached a station in
Chile and made contacts in various European countries. Meanwhile he
kept adding power until it reached 100 watts. That’s when things suddenly
went bad. Walking outside in the backyard, he understood why. The antenna
had melted.

After examining the molten matter, Vincent wasn’t discouraged. This was only
a small model and not designed to handle much power. The part of the
antenna that failed proved to be the key to the design. After analyzing the
failure, Vincent realized that he was able to transform a lot of current along
the antenna with even relatively low power.

"Antennas radiate by setting up large amounts of current flow through
various parts of their structure," he says. "The larger the current the more
radiation and the better the output of the antenna."

Vincent went back to the drawing board and continued to improve the
technology. Relying on his nearly 30 years at Raytheon Co. and at KVH
Industries in Middletown R.I., which provided him with a diversified
background in electronics and electronic systems, Vincent overcame a
myriad of problems and succeeded.

He established three test sites for various prototypes. Antennas were
placed in Westport, Mass. in a salt marsh, the best ground for transmission
and reception. Another set of antennas was placed on rocky ground in
Cumberland, R.I., the worst kind of site, and at a Warwick site which is
in between the two in terms of grounding. The antennas, which resemble
flagpoles, worked well at all locations.

Tests confirmed that Vincent has created antennas at one third to one
ninth of their full size counterparts. Normally smaller antennas are only 8 to
15 percent efficient. Vincent’s antennas achieved 80 to 100 percent efficiency
as compared to the larger antennas.

A patent is pending on Vincent's technology. The inventor has made the
University of Rhode Island and its Physics Department partners that will
benefit from any revenue his invention earns. "The University and its
Physics Department has been very supportive and given me time and
space to work on this project," says Vincent who was recently presented
the 2004 Outstanding Intellectual Property Award by URI's Research Office.
"I couldn't have done this without the University's support. It's only fair
that it share in the profits."

Copyright © 2002 University of Rhode Island (Disclaimer)

LAST MONTHS PUZZLER

Area repeaters VE5ARG, VE5TH and VE5WM all orginally had different
callsigns. Can you name the three callsigns?
If you got all three you are an oldtimer. They were VE5KE, VE5RRG and
VE5SS.

THIS MONTHS PUZZLER

What is the purpose of audio de-emphasis in an FM receiver?

Answer next month.



MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

To join or renew, fill out the form below and follow the instructions
at the bottom. Support Ham Radio in Regina.


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R.A.R.A. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Name __________________________________ Callsign___________

Mailing Address ___________________________________________

E-Mail Address _____________________________________________

I enclose _____ Single membership ($25.00) New _________

_____ Family membership ($30.00) Renewal______

Give this application with your membership fee to
the club treasurer VE5LAT or send it to: Regina Amateur Radio Association
Box 153
Regina, Sask. S4P 2Z6

The membership year runs April 1st to March 31st.

SUPPORT AMATEUR RADIO AND YOUR LOCAL CLUB

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