GUYWIRE
JANUARY 2007
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
www.sarl.ca/rara
The website 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 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10TH 7:30 PM
at the Science Centre - Imax Board Room
VE5TLW will give a presentation on Winlink.
PRESIDENTS REPORT
Our December General Meeting Business was Tabled to January.
A Good attendance and enjoyable evening by all for the Delicious
Christmas Supper at Buffet Village. Thanks to Keith (VE5AFK) for
organizing the supper.
This month we will have a presentation on WINLINK by
Terry (VE5TLW).
Our Remote Base Committee has been collecting information and will
update us on their findings.
The presentation by Stan (VE5SC) in October was CBK. After this
enlightening presentation we had planned to make a field trip to see
this site and building. We have since found out that the site will be
demolished and there is nothing left to see. So our Field trip will be
canceled.
The basic class is well under way. The estimated time will be about mid
February for testing. Our teachers are very flexible and able to change
the format to fit the need of the class. Well Done and Thank you for
your dedication.
We are now starting to plan for the Annual General Meeting, there are a
few executive positions that will be open to voting. Stay tuned for a
list of these positions next month.
Projects List that we will be working on this year. This is not a
complete list.
. Paint - Burnside Building
. Cut Grass - Burnside Building
. Run antenna cables for club house HF equipment
. Organize Club House and stock pile storage from Astronomy Club. .
Repair 2mtr antenna on top of Club House. . Research the possibility of
using the solar power equipment at science center. . Determine the
feasibility of installing a remote base system at the Club House. .
Field Day . Develop a computer presentation to run for the science
center displays. . Join us at our next meeting 7:30 pm Wednesday
January 10, 2007 in the Board Room at the Science Center. Coffee and
Dessert will be available.
73's
Darrell Dickson
VE5SX
PUBLIC SERVICE EVENTS
The 2007 Scout Klondike Hike will be held on Sat., Feb. 3/07.
I will require about 25 amateurs for this event. Please contact VE5CS
(Jim) if you can help Jim Sandercock (VE5CS)
IRLP NEWS
Once again the annual New Years Net was a resounding success. The net
is held every New Years eve to bring in the new year across the world
starting with New Zealand on the IRLP Reflector 9200. Stations from
around the world checked in and at peak times there were almost 120
nodes connected to the reflector. Saskatchewan was well represented
with nodes in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Melville and Regina. John VE5EI
took the opportunity to wish many stations a Happy New Year from
Regina. The net was a real test for our IRLP node. With almost constant
activity, the repeater and IRLP link equipment was transmitting with a
duty of cycle approaching 100% for over 8 hours. Both the IRLP system
and the local node handled the load without any problems.
SASKATCHEWAN HAMFEST
Clear your calendar. July 7th is the date for the Saskatchewan Hamfest
which will be held in Moose Jaw this year. More details with be
forthcoming soon.
U.S. DROPS CODE REQUIREMENTS
n an historic move, the FCC has acted to drop the Morse code
requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes. The Commission today
adopted a Report and Order (R&O) in WT Docket 05-235. In a break
from typical practice, the FCC only issued a public notice at or about
the close of business and not the actual Report and Order, so some
details -- including the effective date of the R&O -- remain
uncertain. The public notice is located at,
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-269012A1.pdf.
-RAC
POLICE USE PLAIN LANGUAGE IN RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
Some police officers believe law enforcement will never completely
abandon the use of radio ten codes that have been around almost since
the advent of mobile communications, but for incidents involving
multi-agency responses, plain language transmissions are fast becoming
the rule.
The 120 agencies currently authorized to use the Los Angeles Regional
Tactical Communications System are already required to speak in plain
English when communicating via the network. -CGC Newsletter
B.C. STORM AFFECTS AMATEUR RADIO
The recent winds in B.C. not only had a devastating effect on trees but
also on radio towers. The 100 foot tower for the VE7VIC and VE7RTC
repeaters in Victoria folded over in the wind and is a complete loss.
The VE7VIC IRLP node is out of service until further notice but plans
are underway to replace the tower with a new self supporting tower.. To
see the effects of the storm, go to www.ve7ed.com thanks to VE5DCP
SPECIAL EVENT PREFIXES
Reginald Fessenden, who was born in East Bolton, Quebec, on October 6,
1866, and lived until July 22, 1932, was the holder of more than 500
patents on a wide variety of subjects, and the inventor of radio as we
know it today. He is particularly known for: the first voice
transmission by radio in 1900, the first transatlantic two-way radio
communications in January 1906, and the first radio broadcasts of
entertainment and music in December 1906.
On Christmas Eve, 1906, from a transmitting station in Brant Rock,
Massachussetts, he sent a short program which included the song O Holy
Night played on the violin and a reading from the Bible. A second short
program was broadcast on December 31, 1906. The Fessenden station,
located at Brant Rock, Massachusetts, USA, is said to have operated on
a frequency of about 88 kHz using an alternator with a maximum power
output of about 300 watts.
A century ago, radio - then called wireless - was amazing the world. A
century later, radio - once again being called wireless - is still
amazing the world in new ways. Surely Fessenden, who later in life was
an active radio amateur from his station VP9F in Bermuda, would marvel
at the progress that continues to be made in digital voice and other
technologies that could hardly have been imagined in 1906.
At the request of Radio Amateurs of Canada, Industry Canada has
authorized all Canadian radio amateurs to use special event prefixes
for the months of December 2006 and January 2007, to mark the 100th
anniversary of the first AM voice broadcast by Reginald Fessenden on
December 24, 1906.
Canadian radio amateurs are authorized to use the following special
event prefixes during the period 1 December 2006 to 31 January 2007
inclusive: CF for VA stations CG for VE stations CH for VO stations CI
for VY stations
For more information on Reginald Fessenden, see the biography at
<http://www.hammondmuseumofradio.org/fessenden-bio.html>.
BTW, information on special prefixes assigned by IC can be found at
<http://www.callsign.ca> or <http://www.indicatif.ca>.
73,
Rich VE3KI (aka VE3IAY; CG3KI during December and January)
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WEBSITES OF THE MONTH
Try this interesting amateur radio site.
www.101science.com/amateurradio.htm
R.A.R.A. Membership Application 2006 – 2007
(Please write clearly and enter Y or N in boxes as required)
Name: _____________________________________________
Call Sign: ______________ Current RAC membership
Mailing Address: _____________________________________
_____________________________________
e-mail Address: _____________________________________
Renewal or New Membership
Single Membership ($30) ____ Family membership ($35) ____
I have enclosed $____ for ____ membership(s) indicated above. Please
include this application with your fee to club treasurer Allan Tidball
or mail cheque to Regina Amateur Radio Association
(VE5LAT) Box 153 Station Main
Regina, Sask. S4P 2Z6