GUYWIRE
FEBRUARY 2008
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: FEBRUARY 13 7:30 PM IMAX BOARD ROOM
Saskatchewan Science Center. Use IMAX entrance and take elevator up to
the top floor. See the Presidents report for details on the evening
presentation.
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PRESIDENTS REPORT
Our January meeting had some good discussion on the use
of IRLP. This formidable system has proven itself to be
very useful in many different ways. The need to have very expensive
high output transceivers is not totally necessary all the time. With a
handheld transceiver linked into the internet you are able to talk to
many parts of the world. This allows most amateurs to continue to talk
around the world for a minimal investment while not having to deal with
large antenna structures and maintenance. This has proven to be very
useful for any amateurs that have had to move to a building that does
not allow for antenna structures.
From this discussion the request was made to have a live
demonstration of the process utilizing the system. The presentation
this month will have us adjourn to the club room at the conclusion of
the business portion of the meeting. Stan VE5SC will demonstrate with
the club equipment how to get access to different locations on the IRLP
and how to close down the system. If you have any questions or would
like to see this demonstration, please attend the meeting on Wednesday
February 5, 2008 in the Board Room on the 3rd floor of the Science
Center.
It is now February and our year end is fast approaching.
This year there will be openings for the following
positions on the executive: President, Secretary, and 2
members at large on the executive.
If you would like some information as to what is involved
with each of these positions I would be happy to discuss
them with you.
The club bylaws require the change in these positions on
a 2 year basis.
The changes in each position are healthy for the club.
New ideas are formed and projects can proceed. If you
would like to let your name stand for one of these
positions, just let us know.
See you there.
Darrell Dickson VE5SX
Editors Note
Have you got a comment, story or anything that you think
might interest fellow hams, why not send it in to Guywire?
We also welcome any comments about Guywire. Would you like
to see it in another format? Word, PDF? Would you open attachments?
Would you like to be the editor? I have been putting out Guywire for 10
years now and would be happy to see someone new take over.
SPECIAL EVENT STATION
VE5LGT Cochin Lighthouse.
August 15-17, 2008. (During the International
Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend).
by Eric, VE5EL and Murray, VE5MC.
Two stations, 100watts, SSB only, Dipoles and Vertical.
ILLW No. CA0013
QSL: QRZ.com or Buro.
IT AIN'T AMATEUR RADIO?
"That ain't amateur radio". Thats what some hams, mostly oldtimers, say
about the new digital and VOIP communication modes. They forget one
thing... and this brings back a story from many years ago. A ham in
Wadena named Andy Malowanchuck VE5MA, came on the air one day using
Taylor Modulation. Today it is known more by its function than by its
developer. We refer to it as single sideband. There was an uproar on
the bands. "Sounds like Donald Duck", "It's impossible to tune it in",
"It ruins the band for the rest of us", "Who would ever want to use
it?" were some of the tamer comments. Despite the naysayers, SSB took
off and soon it became the defacto voice mode on HF radio, and this was
long before the commercial communicators took notice of the benefits.
The purpose of this story is to illustrate that some things that may
seem detrimental at first may turn out to be very beneficial. We are at
another crossroads with the advent of the digital revolution. Digital
and VOIP modes are here whether we use them or not. The challenge is
going to be to integrate ham radio into the digital world in such a way
as ham radio continues to be relevent. Work on radios strengths. Modes
such as PSK are prime examples of how well this can be done and how
useful it can be. When it comes to VOIP modes we have to be more
careful. A ham talking on his computer to another ham on a computer
leaves the Radio out of Ham Radio. Many commercial interests are eyeing
our ham bands. Our 2 meter band is smack between two crowded commercial
bands and most commercial equipment built to operate on those bands
will work just as well on 2 meters. It would be very easy for them to
move in. Let us not give them the opportunity to say "those hams aren't
using those frequencies anyway, they are all talking on the internet".
We must use and develop the new technology and integrate ham radio into
it. PSK and IRLP, both radio-to-radio modes are excellent examples.
Mostly, we must use our bands, all of them. Like they say "Use them or
lose them". Keep our hobby vital. "Thats Ham Radio".
WINDSHIELD ANTENNAS?
Engineers at Ohio State University have found a way to
convert two common car window components into AM/FM
radio antennas. The marriage of these two technologies
may lead to invisible radio antennas that not only
receive AM and FM signals, but also defrost windshields
and help keep car interiors cooler.
Eric K. Walton, senior research scientist and adjunct
professor of electrical engineering, said that this
work is a response to the auto industry’s desire to
build more antennas into new cars.
“We’ll soon see car antennas not just for radios, but
for radar, cellular phones, and global positioning
systems,” said Walton. “That’s why we’re developing multi-purpose
antennas that fit unobtrusively into the windshields of cars.” -cgc
communicator
OUR ARCHAEOLOGY REPORT
After having dug to a depth of 10 meters last year, New
York scientists found traces of copper wire dating back
100 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a
telephone network more than 100 years ago.
Not to be outdone by the New Yorkers, in the weeks that followed,
California scientists dug to a depth of 20 meters, and shortly after,
headlines in the LA Times newspaper read: "California archaeologists
have found traces of 200 year old copper wire and have concluded that
their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications
network a hundred years earlier than the New Yorkers." One week later,
"Moose Jaw Times Herald", a local newspaper in Saskatchewan reported
the following: "After digging as deep as 30 meters in sagebrush fields
near Moose Jaw, Ole Johnson, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that
he found absolutely nothing. Ole has therefore concluded that 300 years
ago, Saskatchewan had already gone wireless. -thanks to ve5ltd
MANITOBA/RAC HAMFEST
The Winnipeg Amateur Radio Club will be holding a Hamfest
from August 8 – 10, 2008, in conjunction with the Radio Amateurs of
Canada (RAC) Annual General Meeting. More details to follow.
MORSE CODE STILL REQUIRED
A recent ad hoc survey of International Amateur Radio Union Region 3
member societies, has found that a number of countries still require a
Morse code proficiency test for their higher grade of amateur licences.
These include China, India, Japan, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Most have
retained a 5wpm test requirement, although Malaysia remains at 12wpm
with a proposal to drop it to 8wpm. China has experienced a growth of
some 30,000 new radio amateurs in the past four years, and at the
moment considers the Morse code tests for its Class 1 and Class 2
licences are necessary to maintain the more traditional style of HF
amateur radio. -credit RAC
WEBSITES OF THE MONTH
It looks like we are finally into the new solar cycle.
Details at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/
14dec_excitement.htm?list79056
A huge collection of amateur licence plates. Go to:
http://plates.hfradio.net - hfradio
160 meters to 24 GHz in one mobile vehicle: Unbelievable
mobile station:
http://www.winlink.org/Stations/N5TC.htm
LAST MONTHS PUZZLER
If, as part of your station you owned a Telerana, what would you have?
Answer: It is a light weight rotatable log periodic antenna. (ve5lat
was first with the right answer)
THIS MONTHS PUZZLER
If you were concerned about GHA, what part of the hobby would you be
involved in?
Answer next week.
R.A.R.A. Membership Application 2007– 2008
(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