ARES

ARES call outs or on air exersises

Ham radio operator jumps in to help woman in Florida during Hurricane Ian

Ham radio operator jumps in to help woman in Florida during Hurricane Ian

Click this link  for the full story.

 

Field Day Pictures 2021

Thanks to everyone who submitted these pictures. Be sure to check all four pages at the bottom of the first page for all the pictures. 

These are the field day results as submitted to ARRL (Thanks VA6SGL ) Great job everyone!

Provinces and states worked.

Provinces and states worked.

VE6QE_FD_Report

 

 

Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, SK

Amateur Radio in Space Pioneer Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, SK

Owen Garriott W5LFL first ham in space
W5LFL operating 2 meters
Bob King VE6BLD Calling W5LFL on the Spacecraft Columbia on Dec 5, 1983

04/15/2019

Audio received in 1983 from the Columbia Space Shuttle by Bob VE6BLD using a home made turnstile antenna on the roof

The US astronaut who pioneered the use of Amateur Radio to make contacts from space — Owen K. Garriott, W5LFL — died April 15 at his home in Huntsville, Alabama. He was 88. Garriott’s ham radio activity ushered in the formal establishment of Amateur Radio in space, first as SAREX — the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, and later as ARISS â€” Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.

“Owen Garriott was a good friend and an incredible astronaut,” fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin tweeted. “I have a great sadness as I learn of his passing today. Godspeed Owen.”

An Oklahoma native, Garriott — an electrical engineer — spent 2 months aboard the Skylab space station in 1973 and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 during a 1983 Space Shuttle Columbia mission. It was during the latter mission that Garriott thrilled radio amateurs around the world by making the first contacts from space. Thousands of hams listened on 2-meter FM, hoping to hear him or to make a contact. Garriott ended up working stations around the globe, among them such notables as the late King Hussein, JY1, of Jordan, and the late US Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA. He also made the first CW contact from space. Garriott called hamming from space “a pleasant pastime.”

“I managed to do it in my off-duty hours, and it was a pleasure to get involved in it and to talk with people who are as interested in space as the 100,000 hams on the ground seemed to be,” he said in an interview published in the February 1984 edition of QST. “So, it was just a pleasant experience, the hamming in particular, all the way around.”

Although Garriott had planned to operate on ham radio during his 10 days in space, no special provisions were made on board the spacecraft in terms of equipment — unlike the situation today on the International Space Station. Garriott simply used a hand-held transceiver with its antenna in the window of Spacelab-1. His first pass was down the US West Coast.

“[A]s I approached the US, I began to hear stations that were trying to reach me,” he told QST. “On my very first CQ, there were plenty of stations responding.” His first contact was with Lance Collister, WA1JXN, in Montana.

ARISS ARRL Representative Rosalie White, K1STO, met Garriott when he attended Hamvention, “both times, sitting next to him at Hamvention dinner banquets,” she recounted. “Once when he was a Special Achievement Award winner, and once with him and [his son] Richard when Richard won the 2009 Special Achievement Award. Owen was unassuming, very smart, kind, and up to date on the latest technology.” Garriott shared a Hamvention Special Achievement Award in 2002 with fellow Amateur Radio astronaut Tony England, W0ORE.

Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, was a private space traveler to the ISS, flown there by the Russian Federal Space Agency, and he also carried ham radio into space.

EMO worker tries to drum up enthusiasm for ham radio

EMO worker tries to drum up enthusiasm for ham radio

In an emergency, ham radio is an essential form of communication, Mike Johnson says

A free workshop about ham radios will be held in Sackville on Oct. 22. (Nicole Williams/CBC)

A ham radio probably isn’t the first form of communication a person thinks about in an emergency, but sometimes, it’s the only one that works.

Ham radios can use wireless transmission to send messages to battery-operated radios.

And they can be useful when large storms knock out telecommunications, says Mike Johnson, the Cumberland Regional Emergency Management co-ordinator.

He is partnering up with EOS Eco-Energy and the West Cumb Amateur Radio Club to hold a free workshop in Sackville to try get more people interested in ham radios.

Different technology

Johnson, who is also a member of the WestCumb club in Amherst, N.S., said that when we lose essential communications such as cellphones, landlines and the Internet — a ham radio can come to the rescue. Hurricane Michael, which struck Florida this week, devastated normal channels of communications.

Storms that knock out telecommunications for long periods of time create more problems for co-ordinated emergency response, he said.

He said he’s already seen how ham radios could help in New Brunswick.

In January 2017, a massive ice storm knocked out power to thousands in the northeast for days.

Operators dwindling

“It became very difficult,” said Johnson.

Today, ham radios are considered a hobby more than a necessity, and not many people know how they work.

“Our numbers are dwindling,” Johnson said of the amateur radio clubs.

But younger members are needed, especially since the clubs’ services may be needed even more as the climate changes.

“We still use Morse code to this day,” he said.

Requires a test

Johnson said there are a few steps to becoming a ham radio operator.

“You need to study, take the test, once you pass it’s a one-time cost,” he said. “It’s good for life.”

After that, it’s just buying the equipment to use. Equipment for amateur radio costs between $300 and $5,000.

The workshop will be held at the Sackville Royal Canadian Legion on Monday, Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m.

Jack Humphries VE6JRH/VA6IX Silent Key

Photo of Jack in operation

It is with sadness we announce the passing of Jack Humphries VE6JRH/VA6IX from Olds. Jack received his Amateur Radio license in June 2001 and had been very active on the bands ever since.  Jack was very instrumental in helping many hams obtain their licenses and he made many friends on HF and VHF.  Jack worked many stations around the world on various bands and was always listening and ready to engage everyone in a meaningful conversation. He will certainly be missed.

Jack’s funeral service will be held on Friday April 20th at 11:00 A.M. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3802 57 Ave. Olds.

The following is from a profile of Jack, written on the CAARC web site October 30, 2003.

I grew up on a farm southwest of Drumheller, Alberta, just south of the Horse Shoe Canyon. I came down with Diabetes Mellitus in 1947, which certainly changed my way of life.

My father took ill in 1950 and my work load at age eight got considerably heavier, with lots of chores to do. Dad then suffered a stroke in 1952 and work around the farm got a lot harder. I started driving truck and hauling grain when I was ten years old. Dad passed away in 1953 when I was eleven. I had a younger brother and two younger sisters.

I met my XYL in Calgary during 1960 and we went our separate ways until we married in 1965. We lived in Calgary, on 42nd Street SW, had two children, a boy and a girl. We subsequently moved to Olds, Alberta in 1969. We bought a shoe store in 1974 and sold it during the devastating inflationary early eighties. I presently work in Life Insurance and Mutual Funds as an independent broker.

Please click this link to read the complete profile of Jack.

ARES NET CONTROLLER SCHEDULE

 

Please see the attached schedule for dates through to April 2018. If you’re unable to run the net on a given date please arrange for someone else to stand in.

If I have missed anyone who would to volunteer please let me know.

 

Thanks and 73

Stephen Lee, VA6SGL CEC

CAARC and Red Deer Area EC

 

ARES Net Control Schedule

ARES Net Control Volunteers

Firstly, I acknowledge the contribution made by Greg VA6GMC as ARES Net Control; thank you Greg.

ARES Red Deer is seeking volunteers to take on Net Control duties for the Sunday evening ARES Net. If you’re new to ARES, this is a good opportunity to learn or improve your net control and traffic handling skills.

There is a script to follow, and, in general, the Net doesn’t take more than 15 to 20 minutes. If you are able to commit to operating Net Control once every five weeks, I’d like to here from you.

Once there is at least five volunteers, a schedule will be drawn up with volunteers operating in rotation.

If you’re interested and would like to know more drop me a line at stephen dot lee@shaw dot ca, or give me a call at four zero three-three zero seven-1643.

If you’re already an ARES member that’s awesome, it not, why not sign up; just ask for details.

73

Steve VA6SGL CEC

CAARC and Red Deer & Area EC

 

CAARC Members receive awards for volunteering during the last year.

CAARC Members receive awards for volunteering during the last year. Congratulations to the members who received Volunteer Service and Volunteer Service with Excellence awards.sam_8454

Congratulations to Doug VE6DJC on winning the GIZMO! We look forward to seeing what he adds to it for next year’s Christmas dinner!

 

 

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