Central Alberta Amateur Radio Club
Jun 16th
Web link with photo: http://wp.rac.ca/red-deer-hamfest-central-alberta-amateur-radio-club/–
Rac Comms
Jun 8th
Radio airwaves get buzzed from pot By Trevor Hughes,
A few years ago, retired electrical engineer Tom Thompson noticed it was
getting harder and harder to hear his friends across the country talking to
him on their ham radio sets. So Thompson built a portable antenna system to
track down whatever was interfering with his radio transmission.
The culprit? Marijuana grow operations, whose powerful grow lights can emit
interference blocking radio broadcasts on the ham and AM spectrums.
The first grower he encountered wasn’t pleased to know Thompson, now 73,
could tell what was going on. “He said, ‘What are you going to do, call the
cops?’ Thompson said. “And I said, ‘Well no, it’s a federal matter.
‘ With 22 states and the District of Columbia allowing medical marijuana,
and Colorado and Washington permitting recreational use, there’s been an
explosion in the number of people growing their own pot, much of it indoors.
With that growth has come increasing interference from the grow lights,
which suck down huge amounts of electricity to shine upon budding marijuana
plants. Growing pot indoors is usually more secure and gives the grower more
control over light, water and insects, which results in higher-quality
plants commanding a premium price.
The interference problems from one type of system have gotten so bad that
the amateur radio association, ARRL, filed a formal federal complaint on
behalf of the country’s 720,000 licensed ham operators. The problems are
worse in Colorado and California, said Sean Kutzko, an ARRL spokesman.
The interference is caused by what are known as “ballasts,” electronic
systems controlling the grow lights. Unless they’re properly shielded, the
ballasts can throw off a wide range of interference. “We’re seeing numerous
cases … and that’s causing us a problem,” Kutzko said. “We just want to
make sure the manufacturers are in compliance with FCC laws. The FCC has the
power to regulate anything that interferes with licensed radio
transmissions, such as ham sets, but also cellphones and AM radios.
May 4th
Reprinted from AMSAT NA
Phase 1 Fox satellites are 1-Unit CubeSats. They each include an analog FM repeater that will allow simple ground stations using an HT and an “arrow†type antenna to make contacts using the satellite. This was the mode made so popular by AO-51. The Phase 1 CubeSats also have the capability of operating in a high-speed digital mode for data communications. Two of our phase 1 Fox satellite projects have already been accepted into the NASA ELaNa program for free launches.
We now have a launch for Fox-1 in 2014. These Keplerian elements approximate the perigee, apogee, and inclination of the orbit. They have been tested in several popular tracking programs, and will give a good feel for the availability and footprint to be expected. Other details will depend on the launch site and deployment profile.
FOX-1
1 99999U 13001AÂ Â 13115.03159480Â .00000000Â 00000 0Â 00000 0 1Â Â Â 14
2 99999Â 64.0000 106.4735 0200000 270.0000 180.0000 14.81480000Â Â Â 10
With the IARU coordination received, the uplink frequency will be 435.180 MHz, and the downlink frequency will be 145.980 MHz. For those using the SatPC32 tracking program, you can add the following line to the DOPPLER.SQF file:
FOX-1,145980,435180,FM,FM,NOR,0,0,Preliminary
We will update these as the launch approaches and more specific information becomes available.
Apr 21st
Mar 24th
Congratulation Jeff VA6JL who bought, borrowed, aquired and traded for all the equipment needed to put together 3 fully functional linked UHF repeaters and install them at three sites on a shoestring budget. The usual HAM way.
CROSSFIELD Â ( NOT AT MONIES MUSHROOM ) Â Â Â 448.750 – 5 MHZ Â PL 107.2
Feb 1st
RAC Notification:
RADIO AMATEURS OF/DU CANADA applauds 60 meter band frequency allocations!
RAC has been working on achieving this new band allocation since 2010.
Industry Canada has announced that a number of specific frequencies within the 60 meter high frequency band have been approved for amateur radio use as RAC advocated. This is now in effect.
A total of five specific frequencies within the 5 MHZ band have been allocated, 5332 kHz, 5348 kHz, 5358.5 kHz, 5373 kHz and 5405 kHz. Radio amateurs across Canada have new frequencies to explore as a result of a recent decision of Industry Canada.
“Canada has joined a number of countries in making channels available in the 60 metre band, near 5MHz for use by radio amateurs. This will provide increased ability for Canadian radio amateurs to help out in providing emergency communications when existing systems fail as has happened in ice storms and flooding. We applaud this decision of the Canadian government.” said Geoff Bawden, President of Radio Amateurs of Canada.
Unlike the commercial communications systems so important to modern society, amateur radio does not require an extensive infrastructure for communications. Radio amateurs take advantage of natural phenomena to send their signals across town and around the world. They delight in being able to set up in a remote location with their own power supplies and simple antennas, often home built, competing to see who can make the most contacts in a limited time. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service in Canada, sponsored by RAC, provides training and organizes exercises for radio amateurs to sharpen their skills to be able to respond to emergencies. As well these organizations and amateur radio clubs often provide communications to community public service activities and events such as ski races and marathons, bicycle races and car rallies. The skills radio amateurs develop through their hobby and these activities mean that in emergencies that shut down power grids, internet and wireless communications, amateur radio can continue to function. In major emergencies such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011 and the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines last year amateur radio operators are often the first source of information from affected areas.
The key resource for amateur radio is access to the radio spectrum. Conditions in the atmosphere and high in the ionosphere determine the distances over which communications are possible. The new allocation at 60m between existing allocations at 80 m and 40m should make regional communications more reliable. Furthermore as Canada and the United States have allocated many of the same channels to their radio amateurs cross border communications are possible. Fortunately major emergencies are relatively rare. Radio amateurs will explore communications on the new frequencies as they do in all available bands, experimenting, learning and making new friends across the world.
TECH DETAILS
The five 60 metre channel allocations are the same as authorized in the USA, with the same power restriction of 100 watts ERP (relative to a dipole antenna). Transmissions, independent of emission mode, must be centered on the each of the following frequencies: 5.332, 5.348, 5.3585, 5.373, and 5.405 MHz with a maximum allowable channel bandwidth of 2.8 kHz. When operating SSB, upper sideband will be the convention to follow on the 60 metre band. Other modes that are permissible will be CW, Data (including PSK 31 and Pactor III), and RTTY. With this latest authorization on operation on the 5 MHz channels to Canadian Amateurs with HF privileges, there will no longer be a requirement to operate under a special Developmental license and VX9 call sign. Holders of such licences can now let them lapse. Canadian amateurs should refer to the posting of RBR-4, Issue 2, for all details before proceeding to operate on the new 60 metre channels: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf10650.html (copy the link to your browser)
Their curiosity and eagerness to develop and share this hobby will enrich the communities where they operate and provide needed resilience in communications when emergencies require it.
Technical details of this decision can be found here: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf10623.htm (copy the link to your browser)
Tech/Admin contributions, Norm Rashleigh VE3LC. Glenn MacDonell VE3XRA.
