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This Week in Amateur Radio
- Via the RAC: ARISS Contact: YOTA Camp 2024 at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 9
RAC Canada Day Contest-report
Well the RAC Canada Day Contest is over for another year.
As with all the RAC Contests I set certain goals for my self and for this one was no different.
The goals were as follows:
HAVE FUN- This is a must. I am a casual operator and not a βdyed in the woolβ contester. The main thing is to have fun and keep it friendlyβ¦ This was not an issue and I had a blast working across Canada.
TRY AND WORK CANADA COAST TO COAST TO COAST-
Well almost⦠I had contacts in:VE1, VE2, VE3, VE4, VE5, VE6, VE7, VE8, VE9 and VO1. East Coast to the West Coast and the North West Territory.
Unfortunately this time VO2,VY0, VY1 and VY2 escaped me.
HAVE A SCORE IN THE TOP 50% OF MY CATAGORY. Needless to say that this time its not going to happen. I made contacts on 15m, 20m and 40m and they were good contactsβ¦. I just needed more of them.
After about 9 hours of radio stretching it out over a 24 hour period it was all over. One of the lowest scores I will not be submitting but it was still fun.
Onwards and upwards soβ¦. Happy 4th of July to my American Friendsβ¦. Iβve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.
Check out their website for more information.
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Then it looks like its back to βPlaying Potaβ again β¦.
73bob
Via the RAC: July-August 2024Β eTCA is now available
Hope the bands improve in time for the RAC Canada Day Contest
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Thatβs a reminder that the RAC Canada Day Contest starts at 0000 hrs UTC on July 1st and runs for 24 hours. The link will take you to the RAC Website and you can look over the rules.
Hopefully the Propagation Deity will be smiling on us for the Contest.
73bob
Hope the bands improve in time for the RAC Canada Day Contest
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Thatβs a reminder that the RAC Canada Day Contest starts at 0000 hrs UTC on July 1st and runs for 24 hours. The link will take you to the RAC Website and you can look over the rules.
Hopefully the Propagation Deity will be smiling on us for the Contest.
73bob
Modern Amateur Radio Hobby β An Introduction
Modern Amateur Radio Hobby β An Introduction
Field Day 2024 Results
The Coles Notes Version:
Operated for approximately 12 hoursβ¦.
81 SSB contactsβ¦. on 4 amateur bands
54 contacts on 40m, 16 contacts on 15m, 10 contacts on 20m and 1 contact on 80m.
Furthest contact was with KL7SB in Alaska, with the next furthest being K6JO in Orange County (LA) California.
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Made numerous contacts up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
My Yaesu FT991a worked flawlessly and the antennas I used was my 60 ft (approx) inverted L for 40 and 80m.
My homebrewed modified Coastal 20 antenna was excellent on 15m and 20m.
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This was a great βWarm upβ for the RAC Canada Day Contest coming up on July 1st
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Thanks for the contactsβ¦
73bob
Field Day 2024 Results
The Coles Notes Version:
Operated for approximately 12 hoursβ¦.
81 SSB contactsβ¦. on 4 amateur bands
54 contacts on 40m, 16 contacts on 15m, 10 contacts on 20m and 1 contact on 80m.
Furthest contact was with KL7SB in Alaska, with the next furthest being K6JO in Orange County (LA) California.
![](../themes/icons/grey.gif)
Made numerous contacts up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
My Yaesu FT991a worked flawlessly and the antennas I used was my 60 ft (approx) inverted L for 40 and 80m.
My homebrewed modified Coastal 20 antenna was excellent on 15m and 20m.
![](../themes/icons/grey.gif)
This was a great βWarm upβ for the RAC Canada Day Contest coming up on July 1st
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Thanks for the contactsβ¦
73bob
Field Day 2022
Traditionally held on βThe Last Rainy Weekendβ in June but for the sticklers for the rules its actual date is the 4th weekend in Juneβ¦
This year it would be on June 22nd and ending on June 23rd
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So what will VA3QV be doing???? Its safe to say that my Field Day Station will look a bit like this:
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or like this from back in 2017β¦.
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So I plan to be operating as a 1B Battery Station from the RAC Ontario East Section (ONE)
The actual location has not been determined yet but there is a good chance the location could be one of the Parks on the Air location in the City of Kingston.
Thatβs the plan for good weatherβ¦ and so far the long range forecast is calling for nice (dry). If the weather is not dry then the plan is to operate as a home station in the 1D catagory just to give out points to the participants
If you are new at this then the rules can be found here:
Years ago Field Day was considered a test of our emergency operating skills specifically to set up and operate a station for 24 hours and somehow it has morphed into more of contest with groups of operators putting up equipment that would not be used in a real emergency at power levels that could not be maintained unless you had a generator and an endless supply of gasoline.
Iβm a little more primitive by setting up my QRP (5w of power) radio with a wire antenna and using a solar panel to top up the battery as needed.
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I will have the option of being under cover (see above pic) as protection from the sun and/or rain most likely be needed at some time . Not sure how long I will be operating but it wonβt be for the full 24 hours.
Overnight all I would be doing is listening to static and feeding the mosquitoesβ¦
No egos to strokeβ¦. Just operate and make some contacts with the emphasis of having fun and not taking myself too seriously.
Hope to hear you and be heard by you during the event
73bob
Via the RAC: Canada-Wide Science Fair and STEM Expo: May 26 to 31, 2024
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This Week in Amateur Radio
- Radio silenced: Ransacked shed has Cambridge Amateur Radio Club off-air (Ontario)
Radio silenced: Ransacked shed has Cambridge Amateur Radio Club off-air (Ontario)
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This Week in Amateur Radio
- Via the ARRL: Youth on the Air (YOTA) will be accepting in-person donations of eclipse glasses
Via the ARRL: Youth on the Air (YOTA) will be accepting in-person donations of eclipse glasses
Radio enthusiasts mark Guglielmo Marconi anniversary
A upcoming βNewβ QSO Party
The following info came in via the RAC Bulletin Service but for me at least it was a bit difficult to cut and paste the info as my newly improved mail software insists on giving me adverts in the middle of the long messages. I guess you do get what you pay forβ¦.
Here is the link to the site with the information:
HamSCI Presents the Solar Eclipse QSO Party: April 8, 2024 β Radio Amateurs of Canada (rac.ca)
I will be listening around and participatingβ¦. especially if the sky is cloudy during the event. But seeing that Kingston is right in the pathβ¦. maybe not
Above graphic courtesy of : https://eclipse2024.org (its worth visiting their site)
73bob