The final issue of the year. The November-December Communicator, digital periodical of Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is now available for viewing or download. Some great projects and articles in this issue including a terrific Ham IV rotator upgrade, suggestions for affordable test instruments, and complete introduction to 3D printing, with special emphasis on amateur radio applications. Our regular columnists will also provide you with some interesting experiences.
Now read in over 165 countries, we bring you 125+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is December 15th.
If you have news or events from your club or photos, stories, projects or other items of interest from BC or elsewhere, please contact us at communicator@ve7sar.net
An important stage in the liberation of Western Europe
Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the German-occupied Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944. Its objective was to create a 103 km salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine River), creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany. This was to be achieved by two sub-operations: seizing nine bridges with combined US and British airborne forces (´Market´) followed by British land forces swiftly following over the bridges (´Garden´).
As part of Operation Market Garden paratroopers of the Allied forces, such as American, British, Canadian, Polish and Dutch troops, landed in the Nijmegen region on 17 September 1944. The region became a battlefield during Operation Market Garden and most of the inhabitants took refuge in the woods or neighbouring towns. It took more than a week of heavy fighting before parts of the region were temporarily liberated. Many people and military were killed and buildings and bridges were destroyed. At the cost of many young soldiers the important Waal-bridge in Nijmegen was conquered. In our collective mind the entire region was completely liberated in 1944, but this was only for a period of three weeks. There was still hard fighting during the winter and complete liberation was not achieved until may 1945.
From September 13 to 19 a special event station will be operating in the Nijmegen region of the Netherlands commemorating 8Ø years of freedom. The callsign is PA8ØOMG.
During 7 days they will activate the callsign PA8ØOMG and work amateur radio operators across the world. If you find yourself in the vicinity of Groesbeek and Nijmegen, be sure to visit us throughout the activities of the special event station. We are situated at one of the exact landing grounds of the 82nd Airborne division in 1944. Our website https://radioclublimburg.nl/pa80omg/index.html
With another big issue to start the fall season. The September-October 2024 Communicator, digital periodical of Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is now available for viewing or download. Some great projects and articles in this issue including a CW decoder, an HF amplifier and a web server for HamClock using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi Zero.
Read in over 150 countries, we bring you 125+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is October 15th and we're especially looking for articles and stories about 3D printing for amateur radio.
If you have news or events from your club or photos, stories, projects or other items of interest from BC or elsewhere, please contact us at communicator@ve7sar.net
With another big Summer issue. The July-August 2024 Communicator, digital periodical of Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is now available for viewing or download.
Read in over 150 countries, we bring you 120+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is August 15th.
If you have news or events from your club or photos, stories, projects or other items of interest from BC or elsewhere, please contact us at communicator@ve7sar.net
Whether you call it Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), Radio Orienteering, Fox or Bunny Hunting
The feature speaker at our May 2024 meeting was Robert Frey WA6EZV. Robert spoke on ARDF - Radio Orienteering - Fox (or Bunny) Hunting. Robert was first licensed in 1968, and his interests include DX and ARDF, as an on-foot foxhunter, for over 20 yrs. He was member of the US ARDF National Team in 2000, 02, 04, and 06 competing in China, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and South Korea.
The presentation was recorded via Zoom so please excuse the video quality which is less than our usual presentations.
Robert Frey WA6EZV
We have documented some of our own SARC Foxhunts in years past, including this locally developed 80m fox receiver:
Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Allied assault on Normandy beaches
From June 4 to 9, 2024, a number of crew members of the Plusscouts PA3EFR/J and other Radio Scouters will be traveling to Normandy (Omaha Beach) to support the international activities of the commemoration services around 80 years of D-DAY.
Operators of this call are the operators of the PA3EFR/J-crew, a specialist group of Scouters, members of Scouting Netherlands through the national Fellowship called Plusscouts. In addition, we have invited some distinguished guests to join our team. This crew primarily brings TDOTA and JOTA to Scouting groups that are eager to get involved in the annual global Radio Scouting activities. Additional information on this years crew can be found on the Plusscouts Website. The station is valid for 2 points in the Dutch Radio Scouting Award scheme.
The good news is that we will be hosted again by the D-Day Museum at Omaha Beach. A radio shack in the backyard of the museum will be part of our radio station and associated radio scouting activities.
QSL cards will be sent out after the event.
Some specific Radio details:
Radio waves (+- QRM)
1.882 MHz LSB
3.682 MHz LSB
7.182 MHz LSB
14.182 MHz USB
21.182 MHz USB
28.482 MHz USB
DMR TalkGroup 907 - JOTA
We join our fellow Amateur Radio Operators in remembering the brave souls who fought for the liberation of Europe.
Please help to commemorate this historic event by attempting a contact during the period indicated.
Remembering the amateur radio account by Gerry Martin W7WFP
On Sunday, March 27, 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major explosive eruption took place 44 years ago today, on Sunday, May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am. The eruption, which had a volcanic explosivity index of 5, was the first to occur in the contiguous United States since the much smaller 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California. It has often been declared the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history.
Mt. St. Helens one day before the eruption and 4 months afterwards
The Role of Amateur Radio - Gerry Martin W7WFP
Gerry, 64, was a volunteer ham radio operator who was monitoring the mountain for the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service. The day before the eruption, he drove his motor home onto a ridge a couple miles north and slightly higher than the geologists’ observation post. When the mountain erupted, he reported to the other ham operators monitoring the volcano, “Gentlemen, the camper and car that’s sitting over to the south of me is covered. It’s going to hit me, too.” As with Dave Johnston, no trace of Martin or his motor home was ever found. The audio account of his observations as the mountain erupted is in an Oregon Public Broadcasting article. The article also has a link to a video of the event.
The eruption claimed the lives of 57 people, mostly through the effects of ash asphyxiation.
With another big issue. The May-June 2024 Communicator, digital periodical of Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is now available for viewing or download.
Read in over 150 countries, we bring you 120 pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is June 15th.
If you have news or events from your club or photos, stories, projects or other items of interest from BC or elsewhere, please contact us at communicator@ve7sar.net
The March - April 2024 Communicator, digital periodical of Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is now available for viewing or download.
Read in over 150 countries, we bring you 120 pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is April 15th.
If you have news or events from your club or photos, stories, projects or other items of interest from BC or elsewhere, please contact us at communicator@ve7sar.net
The Royal Canadian Air Force celebrates 100 years of service and Amateur Radio marks the occasion with special event stations
Surrey, BC
– The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is celebrating 100 years of service this
April, marking a significant milestone in Canada’s military history. This
centennial event offers a unique opportunity to honour the RCAF’s rich
heritage, recognize its dedicated personnel, and generate enthusiasm for its
promising future.
Throughout
2024, the RCAF will be showcased in a past, present, and future context,
emphasizing its contributions to national safety and security, international
peace, and global stability. The RCAF 2024 Team is curating a year-long program
that includes international, national, and regional events. These events
include the RCAF Run, RCAF Gala, Legends of the Sky, and participation of
allied air demonstration teams in Air Shows across Canada. The program also
includes initiatives to inspire future generations of Canadians through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities.
To
commemorate this occasion, Amateur Radio operators across Canada and beyond are invited to
participate in a month-long event. They will have the opportunity to make
contacts around the world on all amateur radio bands and modes using special
event RCAF callsigns. These callsigns have been granted to provincial amateur
radio groups specifically for this event. In British Columbia, Surrey
Amateur Radio Communications is the proud sponsor for VE7RCAF. This callsign
will be available for use by all British Columbia ISED certified operators by
booking time slots during April 2024.
We're hoping to have all bands and modes worked, including GOTA, POTA, and whatever else you can activate. If you are a VE7 or VA7, you can reserve a time slot. Go to the direct calendar link which is now live at: https://bit.ly/VE7RCAF and look for April 2024. The operating rules are at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_fkPdYJ7DDDSLRVGY6822hJ_gd0nEfy6/view?usp=drive_link. Please use your own callsign as the operator, but VE7RCAF as the station callsign for the log.
The VE7RCAF and several other provincial QRZ pages are also active now. QSL cards and awards will be available to commemorate contacts, and special recognition will be provided to those who contact all the RCAF special event stations across Canada during the month.
The RCAF
Centennial is more than a celebration; it’s an opportunity to showcase Air
Force personnel and their accomplishments, demonstrate air and space power,
enhance the reputation of the RCAF, and proudly honour its distinguished
history and heritage.
For more
information on the RCAF 2024 Centennial, please visit the official website at
RCAF 2024 Centennial: https://rcaf2024arc.ca/
At our January 2024 monthly general meeting (held via Zoom) Kevin McQuiggin VE7ZD/Kn7Q presented on GNURadio,
What is this GNU?
Aside from the wild beasts of Africa, GNURadio is an open-source software toolkit that provides signal processing blocks to implement software-defined radios (SDRs) and other digital signal processing systems. It allows users to design, simulate, and deploy radio systems in software, enabling the development of a wide range of radio communication applications.
Here are some key aspects of GNU Radio:
Software-Defined Radio (SDR): GNU Radio is widely used in the field of SDR, where radio functionality is implemented in software rather than hardware. This provides flexibility, allowing users to modify and experiment with radio protocols, waveforms, and processing algorithms.
Signal Processing Blocks: GNU Radio provides a collection of signal processing blocks that users can connect to create custom signal flow graphs. These blocks perform functions like modulation, demodulation, filtering, frequency shifting, and more. Users can combine these blocks to create complex radio systems.
Wide Range of Applications: GNU Radio can be used to develop a variety of applications, including but not limited to:
Communication Systems: Design and implement various communication protocols, such as AM, FM, SSB, LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.
Radar Systems: Create radar signal processing chains for applications like target detection and tracking.
Radio Astronomy: Process and analyze radio signals from space to study celestial objects.
Wireless Sensor Networks: Implement communication protocols for distributed sensor networks.
Extensibility and Customization: Users can extend GNU Radio by creating their own signal processing blocks, allowing for customization and the integration of specialized functionality.
Graphical User Interface (GNU Radio Companion): GNU Radio comes with a graphical tool called GNU Radio Companion (GRC), which allows users to visually design signal processing flow graphs. GRC simplifies the creation of complex radio systems by providing a drag-and-drop interface for connecting signal processing blocks.
Active Community: GNU Radio has a vibrant and active user community that contributes to its development. This community-driven approach results in continuous improvement, updates, and the sharing of knowledge and resources.
GNU Radio is widely used in academia, research, and industry for prototyping, experimenting, and implementing various radio communication systems. It plays a crucial role in advancing the field of software-defined radio and empowering individuals and organizations to explore and innovate in the domain of wireless communications.
You can watch Kevin's presentation on YouTube;
Kevin has included several links at the end of his presentation
Further Information:
In September 2023 Our Communicator journal included an excellent article by Kevin titled: "The “What’s It?” Of WSPR" that touched on many of the same principles as GNURadio.
Another of Kevin's articles, titled: "Introduction
to Digital Radio" was published in our January 2024 edition. Both of these will provide excellent supporting information for Kevin's GNURadio presentation.
