The Communicator May-June 2025

Another full issue

Its a big issue, and great articles, along with our regular columnists.

Now read in over 165 countries, this issue brings you 120+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and around the globe. 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.

Download the May-June 2025 Communicator in 
LARGE or SMALL format, or read it on-line like a magazine

Previous Communicator issues:

Search for past Communicator issues

We now have a comprehensive searchable index back to 2007
HERE.  

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

73,

John VE7TI
'The Communicator' Editor

The Table of Contents for the May-June 2025 Communicator issue:

• The Rest of the Story: Pavel Schilling .............................................4
• NEW! A Complete Search Engine for The Communicator ..............7
• News You Can’t Lose: ..................................................................12
• News You Can’t Lose: Some enjoyable listening ahead! ..............12
• News You Can Lose: ARRL New Taxes for DX QSOs ..................13
• Mentoring Young Hams .................................................................15
• Post Special Event Summary: Operation Manna: .........................18
• Manna@80: The more unique contacts made by VB7MAN ..........24
• Radio Oranje and the ‘Kraut Sieve’ ...............................................25
• Radio Ramblings: Computing Science and Amateur Radio ..........28
• Computing Science and Amateur Radio ........................................28
• A LoRa-Based Mesh Network for Emergency Communication .....39
• A Heathkit “Cantenna” Deep Dive ................................................41
• Testing “Cantenna” oil ....................................................................43
• Making a Better Heathkit "Cantenna" ............................................46
• Another Notable Manna/Chowhound 80 Contact ..........................48
• Exploring the iCOM IC-7300's Internal Antenna Tuner ..................49
• Automatic Antenna Tuners & Couplers ..........................................52
• Electronic Keyers & Keyer Paddles ...............................................53
• Transients and Spikes on Power-line Voltage: ..............................55
• So... What is an MOV? ..................................................................57
• Testing MOVs ................................................................................59
• A Cheap and Light Weight HF Antenna .........................................60
• SO-124 [HADES-R] Satellite .........................................................61
• Tracking the ISS with an Arduino-Based System ..........................63
• Wondering where you can be heard? ............................................64
• A Reference for Coaxial Cable ......................................................65
• YADD: Maritime HF Activity Revisited ...........................................66
• The Mystery of the Mis-keyed Callsign ..........................................69
• Exploring Digital QSL Cards with DigiQSL: ...................................70
• How to Operate Pedestrian Mobile ................................................72
• Ham Radio Outside the Box: 25 Years a Ham ..............................75
• 2m: Weak-Signal Performance of Common Modulation Formats .79
• Zero Retries: An Introduction to the IP400 Network Project ..........82
• KB6NU: Buttons Are Back, Baby! ..................................................85
• KB6NU: Single sideband and a HAMNET update .........................87
• Foundations of Amateur Radio: .........................................................
• What is the difference between a Dummy Load and an Antenna? 88
• No-ham Recipes: Chinese Chicken in Sauce ................................91
• Back to Basics: A Balancing Act ....................................................92
• Profiles of SARC members: Jaspal Bagha VA7JB ........................98
• The Contest Contender: CQ WPX SSB ......................................102
• The Contest Contender: The 2025 ARRL Rookie Roundup ........104
• VB7MAN Participates in an International Microwave Party .........105
• High School Communications Course Update ............................113
• SEPAR Report: Winlink reestablished in the SEPAR program ....115
• QRT [Opinion]: The FCC Policy Statement .................................118
• Ham Leftovers... ..........................................................................121
• A look back: May 2015... .............................................................122

Tomorrow starts Manna/Chowhound Weekend

Manna@80! 

Operations Manna and Chowhound were lifesaving food drops to Northwest Holland 80 years ago, just prior to the end of World War Two. Over 20,000 people had died from starvation and a colder than normal winter. Allied pilots and support staff from the UK, the US, Canada, Poland, and Australia dropped over 7,000 tons of food behind enemy lines. 

There are 10 special event stations operating in these countries Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27. If you contact 4 or more, a special event certificate will be issued. Check QRZ.com for any of the following callsigns or Manna80.radio on the web where the stations’ current operating frequencies are available via HamAlert.

​

Participating stations:

Netherlands

1. PH80MAN: Operating from drop zone Duindigt near The Hague.

The UK

2.  GB80MAN: International Bomber Command Centre

3. GB8MAN: Royal Air Force Station Binbrook

4. GB80CHO: 100th Bomb Group Museum in Thorpe Abbots


The United States

5. W4C: Boca Raton Amateur Radio Assn


Canada

6. VB7MAN: Surrey Amateur Radio Communications in Surrey, BC

7. VB6MAN: Calgary Amateur Radio Club at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta

8. VE1MAN: Pictou County ARC in Picton, Nova Scotia


Australia

9. VK80MAN: Bull Creek Aviation Heritage Centre Perth, Australia


Poland

10. SN80MAN: The SP5KAB Radio Club

We hope to make contact with you.

 ​

~ John VE7TI

A very special eleventh team will join us for MANNA@80!

More Operation MANNA News

Operation Manna and Operation Chowhound were humanitarian food drops to relieve the famine in Holland behind Nazi lines late in World War II. 20,000 people had died from starvation and 980,000 were malnourished. Many had survived by eating pets and spoiled food. Some even eating tulip bulbs leading to poisoning. 

Allied forces air crews from the U.K., Canada, the U.S., Australia and Poland participated. From these countries there will be ten Amateur Radio stations participating in a special event commemoration.

Now for the very special part! 

We will be joined in our commemoration by a very special team. Trevor Brook G3WBQ, and his Dad Dr. Maurice Brook, will operate a station from Dorking, UK.

Dr. Maurice Brook was a Navigator on Lancaster’s with 625 squadron and flew the operation Manna missions. Dr. Brook is 100 years old, it is a massive honour to have him take part in this event for us at the International Bomber Command Centre and for all of the teams around the world. We can't thank him and Trevor G3WBQ, his son, enough.

Dr Brooks story in the IBCC digital archive

Muriel and Maurice Brook at the opening ceremony of
the International Bomber Command Centre in 2015.

Dr Brook still remembers Operation MANNA well:

• “Children in the streets and our aircrew chocolate with handkerchief parachutes to be thrown from the rear turret.”

•  “The German Command had refused a request, through the Red Cross, to allow army lorries to cross the border with food supplies. When asked to allow safe passage to an air drop they had also refused. Nevertheless, we were told that we were not to fire unless fired upon.”

•  “We were below church spires and just above chimney pots.”

• “As we swept over the houses and streets we could see adults and children waving excitedly, Some were weeping, soon so was I, as I still do when reminded. You could have recognised anyone, we were so low.”

• “We saw German machine gunners swing their weapons towards us and we did likewise to them, but no one fired.”

If you need more information about this special event, please visit: About Operation Manna / Chowhound

73

~ John VE7TI