YRARC in 2025

We begin 2025 with a new insurance program from Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), our national organization, which provides general liability, property and some directors' and officers' coverage. While the liability insurance is more expensive than our commercial carrier, it provides greater coverage and most important, insurance not only for the club but for its members. As described by RAC, members of both YRARC & RAC receive liability coverage for all their amateur radio activities (albeit with certain exclusions for high risk activities), and YRARC members who are not also members of RAC will be covered while participating in club-sponsored activities (like field day or public service).

The board also reviewed our existing property coverage and determined that while our coverage of the trailer and its equipment are adequate, the repeater equipment has excessive coverage. This has been corrected, and along with the better rates offered by RAC, we were able to significantly reduce the premium without increasing our exposure. This money can be put to better use for repeater & trailer maintenance and upgrades and for that purpose we have created a reserve fund, which will be increased over time annually as our income permits.

During the summer our web site provider decided to remove the low-cost option we were using, effectively tripling the cost of maintaining the web site. We decided to move the site to a private server using a WordPress platform and this is about to launch. It should also be easier for the site's contributors to keep content up to date.

2024 was a good year for the club. In 2023 we started training new amateurs again and those new hams have become active participants in the club. In January we welcome on of those new hams, Rose VE3SFP, to the board of directors. Her official duties will be determined at the board's January meeting. 

We also had our first hamfest since 2019. With rising costs of venues, it was scaled down from last decade's events at the Markham Fairgrounds, which is now priced beyond viability, but it met our participation and financial goals. Thanks go to the many club members who contributed to its success, and to Jan VE3ZYL for organizing it.

Our ARES Team, along with interested club members, were busy in 2024 with two major exercises and several training classes, including IMS (Incident Management System) levels 200 and 300 classes that were held by the Region of York Emergency Management Office, and ACS (Auxilliary Communication Service) training by Jason Tremblay of RAC. We're looking forward to expanding the core ARES team in 2025 along with some additional preparedness initiatives.

Eric VE3EB and all the public service volunteers had their busiest year ever with events. Not only is this fun to do, and good training, but it provides an immense benefit to the club's image in the community. This pays dividends in attracting new members and winning the support of other organizations in the community. Thanks go to the many volunteers who stepped forward to help.

At the close of 2024 we also mourn the loss of former member David Oman VE3HCR in September.

At the start of 2025 we are looking forward to welcoming new hams, putting some new initiatives into action, and getting together with friends old and new for some ham radio fun.

Wishing everyone a safe, healthy & prosperous 2025,

Chris VE3NRT

President, York Region Amateur Radio Club

YRARC's 2015-2016 Season Blasts Off

The first meeting of the new YRARC year is behind us. Even though the summer seemed all too short, it was great to see everyone again as well as see some new faces and especially some guests who were looking to get their ham licences.

Thanks to Dave VE3OOI for his informed and interesting presentation on model rockets and (fortunately!) static display. They were impressive home-built vehicles.

Next meeting will feature Paul Delaney. Don't miss it!

Members assemble for the Meeting

Pause for Refreshments - Steve VE3EZ and Nick VE3NJV

Geoff VA3GS looking for a lucky winner

Alex VA3ASE, Trevor VE3SLT & John VE3IPS

Chris VA3DXZ and Anthony VE3HIS

Alf VA3BLE signs up a member

Terry VE3ODM and Brian VE3IBW

The picture on the left of +Barry Byrom VA3LLT and +Bill Reid VA3QB clearly shows that we have diversity on the club's board and membership, while on the right Dave VE3OOI talks rockets with Doug VE3ATP.

Dave VE3OOI Introduces his Topic

And the winner is...

The coveted YRARC Field Day "Melted Coffee Pot" award went to Roger, VE3ROG, for a small oversight regarding a vital antenna connection on the 80m phone station. Quickly resolved through the use of sophisticated analysis tools and several pairs of eyes, it still held up operations long enough to be noticed by Steve VE3UT, our Field Day Director. So after Field Day operations were closed for another year, the proud tradition of presenting the award to the ham who created adversity, then overcame it, lived on. Steve also had the honour of presenting Roger with the award.



The award, now made more elegant through the efforts of Doug VE3VS who built the fine wooden base, provides room for plaques to honour winners for many more Field Days to come. You can see Doug below looks fondly down on the award, no doubt thankful for missing the opportunity to win it this year, turning in a fine score on the 40m CW station.



This is the fourth time the award has been presented, having been conceived in adversity with an unfortunate application of too much force (of the electro-motive kind) to a Field Day coffee pot. It is a testament to the tenacity of past winners that all of them were active in the 2015 event.



Congratulations to Steve for organizing yet another successful Field Day for the York Region Amateur Radio Club in 2015!

Setting the Time

I'll admit it. I'm a little bit obsessed with time. I like it when every clock in the house ticks over in perfect synch. Indeed, I will avoid ever buying a clock or device that doesn't keep perfect time.

It is only a minor obsession. I'm satisfied to be within a second which is good for digital communications modes that depend on accurate time, rather than the millisecond or even microsecond precision. Human technology can keep time to within 1 part in 1,000,000,000,000,000 or so but I would soon find myself single if I started investing the family nest egg in Cesium or Hydrogen Maser clocks.

Around a second accuracy is good for the JT modes like JT65 and JT9 (in the WSJT-X or JT65-HF programs), as well as WSPR. It is also handy if you're networking the N1MM logger program so that stations do not enter logs that are in the future, as far as the other stations are concerned.

There are 3 ways I've used to satisfy the craving for accuracy.

1. The Network Time Protocol (NTP). This protocol runs over an IP network and does a great job of keeping computers in synch with each other despite the delays inherent in networks. Windows supports NTP but the implementation is not the best, so I generally use another free package from Meinberg to keep the system aligned with expensive atomic clocks at the National Research Council and other centres around the world. My only complaint with Meinberg is that it takes its time setting the clock after the system starts - around a 1/2 hour - which is pesky, especially on a laptop. All Linux systems have an NTP client available to install.
2. Short Wave Stations. WWV, CHU and others transmit precise time signals, although they are somewhat skewed by the ionosphere unless you happen to live near one. I have an inexpensive clock that is always right which uses WWV. I'm sure there's also an inexpensive way to use WWV to set the computer clock but I've never tried to find one because GPS is so readily available.
3. GPS - GPS (also GLONASS and Galileo) satellites send out very accurate time signals as each satellite contains a Cesium timepiece. Technology is available to use GPS to keep very accurate time for advanced computer and telephony systems but simple software is available for using a standard GPS dongle (either a USB or Serial Port) that usually runs around $20-30 to keep the system clock from drifting. The GPS solution is useful if you don't have an Internet connection, like with portable operation, although NTP works just fine over a mobile phone hotspot.

At home I run NTP. Rather than have each of the computers (and some other devices like NAS storage, TV sets and music players) connect directly to external time servers, I have my Raspberry-Pi single board computer handle the external connection and then act as a server for all the other devices over my local area network. This reduces the load on the external servers and the network traffic, as well as keeping the computers together if the Internet becomes unavailable (together, although only as correct as the Raspberry Pi's clock can maintain).

Computer clocks drift. My desktop system is pretty good at 1-2 seconds per day. The laptops drift several seconds per day. This isn't good enough for JT65 and it is very hard to set them manually. 

I've tried two software applications with my GPS dongle. The first thing you should know is that these applications have to be run with Administrator privileges (e.g. right-click, "Run as Administrator") so that they can change the system time. You wouldn't want any old app doing that.

The first one was a free app from TimeTools called "GPS Clock". It is a very simple app in which you just tell it the com port and it runs, displaying your position, the time and the NMEA messages coming from the GPS dongle. Unfortunately it is a very cranky application so I will only give it two starts out of five (two instead of one because it does work if you're nice to it). There is a configuration setting that determines how many seconds elapse between clock updates ranging from 1 to 60. If it is set to anything but 1 the program will bomb with an error. Also, if you forget to run the program with administrator privilege, it reports an error every second until you kill the program.

The other program is NMEATime from VisualGPS. It works solidly and can use both GPS and a somewhat less accurate NTP called Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP). In addition to the latitude, longitude, altitude and time, it shows the position of the GPS satellites it can see and the signal strengths from each. It also managed to find my GPS dongle on its communication port without me having to tell it which COM port it was on. Unfortunately, perhaps inevitably, the program that works the best is not free - but you get a one month trial and the registration key is a reasonable $15. 

If your GPS unit has the capability, the program will also accept a hardware 1 PPS (pulse-per-second) input, which will give you sub-second accuracy. The 1 PPS output from even very inexpensive GPS devices is usually accurate to a microsecond, and over long periods can be used to synchronize a very stable oscillator to within a picosecond of "atomic time".

For both programs you must make sure that the speed of the COM port matches the device and the program you're using. It won't work otherwise.

For most of us, installing Meinberg, as recommended by the authors of both N1MM and WSJT-X, is all we need to do to guarantee accurate time-keeping by our computers.

73,

Chris

Cool Stuff at the York Region Emergency Preparedness Fair

Lots to see at the Fair today. Don VE3IXJ impressed the East Gwillimbury Fire Department with his $100 portable simplex repeater. The paint can is not only inexpensive but waterproof, which is an important requirement when your job is to make everything wet!



We were also impressed by the York Central Fire's mobile antenna platform. It also serves as a pretty good ladder. Maybe next year we'll shunt feed it for 160m operation.



Both East Gwillimbury Fire and the YRP have air boats. We don't have a lot of swamps and definitely no gators but a standard boat propeller doesn't work too well through a layer of ice.



Also check @yr_amateurradio on twitter for more pictures.

Live from the York Region Emergency Preparedness Fair

The 4th annual York Region Emergency Preparedness Fair is on today, and for the fourth time our Club has participated with an exhibit. This year we have an HF station and D-STAR demonstrations operating from our communications trailer. If you have the opportunity, please stop by! More reports and pictures will be posted later today.

YRARC General Meeting - January 6th, 2015

Meeting held at the Sharon Temperance Hall. The meeting was called to order at 19:30. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. 31 members and 3 guests in attendance; Brian Hopkins VA3BAH, Alex Sutherland VE3ASE, Ian Sutherland

1. Agenda
   
   • The agenda for the meeting was presented by Chris VE3NRT (attachment #1)
2. Adoption of the minutes
   
   • Motion 2015-01-06-01 by Brian VE3IBW to adopt the minutes of the XX general meeting minutes, second by Steve VE3EZ. Motion carried
3. Opening remarks – Chris VE3NRT
   
4. Repeaters – Steve VE3UT
   
   • VE3YRA 145.350Mhz is going off the air next Wednesday Jan 14 2015 at 10am, and will be off the air for 2 weeks to complete work.
     
   • Work is continuing on the project to link VE3YRA to VE3YRC. Bob VE3WY has loaned the club a filter to reduce interference.
     
   • There was a question from the audience asking if VE3YRA will go back to original location. Steve VE3UT reported that it is unlikely we will be relocating.
     
   • New audio messages have been recorded and sent to Steve VE3UT for use on the repeaters. Special thanks to Cindy.
     
   • Question from the audience on the status of the 6m repeater. Geoff VA3GS reported that the frequency pair was unused for 3 years and has been relinquished. A new frequency pair can be acquired but there is presently no location available to host the repeater.
     
5. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • Bank balance at the end of November $22,967
     
   • Income $50.00 dues plus $500 security deposit
     
   • Expenses $5,279 for Hamfest, $278.20 for the Christmas party, $200.00 for Winter Field Day, and $64.21 for the Trailer
     
   • Current balance is $17,695.59
     
6. EMCOMM – Don VE3IXJ
   
   • There were no on air, or face to face meetings held in December
     
   • The group is continuing the work to improve sites
     
   • Work at the East Gwillimbury EOC will begin this year. Don VE3IXJ will take the lead on this site on behalf of EMCOMM
     
   • Next EMCOMM meeting will be held this Thursday Jan 8, 2015 at 7:30pm at the Newmarket Community Centre
     
7. 6m Net – Chris VE3NRT
   
   • Chris VE3NRT has been hosting the net for over a year. Idea is to move the net to different bands / modes (between 6m and 80m) and continue to operate at the same time each Monday.
     
   • Suggestion to use 30m PSK next week. Chris will announce the frequency and mode on the YRARC Yahoo group
     
8. Winter Field Day – Steve VE3UT
   
   • There has been lots of interest expressed by club members
     
   • Reviewed the list of equipment pledged by the participants; Radios, Antennas (R5 in trailer, R8, G5RV, 75m dipole cut to 3.75 MHz, 160m), Coax: Steve asked participants to bring coax, Participants are asked to bring their laptops, Chris VE3NRT will take the lead on logging using N1MMplus, which will be networked across all PCs. Participants are asked to install N1MMplus ahead of the event
     
   • Discussed the station layout inside the Temperance Hall
     
   • Need volunteers to transport Communications Trailer from Bales Road, and tower trailer from the summer Field Day site
     
   • Space heater for the club trailer is needed
     
   • Everything except lights, coffee pots and space heaters to be operated on generators
     Kitchen: we have 14 people who have purchased meal tickets.
     
   • Two generators are available which should meet our needs. Participants are asked to bring extension cords
     
   • Concrete blocks are needed for antenna anchors
     
   • Chris VE3NRT indicated that the rules will allow us to make repeater contacts. All club members are asked to monitor VE3YRC.
     
   • CW and digital contacts on each band count as multipliers.
     
9. Sable Island and Navassa – Doug VE3VS
   
   • There is an amateur radio operator presently working on Sable Island who will try to be on 15m each day around 2220z for about an hour during the month of January
     
   • Navassa Island will be activated for approximately 2 weeks near end of January to mid February, with 5 to 6 stations operating. This is a very rare opportunity. Call is K1N1
     

General Meeting Minutes - 2014-10-07

Meeting held at the Sharon Temperance Hall. The meeting was called to order at 19:30. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. 41 members and 3 guests in attendance.

1. The agenda for the meeting was presented by Chris VE3NRT (attachment #1)
   
2. News – Chris VE3NRT reported that
   
   • Aurora is getting LED lighting
     
   • Aurora council adopted a new tower protocol
     
   • W1AW moving to Virginia, Missouri, and the Mariana Islands at 0000Z
     
3. Project Night – Brad VE3HII discussed / proposed a microcontroller project night. Please contact Brad if you are interested in participating.
   
4. Financial Report – John VA3JI presented the financial report (Attachment #2).
   
   • Closing Balance August 31st [available to members upon request to Secretary]
     
   • Income (Dues and Hamfest) $1,140.00
     
   • Disbursements (Field Day, Trailer, Misc) $745.36
     
   • Closing balance Sept 30th $15,608.19
     
   • Income (Dues and Hamfest) $837.00
     
   • Disbursements (Fees) $8.21
     
   • Balance as of Oct 7th [available to members upon request to Secretary]
     
   • Motion 2014-10-07-01 by John VA3JI to accept the report, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried.
     
5. Minutes of the last meeting:
   
   • Motion 2014-10-07-02 by Geoff VA3GS to accept the minutes of the last general meeting, seconded by Brad VE3HII. Motion carried.
     
6. Field Day Report – Steve VE3UT reported that
   
   • The field day trophy (broken coffee pot award), now has proper plaques installed to record the winners
     
   • Anyone interested in participating in the winter field day event contact him so that he can gauge interest among the club
     
7. Repeater report – Steve VE3UT reported that the repeater committee needs members who have the technical skills to support our repeaters. He provided an update (attachment #3) on the projects underway as follows:
   
   • Communications trailer – Work is underway to tune the duplexer previously installed in Richmond Hill to the new frequency pair. The repeater will also need to be programmed to the new frequency.
     
   • Tower trailer – repeater needs to be installed and tuned. There will need to be a budget approved to purchase materials required (antenna and feedline) and to cover any repairs necessary.
     
   • Tentatively planning to increase the power of the YRK/B D-Star UHF repeater to 75W in the next 2 or 3 weeks
     
   • Looking into the feasibility of a linked UHF repeater in Georgina to improve coverage
     
8. Public service – Eric VE3EB thanked those who volunteered to support the CIBC Run for the Cure and highlighted the concern that the club was short of a full complement of volunteers to support the event. Eric VE3EB asked if the club planned to enter the Newmarket Santa Clause parade. Chris VE3NRT confirmed that the club will support the event. Plans are also underway to support the Bradford Santa Clause parade.
   
9. EMCOMM – Russell VE3WTR reported that
   
   • YRARC served as emergency dispatch to EMS, St John Ambulance, and YRP again this year at the Markham fair. The communications trailer was deployed to the event
     
   • He is working to secure a parking space for the tower trailer at Bales Road site.
     
   • EMCOMM group is looking for more volunteers to act as site owners
     
   • Richmond Hill council has indicated they can fund an amateur radio equipment installation at their site. A volunteer is needed to take the EMCOMM lead with Richmond Hill.
     
10. Hamfest report – Geoff VA3GS reported that set up will start at 1pm on Friday Oct 31st. On Saturday vendors will arrive at 6:30am. Yaesu will be presenting Saturday morning. Volunteers are needed.
    

After the break at 8:06pm Doug VE3VS presented Fox Island Activation (Canadian Islands on the Air - CISA) and Steve VE3EZ presented Durham’s Next Gen Regional radio upgrade project. The meeting adjourned at approximately 21:41

The YRARC Hamfest is 1 week away!

The York Region Amateur Radio Club is proud to present its annual Hamfest at the Markham Fairgrounds. Doors open at 0630 for vendors, 0730 for coffee and snacks, and doors open at 0900 for general admission. Chris Wilson, N0CSW, who is the national sales manager at Yaesu USA, will be making a special presentation at 1030 in Hall 2 on the Yaesu Fusion System.

More information, including directions and talk-in frequencies, is available here. We are having excellent participation from vendors this year so you won't want to miss this year's event!

Many thanks to Geoff VA3GS whose efforts have made this event possible. Please come and support your club by buying some stuff!

73,
Chris VE3NRT

YRARC General Meeting Minutes 2014-09-02

Meeting held at the Sharon Temperance Hall. The meeting was called to order at 19:35. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. 39 members and 2 guest in attendance.

1. Agenda
   
   • The agenda for the meeting was presented (attachment #1). Barry VA3LLT requested that an item be added to the agenda to discuss the trailer. Item was added.
     
2. Minutes of the last meeting:
   
   • Motion 2014-09-02-01 by Bill VA3QB to approve the minutes of the June 3rd General Meeting as published in the Splatter Blog, seconded by Barry VA3LLT. Motion carried.
     
   • Motion 2014-09-02-02 by Bill VA3QB to approve the minutes of the June 3rd Annual General Meeting as published in the Splatter Blog, seconded by Glen VA3AU. Motion carried.
     
3. Opening remarks:
   
   • Chris VE3NRT presented the new board, highlighting that there is still one open position to be filled.
     
     • Chris VE3NRT - President
       
     • Rob VE3RQB – Vice-President, Property
       
     • Chris VA3DXZ - Secretary
       
     • John VA3JI - Treasurer
       
     • Eric VE3OIC VE3EB – Events chair
       
     • Dave VA3DCY - Events
       
     • Geoff VA3GS – Membership, Hamfest, …
       
     • Barry VA3LLT - Property
       
     • Steve VE3UT – TBA…
       
     • Open
       
   • Club’s accomplishments of the last year
     
     • the purchase of a large storage container to house club property,
       
     • reconstruction of the tower trailer,
       
     • improvements to the communications trailer,
       
     • the basic license class,
       
     • the microprocessor project night, and
       
     • a very successful field day
       
   • Old news and gossip
     
     • Two letter calls OIC->EB, PIP->EZ
       
     • Brad VE3HII moved to Beeton
       
     • Chris VA3DXZ moved to Schomberg
       
     • Anthony VE3HIS put up a tower
       
     • Chris VE3NRT talked to his neighbour about maybe putting up a tower
       
     • Bruce retired to his country home in FN05
       
     • Hamfest back to Markham Fairgrounds
       
     • Equipment donations received
       
   • Goals for the coming year
     
     • Increase membership; Another class in the Spring, Marketing (mostly free) activities, Member survey
       
     • Another project night – Thanks Brad!
       
     • Special Event Station – 177th anniversary of the Toronto Rebellion
       
     • Community Service Tracking
       
     • Balanced Budget
       
4. Financial update, John VA3JI (Attachment #2)
   
   • FY 2015 Opening balance [available to members on request to Treasurer]
     
     • Income (July and August) $500.00
       
     • Disbursements (July and August) $1,215.70
       
     • Closing balance Aug 31st [available to members on request to Treasurer]
       
   • Pending items
     
     • Payments for field day
       
     • income for Hamfest tables
       
   • A special meeting will be called to approve the audit
     
5. Field day Steve VE3UT
   
   • Participation by members was up this year. A lot of fun had by many people.
     
   • Total score submitted to ARRL was 3,598, slightly higher than last year at 3,496 See Field Day report prepared by Steve VE3UT
     
6. Public service update Eric VE3EB
   
   • Eric thanked those people who volunteered their time over the summer to support the community events
     
   • Volunteers needed for upcoming events; Sharon Temple Illumination, Markham Fair, and CIBC Run for the Cure
     
7. Hamfest Geoff VA3GS
   
   • Hamfest is the largest fundraising event for the club and volunteers are needed to support the event
     
   • Don VE3IXJ thanked Russell VA3WTR for his work and support of the Markham Fair organizers which led to improved pricing for the club and the ability to relocate the Hamfest to the Markham Fairgrounds site
     
8. Communications trailer Barry VA3LLT
   
   • Barry reported that the communications trailer has been deployed to many public service events throughout the summer
     
9. 6m Net is still on 8PM Monday evenings at 50.135 USB
   

Meeting adjourned at 21:30 following a presentation by Don VE3IXJ on his work with portable repeaters. Don has been experimenting with the Surecom SR 328 Duplex Repeater Controller and the SR 112 Simplex Controllers interfaced to various HTs. The duplex controller is used with a Sinclair MR356E Duplexor (F1 458Mhz, F2 468Mhz).

Links of the Summer

July and August have been slow months for the submission of interesting links so I've combined July and August. If I've missed any that are still in my inbox then I will include them next month.

73,
Chris VE3NRT

1. Canadian Amateurs Receive the Order of Canada: ARRL Article; Southgate News Article; The original RAC link, submitted by Steve, VA3SRV, was broken in their web site move. Google to the rescue!
   
2. UK APRS Balloons Circle Globe [Patrick VE3WST]
   
3. Bringing down a 380' Cell Phone Tower [Steve VE3EZ]
   
4. Info on VE3PIC repeater. Steve VE3EZ is interested in receiving signal reports for both the current and future location of this repeater. It is located in Durham but provides coverage in York.
   
5. Field Day Press Coverage [Barry VA3LLT]
   
6. ISS on Field Day [Steve VA3SRV]. As many of you know from the last meeting Brad VE3HII managed to contact several of the astronauts on Field Day, prior to his computer packing it in due to a power surge.
   
7. The Open Repeater Project. This project based on Raspberry Pi or Beaglebone single board computers is in its early stages. [Steve VA3SRV]
   

My Field Day 2014 - Digital Station

As band captain of the digital station once again, I had two important goals for 2014. The first was to beat last year's score (and targeted 500 contacts compared to 243 last year). The second and far more important goal was to lose the competition for the coffee pot award, which I won handily last year due to antenna and software problems. Fortunately this year things went better and there was more competition so I lost by a mile.

The antenna setup was much easier using the club's radial-free Cushcraft R8 instead of my 30 year-old Butternut HF6V. By Friday evening we had it up, tested and made a couple of DX contacts on 15 metres. We also strung up a home made 40m dipole which I'd built and tuned as an inverted V during my diving trip to Florida in April. True to theory, in the dipole configuration the antenna tuned a bit higher in the band but with about 2:1 VSWR on the digital subband of 40m and 3:1 on 15m it was well within the capabilities of my tuner. The club tri-bander was also available but we soon decided that it would need some repair work before it could be used again, so we set it aside for the event.

Another advantage over FD 2013 was a year's experience with my transceiver. My first contact on that transceiver was on Field Day 2013 and since that time it has logged another 5000 or so, probably about 1/2 of those in one digital mode or another.

Start-up was not without challenges, though. Digital operation requires an audio interface, rig control, PTT, etc. etc and the software didn't work quite right at the beginning causing a few minutes delay that was quickly resolved. I'd brought my docking station to provide extra USB ports and used every single one of them. The worst of the problems was that input monitor switch on the audio interface became set by accident and caused a sharp feedback sound on transmit that took a few minutes to locate, but we were shortly up and running RTTY on 15 metres.

Unfortunately Brian VE3IBW and I didn't get the QSO rate we were looking for, partly because of band conditions and partly because there was less RTTY activity than expected, so by about 6pm we were well short of the QSO rate we needed to be to hit our target. We had started on 15m but had trouble finding new RTTY stations to work so we went to 20m to work some more. After a while 20m became unproductive so I went over to the 40m CW station and talked to John VA3JI who was the operator at the time to let him know that I was going to try 40m and to let me know if he was getting any QRM. Fortunately there was no QRM even though we were operating at the maximum power for our class and the next 12 hours or so was entirely on 40 and the QSO rate started to pick up.

As night fell the tent filled up with mosquitoes and other annoying insects so Publius VE3XS commandeered the bug zapper from the (now closed) kitchen which made short work of them, and surprisingly didn't cause any QRM. On my list for next year is to bring my own zapper.

By 3AM however, the doldrums set in once again so in desperation I took a break to configure FLDIGI (software for digital modes) with N1MM. Having access to the Internet via my cell phone really helped get it up and running. Once configured, we went to PSK and spent most of the remaining time in that mode. There were many more PSK operators and we really started to make hay, even though the sunshine was still hours away. By the time Brian returned at 6:30 AM I was able to turn the station over to him with just 25 contacts to go to beat the previous years' high water mark.

The other change we made this year was to use a home-made dipole and an additional antenna. On 40m it seemed to work better than the Cushcraft so we turned the R8 over the GOTA station and ran the dipole for most of the remainder of the contest.

I went home to get a few hours of sleep and when I got back to the site at around 1PM I found that Brian had had an outstanding morning on PSK and we were closing in on 300 contacts. By the end we'd reached 309 QSOs using two modes on 3 bands, a new high water mark to beat in Field Day 2015. Next year we are thinking about using a second receiver for spotting unworked stations and maybe setting up for 80 metres as well. The multi-band capability of the digital station really helped rack up the points. In the picture below, you'll see the Coffee Pot Award being presented to someone other than me.



With the great weather, great food (Thanks Peter!), great organization (Thanks Steve!) and great company (Thanks everyone!) it was all in all an excellent weekend.

YRARC Board Meeting July 15th, 2014 - Minutes

Meeting held in the lower room of the Magna Centre. Called to order at 19:02. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. Board members attending: Chris VE3NRT, Rob VE3RQB, Chris VA3DXZ, John VA3JI, Eric VE3EB, Barry VA3LLT, Geoff VA3GS, David VA3DCY. Board members absent: Steve VE3UT. Club members attending; Bob Rennie VA3BSJ

1. Review of the agenda as proposed by Chris VE3NRT (attachment #1)
   
2. Adoption of June 17th board meeting minutes
   
   • Motion 2014-07-15-01 by Geoff VA3GS to adopt minutes as published in the Splatter blog, seconded by Rob VE3RQB. Motion carried.
3. Election of officers – President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary
   
   • By acclamation, Chris VE3NRT is President
     
   • By acclamation, Rob VE3RQB is Vice-President
     
   • By acclamation, John VA3JI is Treasurer
     
   • By acclamation, Chris VA3DXZ is Secretary
     
4. Appointment of committee chairs with responsibilities as described in the document “Board Responsibilities” (Attachment #2)
   
   • Governance - Chris VE3NRT is chair with support from Chris VA3DXZ
     
   • Membership and Activities– Geoff VA3GS with support from Barry VA3LLT
     
   • Public Service– Eric VE3EB is chair with support from David VA3DCY
     
   • Facilities: It was decided that the proposed facilities committee be split into two separate committees; Property and Repeaters.
     
     • Property– Rob VE3RQB is chair with support from Barry VA3LLT
       
     • Repeaters – chair position remains open at this time
       
   • Motion 2014-07-15-02 by Geoff VA3GS to disband 2013-14 committees and to establish the above noted committees / chairs, seconded by John VA3JI. Motion carried.
     
5. Governance
   
   • Insurance
     
     • Review of the report from John VA3JI concerning club insurance coverage
       
     • Motion 2014-07-15-03 by Chris VA3DXZ to allocate up to $1,000.00 for renewal of the existing policy covering the communications trailer, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried
       
     • Motion 2014-07-15-04 by Chris VA3DXZ that the tower trailer not be towed, or deployed until further notice, seconded by John VA3JI. Motion carried
       
     • Motion 2014-07-15-05 by John VA3JI, to establish an ad hoc committee responsible for making a recommendation to the board on insurance coverage, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried
       
   • Budget Priorities
     
     • There was a discussion on the proposed budget lines
       
     • Treasurer is looking for input from committee chairs with their estimates prior to next meeting
       
6. Facilities – Go Kit Storage
   
   • It was noted that Brad VE3HII is relocating and no longer able to store and manage the Go Kits on behalf of the club
     
   • Motion 2014-07-15-06 by Geoff VA3GS that the property chair be empowered to orchestrate the removal, storage, and management of the Go Kits, taking into consideration the needs of Emcomm and Public Service, seconded by David VA3DCY. Motion carried
     
7. Public Service
   
   • Upcoming events
     
     • Newmarket Jazz Festival Aug 1st -4th – Still many volunteers needed to support this event
       
     • Remembering Renata Walk Aug 24th
       
     • Sharon Temple; Ilumination Sept 5th
       
   • Recognition
     
     • There was a discussion and exchange of ideas on what the club could do to recognize the support of the club member volunteers for public service events. Participation in events will be tracked this year for the purpose of recognizing the volunteer contributions of our members
       
8. Membership
   
   • Tracking
     
     • Chris VA3DXZ will send the current membership list in the club files to all board members
       
     • The membership committee will create a welcome letter for new members, a membership form to capture all necessary information
       
     • Membership will be tracked using excel
       
   • Advertising
     
     • Discussion concerning advertising and the suggestion that brochures be distributed to local libraries
   • Presentations for the fall meeting schedule
     
     • September – Echolink and IRLP demo
       
     • Membership committee to solicit ideas from the club for subsequent meetings
       
9. Other business
   
   • Motion 2014-07-15-07 by Geoff VA3GS that an additional $75.00 is allocated to motion 2014-04-01-03, to bring the total amount approved for the tower trailer to $3,575.00, in order that the trailer could be outfitted with 4 jacks, seconded by David VA3DCY. Motion carried
     
   • So that it is recorded in the minutes, Steve VE3UT was appointed to the board following an email motion raised by Chris VA3DXZ, seconded by Rob VE3RQB, and following voting via email, was declared carried July 7, 2014
     
10. Motion 2014-07-15-08 by Chris VA3DXZ to adjourn meeting, seconded by John VA3JI. Motion carried.
    

July 1 Events

Thank you to the teams who sacrificed family time on Canada day to the support the 2014 Sharon Temple Canada Day Celebration and the Newmarket Main Street public service events.
Sharon Temple Team.

• Brad VE3HII
  
• Dave VA3DCY
  
• Chris VA3DXZ
  
• Brian VE3IBW
  

Sharon Temple Event as reported by Brian (VE3IBW). The event today was well attended and only a short down pour before the event officially started. Attendance was up from last year. Megan indicated to me that next year will have a theme: transportation and communication. She hopes to have police, fire, ambulance, and of course us. Brad mentioned that there is a Ham contest on today - the Canada day contest. He suggested that we can work the contest from the trailer and have the public watch. We should make sure we have the trailer booked for next year. Don (VE3IXJ) assembled a team to support the Newmarket Main Street vendors with safety and communications. This was the first year that the radio club participated in this event and seemed to be well received. Main Street Team

• Don VE3IXJ
  
• Barry VA3LLT
  
• VA3OZZ – Victor Beitner - COARC
  
• VA3BXG – Robert Galambos - COARC
  
• Jesse Zhou – Student
  

Again, thank you all for your support on Canada Day.

Eric
VE3EB

A New Canadian D-STAR Reflector

I recently received this email from Jeff VE6EFR in Alberta.

My name is Jeff Bishop and my call is VE6EFR.

I am contacting the various D-STAR repeater owners to let everyone know that we now have a DPlus reflector available Canada wide use. The reflector is on a high bandwidth server and is based out of BC. Services are being provided by the British Columbia Frequency Modulation Communications Association (BCFMCA).

The idea behind the reflector is to provide a place for Canadian hams to be able to talk with other Canadians. Granted we have XRF021 however not everyone has the ability or desire to install the needed software for use with their repeaters, DV Dongles, DVAP or hotspots. If you would like to link your repeater to the network, connect to REF026 module B.
The reflector is available for nets, ARES activity as well as general amateur use.

Let me know if you have any questions. I hope to see your repeater on the reflector.

73 - Jeff VE6EFR


The club's D-STAR repeater, VE3YRK, has access to the XRF reflectors, including XRF021, but this new reflector is accessible from all D-STAR repeaters so would provide broader coverage of Canadian D-STAR repeaters than an XRF reflector. The true value of the reflector will depend on how many Canadian repeaters choose to use it. YRARC D-STAR users may want to try connecting to it. If any interesting nets start up on the reflector then I will schedule the connection to happen automatically.

Notes from the Shack, July 2014

Under the Whip

Pardon the title! A while back I discovered that my 30 year old mobile mag mount, made by Larsen, only matched on 2 metres. On 450 it was more than 4:1 VSWR across the entire band. On close inspection it should not have been a surprise as the housing for the coil that separates the upper and lower halves of the antenna had broken open exposing the interior which had become a congealed mass of rusty metal. It was a wonder it matched OK on 2 metres.

More recently, the club acquired a couple more mag mount dual band antennas from a local donor, and I decided to test them as well. Initially I did this using a filing cabinet as a ground plane but when neither worked on either band I tried them on top of my Toyota to see if they'd fare any better. They didn't.

Eventually I found that one of the donated antennas worked fine matching less than 1.5:1 across both bands if I mounted it on my Larsen base. It works well even on the shack filing cabinet.

What have I learned? To trust but verify. Seemingly good antennas can go bad and need to be watched.

Postscript

I'm now the happy owner of a vehicle with a permanent antenna mount on the roof. I expect that most of the time it will sport a 1/4 wave whip about 19" long because that's all the clearance I have into the garage. Long trips may give me the chance to run with something a little larger. I'm happy to have a rig in the car again!

I wrote this back in March but neglected to publish it. Better late than never.

Links of the Month, May 2014

The following links were submitted by club members. I hope you find the interesting and useful.

• ARRL Field Day Locator [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• Resurrection of the ISEE-3 satellite [Steve VA
  
• CHIRP open source radio programming software. Too bad it doesn't support my IC-7100. [Patrick VE3WST]
  
• Decoding radiosonde telemetry with RTL-SDR. [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• Man Found In Hara Arena, Days After Hamvention Ends [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• The Eclipse Software Development Framework Video (used on project night) [Matt VA3MGN]
  
• Information on C structures [Brad VA3HII]
  
• Recording of an "Anvil Screamer", a thunderstorm related phenomenon [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• Problems with the kicksat satellite [Steve VA3SRV]
  

Minutes of the May 2014 General Meeting

Meeting held at the Sharon Temperance Hall. The meeting was called to order at 19:30. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT

1. Introductions completed. 41 members and 7 guests in attendance
   
2. Motion 2014-05-06-01 by Brian VE3IBW to approve the minutes of the April 1st General Meeting as published in the Splatter Blog, seconded by Brad VE3HII. Motion carried.
   
3. AGM – All attendees were reminded that the AGM will be held next month and that volunteers are needed for the BBQ, and to chair the AGM elections for 5 new members
   
4. Treasury – John VA3JI - No transactions in April
   
5. Field Day – Steve VE3UT
   
   • Need some idea of the numbers to plan for food
     
   • There will be a military presence although less than last year as they have been asked by other clubs to attend their field day activities
     
   • 80m station to be located further south
     
6. Bylaws – Eric VE3EB - Members are encouraged to review the proposed bylaw amendments prior to the AGM. The bylaws are available from the club secretary (Chris VA3DXZ). To request a copy, please email secretary@yrarc.org
   
7. Public Events – Eric VE3EB
   
   • New GMAIL calendar will be made available. For more information members can email events.yrarc@gmail.com
     
   • Upcoming events are:
     
     1. MADD Poker Ride May 25
        
     2. Girl Guide Rally May 31
        
     3. Aurora Street Festival June 1
        
     4. Mt Albert Sports Day (Parade and Run) June 6&7
        
     5. Ontario Medical First Response Competition June 14
        
     6. Field Day June 28&29
        
     7. Sharon Temple Canada Day celebration July 1
        
     8. Tentative - Sher St Kits Event July 1
        
     9. Newmarket Jazz Festival August 1-4
        
     10. Al’s Ride August 3
         
     11. Remembering Renata Walk – Raising Awareness for Eating Disorders August 24
         
     12. Sharon temple Illumination September 5
         
8. Hamfest – Geoff VA3GS - Saturday Nov 1st has been confirmed
   
9. Property – Rob VE3RQB
   
   • Storage Container – Looking into an alternative supplier. Hope to have purchase completed next week
     
   • Tower Trailer – Waiting for access to new tower to get trailer modifications underway
     
10. Meeting adjourned at 21:35
    

The club would like to thank Dr. Paul Delaney from York University for his fascinating talk entitled “A Quick Taste of Modern Astronomy”

Guide to using IRLP and Echolink on VE3YRC

After a long cold winter John VA3JI has at last been able to climb his tower and complete the installation of the VE3YRC IRLP/Echolink node at his house and it is working well. It is simple to use and the following guide will take through through the steps of looking up your destination repeater or operator and connecting it to the VE3YRC repeater.

IRLP - The Internet Radio Linking Project

The operator accesses an IRLP "Node" by using DTMF (touch-tone) tones sent by radio. First, look up the node number that you want to contact. A list of current nodes can be found on the IRLP web site.

Once you have decided which node to call, listen to the repeater (VE3YRC on 147.225+, PL Tone 103.5) to ensure that it is clear and ask if the repeater is in use. Announce the node that you are about to call and then enter the node number (i.e. hold the microphone PTT down and then use the keypad to enter the 4 digit number)

For example to connect to VE3RPL in Parry Sound DTMF 2480f it will reply "Connected to VE3RPL"

NOTE: If your node is already connected to another node or reflector, the repeater will announce that "your node is currently connected to [ID of the connection]") In this case ask if anyone is still using the connection before dropping it with the off code 73

Once connected and after hearing the confirming voice ID, wait at least 5 seconds before transmitting as the following conditions may occur:

• The link may be in use, and your command may have occurred between transmissions.
  
• If the voice ID of your node is longer than the voice ID of their node, the connection will not be made until the ID is fully played.
  
• Their computer may be slower and take longer to process the connection than yours.
  

Press and hold the PTT for a second and then announce your presence and your intention, such as you are calling someone specifically or just looking for a chat with another amateur in that city.

If no response is heard, announce your call and your intent to drop the link and then enter the OFF code 73. Please do not transmit DTMF commands without first giving your call-sign. Not only is this courteous it may be required by law in one of the countries that might be connected to the reflector.

Some nodes are configured so you cannot connect to them if that repeater is active. In this case you will receive the message "The node you are calling is being used locally" If you receive this message wait 5 or 10 minutes and then try again. If you stay connected to a node and there is no activity on your repeater for 4 minutes, the connection is automatically terminated with a spoken disconnect message on both nodes.

If unsure that local node is working you can perform a audio loopback check. Node 9992 will reply "IRLP reflector 9992 active". Cancel with 73

Don't forget if you require any more detailed information visit the official IRLP web site.

EchoLink Operation

The EchoLink system is similar in many ways to IRLP and the same operating etiquette needs to used. The main variation is that you can not only connect to remote repeater but also to another amateur's computer system. Like IRLP, you access EchoLink using DTMF tones using a node number that you can look up on the EchoLink homepage.

Entering Node Numbers

To enter a node number (for the Connect or Query by Node commands), enter the 4, 5, or 6-digit node number. If the specified node is not among the stations currently logged on, EchoLink will say "Not Found".

Examples

These examples assume that the default DTMF codes are configured on the local repeater, as they are with VE3YRC

To connect to node number 9999 (the echo test reflector) enter: #9999

EchoLink responds with: "Connecting to conference E-C-H-O-T-E-S-T" followed by: "Connected", because 9999 is the node number of conference server "*Echotest*".

For example to connect to VE3RAK enter: #2068

EchoLink responds with: "Connected to VE3RAK" (if the node is not busy)

To disconnect use 73 like with IRLP

******Note: Because we are using an ECHOIRLP combination only one of Echolink or IRLP can be used at one time ******

Please support your local repeaters VE3YRA, VE3YRC and VE3YRK by becoming a member of the York Region Amateur Radio Club!

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Take notice that the Annual General Meeting of the members of the York Region Amateur Radio Club, Inc., will be held at the usual meeting place, the Sharon Temperance Hall, 18974 Leslie Street, Sharon, at the usual hour of 7:30pm on Tuesday June 3rd, 2014 for the purposes of approving the financial statements for fiscal year 2014 and the election of directors to hold office for 2 years commencing July 1st, 2014.

Regular, family and life members are advised that they have the right to attend and vote in person at this meeting, in accordance with the usual rules of order, and further, in the event of a member’s absence, the member has the right to appoint a proxy to vote on his or her behalf. An appropriate form is included at the end of this publication. Members who are unable to attend the Annual General Meeting may complete, date and sign a proxy form, which must be delivered to the Secretary prior to the call to order of the Annual General Meeting, to be eligible for voting.

For those wishing to mail a proxy, please send it to Chris McGaffey, VA3DXZ, .

Dated this day May 12th, 2014 at Schomberg, Ontario.
Chris McGaffey, Secretary.

PROXY

The undersigned being a current member of the
York Region Amateur Radio Club, Inc. hereby appoints


(Name of secretary or other person) _____________________________________________ as proxy to attend the Annual General Meeting of the York Region Amateur Radio Club, Inc., on June 3rd, 2014 and vote on my behalf on each and any question brought before the assembly, or at any adjournment thereof, and I do hereby revoke and make void any former instrument appoint a proxy on my behalf.


Dated at _______________ this ___________ day of _____________, 2014.


Name and call of member (print) __________________________________


Signature of member __________________________________