Quarter
Century Amateur Radio Club / Whitecourt Amateur Radio
Box 473, Edmonton, AB, T5J 2K1 Email: mail@qcarc.net website: www.qcarc.net QCARC WCAR Membership Form
Membership dues and donations support these QCARC WCAR owned repeaters:
VE6QCR 146.640 Stony Plain--VE6BOX 146.730 Athabasca--VE6PP 146.820 Whitecourt--VE6SS 146.880 Pigeon Lake All have 100Hz tone and offsets are all -600 KHz
Weekly Newsletter and Swap & Shop Listing 1/12/2022 by Paul, VE6UFO
FLEA MARKET NOTICES
CARA CALGARY FLEA MARKET SATURDAY APRIL 9 10AM EASTSIDE CITY CHURCH 1320 ABBEYDALE DR SE CALGARY
QCARC EDMONTON SPRING SOCIAL & FLEA MARKET SATURDAY APRIL 30
9AM-12PM FOLLOWED BY AGM AT 1PM CANORA COMMUNITY HALL 10425-152 STREET
EDMONTON
FREE ADMISSION - FREE TABLES - FIRST COME FIRST SERVED - VENDOR SET UP STARTS AT 8AM
QCARC MEMBERSHIPS
ALL NEW MEMBERSHIPS AND RENEWALS BEFORE MARCH 31 WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR OUR EARLY BIRD $250.00 CASH PRIZE
IF YOUR
MEMBERSHIP IS EXPIRING YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED NEXT WEEK
IF YOU DON'T GET A NOTICE, YOU ARE STILL CURRENT AND ALREADY ENTERED FOR THE EARLY BIRD PRIZE
PRIZE DRAW TO TAKE PLACE IN APRIL AT THE AGM
QCARC Membership Form
THE
QUARTER CENTURY CENTURY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB IS HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THE
OFFICIAL FORMATION OF A NEW SUBSIDIARY BRANCH OF QCARC CALLED WHITECOURT AMATEUR RADIO. THIS GREAT GROUP OF AMATEURS IN THE WHITECOURT AREA HAS HAD A REPEATER AND WEBSITE WCAR.CA
FOR A FEW YEARS NOW AND HAS EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO EXPAND ON THEIR
ACTIVITIES AND THIS WILL HAPPEN UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE
QCARC.
NEWSLETTER FORMAT
NEWER CONTENT APPEARS DIRECTLY BELOW AND ITEMS AFTER THE SWAP & SHOP LISTINGS ARE OLDER. IF THIS NEWSLETTER IS NEW TO YOU PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING.
VE6UFO's WEEKLY COMMENTARY
We
in the Edmonton area just came through a cold snap that included 13 out
of 15 consecutive days that had daytime highs below -20 degrees
Celsius. This was officially the worst deep freeze here since 1969,
which had 26 days in a row with highs below -20. The next several days
are expected to be on the plus side. Keep those windsheild washers
filled!!
IF
YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS OF
INTEREST THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THIS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, EMAIL mail@qcarc.net 73, Stay well and
be safe. Have a good week!!
Paul VE6UFO, QCARC Secretary Treasurer and Net Manager
If
anyone is travelling to Surrey in the near future and would be able to
bring back to Calgary 2 bankers boxes of amateur radio books that have
been donated to CARA, please contact the CARA executive executive@caraham.org
TheARRL January VHF Contest is this weekend Jan. 15-17https://www.arrl.org/january-
This year's Winter Field Day will be Jan 29 Noon MST to Jan 30 Noon MST www.winterfieldday.com
EZNEC Antenna Software by W7EL is now free. Grab a free copy of EZNEC - Ray is making it available as he has retired.
The newest version, EZNEC Pro/2+ v. 7.0, will be available on Jan 14, 2022 Here is the link: EZNEC Antenna Software by W7EL
The current edition of the Surrey Amateur Radio Club Newsletter is available at The Communicator Digital Edition: The January - February 2022 SARC Communicator (ve7sar.blogspot.com)
Registration for the RAC Advanced Course is now underway! https://www.rac.ca/rac-
WANTED
The Northern Alberta Radio Club is in need of a small (6x6) building that was or can be used as a repeater shack at a potential new site. If you have or know of something that is available please contact Mitch, VE6OH ve6oh@narc.net
A presentation about the new RAC Auxillary Communications Service is available at https://www.rac.ca/auxiliary-
Winlink Wednesday information is at WCAR.CA and Winlink Wednesday emails can be sent via Winlink to Bill VA6RQ.
SARA CLUB MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
PLEASE SUPPORT THE SOUTHERN ALBERTA REPEATER ASSOCIATION. SARA
IS DEDICATED TO PROVIDING THE AMATEUR COMMUNITY IN ALBERTA WITH A
RELIABLE NETWORK OF LINKED REPEATERS. MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION AT www.saralink.ca
THE ALBERTA PUBLIC SERVICE NET WEBSITE HAS A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:
General Net Information
Several Alberta KiwiSDRs - Direct links, just click and go. These help when reception conditions are poor
Net Control Information
CHECK IT OUT AT http://www.apsn3700.net/
THE QCARC WCAR 2M NET TAKES PLACE EACH WEDNESDAY AT 8:30 PM ON THE VE6QCR AND VE6PP REPEATERS
CONTEST
CALENDAR FOR THE COMING WEEK
Hungarian DX Contest 1200Z, Jan 15 1200Z, Jan 16 http://ha-dx.com/en/contest-rules
North American QSO Party, CW 1800Z, Jan 15 0559Z, Jan 16 http://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf
ARRL January VHF Contest Jan 15-17 https://www.arrl.org/january-
Edmonton Area 5 day WX Forecast
Wednesday 1/12 Mix of sun and cloud Low 1 High 1
Thursday 1/13 Periods of snow Low -5 High 3
Friday 1/14 Sunny Low -4
High 2
Saturday 1/15 Mix of sun and cloud Low -8 High 4
Sunday 1/16 Mix of sun and cloud Low -11 High -5
JANUARY BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES,
ETC.
If you or an amateur
you know is celebrating something let me know and I will list it here….
Birthdays
Ron VE6VJ
Jim VE6JRR
Gerard VE5FF VE6ZZZ VA7KK
Darrell VE4DS
FUNNY OF THE
WEEK
They suggest that anyone travelling in the current icy conditions should carry the following emergency items:
SHOVEL
BLANKETS OR SLEEPING BAGS
EXTRA CLOTHING INCLUDING HAT AND GLOVES
DE-ICER
FLASHLIGHT WITH SPARE BATTERIES
GAS CAN
FIRST AID KIT
BOOSTER CABLES
I looked like an idiot on the bus this morning!!
DID YOU KNOW?
Canadian Forces Station Alert, Nunavut is the most northern permanently
inhabited settlement in the world. It is situated at the northeast tip
of Ellismere Island in the Canadian Arctic.
Swap
& Shop listings
for this week - To list something here, please email Paul, VE6UFO at mail@qcarc.net or
call 780-232-7012
ANOTHER GREAT BUY AND SELL RESOURCE IS HAMSHACK.CA
QCARC HAS FOR SALE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS - IF INTERESTED EMAIL PAUL VE6UFO AT mail@qcarc.net or call 780-232-7012
TO SEE PICTURES OF ANY OF THESE ITEMS, GO TO THE QCARC/VE6UFO FEATURED SELLER PAGE ON HAMSHACK.CA
VINTAGE MOTOROLA FIELD RADIO WITH TELEPHONE STYLE HAND SET AND WOODEN CARRYING CASE $75.00
HP 120B RACK MOUNTED SCOPE CONDITION UNKNOWN 50.00
IWATSU S-5112 SYNCHROSCOPE CONDITION UNKNOWN 50.00
Wanted by Maurice VE6MAA ve6maa@gmail.com a 2m all mode amplifier to 50 watts and 6m all mode amp to 300 or so watts.
Wanted by Ron VE6VJ a Yaesu FBA12 6 cell AA alkaline battery case of a FBA12H 10 cell AA battery cas for a Yaesu FT530 handheld. This battery case should also fit a Yaesu FT416, FT415, FT816, FT76, FT26. Ron is also looking for a 456KC crystal (plus/minus 2kcs) for a 1940 vintage HRO Senior Receiver crystal filter. From pictures the crystal was round with about 1-3/8 diameter and had larger pins about 3/8 inch spacing. The newer recivers had the crystal mounted inside the crystal filter box and were smaller but would likely work fine. ve6vj@rac.ca or call 780-475-4508 home or 780-868-3335 cell.
Wanted by Arnold VE7IDK A 4 pin hand or desk microphone for a Tempo 2020 hybrid radio. Email ve7idk@telus.net
For Sale by Neil VE6TCK ICOM IC-756 Pro HF/6M rig comes with headset, hand microphone, foot switch and CI-V interface. Asking $850.00 OBO Phone/Text 780-818-1975 or email ve6tck@gmail.com
For Sale by Paul VE6UFO on behalf of a QCARC member GENERAC 4000XL generator in new condition. Used 1 hour total. Always stored indoors and has been recently tested and is working well. It comes with the manual. Unit is located in west Edmonton. Pictures available upon request. Asking 600.00 OBO. If interested contact Paul at mail@qcarc.net or call/text 780-232-7012
Estate
sale for VE6KN http://www.caarc.ca/
Al, VA6ALE has tin sheets in
2 different sizes 16"x27" and 14"x18" they could be used for 2m ground
planes or whatever. They are FREE. If interested email va6ale@aol.com
For sale by Mike VE6MM PRC
515 or RU-20 HF Manpack Radio with accessories in Edmonton. This covers
the complete HF band of 1.8 to 30 Mhz on USB, LSB and AM. Has the
upgraded digital head control unit. 2 power levels at 2 or 20 watts.
Whip antenna with built-in auto tuner & separate 50 ohm BNC for
external antennas. Has a repacked battery with Nickel Metal Hydrates
for 24 V and an extra empty battery case for you to fill. A smart
charger is included & cable with Anderson plugs for external 24 V
power. The hard to find Canadian backpack frame has all carrying straps
and a good shape pouch for your gear. Mike has a .pdf operators manual
and schematics. He can also do an on-the-air test if you like. He will
ONLY sell to another Amateur Radio operator. ASKING PRICE IS 1350.00 Photos at https://hamshack.ca/rtcl_
Listing by Blair VE6AGH - ve6agh@yahoo.ca 403-327-8207
Blair is looking for military radios of any kind. Let him know what you have.
Also Blair has for sale the following Collins equipment on behalf of the daughter of a silent key
75S-3B Recvr Round Emblem 2 Collins filters sn 85304 with Manual
312-B4 Counsel Round Emblem with 200/2000 Watt meter & phone patch sn 60250 with Manual
32S-1 Transmitter Winged Emblem sn 2452 with manual
516F-2 Speaker with internal Power Supply Winged Emblem (has commercial plug in solid state rectifiers) sn 1865
These units come with all the interconnecting cables that were connected to the radios.
The paint is great on these radios. These radios have been stored DRY.
One (1) power cord could be replaced (it works fine but just doesn't look as good as the others).
These radios were in use at the time the owner became SK.
Blair can deliver along Alberta highway 2 between Coutts, AB & the Edmonton area or along highway 36 or 21.
Estate sale for VE6BYN - Check out the link often as there will be additions and deletions http://www.caarc.ca/community/ham-radio-items-for-sale/estate-ve6byn
Wanted Mitch,
VE6OH is looking for a good used 4X4 truck preferably diesel with
trailer towing package and an RV around 25 ft. Contact Mitch at
780-446-8958 or
email ve6oh@rac.ca
Wanted by
Ric, VE7CUP remote antenna switches, working or not. If you have any
for sale, please
email ricmartin@telus.net
For
Sale by Bill VA6RQ
New in Box AR270B
2M/70cm Ringo Vert Ant 5.5-7.5db for $275 Radio World price - $333
New in Box Hygain VB-64DX 4Elm 6M Beam
ant for $195 Radio
World price - $225
New in Boxes (2) Cushcraft
A148-10S 2m 10El yagi ants $195
each Radio World price -$259 if
you buy both it comes with a used co-phasing harness
USED CDE CD-45 light duty Rotator (good condition) $100
USED Hygain Ham III med duty rotator well used (new bearings) $100
If you are interested in Bill’s
items please email him at va6rq@rac.ca
BELOW IS OLDER CONTENT THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN IF THIS IS NOT YOUR FIRST TIME READING THIS NEWSLETTER
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
The
Edmonton Area 2M SSB
net is on 144.200 USB Sundays at 10:00am and 8:00 PM
Winlink Wednesday emails can be sent via Winlink to Bill, VA6RQ. Instructions on how to do this are on the website www.wcar.ca
AR100 Hamfest - The celebration of 100 years of amateur radio in Alberta. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN DELAYED UNTIL AT LEAST 2022. When there is a new date further information will follow.
QCARC
ANNOUNCEMENTS
JOIN QCARC OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP BEFORE
MARCH 31 AND TO BE ENTERED INTO THE DRAW FOR OUR 250.00 EARLY
BIRD CASH PRIZE
QCARC Membership Form
Membership dues and donations can be e-transferred to mail@qcarc.net
THANKS
VERY MUCH TO ALL THE MEMBERS WHO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT QCARC WITH
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS AND
DONATIONS!!
When
needed, QCARC helps amateurs or the famly of silent keys with tower
work and station dispersals. We
can sell your items for you at the flea markets or swap and shop. If
you would rather not be bothered trying to sell items you can donate
them to QCARC. If you need this
type of assistance contact VE6UFO at 780-232-7012 or mail@qcarc.net
Another benefit of being a
member
is that you can purchase items at MRO Electronic Supply with your proof
of
QCARC membership. There is a 25.00 minimum.
QCARC SELLS DONATED ITEMS AT FLEA MARKETS TO RAISE MONEY TO OPERATE OUR REPEATERS AND KEEP MEMBERSHIP DUES LOW. IF YOU HAVE ITEMS TO DONATE PLEASE ARRANGE PICKUP WITH PAUL VE6UFO AT mail@qcarc.net OR 780-232-7012. THANKS VERY MUCH TO ANYONE WHO HAS RECENTLY DONATED ITEMS TO THE CLUB.
QCARC has 2 ISED accredited
examiners:
Ernie VA6EJR va6ejr@gmail.com
Mitch VE6OH ve6oh@rac.ca
QCARC weekly 2 meter net
Wednesday 8:30PM on VE6QCR and VE6PP repeaters. After
the net,
stations are encouraged to stick around for a fun round table ragchew
QSO
session.
Do
you know of a new ham or a ham getting back into radio after years away
from the hobby that needs equipment and/or help getting a station set
up? We can help!!! mail@qcarc.net
RAC NEWS
Stephen Lee VA6SGL is the
RAC Director for
AB NT NU.
If you are not a RAC
member, please consider
joining as RAC helps protect and advance amateur radio in Canada and
around the
world. RAC members who are also members of RAC affiliated clubs such as
QCARC
get special insurance coverage. Details of this coverage are found at https://www.rac.ca/insurance/
The movement of the International Space Station can be tracked in real time at Live Space Station Tracking Map | Spot The Station | NASA
Here is a link to a page on the WCAR website
about understanding propogation: https://www.wcar.ca/education/up/
Don VE7DXE in Victoria, BC has
established www.hamshack.ca
which is a
great site with a fully functional buy and sell feature and other
new
resources being added all the time. Check it out often!!
The Surrey Amateur Radio Club has a great newsletter and the latest edition can be found at www.ve7sar.net
If
you are trying to learn Morse code or increase your speed, there is a
great YouTube resource. Search for HamradioQRP which will get you to
the site. These videos are a terrific help.
Another good resource
including solar conditions is https://www.wm7d.net
Know someone interested in becoming a radio amateur? Resources for home learning include Hamstudy Basic available through Amazon, and Coax Publications for Basic and Advanced study manuals https://www.coaxpublications.ca/ Further, Cold Lake Amateur Radio Society (CLARS) hosts a training website http://www.clares.ca/va6hal%20training.html for Basic and Advanced. RAC also has an Advanced course available at no cost for members that have a Gold Leaf Membership.
MISC. TECH INFORMATION
A garden hose reel works well for hanging up those rolls of spare coax. They can be found at garage sales for a buck or two.
"QUICK DISCONNECT" mounts are available to easily change resonators for your HF mobile antennas. There are also some good multi-band mobile antennas out there.
Rough running gas powered generator? This problem is often caused by gas with ethanol added. Small engines don't like it so run straight gas or add fuel stabilizer to the tank.
When re-assembling a used yagi or vertical antenna made of aluminum make sure to remove any oxidation at the joints using a ScotchBrite pad or equivalent and use new stainless steel hardware.
Always keep your signal and audio cables as far away from the power cords as possible. If you have them all bunched together, you will have problems one day.
A way to check a long run of coax for loss is to use a dummy load and wattmeter at the radio and at the antenna end of the coax and compare the output readings. If the loss is very low the 2 readings will be very close to the same on either end.
Lay down those radials the easy way! Using a lawn edger for putting down radials!
Do not set an external tuner directly on top of your HF rig or you could have distorted TX audio on some bands. Make a 2 inch separator out of non-conductive material.
If the fan on your power supply or rig comes on a lot, add a small external fan on the back of the unit to help keep things cooler.
Have you ever gotten into your vehicle to find that your battery was dead because you forgot to turn off your mobile radios? Modern rigs have a programmable Auto Power Off (APO) that you can use to make the radio turn itself off after a pre-set period of inactivity.
On vehicles with roof racks, a tiltover mount for your HF mobile antenna can be easily made by attaching the L part of a mirror mount antenna bracket to the roof rack with a single bolt just tight enough that the mount will move by hand 90 degrees as required. For pickup trucks, you can mount the bracket to a pole in the box or on the bumper or trailer hitch. Ensure proper grounding.
To make it easy to see what you are doing when trying to work with connections at the back of all the various pieces of gear on your operating desk, mount a mirror on the wall behind the equipment. I saw this years ago when visiting the station of Dave VE6KD. Great idea, Dave!!
Here is a link to plans for an inexpensive and easy to build 5 band HF Vertical Antenna N5VEG 5 Band HF Vertical "Wonderstick" Antenna (hamuniverse.com)
Directional Finding (Bunny
Hunting)
Techniques and plans for building a high gain cubical 2 meter quad
antenna and
sniffer
http://www.qcarc.net/VE6OB%20Bunny%20Hunting%20Article.pdf
When
building a station, it is important to determine
the correct coax to use. Transmission line losses must be kept at a
minimum to
achieve optimum performance.
Here
is a link to some coax loss charts. https://www.w4rp.com/ref/coax.html
If you are re-using coax make sure there is good continuity and check
it with a
wattmeter and dummy load - MOST USED FLEA MARKET COAX IS GOOD
FOR THE SELLER,
NOT THE BUYER!!
Here is a link to a handy dipole antenna length calculator and various
other
resources:
Dipole Antenna Length
Calculator
(everythingrf.com)
Need to find the grid
square for your QTH? Try this: Amateur Radio Ham Radio
Maidenhead Grid Square Locator Map
(levinecentral.com)
Here is a listing of some of the
nets and other gatherings that take place regularly:
There is a lot of
activity on the 2 meter simplex frequency 146.490 in Edmonton.
Various 40 and 80 meter
ragchew groups take place all morning long from about 7:00AM until 10
or later.
Look around the bands for an opportunity to join in on an interesting
QSO.
Saskatchewan weather net
8:00AM Sask time 3.753 MHz
Aurora Net 2300
UTC 7.100 MHz
Saskatchewan Net 0100 UTC
3.735 MHz
Alberta Public Service
Net 0130 UTC 3.700 MHz
BC Net 0130 UTC 3.729 MHz
160 meter ragchews take
place 9:00 PM or later usually on frequencies above 1.890 MHz.
Weekly
Alberta ARES Net Sunday
9:00AM mountain time 3.750 MHz
Edmonton Area 2 meter SSB
net Sunday 10:00AM and 8:00 PM 144.200 MHz USB
Trans Canada Net Sunday 2:00PM
18:00 UTC 14.140 MHz
Sunday
6PM VE6KM B linked to ref001C is the international DSTAR Net
Sunday Evening Aurora Net
9:30PM Central time 7.100 MHz
Monday
8:00PM on VE6KM B linked to reflector REF016B is the Alberta DSTAR
Net
Monday Amateur Radio
Information Net 3.729 MHZ right after the BC net about 0230 UTC
NARC weekly 2 meter net
Tuesday 7:30PM on VE6HM repeater 147.060 -600
IRLP Trans Canada net
Wednesday 9:00AM on VE6HM repeater 147.060 -600
Winlink Wednesday
please check out www.wcar.ca
for information
Friday
7:00PM on VE6KM B linked to ref001C Canadian Dstar Net
i