https://beta.scarcs.ca/Amateur radio, community, and connection on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast.en-cahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-10-15/rac_tca_live/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-10-15/rac_tca_live/Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTRAC TCA Live Illustration: RAC TCA LiveRAC has a new podcast (The TCA Live), with Hiroshi (VA7LET) and Ante (VA2BBW).https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-10-09/installing_and_tuning_a_fan_dipole_antenna/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-10-09/installing_and_tuning_a_fan_dipole_antenna/Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTInstalling and Tuning a Fan Dipole Antenna VA7SMI blogged on installing and tuning his new (to him) fan dipole antenna. https://smist08.wordpress.com/2026/10/09/antenna-trials-and-tribulations/.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-10-01/echolink_back_online/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-10-01/echolink_back_online/Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEcholink Back Online Yesterday, the Echolink computer froze mid-net. I tried to restart it, but it kept rebooting into the BIOS. It’s now back and running, but here’s an outline of the steps I took to fix the issue (for future reference). Re-install Windows - From a working Windows computer, I downloaded the Windows 11 USB boot drive program from the “Create Windows 11 Installation Media” section https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-09-12/ic-7300mk2_remote/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-09-12/ic-7300mk2_remote/Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTIC-7300MK2 Remote To remote into my IC-7300MK2, I connected its LAN port to my AREDN hAP, then used wfview (a free and open source program), to access it anywhere on the AREDN mesh. Illustration: IC-7300MK2 Remote The settings I had to get from the radio were: - Hostname - Control Port - Username - Password Illustration: IC-7300MK2 Remote This page lists settings that should be adjusted in the radhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-09-11/cyd_ham_dashboard/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-09-11/cyd_ham_dashboard/Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTCYD Ham Dashboard This project seems really interesting: A HamClock-inspired ham radio dashboard for the ESP32 Cheap Yellow Display, supporting both the 2.8“ ESP32-2432S028R and the 4.0” 320×480 ST7796S variant from a single source tree. Here are the seven screen it displays: Illustration: CYD Ham Dashboard Illustration: CYD Ham Dashboard Illustration: CYD Ham Dashboard Illustration: CYD Ham Dashbhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-09-11/school_amateur_radio_club_network/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-09-11/school_amateur_radio_club_network/Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTSchool Amateur Radio Club Network SARCNET is really cool site that lists activities and projects to explore the world of ham radio. I stumbled on it searching for an 2-axis antenna rotator.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-29/easyskymesh_firmware_for_meshcore/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-29/easyskymesh_firmware_for_meshcore/Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTEasySkyMesh Firmware for Meshcore Here is some information on an alternate Meshcore firmware for Heltec and Rak boards, that has emphasis on extreme power saving, in particular for repeater nodes. I am cobbling this together rather quickly right now with the intention of tidying this article up later on when I am on days off, however I thought this would be good information to get out there right https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-25/va7ilo_meshcore_repeater_build/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-25/va7ilo_meshcore_repeater_build/Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTVA7ILO Meshcore Repeater Build Here is a little write up about the repeater I decided to build for Meshcore using a Heltec V4 board, I could have bought an off the shelf one, but I thought it would be more fun to build and design. I am very new to Meshcore so there are still quite a few things I am learning about it and consequently after starting on this I revised a couple of things and also realhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-23/pebble_hf/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-23/pebble_hf/Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTPebble HF Just when I thought I had enough distractions I ran across this, a very inexpensive and easy to assemble QRP kit that can output up to 5 watts on 20 M (apparently a 40M one is in the works too), does phone, CW and digital modes. CRKITS is distributing to all non-US countries (I e-mailed Adam Rong the owner of CRKITS to see if he ships to Canada, he has verified this now). Adam is a likeahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-10/early_computer_made_from_ferrite_cores/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-10/early_computer_made_from_ferrite_cores/Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTEarly Computer Made from Ferrite Cores https://ethw.org/Milestones:Parametron,\ 1954https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-05/swap_meet_aug_15/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-08-05/swap_meet_aug_15/Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTSwap meet Aug 15 VA7FI will be hosting a swap meet / coffee klatch at his place (rain or shine) on Saturday August 15th at 9:30. Everyone is welcome to bring anything they might be interested in selling / trading. I’ll be selling a lot of equipment on behalf of Alan (see list and pictures below). More details will be sent via email. - Kenwood TS-570S HF + 6m Radio - Kenwood TS-440S HF Radio - Kenwhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-07-29/digipi_hotspot/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-07-29/digipi_hotspot/Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTDigiPi Hotspot This is a really cool project, that might be of interest, it has Winlink capability too, also can run it on a PiZero 2W. https://digipi.org/ View embedded content Here is a link further down our feed for the AIOC cable. https://scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/aioc\ all-in-one-cable DigiPi is an easy-to-use amateur radio data transceiver hotspot for Raspberry Pi. All radio data modes are ehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-07-16/the_absolute_magic_of_morse_code_that_still_connects_people_globally/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-07-16/the_absolute_magic_of_morse_code_that_still_connects_people_globally/Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe ‘absolute magic’ of Morse code that still connects people globally https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwye0dlzgejohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-06-10/consultation_on_amendments_to_the_tower_siting_process/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-06-10/consultation_on_amendments_to_the_tower_siting_process/Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTConsultation on Amendments to the Tower Siting Process From ISED’s Website: ISED […] is […] initiating a consultation on proposed amendments to the antenna tower siting requirements […] to reduce regulatory burden on tower proponents. Here’s a 47 minute long video discussion of the proposed changes: View embedded content What you can do: 1. Write a response echoing RAC and RAQI’s position in electhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-06-05/next_level_rfi_story/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-06-05/next_level_rfi_story/Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTNext Level RFI story View embedded contenthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-05-14/computer_hobby_movement_in_canada/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-05-14/computer_hobby_movement_in_canada/Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTComputer Hobby Movement in Canada https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/exhibits/show/hobby\ canada/hobby\ canadahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-05-11/extremely_low_frequencies/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-05-11/extremely_low_frequencies/Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTExtremely Low Frequencies https://computer.rip/2026-05-09-extremely-low-frequencies.htmlhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-05-10/html_offline_logger/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-05-10/html_offline_logger/Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThtml Offline Logger HamBook (Full Web) is a super lightweight logger “program” that requires no installation. It’s a single html file with almost 6000 lines of code that runs offline in your browser of choice. It has the ability to import/export ADIF and Cabrillo files. I played around with it for a bit this morning to see if it could be used as a net logging program (I think it could, but with a https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-05-01/quick_offline_ham_search/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-05-01/quick_offline_ham_search/Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTQuick Offline Ham Search On my linux computer, I keep a csv file of the ISED ham database for when I need to quickly look up someone. Here are a few tricks to make the process really quick. Setup Instead of using my browser to download the file from ISED (http://apc-cap.ic.gc.ca/datafiles/amateur\ delim.zip), I run this script, which: 1. Downloads the zip file to my ~/Ham folder 2. Changes the exthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-04-27/echolink_webapp/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-04-27/echolink_webapp/Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTEcholink WebApp Illustration: Echolink WebAppLooks like it’s possible to run Echolink right from the browser: https://webapp.echolink.org/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-04-27/meshcore_split/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-04-27/meshcore_split/Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTMeshCore Split There’s some internal stuff going on in the MeshCore team. It’s worth reading this blog post. I’ve updated the links on our MeshCore page to point away from the .uk site.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-04-25/project_nomad/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-04-25/project_nomad/Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTProject NOMAD Project NOMAD is a self-contained, offline knowledge and education server. Illustration: Project NOMADhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-25/te-kevflex/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-25/te-kevflex/Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTTE-KEVFLEX Illustration: TE-KEVFLEXInteresting product from Australia: antenna wire with a kevlar core.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-24/emergency_communication_for_non-hams/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-24/emergency_communication_for_non-hams/Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTEmergency Communication for Non-Hams I just created a new page outlining two tools (FRS and Meshcore) that non-amateur radio operators can use to stay connected with their local groups in case of an emergency. To navigate there from the home page: Emergency → SCEC page → FRS and Meshcore . Any club member should feel free to edit the page as needed!https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-23/ised_radio_equipment_list/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-23/ised_radio_equipment_list/Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTISED Radio Equipment List According to the ISED website: It is illegal for consumers to import radio devices into Canada that do not bear a label with an Industry Canada certification/registration number. Here’s how to check for that certification/registration number, and make sure it’s real. - Find the tag located underneath the radio or underneath the battery. Here are three examples: Icom IC-73https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-19/rattlegram_desktop/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-19/rattlegram_desktop/Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTRattlegram Desktop A few years ago, I posted about Rattlegram, a mobile app that encodes and decodes text as audio. I started playing with it again a bit today and found that someone made a desktop version. It works the same on the computer as it does on the phone. I briefly tried to connected my computer to the HF radio via USB but it wouldn’t transmit. If anyone figures out how to do that, pleashttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-19/savvy_2-element_pota_antenna/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-19/savvy_2-element_pota_antenna/Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTSavvy 2-Element POTA antenna From Larry (VA7LSP): View embedded content View embedded content Instructions from printables.comhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/aioc_all-in-one-cable/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/aioc_all-in-one-cable/Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTIllustration: AIOC (All-in-one-Cable) AIOC (All-in-one-Cable) From https://lectronz.com: The AIOC is a small adapter with a USB-C connector that enumerates itself as a sound-card (e.g. for APRS purposes), a virtual tty (“COM Port”) for programming and asserting the PTT (Push-To-Talk) as well as a CM108 compatible HID endpoint for CM108-style PTT (new in firmware version 1.2.0). The AIOC is Open-Sohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/discovery_drive_for_the_discovery_dish/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/discovery_drive_for_the_discovery_dish/Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTDiscovery Drive for the Discovery Dish View embedded content There’s an interesting crowdfunding project on https://www.crowdsupply.com for: […] a low-cost, turnkey, fully weatherproof, high-quality automatic Az/El (azimuth/elevation) antenna rotator designed for use with Discovery Dish and other antennas of similar size and weight, such as Yagi and Wi-Fi grid antennas. A motorized rotator allows https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/getting_started_with_freedv/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/getting_started_with_freedv/Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTGetting Started with FreeDV A few months ago, I posted about FreeDV without knowing much about it. A few weeks ago, I found this comprehensive guide by VU3DXR. I’m gonna put this on my ham radio to-do list… Gary Trinder, 2026/04/19 22:07 Anyone playing with DMR? Thinking about getting a DMR capable radio and building out a hotspot running Raspberry Pi Zero. Has anyone else done this yet?https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/tx-500mp_and_link500mp_tnc/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-03-16/tx-500mp_and_link500mp_tnc/Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTIllustration: TX-500MP and LiNK500MP TNC TX-500MP and LiNK500MP TNC The TX-500MP by Lab599 is a portable / handheld HF transceiver. Recently, DiY599, an after market company, created the LiNK500MP TNC, which fits on top of the radio and adds digital and CAT capability to the radio wirelessly.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-01-03/intercept/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2026-01-03/intercept/Sat, 03 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTIntercept This looks like a pretty interesting GitHub Project: Signal Intelligence Platform A sleek, modern web-based front-end for signal intelligence tools. Unified interface for pager decoding, 433MHz sensors, ADS-B aircraft tracking, satellite monitoring, WiFi reconnaissance, and Bluetooth scanning. Illustration: InterceptOpen full-size image I gave it a try on my main computer and it was prethttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-12-23/24_hours_of_earth_s_rotation/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-12-23/24_hours_of_earth_s_rotation/Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT24 hours of Earth’s Rotation I just love to watch this time laps… Attribution: Bartosz Wojczyńskihttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-12-23/coastal_flood_mapping/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-12-23/coastal_flood_mapping/Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTCoastal Flood Mapping On December 9, the Coast Reporter ran an article detailing how new SCRD maps “show just how close critical infrastructure is to the water’s edge”. The article didn’t really explain how to navigate the maps so here’s what I found: 1. Load the maps from here (the map’s home page is here). 2. To declutter the information a bit, you can remove the “Inundation at Current Sea Levelhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-12-23/the_crash_clock/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-12-23/the_crash_clock/Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTThe CRASH Clock A group of scientists from Princeton University, UBC, and University of Regina submitted a pre-print on the arXiv, where they […] introduce the Collision Realization And Significant Harm (CRASH) Clock, a [Key Environmental Indicator] (KEI) that evaluates the stress on the orbital environment. (p. 5) The idea is to: to determine how quickly we could expect a collision [between satelhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-12-03/linht/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-12-03/linht/Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTLinHT LinHT is an open source, all-mode, Linux-based, SDR handheld transceiver currently being developed. The project is still in its very early stages, but it looks really interesting! Here are some links: - Introductory article from Aug 18, 2025 by one of the developers. - Quick update from Nov 28, 2025 - Project Wiki with lots more information and links.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-22/freedv_open_source_hf_digital_voice/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-22/freedv_open_source_hf_digital_voice/Sat, 22 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTFreeDV: Open Source HF Digital Voice Illustration: FreeDV: Open Source HF Digital VoiceOpen full-size image From freedv.org: FreeDV is a suite of digital voice modes for HF radio. Our flagship mode is the Radio Autoencoder (RADE). You can run RADE using a free GUI application for Windows, Linux and macOS that allows any SSB radio to be used for high quality digital voice. I haven’t tried it yet, bhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-22/future_canadian_ham_blogs_about_his_classes/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-22/future_canadian_ham_blogs_about_his_classes/Sat, 22 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTFuture Canadian Ham Blogs About His Classes Doug Nix is a future ham operator1) from Ontario who recently blogged really good summaries of Basic classes he took through RAC. The articles are very detailed and might be useful to others wishing to get started with Amateur Radio.2) Here’s the list of topics he covered: - Foundation - Introduction to Electronics - Ohm’s Law - Magnetism and Inductance https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-21/it_s_hard_to_build_an_oscillator/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-21/it_s_hard_to_build_an_oscillator/Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTIt’s Hard to Build an Oscillator https://lcamtuf.substack.com/p/its-hard-to-build-an-oscillatorhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-11/alien_signal_or_meteor_scatter/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-11/alien_signal_or_meteor_scatter/Tue, 11 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTAlien Signal or Meteor Scatter? Aside from its conspiracy debunking nature, this video explains really clearly how meteor scatter and sporadic E works. I had to lookup what NTSC was though. View embedded contenthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-11/esp32_antenna_array_can_see_wifi/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-11/esp32_antenna_array_can_see_wifi/Tue, 11 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTESP32 Antenna Array Can See WiFi View embedded content From the youtube video description: More information is available on the project website of the ESP32 antenna array “ESPARGOS”: https://espargos.net/ Source code for Python library + demos: https://github.com/ESPARGOS/pyespargos (directory “demos/camera” for “WiFi camera” demo) As a research assistant at the Institute of Telecommunications at https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-11/rtl-sdr_compatible_android_app/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-11/rtl-sdr_compatible_android_app/Tue, 11 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTRTL-SDR Compatible Android App Posted on Aug 23, 2025: - RF Analyzer V2.0 Released: RTL-SDR Compatible Android App. View embedded content I haven’t tried it myself, but I thought it was worth spreading the word…https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-11/what_does_impedance_matching_actually_look_like/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-11-11/what_does_impedance_matching_actually_look_like/Tue, 11 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTWhat Does “Impedance Matching” Actually Look Like? This is a really cool video that shows what impedance means in terms of transient currents and potentials. View embedded contenthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-09-27/winlink_thursday/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-09-27/winlink_thursday/Sat, 27 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTWinlink Thursday Here’s information that Larry was providing during our monthly meeting. It’s a very good exercise and everyone is welcome to participate. - https://emcomm-training.org/Winlink\ Thursdays.html latestWLT - https://emcomm-training.groups.io/g/mainhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-09-13/pinpoint_and_track_radio_signals_from_100mhz_to_1ghz/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-09-13/pinpoint_and_track_radio_signals_from_100mhz_to_1ghz/Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTPinpoint and Track Radio Signals from 100MHz to 1GHz KrakenSDR is dedicated solution for Radio Direction Finding / Signal Tracking. Leveraging 5 “coherently linked” interal SDR circuits, the KrakenSDR and included desktop & mobile software allow effortless signal locking, finding and tracking from 100MHz - 1GHz. From lab401.com It’s $1,263 though.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-09-13/the_ast_spacemobile_battle_continues/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-09-13/the_ast_spacemobile_battle_continues/Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTThe AST SpaceMobile Battle Continues The amateur radio community has achieved a significant but limited victory in protecting the 430-440 MHz band from commercial satellite encroachment. AST SpaceMobile’s request for broad commercial use of amateur spectrum has been restricted to emergency-only operations for a maximum of 24 hours and only 20 satellites—but the fight isn’t over. From the Open Resehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-08-22/controlling_shopping_carts_remotely/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-08-22/controlling_shopping_carts_remotely/Fri, 22 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMTControlling Shopping Carts Remotely Here is a YouTube talk on remote shopping cart control View embedded contenthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-08-07/ast_spacemobile_defends_use_of_ham_radio_spectrum/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-08-07/ast_spacemobile_defends_use_of_ham_radio_spectrum/Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMTAST SpaceMobile Defends Use of Ham Radio Spectrum A private satellite company using ham UHF frequencies. From PCMag.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-07-30/how_to_identify_an_unknown_ferrite_core_video/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-07-30/how_to_identify_an_unknown_ferrite_core_video/Wed, 30 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTHow to Identify an Unknown Ferrite Core (Video) View embedded contenthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-07-30/the_grey_line_-_a_twilight_of_propagation/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-07-30/the_grey_line_-_a_twilight_of_propagation/Wed, 30 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTThe Grey Line - A Twilight of Propagation The Twilight Zone of Propagation Ham operators can control many aspects of their station equipment and operating style to maximize their success with DX chasing, contesting, or other involvement with varied emergency communication experiences. There is one magical factor, the Twilight Zone of Propagation, also known as “A Tale of Two Ionospheres.” Advancemhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-07-08/where_are_we_in_solar_cycle_25/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-07-08/where_are_we_in_solar_cycle_25/Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTWhere are we in Solar Cycle 25 Ham operators have enjoyed a period of solar maximum activity, which will start winding down “soon” enough. :-? Thanks to Moonrakeronline.com/blog, we have the following guide on how the solar cycle impacts our hobby. View document where\ are\ we\ in\ solar\ cycle\ 25.pdf")https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-07-07/are_emps_a_real_threat_to_our_radio_gear/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-07-07/are_emps_a_real_threat_to_our_radio_gear/Mon, 07 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTAre EMPs a real threat to our radio gear? With all the new scientific tools available regarding sunspot activity, geomagnetic storms, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), there also are rumours, and sometimes fear, about possible electrical damage to our ham radio gear from an electromagnetic pulse. The attached PDF gives a good overview of the issue. Stay safe on the air! View document are\ emps\ ahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-06-21/centralise_your_amateur_radio_articles/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-06-21/centralise_your_amateur_radio_articles/Sat, 21 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTCentralize Your Amateur Radio Articles I just read an article called Reclaim Your Reading Time: Centralise Your Amateur Radio Articles about RSS syndication for ham radio operators, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to highlight how to get started with this old (decentralized) technology, and how you can follow this site’s RSS feed. First, here is a little introductory blurb from Wikipehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-06-16/to_touch_or_not_to_touch/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-06-16/to_touch_or_not_to_touch/Mon, 16 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTGot Radials? Got coax? Big Question: Touch or not Touch? Radials and Counterpoises are parts of your antenna system . Here are a few points to improve or preserve their performance. View document \radial\\ touch\\ or\\ not\\ touch\\ coax.pdf\")https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-05-27/usb_connectors/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-05-27/usb_connectors/Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTWhat’s Up With All These USB Connectors? The number and type of USB connectors grow with the new technology in our radios, computers, adaptors, interface devices, etc. Here’s a quick visual guide, plus a link to more. View document \a\\ b\\ c\\ ports\\ combined.pdf\") \A Complete USB Guide\https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-05-24/repeater_coverage_map/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-05-24/repeater_coverage_map/Sat, 24 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTRepeater Coverage Map Last winter, I setup an editable map to log signal reports of our repeater. It’s not well developed yet, but if anyone is interested in using it. Have a look here.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-05-03/spider-web_network_topology/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-05-03/spider-web_network_topology/Sat, 03 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTSpider-Web Network Topology Illustration: Spider-Web Network Topology Today at our meeting, we discussed what our ideal AREDN topology should be. AREDN is supposed to be a mesh network, which means that ideally, little planning should be required. However, in practice, there’s a trade off between redundancy and network stability: A physical topology that contains switching or bridge loops is attrahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-02-03/antenna_isolation/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-02-03/antenna_isolation/Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTAntenna Isolation polarization.jpg Suppose you want to mount two (vertically polarized) antennas for two different radios that will use similar frequencies. How far apart should you mount them so that the radios don’t interfere with each other? The radiation pattern of a dipole looks like a doughnut, so it makes sense that for a vertically polarized antenna, the “quietest” spots would be right abohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-01-17/internet_archive_digital_library_of_amateur_radio_communications/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-01-17/internet_archive_digital_library_of_amateur_radio_communications/Fri, 17 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTInternet Archive: Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications The Internet Archive is probably most widely known for the Wayback Machine. But it also archives a Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications. I added this resource to the Miscellaneous section of our Link’s page.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-01-01/ic-7300_low_receive_signal_strength/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2025-01-01/ic-7300_low_receive_signal_strength/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTIC-7300 Low Receive Signal Strength When I use JS8Call with my IC-7300, I sometimes lower the RF gain so that the program receives the right signal levels. But when I switch back to analog, I sometimes forget to move it back up. Today during the net, I found some of the signal reports were pretty asymmetrical and I wondered if something similar might be happening to other people. So here are two whttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-31/quansheng_uv-k5/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-31/quansheng_uv-k5/Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTQuansheng UV-K5 Illustration: Quansheng UV-K5 Last week, I picked up a pair of Quansheng UV-K5 for less than $90 and so far, I’m pretty impressed. In terms of quality, it’s probably only a hair above the Baofeng radios, but it’s got something that most other radios don’t: it’s flashable! It’s also got 200 channels (instead of Baofeng’s 128) and a rating of 4.4 stars on eham.net. After a bit of “rehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-22/telephony_signals_in_pink_floyd_s_the_wall/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-22/telephony_signals_in_pink_floyd_s_the_wall/Sun, 22 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTTelephony signals in Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ https://corelatus.com/blog/Decoding\ the\ telephony\ signals\ in\ Pink\ Floyd\ s\ \ The\ Wall\ .html https://telephoneworld.org/landline-telephone-history/pink-floyds-young-lust-explained-and-demystified/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-13/chirp_update/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-13/chirp_update/Fri, 13 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTChirp Update Illustration: Chirp Update I just update CHIRP to the latest version and was very surprised that it now supports the IC-7300 and ID-5100! Glad to see the project is very much alive and evolving.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-08/updated_band_plan_script/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-08/updated_band_plan_script/Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTUpdated Band Plan Script I updated my Python Band Plan Script with the 630m band and the new plan for 60m. Larry VA7LSP, 2024/12/12 09:45 Thanks, Patrick. A ton of work that’s most appreciated. Larryhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-08/updated_frequency_lists/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-08/updated_frequency_lists/Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTUpdated Frequency Lists I just updated the frequency lists on our Links page. Please let me know if you notice any errors. – va7fi@rbox.me 2024/12/08 18:36https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-03/new_ic-7760_coming_soon/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-12-03/new_ic-7760_coming_soon/Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTNew IC-7760 Coming Soon Illustration: New IC-7760 Coming Soon The new IC-7760 HF radio should be available soon. One feature that sets it apart is that the control head can be connected to the RF Deck over the Local Area Network. It’s a 200W radio, which might explain why the voltage requirements are a bit unusual: Item Details --- --- RF Deck 90 ~ 264 V AC Control Head 15.0 V DC ±0.75 V (with BC-https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-28/k4xo_antenna_builds_theory_testing_and_more/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-28/k4xo_antenna_builds_theory_testing_and_more/Thu, 28 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTK4XO: Antenna builds, theory, testing and more. Author shows modelling, build images and field tests for quite a few types of antenna systems. His Antenna page: https://www.hamradio.me/subjects/antennas If you look around his site, you’ll see much more. Patrick, VA7FI, 2024/11/28 20:57 Wow! Lots of really cool articles on that site. Thanks!https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-24/website_changes/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-24/website_changes/Sun, 24 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTWebsite Changes Today I consolidated three pages into one so that it’s easier to find things: The How-To, Refs, Links sections are now all under the Links section: Before After --- --- Illustration: Website Changes Illustration: Website Changes If you find any broken links or missing pictures anywhere on the site, please let me know. – va7fi@rbox.me 2024/11/24 14:15https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-22/2024_new_yaesu_fm_analogue_mobiles/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-22/2024_new_yaesu_fm_analogue_mobiles/Fri, 22 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT2024 New Yaesu FM Analogue Mobiles Dual VFO: - FM Dual-Band Mobile Transceiver FTM-150RASP 2m: - FM 65W VHF Mobile Transceiver FT-3165RASP - FM 85W VHF Mobile Transceiver FT-3185RASP Patrick, VA7FI, 2024/11/22 19:52 Hey Neil, thanks for the post! I hope you don’t mind that I formatted the links a bit. Do you know if they can do APRS by any chance? I was reading the manuals a bit and didn’t find anhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-22/rattlegram_-_sms_via_audio_and_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-22/rattlegram_-_sms_via_audio_and_radio/Fri, 22 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTRattlegram - SMS via audio (and radio) Illustration: Rattlegram - SMS via audio (and radio)Using the Rattlegram app on your phone, you can encode and decode short text messages into audio that can be played over the radio. I just tested it on a VHF simplex frequency and my text was decoded perfectly in less than a second (it transmits at 2800 baud). Robert and I tested it over our VHF repeater andhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-19/echolink_off_due_to_power_outage/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-19/echolink_off_due_to_power_outage/Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTEcholink Off due to Power Outage (Back On Now) I turned off the Echolink computer to conserve battery power tonight. I’ll turn it back on when we get power back. Stay safe everyone! – va7fi@rbox.me 2024/11/19 20:15 P.S. Pages to the Roberts Creek Fire Department come on 149.290 MHz, and they respond and work using 154.070 MHz. Illustration: Echolink Off due to Power Outage (Back On Now) Update Ourhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-10/emergency_communication_lessons_learned_from_hurricane_helene/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-10/emergency_communication_lessons_learned_from_hurricane_helene/Sun, 10 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTEmergency Communication Lessons Learned From Hurricane Helene View embedded content Video Summary - Dan started using a repeater to deliver personal welfare messages to loved ones. - The repeater he used was at a hardened government site up a mountain and transmitted at 20W with only 5W reaching the antenna, but it had a huge footprint and lots of backup power. - Dan didn’t have much training, buthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-09/aredn_demo_notes/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-11-09/aredn_demo_notes/Sat, 09 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTAREDN Demo Notes Here are the notes I presented at the AREDN demo today. Please keep in mind that many concepts are over simplified and I’ve skipped over a lot of details. The goal was to give as broad an overview as possible. Click on the picture to advance to the next slide, or use the arrows on the bottom left corner of the slides. View embedded content You can also download the PDF version"). https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-10-06/new_echolink_computer_installed/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-10-06/new_echolink_computer_installed/Sun, 06 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTNew Echolink Computer Installed Just a quick announcement that I finally installed the new Echolink computer. The initial testing was successful, but I’ll need to fine tune the audio levels in the next few weeks. It’s easier to do during a net where I can compare the audio of the Echolink computer with that of other people talking. I’ll update the Echolink page with Windows 11 screenshots and new https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-10-04/ham_radio_used_to_help_in_the_wake_of_helene/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-10-04/ham_radio_used_to_help_in_the_wake_of_helene/Fri, 04 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTHam Radio Used to Help in the Wake of Helene View embedded contenthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-09-28/estimating_cost_of_electricity/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-09-28/estimating_cost_of_electricity/Sat, 28 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTEstimating Cost of Electricity It turns out that in BC , there’s an incredibly easy way to estimate the cost of electricity for devices that are always on 24/7: - Take the power consumption in Watts (W) - Divide by 10 - You get the cost of electricity per month for that device That’s right, if something draws 50 W and it’s on 24/7, it costs about $5 per month of electricity to run it. Here’s why thttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-09-20/rfi_from_starlink_to_radio_astronomers/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-09-20/rfi_from_starlink_to_radio_astronomers/Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTRFI from Starlink to radio astronomers https://www.science.org/content/article/worst-nightmare-elon-musk-s-starlink-satellites-could-blind-radio-telescopeshttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-05-05/electricity_consumption_of_our_ev/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-05-05/electricity_consumption_of_our_ev/Sun, 05 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTElectricity Consumption of our EV This isn’t related to ham radio but I thought some might find it interesting… We’ve had our EV for a year now (and drove 18,500 km), so today I pulled the last 3 years of data from our BC Hydro account to see the impact of charging the car at home. Our average consumption was: Daily (kWh) Monthly (kWh) --- --- --- Before EV 24.7 ± 12.2 748 ± 315 After EV 31.7 ± 18https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-04-07/repeater_output_as_simplex_frequency/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-04-07/repeater_output_as_simplex_frequency/Sun, 07 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMTRepeater Output As Simplex Frequency A while ago we had discussed using our repeater’s output frequency (147.220 MHz) as a simplex frequency in case of emergency. Here are the advantages of using one of the standard simplex frequencies VS using our repeater’s output frequency: Standard Simplex Frequencies - Are easier to setup in the radio’s VFO since there’s no default offset. - Don’t potentiallyhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-04-04/end_of_bcswap.ca/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-04-04/end_of_bcswap.ca/Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMTEnd of BCSwap.ca Just saw this notice on http://bcswap.ca IMPORTANT NOTICE The BCSWAP.ca website will be closing at the end of April 2024. It has been fun but there are now much more modern options available to the amateur radio community! Thanks to all who have supported this site for the last decade plus. 73, Rick VE7TK See the Links page for a list of other sites and feel free to add others thahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-02-16/ham_radio_inspired_this_scranton_university_student_to_pursue_engineering/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-02-16/ham_radio_inspired_this_scranton_university_student_to_pursue_engineering/Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMTHam Radio Inspired This Scranton University Student to Pursue Engineering From Spectrum IEEEhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-01-12/talking_to_the_world_with_ft8_on_a_crkits_adx-s_qrp_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2024-01-12/talking_to_the_world_with_ft8_on_a_crkits_adx-s_qrp_radio/Fri, 12 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMTTalking to the World with FT8 on a CRKits ADX-S QRP Radio Stephen Smith’s Bloghttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-11-08/mini-swap_meet_nov_13_huge_selection_-_yuuri_ve7yur/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-11-08/mini-swap_meet_nov_13_huge_selection_-_yuuri_ve7yur/Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMTMini-swap meet Nov 13: huge selection - Date/Time: Monday November 13 (public holiday), starting at 10am. - Location: VE7RBE’s car port - address: 312 Hough Rd, Gibsons Computers, HF and VHF radios, antennas, and a huge list of other items for sale and to give away Many items are listed on our Buy-and-Sell page (login required)https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-09-24/basic_course_by_nara_over_zoom/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-09-24/basic_course_by_nara_over_zoom/Sun, 24 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTBasic Course by NARA Over Zoom NARA is offering a Basic course starting October 7. More info here.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-09-18/dlarc/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-09-18/dlarc/Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTDLARC Tens of thousands of publications relating to amateur radio: https://archive.org/details/dlarchttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-09-18/meet_some_of_the_coast_s_amateur_radio_volunteers_preparing_for_emergencies/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-09-18/meet_some_of_the_coast_s_amateur_radio_volunteers_preparing_for_emergencies/Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTMeet some of the Coast’s amateur radio volunteers preparing for emergencies https://www.coastreporter.net/local-news/meet-some-of-the-coasts-amateur-radio-volunteers-preparing-for-emergencies-7544050https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-07-29/world_scout_jamboree_2023_korea/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-07-29/world_scout_jamboree_2023_korea/Sat, 29 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT25th World Scout Jamboree 2023 Korea My son Joseph along with fellow Venturer Sea Scout Ben,Tony (Ben’s Dad), Elliott VA7ETC and his wife Katherine are all attending the World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum South Korea from August 1st to August 12th , representing the 6th Roberts Creek Scout Group 25th World Jamboree ( they are presently there having pre-camp adventures). There will be a radio exhibhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-07-22/echolink_is_back/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-07-22/echolink_is_back/Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMTEcholink Is Back echolink2.jpg A while ago, the display of the old Kenwood radio we were using for Echolink stopped working, and then a bit later, the radio gave out completely. It took a while, but we got Echolink up and running again using a Yeasu FT-2500M donated by Abe’s (VE7BGM) estate. When I first connected it, I had an issue where the volume had to be up and we had to listen to the radio ihttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-07-13/canada_day_contest_2023/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-07-13/canada_day_contest_2023/Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMTCanada Day Contest 2023 This year’s Canada Day contest was held at Mission Point Park in Davis Bay east of Sechelt. The assembled group was treated to near perfect weather conditions. The close proximity of the park to the ocean provided a gentle breeze for most of the day keeping everyone cool despite the sunny conditions. This year marked a new twist with the rental of nearby Mission House just https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-06-30/arrl_field_day_2023/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-06-30/arrl_field_day_2023/Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMTARRL Field Day 2023 On Saturday June 24th, SCARCS participated in the annual ARRL Field Day. We set up at Maryanne West Park in Elphinstone (Area E). VE7TBN planned the event and did all the leg work. Thanks to VE7TBN. Unfortunately, VE7TBN was unable to attend at the last minute. We missed you Neil. This was the first time the club has participated in Field Day since 2019. Participating this yearhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-29/guardian_article_on_amateur_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-29/guardian_article_on_amateur_radio/Mon, 29 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTGuardian Article on Amateur Radio https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/27/ham-radio-emergency-natural-disaster-climate-crisishttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-13/chek_news_article_about_vancouver_island_ham/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-13/chek_news_article_about_vancouver_island_ham/Sat, 13 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTchek NEWS article about Vancouver Island Ham When catastrophe calls, the unseen heroes of Vancouver Island’s last radio lifeline are ready Link to articlehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-12/mini-swap_meet_may_27th/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-12/mini-swap_meet_may_27th/Fri, 12 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTMini-Swap Meet May 27th Here’s a little more information about the Mini-Swap Meet on May 27th: Where: 1381 Roberts Creek Road Illustration: Where: (same driveway as Sharkeys, but stay left and go down the penhandle driveway) When: Saturday May 27th at 9:30am Who: Anyone is welcome! Bring your own camping chair and coffee. If it’s raining, we’ll be able to hangout under the carport. What: So far, whttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-10/beavers/cubs_battleship_event/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-10/beavers/cubs_battleship_event/Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTBeavers/Cubs Battleship Event This past Monday and Tuesday VE7ETC, VA7ILO, VE7QCB, and VE7RBE put on a radio oriented event for the Cubs and Beavers respectively. We met at Cliff Gilker Park and made use of the covered picnic table. We started with a dipole that VA7ILO made. The reception was good as we heard stations from around the USA including Boston. We were not able to be heard by VE7TBN so https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-01/ve7fjk_in_the_newsletter_for_sechelt_activities_centre/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-05-01/ve7fjk_in_the_newsletter_for_sechelt_activities_centre/Mon, 01 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTVE7FJK in the newsletter for Sechelt Activities Centre ve7fjk\ in\ the\ news.\ may.2023.pdf")https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-04-03/city_news_report_on_contacting_iss/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-04-03/city_news_report_on_contacting_iss/Mon, 03 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMTCity News Report on Contacting ISS https://vancouver.citynews.ca/video/2023/03/30/calling-astronauts-on-the-international-space-stationhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-04-02/ads-x_arduino_based_qrp_digital_modes_kit/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-04-02/ads-x_arduino_based_qrp_digital_modes_kit/Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMTADS-X Arduino based QRP Digital modes kit. Its been a while since I put together my 20M Phaser and 40M Phaser kits (still have a 17M to build) so I have always been looking for similar kits since I had so much fun building and using them, unfortunately they are no longer produced, so when I ran across this it instantly peaked my interest (so much so I ordered one, so will have a separate post on hhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-02-16/k9yo-15/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-02-16/k9yo-15/Thu, 16 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMTK9YO-15 https://www.rtl-sdr.com/the-us-airforce-may-have-shot-down-an-amateur-radio-pico-balloon-over-canada/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-01-28/winter_field_day_logs/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-01-28/winter_field_day_logs/Sat, 28 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMTWinter Field Day Logs A huge thanks to all those who participated in the Winter Field Day event this year. As you could probably tell, we’re more into the socializing (and eating!) aspect than getting points… But for those who are curious, I just compiled the logs from the two stations we had and submitted them. Here’s the summary: - Between using phone (PH), digital (DG), and CW, we got a multiplhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-01-18/carbon_oxygen_battery/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2023-01-18/carbon_oxygen_battery/Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMTCarbon Oxygen Battery There’s an article on electrek today about a company called Noon Energy who secured funding to commercialize Carbon Oxygen batteries. According to the article, compared to lithium-ion batteries, carbon oxygen batteries would: - require only 1% of the critical elements - cost about 10% - have three times the energy density There’s not a lot of technical information, but I founhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-12-31/openstreetmaps/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-12-31/openstreetmaps/Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMTOpenStreetMaps Illustration: OpenStreetMaps I think OpenStreetMap could be very useful in case of an emergency since the maps can be downloaded locally to be used without an internet connection. Here’s a page I just put together showcasing it on Android and Linux. If anyone tries it on iOS, let me know how it is and feel free to add a section to the page!https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-12-16/ham_radio_repeater_connects_lost_hiker/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-12-16/ham_radio_repeater_connects_lost_hiker/Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMTHam Radio Repeater Connects Lost Hiker https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/ham-radio-repeater-connects-lost-hiker-with-help/article\ ee26f808-7b2a-11ed-9c25-4ff20590aa2f.html?utm\ medium=social&utm\ source=email&utm\ campaign=user-sharehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-12-02/three_canadian_amateurs_are_now_authorized_on_the_8m_band/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-12-02/three_canadian_amateurs_are_now_authorized_on_the_8m_band/Fri, 02 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMTThree Canadian Amateurs Are Now Authorized on the 8m Band From the Canada Amateur Radio Operators group on Facebook: Illustration: Three Canadian Amateurs Are Now Authorized on the 8m Bandhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-11-28/montana_pbs_documentary_ham/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-11-28/montana_pbs_documentary_ham/Mon, 28 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMTMontana PBS Documentary: HAM https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/ham/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-11-14/jota_in_the_coast_reporter/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-11-14/jota_in_the_coast_reporter/Mon, 14 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMTJOTA in the Coast Reporter Illustration: JOTA in the Coast Reporter This week, SCARCS’ Jamboree on the Air event was featured in the Coast Reporter. https://www.coastreporter.net/in-the-community/elphinstone-chronicles-the-vegetarian-friendly-kind-of-ham-6086030https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-10-27/jota_2022/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-10-27/jota_2022/Thu, 27 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMTJOTA 2022 On Wednesday October 13th, VE7TBN and VE7MWH gave a presentation to the Scouts on amateur radio at Camp Byng to prepare them for JOTA. On October 15th 2022, SCARCS hosted the 6th Robert’s Creek Scouts for Jamboree on the Air at VE7RBE’s QTH. SCARCS members arrived at 09:30 and began launching ropes up trees to erect the club’s 20/40m dipole. VE7TBN brought the portable HF station from thhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-10-27/new_repeater_in_nanaimo/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-10-27/new_repeater_in_nanaimo/Thu, 27 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMTNew Repeater in Nanaimo On October 18th, the club’s new repeater was put into service at Cottle Hill in Nanaimo. The repeater is a Motorola Quantar that was donated to the club. The club’s Yaesu DR-1X will remain in Nanaimo as backup.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-10-08/mailing_list_is_down/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-10-08/mailing_list_is_down/Sat, 08 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMTMailing List is Down Update: Oct 8, 16:37 Looks like the mailing list is back up. Oct 8, 9:00 Hello everyone. It looks like the mailing list is down at the moment. I’ll update this and send out an email when it’s back up. Cheers! Pathttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-09-29/some_aredn_news/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-09-29/some_aredn_news/Thu, 29 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTSome AREDN news… rcpier.jpeg This afternoon, I ran a few tests with Chris and Devan and it was promising. More details on my wcaredn page.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-09-24/echolink_down/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-09-24/echolink_down/Sat, 24 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTEcholink Back Online echolink.jpg Sept 26, 2022 : Echolink is back online. I’m not sure what the issue was. It powered just fine at Neil’s place and when I reconnected it here it worked. Maybe the radio just needed to get out of the house for a little bit… Sept 24, 2022 : I just noticed this morning that the Echolink radio is not powering on. I did a basic voltage test and there’s voltage on the rhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-09-11/new_mira_aredn_net/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-09-11/new_mira_aredn_net/Sun, 11 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTNew MIRA AREDN Net Ron, VE7RQX, started a new net on Sundays at 9:30 (after the 9:00 Sunday net) dedicated to discussing AREDN. I checked in this morning and learned a few very interesting things. Anyone interested in welcome to check in on VE7RBB (147.180 MHz + T100.0). For more information about AREDN, see wcaredn.cahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-08-06/wiki_update_complete/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-08-06/wiki_update_complete/Sat, 06 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMTWiki Update COMPLETE For the past month or so, some of you might have noticed this banner at the top of the wiki when you log in1): Illustration: Wiki Update COMPLETE It indicated that a new update of the wiki engine is available. I had been waiting for the stable release to be available instead of the release candidate (rc) and it looks like it is now. I finished testing this update on a local cohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-07-12/canada_day_field_day_2022/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-07-12/canada_day_field_day_2022/Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMTCanada Day Field Day 2022 A belated Canada Day Field Day 2022 report. - Weather: perfect - Operators present: VE7RBE VE7QCB VE7YUR (thanks for coming down from YT Yuri !) VE7RG VE7TBP VE7JGZ VA7CFG VE7TBN. - Station: Icom 7300, 9700, battery powered Elecraft QRP, 20 / 40m dipole, 20m 1/4 λ vertical, 2m Yagi. The dipole was raised to a very respectable height, 2M Yagi got strapped to a tent post, thttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-05-29/utc_time_on_ic-7300/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-05-29/utc_time_on_ic-7300/Sun, 29 May 2022 00:00:00 GMTUTC Time on IC-7300 Here’s how I setup the time on my IC-7300: I set the Date/Time to UTC instead of local time, and I reverse the sign of the UTC offset: Illustration: UTC Time on IC-7300 The result is that the clock shows UTC time by default, and if I want to see the local time, I can press on the clock. Illustration: UTC Time on IC-7300 Illustration: UTC Time on IC-7300 And when comes time to ghttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-05-26/who_knew_grounding_was_controversial/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-05-26/who_knew_grounding_was_controversial/Thu, 26 May 2022 00:00:00 GMTWho Knew Grounding Was Controversial Over on the IC-7300 Groups.io, someone asked a fair question about grounding and bonding. After about 40 replies, it ended like this: Illustration: Who Knew Grounding Was Controversialhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-03-29/haarp_on_the_air/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-03-29/haarp_on_the_air/Tue, 29 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMTHAARP on the Air https://nediv.arrl.org/2022/03/26/haarp-on-the-air/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-03-03/blowing_up_capacitors_at_187000_fps/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-03-03/blowing_up_capacitors_at_187000_fps/Thu, 03 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMTBlowing up Capacitors at 187000 fps Here’s what it looks like in super slow motion when capacitors blow up from over voltage: View embedded content Oh and the “lower case u” symbol for “micro” is actually the Greek letter “mu” "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu (letter)"): math: \mu . But that’s that’s not the point… Those pictures are amazing!https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-01-11/raspberry_pi_can_detect_malware_by_scanning_for_em_waves/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-01-11/raspberry_pi_can_detect_malware_by_scanning_for_em_waves/Tue, 11 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMTRaspberry Pi Can Detect Malware By Scanning for EM Waves From Gizmodo: A team of researchers at France’s Research Institute of Computer Science and Random Systems created an anti-malware system centered around a Raspberry Pi that scans devices for electromagnetic waves. As reported by Tom’s Hardware, the security device uses an oscilloscope (Picoscope 6407) and H-Field probe connected to a Raspberhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-01-04/guide_to_doing_radio_astronomy_with_rpi_and_sdr_pdf/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-01-04/guide_to_doing_radio_astronomy_with_rpi_and_sdr_pdf/Tue, 04 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMTGuide to Doing Radio Astronomy with RPi and SDR [pdf] https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ssS\ zBQWDEXMENc2\ aqqPGxGkEEU5Ea3/viewhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-01-04/humming_bird_feeder_heater/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2022-01-04/humming_bird_feeder_heater/Tue, 04 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMTHummingbird Feeder Heater During our net this morning ( January 4, 2022 ) discussion came up about how our tiny feathered friends are doing in the recent cold snap, this was something I tried to keep one of our hummingbird feeders from freezing up. I was looking at ideas for using small heating pads to keep it de-iced when I ran across what this fellow did on YouTube, it is so simple and inexpensihttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-12-28/new_site_template/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-12-28/new_site_template/Tue, 28 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMTNew Site Template Unfortunately, it looks like the old 20Cones template we were using hasn’t been updated since 2014 and it was starting to cause issues with some other parts of the website. Until I find a better template, I reverted back to the default with some customization. The old tempate Illustration: The old tempate The new template Illustration: The new template The main differences - The https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-12-27/decoding_james_web_telescope/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-12-27/decoding_james_web_telescope/Mon, 27 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMTDecoding James Web Telescope https://destevez.net/2021/12/decoding-james-webb-space-telescope/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-11-23/aredn_wiki/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-11-23/aredn_wiki/Tue, 23 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMTAREDN Wiki Illustration: AREDN WikiOur new West Coast AREDN wiki is live here: https://wcaredn.ca It’s pretty early days in terms of content, but it already has a good introduction to getting started with AREDN. Follow these instructions if you’d like to get an account to contribute to the wiki.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-11-23/new_club_banner/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-11-23/new_club_banner/Tue, 23 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMTNew Club Banner Here’s a picture of the new club banner we’re getting printed: Illustration: New Club Banner Big thanks to Gord (VE7JGZ) for getting this put produced! :-Dhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-10-25/tuesday_morning_net/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-10-25/tuesday_morning_net/Mon, 25 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMTTuesday Morning Net If VE7RXZ is still having issues this Tuesday at 09:30, we will do a simplex net on 146.565.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-10-25/ve7rxz_issue/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-10-25/ve7rxz_issue/Mon, 25 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMTVE7RXZ Issue [RESOLVED] October 26 update: The repeater is back online. It seems that a simple reboot solved the issue. I restarted Echolink and the crossband link to VE7SCK. – va7fi@rbox.me 2021/10/26 15:49 Original Post: VE7RXZ is experiencing an issue where it is transmitting a constant tone. The tone is being transmitted without the usual 100.0Hz tone that the repeater usually transmits with. https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-10-19/jota_2021/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-10-19/jota_2021/Tue, 19 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMTJOTA 2021 Illustration: JOTA 2021 Saturday October 16th, 2021 was a stormy day. We received over 100mm of rain. Ditches were overflowing and covering the roads with water. Luckily, the school district has erected new steel gazebos at local schools. SCARCS setup a station at Cedar Grove Elementary School. VE7TBP, VE7TBN, VA7FI, VE7RBE, VA7ILO, and VE7ETC participated. VE7ETC is the Scout leader of https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-10-11/one_way_to_install_a_rotator/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-10-11/one_way_to_install_a_rotator/Mon, 11 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMTThat’s One Way To Install a Rotator View embedded content Apparently it can complete a full rotation in 22 seconds. (source)https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-28/barker_williamson_antenna_install_at_the_scrd/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-28/barker_williamson_antenna_install_at_the_scrd/Wed, 28 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMTBarker & Williamson Antenna Install at the SCRD Through a grant, the SCRD Emergency Program was able to get a Barker & Williamson antenna for HF communications. VA7JJR, VE7TBN, and VE7RBE took down the existing fan dipole antenna that had served the Emergency Program well for many years and put up the Barker & Williamson antenna. In the weeks to come, the ECT team will experiment with the antenna https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-16/cuban_government_jamming_40_meters/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-16/cuban_government_jamming_40_meters/Fri, 16 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMTCuban Government Jamming 40 meters https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/cuban-government-jamming-40-meter-us-ham-band.772207/ https://k0lwc.com/direction-finding-points-to-cuba-jamming-ham-radio-frequencies/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s9TpQSkN9w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVJS4skdtR8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtICIDDvnPwhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-10/hidden_baofeng_settings/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-10/hidden_baofeng_settings/Sat, 10 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMTHidden Baofeng Settings I stumbled on these two “hidden” settings on my Baofeng radio yesterday which I added to the Short Guide: \ Short press to reverse repeater output and input Long press to scan channels or frequencies Short press to toggle between H/L power Long press to lock the controls Other Tips and Settings From the MENU settings: TDR ON allows the radio to quickly scan between the A/B https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-08/temporary_ve7sck_crossband_link/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-08/temporary_ve7sck_crossband_link/Thu, 08 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMTTemporary VE7SCK Crossband Link DISCONNECTED Dec 24, 2021 I took one of the radios back to install in my work truck so I had to disconnect the temporary crossband repeater. July 2021 kt8900corssband.jpegA few weeks ago, VE7SCK (442.650 + T100.0) was finally connected to its new antenna. The plan is to setup a permanent RF link between it and VE7RXZ (147.220 + T100.0) in Nanaimo, but until then, I https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-04/successful_aredn_connection_to_nanaimo/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-07-04/successful_aredn_connection_to_nanaimo/Sun, 04 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMTSuccessful AREDN connection to Nanaimo Image unavailable in source: Illustration: Successful AREDN connection to Nanaimo Today, Chris (VE7TOP) and I managed to connect our AREDN equipment between Nanaimo and Roberts Creek. See the how-to section for more details. There’s an AREDN discussion on Zoom tonight at 7pm. It’ll be interesting to hear everyone’s feedback about today’s experiment.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-11/arrl_field_day_2021/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-11/arrl_field_day_2021/Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMTARRL Field Day 2021 At this year’s AGM, it was decided that we would do Field Day from home like last year. The temporary COVID rules from last year have been extended to this year. This means that home stations can make contacts for points and points from individuals can be combined for a club score. If you decide to participate in Field Day, please consider using “Sun Coast Amateur Radio Club Sohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/new_tags/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/new_tags/Sat, 05 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMTNew Tags We upgraded our website over two years ago, and since then we’ve collected 172 posts (173 with this one). I was doing a little maintenance on the site today and decided to add tags to our existing posts. In addition to the year and month tags we’ve been using, I added news , opinion , gear , software and fav (for favourite miscellaneous posts). The goal isn’t to tag every single post, buthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/test_2/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/test_2/Sat, 05 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMTtest 2https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/test_3/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/test_3/Sat, 05 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMTtest 3https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/test_a/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/test_a/Sat, 05 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMTTest 1https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/vancouver_recording_studio_plagued_by_radio_interference/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-05/vancouver_recording_studio_plagued_by_radio_interference/Sat, 05 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMTVancouver Recording Studio Plagued by Radio Interference Article on CBC: Vancouver’s Armoury Studios has been hosting international musicians for more than two decades. World-famous acts like Kiss, Avril Lavigne and Busta Rhymes have recorded out of the Kitsilano studio. But for the past six months, unexplained radio interference has been threatening to ruin the studio’s reputation. […] and one cohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-01/sea_signals/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-06-01/sea_signals/Tue, 01 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMTSea Signals Here is a link to a virtual exhibit from the Vancouver Maritime Museum, prepared by Langara College Students, it shows various communication methods at sea over time and has quite a bit about radio communication. http://seasignals.com/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-05-30/narrowband_proposal/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-05-30/narrowband_proposal/Sun, 30 May 2021 00:00:00 GMTNarrowband Proposal Last year1), we discussed how the BCARCC was considering following the Western Washington Amateur Relay Association’s proposal to move the 2m repeater spacing from 20 kHz to 12.5 kHz and the 70cm repeater spacing from 25 kHz to 12.5 kHz. The 70cm move is pretty straight forward since 12.5 kHz fits exactly twice in 25 kHz so no-one would have to actually change frequency other thttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-05-09/is_it_ham_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-05-09/is_it_ham_radio/Sun, 09 May 2021 00:00:00 GMTIs it Ham Radio? One of the recurring “issues” in the ham radio world is the question of whether technology math: x is ham radio or not. It’s often framed as a black and white question and loaded with moral and prescriptive tones. My view is that: 1. It’s not black and white, and 2. The outcome only affects my own level of interest and doesn’t say anything about what others should be doing. 3. It https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-04-02/aredn/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-04-02/aredn/Fri, 02 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMTAREDN Illustration: AREDN For the last few months, a few of us here and on the Island have been experimenting with computer networks over ham radio frequencies using AREDN. It’s still very early days for us, but I created a section about AREDN with useful links to get started.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-04-02/membership_due/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-04-02/membership_due/Fri, 02 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMTMembership Due By becoming a member, you help maintain our repeater system and give the club a stronger voice in regional and provincial amateur radio affairs. Members also get write access to our website and read/write access to the Members area. Here’s a quick how-to page for new members. - The membership fee is $25.00 for individuals (or $35.00 for a family membership) and is due by April 1st.1https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-03-20/covid-19_spread_part_iii/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-03-20/covid-19_spread_part_iii/Sat, 20 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTCovid-19 Spread (Part III) A year ago, I wrote two posts looking at the Covid-19 numbers for Canada. - Part I looked at a basic exponential model built at a time (mid-March 2020) when we only had 350 reported cases across the country. It predicted that we’d have 26,000 cases two weeks later, which sounded absolutely crazy. It was wrong by about two weeks. We hit 26,000 in mid-April 2020. Illustrathttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-03-19/the_anatomy_of_a_scam/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-03-19/the_anatomy_of_a_scam/Fri, 19 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTThe Anatomy of a Scam This is not ham radio related, but I thought it might be a good public service announcement non-the-less… I just watched this 23-minute long video detailing the anatomy of a scam and why they work so well. Oh and the glitterbomb stuff is pretty cool too! View embedded content In a nutshell here’s why these scams are so effective: 1. They hook you in by telling you that they ohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-03-08/cq_dx_2021/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-03-08/cq_dx_2021/Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTPossible Low Budget Antenna? I used this on the recent CQ DX contest as a SOSB on 20 meters. Granted, it was a contest, so LOTS of people were on air but this antenna allowed QSO with Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, Columbia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Mexico on an Icom 750 at “100” Watts. QTH was ideal for propagation, ground soil looked good, but regardless, it seems to show that even a simple antennhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-02-28/universal_radio_hacker/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-02-28/universal_radio_hacker/Sun, 28 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMTUniversal Radio Hacker The Universal Radio Hacker (URH) is a complete suite for wireless protocol investigation with native support for many common Software Defined Radios. URH allows easy demodulation of signals combined with an automatic detection of modulation parameters making it a breeze to identify the bits and bytes that fly over the air. As data often gets encoded before transmission, URH https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-02-19/british_columbia_radio_amateur_copies_signal_from_mars-orbiting_satellite/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-02-19/british_columbia_radio_amateur_copies_signal_from_mars-orbiting_satellite/Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMTBritish Columbia Radio Amateur Copies Signal from Mars-Orbiting Satellite http://www.arrl.org/news/british-columbia-radio-amateur-copies-signal-from-mars-orbiting-satellitehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-02-09/ham_radio_forms_a_planet-sized_space_weather_sensor_network/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-02-09/ham_radio_forms_a_planet-sized_space_weather_sensor_network/Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMTHam Radio Forms a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network https://eos.org/features/ham-radio-forms-a-planet-sized-space-weather-sensor-networkhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-02-01/winter_field_day_2021/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-02-01/winter_field_day_2021/Mon, 01 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMTReport: Winter Field Day 2021 Hi folks. Jan. 30 2:30 - 5:00 PST on 20 meters with Icom 750 on battery, RF at full power, no ATU, inverted V with air wound choke. Antenna apex height: ~ 16’, elements: ~ 16.5’ Five QSO’s including CO, Southern CA, Fairbanks AL. One signal report: possible RF interference. (I’d anticipated this so had packed a short length of 3.5“ ABS with pre drilled holes). I woundhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-30/atu-100_project/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-30/atu-100_project/Sat, 30 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTATU-100 Project Illustration: ATU-100 Project Here is a link to a really interesting open source automatic antenna tuner kit that can be built inexpensively, I ordered a kit the other day about $60 CDN so am anxiously awaiting for it to arrive. It also has an OLED display which shows by default the power, SWR and selected inductance and capacitance, the kits range from fully assembled to partiallyhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-28/winter_field_day/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-28/winter_field_day/Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTWinter Field Day Winter Field Day is this weekend starting on Saturday at 11am PST and ending on Sunday at 11am PST. The full rules are here. To get club points, we must all use exactly the same club name (spelled exactly the same way) but also not overlap with other clubs that may have similar names (like the other Suncoast Amateur Radio Club in Florida). I suggest we all use: Suncoast ARCS BC Sohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-14/apple_m1_assembly_language_hello_world/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-14/apple_m1_assembly_language_hello_world/Thu, 14 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTApple M1 Assembly Language Hello World Stephen Smith’s (VA7SMI) article on M1 assembly language recently hit 1 on Hacker News - https://smist08.wordpress.com/2021/01/08/apple-m1-assembly-language-hello-world/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-09/printed_references/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-09/printed_references/Sat, 09 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTPrinted References printout.jpg Computers are great, but for some things, there’s nothing like paper… Here’s a list of references that I have printed at my station: - Page 1‒3 of my Radio Frequency List") found on the Radio Programming page under the “Refs” section. On that page, I’ve got the repeaters that I use the most circled with some hand written notes. - The radio “Reference Guides” for thehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-07/civility_in_ham_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-07/civility_in_ham_radio/Thu, 07 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTCivility in Ham Radio In light of the recent events1), Dave has a short 5 minute video on Civility in the Ham Radio World that very much applies this side of the border. View embedded content Note 1 Interesting how American blog Boing Boing chose footage from the CBC. Mark asks a very good question: Why was D.C. teeming with National Guard troops in advance of relatively peaceful Black Lives Mattehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-02/js8call_hf_net_process/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2021-01-02/js8call_hf_net_process/Sat, 02 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTJS8Call HF Net Process (Update) Over on groups.io, there’s a discussion in the JS8Call group about using JS8 to run a Net. Gordon Gibby (KX4Z NCS521) opened the discussion on Dec 22, 2020: A few volunteers are giving a try at creating a protocol for a communications NET managed using JS8. The impetus came from observing the difficulties of voice net check-ins spread over a wide geographic area, wihttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-12-23/surrey_bc_amateur_radio_club_basic_course_jan_2021/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-12-23/surrey_bc_amateur_radio_club_basic_course_jan_2021/Wed, 23 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMTSurrey Amateur Radio Club Basic Course Jan 2021 From Coast Emergency Communications Association Register now for our next Basic Amateur Radio course. whether for a modern hobby, emergency preparedness, hiking, off-roading or communications anywhere, without a phone Course starts online Jan 18 or COVID limited classroom Jan 19 @ 6:30pm. Email VA7XB@rac.cahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-12-09/ham_tech_talks/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-12-09/ham_tech_talks/Wed, 09 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMTAmateur Radio Tech Talks A little while ago, I sat in on one of the first tech talks given by Devan in Nanaimo. It was really interesting, and as far as Zoom meetings go, it was one of the most enjoyable ones. They have now published a website for their events: https://artt.cahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-11-26/a_look_at_chang_e_5_telemetry/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-11-26/a_look_at_chang_e_5_telemetry/Thu, 26 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMTA look at Chang’e 5 telemetry https://destevez.net/2020/11/a-look-at-change-5-telemetry/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-11-21/ve7sck_update/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-11-21/ve7sck_update/Sat, 21 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMTVE7SCK Update 8 There’s a lot going on with VE7SCK at the moment and we’ll use this post to keep you up-to-date. First of all, recall that: - Over a year ago, we installed the VE7SCK at the Fire Hall in Roberts Creek. The antenna was very low so the coverage was very minimal. But it helped us get a foot in the door for when the new tower is installed. - A few weeks later, we changed to tone to mathttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-11-08/geogebra_plugin/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-11-08/geogebra_plugin/Sun, 08 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMTGeogebra Plugin Geogebra is a graphing and geometry tool I’ve been using since my teaching days. I always found it to be very useful to display concepts that are hard to visualize on a static page. However, it is a lot more than a simple animation since people can interact with it and move things around. In the past, I had to export Geogbra files to html5 to embed them, but the process was pretty https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-10-16/jamboree_on_the_air/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-10-16/jamboree_on_the_air/Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMTJamboree on the Air SCARCS will be operating Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) using the callsign VE7SCA on Saturday October 17th with local Scouts. The event will take place from 10:00 until the afternoon. The event will take place at Maryanne West Park in Gibsons. On Thursday October 15th, members of SCARCS (VE7RBE, VA7FI, VA7ILO) did a Zoom presentation for the Scouts to teach about amateur radio and https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-10-13/bcpsn_checkins/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-10-13/bcpsn_checkins/Tue, 13 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMTBCPSN Checkins The latest upgrade of my Net Roll Call Spreadsheet has a tab that queries the ISED Database. So tonight, I logged every Canadian station that I heard (or heard relayed) and looked at the distribution of qualifications of the people who checked in. Out of 126 stations: - 9% only have Basic (+ some Morse) - 31% only have Basic with Honours - 60% have Advanced Illustration: BCPSN Checkhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-10-09/hamcuredsmoke/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-10-09/hamcuredsmoke/Fri, 09 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMTHamCuredSmoke Illustration: HamCuredSmoke Ron, VE7RQX, mentioned this Youtube Video Series by HamCuredSmoke about the IC-7300. It’s got 42 videos. With the weather turning to rain, it might be a good time to go through them… I posted a link to it in the How-To HF section.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-10-08/ve7til_hears_mars_reconnaissance_orbiter/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-10-08/ve7til_hears_mars_reconnaissance_orbiter/Thu, 08 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMTVE7TIL Hears Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter From ARRL: Illustration: VE7TIL Hears Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Scott Tilley, VE7TIL, in [Roberts Creek] British Columbia, Canada, received a signal from the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), flying just 274 kilometers (about 170 miles) above the red planet’s surface. The signal was an X-band carrier containing no data or telemetry. “Its purpose is https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-27/reactos_attempt/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-27/reactos_attempt/Sun, 27 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTReactOS Attempt I recently just learned of ReactOS, a Free and Open Source Operating System that has been in the works for over 20 years and aims to be able to natively run Windows programs and drivers. It’s still feature-incomplete alpha software, but I thought it could be a good way of running ham radio programs made for Windows so I gave it a try in Virtualbox and tried to install Winlink. TLDRhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-23/baofeng_saves_mars_mission/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-23/baofeng_saves_mars_mission/Wed, 23 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTBaofeng Saves Mars Mission Well, at least in the TV series Away it did. ;-) img\ 20200923\ 003956.jpg I’m not sure how they managed it though because they were supposed to use UHF and the frequency was set to 136.xxx.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-22/old_tv_caused_village_broadband_outages_for_18_months/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-22/old_tv_caused_village_broadband_outages_for_18_months/Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTOld TV caused village broadband outages for 18 months https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-54239180 Comments: - It used to be that plugging in the coax connector of an old Telus modem (not the new ones) to the outside lines (say using a coax wall outlet that’s still “live”) would take out the Coast Cable equipment of an entire block. I don’t know exactly how this person’s TV was connected, but it seehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-22/thursday_net_announcement/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-22/thursday_net_announcement/Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTThursday Net Announcement This Thursday (Sept 24), our 19:30 net will be replaced by the Coast-to-Coast exercise to give everyone a chance to participate if they wish to. The goal of the exercise is for operators to practice operating their VHF/UHF radio in an adhoc fashion: - At 19:00, secondary net controllers will check in on the Island Trunk System (ITS) with the main net controller and then mhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-15/more_info_on_the_radio_aboard_iss/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-15/more_info_on_the_radio_aboard_iss/Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTMore Info on the Radio Aboard ISS http://k0lwc.com/new-ham-radio-onboard-the-iss-is-on-the-air/ Update : I was wondering why the radio needed to be modified for space and found this NASA Parts Selection List page. Pretty interesting stuff – va7fi@rbox.me 2020/09/15 20:18https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-15/no_more_winmor/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-15/no_more_winmor/Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTNo more WINMOR From Winlink: 10 July 2020 ‒ The Board of Directors of the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation voted in a recent virtual meeting to deprecate the WINMOR HF mode in the Winlink system. The protocol was introduced by its author Rick Muething, KN6KB, at the 2008 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference in Chicago. It was the first popular —sound card’ radio mode to offer an alternative https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-14/emergency_preparedness_podcast_episode/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-14/emergency_preparedness_podcast_episode/Mon, 14 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTEmergency Preparedness Podcast Episode I’ve been listening to Gimlet’s How To Save A Planet podcast and their latest episode, Unnatural Distaster, was very practical. Personal Preparedness At first, I thought it was going to deliver prepper-type information, but it did much more. On the personal side, they talked about having a go-bag, and the items listed were:1) - a spare outfit - a spare pair ohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-13/new_desk/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-13/new_desk/Sun, 13 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTVA7FI’s New Desk Yesterday, I finally finished installing my new desk and re-organizing the bulk of my station. Here are a few before / after pictures. Before open.jpg closed.jpg Since we moved to Roberts Creek, my station has been tucked away in a small Ikea shelving unit in the corner of our small livingroom. It was nice because I could close the doors and keep everything hidden away, but it alshttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-12/welcome_richard_mitchell/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-12/welcome_richard_mitchell/Sat, 12 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTWelcome Richard Mitchell Please welcome Richard Mitchell, VA7RJQ with a QTH or Sechelt to our club.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-11/welcome_back_john_hall/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-11/welcome_back_john_hall/Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTWelcome Back John Hall After a short hiatus, John Hall, VE7HCC has rejoined our club.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-11/welcome_kevin_southern/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-11/welcome_kevin_southern/Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTWelcome Kevin Southern Welcome to Kevin Southern who just joined our club. He is currently studying to obtain his amateur radio license.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-03/iphone_rfi/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-09-03/iphone_rfi/Thu, 03 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTiPhone RFI https://twitter.com/doctorcube/status/1300953606221422594https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-28/ham_radio_is_dying_no_it_s_not_it_s_evolving/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-28/ham_radio_is_dying_no_it_s_not_it_s_evolving/Fri, 28 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMTHam radio is dying! No it’s not, it’s evolving I’ve heard ham radio is dying since as far back as I can remember. It’s one of those common sayings you always hear. Like, “get off my lawn,” and “kids these days.” But is it true? Is there any evidence to support this? Let’s take a closer look. Ham radio is dying! No it’s not, it’s evolvinghttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-26/very_brief_history_of_sdr/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-26/very_brief_history_of_sdr/Wed, 26 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMTVery Brief History of SDR I really like the Cory Doctorow podcast, which usually start with a brief intro, followed by a short reading of sorts, and ending with a debrief of the reading. This week, Cory reads part 14 of this first novel (which I read years ago), and in the debrief, said something really interesting about GNU radio and SDR in general. Here’s a 2 minute snip of that podcast startinghttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-25/phaser_digital_mode_transceiver_kit/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-25/phaser_digital_mode_transceiver_kit/Tue, 25 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMTPhaser Digital Mode Transceiver Kit This is a link to the Web Page for the Digital Transceiver Kits I am building ( 20 M and 40 M ) it looks like a really fun project, they have a discussion group too which is quite interesting to follow as it gives a community feel to the whole project, I am hoping to receive the 20 M one soon and will try to take photos and do a little write up on it for our webhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-15/picoaprs/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-15/picoaprs/Sat, 15 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMTPicoAPRS Illustration: PicoAPRS Described as the “World’s smallest APRS Transceiver by DB1NTO”, the PicoAPRS can be used as: - a tracker that can send position data - a receiver that can receive APRS messages - a stand alone APRS digipeater - a computer connected TNC Here are some screenshots: Illustration: PicoAPRS It outputs 1W and you’ll need to buy a separate antenna. The PicoAPRS’s antenna pohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-13/arecibo_radio_telescope_goes_dark_after_snapped_cable_shreds_dish/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-08-13/arecibo_radio_telescope_goes_dark_after_snapped_cable_shreds_dish/Thu, 13 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMTArecibo radio telescope goes dark after snapped cable shreds dish https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/arecibo-radio-telescope-goes-dark-after-snapped-cable-shreds-dishhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-27/conspiracy_theories/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-27/conspiracy_theories/Mon, 27 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTConspiracy Theories At our last coffee break, we talked a little bit about why some people believe in conspiracy theories. Two of the main reasons are that (1) science has become “too complicated” for regular folks to understand, which coupled with (2) a distrust of institutions has led to groups like the Flat Earth Society to see their evidence as “relying on ones own senses to discern the true nhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-23/spacex_satellites_ruin_picture_of_comet/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-23/spacex_satellites_ruin_picture_of_comet/Thu, 23 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTSpaceX Satellites Ruin Picture of Comet From Gizmodo: On Wednesday, astrophotographer Daniel López shared a photo he captured of Comet NEOWISE the day before at Teide National Park on the Canary Islands. However, SpaceX’s Starlink satellites ruined the image, painting streaks across the otherwise largely pristine sky. cometspacex.jpg I guess when you have that much money, you don’t need to worry ahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-22/bcpsn_on_youtube/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-22/bcpsn_on_youtube/Wed, 22 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTBCPSN on Youtube It looks like a few weeks ago, Roly started live casting the BCPSN on Youtube on Wednesdays. It’s kind of interesting to hear (and see) your own signal.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-21/donate_to_cvars/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-21/donate_to_cvars/Tue, 21 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTDonate to CVARS The Cowichan Valley Amateur Radio Society is still in need of donations in order to upgrade the batteries and the power system for the VE7AQW repeaters on Mount Brenton. These repeaters have a huge footprint and when they went off last time, quite a big chunk of Vancouver Island and parts of the mainland went quiet. They have set up a gofundme page. You can also see their battery thttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-18/lunart-_luna_amateur_radio_transponder/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-18/lunart-_luna_amateur_radio_transponder/Sat, 18 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTLunART- Luna Amateur Radio Transponder https://ideas.esa.int/servlet/hype/IMT?userAction=Browse&templateName=&documentId=81f70b2b01f6993c1b76fb6b572ee6c5https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-18/the_ghostly_radio_station/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-18/the_ghostly_radio_station/Sat, 18 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTThe Ghostly Radio Station An interesting article from the BBC about a station that continuously transmits weird tones on 4625 kHz and no one really knows why.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-13/virtual_ham_expo/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-13/virtual_ham_expo/Mon, 13 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTVirtual Ham Expo August 8th and 9th 2020 https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-12/the_uncertain_future_of_ham_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-07-12/the_uncertain_future_of_ham_radio/Sun, 12 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTThe Uncertain Future of Ham Radio An interesting article on the IEEE Spectrum website describes some of the current challenges that ham radio faces. One of the big questions is: what could draw younger people to ham radio? People used to be drawn to ham radio for its ability to provide: - Communications with others while mobile or away from the home. Now we have cell phones. - Communications With https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-06-30/bowen_island_repeater_linking/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-06-30/bowen_island_repeater_linking/Tue, 30 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMTBowen Island Repeater Linking The VE7BNV repeater on Bowen Island - 146.720 is now linked to VE7RNV - 147.260 in North Vancouver.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-06-21/ve7qnx_repeater/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-06-21/ve7qnx_repeater/Sun, 21 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMTVE7QNX Repeater I have a repeater running at my house: VE7QNX 443.375+ T100.0 IRLP: 1337 The repeater is an Harris Alpha 2000: Illustration: VE7QNX Repeater The primary motivation for this repeater is better IRLP performance. The current configuration of IRLP on VE7RXZ is through a remote radio with a node connected to it. It is not full-duplex. If the node is connected to a net and we want to dishttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-06-17/the_magnetic_amplifier/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-06-17/the_magnetic_amplifier/Wed, 17 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMTThe Magnetic Amplifier https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/the\ magnetic\ amplifier https://www.rfcafe.com/references/popular-electronics/magnetic-amplifiers-jul-1960-popular-electronics.htmhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-06-01/letters_of_a_radio-engineer_to_his_son_by_john_mills/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-06-01/letters_of_a_radio-engineer_to_his_son_by_john_mills/Mon, 01 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMTLetters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son, by John Mills https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30688/30688-h/30688-h.htmhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-28/field_day_2020/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-28/field_day_2020/Thu, 28 May 2020 00:00:00 GMTField Day 2020 Use this page to add and update information for our club about Field Day. For the complete set of rules and instructions, see the ARRL Field Day page. Background Before we get into the specifics, here is some general background information: - When: Saturday June 27 at 11:00 until Sunday June 28 until 13:59 local time. - Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 Meter HF bands, as well as alhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-28/marble_computer/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-28/marble_computer/Thu, 28 May 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarble Computer Here’s a really cool mechanical computer using marbles and gravity. View embedded content More information about how this works or how to buy one on their website: https://www.turingtumble.com/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-22/digital_concepts/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-22/digital_concepts/Fri, 22 May 2020 00:00:00 GMTDigital Concepts I just finished a page on the basics of digital communications. For now, I filed it under the very slowly evolving Ham Basics section. If you notice anything wrong or inaccurate, please let me know. Any feedback on how to make it clearer would also be greatly appreciated. Cheers! Pathttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-07/automatic_router_re-starter_for_3/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-07/automatic_router_re-starter_for_3/Thu, 07 May 2020 00:00:00 GMTDIY $3 Automatic Router Re-starter This person had issues with their router loosing sync and requiring a reboot periodically, so they made a power switch that pings Google every 5 minutes and that power cycles the modem (with a 30 second down time) if it can’t reach Google. (link) Pretty ingenious and I guess if you can’t reach Google, it’s probably your fault, not Google’s… Although, I don’t remehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-05/how_amateur_radio_is_connecting_people_during_lockdown/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-05/how_amateur_radio_is_connecting_people_during_lockdown/Tue, 05 May 2020 00:00:00 GMTHow Amateur Radio is Connecting People during Lockdown This article appears in BBC News: BBC Articlehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-01/thursday_evening_net/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-05-01/thursday_evening_net/Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMTThursday Evening Net Our club has two weekly nets: one on Tuesday at 9:30 and another on Thursday at 19:30 (see here for more details). During the Thursday evening net, we take quick checkins on the repeater then move to three simplex frequencies to see who can copy who without the repeater. Our three frequencies are: - 146.565 MHz (on VHF) - 446.100 MHz (on UHF) - 3750 kHz (on 80m) Yesterday, we https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-24/zombie_satellite/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-24/zombie_satellite/Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTZombie Satellites There’s an article on QRZNow quoting Scott Tilley (VE7TIL) from Roberts Creek about tracking dead satellites. Another one on NPR, and another from the Coast Reporterhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-12/power_cable_resistance/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-12/power_cable_resistance/Sun, 12 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTPower Cable Resistance At home, my radio station is all crammed in a very tight space so the main battery bank is in a detached container about 55 ft away. A few weeks ago, I purchased a N8XJK Super Booster to keep the voltage at the radio constant when the battery voltage drops too low. So far, I’m very happy with it. The main advantage for me is that the booster helps get around the voltage drophttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-11/amateur_radio_operators_turn_to_analog_tech_to_communicate_during_pandemic/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-11/amateur_radio_operators_turn_to_analog_tech_to_communicate_during_pandemic/Sat, 11 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTAmateur radio operators turn to analog tech to communicate during pandemic https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/04/09/amateur-radio-operators-turn-to-analog-tech-to-communicate-during-pandemic/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-11/lan-iq_sdr_stand-alone_sdr/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-11/lan-iq_sdr_stand-alone_sdr/Sat, 11 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTLAN-IQ SDR (Stand-alone SDR) lan-iq-sdr-front-view-1024px.jpgOpen full-size image The LAN-IQ SDR is a cool stand alone software defined radio with a 30 kHz to 1700.00 MHz continuous frequency range. One of the videos shows reception of the Es’hail 2 satellite in the 10 GHz band, but after emailing Alex, he explained that for Es’Hail reception, he used a modified LNB for Satellite TV that down-convhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-09/historic_first_trans-atlantic_contact_made_on_432_mhz_-_tues_7th_april_2020/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-09/historic_first_trans-atlantic_contact_made_on_432_mhz_-_tues_7th_april_2020/Thu, 09 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTHistoric first Trans-Atlantic contact made on 432 MHz - Tues 7th April 2020 https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2020/04/first-trans-atlantic-contact-made-on.htmlhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-07/cbc_article_on_pandemic_and_amateur_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-07/cbc_article_on_pandemic_and_amateur_radio/Tue, 07 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTCBC Article on Pandemic and Amateur Radio CBC Article on Ham Radio club recruitment during the pandemic: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/amateur-radio-northern-recruits-1.5520748 Our club has seen quite a few new members since this all began. A lot of people with licenses are returning to the hobby now that they have the time.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-07/morse_code_from_a_raspberry_pi/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-07/morse_code_from_a_raspberry_pi/Tue, 07 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTMorse Code from a Raspberry Pi This month’s issue of MagPi magazine: https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/issues/92 (PDF free to download) has a project to connect a Morse code keyer to a Raspberry Pi and then Python code to process the input. They use it to feed Twitter so you can tweet in Morse code, but of course you can modify the code to do anything.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-02/my_new_book/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-04-02/my_new_book/Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTMy New Book unification.jpgOpen full-size image Here is a link to my blog post on my new book: / https://smist08.wordpress.com/2020/04/01/unification-my-second-novel/ Stephen Smith, VA7SMI Really cool! Congrats Stephen!! – va7fi@rbox.me 2020/04/02 16:04https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-30/rac_online_radio_courses/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-30/rac_online_radio_courses/Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTRAC Online Radio Courses Just heard about these on the CVARS evening net: - Basic - Advanced They are offered in Eastern Time zones so the schedule might not work well here for everyone.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-28/n8xjk_super_booster/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-28/n8xjk_super_booster/Sat, 28 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTN8XJK Super Booster Illustration: N8XJK Super Booster I recently purchased the N8XJK Super Booster. Here are my initial impressions (I’ll update this post later if anything changes). Purchase Method West Mountain Radio makes great product, but their shipping to Canada is pretty expensive. Here is what it would have cost to get the booster shipped here (in USD): Illustration: Purchase Method Thankfhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-22/covid-19_spread_part_ii/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-22/covid-19_spread_part_ii/Sun, 22 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTCOVID-19 Spread (Part II) Updated - I’m not an epidemiologist, doctor, or any kind of expert on the subject. I just look at the numbers. - This was originally written on Sunday March 22nd. - Jump straight to the latest update. In Part I, I built an exponential model using data between March 2 and March 15, then continued to add daily numbers to see how that model tracked: Illustration: COVID-19 Sphttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-17/scarcs_and_covid-19/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-17/scarcs_and_covid-19/Tue, 17 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTSCARCS and COVID-19 Our club cancelled our last coffee meeting and we are cancelling meetings until further notice. As many of us are social distancing, some of us thought that getting together on the radio daily would be a good idea for socialisation. Until further notice, we will be meeting on VE7RXZ at 09:30 for a round table format discussion of whatever topics people would like to discuss. Plhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-16/covid-19_spread/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-03-16/covid-19_spread/Mon, 16 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTCOVID-19 Spread (Part I) - I’m not an epidemiologist, doctor, or any kind of expert on the subject. I just look at the numbers. - The original post was written on March 16. Since then, I’ve updated the graphs with daily numbers, and added another section at the end. One of the key messages from today’s PM announcement is that things will get worse before they get better. I wanted to have a sense ohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-02-21/bc_hydro_considers_replacing_old_streetlights_with_leds/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-02-21/bc_hydro_considers_replacing_old_streetlights_with_leds/Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTBC Hydro Considers Replacing Old Streetlights With LEDs (Update) According to this CBC Article, “BC Hydro may begin installing thousands of light emitting diode (LED) street lights across the province this summer”. Hopefully they invest in good quality power converters otherwise the HF bands might get pretty noisy. Update: I emailed our regional RAC director and here’s the very informative email hhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-02-15/congratulations_to_marc_beaupre_ve7tbp/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-02-15/congratulations_to_marc_beaupre_ve7tbp/Sat, 15 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTCongratulations to Marc Beaupre (VE7TBP) Congratulation to Marc Beaupre (VE7TBP) for passing his Morse Code (CW) certification.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-02-02/amateur_radio_skills_prove_useful_during_bushfire_emergencies/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-02-02/amateur_radio_skills_prove_useful_during_bushfire_emergencies/Sun, 02 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTAmateur radio skills prove useful during bushfire emergencies https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-01/amateur-radio-skills-prove-useful-during-bushfires/11903200https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-30/winter_field_day_2020_results/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-30/winter_field_day_2020_results/Thu, 30 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTWinter Field Day 2020 Results Illustration: Winter Field Day 2020 Results On January 25th, 2020, SCARCS participated in Winter Field Day at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park (more pictures here). The event was attended by VA7LEH, VA7AGG, VE7TBP, VA7FI, VA7SMI, VE7TBN, and VE7RBE. Special guests were Justine, Caitlin, and Orson, who came for lunch. The day was overcast and a bit chilly. A propane fire khttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-27/wlw_america_s_500_000_watt_radio_station/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-27/wlw_america_s_500_000_watt_radio_station/Mon, 27 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTWLW: America’s 500,000 watt radio station For a Brief Time in the 1930s, Radio Station WLW in Ohio Became America’s One and Only “Super Station”https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-22/slot_antenna/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-22/slot_antenna/Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTSlot Antenna http://www.antenna-theory.com/antennas/aperture/slot.php http://w6nbc.com/articles/20xx-dishslot.pdfhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-20/winter_field_day_2020_2/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-20/winter_field_day_2020_2/Mon, 20 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTWinter Field Day 2020 2 Winter Field Day is next Saturday, January the 25th. We will set up at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park (49.5048,-123.7520). A few of us did a site survey after our monthly meeting on Saturday. We have made a change to the location within the park vs what is on the previous post on the website. We have chosen to setup at one of the larger covered areas: Illustration: Winter Fiehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-01/sstv_from_the_iss/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2020-01-01/sstv_from_the_iss/Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTSSTV from the ISS The International Space Station has been transmitting Slow Scan TV images. Here’s one that I copied this morning at 7:27. 202001011527.jpg I started a quick primer on SSTV on the how-to page. Please feel free to expend it.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-12-25/bc_wildfire_app/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-12-25/bc_wildfire_app/Wed, 25 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTBC Wildfire App The province of BC has put out a BC Wildfire Service Beta App on Google Play. So far, it looks pretty good. img\ 20191225\ 092928.jpg img\ 20191225\ 093038.jpghttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-12-21/when_cell_service_goes_down_radio_to_the_rescue/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-12-21/when_cell_service_goes_down_radio_to_the_rescue/Sat, 21 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTWhen Cell Service Goes Down Here’s an interesting article about how the cellphone architecture can be dependent on the internet to function. Here on the Coast, a lot of the micro cell towers up the telephone poles connect right into the fiber network, which is kept alive by backup batteries and generators. But it’s still dependent on cables and power. So in an emergency, if telephone poles lines bhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-12-09/ve7xnc_going_away_and_christmas_dinner_2019/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-12-09/ve7xnc_going_away_and_christmas_dinner_2019/Mon, 09 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTVE7XNC Going Away and Christmas Dinner 2019 On Friday December 6th, the club held a dinner at The Blackfish Pub in Gibsons. The intent of the dinner was to send Bob, VE7XNC, off to Scotland where he will be residing. He plans to make regular trips back to the Coast. We will miss Bob while he is away. The dinner doubled as the club’s Christmas party. The dinner was well attended and a joyous occasihttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-12-08/js8call_now_faster/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-12-08/js8call_now_faster/Sun, 08 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTJS8Call Now Faster (or Slower) At the beginning of December, JS8Call released their version 2.0, adding two faster transmission speeds ( Fast and Turbo ). This week, 2.1 was released, adding a Slow speed that can work in even weaker SNR conditions. Mode Bandwidth Speed Frame Length Mininum SNR --- --- --- --- --- Slow 25 Hz 8 WPM 30 seconds \-28 dB Normal 50 Hz 16 WPM 15 seconds \-24 dB Fast 80 Hzhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-23/congratulations_to_patrick_and_robert/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-23/congratulations_to_patrick_and_robert/Sat, 23 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTCongratulations to Patrick and Robert Congratulation to Patrick VE7HZF and Robert VE7RBE for completing their advanced certifications. Look for them at 1000 watts on homemade radios soon.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-22/mid_island_repeater_use/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-22/mid_island_repeater_use/Fri, 22 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTMIRA Repeater Use The good folks from the Mid Island Radio Association have “whole heartedly approved Sunshine Coast ARC use of MIRA repeater VE7RBB on Mt Benson at Nanaimo for [our] Thursday Net and for back-up emergency communications.” I’ll give more details at our next meeting on the 30th, but for now, here are the frequencies: These are linked together: Location Callsign Input Tone Offset ---https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-20/6m_repeater/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-20/6m_repeater/Wed, 20 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTCVARS 6m Repeater The CVARS just installed their 6m repeater on Mount Brenton: 52.870 MHz (FM) -1.7 MHz (51.170 MHz), T141.3 Hz. The antenna is a vertically polarized folded dipole, but I had a QSO on the repeater with my horizontal 204’ G5RV and I could hear the it S9. Jay VE7JVA is asking for signal reports so they can determine the coverage of the repeater: Even if you can only receive the repehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-18/congratulations_to_stephen_smith_va7smi_on_publishing_his_book/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-18/congratulations_to_stephen_smith_va7smi_on_publishing_his_book/Mon, 18 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTCongratulations to Stephen Smith (VA7SMI) on Publishing his Book SCARCS club member and Treasurer, Stephen Smith (VA7SMI), has recently published a book called: Raspberry Pi Assembly Language Programming: ARM Processor Coding Congratulations Stephen! Illustration: Congratulations to Stephen Smith (VA7SMI) on Publishing his Bookhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-13/cool_weather_website/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-13/cool_weather_website/Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTCool Weather Website Illustration: Cool Weather WebsiteI just came across this really cool weather website: https://earth.nullschool.net/ Click the “EARTH” menu on the bottom left corner to change the layers.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-03/rspdx_coming_soon/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-11-03/rspdx_coming_soon/Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTRSPdx Coming Soon (Update) More info on the SDRplay website Here’s a review on QRZNowhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-10-18/fault_line_under_strait_of_georgia_could_cause_6.0_earthquake_off_sunshine_coast_research_finds/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-10-18/fault_line_under_strait_of_georgia_could_cause_6.0_earthquake_off_sunshine_coast_research_finds/Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMTFault line under Strait of Georgia could cause 6.0 earthquake off Sunshine Coast Thanks Bob for pointing us to this CBC article from Sept 2, 2019.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-30/burnaby_radio_is_moving/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-30/burnaby_radio_is_moving/Mon, 30 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTBurnaby Radio is Moving NSARC reports that: Burnaby Radio Communications is having a moving experience: Mike Wong VE7HMW advises that the radio store on Hastings Street has closed for the last time, but not for long: Mike will be opening a new store soon. In the meantime, all inventory is available by calling Mike at 604-298-5444 Thanks Bob for passing on the news.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-29/mb1_transceiver/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-29/mb1_transceiver/Sun, 29 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTMB1 Transceiver Illustration: MB1 Transceiver The MB1 is a transceiver and a PC in a single package. By the looks of it, the computer portion runs Windows 10.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-26/a_433_mhz_radio_chat_device/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-26/a_433_mhz_radio_chat_device/Thu, 26 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTA 433 MHz Radio Chat Device Here’s an article on how to send wireless messages without WiFi and operate remote-control main sockets with a Raspberry Pi and a cheap 433MHz radio.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-22/ic-9700_review/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-22/ic-9700_review/Sun, 22 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTIC-9700 Review Here’s a good review of the 9700 that’s both pretty short and pretty thorough. View embedded content What I like about this review is that it also tells you what the radio can’t do. For example: - “Full duplex but cannot do crossband repeat” [3:47] - “DPRS sends your position info […] into the APRS system via a DSTAR gateway [but it can’t] do traditional APRS analog transmission or https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-21/new_antenna_uses_saltwater_and_plastic_to_steer_radio_beams/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-21/new_antenna_uses_saltwater_and_plastic_to_steer_radio_beams/Sat, 21 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTNew Antenna Uses Saltwater and Plastic to Steer Radio Beams [Image unavailable in source: mzm3odq5mw.jpeg](https://test-dokuwiki.ve7zdh.ca/lib/exe/fetch.php?tok=20a41e&media=https%3A%2F%2Fspectrum.ieee.org%2Fimage%2FMzM3ODQ5Mw.jpeg “https://spectrum.ieee.org/image/MzM3ODQ5Mw.jpeg”) Here’s a really interesting article about using plastic tubes that can be filled and emptied of salt water to create https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-19/communications_for_2020_trail_race_series/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-19/communications_for_2020_trail_race_series/Thu, 19 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTCommunications for 2020 Trail Race Series After having provided communications for the Puddle Jumper race in 2019, Team Wolverine Athletics has approached us to help with the 2020 Sunshine Coast Trail Series. This should be a lot of fun! Stay tuned for more details…https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-13/secret_antenna_tips/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-13/secret_antenna_tips/Fri, 13 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTSecret Antenna Tips Illustration: Secret Antenna Tipshttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-07/for_new_members/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-07/for_new_members/Sat, 07 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTFor New Members I just created an intro page for New Members. Have a look and feel free to edit/add anything that you think might help anyone joining our club.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-07/monitoring_winlink_messages/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-07/monitoring_winlink_messages/Sat, 07 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTMonitoring Winlink Traffic (UPDATE) See update below. To over simplify things a bit, there’s a debate right now about Winlink with respect to our inability to monitor traffic between other parties.1) When someone sends you a message over the air, you receive it in your inbox, but other hams watching the exchange will only be able to see the callsigns involved, the subject line, and a few other thihttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-06/us_air_force_gets_flex_hf_radios/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-09-06/us_air_force_gets_flex_hf_radios/Fri, 06 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTUS Air Force Gets Flex HF Radios It is sort of the American dream: start a company in your garage and have it get crazy big. After all, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and even Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard did it. Seems hard to do these days, though. However, one ham radio company that has been pushing the edge of software defined radio appears to be well on the way to becoming more than its roots. FlexRhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-31/icom_ic-705_announced/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-31/icom_ic-705_announced/Sat, 31 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTIcom IC-705 Announced IC-705 has just been unveiled by Icom at the Tokyo Ham Fair. This is a portable HF/VHF/UHF transceiver featuring SDR technology, internal battery, GPS, Bluetooth and D-STAR. Output power is 10W on external 13.8V supply or 5W on internal battery. Full Article on QRPBloghttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-30/new_logo/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-30/new_logo/Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTNew Logo! Our old logo presented a few challenges: - It was wider than it was high (21:16), which made it a bit awkward for some web applications since it didn’t fit well in a square. - It had some very fine details (the tower, the ice cap, the water in the valleys) that din’t scale down well. In trying to solve these, I came up with a round alternative: Old Logo Draft 1 Draft 2 Final Version --- https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-23/potential_field_day_sites/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-23/potential_field_day_sites/Fri, 23 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTWinter Field Day 2020 This year (Jan 25, 2020), Winter Field Day will be in Porpoise Bay Provincial Park (49.5048,-123.7520) We are planing on bringing small BBQs. Everyone (ham or not and their families) is welcome! Please bring your food, drink, and camping chairs. About the Site The Park has two covered areas and plenty of trees to hang antennas. One of them is even halfway between two good trehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-22/w7li_repeater/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-22/w7li_repeater/Thu, 22 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTW7LI Repeater Illustration: W7LI RepeaterAround 19:00 tonight (Thursday), I managed to hear a Net on W7LI. This repeater is about 450 km south of the Coast and 100 km south-west of Portland. It’s over 3000 feet above sea level and transmits at 100W on the same frequency and tone as our repeater. It also IDs on voice. The net was short (5 - 10 minutes) but a few people started ragchewing after. I thttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-21/vector_president_interviewed_on_cbc/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-21/vector_president_interviewed_on_cbc/Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTVECTOR President Interviewed on CBC On July 11, 2019, VECTOR president Mike Watkins spoke with Stephen Quinn on The Early Edition.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-16/rc_fire_hall/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-16/rc_fire_hall/Fri, 16 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTRC Fire Hall Illustration: RC Fire HallToday, VE7XNC and VE7HZF relocated the club’s antenna from the North East corner of the fire hall to the South East corner. With Chief Pat’s permission, we ran the coax just above the fire station’s communication closet, where the repeater will be installed. Many thanks to TELUS for lending us equipment and tools to perform the work. The next phase will be tohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-01/ve7sck_update/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-08-01/ve7sck_update/Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTVE7SCK Update Illustration: VE7SCK Update The VE7SCK 440 repeater information has been updated with the BC Amateur Radio Coordination Council and will show next time they update their site. I’ve also updated the tone to 100.0 Hz on the repeater itself so you’ll need to change your radios accordingly: Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 --- --- --- --- VE7SCK 442.650 MHz +5.000 MHz T100.0 Hz But thhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-30/simplex_test_on_largo_rd/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-30/simplex_test_on_largo_rd/Tue, 30 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTSimplex Test on Largo Rd For the net tonight, VE7HZF drove to the “top” of Largo road just past where the Puddle Jumper’s Aid Station 1 was (49.4296,-123.5586). The elevation was 680m above sea level and the car was positioned slightly to the west side of the “top” of the hill so as to see Sechelt better. The signal reports were as follow: Callsign 145.565 MHz 446.100 MHz --- --- --- VE7RBE Full qhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-25/ve7bnv_up_and_running_on_bowen/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-25/ve7bnv_up_and_running_on_bowen/Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTVE7BNV Up and Running on Bowen VE7LTD has installed a new repeater on Bowen Island: - Callsign: VE7BNV - Frequency: 146.720 MHz - Offset: -0.600 MHz - Tone: 100.0 Hz UPDATE July 26 2019 VE7LTD setup a link this morning on VE7BNV to VE7NSR (443.200+) in North Van. They will eventually link it to VA7ICS (147.200+ T225.7Hz) on Fromme. The linking radio on VA7ICS has not been setup yet so they are linhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-24/podcast_of_canadian_ham_radio_exam_questions/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-24/podcast_of_canadian_ham_radio_exam_questions/Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTPodcast of Canadian Ham Radio Exam Questions I just found these two links and also added them to our links page: - Podcast of the Basic Question bank: Just the questions and correct answers. - Podcast of the Advanced Question bank: Just questions and correct answers. The audio files can be downloaded directly from these sites, or copy and paste the xml link into your favourite podcast player app.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-19/ron_kaiser_-_va7grk/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-19/ron_kaiser_-_va7grk/Fri, 19 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTFarewell to Ron Kaiser - VA7GRK Ron Kaiser, VA7GRK, is leaving the Coast and moving to Ottawa to be closer to family. Ron has been an integral part of our club over the years. He has filled the roles of club Treasurer and Net Controller. Ron will be greatly missed by the club. All the best Ron and hope to hear you on the air from Ottawa. Illustration: Farewell to Ron Kaiser - VA7GRK From left to rhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-15/sold_ic-a6/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-15/sold_ic-a6/Mon, 15 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTSold IC-A6 ica6.jpg One of the radios that was donated to the club from Jim Wilkinson was a IC-A6 VHF Air Band Hand Held Transceiver . I kept this radio with me and listed it on Craigslist to sell it on behalf of the club. I’m happy to report that someone local just picked it up tonight for the asking price of $150. I’ve emailed the rest of the executive to inform them of the transaction and will https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-12/field_day_2019_newspaper_coverage/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-12/field_day_2019_newspaper_coverage/Fri, 12 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTField Day 2019 Newspaper Coverage https://www.coastreporter.net/community/columnists/elphinstone-ham-radio-club-holds-annual-field-day-1.23882521https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-12/suppression_of_a_local_noise_source_using_a_rspduo/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-12/suppression_of_a_local_noise_source_using_a_rspduo/Fri, 12 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTSuppression of a Local Noise Source Using a RSPduo This is so cool! Every time I see something like this, I dream of a perpendicular, bi-directional beverage antenna system.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-09/california_earthquake_and_propagation/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-09/california_earthquake_and_propagation/Tue, 09 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTCalifornia Earthquakes and Propagation Interesting look at the California earthquakes and propagation: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/report-california-earthquakes-disrupted-hf-propagation-on-west-coasthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-08/ham_radio_a_hobby_or_utility/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-08/ham_radio_a_hobby_or_utility/Mon, 08 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTHam Radio a Hobby or Utility? An article about the debate that is happening in the US about encryption and proprietary protocols in amateur radio. https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/is-ham-radio-a-hobby-a-utilityor-both-a-battle-over-spectrum-heats-uphttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-08/ve7rbe_at_bcarcc_agm_in_tca/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-08/ve7rbe_at_bcarcc_agm_in_tca/Mon, 08 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTBCARCC AGM in TCA The Canadian Amateur has a write up of what took place at the BCARCC AGM on May 26th: july2019etca-p52.pdf")https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-07/field_day_2019_preliminary_results/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-07/field_day_2019_preliminary_results/Sun, 07 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTField Day 2019 Preliminary Results Entry received at: 2019-07-07 21:24:15 UTC Submitted by: Robert Beaupre, VE7RBE Call Used: VE7SCA GOTA Station Call: (NONE) ARRL/RAC Section: BC Class: 1A Participants: 6 Club/Group Name: A Power Source(s): Battery, Solar Power Multiplier: 2X Preliminary Total Score: 742 Bonus Points Bonus Points --- --- 100% emergency power 100 Media publicity 100 Public locatiohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-06/island_trunk_system_-_newcastle_ridge_building_replacement_appeal/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-06/island_trunk_system_-_newcastle_ridge_building_replacement_appeal/Sat, 06 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTUpdate: Island Trunk System - Newastle Ridge Building Replacement Appeal I just received an email from Chris Anton VE7TOP (Director of the North Island ARS) regarding one of the crucial nodes to the Island Trunk System that needs a lot of work. See his email here: http://niars.ca/newcastle-ridge-building-replacement-appeal image003.jpg The club made $100 donation to the project since the ITS1) is https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-05/a_few_changes_to_the_website/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-05/a_few_changes_to_the_website/Fri, 05 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTWhat’s New This is a running post that will be bumped up every so often whenever there’s significant changes to the website. - Added a “You are here” section at the top of every page. This will help navigate to previous sections when going deep into a section. For example: / Illustration: What's New Refs - New: Fixed a few mistakes on the Frequency lists. - New: Expended the References section a bhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-05/ham_locked_baofeng_radios/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-07-05/ham_locked_baofeng_radios/Fri, 05 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTHam Locked Baofeng Radios Fleetwood in Surrey is selling Baofeng radios that can only transmit on ham bands and are FCC approved. These would make excellent prizes for new hams. Ready for pre order! Hi folks. I was just notified via email that the “Ham Locked” Baofeng UV-5R are now available for pre order. 73’s, Neil. VE7TBN Baofeng “Ham Locked” UV-5R pre order web pagehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-30/first_ever_transatlantic_2m_contact/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-30/first_ever_transatlantic_2m_contact/Sun, 30 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTFirst ever transatlantic 2m contact https://hackaday.com/2019/06/22/a-two-metre-bridge-across-the-atlantic-for-the-first-time/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-29/lots_to_do/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-29/lots_to_do/Sat, 29 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTLots To Do Illustration: Lots To Do I’m bumping this post back to the top before or monthly meeting this Saturday… Our last monthly meeting was packed with actionable items and many of us have some homework to do before the next meeting. One item that the executive discussed at the end of the meeting was to migrate the meeting minutes over to this website. This is done and members can now find thehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-28/field_day_2019/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-28/field_day_2019/Fri, 28 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTField Day 2019 On Saturday June 22nd, the group met at Tim Horton’s at 09:30. We had our coffee and chatted. VE7YEE and VA7GRK were at coffee but were unable to participate in Field Day. VE7RG, VE7TBP, VE7XNC, VA7SMI, and VE7RBE headed to Maryanne West Park at 10:00. VA7ILO met the rest of the group at the park. This was our second field day at this park. It is at a school and a public location. Ihttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-21/club_media_coverage/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-21/club_media_coverage/Fri, 21 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTClub Media Coverage https://www.coastreporter.net/community/features/radio-relay-league-field-day-set-for-june-22-1.23863377 Very nice article Robert! – ve7hzf@rbox.me 2019/06/22 08:13https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-18/arthur_jim_wilkinson_-_ve7cgp/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-18/arthur_jim_wilkinson_-_ve7cgp/Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTArthur (Jim) Wilkinson - VE7CGP Illustration: Arthur (Jim) Wilkinson - VE7CGP It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Arthur (Jim) Wilkinson of Sechelt, BC. He passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 19, 2019 at Sechelt Hospital. He is survived by his daughter Jackie (Steve) Day; granddaughter Summer (Richie) Day- Luoma; and his best friend and fi shing partner, Hugh (Sandi) Monroe.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-17/arrl_field_day_2019/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-17/arrl_field_day_2019/Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTARRL Field Day 2019 On Saturday June 22nd, the club will be participating in ARRL Field Day. Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outrhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-13/2m_band_endangered/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-13/2m_band_endangered/Thu, 13 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT2m Band Endangered? - Robert posted this on June 13: from f4fxl.org - Robert posted an update on June 30: from ARRL - Robert posted an update on July 3: from mailman.pelitr.com - Patrick posted an update on July 5: from RAChttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-10/puddle_jumper/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-10/puddle_jumper/Mon, 10 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT2019 Puddle Jumper Classic On Saturday June 8th, eight club members and three hams from the community spent the day providing communications for the 25k and 50k Puddle Jumper Classic trail runs. The club prepared extensively for the event with multiple site visits, meetings, and online information sharing. The club used their UHF repeater that was stationed close to the race location for the majorhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-07/open_source_electronics_lab_for_30/usd/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-07/open_source_electronics_lab_for_30/usd/Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTOpen Source Electronics Lab for $30USD https://github.com/EspoTek/Labradorhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-03/irlp_maintenance/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-06-03/irlp_maintenance/Mon, 03 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTIRLP Maintenance IRLP will be down for maintenance until further notice. VE7RBEhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-27/report_from_the_bcarcc_agm/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-27/report_from_the_bcarcc_agm/Mon, 27 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTReport from the BCARCC AGM On Sunday May 26th, the British Columbia Amateur Rado Coordination Council (BCARCC) held its annual AGM. The club sent VE7RG and VE7RBE as delegates. BCARCC was generous as they sent VE7QC to pick VE7RG and VE7RBE up at the Horseshoe bay ferry terminal. The AGM was hosted at North Shore Emergency Management. The host club was the North Shore Amateur Radio Club. The AGM whttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-24/radio_interference_from_solar_panels/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-24/radio_interference_from_solar_panels/Fri, 24 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTRadio interference from Solar Panels Not a lot of details from this QRZnow article but it seems to me the issue would be with the inverters more than with the panels themselves.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-24/remoteqth_open_parts_for_ham_radio_stations/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-24/remoteqth_open_parts_for_ham_radio_stations/Fri, 24 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTRemoteQTH: Open Parts for Ham Radio Stations Illustration: RemoteQTH: Open Parts for Ham Radio Stations I just discovered https://remoteqth.com from a link I followed about their 8-direction, 4-square, phased-vertical array. The most interesting part of their site is that all their gear is free/open source hardware: the documentation is on a wiki and the designs are posted in various CAD file formhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-22/a_walk_through_of_hamvention_2019/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-22/a_walk_through_of_hamvention_2019/Wed, 22 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTA Walk Through of Hamvention 2019 For your viewing pleasure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYz5yo3hnoUhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-21/2019_agm/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-21/2019_agm/Tue, 21 May 2019 00:00:00 GMT2019 AGM This past Saturday, the club held its annual AGM. In attendance were: VA7LEH, VE7YEE, VE7DNK, VE7TBP, VE7RG, VA7AGG, VA7SMI, VE7HZF, VA7ILO, and VE7RBE. VA7GRK passed along some equipment to the club and prior to the meeting members looked it over and took things they needed. The rest will be stored at VE7RBE’s QTH. The discussion centred on: - preparations for the Puddle Jumper Classic -https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-20/thank_you_jim_ve7cgp/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-20/thank_you_jim_ve7cgp/Mon, 20 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTThank you Jim VE7CGP jimve7cgp.jpg On Saturday, I went to Jim’s place in Sechelt to collect the donation he made to the club. Most of the equipment consisted of old CB radios, power supplies, SWR meters, speakers, and mobile antennas. But there were also two Marine Mobile radios and one newer Air Band Hand Held. After spending most of the day Sunday and a few more hours Monday sorting the equipmenhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-17/building_a_dummy_load/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-17/building_a_dummy_load/Fri, 17 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTBuilding a Dummy Load If you need a dummy load, here is a good article on building one out of a pile of resistors. Hackaday article: https://hackaday.com/2019/05/17/the-50-ham-dummy-loads-part-2/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-17/new_sdruno_release_will_implement_receiver_diversity/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-17/new_sdruno_release_will_implement_receiver_diversity/Fri, 17 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTNew SDRuno release will implement receiver diversity This weekend at Hamvention (Dayton, Ohio) Andy, Mike and Steve from SDRplay will be showing an early version of Diversity reception running in SDRuno with an RSPduo. The RSPduo gives users the ability to implement receiver diversity as it contains two independent tuners that are phase and time synchronous. –From QRZ I’ve been thinking about getthttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-13/new_date_for_the_agm/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-13/new_date_for_the_agm/Mon, 13 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTNew Date for the AGM After some discussion at the Saturday coffee meeting and due to some members unable to attend the proposed May 25 AGM, it was decided to hold the AGM on Saturday, May 18th instead. VE7DNK has confirmed the booking of the Watermark meeting room for that date.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-13/preparing_for_the_puddle_jumper_classic_2/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-13/preparing_for_the_puddle_jumper_classic_2/Mon, 13 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTPreparing for the Puddle Jumper Classic 2 Illustration: Preparing for the Puddle Jumper Classic 2 This past Sunday, VE7HZF and VE7RBE went with Mike and Randi, the Puddle Jumper Classic race organizers, to the three race stations and the start/finish. We discussed: - precise locations of the race stations - runner routes by the stations - equipment - timing of events - expectations It was an inforhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-03/aprs.fi_server_upgrades_and_raw_packets_ui_abuse/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-05-03/aprs.fi_server_upgrades_and_raw_packets_ui_abuse/Fri, 03 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTaprs.fi Server Upgrades, and Raw Packets UI Abuse Interesting article on the aprs.fi blog about some upcoming changes to the site.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-28/custard_antenna/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-28/custard_antenna/Sun, 28 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTCustard Antenna Custard Antennahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-27/april_monthly_meeting/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-27/april_monthly_meeting/Sat, 27 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTApril Monthly Meeting The Club’s April monthly meeting was held April 27th. In attendance were: VA7LEH, VE7YEE, VE7DNK, VE7RG, VE7TBP, VE7HZF, and VE7RBE. The discussion was wide-ranging and thoughtful. Highlights include: - keeping the Tuesday morning net at the same date and time - get your IGA cards from VA7GRK - grant applications - preparations for installing the club’s UHF repeater at the Rohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-27/preparing_for_the_puddle_jumper_classic/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-27/preparing_for_the_puddle_jumper_classic/Sat, 27 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTPreparing for the Puddle Jumper Classic The Sun Coast Amateur Radio Club Society is in the midst of preparing to do radio communications for the Puddle Jumper Classic race. The race is a 50/25km annual running race that takes place on the Sunshine Coast. This year, the race will be held on June 8th, 2019. The race starts at the beautiful Cliff Gilker Park in Robert’s Creek. The runners will run ouhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-16/5g_and_weather_forecasting/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-16/5g_and_weather_forecasting/Tue, 16 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT5G and Weather Forecasting 5G is likely to put weather forecasting at riskhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-16/amateur_radio_in_space_pioneer_astronaut_owen_garriott_w5lfl_sk/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-16/amateur_radio_in_space_pioneer_astronaut_owen_garriott_w5lfl_sk/Tue, 16 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTAmateur Radio in Space Pioneer Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, SK From ARRL: The US astronaut who pioneered the use of Amateur Radio to make contacts from space — Owen K. Garriott, W5LFL — died April 15 at his home in Huntsville, Alabamahttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-16/playing_with_software_defined_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-16/playing_with_software_defined_radio/Tue, 16 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTPlaying with Software Defined Radio I wrote a blog article on using CubicSDR (Software Defined Radio) with my NVidia Jetson Nano. https://smist08.wordpress.com/2019/04/16/playing-with-software-defined-radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-12/certificate_backorder/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-12/certificate_backorder/Fri, 12 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTCertificate Backorder Update (May 7): I just got my new certificate so it looks like they’re back on track. Apparently Industry Canada , I mean Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is unable to print new certificates at the moment. I received this email from them on April 10th: Good morning, We are waiting for a back-order of certificate paper, so unfortunately it will still be sevehttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-11/npr_new_packet_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-11/npr_new_packet_radio/Thu, 11 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTNPR (New Packet Radio) 7039721551121000684.jpgOpen full-size image NPR (New Packet Radio) is a custom radio protocol, designed to transport bidirectional IP trafic over 430MHz radio links (ham radio). This protocol is optimized for “point to multipoint” topology, with the help of managed-TDMA. Bitrate is up to 500kbps (net, effective bitrate). The radio modem is cheap (~$80) and home-made, with a https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-08/hams_try_to_re-carve_the_amateur_radio_spectrum_in_fight_over_open_or_encoded_broadcasts/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-08/hams_try_to_re-carve_the_amateur_radio_spectrum_in_fight_over_open_or_encoded_broadcasts/Mon, 08 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTFight Over Encoded Broadcasts Hams try to re-carve the amateur radio spectrum in fight over open or encoded transmissions. Radio enthusiasts argue signals must travel in the open, for the sake of national security Would be nice for all if any digital formats on the Ham bands are open for all. Article in the Register: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/04/05/amateur\ radio\ spectrum/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-02/highest_sota_activation/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-02/highest_sota_activation/Tue, 02 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTHighest SOTA Activation History was made in February on an Argentinian summit. Tom Rudzinski, SQ9FVE, made Summits on the Air (SOTA) history on February 16 by activating Aconcagua in Mendoza, Argentina. At 6,962 metres (22,841 feet) above sea level, the mountain is the highest peak in both the Southern and Western hemispheres. https://wp.rac.ca/highest-ever-summits-on-the-air-activation-reported/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-01/charged_for_having_a_baofeng_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-04-01/charged_for_having_a_baofeng_radio/Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTIn New Zealand,Charged for Having a Baofeng Radio From QRZ: On 24 of August 2018 Mr Elvis Johnstone was stopped by Police in the Whangarei area. On search of Mr Johnstone’s car, police located a Baofeng UV-5R two way radio. When switched on the device was set to the same frequency as the Northland Police channel. Charges were laid by Radio Spectrum Management (RSM) under sections 113 and 114 of thhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-31/js8call_v1.0_is_here/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-31/js8call_v1.0_is_here/Sun, 31 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTJS8Call v1.0 is here Just received this email from Jordan, KN4CRD: Hey Folks! This is not a test, this is not a joke, it’s actually happening. The public release of JS8Call version 1.0 is here! You’ll find all of the public releases (now and future version) of JS8Call downloadable from this page: http://files.js8call.com/latest.html For those following along at home, there were a few fixes from RChttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-30/es_hail-2_hams_get_first_geosynchronous_repeater/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-30/es_hail-2_hams_get_first_geosynchronous_repeater/Sat, 30 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTES’HAIL-2: Hams Get First Geosynchronous Repeater In the radio business, getting the high ground is key to covering as much territory from as few installations as possible. Anything that has a high profile, from a big municipal water tank to a roadside billboard to a remote hilltop, will likely be bristling with antennas, and different services compete for the best spots to locate their antennas. https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-30/new_scrd_antennas/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-30/new_scrd_antennas/Sat, 30 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTSCRD Antenna Upgrade Installation The upgrade of the SCRD Emergency Operations Centre Radio Station is nearing completion with the installation of a new set of commercial grade antenna to replace the amateur GP3’s and GP6. We selected Comprod Inc. wideband dual 144/440 MHz Folded Dipoles - 3 single VHF/UHF element antennas for data and communications. For improved simplex operations a dual elementhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-22/ifixit_tools/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-22/ifixit_tools/Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTiFixit Tools pro-tech-footer-1x.jpg iFixit is a crowdsourced repository of instructions on how to fix various electronics. A few months ago, I bought their Pro Tech Toolkit and Magnetic Project Mat to fix my cellphone. And today, I used the kit again to change the speaker on my IC-T7A handheld radio. I was very happy to be able to use some of the plastic tools from the kit. I highly recommend thishttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-20/individual_causing_malicious_interference_triggers_parliament_petition/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-20/individual_causing_malicious_interference_triggers_parliament_petition/Wed, 20 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTIndividual causing malicious interference triggers parliament petition This happened in Quebec. From QRZ.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-20/integrating_google_assistant_with_irlp/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-20/integrating_google_assistant_with_irlp/Wed, 20 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTIntegrating Google Assistant with IRLP https://hackaday.com/2019/01/05/google-assistant-now-available-on-ham-radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-18/es_hail-2/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-18/es_hail-2/Mon, 18 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTEs’hail-2 ES’HAIL-2: HAMS GET THEIR FIRST GEOSYNCHRONOUS REPEATERhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-18/itu_is_strengthening_e-comms/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-18/itu_is_strengthening_e-comms/Mon, 18 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTITU is strengthening e-comms An interesting article about how the ITU is strengthening emergency telecommunications in the Americas using Winlink. Thanks Bob (VE7XNC) for sharing.https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-16/the_50_ham/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-16/the_50_ham/Sat, 16 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTTHE $50 HAM Here are a couple of blog posts from Hackaday on becoming a Ham for 50 dollars. - THE 50 DOLLAR HAM: GETTING YOUR TICKET PUNCHED - THE 50 DOLLAR HAM: ENTRY-LEVEL TRANSCEIVERS FOR TECHNICIANShttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-13/surrey_preoc/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-13/surrey_preoc/Wed, 13 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTSurrey PREOC Last Friday (March 8), Bob (VE7XNC), Jim (VA7JIR), Patrick (VE7HZF) and Sieg (VA7LEH) travelled to Surrey to visit our Provincial Regional Emergency Operations Centre (PREOC) located on Green Timbers Road. Their installation was very impressive: Outside: Item Details --- --- Illustration: Outside: Illustration: Outside:Illustration: Outside: - The main tower has most of the VHF/UHF anhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-12/canada_s_amateur_radio_population_showing_continued_growth/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-12/canada_s_amateur_radio_population_showing_continued_growth/Tue, 12 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTCanada’s Amateur Radio Population Showing Continued Growth 03/12/2019 According to Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) President Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA, Amateur Radio in Canada grew by 1,758 new licensees in 2018 — the largest number in the past 4 years. In his March editorial in RAC’s member journal The Canadian Amateur, MacDonell reported that the country’s ham radio population jumped from 63,317 tohttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-11/bitcoin_coders_send_international_lightning_payment_over_ham_radio/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-11/bitcoin_coders_send_international_lightning_payment_over_ham_radio/Mon, 11 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTBitcoin Coders Send International Lightning Payment Over Ham Radio In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind transaction, two developers working in separate countries have successfully sent a bitcoin lightning payment over radio waves. Article from CoinDeskhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-07/march_7_2019_club_update/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-03-07/march_7_2019_club_update/Thu, 07 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarch 7 2019 Club Update The past month has been a busy one for the club. The club launched a new website at scarcs.ca. The old website at ve7rxz.ca served us well for many years with VE7TBP keeping the site updated. VE7HZF has much experience with the Doku wiki system and felt that it would be a good avenue to bring more members into the editing process. VE7HZF ported the information from the oldhttps://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-02-12/new_website/https://beta.scarcs.ca/blog/2019-02-12/new_website/Tue, 12 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTWebsite Upgrade Welcome to the new SCARCS website! Big thanks to Robert for making sure that everything runs smoothly under the hood, and to Marc, for creating most of the initial content. Aside from looking different, the two big differences between the new and old sites are: 1. Everyone with a login can contribute to the site either by editing or adding pages, and by adding news items like this