Articles

Jack Humphries VE6JRH/VA6IX Silent Key

Photo of Jack in operation

It is with sadness we announce the passing of Jack Humphries VE6JRH/VA6IX from Olds. Jack received his Amateur Radio license in June 2001 and had been very active on the bands ever since.  Jack was very instrumental in helping many hams obtain their licenses and he made many friends on HF and VHF.  Jack worked many stations around the world on various bands and was always listening and ready to engage everyone in a meaningful conversation. He will certainly be missed.

Jack’s funeral service will be held on Friday April 20th at 11:00 A.M. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3802 57 Ave. Olds.

The following is from a profile of Jack, written on the CAARC web site October 30, 2003.

I grew up on a farm southwest of Drumheller, Alberta, just south of the Horse Shoe Canyon. I came down with Diabetes Mellitus in 1947, which certainly changed my way of life.

My father took ill in 1950 and my work load at age eight got considerably heavier, with lots of chores to do. Dad then suffered a stroke in 1952 and work around the farm got a lot harder. I started driving truck and hauling grain when I was ten years old. Dad passed away in 1953 when I was eleven. I had a younger brother and two younger sisters.

I met my XYL in Calgary during 1960 and we went our separate ways until we married in 1965. We lived in Calgary, on 42nd Street SW, had two children, a boy and a girl. We subsequently moved to Olds, Alberta in 1969. We bought a shoe store in 1974 and sold it during the devastating inflationary early eighties. I presently work in Life Insurance and Mutual Funds as an independent broker.

Please click this link to read the complete profile of Jack.

CAARC Members receive awards for volunteering during the last year.

CAARC Members receive awards for volunteering during the last year. Congratulations to the members who received Volunteer Service and Volunteer Service with Excellence awards.sam_8454

Congratulations to Doug VE6DJC on winning the GIZMO! We look forward to seeing what he adds to it for next year’s Christmas dinner!

 

 

sam_8450

New volunteer net control operator

We have a new volunteer for the Monday evening net controller.
Thanks to Maria VA6TFL for your willingness to help with the net.
Any other volunteers would be welcomed to add to the list.
Thanks to the five other net controllers for taking your turn.
Please check Updated Net Controller List under the Net info TAB
73
Bob VE6BLD
CAARC Net Controller Co-ordinator

 

All Band portable antenna

Portable All Band Antenna

 

QRP Portable Screwdriver Antenna

manually adjustable for any HF frequency band 7 – 30 MHz
plus VHF & UHF bands 50 MHz / 144 MHz / 440 MHz

Click Here
for
A Clearer Image

Price: $149.95
You MUST check one or both shipping boxes
US Customers – check this box only*
US Shipping via Priority Mail  $12.00
Foreign Customers – check BOTH boxes
additional charge for foreign shipping  $48.00

Quantity:

New CAARC Executive for 2015 – 2016

The Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday Nov 18th at the Red Deer Search and Rescue. Congratulations to the members who were elected to the new executive.new exec

CAARC Executive for 2015 – 2016
Past President   Bob King VE6BLD

President– Stephen Lee VA6SGL

Vice President– Rod Lins VE6XY

Secretary- Sandy Jacobs VE6SND

Treasurer– Karen McKinney VA6LDY

Directors

  1. Brian Davies VE6CKC
  2. Garry Jacobs VE6CIA
  3. Greg McKinney VA6GMC
  4. Jeff Low VA6JL
  5. Mike Mailiot VE6MIM

 Appointments
Repeaters

Skip MacAulay VE6BGT

Emergency Coordinator
Jeff Low VA6JL
Publicity
Bob King VE6BLD
Webmaster
Bob King VE6BLD
Net Control
Bob King VE6BLD

Maxdroid

 

Maxdroid

Modification to add a digital display and continuous frequency selection to VHF/UHF Maxtrac transceivers.

By

Avinoam Albo, 4X1HF Avinoam.albo@gmail.com

December 2014


opening pic

Conversion of a Maxtrac to a transceiver with display and frequency selection

In this article I will explain how to convert the venerable Maxtrac to a rig more user friendly to radio amateurs.  The modification requires  the addition of only a few inexpensive and easily available components.  When the modification is completed you will have a rig with digital display and frequency selection enabling continuous  coverage over the whole range of frequencies  where the VCO locks.  An external programmer is no longer needed.

Disclaimer:  Carrying out the modification described requires basic electronics skills.  Any modifications are the sole responsibility of the technician. This modification will likely void type certification for commercial radio service.   This article does not make any specific claims or recommendations.

Specifications of the transceiver after this modification

  • Digital display
  • Continuous frequency selection
  • Selection of transmitter output power (2 levels or more)parts required
  • Selection using VFO or memories
  • Selection of VFO frequency steps (5K, 10K, etc.)
  • Receive PL (on/off)
  • Scanning and saving frequencies to memory (future)

Required Components 

  • Maxtrac VHF or UHF
  • Arduino Nano 328 controller
  • Rotary encoder
  • LCD 08 X 02 (8 characters x 2 lines)
  • 3K, 4.7K, 8.2K, 10K resistors
  • Fine gauge insulated hookup wire such as wire wrap wire

Programming the transceiver More >

Horizontal Quad Antenna

Horizontal Quad Antenna

By:  Eli Kovo, 4X4LH (originally published in the IARC newsletter 08/2015 “HaGal” and used with permission of the author.  Translated by:  Earl, VA6TJ)

I recently came across an article in an issue of “73 Magazine” from 1978 raving about an antenna called “The German Quad” which [at that time] was used by about half the hams in Germany.   Below I summarize the main points of the article.

The first thing about this antenna is that it works without a tuner on 6 bands, from 10m to 80m and also on 2m.  I could not find confirmation that it works on 6m however I am confident that it will also transmit on that band.  Compared to a symmetrical dipole, the horizontal quad has the advantage that it can be fed anywhere, even at a point close to the shack as in illustration 1.

horizontal loop ill 1

More >

Guest Operation in Brazil during FIFA 2014 World Cup

Guest Operation in Brazil during FIFA 2014 World Cup

 2014/06/09

The Brazilian Amateur Radio League – LABRE – has filed a request and obtained special permission from ANATEL, the Brazilian Telecommunication authority for foreign amateurs wishing to operate during the FIFA World Cup.

Radio amateur operators who visit Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup will be able to be on air without bureaucracy. During June and July, any foreign amateur will be able to operate in Brazil regardless of the existence of reciprocity agreement between countries. No IARP or CEPT license are necessary and no fees are required.

Amateurs who wish to operate in Brazil must send to LABRE the following documents
– Copy of a valid passport (identification pages)
– Copy of amateur radio license of his/her country
– List of cities in which he/she intends to operate and the respective periods
– Email address for contact

The documents must be scanned and sent to executiva@labre.org.br

For further information, contact George Gorsline, VE3YV RAC International Affairs Officer.
VE3YV@rac.ca

Why We Are Ham Radio Operators

Why Amateur Radio is Important
Roger Hunt, K7MEX

A version of this story appeared in the March 2014 edition of All Ears, the newsletter
published by the Escondido Amateur Radio Society (EARS) in California. I spoke with the
primary person involved in this incident, got some corrections to the original version of the
story, and the corrected version appears below.
There is a large off-road 4WD event in the Lake Havasu area held the third weekend of
March each year. Called Desert Run Havasu, it was March 13-16 this year, and involves
4-wheeling runs over trails of varying difficulty. One indvidual who participated this year
was retired attorney Bruce Boogaard, a new ham with the call sign KK6DKJ. Bruce got his
technician license less than a year ago, in April 2103, and admits he has never even been
on a repeater before, using his radios for simplex communication with other 4-wheelers.
Participating in the Desert Run Havasu, Bruce was navigating through an area with a large
group of off-road enthusiasts, and as he had been taught to do, kept his eyes on the
vehicle both in front and behind him. While most of the group used CB radios, Bruce and
another ham named Scott Connelly also kept in touch on a VHF ham frequency. Scott was
near the front of the group, while Bruce was near the rear. The group became widely
separated, with nearly two miles between the first and last vehicles in the group. The
distance proved to be a problem in the difficult terrain and some of the vehicles using CB
radios lost communication. However Bruce and Scott were able to maintain contact with
their ham radios.
Bruce eventually noticed the second vehicle behind him was driving erratically and falling
further behind. When the vehicle made a strange turn up the side of the wash, Bruce
contacted Scott and asked that he relay a message to the group leader by CB radio to stop.
Bruce turned back and checked on the driver, discovering he was incoherent and obviously
having some kind of medical emergency. Bruce updated Scott as to the problem and
stated they needed to get this guy to hospital as soon as possible. There was no cell
service in this remote area, but Bruce had brought with him the frequency and PL tone of
a nearby repeater. Though Bruce had never used a repeater, he was preparing to put the
information into the radio when he received a call on the simplex frequency, 146.550 MHz,
that he had been using to talk to Scott.
As luck would have it, a group of hams belonging to the Family Motor Coach Association
(FMCA) were having an RV ralley in the Lake Havasu area and were using the same
simplex frequency. He heard Bruce’s call to Scott, and since he had cell service where he
was located, offered to call 9-1-1. An ambulance was dispatched to the nearest trail head,
and the 4-wheelers were able to get the man there in about 20-25 minutes. The man was
transferred to the ambulance and later transported via Life Flight to a hospital in Phoenix.
It turned out the man had a blood vessel burst in his brain, but survived, partly because of
the quick action of the amateur radio operators involved. This incident is a classic example
of why ham radio helps save lives, and works when all else fails.