From the Gavel, February 2013

Transcription

1 1 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 1 of 12 February, 2013 From the Gavel, February 2013 (Not quite) Everything is software... So for Christmas, I finally upgraded to an HDTV. Which also occasioned a blu-ray player, for the family. ( Really Dear, we can all watch Apocalypse Now on Blue-ray, the kids will love it! ) Playing regular DVD s however, there were odd skips, the screen would <blink> and the sound would stutter before continuing. Not just once a movie, but every five minutes or so. The solution, like so much these days, was to find the Update menu item, the player being already connected to my WiFi, and let it download and install a firmware update; basically a new set of software for the player. Regular DVDs, or at least the half-dozen so far, were smooth and stutter-free after that. Having spent the first half of my life in an era of fixed, i.e. unchanging functionality from my associated gadgetry, this is just a bit odd. My jackknife is still just a knife - but I m waiting for the sonic-screwdriver update. My books are (mostly) still paper, which has a great contrast ratio, and in general they are very high resolution, but I cannot figure out how to turn on the backlight, and my dad cannot find the zoom button to make the font bigger. And no matter how hard I try, I cannot figure out how to upgrade my son s hamster into a Labrador retriever. All in all though, what is upgradable is often a good experience. My computer is of course running new and different software all the time. My Smartphone much the same, and apps and games give me something to do on the GO train. I don t have an SDR rig yet, but having new functionality with the download of software - either onto a computer as with the Flex rigs, or more embedded like many of the new high-end radios that have upgradable firmware inside, allows for new and interesting modes, right inside the rig.so some things are fixed, and some are more malleable. Probably just as well - I m pretty happy that my coffee maker does not crash. Keep on radiating signals Scott VA3NMI MARC First Sunday of the Month Breakfast The monthly club Sunday breakfasts are the first Sunday of the month Come One, Come All The location: 08:30 at Bobby's Hideaway Restaurant, 20 Queen St North in Streetsville. (NW corner of Britannia Rd/Queen St. N) in Streetsville

2 2 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 2 of 12 February, 2013 The Mississauga Amateur Radio Club The Communicator This is the February 2013 edition of the Editors Column Yes!, the format has changed, and before anyone passes out, just sit back and relax, as it s not going to be painful at all. But if you check your calendar it is the year 2013, and that means we are already 13 years into a new century, so I thought some new thoughts, new hopes, new idea s, new innovations, everything is new! Our beloved hobby and club has always been a place for new thoughts, projects, and modifications to everything that has been done before, can be made new again, and maybe better with just maybe a small tweak. Welcome to the new MARC, (Mississauga Armature, Radio Club), newsletter, or as I call it the MARC Magazine. And what prompted all this was when starting on this issue, the thought of wrestling with the old template almost brought me to tears. So as the Editor, of this digital publication I made an executive decision and started from the ground up. New foundations, new walls, well you get the idea, and the fact that The Communicator is digital, it means only one thing, that everything is possible, and not only possible, but more was almost begging to happen. So as with everything in this life, things change, and if you have known me for any period of time, I live for change. For the new, the bold, and the reaching out to be something not what we have been, but for something, we can be. Draw a line in the sand my friend, everything we have done has been ground breaking and excellent. However I say to you all, it is now time to take the next step, there so many things to learn, so many things to master, as in the past we have been the innovators, it is time again to innovate and push forward. And this month we have some excellent articles and I hope that trend continues. So now you all have had time to catch breath, let s get on with it. So read on. Valentine Stubbs, VE3VVS. The Index The Gavel, the presidents words 1 VA3/VE3 Incoming QSL 5 The Editors Column, boring words from me 2 Trains, Boats and Planes 6 The Index, how to get from here to there 2 Club Calendar HF Practical Radio Lab 3 RAC Membership Application 12

3 3 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 3 of 12 February, 2013 HF Practical Radio Lab and Basic-Class Graduation Almost one year to the day after the first HF Practical Radio Lab, on January 19, 2013 MARC held the second HF Practical Lab. The theory presentation was conducted by Michael Brickell VE3TKI and Ed Spingola VA3TPV. Bob Hudson VE3CWU, helped with the presentation and took the seven Basic License graduates through the practical aspects of getting on the air and demonstrating how all the parts fit together in a HAM shack so they can enjoy contacting other stations around the globe. Last year, Mike and Ed found the small presentation they had prepared filled up many more hours than there was time for judiciously, and with more than a little psychic scarring, cut the presentation down to the bare minimum so that it would fit into the time available. I think Mike and Ed are far more knowledgeable than they realize because this year was no different. So much information, so little time. Questions from the newly licensed Ham s took up as much time this year as they did in last year s session. Everyone benefitted from the answers to their questions and information presented. The attendees stayed long after the session to continue asking questions about their favorite technical interests as well as HAM radio in general. Perhaps next year, Mike and Ed will consider doing a 12-session program as we do for the Licensing courses. Bob, on the other hand, used his time wisely and got the practical on-air radio portion done in the allotted time so, he only needs one session. To be fair to Mike and Ed, I did steal 15 minutes from their presentation and presented this year s three highest test scorers with their well-deserved prizes. Mike Lam, VE3YML had the most correct answers scoring 96% and was presented with a $50.00 gift certificate courtesy of RADIOWORLD.

4 4 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 4 of 12 February, 2013 Little does Mike know that when he leaves RADIOWORLD after going to collect his prize he will have spent way more than the prize he received Brian Herling, VE3XBH followed closely behind with 93% and Anthony Verevkin, VA3IDL scored 91%. Both received ARRL books for their fine exam performance. Congratulations In addition to the prizewinners above, the following individuals received their Basic or Basic with Honors HAM tickets: Andrew Graham Emil John Richard Kropman Rainerio Tayco Raj Kumar Dutta Masanori Fukata VA3AWG VA3ANF VE3ZSA VE3RYT VA3RKV VA3UVC Another new club member deserves a special mention. Bruce Crawford Sr., VE3TMV (that would be BC and never BS) called me earlier last summer to enquire about the Basic Course. Having recently retired and working on building his second home up north, the timing of the course wasn t good for him so he did not attend the classes but promised to try to study when he was able. Apparently he did do a bit of studying because in mid- January he called and enquired if he could arrange for a test. Basil Burgess taught the advanced class while I kept an eagle eye on Bruce as he wrote his test and two thirds (the additional two thirds of a test is another story that Bruce can share with you, all). After Bruce wrote 66 questions on one test and then because of technical reasons had to write another test of 100 questions, he was ready to have Basil mark it. I was a bit nervous because of all the moaning he did on that second test. I wasn t sure just how many questions he might have had problems with compared to the first exam. I felt badly for him but really didn t need to worry because he passed with flying colours...honors, in fact. How much of an honour? Bruce wrote a perfect test...100%, pretty darn excellent by anybody s standard. His performance is making me reconsider how MARC teaches the classes. I think we ll have everyone study on their own from now on. We ll just collect the class and membership fees. Congratulations, Bruce and congratulations to all our basic, class graduates. The journey has begun. Barry Leibner VE3LBL

5 5 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 5 of 12 February, 2013 VA3/VE3 Incoming QSL Bureau at the Niagara Peninsula Amateur Radio Club Hamfest On February 2, 2013, Daniel VE3NI, Ed VA3TPV, and Michael VE3TKI attended the NPARC Hamfest in St. Catharines on behalf of the VA3/VE3 Incoming QSL Card Bureau. The purposes of the trip were to show the flag (or the cards) for the Bureau, to hand out cards to bureau users if possible, and to meet some of the QSL Bureau Mailing Volunteers. Our day started at 7 am when I picked up Ed at his place. Ed and I picked up Daniel, and then, desperate for coffee to sustain us, we stopped at the Timmies in Streetsville. Once fortified, were on our way to the hamfest. When we got to St Catharines, we spent a while driving in circles trying to find the hall, as a result of conflicting advice from the passengers, in spite of the presence of two GPS units, one of which got lost. We arrived on time at 08:30, my coffee now being just the right temperature (it would not do to drink it too hot and risk scalding), thereby demonstrating the superb direction finding skills of the driver. The hamfest itself was well attended, and a number of members of the Peel and Mississauga clubs came by to say hello. The bureau has developed an on-line database which allows us to look up bureau users and tell them if they have cards on file and what their account balance is. For the first time we were able to use this live, thanks to the use of a wireless hotspot. The database proved useful in bringing users up to date as needed. A number of bureau mailing volunteers were on hand: John Russell VE3LL (retiring volunteer for letter A), Dave Digweed VE3FOI (letter I), Jack Gauthier VE3WBT (letter L), Jim Sawadski VE3EEZ (letter U), and Dale Sackfie (letter W). Eventually it was time to leave for the trip home. A nasty surprise awaited us in the parking lot, as it had snowed during the morning. This made the return trip somewhat dicey, at least to start with. The road were dry once we left St Catherines. This was all in all a successful day for the bureau. For information on the bureau, go to Michael Brickell VE3TKI

6 6 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 6 of 12 February, 2013 Trains and Boats and Planes Ralph Welsh, VE3RWO arranged a club trip, on Saturday, January 26 to The Model Railroad Club of Toronto (MRCT). The club founded in 1938 has been in its present Liberty Village location since 1946 and will be moving to a new location later this year. Ralph was able to get MARC members the last private access before it is to be dismantled this spring. Originally located in Harry Ebert s basement, the MRCT soon moved to new premises at Toronto s Union Station. After World War II, the railways required the Union Station space the club occupied, so a hunt for a new home was on. In January of 1946, the club moved to its present location of 171 East Liberty Street, formerly 37 Hanna Avenue, a former munitions factory. Of as much interest as the long history of the club is the history of the location where the club resides. In the early twentieth century, Parkdale was home to the yards and shops of the former Credit Valley Railway (now part of Canadian Pacific) and later had stations at Queen Street on both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific lines. It was also the location of several major industries the sprawling Massey Ferguson farm implement factory, the John Inglis Company appliance factory, the Toronto Carpet Factory, Irwin Toy, Brunswick (bowling and billiards) and CPR s Parkdale yard to name a few. The operation of all these facilities ceased from the mid 1980 s through the mid 1990 s. The Mercer Reformatory, a low security women s prison, was located just two blocks west of Parkdale yard on King Street. It was closed and demolished in 1969 and is now the site of Lamport Stadium Pictured above is the eastern Parkdale area bisected by the CPR and CNR mainlines. All the property to right of the main lines is the former Massey Ferguson complex.

7 7 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 7 of 12 February, 2013 Strachan Avenue crosses the railway tracks in the lower left of the photo. The Club is located just out of view to the left of the CPR Parkdale yard. All of what us pictured here, with the exception of the dark coloured building in the top left, has been demolished and redeveloped as mediumdensity residential. This area is now known as Liberty Village

8 8 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 8 of 12 February, 2013 What an incredible layout has evolved over the years! Not only are there 1400 feet of track but as the title says, there are lakes with boats and airplanes, small villages, magnificent mountain and valley vistas as well as loading yards and a power station. For the kid in all of us the visit was well worth the trip downtown and the search for the well-hidden entrance.

9 9 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 9 of 12 February, 2013 The layout is built in O-Scale, a miniature world at 1/48 size. A model of a 40-foot boxcar is 10 inches long. The layout room is 120 feet long and 40 feet wide featuring a track plan of loop to loop design, with trains passing through each town only once. Lilleyburg, the southern terminus of the railway is about ten scale miles (in practice selectively expanded to 130 miles to enhance operational realism) from the northern terminus at East Davidson. The southern portion of the CORY is double track; the northern portion and the branch line to Port Coleman are single track. Trains require minutes to travel from one end of the railroad to the other in non-stop operation. The CORY connects at the its southern end with the CNR at Trenton, while two connections occur with the CPR, mid-point at Smith s Falls and at the north end at Mattawa.

10 10 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 10 of 12 February, 2013 The model railroad presented by MRCT is a general representation of the original Central Ontario Railway that had been running for thirty-two years before succumbing to Mackenzie and Mann, builders of the Canadian Northern Railway, to feed their main line between Toronto and Ottawa. The first train ran from Picton to Trenton in 1880 under its original name, the Prince Edward County Railway. Two years later, as the Central Ontario Railway, multiple expansions began in order to reach the areas of relatively unexploited Iron ore discoveries recently found to the north. The intention was to connect with the Canada Atlantic Railway (later absorbed by the Grand Trunk Railway) near Whitney, but they didn't quite make it. Construction was halted some eight miles away and never resumed. Despite the railway's reliance on the mining industry, haulage of farmers' produce and sawn lumber proved to be steady, as did passenger traffic. Barry Leibner VE3LBL MARC Members Yahoo Group The MARC Members Yahoo Group is the primary way to disseminate club information about upcoming events Join the MARC Members Yahoo Group to receive club related communications and to contact other club members MARC Newsletter Submissions In order to help organize and stop endless hours of HUGE inbox searches. All articles need to be sent to themarcnewsletterdesk@gmail.com

11 11 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 11 of 12 February, 2013 CLUB CALENDAR FOR 2013 February, Fri International Winter Contest, SSB 03 Sun Sunday Brunch Bobbie s Hideaway Restaurant 05 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 07 Thu Exec Meeting 10 Sun HF - 75/80 Meter Net 12 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 14 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker s Night 15 Fri ARRL International DX Contest CW 17 Sun HF - 75/80 Meter Net 19 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 21 Thu ARES Meeting 22 Fri CQ 160M Contest, SSB 24 Sun HF - 75/80 Meter Net 26 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net March, Fri ARRL International DX Contest SSB 03 Sun Sunday Brunch Bobbie s Hideaway Restaurant 03 Sun HF - 75/80 Meter Net 05 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 07 Thu Exec Meeting 10 Sun HF - 75/80 Meter Net 12 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 14 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker s night 17 Sun HF - 75/80 Meter Net 19 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 21 Thu ARES Meeting 24 Sun HF - 75/80 Meter Net 26 Tue VHF/UHF - 2 Meter Net 28 Thu Club Meeting - Speaker s night Notes: 1) Club meetings start 7:30PM at St. Thomas A Becket Church Hall, 3535 South Common Court unless otherwise noted. 2) Sunday brunch is held at 8:30AM on the first Sunday of each month at Bobby s Hideaway Restaurant, 20 Queen St, 3) Streetsville (NW corner of Britannia Rd/Queen St in Streetsville) 4) ARES Meetings start at 7:30PM at the Red Cross, Ontario Zone Office (OZONE), 5700 Cancross Court, Mississauga, ON. 5) Executive meetings start 7:30PM at the Club Station, Danmax Electronics, 2311 Anderson Drive Unit B, Mississauga. 6) The Basic Classes start at 7:00 pm at the Red Cross OZONE, 5700 Cancross Court, Mississauga - Peel Training Room Visit our website: for any updates of the calendar. MARC Project Nights The MARC Project Nights upcoming are: February 26, 2013 March 12, 2013 March 26, 2013 April 9, 2013 April 23, 2013 May 14, 2013 March 28, 2013 June 11, 2013 June 25,2013

12 12 VE3MIS/VE3RCX Volume Page 12 of 12 February, 2013 RAC MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION/TCA SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS For two- or three-year memberships or renewals please contact the RAC Office given at bottom of this page. Please enter applicable choice(s) Please indicate New or Renewal: 1 year RAC plus GST or HST as applicable Total $54.60 in AB, MB, NT, NU, MB, PE, QC, SK, YT (5%) Total $58.76 in NB, NL, ON (13%). Total $59.80 in NS (15%) 1 year RAC membership only; for a blind person NO plus GST or HST as applicable Total $26.25 in AB, MB, NT, NU, MB, PE, QC, SK, YT (5%) Total $28.25 in NB, NL, ON (13%). Total $28.75 in NS (15%) Family membership; price per extra family $25.00 plus GST or HST as applicable per year (one TCA per family) (Does not apply to simple subscriptions.) Total $26.25 per person in AB, MB, NT, NU, MB, PE, QC, SK, YT (5%) Total $28.25 per person in NB, NL, ON (13%). Total $28.75 per person in NS (15%).. Donation to the RAC Foundation enclosed $ Donation to the Defence of Amateur Radio Fund enclosed $ Donation to the Youth Education Programme enclosed $ Donation to the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES ) Programme enclosed $ Grand Total: $ Visa/MasterCard No: Security code on back of card (CVV2): Name of person credit card is issued to: Card Expiry Date (MM/YY): Mail to: Radio Amateurs of Canada Inc. 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217 Ottawa, ON, K1G 0Z5 Telephone #: or , Fax: rachq@rac.ca