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A PUBLICATION OF THE CHILLIWACK AMATEUR RADIO CLUB OCTOBER 2009
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
EMERGENCY CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT REFLECTIONS BY JOHN PIERCE VE7 BXN
PRESIDENT’S REPORT We took our summer break during July and August, so there were no official meetings. We did however meet as often as we could to help the building committee with relocation to our new premises. We probably saw more of each other than we normally do during the regular scheduled meetings. Spearheaded by John Pierce (VE7BXN), Jack Jackaman (VE7HJJ) and Jack Allan (VE7DOJ), the move went very well due to the hard work and organizational skills of the members. The tower is in place thanks to Jim MacDonald and his crew, plus our own brave bucket riders. (You had to be there!) Next to go up will be the large boom antenna which have been newly refurbished (VE7BXN, VE7HJJ and Dale Jackaman -VE7GL) and tested. Inside, the wall mounted desks have been attached and DC wiring is now in place. My thanks to all who have volunteered their time and energy to this task which has been very time consuming. The summer also saw some other activity as well. Field Day 2009, was held in Yarrow and was well attended and a complete success. The tower and tents were put up in what seemed like record time and then we helped Harold Thiessen (VE7HHT) with the wire antennas. With sometimes three radios on the go, SSB & CW, there were many contacts in North America and England. There were 65 who attended the BBQ. Bonnie Pierce (VA7BXN), Gail Cross (VA7GCC) and Jerry Lazarowich (VE7BLL) are to be applauded for their time and effort in keeping our stomachs topped up. On my drive in from Hope, I radioed in and when I arrived at the Camp my breakfast was ready and waiting for me. It doesn’t get any better than that! Thanks Bonnie. A Club BBQ was held at VE7HJJ’s QTH and was widely attended by our Club members as well as some of VE7GL’s Richmond Group. Pictures are available on the Web site. Thanks for a beautiful location and the use of it Jack. We were very lucky to have been able to use your location after the earlier mishap at your house. In September the Club participated in the Cultus Lake Triathlon which was modified from last year’s. Eleven radio positions were required and we were able to fulfill our responsibilities. It was a very successful day and there were some positive comments from visiting Hams and non-Hams as to the professional set up that our Club has. The portable tower and tent were used on site complete with identifying signs. I will leave further explanation to our Emergency Co-Coordinator (VE7HJJ) who worked tirelessly to set this up and will be submitting an overview for the Repeater. Last Thursday, September 24th, saw our first General Meeting with 17 attending. I will be asking for ideas on topics of interest to club members which can be presented on either set or random Thursday evenings. As mentioned before, some of the subjects include CW practice, Propagation, A.P.R.S., IRLP operation and any topics which are of interest to Club members. We have also arranged for Dale VE7GL to give Club members familiarization sessions on the new Elecraft K3. Now that our meetings are getting back to normal, I would like to thank all of our volunteers and stress again that we can’t rely on the usual suspects to carry the load. I know many of you lead busy lives, however, if you’re able to help in any way when we have need of volunteers, please try to fit the Club into your schedule. Here’s hoping for a productive year ahead of us. Enjoy your Club. Roger Galliford VE7GMG President
FROM THE EMERGENCY COORDINATOR Amateur Radio has accepted, world wide, the responsibility of providing fail safe communications in time of emergency. With this in mind, the Chilliwack Amateur Radio Club (CARC) collectively decided a few years ago to modernize and improve our own local capability. In doing so we have now reached a situation where we are now fully equipped to provide emergency communications in our areas of responsibility. We have updated and installed modern, brand new radio systems strategically placed to cover our area of responsibility. We own and operate two repeaters, one of which is a commercial high tech repeater system for both VHF and UHF. By early October we will have installed two new state of the art HF radios with an excellent 65 foot radio mast, beam and wire antenna systems. Our capability has been further advanced by our renovation of a donated mobile antenna tower with associated tented radio room with full facilities including two generators one of which is brand new. During all these activity we have developed a first class relationship with the two Emergency Coordinators in our area as well as the City of Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD). We enjoy unprecedented cooperation from all these organizations we work with including the Emergency Social Services (ESS). Where else would be have a million and a quarter dollar fire truck with bucket system hoist our 65 foot antenna into position at our new radio room? We are looked on as professionals and not a bunch of amateurs who are not organized or capable of providing emergency communications. Our efforts have resulted in being provided with two radio rooms associated with the two Emergency Operating Centers (EOCs) in our area. They are complete with radios and computers. Our own main radio room at the Chilliwack EOC is first class and professionally equipped. We have access to our facilities at all times. All of this for a token $1 a year! To be fair, the criticism by some Hams that we may be going too far by obtaining a trailer type radio room to replace our tent has been discussed and there is a good argument that we are going to far in this case. As we are in an excellent overall situation as far as our emergency capabilities are concerned, this project has been dropped. Also, in view of the overall economic climate in Canada and BC, we will not be asking for funding from the gaming commission. Instead we have written a letter of thanks and including the necessary reports on what we have done with their funding. This decision has proved to be fortuitous as Gaming Funds are being highly restricted this year. The criticism that we have moved away from the basic hobby of Ham Radio is also true but it is not due to all our emergency activities. There has been nothing to stop members from enjoying DXing and other basic Ham activities. Even with encouragement from the Executive and efforts to start such activities, they usually peter out as no one is prepared to do the work of organizing and encouraging such activities. Ham Radio, as envisioned in the past, included home built radios but it is suspected that this is something that has been superseded by modern radio technology. We are now in a computer linked radio age and this is an area that must be encouraged if we are to interest young Hams. We also should encourage the construction of antenna systems and experimenting with such systems. Our recent grant has allowed us to purchase two new HF radios and it is hoped that this will encourage members to do more basic Ham activities. New Ham equipment is expensive so by providing these radios we are helping those who want to do basic Ham Radio but who could not otherwise afford it. VE7GL provides a computer linked radio and antenna system at his radio room that is operating 24 hours a day and even Hams in apartments or condos can get on the air and do basic Ham stuff without fear of RF complaints by their neighbours. He also welcomes visitors to his Contest Station that often comes first in Canada and close to the top in North American and the World. In summary, I feel that our efforts to update our equipment have kept the club alive and active and our club’s emergency capabilities second to none. Without these efforts we would have a club looking for a place to rent at considerable cost and equipped with outdated radios and very limited capability. The Chilliwack ARC has been highly active in recent years and we should be proud of our efforts. Now let the HF crowd and those who want to enjoy more hobby type Ham activities demonstrate their capability to organize a DX section of our club with weekly activities to encourage learning the more technical details of the hobby, contacting other Hams world wide, providing challenges as to the number of contacts operators obtain. It is not easy and requires dedication and hard work. Those of us who have been working to improve our club’s emergency activities only know too well that it does not happen by magic. Members of this club have dedicated hours of hard work and financial assistance to make things happen. So who will volunteer to be the Basic Ham HF Coordinator and encourager? Jack Jackaman VE7HJJ Chilliwack ARC Emergency Coordinator. HAM CLUB MOVE Much progress has been made with the club move – we are now in our new “digs”. There has been an enormous amount of work getting the new club site setup and many thanks to the volunteers from the Club and from the City of Chilliwack. At the end of 2008, the Club was informed that the Fire Hall #4 was going to be changed to a full time fire hall. This meant that we had to move. We were then informed that the City of Chilliwack would be locating a new location for us and we wouldn’t have to worry about that aspect. Originally the idea was to move by February or March 2009 but due to typical government slowness, it actually didn’t occur until July. The Club was informed, finally, that the City would be purchasing mobile trailers and putting them on some property in Vedder. The ground work was not begun until May but there were lots of decisions that had to be made before hand.
Dismantling Fire Hall #4 Club room
Taking down antenna at Fire Hall #4
On May 5, 2009 the actual work of the move began. The tower base section was taken and prepared to be installed at the new site. A concrete base was poured to hold it in place. The services (water, sewer, hydro) were also put in during that week in preparation for the moving of the mobiles. The grounds were prepared on May 20 and the trailers finally installed on June 1. Over a period of a couple of weeks, the interior installations were made including the electrical box; plumbing and sprinkler system; security system; hooking up water and sewer lines; and completion of exterior stairs.
New Club Headquarters On June 18, the radio room at the fire hall was dismantled and equipment packed and placed ready to be moved. The moving of the radio room, as well as ESS and EOC, equipment and tables was done on July 22 by the City of Chilliwack. That evening there was a work party that installed the counters with Jim MacDonald, Emergency Coordinator for Chilliwack, doing the installations. Over a period of a couple of weeks, there were different work parties involved in organizing the work space of the radio room and just becoming familiar with the new surroundings.
Jim MacDonald & Jack Allan (VE7DOJ) getting counters ready to install
August 17 was an interesting evening as the tower was to be lifted up and installed on the base, which was in a “courtyard” amongst the trailers. This was done by the help of the Chilliwack Fire Department using their extendable bucket truck. Tom Adrain (VE7XTA) was in charge of the installation of the tower. The tower pieces were connected before the fire truck arrived and it involved attaching the tower to the bucket and lifting it up and over the trailers. There was no damage done and no injuries during the operation. It was really interesting to see it being done. Tom then went into the bucket and installed J-poles on the top of the tower with the help of a couple of firemen. On August 31 the fire department arrived to help put the guy wires on the tower sections and 3 J-pole antennas. Again, the operation went smoothly. Many thanks to the fire department for their help.
Firemen stabilizing tower for moving
Up and over
Tom Adrain VE7TXA, Burt Cross VE7KCQ & fireman joining tower pieces The EOC was officially used for the EOC meeting in the first week of August. Early the second week, we started using the radio room for our weekly get-togethers and miscellaneous work parties. The first VHF radio has been set up and working and the room will soon be in full set up and operation. FIELD DAY 2009 The 2009 Field Day was held the weekend of June 26 – 28th. We were at a new location this year – on Browne Road near Yarrow. The City of Chilliwack had given us permission to use an area near the Vedder River to set up our equipment. There were a number of people that decided to stay over the weekend by using their motor homes or even sleeping in their car! The weather was perfect – warm and sunny although on the Saturday night there was a small shower system that went through that slightly dampened the ground but not the enthusiasm. There were a lot of contacts made and everyone seemed to have a good time. Many thanks, again, to the ladies for providing the food for the picnic on Saturday afternoon. Chicken and hamburger patties were provided by the Club and the honours of doing the barbecuing went to Gerry Lazarowich VE7BLL again.
Tom Adrain VE7TXA, Terry George & Harold Thiessen VE7HHT making contacts
Antenna & tent set up
Bonnie Pierce VA7BXN & Gerry Lazarowich VE7BLL flipping burgers
CLUB PICNIC On August 21, the Club held the second annual picnic at the Jackaman “ranch”. There were some clouds floating around in the morning but by the time people starting showing up, it cleared up and became sunny and warm. Dave Fraser brought a bocce ball game which was enjoyed by a number of people. Most people were content to sit and talk to those attending the picnic. There were 45 – 50 people at the picnic, including guests from the Abbotsford and Richmond Clubs, and, although there was enough food, it was just enough. I guess Bonnie Pierce will have to plan a little better next year.
Lisa Scyner, Burt Cross, Dave Fraser & Paul Blessing playing bocce ball.
Enjoying the day CULTUS LAKE TRIATHALON The Club had the opportunity to participate in the Cultus Lake Triathlon which was held September 13, 2009. The communications tent and mobile tower were set up and John Pierce acted as general communicator. The safety points we were to have members at were filled and two bicycle accidents required some attention. An ambulance was sent to one site but the injured person had continued with the race. The weather was perfect – cooler and sunny during the actual race and getting warm in the afternoon after everyone was finished. Thank you to all those who participated in the triathlon and helped with the “safety net” that we were able to provide.
Tent & tower set up
Runners coming up to check point
REFLECTIONS BY JOHN PIERCE VE7 BXN In 2005 I was able to get back into the hobby of ham radio after an inactive period of some 30 years. I attended the Chilliwack Amateur Radio Club (CARC) as a non-member for a few months just to be sure that ham radio was still of interest to me. I found the experience quite a culture shock. Although I was aware of solid state and digital technology, my last ham activity had been down with tube technology, even though I had done some work with solid state. Still I found it quite a shock with the advances that had been made. Now I was faced with what to do about radio equipment for HF/VHF. I decided to work with VHF. With help and a lot of advice from our local hams, I bought a Yaseu VX150 hand held. This unit worked very well and soon I was up and running on our local repeater and making all manner of contacts from my apartment, as well as mobile. A very interesting re-introduction into the hobby. I decided it was time to become a member of the Chilliwack Club. One weekend in September I was invited to join in with the Club emergency operation to form radio communication safety net for a local community activity. The exercise went well but I found that the battery pack provided for the unit was not designed for an extended operation. There went my radio operating plans and off I went into a design and building project. The long and short of it was to start development of a long lasting portable, low power, VHF/UHF radio station. The plans became a proto type of a “suitcase radio system” built around the VX150 that could operate in excess of 72 hours, based on 100% receive and 10% transmit cycle. Other requirements were that it must have an integrated antenna system; emergency lighting; and battery operation with multifaceted recharge facilities such as AC, automobile and solar. After some trials the unit was constructed and was eventually tested over a four day period and was still operating as expected. At a Club meeting the unit was displayed, demonstrated, and introduced as the Self-continued Emergency Communications Unit (S.E.C.U.) and the name was shortened to “C.Q.”. This was later accepted and built by the Club to replace the existing suitcase radio systems which did not have battery backup capabilities. The new system was developed and built around the YaseuFT60R, a dual band unit for VHF/UHF. These units are now being used for portable use. At the same time we developed a transportable radio system for VHF/UHF around the Yaseu FT7800R, a 50 watt mobile unit with A/C recharge system for use in semi fixed locations with integral and exterior antenna systems. These units are self contained for 72 hours of operation and can be transported by any means to any location required and weigh in at approximately 130 pounds on a roller base. Both radio systems have been in operation, used, and tested for about and year and half and function well. This brought about a thought that with the fragility of our electric systems during some types of emergency, why not put everything on battery operation. Now our Club radio room is on battery operation with A/C recharge system as well as both our repeaters. Our Club has also developed a portable radio emergency operations centre which includes a 65 foot crank up tilt over tower on a trailer with a 20-10 M beam and a wire antenna for the lower HF bands as well as VHF/UHF systems and a tented operations room, a 10x20 foot car shelter which accommodates a 10x14 room and 10x7 sleeping area. The 10x14 ft. room is for a radio station which has tables, chairs, lighting, 1 all band HF radio and two UHF/UHF radios. The trailer is equipped with 120 amps of battery at 12 V; a 3000 Watt 120V generator and A/C recharge system; and a 1000 Watt A/C inverter to ensure A/C voltage for the beam rotation system and emergency lighting. With this portable system we are again self-contained for 72 hours as far as the equipment goes. Although the development was done for emergency response, it has a twofold application and works very well as a single radio station for Field Day and would work for any amateur contest/activity or function. This unit belongs to the CARC and is available to the Club members who wish to use it. At some time in the future, it is intended to provide a 15 amp solar recharge system with controller. It is projects like this that makes ham radio so exciting, at least for me. Design, development and building are just another facet of amateur radio as well as other activities I enjoy. John Pierce VE7BXN THIS AND THAT Elections will be held in November for the executive for 2009/2010. Please be willing to let your name stand for a position, if you are asked, and be an active part of the Club. We need “new” blood on the executive so new ideas can be brought forward. NEWS FLASH: I just heard that Jim MacDonald, Emergency Coordinator for Chilliwack, has passed his basic test. He will be using the call sign VA7CEC upon approval from Canada. Also Kelsey Scyner, daughter of Phil and Lisa, also passed her test and has applied for the call sign VA7TSR. Congratulations to both new members and you will have to start paying fees now Jim! I hope everyone had a good summer and are ready for another year of ham radio activities. This newsletter is for and about the Chilliwack Amateur Radio Club and its members. Anyone wishing to contribute is welcome to do so. Please e-mail Bonnie Pierce, happyknitter@shaw.ca, with your submissions. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
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Last Updated
October 11, 2009
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