The computer hosting this service has decided to pack it in.  We are in the process of looking for a replacement as it is not repairable.   Once the replacement computer is acquired there will be some setup time required as well as some tweaking required once it’s on the air.

Thanks for your patience while we work on getting Echolink back online.

The Icom repeater was put back in as the primary repeater the Sunday before and the race and it performed flawlessly for the event.

This race was also the first opportunity to showcase our new trailer.  We received a lot of positive comments on it.  Thanks Gary, Steve, Tom, and Mark (and Me) for working so hard on the trailer to get it ready for this event.

Please let me (VA6AWS – Andrew) know ASAP if you can volunteer to help us out with this important event. You can send me an email at va6aws@ncaarc.ca and let me know if you can help out. IF you have not volunteered for an event don’t be shy – it’s not hard work. Basically we need volunteers that can operate a radio and report what you see.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want any more information on this event.

Thanks,

Andrew

How can you describe a hobby that has dozens of facets?  How do you explain a hobby whose devotees take part in a pastime that is enjoyed, in a personal way, by kings and commoners, game players and scientists, and by rich and poor? A hobby that is a delight to people all over the world – people both distinguished and world-renowned– and by us ordinary people?

It’s radio, and it’s inhabited by Radio Amateurs  (otherwise known as “Hams”) in the short , very short, and ultra short radio waves. What Hams do with these “waves” makes a long list of fascinating miracles.

For only a few examples, they can:

……….Talk directly with people all over the globe, using only their own personal equipment, (you’ll be surprised by who you’ll meet— even, for example, television and movie stars). They can also bounce signals off the moon, and keep track of the activities of the sun.

…………Build radio and computer equipment, (it can be very simple or extremely sophisticated)

………….Have contests, to compete with other “Hams” in timed races to make contacts between  “Hams” worldwide to see who wins the most points.

…………..Sometimes, using radio,  reach people who are in emergency situations, help them save both lives and property, and assist the civil authorities and charities.

……………As “Amateurs” (some of whom happen also to be scientists, engineers, and technicians or just “handimen”, or “handiwomen”), be instrumental in making worthwhile discoveries, and  advancing science and engineering.

……………..Using computers and radio together, make contributions to the science and practice of computing.

……………..Enjoy the company of a very interesting and varied assembly of people at home and around the World, who can become very sociable “Hams”. (Many astronauts are “Hams”)

YOU can join in the fun and games of“Ham” radio, and make the world friendlier.

Just click on “CONTACT US” on this website.

(Your age doesn’t matter — and we do training, for free!)

A CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

The Annual General Meeting of the NCAARC will be held on March 16, 2013 at the St Albert Fire Hall #3, St. Albert, AB

Your club needs you! We need the new ideas and energy that you can bring to the board of directors.

As chair of the nominating committee, I urge you to get involved. Step forward and let your name stand for nomination to the board. All positions are elected for one year and may be renewed.

The positions on the board requiring nominees are:

•         President
•         Vice-president
•         Secretary
•         Treasurer
•         Director (up to 6 directors to be elected)

Nominations for any of the board positions will be accepted from the floor at the AGM. If you are willing to let your name stand or know someone who is willing to accept a nomination, contact:
John Heppleston
Steve Johnston
Hans Kruse

–
Ernest C Clintberg, VE6EC
Secretary, NCAARC

The main Icom repeater went down before Christmas and it was shipped out for repair. We were running on the backup repeater and that too has gone offline. We will be running some diagnostics on it in the next few days and hope to have more to report once we have completed that.

Steve P. took some pictures of the trailer during the install process which you can see below. We’ll work on getting some pictures outside once it warms up and a bit and we can wash the trailer.

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The next steps on the trailer will be outfitting the inside. Gary is currently working on a mount for the fridge so that it isn’t bouncing around all over while it’s on the road. Currently the trailer is having an additional cabinet installed above one of the work tables which is likely where a lot of the radio and power gear will be mounted. Once it is safe to be up on the roof antennas will be installed.

All in all it was a great contest. The bands were open and we managed to rack up a decent amount of points. We had a total of 6 operators which were; VE6KD, VA6AWS, VE6EFR, VE6AMT, VE6STE, and VE6HEP. We completed in the multi-operator, multi-transmitter category using the callsign VE6KD.

Here is the unoffical summary of the results.

Band	Raw QSOs	Valid QSOs	Points	Multipliers
160 SSB	41	41	342	5
80 SSB	174	170	1372	10
40 SSB	270	264	1772	11
20 SSB	807	800	3616	13
15 SSB	275	269	1486	11
10 SSB	117	116	546	7
2 SSB	11	10	110	2
Totals	1695	1670	9244	59

Some photos taken by VE6KD

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Some photos taken by David Doyle

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“This event owes a great deal of its success to the services provided by these volunteers.”  said Dan Boonstra, co-ordinator of the Tour de l’Alberta bicycle event which this year attracted over 1,300 participants.

The Radio Club coordinated all communicatons between the base and each of the ten rest stops throughout the counties of Westlock and Sturgeon.  Volunteers were stationed at each location and managed all requests for rider pickups, food transfers, supplies delivery, and first aid.  A motorcycle sweep, a roving operator and base personnel were also provided.

This is the fourth year of NCAARC involvement.  We look forward to participating in the next Tour de l’Alberta which will be held July 21,2013.

Below are some pictures of the event.

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