Members and friends of the North Central Amateur Radio Club (NCAARC) will once again be providing radio communications support to the 2015 Tour de l’Alberta bicycling event taking place on Sunday, August 9, 2015.

This is to request volunteers to assist with radio communications at the event. Please contact me directly if you are able to assist.  I can be reached via email.

Note: the event date is Sunday, August 9, 2015. Please see the event website http://www.tourdalberta.ca/ for general information on the event and see the attached PDF for general radio instructions. I will send more information to those who can help out.

For those many club members and friends who have supported this event in the past, you know what to expect.

For those new to the event, it is a lot of fun and a chance to practice communications with a major one-day event.

Details:

2m radios using VE6QCR repeater on 146.640 MHz (negative offset, 100Hz tone)

Morning and afternoon shifts include:

-Base control (NCAARC operations trailer, located at event headquarters in Morinville)

-Rest stops/ station locations throughout the bicycle route (3 routes this year – 50km, 100km, and 160km)

-Mobile/ travel with bicycle Support and Assistance Vehicles (SAG wagons)

Please see the event website for information on routes, times, etc.

http://www.tourdalberta.ca/

Thank you for your consideration. Hope to see you on the 9th!

Paul Gervais VE6PGA

Echolink is finally functional on VE6LAW. After some fiddling with the config files I was able to get things working tonight. I tested connecting to another node via the radio into VE6LAW and I also tested connecting from my phone into VE6LAW.

IF you are accessing an Echolink node from VE6LAW over RF you will need to prefix the node number with a #. For example if you wanted to connect to VA7DEP in Delta British Columbia you would enter #168180.

If you are wanting to use IRLP you will need to prefix the node number with a *. For example if you want to access the SARA system you would enter *1260.

With both modes please ensure you disconnect by entering 73. There is no *or # prefix required, just 73.

In case you’ve forgotten, our node numbers are:
IRLP – 1440
Echolink – 236406

If you have any difficulties or need more information please contact me via email – va6aws@ncaarc.ca

Enjoy!

This year the NCAARC participated in the Public Safety Open House in Downtown St. Albert for the first time.  This event allowed the public to check out equipment and speak with those that are involved in the time of an emergency.

Thank you to Steve Pedersen (VE6STE) for making the arrangements and getting the trailer moved to and from the site.  Thank you to David Gervais (VE6KD), Ernie Clintberg (VE6EC), and Steve Johnston (VE6CYR) for their assistance in helping demonstrate what we can do when all else fails communication wise.

Steve Pedersen has provided a small gallery of photos from the event.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As you may be aware, NCAARC has its D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) repeater on the air and now we want to show and tell you more!

Jeff BISHOP, VE6EFR, will be providing a presentation at the monthly club meeting.

Date:  23-MAY-2015

Time:  09:30hrs

Location:  Fire Station #3, 100 Giroux Road, St. Albert

Title:  D-STAR Presentation – D-STAR Without all of the Technical Mumbo Jumbo

Jeff’s presentation will cover the following:

• What is D-STAR?
• What are some of the features that D-STAR brings to the shack?
• Simplex
• Repeaters
• Call Sign Routing
• Reflectors
• Digital voice on HF
• Simultaneous voice and data
• Every transmission sends your call sign & GPS location (if GPS equipped)

• What D-STAR repeaters do we have in the area?

• St. Albert – VE6JKB 444.25 MHz
• South Edmonton – VE6BHX 440.75 MHz
• Strathcona County – VE6KM 444.90 MHz, 145.47 MHz and 1287.50 MHz

• There aren’t any D-STAR repeaters in my area. Can I still get involved?
• How do I get on D-STAR?

•     NW Digital Radio ThumbDV
•     DV Dongle
•     DVAP Dongle
•     D-STAR ready mobile or handheld radio

• Can I use the radio I already have? If not, how much does it cost to get into D-STAR??
• Why should I spend the money on D-STAR if my $50 Baofeng does what I need it to do?
• The proof is in the pudding. Time to get on the air.

If you have a D-STAR radio, bring it to the meeting!

If you arrive and find the door locked please give a call out on VE6JKB if you have radio programmed or VE6LAW and we can send someone to open the door. Please do not use the yellow phone by the door as this will disrupt the staff working at the firehall.

This presentation is open to all that are interested in D-STAR whether a member of NCAARC or not.

Hope to see you there!