Have you ever wanted to learn about balloons and APRS? This coming Saturday (September 20, 2014) is your chance. In place of our regular monthly board meeting we will be enjoying a presentation put on by Tony Rafaat. The meeting is at the usual time of 9:30 AM and will take place at Fire Station #3 in St. Albert. anyone interested in attending is welcome, member or not.

Tony has provided a link to the project website which is http://sable.spschools.org/. Check out the gallery and see just what they can manage with a bit of gas, a balloon, a camera, and of course ham radio. The radio side of things is used for tracking the balloon so they can retrieve the payload. Being that I’m no expert on the topic they may use it for other purposes as well.

Not sure what APRS is. Here is a link to a a page with a good overview. http://www.g4ilo.com/aprs.html

Hope to see you at 9:30 AM on September 20th!

Once again NCAARC members will be providing communications support for the bike tour on July 27. If you are able to volunteer, please contact Paul Gervais.

AEMA will be broadcasting emergency alerts across the SARA network. You can monitor this network via VE6NHB (145.410- 114.8 CTCSS).

The Alberta Emergency Alert program, in conjunction with the Southern Alberta Repeater Association (SARA), is pleased to announce that SARA will transmit critical Alberta Emergency Alert messages starting June 18, 2014. The Alberta Emergency Alert program provides lifesaving information through radio, television, a public website, a smartphone application, Facebook, Twitter, and an RSS feed.
The amateur radio community is very active in Alberta and is routinely called upon to assist emergency management organizations with site to site communications. Many amateur operators are also trained severe weather spotters with links into Environment Canada. In addition to its existing communication channels, the Alberta Emergency Alert program recognizes that organizations like SARA can help provide even more paths to Albertans, ensuring that alerts can reach as many people as possible who may be affected by emergencies or disasters.
SARA is an amateur radio society with approximately 100 members who maintain over 20 repeater sites providing continuous communications coverage between major centers in the province. The system is open to any licensed amateur operator, and SARA often gets used for provincial networks, public service events and general communications. Alert messages will be delivered on the main SARA backbone automatically, covering the Highway 2 corridor from Edmonton in the north to Vulcan County in the south.

This year we participated in the annual Rain Maker parade. Thanks to Steve(VE6STE) and Dave(VE6KD) for making the entry happen.

Thanks for sending in the pic Ernie!

Thanks to Adrian, Dave, Glen, and Steve for getting the trailer all shined up and ready for the entry the day before.

Well done guys!