Kamloops Amateur Radio Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next British Columbia QSO Party: February 3-4, 2024

February 3, local time, 8am to 8pm AND February 4, local time, 8am to 4pm

(That’s UTC 1600z Feb 3 to 0359z Feb 4, and 1600z to 2359z Feb 4)

https://www.orcadxcc.org/bcqp.html

The Club will be operating from the Winter Field Day barn on the ranch of Peter, VE7DNZ.  We will be operating VE7UT as a "Multi-Operator, All Bands, Low Power" station.

See the Winter Field Day story for directions on how to get to the barn, and where you can park.

 

The next monthly meeting will be held on Thursday February 1 at 7PM.  We will be doing a debrief on the 2024 Winter Field Day exercise, planning for the BC QSO Party Contest, and having a presentation and discussion on "Understanding VHF Propagation".

This will be hybrid meeting, but you are encouraged to join us in person (we will have donuts and apple fritters!).

For those who can only join online, please use this link: https://bbb.isurf.ca/b/ada-jnt-mkf

To join the meeting in person please meet outside the lobby of the Victoria Building at 210 Victoria Street.  The KARC meeting will be held in the offices of the Province of BC on the 5th Floor. This is a controlled access building so please try to be there by 6:50pm so we can start the meeting promptly on time at 7pm.  Please wait outside until someone comes to open the door.  You may also call (250) 318-5150 to let us know you are downstairs waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KARC Winter Field Day
January 27-28, 2024

The Kamloops Amateur Radio Club will be participating in Winter Field Day 2024, on January 27-28.  Setup will start at 1400 PST on Friday, January 26, and Winter Field Day will begin at 1100 PST on Saturday, January 27 and conclude at 1059 hours on Sunday, January 28.

If you are interested in participating please contact Myles in advance so we know how many to expect.  Dinner will be provided on Saturday evening (chili, corn bread, etc.) so please confirm your participation by January 19 so we know how many to cook for.

We will be operating using the club callsign VE7UT as 2 Outdoor BC, on CW, phone and digital modes.  We will have two IC-7300 HF stations, and will be operating on alternative power (generator and battery), using three HF antennas (Carolina Windom, 20M EFHW, and a 40/80M NVIS).  You are most welcome to bring your own HF radio and plug into one of our antennas.

We will be using the old homesteader building (aka the "barn") again this year which is located about 700 metres from the parking area on Mannings Road.  As long as we don't get too much snow we should be able to park adjacent to the "barn".  Be forewarned, the trail from Mannings Road to the barn is suitable for high-clearance SUV/CUVs or trucks/4x4s -- if in doubt park at the end of Mannings Rd and one of us will drive out to give you a ride to the barn.

For those interested, there is lots of room for winter camping adjacent to the "barn", and there are two cots if you want to sleep inside.  You will need to bring your own camp chair and whatever else you need to keep yourself warm and well fed.  There will be a Coleman 2-burner stove for cooking (bring your own cooking accoutrements), and a kettle on the woodstove for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.

Bathroom facilities will be "primitive" so please be forewarned!

A Google Earth KMZ file is attached showing the location of the barn, as well as a KMZ file showing where you can park.

Here is a link to Google Maps that you can use to help you navigate from the Knutsford Community Hall to the turn off from Mannings Road.  https://goo.gl/maps/JU2nxVxyJNDHnT9N8 

PLEASE DO NOT let Google Maps take you directly to Jackson Road off of Hwy 5A!  PART OF THAT ROAD IS NOT MAINTAINED IN THE WINTER!

We will be monitoring 147.320+ (the VE7RLO repeater) so if you need directions to the site or a shuttle in from the parking area please call "CQ VE7UT".  We will also be broadcasting the Winter Field Day location on APRS so please see VE7UT on aprs.fi!

 

 

 

 

The next monthly meeting will be held on January 4 at 7PM.  We will be doing a debrief on the 2023 RAC Winter Contest, and planning for the upcoming 2024 Winter Field Day exercise. 

This will be hybrid meeting, but you are encouraged to join us in person (we will have donuts and apple fritters!).

For those who can only join online, please use this link: https://bbb.isurf.ca/b/ada-jnt-mkf

To join the meeting in person please meet outside the lobby of the Victoria Building at 210 Victoria Street.  The KARC meeting will be held in the offices of the Province of BC on the 5th Floor. This is a controlled access building so please try to be there by 6:50pm so we can start the meeting promptly on time at 7pm.  Please wait outside until someone comes to open the door.  You may also call (250) 318-5150 to let us know you are downstairs waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE DEC 30 -- Myles VE7FSR was up early (4AM!) and got the generator refilled and the shack back in operation.  Shortly after Iain VE7IET got up, followed by Dave VA7DRS.  The bands have been up and down this morning, but we're plugging away and logging the contacts.  It was a beautiful evening last night, stars and a bright moon, and not too cold for tent camping.  We've uploaded a bunch of photos to the album, so check those out to see what things are like up at the barn.

UPDATE DEC 29 -- VE7UT is live and active on the HF bands!  We had an awesome turnout today, with Myles VE7FSR, Ralph VA7VZA, Iain VE7IET, Peter VE7DNZ, Dave VE7LTW, Simon VE7RIZ, and Austin VE7QH.  Dave VA7DRS, Mike VE7KPZ and Jane VE7WWJ came all the way from Vernon.  Ralph and Rita (XYL) made a batch of awesome chili which was enjoyed by everyone, and Dave VE7LTW brought fresh donuts from Tim Hortons.  Band conditions were great until about 8PM when things started to slow down.  Simon and Iain were diehards and continued to work despite challenging band conditions.

UPDATE DEC 28 -- We are almost ready for the RAC Winter Contest!  Some of us will start arriving at the barn around noon on Friday to hook up the coax for the EFHW antenna and get the fire going in the wood stove.  Looking forward to seeing you soon!

UPDATE DEC 17 -- Thank you to Ralph, Iain, and Shane who helped set up the antennas (see image below) this weekend.

The Kamloops Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the 2023 RAC Winter Contest, starting at 1600 PST on Friday, December 29, and finishing at 1600 on Saturday, December 30, using the club callsign VE7UT on CW and phone.  We will be hosting the contest at the Winter Field Day barn on the farm of Peter, VE7DNZ. 

There are two cots in the barn (bring your own foamie and sleeping bag) and lots of space for outside camping.  Please bring your own chair, and we will have hot chili and corn bread for dinner on Friday night (thank you to Rita and Ralph). There will be a Coleman stove for cooking (bring your own cooking accoutrements), and a kettle on the woodstove for coffee, tea and hot chocolate.  We made some improvements since last year, so it will be warmer and brighter in the barn.

Here are some photos of the site and the crew getting things ready for the event.  https://karc.ca/node/763

A Google Earth KMZ file is attached showing the location of the barn.  Here is a link to Google Maps that you can use to help you navigate from the Knutsford Community Hall to the parking spot on Mannings Road.  https://goo.gl/maps/JU2nxVxyJNDHnT9N8  If the weather stays mild we should be able to drive right to the barn.

We will be monitoring 147.320+ (the VE7RLO repeater) and 146.520 so if you need directions to the site or a shuttle in from the parking area please call "CQ VE7UT".  We will also be broadcasting the RAC Winter Contest location on APRS, look for VE7UT on aprs.fi!

You don't have to be a KARC member to join us, all hams and visitors are more than welcome.  We look forward to seeing you there!

PS. Bathroom facilities will be "primitive" so please be forewarned!

The 2023 KARC Christmas Party will be held on Friday, December 8 at Kirsten's Hideout Cafe at 1390 Columbia Street (the same place we have the weekly breakfast on Saturday mornings). Kirsten is going to prepare a fantastic turkey dinner with all the fixings and dessert just like we had last year.

It all starts at 18:00, (02:00 UTC) on December 8, with dinner being served at 18:30.

Tickets are $35 per plate, including taxes and gratuity. Tickets are available from Ralph Adams VA7VZA at 250-319-5925.

Please RSVP as soon as you can so we can confirm numbers to Kirsten sooner rather than later.

Any questions contact please me directly. Similarly, if you or any guests need a ride, please let me know.

Regards,

Ralph VA7VZA

 

 

 

 

 

The next club meeting will be held on November 2 at 7PM.

Our next guest speaker will be Keith Witney, VE7KW, who will be presenting on DX’ing.  Keith is a member of the RAC Board of Directors and is the British Columbia and Yukon Region Director.  Keith is an accomplished DX’er and contester, and he was the co-recipient of the RAC Amateur of the Year Award for 2017.

Keith is going to define the term “DX” and give us a brief introduction to DXing.  He will explain how various DX operators work (casual operators through to big expeditions), and what is expected of both the DX operator and the “clients” (client = you!).

Keith will provide tips on how and where to find DX stations, when to attempt to contact DX stations, how to best attempt the contact, and how to know if you have been successful (awards, certificates, QSLs, and LOTW).

Keith uses some neat (and free!) software tools that can help the new and experienced DXer make more contacts and he will demonstrate those to us this week.  Learn about the differences between SSB, digital, and CW operations.  FT8 has been a game changer for the little guy but still requires some “expertise”, and Keith will help you learn how to improve your FT8 game.

Keith will help us learn about operating split with VFO A and VFO B, or at a more advanced level, using a sub receiver to monitor both the DX operator and the pileup. He will offer tips on the use of a panadaptor display to find where the DX is listening when operating split.

Learn how to improve your home station – it doesn’t always cost a lot, and there are lots of tricks and tips to help you improve your signal and that of the DX station.

This will be hybrid meeting, but you are encouraged to join us in person (we will have donuts and apple fritters!).

 

 

 

 

 

The next club meeting will be held on October 5 at 7PM.

We will be featuring a demonstration of HamClock running on a Raspberry Pi 4.  This is a very affordable alternative to the Geochron 4K, and HamClock has a number of cool features that the Geochron does not!  If you have a spare flatscreen TV or computer monitor with an HDMI input you can build a very cool display for your hamshack.

This will be hybrid meeting, but you are encouraged to join us in person if you can because the HamClock demonstration will only be visible in person (sorry!).

For those who can only join online, please use this link: https://bbb.isurf.ca/b/ada-jnt-mkf

Please note that annual membership fees were due in September, so if you haven't already renewed please remember to bring your cheque  book or cash for Jordan.  I have attached the 2023/2024 membership form so please fill it out and bring it with you, or you may email the form to Jordan at jordan.mohle@gmail.com -- membership fees may also be paid by e-transfer to Jordan.

To join the meeting in person please meet outside the lobby of the Victoria Building at 210 Victoria Street.  The KARC meeting will be held in the offices of the Province of BC on the 5th Floor. This is a controlled access building so please try to be there by 6:50pm so we can start the meeting promptly on time at 7pm.  Please wait outside until someone comes to open the door.  You may also call (250) 318-5150 to let us know you are downstairs waiting.

The annual KARC Picnic is being held this Saturday, September 23 from noon to 4PM, at the City of Kamloops Long Board Park in Aberdeen.  It's just above the Pacific Way Elementary School, and you can access it from the upper parking lot of the school.

Please bring your own camp chair, snacks, and beverages.  There are two picnic tables, one under a shelter.  We will have a two-burner Coleman stove for anyone wanting to roast hot dogs or marshmallows.

We will have two HF radios in operation so if you haven't been on HF before please drop by and give it a try.

We will be monitoring VE7RLO (147.320+ and 442.525+ PL100) for anyone that needs directions or help finding the picnic site.

Guests are welcome, and we are looking forward to seeing you at the picnic!

For directions please see: https://goo.gl/maps/agLeD3YN8S5J7HvD6

We will also be broadcasting the picnic site on APRS, please see https://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FVE7UT

We are pleased to announce that the club has installed a remote HF station on Mt. Lolo.

We are currently testing the Icom RS-BA1 remote control software with the club's Icom IC-7300 HF radio.  The RS-BA1 software runs unders Windows 10, and is opertating on a Lenovo ThinkCentre computer that was donated by Myles, VE7FSR.  Upgrades have been made to the microwave radio link to Lolo to ensure that we have sufficient internet bandwidth to successfully operate the remote HF station.

The HF antenna is an 80M off-centre-fed dipole supported at the top of the 50ft wood pole at the top of Lolo.  This gives us an overall antenna height of about 5750 feet above average terrain, which should make for terrific DX performance!

So far the testing has been positive (thank you to Mark VE7ARN and Dave VE7LTW our test squad) and the performance of the radio, antenna, and software has been very good.  We did have an issue with some nasty RFI when we first put up the HF antenna, and Ralph VA7VZA brought up his portable SDR receiver to do some "sniffing" while Myles VE7FSR turned stuff on and off in the shack.  We tracked down a very noisy Samlex switching power supply, which was then turned off and removed, with most of the noise going away.  There is a small source of noise on 17M, but not bad enough to block reasonable signals.  We have also noticed a higher than desired noise floor on 20M which Ralph and Myles will try to chase down in the coming weeks. (This appears to be coming from a bad insulator on the main power line, on the pole with the tansformers.  We have notified Nav Canada)

Thanks to Mark VE7ARN (our resident CW expert), we were able to determine that the OCF dipole has a high SWR on 30M and on the lower CW portion of the 80M bandplan, and the internal tuner of the IC-7300 is not able to find a match. 

The original antenna was replaced by Myles VE7FSR and Ralph VA7VZA with an 80M dipole fed with ladderline and matched by an Icom AH-3 tuner mounted remotely outside the building.  The new antenna and remote tuner appears to work on all portions of the 80M band, and 30M as well.  More testing will let us know if the new antenna works as well as the former OCF dipole did.

Ferrite chokes (mix 31 and mix 75) were installed on the RG-400 coax and shielded control cable from the AH-3, immediately after the wires enter the building,  This should help keep any RF from the antenna or ladderline from entering the building.

After we complete the test and evaluation phase of the new HF remote station, the station will be available to club members in good standing who possess the Advanced Qualification.  To help more people access this new club resource we will be holding an Advanced Qualification Course for club members interested in using the remote HF station.  Stay tuned for more information on the course -- if you are interested in attending the course please contact Myles VE7FSR at ve7fsr@telus.net

We'd also like to thank Ian, VE7HHS for his awesome support and technical knowledge on setting up and managing remote HF stations, understanding codecs, and choosing suitable headsets.