Listen to the Hurricane Net

Hurricane Watch Net

With hurricane season upon us, some of the most exciting traffic on amateur radio will be taking place on the Hurricane Watch Net operating on 14.325 MHz.

The net was activated last week with the arrival of Hurricane Bill.

The HWN — operating on 14.325 MHz — relays real-time weather observations to WX4NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.org/> at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/>. "We want all of our reporting stations, especially those closer to the US, to keep in mind that we’re also prepared to operate the HWN on 7.168 MHz or 3.668 MHz."

Tune into the net, you never know what you might hear!

New Ontario NTS blog

Bob Sharp, VA3QV/VA3RCS, the net manager for the Ontario Phone Net has setup a new blog at http://ontariophonenet.wordpress.com/

Bob has setup an excellent blog. There’s lots of information about nets and other topics of interest to traffic handlers that you aren’t likely to find anywhere else.

If you’re new to ham radio and you don’t know about the national traffic system and how it works, head on over to the new Ontario Phone Net blog. This is a really a first-class effort and Bob deserves a big pat on the back.

CARESS demo in B.C.

This post thanks to Neil King, VA7DX.

Saturday July 18, 2009 the CARESS (Coquitlam Amateur Radio and Emergency Services Society) satellite emergency communications trailer was successfully demonstrated to members of the Cross Border Communication Group at Green Timbers, the Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) South West Region Headquarters. The CBCG is an informal group of volunteers from both sides of the border representing various amateur radio clubs, ARES, RACES and various other organizations such as BCWARN (BC Wireless Amateur Radio Network) and the Blaine and Ferndale Police Departments.

The demo consisted of establishing a high speed digital communications link to the Internet via the Intelsat Galaxy 18 commercial satellite Ku Band transponder and to demonstrate email and data access, web browsing, VOIP telephone service and streaming video. A wireless bubble was extended from the Sat trailer to provide these digital services to the PEP building and surrounding area.

In addition, UHF/VHF voice and data packet services were in operation as was HF Pactor3 Winlink email on 80m connecting via the VE7SCC EMCOMM PMBO. Use of a 30’ telescopic mast to support the UHF/VHF/1.2 antenna and 40/80 meter dipoles ensured excellent coverage on all of these bands. Testing included accessing various VHF and UHF repeaters in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Washington State.

This prototype vehicle was developed to demonstrate the ability to provide a suite of complimentary communication VOIP phone services, data access and other Internet accessible resources when conventional communications infrastructure is destroyed or non-functional due to a major disaster such as a major earthquake. In a disaster, the ability to communicate quickly and effectively is essential as is the ability to operate for extended periods of time on self generated power. Saturday’s demonstration was performed using a 1KW generator and no other source of power.

Additional capabilities will be added to the trailer over the coming weeks including a portable EMCOMM PMBO providing Winlink email services, a UHF repeater system, IRLP, an Asterisk VOIP telephone switchboard and auto-patch capabilities to interconnect UHF radio and the VOIP telephone services over the satellite link.

The vehicle will be demonstrated to other municipalities and interested groups on both side of the border as an affordable example of providing a basic suite of communications capabilities to incident command sites, remote sites and between stricken communities and the outside world in the event of significant disaster affecting traditional forms of communications.

The development of this prototype communications vehicle was possible due to the tremendous support of the City of Coquitlam who provided a grant to fund the trailer and satellite equipment, and to Russ Montgomery, president and owner of DishPro services, who has provided tremendous technical direction and guidance and is graciously providing the funding to operate the satellite access links for demonstration purposes and testing. Without the support and partnership of both organizations this project would not have been possible.

Many people from CARESS and BCWARN have been involved in the development and construction of this vehicle over the past year.

In the days leading up to this demonstration an incredible amount of work was expended in a short period of time to bring the vehicle to operational status. Special thanks is extended to Ian Procyk VE7HHS, David Sinclair VA7DRS, Ryan Stelting VE7STK, Duncan Meakins VE7NEO, Wayne Galaugher VE7ZNU,  Russ Montgomery of DishPro Services and the folks from General Dynamics who selflessly burned the midnight oil more than a few times over the past couple of weeks to make this demonstration possible!

New RAC VP of Field Services

This post from RAC Bulletin 2009-022E – 2009-06-30

Effective July 1, 2009, Doug Mercer, VO1DTM, has assumed the post of Radio Amateurs of Canada Vice President for Field Services (VPFS). Doug replaces Sue Cooke VE3SUH, who was appointed by the RAC Board of Directors to temporarily fill the position when former VPFS Bob Cooke, VE3BDB, resigned to accept appointment as RAC president on February 24, 2009. Doug’s appointment as VPFS will continue until December 31, 2009, which is the end of the current executive term. He may be contacted by email at vo1dtm @ hotmail.com. RAC greatly appreciates Sue’s efforts and is grateful to her and to Doug for ensuring that this important RAC position remains filled.

New Alberta SM

This post from RAC Bulletin 2009-023E – 2009-07-01

Alberta Section has a new Section Manager in the person of Garry Jacobs, VE6CIA. Garry ran unopposed and therefore no balloted election was necessary. He began a two-year term on July 1, succeeding past Section Manager Tom Martens, VE6TRM. RAC extends congratulations to Garry and sincere thanks to Tom for the sense of responsibility and dedication displayed by both.

Winnipeg ARES headline news

The amateur radio working group that helped secure an exemption for amateur radio operation in moving vehicles (Bill 5) has done it again. This time they made the Winnipeg Free Press (read the article here) with a first class article that highlights the great work being done by the Winnipeg ARES group during the Manitoba Marathon.

The article goes on to promote the Winnipeg ARES group and offers information about how to become a ham.

This is great publicity for amateur radio and the Winnipeg hams should be justly proud.

Communications collapse in San Jose, California

The ARRL has just posted the story about the collapse of the communications infrastructure in San Jose, California on April 9th and how ham radio came to the rescue.

Vandals cut four underground fibre-optic cables and the sabotage led to a widespread disruption of all phone service. Within hours, amateur radio ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) volunteers initiated emergency plans and their HEARNET (Hospital Emergency Administrative Radio Network) went on the air supplying vital communications links to area hospitals.

Read all about it here:

 http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/04/15/10771/

Amateur Radio has highly praised by local officials and was mentioned in news reports in The San Jose Mercury and The Daily Tech.

To boldly go…

What’s the next step in your emergency preparedness? Back in my father’s day (early ‘60s), you were considered ready to respond if you had an 2-meter AM (amplitude modulation) rig (remember the Heathkit Twoer?) and a BIG gasoline generator to power the Hammarlund HQ-170 and Viking Ranger CW (Morse code) rig. Oh yeah, they both used tubes…lots of tubes. There wasn’t much single-side band on the bands and AM was king even on HF (high frequency).

Boy have things changed in 50 years. Here’s a YouTube video (use the HD version) of the Coquitlam Amateur Radio Club’s…wait for it…satellite communications trailer!!!

Here’s what organizer Neil King, VA7DX, had to say about the setup:

“I will be updating the video next week to include footage of additional equipment installed the day after and of its first use coming up at the Vancouver Sun Run on Sunday April 19^th. Local Ham Clubs provide course communications for this event which will see over 55,000 runners this year.

We installed a bunch of other equipment in the trailer the following day including a portable backup PMBO to the VE7SCC EMCOMM PMBO servicing BC and the Pacific North West with Winlink/Airmail services on HF (40 & 80m). In addition we installed a full complement of VHF/UHF radios for provision of voice and packet services including PACLINK.

We are strongly committed to the concept of multiple layers of communications capabilities to support disaster communications. Therefore this vehicle will also integrate into the BCWARN system backbone ( www.bcwarn.net ). BCWARN provides a high speed (11mbs) digital backbone throughout the high density population areas of the Greater Vancouver Area and as of last weekend a link over to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island to link into the Island backbone network we expect to evolve over the next couple of years.

The satellite Internet feed will provide a minimum of 4mbs download and 1mbs upload speeds and will have a CIR – a committed information rate that guarantees we get contracted bandwidth in an event that can’t be taken by CNN or Fox etc…such as happened to the folks using consumer internet sat systems for EMCOOMM during Katrina.

The real benefit to our Sat system is that it can stand on its own and provide essential communication services even if the complete telecom infrastructure is gone.

In addition to HF/VHF/UHF/SHF voice services the prototype will provide VOIP telephones service to the outside world as well as via BCWARN to any fixed locations or incident command sites that are serviced by BCWARN. Imagine pulling up to an incident command site and handing out a bunch of wireless phones with dial tone to key people when conventional phones and cell phones don’t work…..pretty powerful stuff…..

This vehicle will be able to create a Wi-Fi bubble around an incident site or ESS centre……it can also be installed at a high point to function as a communication hub for providing high speed Wi-Fi backbone services to LOS accessible areas in entire communities in addition to VHF/UHF/SHF voice repeater and dig-peater services.

This is a prototype built with grant funding and tremendous support from the City of Coquitlam and from Russ Montgomery, President of DishPro Media Service who have provided the technology advice and crafted creative solutions to bandwidth packages that make it possible for us to gain access to CIR protected bandwidth.  DishPro provide similar solutions to the movie industry and have leveraged that knowledge to provide an optimal solution for providing stand-alone cost effective emergency communication services.

We believe this project will demonstrate that Amateur Radio can provide cost effective and innovative solutions to the provision of essential communications in times of disaster with a full suite of options. Our intention is to prove the concept, introduce other clubs to the value proposition it provides and promote them to work with their municipalities to fund and commission similar vehicles. There is no question that the more of a critical asset you have spread over a wide area, the stronger the likelihood that some will survive a major disaster like an 8.0 earthquake…something we face in SW BC. 

The side benefit of this use of advanced satellite and digital technology in innovative ways is that it’s attractive to younger people who may not realize that Amateur Radio does in fact cover a wide range of exciting areas of interest and is relevant in today’s “Internet Age”.

How cool is this?

(If you or your club have special events or new projects in the works, why not tell the world. Email information to Peter West, VE3HG, at ve3hg@rac.ca

It doesn’t have to be a disaster

Ham radio operators are always ready to help during times of disaster but it doesn’t have to be a disaster for ham radio to be helpful.

Case in point was a collapse of the telephone system in Morgan Hill, California earlier this month. Seems vandals cut the phone lines leaving the community without essential communications. Police were dispatched to wake up sleeping city officials and ham radio operators established essential communications links.

Read all about here at the Mercury News: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12119261?nclick_check=1

Italian hams supplying critical communications in earthquake region

This from the ARRL: Hams in the affected L’Aquila region of Italy are supporting the Dipartimento Protezione Civile with emergency communications via local VHF and UHF repeaters. The death toll in the earthquake has reached 260 with severe aftershocks continuing to hamper rescue and recovery operations.

Italian government officials estimate that 28,000 people lost their homes and 17,000 are living in tents, staying in emergency shelters or living with family.