Nov 2015 - West Island Amateur Radio Club

West Island Amateur Radio Club Bulletin
November 2015 Edition
Upcoming Meeting – November 16th 2015
This month’s topic
“ Building a Remotely Operated Station ”
Presented by Mark Morin VA2MM
President’s Message and Report
by Malcolm Harper, VE2DDZ (ve2ddz@ve2ddz.ca)
Hi all,
Thank-you very much to Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA, for bringing us up-to-date on the state of amateur radio in Canada
and on the current state of Radio Amateurs of Canada. RAC is out of immediate danger of folding and perhaps now is a
good time for all of us to re-examine our commitments to RAC.
I know that some of us judge RAC as an investment, deciding whether there will be sufficient personal advantage gained
day-to-day from RAC membership to be judged good value for our ham dollar. Some of us think of the work RAC does
defending and promoting amateur radio on the national and international scenes and some of us think of our RAC
memberships as support for the future of amateur radio. We each need to make our individual decisions on support for
RAC. Of course, there are ways of supporting RAC other than by membership dollars. One of the main appeals the
outgoing president makes in the latest TCA is for volunteers. This is perhaps even more important for RAC than dollars at
this stage in their recovery.
A video from the Radio Society of Great Britain has been widely touted around the internet in the past couple of weeks. I
finally got a chance to look at it last night and it is indeed well worth viewing. In case you haven't seen it yet, here is the
link:
http://rsgb.org/main/get-started-in-amateur-radio/amateur-radio-a-hobby-for-the-21st-century/
The SOTAers had a great time on Rigaud, see the brief notes and pictures later in the newsletter.
This month's meeting features a treat. Mark, VA2MM, is going to tell us how he designed and built his remotely operated
station. I understand it involves an Elecraft K3, as well as multiple Raspberry Pis and Arduinos and a lot of thought and
planning.
November 16, 2015 Meeting Agenda
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Tips
SIGs
Reports
◦ SOTA: Return to Rigaud 2015
Other Business
Break (coffee, ragchew, cookies)
Building a Remotely Operated Station - Mark VA2MM
See you on the 16th.
73,
Malcolm VE2DDZ
Page 1 of 7
What happened
Minutes of the October 2015 WIARC meeting
by Keith Glashan, VE2MTL (kglashan@yahoo.ca)
Minutes of the WIARC
Meeting October 20, 2015
The meeting began at 19:40.
Malcolm VE2DDZ welcomed the 21
attendees and started the meeting with
usual roll call with call signs. The
details of the meeting follow.
1. Tip Time Tips:
Gilles VA2EW suggests using a low
power trap beam for receiving.
Eamon VE2EGN recommended a
company named Groupe BBH
located on Hickmore in VSL. Go in
person to get odd lengths. He got ¼
in polypropylene rope 1,300 ft. $40.
They have many types in the
catalogue. Try groupebbh.com
2. SOTA Rigaud November 7:
Malcolm VE2DDZ reminded and
invited us to participate in an easy
SOTA event. I believe this will be
the 5th consecutive year the club has
gone there. It is an easy event. First,
it is not too far from the West Island
(25 mins from Kirkland). It’s an easy
climb, not too steep, and not too high.
We will meet in the Fairview parking
lot to pool transportation. There may
be radios available for your operating
pleasure. After, there is lunch at the
Willow Inn. Just how easy is that?
3. Field Day Survey:
Eamon VE2EGN advised that his
survey is coming. Be patient.
4. Christmas Party:
We have a reservation at L’Academie
restaurant for Dec 9th at 6:30PM. It is
a “Bring your own wine/beer place”.
Keep the date available.
5. Membership List:
Further to our membership list
distribution, we have decided to
publish names, calls, telephone
numbers, and e-Mail addresses only.
A list is being distributed so that
members can opt for or against their
personal info being published.
6. AMSAT Up and Working:
The latest “bird” is operational.
WIARC, being a member of AMSAT,
agrees to make a $100 donation.
7. Elsmere Island DX:
Marc-Andre VE2EVN mentioned that
IOTA Elsmere Island in Nunavut will be
activated during the CQ WW contest.
We should look for call sign
VE3KTB/VY0 on Oct 24th and 25th.
8. Break Time Cookies:
This evening, the break time treats were
provided by Bob VE2AXO. Thanks
Bob. According to the volunteer sheet,
Ken VE2KLF will provide treats for
next month’s meeting. By the way, this
will be the second time for Ken this
year. We will soon be distributing a
new sheet for the 2016 year. It would
nice to see a new bunch of volunteers
step forward.
9. After the Break:
This month, we had the honour of
having Glenn MacDonell VE3XRA of
RAC address the group. Glenn has been
President of the Ottawa ARC since
2011. He is the VP of RAC and is
running for President in the next couple
of months.
Before beginning his
presentation to us, he made a
presentation to Gilles VA2EW. Below
is a pic of Glenn presenting Gilles with
the award from CQ for being first in
Canada of the CQ 160 Meter Contest
2015 for CW Single Operator.
During his presentation to us, Glenn
talked about the future of RAC and how
it fits into the fabric of the Ham
community. He used several slides in his
presentation.
He showed how the
number of hams has grown 3.7% in the
last few years; a value greater than the
national population growth. There are
now about 65,000 hams in Canada, and
over 700,000 in the USA. He talked
about the many interests of amateurs such
as, contesting, DX’ing, rag chewing,
experimenting,
designing,
building,
community service, and supporting other
hobbies, such as sailing, hang gliding,
etc. He talked on the new digital modes.
And of course, there are government
cutbacks, an aging Ham population, RAC
membership, and spectrum pressures.
There was over ½ hour of Q&A’s from
the floor and lots of open discussion.
You had to be there! Glenn, come again
(as Pres?), there are always things to talk
about. Many thanks.
10. 50/50 Draw:
The winner of the 50-50 draw this
evening
was
Peter
VA2PBJ.
Congratulations.
11. Door Prizes:
Ken VE2KLF brought an audio
microphone which was sold to benefit the
club. Charles VE2RFI brought some
small project bumpers which were
distributed. Thanks to you both.
12. A Pun my Word:
A rock store eventually closed down;
they were taking too much for granite.
The meeting adjourned at 22:18. See you
November 16th, 2015.
73, & good DX de Keith VE2MTL
By Keith Glashan VE2MTL
Glenn VE3XRA & Gilles VA2EW
Page 2 of 7
Monthly Meeting tips
Have you worked on a ham radio project lately ? Did you discover a solution to a problem that may be helpful for your
fellow WIARC members ? Then come and share your tips at our monthly meetings.
A short amount of time will be allocated at the beginning of each meeting for members to share tips. Please let the club's
executive know ahead of time so we can manage the meeting schedule accordingly, by sending an email at
ve2cwi@wiarc.ca
Return to Rigaud - 2015 Edition
submitted by Malcolm, VE2DDZ (ve2ddz@ve2ddz.ca)
On Saturday November 7, nine of us, including eight hams, went on our fifth annual Summits on the Air activation to
Rigaud (VE2ML-005). As usual we had great weather (for November), this year it was windier, but warmer than last year.
Also as usual we had a great time. Dan VA2KEY, Marc-André VA2EI, Bob VE2PDT, and Malcolm VE2DDZ were back
again this year, joined by first-time attendees Samuel VE2LJV, Ron VA3BTD, Noel VE2AWC, Rudy VA2AJR/DU7RJA,
and Patrick Uy.
We reached the summit in good time, set up multiple stations, and got on the air right away. At least one of us was on the
air at any given time, although others might have been taking breaks for coffee, hot chocolate, or homemade banana
bread. One participant had arranged a delivery of donuts to the summit, but they didn't arrive in time to fuel the Cqing.
We worked 15m and 20m SSB and 2m FM and SSB. Thanks very much to the chasers, especially Stan VE2QXP, Ray
VA2RY, Keith VE2MTL, Harrison VE2HKW, Jean VE2JCW, and Jean-François VE2JFM. We didn't work all the bands
and modes we had planned, so apologies to anyone who was looking for us elsewhere on the bands.
After two hours on the summit we headed down the trail and on to The Willow Inn in Hudson (joined by James VE2KHC)
for lunch and conversation that stretched well into the afternoon. I'm confident we'll be back next year.
Page 3 of 7
Grimeton, a pre-electronic VLF transmitting station
by François Daigneault, VE2AAY (ve2aay@sympatico.ca)
In the 1920’s, Sweden decided to join a worldwide long wave
telegraphic network whose hub lay in Long Island NY. Two
sites were selected: a receiving station (call sign “SAK”) in
Kungsbacka relying on a 13-km 9-m high Beverage antenna and
a transmitting station (call sign “SAQ”) in the Grimeton parish
of Varberg, Sweden. Some fifty kilometres separate the two sites.
The corresponding stations in New York (a.k.a, “Radio Central”)
were Riverhead (RX) and Rocky Point (TX, call signs “WQK”
and “WSS”), both on Long Island, but 25 km apart.
On the two continents, landlines connected the radio equipment
to a third “central” location where operators were stationed.
Inaugurated in 1925, only the Grimeton installation has
survived and broadcasts ceremonial messages two or three times
a year on 17.2 kHz, a wavelength of 17442 metres.
The Multiple Tuned Antenna ( U.S. Patent No. 1360168 )
The antenna array comprises six 127-m high (416’) steel towers, spaced 380 metres (1247’) apart and spanning nearly 2 km in total.
Each tower is topped by a 46-m (151’) wide cross arm originally supporting 12 wires [ reduced to 8 in modern times ]. These serve
double duty as capacity hat and feed wires.
Underneath the antenna, two hundred kilometres of copper wire buried 50 cm make-up the ground plane.
Next to each tower, there is a radiating wire tied between the feed wires and a grounded loading coil.
The six parallel paths in the array reduce antenna
resistance, thus increasing antenna efficiency which is
estimated at about 11%.
In case of icing, the antenna wires could be subjected
to high amperage 50 Hz current.
The Alexanderson Alternator ( U.S. Patent No. 1008577 )
Under contract from Reginald A. Fessenden, General Electric tasked
Swedish-born Ernst F. W. Alexanderson with designing a high frequency
alternator in 1904 [ U.S. Patent filed 1909 ]. These machines grew from 1
kW to 200 kW during ensuing years.
Essentially motor-generator sets, two water-cooled alternators each capable
of producing 200 kW in the 12 to 28 kHz range were installed at Grimeton
in 1924 [ one was removed around 1960 to make way for shortwave
equipment ].
Page 4 of 7
The heart of this particular alternator is a 1.6 m (5’) steel disc with 488 equally spaced five millimeter slots in its outer perimeter.
The slots are filled with brass (non-magnetic). With the disc spinning in the magnetic circuit between a DC-energized field coil and
armature pick-up coils, AC can be collected.
In its present configuration, the 500 HP asynchronous motor spins the input of a gearbox at 711.3 rpm. The gearbox provides a
1:2.973 speed increase; the output shaft turns the alternator rotor at 2115 revolutions per minute [ 35.25 revolutions per second ].
Given 488 slots, the output frequency comes out to 17202 hertz.
Sixty-four (64) armature coils around the periphery of the alternator garner approximately 30 amperes at 100 volts each.
To spare the venerable machine, transmissions are now limited to about 80 kW.
Gearing, motor speed and the number of poles on the rotor were all manners in which to effect a frequency change.
The Magnetic Amplifier ( U.S. Patent No. 1328797 )
The Magnetic Amplifier is an inductor whose reactance can be controlled with DC current applied to a control winding on the same
core. When no DC current flows in the control winding, the inductor functions normally and offers high impedance. When DC
current is used to saturate the core, reactance is inhibited and impedance falls near zero. In between those two states, the inductance
is proportional to the DC current in the control winding.
A magnetic amplifier is responsible for the keying at Grimeton (see diagram below). During key-up, DC current through the control
winding (A) of the amplifier is such that the inductance (B) results in a series resonance at 17.2 kHz. This resonance effectively
places a short-circuit on the third winding of the Antenna Transformer. Upon key-down, DC is removed from the control winding
(A), inductance (B) shoots up and removes any loading on the Antenna Transformer; all the generated power is then transferred to
the antenna through a variometer.
With this method, some load is present on the alternator regardless of keying, thus aiding frequency stability. Truth be said, the
keying circuitry also sends controlled amounts of extra power to the motor during key-down to maintain motor speed.
Epilogue
As Grimeton went in service, transatlantic transmission over shortwave already showed promise [ see the reprint of “The
Transatlantic Tests 1921 ~ 1924” in QST May 2014 ]. After serving for telegraphic service, the facility was discreetly put to use for
submarine communication; a fact which probably helped its survival until it could be made a Swedish national industrial monument
in October 1996. The UNESCO made it a World Heritage site in July 2004.
Page 5 of 7
All three patents cited above are part of the 345 credited to Ernst Frederick Werner Alexanderson, the man Grimeton honours
every year on Alexanderson Day with a wireless telegraphy broadcast around July 2nd.
P.-S. See the video of SAQ’s call sign being copied in the rain near Granby QC this past June on Heros Technology Ltd’s web site
http://herostechnology.co.uk/pages/VLF_LF_Converter.html
Webography
Listening to Grimeton
http://www.grimeton.info/pdf/Listening%20to%20Grimeton.pdf
The Radio Station SAQ Grimeton
http://alexander.n.se/the-radio-station-saq-grimeton/?lang=en
Lars Kålland http://www.radiomuseet.se/medlem/audionen2/nr4_2005/kung.html
The Book of Radio http://earlyradiohistory.us/1922RCA.htm
Schematic http://www.wesselhoeft.net/Funk/Images/SAQcktdia2.gif
Swedish National Heritage Board, Sök med fritext [ Search with free text ] “Grimeton”
http://kmb.raa.se/cocoon/bild/public_search.html
$$$ Swap Shop $$$
Autek QF-1A audio filter …. Asking $ 50.00, Hallicrafters SX 99 General Coverage Receiver…..Asking $75.00 Large matching
Hallicrafters speaker ………Asking $50.00, Realistic DX 150A general coverage receiver asking $50. Yaesu Ft 227R Memorizer
asking $ 50 and a NYE CW paddle for a keyer at $ 50
Larry VE2DO 514 695 3528
We want to hear from you
by Bram Paterson, VE2XCS (ve2xcs@bell.net)
Do you have an idea or story that you want to share with your fellows WIARC members. We want to hear from you.
Please send your article to the newsletter editor at the beginning of the month to the following email address:
ve2xcs@bell.net
+++ Free Flea Market Tables +++
meeting and set up your table at the back of the hall. It's
free. It's fun. It's win-win.
Flea-market tables available free to members. Members
are reminded that there are always tables available at
the regular monthly meetings.
$$$ Swap Shop $$$
So, if you wish to sell something, or clean out your
basement, or do your spring cleaning early, you don't
have to wait for the next Hamfest. Just bring those junk
boxes, antenna parts, and old rigs to the next WIARC
To advertise items for sale, send details to Bram
VE2XCS, the newsletter editor at ve2xcs@bell.net.
He will gladly include them in the next bulletin. Please
remember to include all pertinent information relating to
the item you wish to sell.
Page 6 of 7
Footnotes About Us
The West Island Amateur Radio Club was founded in 1972
Mailing Address - P.O. Box 884 Pointe-Claire, Quebec H9R 4Z6
Executives:
E-mail: VE2CWI@WIARC.CA
Directors:
President :
Malcolm Harper,
Editor :
Bram Paterson,
VE2XCS
Vice-president :
Charles Robitaille, VE2RFI
QSL Manager :
Bob Loranger,
VE2AXO
Treasurer :
Bram Paterson,
VE2XCS
Webmaster :
Wayne Hodgins,
VE2WRH
Secretary :
Keith Glashan,
VE2MTL
Immediate Past :
Ken Fraser,
VE2KLF
VE2DDZ
President
Accredited Examiner:
Larry Dobby, VE2DO DOBBY@AEI.CA
Mark Morin, VA2MM mark@partout.ca
News and comments are always welcomed; please submit them to the following address, VE2CWI@WIARC.CA
Website: http://www.wiarc.ca
Repeaters: VE2RWI VHF - 146.910 MHz (-) and VE2RWI UHF - 443.050 MHz (+)
(88.5 Hz CTCSS tone both transmitted and received on the VHF repeater
and a 141.3 Hz CTCSS tone only transmitted on the UHF repeater).
Monthly Meetings
Held the 3rd Monday of every month, except July & August at: Lakeside Heights Baptist Church,
275 Braebrook, Pointe-Claire (West Island part of Montreal). Visitors are always welcomed.
WIARC NETS on the 146.91 VE2RWI Repeater
Information Net each Sunday evening at 8PM running for approximately an hour.
All are welcome to participate.
Page 7 of 7