If you ever wondered how your stations setup compares with some of the "Big Guns" of amateur radio. I came across some links that might give an idea of their setups.

N5AU

K3WW - includes a photo of tower collapse during a storm.

AA3B

K2UA Rover - would that come under distracted driving violation?

K5TR - other links also included on this site.

I guess my wire antennas wouldn't even show up in a photo but still make few contacts with guys with big ears, hi hi.

Winlink, MT63 and NBEMS are three go to digital modes used in emergency communications. This short video demonstrates NBEMS in use during a practice drill.

Looks like mother nature put a damper on my Field Day operation this year. With the Covid-19 restrictions and now the rain and possibility of thunder storms for most of the operating time, I decided to operate from my home station. I know, it's not the same as setting up and operating as a group with members of the club even in the rain but this is different. 
I will use the exchange VE3FP 1D ONS. 
Good luck to all taking part in FD 2021 & hope to hear you on the air.

Georgian Bay Amateur Radio Club
Weekly Net on 2 meters and 80 meters
Report for Wednesday June 23

Net Controller: Marvin VE3VCG
Questions for this net,
1)“In what year did the TV show Sesame Street premier on US TV”? Answer:1969
2)”Where did Asparagus originate”?
Answer: In the region around the Mediterranean Sea. Exact point of origin is unknown. Dutch traders brought the vegetable to North America where it became popular and widely distributed.

Participating stations: 2 meters
KO4DXQ
VA3EZN
VE3PAV
VE3FGG
VA3EAC
VE3BQM
VE3RQY
VE3OZW
VA3FP
VE3MFO
VE3PCP

Participating stations: 80 meters
VE3MFO
VE3FGG
VE3PCP
VE3MIO
VE3BQM
VA3EZN
VE3OZW
VE3FJN

I think I posted this video a while ago, but can't find the post, and anyway it's well worth another look.

In summer we're installing towers & antennas, fixing antennas, taking down antennas & towers, etc.  Two big hazards: gravity and electricity.

There are lots of electrical safety videos out there but I think this one is the best.  It's from Dominion Energy in Virginia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xoyb9M5-EA

Enjoy & learn, and please be careful if there are power lines near your antenna project.

73
Dave, VE3WI

PS: They're energizing the 7 kV demo line by backfeeding through a 240V pole transformer.  Good demonstration of why you must isolate the grid from your home wiring when running your generator during an outage.

As I step into the role of Emergency Coordinator (EC) for Bruce County, it was strongly suggested that I need to take 2 courses offered by the Ontario  Government. These are the the Incident Management and Emergency Management courses. I've now signed up for both courses. The rationale behind taking these course is simple. Both courses are used to train Emergency Managers and so form a standard set of organizing principles, protocols and operating methods for those involved in emergency response.

As a radio operator supporting served agencies during an actual emergency or simulated emergency I need to speak the same language as professional emergency personnel and understand what they are doing and why. Aside from having my own set of operating skills for radio communications, having a solid foundation in emergency management is key to offering effective support to the activities of those supported agencies.

You can get more information about the courses here if you wish to know more. Emergency Management Training

However, those who know me, or have heard my presentations about mesh networks, will understand that I have a very broad view of what we should be doing to prepare of an emergency both individually and as a community. I've done extensive research on this topic and developed some opinions based on the real world experiences of others. What I have concluded is that emergency response should not be a top down exercise, both rather a grassroots community based approach.

This idea is not mine alone. In fact FEMA in the US has also adopted some version of this core idea in their emergency planning strategies. Generically I describe this concept simply as "community preparedness". I am sharing a video I hope everyone will watch and share. In this video David Kaufman openly and frankly talks about the changing world of Emergency Management. He makes the same point I have also made although doing so from a professional emergency management perspective.

Even if you have no interest in Emergency Communications take some time to watch this video. It is not about EmComm, but rather something that impacts us all directly, emergency preparedness and planning in our communities. This is very relevant in these uncertain times, even with the calm, stable peaceful lifestyle we enjoy in this part of the world.

The developers of these two packages say they will give your IC-7300 (and certain other rigs) a big display and PC - based controls.

WFVIEW  https://wfview.org/  (this one is free & open source & runs on Linux)

WIN4ICOM  https://icom.va2fsq.com/  (this one costs $60US & runs on Win 7 & later)

If you try/are using one of these, please post your comments.

73
Dave, VE3WI

The leaderboard for Restoule Provincial Park (near North Bay) in the Parks On The Air (POTA) program has GBARC members in first and second place. I was the first to activate the park but then Adam VE3FP came along and did it better!

   

I successfully activated two Provincial Parks for the Parks On The Air (POTA) program last week. XYL Krystyna and I were camped at Arrowhead Provincial Park just outside Huntsville for three nights.

On the first full day at the park I erected my "shorty End-Fed-Half-Wave" antenna for 80m which does fine business on 20m and 40m too. I threw a line over a tree limb 41 feet up (I measured the height) and hoisted one end of the antenna up to the top. The antenna was erected as a sloper down to a 49:1 transformer three feet above ground at the other end.

Band conditions on 40m were pretty dreadful with lots of QRN but I managed a total of 22 QSOs (10 are required for a POTA activation), all CW at 100 watts. One QSO was particularly noteworthy. The other station was in the Shetland Isles north of Scotland. That was quite an achievement on 40m in the middle of the afternoon.

On the second day we drove into Algonquin Provincial Park and I set up my battery powered backpack station in the bike trail parking lot at Mew Lake. This time I used my trusty old Webster Bandspanner antenna. The Bandspanner is a manual screwdriver made in the 1960s but still works like a champ. Power was kept down to 30 watts to preserve the battery - a cautious step that maybe wasn't entirely necessary. My Bioenno 12Ah LiFePO4 battery will give me several hours of operation at 30 watts but I only needed about one hour for this activation.

Wednesday's Algonquin activation was even tougher than the previous day. I struggled to make any contacts at all at first. Then the stations started appearing - I must have been spotted on the POTA website. I had called QRL a couple of times before my CQs and was operating on a clear frequency but when the CWOps mini test came on the air a high-powered, high speed station tried to kick me off the frequency by deliberately jamming my QSOs. I completed my QSO and moved up the band to avoid the jerk.

Before I completed my 10 QSOs my SWR started rising inexplicably. My last two QSOs were completed with a 2:1 SWR and when I called CQ looking for further stations my SWR had risen to 3:1. I decided to quit for the day with the basic 10 contacts in the log and as I packed up my station I saw that my counterpoise wire had fallen out of the bush it was hanging in. The end of the counterpoise was actually touching the ground - hence the high SWR!

We drove out of Mew Lake and were lucky to catch a couple of moose feeding alongside Highway 60. Back at Arrowhead in the evening I retuned for 80m and checked into the GBARC 80m net. Unfortunately before I was called upon severe QRN wiped out my receive signal! Such is life in the world of ham radio. Great times, beautiful nature scenes and fun portable radio operations!
       

The next QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo is 14-15 August 2021

Tickets 10$US, available beginning July 1st

https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/

73
Dave, VE3WI

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Listen, engage with 80+ internationally recognized ham radio luminaries.  Our speakers are experts with deep knowledge of their presentations.  Most importantly, they’ve worked hard to make sure that you’ll understand their material and can apply it immediately to your projects.
 
So, so many different topics - everybody will find something of high value.  There’s content for everyone whether you are a newly licensed ham looking for next steps to using that license or a 30+ year experienced ham looking for new projects.  Topics include (sample list):  Emergency Services; Antennas; HF operation; contesting; DXpeditions; Ham radio on a budget; Satellite communication; VHF and above; Digital Modes; QRP; Homebrewing; Field, Mobile and portable operation; Software Defined Radio;  Test equipment and repair; and Youth Presentations!

Watch as many presentations as you want!  A big limitation of in-person events is that you can’t watch many of the presentations (you can only be in one room at a time).  At the Expo, return anytime within 30 days to listen to any Live speakers you missed as well as explore exhibitor offerings.  At our last Expo, our 7,500 attendees downloaded 100,000 presentations.

Take advantage of our calendar technology to efficiently organize your time.  You’ll be able to download speaker times in your local time zone directly to your Google or Outlook calendar.  You’ll then have a complete schedule of sessions to join to maximize your time during the Live period with speakers that are the most important.

Check out our live round table video for attendees to interact with each other and exhibitors.  Already integrated into the Expo platform is proven technology for you to participate in live video lounges to interact with exhibitors and fellow amateur operators.  You’ll find this is a great way to meet up with friends, talk to vendors, and network on specific subject areas.