Beginning on Wednesday September 4 2024 I will be launching a new digital radio network. This will commence with a Winlink Wednesday project. The objective of this program is to provide a practical and fun way to learn and use Winlink. Participation in the project or the digital network is entirely optional but obviously encouraged.

As a quick reminder, Winlink is both a computer email program and the international Winllink email network. Winlink was created an maintained by amateur radio volunteers and is commonly associated with emergency communication, however it is not limited to this function. 

This very sophisticated software / network is a powerful tool which allows users to stay in touch with family and friends even when entirely in areas with no cell service, or simply when you are off-grid. Winlink has a wide range of useful features which can send location reports, get weather information and even send pictures from virtually any where, with our without the internet. Best of all, it can be used free, however donations to the Winlink organization help support development and the main servers for the network.

Winlink can be used on-line like other email programs using a feature called "telnet" However, when connected to a radio via a digital interface in the radio or via and external sound card, it can send and receive email via HF or VHF/UHF. Getting started is free and only requires downloading software from Winlink.org. 

If you don't already have Winlink just download and install it. There is a shallow learning curve to use Winlink, but there is nothing difficult to understand and quickly master. All that is required is to first set up a Winlink account using your call sign and you'll be all set to begin to enjoy the benefits of this terrific program. 

Please consider joining me for this new Winlink Wednesday project. I think you'll find it both enjoyable and fun. Once you've installed the program and set up your account please email me via Winlink at VE3VCG and I will put you on my mailing list.

GBARC Net Log
July 31, 2024
Net Control, Marvin VE3VCG

Topic: What would you like to do in amateur radio you have not already done?

Participants:
Echolink:

Ko4DXQ – Bob in Tennessee
VE3DDU _ Ray
VA3EAC _ Kevin

Owen Sound Repeater (VE3OSR)
VE3BQM – Berne
VE3RQY – Greg
VA3PS – Mike
VA3DNY – Dan
VE3DGY - Doug
VA3FDG – Mark
VE3YRB – Sarah

Paisley Repeater (VE3GBT)
VA3MFO - Jim
VA3EAC – Janet
VE3OSR - Richard

80 Meters (73 round)
VA3EAC - Janet
VA3MFO – Jim
VA3OZW – Richard

This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1.  Phishing attempt being sent to RAC email subscribers

There have been several recent reports from RAC members of phishing attempts by someone purporting to be from Radio Amateurs of Canada or is forwarding a message on their behalf.

For example, today's (Aug 2nd) phishing attempt uses the fake title "Minutes and Announcements 8/2/2024" and states:

"You've received an secure message from Phil A McBride from Radio Amateurs of Canada."

It then instructs recipients to save and open an attachment and then sign in using their own email address. Please do not follow the instructions!

Note: One way to recognize that this is a phishing attempt is to look at the senders email address. In this case it is not from a RAC email address.

Any email claiming to have your @myrac.ca address and password is a scam and should be deleted.  Radio Amateurs of Canada will never ask people to  ownload files from a third-party site in their email communication.
Always check to see if the sender of a suspicious email has an @rac.ca email address as all RAC officials use @rac.ca.  If you are concerned or suspicious always contact the RAC office before opening any files in an email message that appears to come from RAC.

Thank you for continuing to notify us about cybersecurity threats!
https://www.rac.ca/update-on-phishing-attempts-and-cybersecurity-tips/

Alan Griffin, RAC MarCom Director

ONTARIO SECTION NEWS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

2. Paris Olympics Special Event Active Through August 11

Special event station TM67JO is active to celebrate the Paris 2024 Olympic Games which began on Friday 26 July. The operators include F1LFL on SSB, F5PZT using FT8 and FT4, and F5TFW on CW. QSL to F1LFL via the Bureau or directly. For more information about the special event station, which will be operating until the 11 August, visit QRZ.com.

-- RSGB

3.  2024 USA Radio Orienteering Championships

The Southern Michigan Orienteering Club (SMOC) and Radio Clubs across southeastern Michigan invite you to attend the 2024 USA Radio Orienteering Championships held in the Chelsea, Michigan area this October. 

No excuses for not coming because there will be a training camp 5-6 Oct and practice days 8-9 Oct to help anyone who is either new or wants to improve skills! We will also have some equipment to rent for those that need it as long as you pre-arrange, so that's not an excuse either!

Competition days will be 10-13 Oct 2024 to include the following race formats:
- Radio Sprint
- Foxoring (Fox-O)
- 144 MHz Classic
- 3.5 MHz Classic
- Search & Rescue (SAR) Team Exhibition

We also have some exciting tourism/cultural outings, a Sat evening awards banquet, and other activities planned.

This event will serve as both the ARRL's USA Radio-O Champs, as well as the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 Championship!
We welcome international competitors!

Event website: https://www.radioorienteeringchamps.us
-- QRZ news

4.   CANADA WILDFIRES PROVIDE PREPAREDNESS STRATEGIES

Even as they keep an eye in the wildfires threatening the west, the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services teams have been working on a comprehensive
plan called PACE, for Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency, to address communications across Canada. Emergency disaster specialist for the Maritime Division of the Salvation Army, John Bignell, VE1JMB, told Newsline that the plan includes the critical role hams can play in disaster-response efforts.
Toward that end, the EDS teams are studying IP linked systems such as Yaesu Fusion and Echolink and such technologies as Winlink so that traffic can be passed even when the communication infrastructure has suffered a failure.  John told Newsline:  "We believe that by internal training and developing relationships with local hams and ham clubs in each region, we can significantly improve our disaster response capabilities."

The Salvation Army EDS teams see this as an opportunity to deliver what could be needed in the future when a more extensive amateur radio involvement may
be needed. Meanwhile, said John, the teams are collaborating with each division to develop a more comprehensive communication plan.

-- John Bignell, VE1JMB via amateur radio newsline

This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V_3___ returning the frequency to net control.

Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC

Cybersecurity Update: Phishing attempt being sent to RAC emails
https://www.rac.ca/update-on-phishing-attempts-and-cybersecurity-tips/

RAC Bulletin August 2 , 2024:
There have been several recent reports from RAC members of phishing attempts by someone purporting to be from Radio Amateurs of Canada or is forwarding a message on their behalf.
Microsoft: "Phishing attacks come from scammers disguised as trustworthy sources and can facilitate access to all types of sensitive data. As technologies evolve, so do cyberattacks."
Phishing attempts use publicly available information to fake legitimacy. In some cases they use the names and contact information of RAC officials to gain your trust.
----
For example, today's phishing attempt uses the fake heading "Minutes and Announcements 8/2/2024" and states:
"You've received an secure message from Phil A McBride from Radio Amateurs of Canada."
It then instructs recipients to save and open an attachment and then sign in using their own email address. Please do not follow the instructions!Note: One way to recognize that this is a phishing attempt is to look at the email address that it is being sent from. In this case it is from (@varriello.com) which is not a RAC email address.
----
 
RAC's Cybersecurity Efforts
To date, there have been no direct successful attacks on the RAC computer system. Unfortunately attempts to defraud people through email messages and phone calls are a part of the world we live in today.
We will continue to take measures to ensure that our computer system is as safe as possible and that our members are provided with information.
Radio Amateurs of Canada is continuing to increase our cybersecurity. We do not keep any financial information and only widely available personal information (such as name, call sign and dates relating to current membership) is available in our system so our risks are considerably less than compared to commercial systems.
Note: Radio Amateurs of Canada collects personally identifiable information about you when you voluntarily provide it. When you apply for membership and subscription services, or provide your personal contact information for publication or product orders, every effort will be made to ensure that the information provided will be securely maintained. For more information please see our Privacy Policy and our Cybersecurity webpage.
 
Tips on Avoiding Email Scams
 
Here are a few tips on how to avoid email scams:
--
1) Filter spam.
2) Don’t trust unsolicited email.
3) Treat email attachments with caution.
4) Don’t click links in email messages unless you are confident you know who the sender is.
5) Install antivirus software and keep it up to date.
6) Install a personal firewall and keep it up to date.
7) Configure your email client for security.
---
In closing, any email claiming to have your @myrac.ca address and password is a scam and should be deleted.
Radio Amateurs of Canada will never ask people to download files from a third-party site in their email communication.
Always check to see if the sender of a suspicious email has an @rac.ca email address as all RAC officials use @rac.ca.
If you are concerned or suspicious always contact the RAC office before opening any files in an email message that appears to come from RAC. 
Thank you for continuing to notify us about cybersecurity threats! 
Alan Griffin
RAC MarCom Director
 

This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1.  Ham Radio During Hurricane Season

ARRL encourages all amateur stations to prepare for what the National Hurricane Center has predicted will be a busy hurricane season.

Amateur radio plays a critical role in the warning and recovery process of hurricanes. From providing surface observations which give forecasters at the National Hurricane Center ground truth, to providing communications when infrastructure is damaged, ham radio is as vital as ever. 

Nets - HF/VHF/VoIP/Winlink/Digital Radio/Echolink/IRLP are all ways to communicate with the NHC.
Please see the full article on the arrl website for more info.
-- Sierra Harrop, W5DX

ONTARIO SECTION NEWS

2.  Parry Sound Hamfest

Sponsor:    Parry Sound Amateur Radio Club
Date:          Saturday, August 17, 2024
Times:       Vendors 7:30am, public 9:00am
Location:    Foley Community Hall, 60 Rankin Lake Road
Cost:          donation to Harvest Share Food Bank
Talk-in:       VE3RPL  145.49 -  (pl 156.7)
Info:           www.hamfest.ve3rpl.com and Facebook
Email:         PSARC @ VE3RPL.COM
-- PSARC

3.  2024 Ontario QSO Party Results Posted

Head over to http://www.va3cco.com/oqp to check out the results and to download your certificate if you qualified for one. High scores in each multiplier area within Ontario, Canadian Provinces, U.S. States and DX Countries qualify for a certificate.  Thanks to all those who participated.
-- OQP Committee.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

4.   First M17 Based Radios Begin Shipping

Connect Systems has begun shipping the first radios that operate M17 "out of the box."  The M17 project is an open source digital alternative using the Codec 2  voice encoder to modes such as DSTAR and System Fusion which rely on proprietary encoding and decoding hardware and software.

The CS7000 M17 is an HT transceiver running M17 described as "4FSK modulation with an open source Protocol and Vocoder."  A "PLUS" version of the HT with additional memory and processing power will also be available.

Info about the M17 Project at   https://m17project.org/
Info about the CS7000 at https://www.connectsystems.com/amateur.html
--  M17 Users Group

This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V_3___ returning the frequency to net control.

Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC

This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1.  Ham Radio During Hurricane Season

ARRL encourages all amateur stations to prepare for what the National Hurricane Center has predicted will be a busy hurricane season.

Amateur radio plays a critical role in the warning and recovery process of hurricanes. From providing surface observations which give forecasters at the National Hurricane Center ground truth, to providing communications when infrastructure is damaged, ham radio is as vital as ever. 

Nets - HF/VHF/VoIP/Winlink/Digital Radio/Echolink/IRLP are all ways to communicate with the NHC.
Please see the full article on the arrl website for more info.
-- Sierra Harrop, W5DX

ONTARIO SECTION NEWS

2.  Parry Sound Hamfest

Sponsor:    Parry Sound Amateur Radio Club
Date:          Saturday, August 17, 2024
Times:       Vendors 7:30am, public 9:00am
Location:    Foley Community Hall, 60 Rankin Lake Road
Cost:          donation to Harvest Share Food Bank
Talk-in:       VE3RPL  145.49 -  (pl 156.7)
Info:           www.hamfest.ve3rpl.com and Facebook
Email:         PSARC @ VE3RPL.COM
-- PSARC

3.  2024 Ontario QSO Party Results Posted

Head over to http://www.va3cco.com/oqp to check out the results and to download your certificate if you qualified for one. High scores in each multiplier area within Ontario, Canadian Provinces, U.S. States and DX Countries qualify for a certificate.  Thanks to all those who participated.
-- OQP Committee.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

4.   First M17 Based Radios Begin Shipping

Connect Systems has begun shipping the first radios that operate M17 "out of the box."  The M17 project is an open source digital alternative using the Codec 2  voice encoder to modes such as DSTAR and System Fusion which rely on proprietary encoding and decoding hardware and software.

The CS7000 M17 is an HT transceiver running M17 described as "4FSK modulation with an open source Protocol and Vocoder."  A "PLUS" version of the HT with additional memory and processing power will also be available.

Info about the M17 Project at   https://m17project.org/
Info about the CS7000 at https://www.connectsystems.com/amateur.html
--  M17 Users Group

This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V_3___ returning the frequency to net control.

Bulletin sent from Official Bulletin Manager VA3PC

hi,i was wondering if anybody knows the rules or what is needed to operate in europe.


Thankyou

The BPMR race organizers only have 3 ham volunteers so far, Tim VE3RTE, Sarah VE3YRB and me.

Tara is looking for at least 2 more.  Fortunately there is no long course this year so the need for comm operators is less.

Race day is fast approaching -  Sat 10 August.  Hopefully not everyone is otherwise occupied.  Please volunteer if able.

Volunteer link: https://forms.gle/ok3hqtQnUdoy4rZ86 

73
Dave, VE3WI