i recently put up an antenna it works on 60-80m.Its direction is north-south.is anyone availiable today or tomorrow for a arranged sked.i want to see if i can get anyone near owen sound for the net.thank 73

FT-8 experimental event
Special FT-8 event starting 09 March
On Monday, 9th we will start an experimental event:
How long does it take to get the DXCC in FT8?
Today, more than 80% of the QSOs are made by FT8 operators. Our goal is to get the DXCC in a shortest possible time.
We have to stick to these conditions:
The operators of DR4K may not use Cluster, FT8-monitoring etc.
No fox/hound, only regular FT8
DR4K must call CQ
output is limited to 50 wtts
We will try to work on 80/40/30/17/15/12 m as much as we can. No f/h, only regular FT8.
As soon as we have reached our goal, the experiment is over! After that you probably will never reach DR4K in FT8 again!
All QSOs will be confirmed with a special event-QSL.
QSL via Clublog, LOTW, QRZ.COM, eQSL also guaranteed.
Start will be Monday, March 9 at 6:00 UTC. We would be happy to have as many great connections from all over the world.
73, es gd dx
The DR4K contest team

The ARRL report Motorola wins multimillion dollar theft of trade secrets case against Hytera

ARRL say:

A jury for the US District Court of the Northern District of Illinois has awarded Motorola Solutions damages of $764.6 million in its theft of trade secrets and copyright infringement lawsuit against Hytera Communications of Shenzhen, China— the maximum Motorola Solutions had sought.

In early 2017 Motorola filed complaints in federal court alleging that Hytera’s digital mobile radio (DMR) products employed techniques and systems that infringed on Motorola Solutions’ patents and trade secrets. Already known for its Land Mobile Radio Service products, Hytera entered the Amateur Radio DMR market in 2016. Its ham products include the Hytera AR482Gi digital mobile radio.

Motorola alleged that proprietary and patented information was taken illegally by three former company engineers who went to work for Hytera, as “part of a deliberate scheme to steal and copy” its technology. The company said it would seek a global injunction to prevent Hytera from trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement, a Motorola spokesperson said following the verdict.

“Today’s verdicts are a tremendous victory for Motorola Solutions and a clear repudiation of the illegal and anticompetitive tactics employed by Hytera over the last decade,” the company said in a statement.

Motorola said technology features it developed started showing up in Hytera products soon after Hytera began hiring former Motorola engineers in 2008, according to the lawsuit.

Read the full story at
http://www.arrl.org/news/view/motorola-w...nst-hytera

The multi-band Tilted Terminated Folded Dipole antenna was presented at the Club meeting February 26th, 2020.  This small footprint antenna is easy to deploy as demonstrated at Field Day by Adam (VE3-IZS) with no tuner required.  


Antenna Presentation slides link.

Interesting aspect is converting the T2FD to a terminated Folded Monopole antenna that uses only once side of the dipole.  Even easier to deploy in an emergency as long as you have tall enough trees around to rais it.

Try it out and provide your feedback to how well it worked.

Cheers

Frank

VA3-GUF / VE0-GUF / VE0-VET

Here is a simple maker project for a computer/radio interface for digital modes. You can buy a Signalink for a little over a hundred bucks or you can build a much simplified version that will cost around $10 which will work just fine.

Components (all available at Sayal Electronics or mail order):
1 USB soundcard
2 600 ohm 1:1 audio transformers
1 metal project box 
1 USB extension cable
1 USB-A to USB-B cable (often used on older printers)
1 PS-2 extension cable

This simple circuit provides an isolated ground interface between a radio and a computer. The USB soundcard ensures that system sounds on the computer do not interfere with transmission of data. A separate USB-A to USB-B cable provides for CAT control of the radio. This cable works with my Yaesu FT-891; other radios may need a different cable. If your radio does not have a USB jack for CAT control you may need a TTL/Serial converter cable (e.g. Yaesu CT-62). If your radio does not have any kind of CAT jack you will need to provide another arrangement for PTT control (e.g. by setting VOX in your radio).

Construction takes only a couple of hours. The simplest way to connect the USB soundcard to your computer is with a USB-A male to USB-A female extension cable. The data cable between your radio's 6-pin data jack and this circuit is a PS-2 extension cable that has been cut in half. Just make sure that the required conductors (see diagram) are available. Both cables can be made at home but you will need appropriate connectors, good eyes and a steady soldering hand. If your cables are not adequately screened add a ferrite EMI suppression core at the radio and computer ends. A metal project box is recommended to avoid RF interference.

This circuit works for most digital modes but will not allow CW transmission. For that you will also need a "QSK" circuit which is another simple maker project. Note that there is no hardware signal level control in this circuit. I use software level control in my PC. In Linux systems you can set audio levels with "Alsamixer" from a terminal command. I quit Windows many years ago but I believe it has a similar sound level control app.

Attached is a picture of my Poor Ham's Signalink. The Hammond aluminum project box has been re-used from a previous version that used a serial port for PTT control so it looks a little scruffy. If you decide to build your own and need help just let me know.
John, VA3KOT        

An article by VK3YE

http://home.alphalink.com.au/~parkerp/eb...rtable.pdf

This is currently on the KWARC Swap Page....... more info there http://www.kwarc.org/swapshop/     ...dont reply to my thread, contact Chris at
Chris Bisaillion VE3CBK [613-592-2008] in Kanata ON has listed the following (2020-02-13 06:26:24)
This vendor has been registered since 2012-11-05
For Sale
(last updated 2020-02-16, listed 2020-02-16)
Manufacturer:
CLOTA Lapel Pin
Price:
$12
Created by John VE9EZ/VE1 and myself, a lapel pin for Canadian Lighthouses on the Air, a generic term for chasing and activating lighthouses. They are 1.25 inches in diameter. They are $12/each (postage included).
You can send payment via Paypal (to my email address), etransfer or cheque, whatever you like.
Thank you
73
Chris VE3CBK








For Sale
(last updated 2020-02-13, listed 2019-12-17)
Manufacturer:
QRP Lapel Pin
Price:
$10
I have created a QRP lapel pin. Great for lapels, gear bags, front panels of equipment, and augmenting other pins such as DXCC etc… I designed it to have a double pin back to prevent rotation. They are 1" wide and 1/2" tall. They are $10 each + postage. I saw a need for such a pin and my daughter Heather assisted in the design and suggested a manufacturer that she has dealt with in the past. Thank you for your interest. I only did a small production run so please let me know soon if you would like one or more.


 
 

73

Chris VE3CBK
Kanata

A few years ago I was struggling with a laptop running the infamous Windows Vista. I had always wanted to try Linux but I was intimidated by what I expected to be an operating system built for nerds and bitheads. I was wrong. I installed Ubuntu alongside my Windows OS to try it out. I was impressed. Ubuntu was not only very easy to install but was also much livelier than Windows Vista.

So, I made the decision to re-install Ubuntu over Windows and say goodbye to Microsoft forever. Some software is only available for Windows systems. However, there are Linux alternatives to many Windows programs. For specialized software, e.g. EZNEC antenna modelling, I installed WINE which allows me to run most Windows programs under Linux.

There is a learning curve with Linux. It certainly helps to learn a few "terminal" commands, but the big advantage is that Linux makes old PCs run much faster than they ever would under Windows. Linux is designed differently from Windows and that makes it virus resistant. I have been running Linux for several years without any virus protection software and no infections!

There was some discussion at Winter Field Day about Linux. I was using Ubuntu but others told me they preferred Linux Mint. I had never tried Mint so I thought I would check it out. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu but it has a much nicer user interface. Last weekend I switched three of our household laptops to Mint - including a Windows 7 PC.

I am very pleased with Linux Mint. It runs my EZNEC antenna modelling software, FLdigi and FLrig, WSJT-X and my SKCC and NAQCC logging programs. I give it a strong recommendation to anybody thinking of making the switch.

John VA3KOT.    

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ballistics as “the science of the motion of projectiles in flight”. I prefer a simpler definition: “what goes up must come down”. Ballistics doesn’t just refer to guns – although you would be forgiven for thinking that if you watch too much TV.

Hams employ ballistics when launching antennas. I witnessed a great ballistics demonstration at Winter Field Day when Tom, VA3TS and Frank, VA3GUF launched a lead fishing sinker into the stratosphere using a slingshot and fishing reel. The sinker soared over not one, but two tall trees (I estimated the trees were around 70 to 80 feet high). The team just managed to keep the sinker inside Grey County as it landed just behind Dan, VA3DNY who bravely waited under the projectile trajectory to attach the line that would be used to pull up the Winter Field Day antenna.

A slingshot is very effective for launching antennas into trees but, they have two drawbacks. The first is that they use a neoprene “band” which is stretched to create a huge amount of what physicists call “potential energy”. When the band is released that potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, launching our fishing sinker on a parabolic trajectory into the trees. Repeated stretching of the band causes it to eventually fail – usually at the point of maximum potential energy. When it fails, that potential energy is still converted into kinetic energy but with highly unpredictable results. I learned that from painful experience!

The second drawback of the slingshot is that its use is prohibited in some jurisdictions. Even where its use is permitted, firing lead weights into trees in a public place could be misinterpreted. I was once asked if I was trying to hit birds in the trees.

As well as being a physics graduate I’m a bit of a baseball fan, but without any playing talent myself. I have a lousy throw; my wife says I throw like a girl. If I were a baseball pitcher I would be great at picking off runners at the bases – but only while trying to get the ball over the plate! My analytical mind looked at how pitchers launch balls at high speed. Three techniques stood out. Their arms are stretched out so the ball describes a large arc as it is launched. Their wrists pivot sharply as the ball is released and the manner in which they grip the ball determines how it flies.

You can compare baseball pitching to the manner in which the medieval trebuchet was used to fire burning projectiles at castle walls during a siege. I have watched videos of modern trebuchet reconstructions being used. Medieval armies and baseball pitchers know a lot about physics; even if they don’t know they know a lot about physics.

So how does somebody who “throws like a girl” use physics, and particularly the branch of physics known as ballistics, to get his antennas high up into trees without using a slingshot? I do it every summer when I go what I like to call “radio-camping”.

What is more innocent than using a dog ball launcher in a public park? We see it all the time. A dog ball launcher is a flexible plastic arm that gives a mechanical advantage to somebody who throws like a girl. Dog balls are very light and won’t get very high into a tree. They will also tend to get stuck in a tree. For the outdoor ham operator it is very important that what goes up must come down again. I use a plastic balloon filled with 3 or 4 ounces of sand. Instead of fishing line I use a very thin, but enormously strong, cord. You can buy a 120ft reel of it at Deals in Owen Sound for a few dollars. With this arrangement I can get my line up at least 40ft which is usually good enough. And, importantly, the sand balloon will almost always pull my line right back down to the ground.

If I want to get even higher, I have another scientific trick. A fully extended trekking pole, with my “Deals” cord tied at the far end will get my sand balloon up even further – maybe 60 feet or more. I tried it with 20lb test fishing line but the kinetic energy was so high the line broke every single time! Trekking poles, like dog ball launchers, look innocent and can be seen in every park. And, unlike lead fishing sinkers, sand balloons create fewer casualties when they misfire!    

New to CW or looking to improve your skills? This easy 36 hour contest this coming weekend is a good place to stop by and make few contacts. If your at 2 or 22 words per minute, the other ops will usually match your speed. 
Check out https://www.skccgroup.com/ for the details abut the Weekend Sprintathon as well as other activities.
Hope to make a CW contact.
  73 de ve3fp