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+---- Thread: RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for Aug 12, 2023 (/showthread.php?tid=1035)
RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for Aug 12, 2023 - Richard VE3OZW - 2023-08-12
This is V_3___, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of Canada
with this week's bulletin.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. IARU Approves two Digipeating Amateur Satellites
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has coordinated two
European digipeating
satellites that are scheduled to launch in fall 2023. Slovakia's
satellite Veronika, a 1U CubeSat,
is scheduled for launch on a Falcon 9 launcher on the Transporter 9
mission in October 2023.
The satellite will be equipped with a 24/7 digipeater on two different
bands, as well as
experimental slow-scan digital video (SSDV) transmissions. The satellite
will be equipped with
a novel Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) subsystem,
including
electromagnetic actuators and a global navigation satellite system
(GNSS) receiver. This will
also help to identify the satellite during the first days and weeks of
orbit.
Altogether, Veronika will provide: AX.25 telemetry, a CW beacon, a
digipeater, AX.25 and
CW messages, experimental SSDV transmissions, SatNOGS integration, a
decoder, and a
dashboard. A downlink on 436.680 MHz has been coordinated, and it will
use 9k6 G3RUH
AX.25 and a CW beacon. A SpaceX launch on the Transporter 9 mission will
send the
satellite to a 500/600-kilometer polar orbit.
The Romanian Federation of Amateur Radio (FRR) is preparing the ROM-3
for launch in
October or November 2023. ROM-3 is a 50 x 50 x 100-millimeter picoSAT
with three missions
and objectives. Its primary mission is to act as a digital amateur radio
repeater. Its secondary
mission is to transmit low-resolution SSDV images in a Gaussian
frequency shift keying (GFSK)
mode. The tertiary mission is to transmit a CW beacon that will help
amateur radio operators
detect the presence of the satellite and measure basic properties of the
signals, such as its strength,
fading due to spinning, and Doppler to measure speed. A downlink on
436.235 MHz has been
coordinated for 20 WPM on CW, 500 (bps) GFSK telemetry, and 5 (kBps)
GFSK SSDV.
A SpaceX launch will send ROM-3 into a 500-kilometer polar orbit.
-- ARRL letter
2. New Pact Expands Ham Radio Use During Emergencies
A new agreement between the African Telecommunication Union and the
International Amateur
Radio Union is being hailed as a landmark agreement.
Praising ham radio for its responsiveness in a crisis, the
secretary-general of the African
Telecommunications Union signed an agreement with the I.A.R.U.advocating
for expanded
use of ham radio during emergencies in African nations. The agreement
places a special
emphasis on ham radio's role in the 51 African countries that belong to
the ATU. Both
organisations pledged to cooperate when preparing for and responding to
crises. A large part
of the pact involves coordinating workshops and training programs and
stepping up promotion
of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education in Africa
through the use
of amateur radio.
Sylvain Azarian, F4GKR, the president of IARU Region 1, said that the
agreement would also
have an impact on regulatory changes needed for amateur radio in Africa.
As he signed the pact,
he told those in attendance "This is our first step to initiating a
collaborative approach that is keen
to find solutions and to ensure a conducive environment for amateur
radio operations in the region.”
-- Jason Daniels VK2LAW. (Amateur Radio Newsline)
ONTARIO SECTION NEWS
ITEMS OF INTEREST
3. The 3rd Masonic Lodges on the Air (MLotA), Saturday, September 23, 2023
The event is open to all amateur radio operators. The idea for the event
grew from the realization
that many Freemasons also have a love for amateur radio. The Fulton
County Amateur Radio Club
and Ohio's Fulton Lodge #248 first hosted the event in 2021.
The mission is to promote fraternal bonds within the ranks for Free and
Accepted Masonic lodges
and its many amateur radio operators, who are also brothers in the
fraternity while encouraging
contact with amateur radio operators around the state, county and world.
The event will take place
from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET, on 80 - 40 - 20 -15, and 10 meters SSB.
Amateur radio participants are asked to honor all band plans, and all
contacts must be on the phone
portion of the bands. Stations may be contacted once on each band.
Complete contest rules
and more information can be found at cqmorelight.com/rules.
-- ARRL Letter
4. The New England Amateur Radio Festival will be held October 13-14, 2023
NEAR-Fest is an international event run by and aimed at all radio
hobbyists and enthusiasts,
including hams, short-wave listeners, scanner buffs, and vintage/antique
radio fans.
NEAR-Fest is held biannually in the spring and fall, rain or shine, at
the Deerfield Fairgrounds
in Deerfield, New Hampshire. The event will begin on Friday at 0900 ET
and end on Saturday
at 1500 ET. NEAR-Fest typically attracts attendees from New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and other states, as well as from Quebec, Ontario, New
Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
Some attendees travel great distances. One participant from Los Angeles,
California, has attended
NEAR-Fest 15 times, and in 2010, one radio amateur traveled from Greece.
The program will
feature a huge outdoor electronic flea market and three buildings full
of commercial vendors, forums,
technical seminars and symposiums, demonstrations, exhibits, displays,
licensing examinations,
special event stations, and a jam session. The event is the largest of
its kind in the Northeast and
was once described as the "Woodstock of Amateur Radio." More information
is available at
<www.Home - NEAR-Fest.com>.
-- ARRL Letter
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