Author Archive
The November – December 2024 SARC Communicator
The final issue of the year. The November-December Communicator, digital periodical of Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is now available for viewing or download. Some great projects and articles in this issue including a terrific Ham IV rotator upgrade, suggestions for affordable test instruments, and complete introduction to 3D printing, with special emphasis on amateur radio applications. Our regular columnists will also provide you with some interesting experiences.
Now read in over 165 countries, we bring you 125+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.
Download the Nov-Dec 2024 Communicator
or read it on-line like a magazine
Previous Communicator issues:
Search for past Communicator issues
and a full searchable index is HERE.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is December 15th.
If you have news or events from your club or photos, stories, projects or other items of interest from BC or elsewhere, please contact us at [email protected]
73,
John VE7TI
'The Communicator' Editor
The Operation Market Garden Special Event Station
Commemorating 80 years
An important stage in the liberation of Western Europe
Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the German-occupied Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944. Its objective was to create a 103 km salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine River), creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany. This was to be achieved by two sub-operations: seizing nine bridges with combined US and British airborne forces (´Market´) followed by British land forces swiftly following over the bridges (´Garden´).
The airborne operation was undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army with the land operation by XXX Corps of the British Second Army. The airborne soldiers, numbering more than 41,000, were dropped at sites where they could capture key bridges and hold the terrain until the land forces arrived. The land forces consisted of ten armoured and motorised brigades with a similar number of soldiers. The land forces advanced from the south along a single road surrounded by flood plain on both sides. The plan anticipated that they would cover the 103 km from their start to the bridge across the Rhine in 48 hours. About 100,000 German soldiers were in the vicinity to oppose the allied offensive. It was the largest airborne operation of the war up to that point (Wikipedia ©). Perhaps the most famous, after D-Day, in the history of the Second World War.
As part of Operation Market Garden paratroopers of the Allied forces, such as American, British, Canadian, Polish and Dutch troops, landed in the Nijmegen region on 17 September 1944. The region became a battlefield during Operation Market Garden and most of the inhabitants took refuge in the woods or neighbouring towns. It took more than a week of heavy fighting before parts of the region were temporarily liberated. Many people and military were killed and buildings and bridges were destroyed. At the cost of many young soldiers the important Waal-bridge in Nijmegen was conquered. In our collective mind the entire region was completely liberated in 1944, but this was only for a period of three weeks. There was still hard fighting during the winter and complete liberation was not achieved until may 1945.
YouTube video: Operation Market Garden
The special event
From September 13 to 19 a special event station will be operating in the Nijmegen region of the Netherlands commemorating 8Ø years of freedom. The callsign is PA8ØOMG.
During 7 days they will activate the callsign PA8ØOMG and work amateur radio operators across the world. If you find yourself in the vicinity of Groesbeek and Nijmegen, be sure to visit us throughout the activities of the special event station. We are situated at one of the exact landing grounds of the 82nd Airborne division in 1944. Our website https://radioclublimburg.nl/pa80omg/index.html
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The September – October SARC Communicator
We're back!
Read in over 150 countries, we bring you 125+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.
You can view or download it as a .PDF file:
Previous Communicator issues:
Search for past Communicator issues
and a full index is HERE.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is October 15th and we're especially looking for articles and stories about 3D printing for amateur radio.
If you have news or events from your club or photos, stories, projects or other items of interest from BC or elsewhere, please contact us at [email protected]
73,
John VE7TI
'The Communicator' Editor
The July-August 2024 SARC Communicator
Hello summer...
With another big Summer issue. The July-August 2024 Communicator, digital periodical of Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is now available for viewing or download.
Read in over 150 countries, we bring you 120+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.
You can view or download it as a .PDF file:
Previous Communicator issues:
Search for past Communicator issues
and a full index is HERE.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is August 15th.
If you have news or events from your club or photos, stories, projects or other items of interest from BC or elsewhere, please contact us at [email protected]
73,
John VE7TI
'The Communicator' Editor
A video about ARDF (Radio Orienteering)
Whether you call it Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), Radio Orienteering, Fox or Bunny Hunting
The feature speaker at our May 2024 meeting was Robert Frey WA6EZV. Robert spoke on ARDF - Radio Orienteering - Fox (or Bunny) Hunting. Robert was first licensed in 1968, and his interests include DX and ARDF, as an on-foot foxhunter, for over 20 yrs. He was member of the US ARDF National Team in 2000, 02, 04, and 06 competing in China, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and South Korea.
The presentation was recorded via Zoom so please excuse the video quality which is less than our usual presentations.
Robert Frey WA6EZVWe have documented some of our own SARC Foxhunts in years past, including this locally developed 80m fox receiver:
and
~ John VE7TI
Special Event Station TM80DDAY
Commemorating the 80th anniversary of
the Allied assault on Normandy beaches
From June 4 to 9, 2024, a number of crew members of the Plusscouts PA3EFR/J and other Radio Scouters will be traveling to Normandy (Omaha Beach) to support the international activities of the commemoration services around 80 years of D-DAY.
Operators of this call are the operators of the PA3EFR/J-crew, a specialist group of Scouters, members of Scouting Netherlands through the national Fellowship called Plusscouts. In addition, we have invited some distinguished guests to join our team. This crew primarily brings TDOTA and JOTA to Scouting groups that are eager to get involved in the annual global Radio Scouting activities. Additional information on this years crew can be found on the Plusscouts Website. The station is valid for 2 points in the Dutch Radio Scouting Award scheme.
The good news is that we will be hosted again by the D-Day Museum at Omaha Beach. A radio shack in the backyard of the museum will be part of our radio station and associated radio scouting activities.
The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens
Remembering the amateur radio
account by Gerry Martin W7WFP
On Sunday, March 27, 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major explosive eruption took place 44 years ago today, on Sunday, May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am. The eruption, which had a volcanic explosivity index of 5, was the first to occur in the contiguous United States since the much smaller 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California. It has often been declared the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history.
Mt. St. Helens one day before the eruption and 4 months afterwards
The Role of Amateur Radio - Gerry Martin W7WFP
Gerry, 64, was a volunteer ham radio operator who was monitoring the mountain for the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service. The day before the eruption, he drove his motor home onto a ridge a couple miles north and slightly higher than the geologists’ observation post. When the mountain erupted, he reported to the other ham operators monitoring the volcano, “Gentlemen, the camper and car that’s sitting over to the south of me is covered. It’s going to hit me, too.” As with Dave Johnston, no trace of Martin or his motor home was ever found. The audio account of his observations as the mountain erupted is in an Oregon Public Broadcasting article. The article also has a link to a video of the event.
The eruption claimed the lives of 57 people, mostly through the effects of ash asphyxiation.
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