Author Archive
The Communicator September – October 2025
August 31st, 2025 | 
Author: This publication, "The Communicator" from Surrey Amateur Radio Communications (SARC), serves as a bi-monthly electronic periodical for amateur radio operators. It covers a wide array of topics, including historical figures in radio. This month Jonathan Zenneck and Edwin Armstrong. In this issue we also provide technical explanations of radio propagation phenomena such as the Gray Line and solar indices, and practical guides for amateur radio activities like building antennas. We take a closer look at specific radio equipment (Baofeng, Icom, and Anytone), and engaging in digital modes like FT8.
The Communicator also features emergency preparedness strategies, and the diverse interests and community focus within amateur radio. Furthermore, it touches upon innovative developments like the Linux Handie Talkie (LinHT) and the importance of in-person technical conferences for knowledge exchange.
Now read in over 165 countries, this issue brings you 130 pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and around the globe. 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.
LARGE or SMALL format, or read it on-line like a magazine
Previous Communicator issues:
Search for past Communicator issues
We now have a comprehensive searchable index back to 2007
HERE.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is October 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 Table of Contents for the September - October 2025 Communicator issue:
- The Unsung Pioneers: Jonathan Senneck 4
- A look at Edwin Armstrong’s contribution to broadcasting 6
- Field Day and Cross-Border Microwave Activity 7
- The Northern California DX Foundation: Decrypting solar indices 8
- Propagation Profile: Exploring the Gray Line in Radio Propagation 10
- News You Can’t Lose: Rescue team locates and rescues 12
- Page13—News You Can Lose: Mystery in Back Yard 13
- Radio Ramblings: Aircraft Radio Systems 14
- Another RFI Tracker 29
- Sniffing RF Noise with an Oscilloscope 29
- A Bridge Too Far... For Now! 30
- An AM Radio Transmitter Suitable for in-home broadcast 32
- ISED Releases New Documents for Amateur Exams 34
- Getting Started: Beginner's guide to the FT8 mode 36
- Using the Baofeng Radio: Your Guide to a Handheld Radio 37
- iCOM Special Interest Group: RFI & Noise reduction - USB cable 38
- WA5VJB’s "Cheap Yagis": Looking for a 1.2 Ghz solution? 41
- RigPi: Probably compatible with your rig 422
- The AnyTone 878 portable receives a major firmware update 44
- Ham TV again from the International Space Station! 46
- After 14 attempts our first circumnavigation of a pico balloon! 47
- The PERformer: 2024 ARRL QST Antenna Design Competition 50
- But, does it PERform? 59
- Ham Radio Outside the box: Testing the “PERformer” 60
- The Zenith Satellite Tracker 62
- Another Simple Morse Code Trainer: It uses only 7 parts 63
- High Altitude RF Adventures 64
- Hamshack Hotline Orphans invited to apply at Hams Over IP 69
- Zero Retries: The Linux Handie Talkie 70
- Ham on a Bike: Snatched a big one working my grey line 75
- Foundations of Amateur Radio: A POTA procedural proposal 76
- Listening to local RF via a web browser 78
- Back to Basics: Understanding decibels in Amateur Radio 80
- Crossword 83
- Danger in St. Elmo 84
- No-ham Recipes: Chili Con Rotini 85
- Profiles of SARC members: Michael Papp WB6GJE 88
- The SEPAR Report: Emergency Program: Net Strategies 92
- A new beam antenna for the OTC 95
- QRT: Building Your Own Antennas 96
- HAM LEFTOVERS... 98
- A look back at The Communicator—October 2015 100
The Communicator July – August 2025
We're coming up to our club's 50th Anniversary and this is another big issue, with a look back at our history, great articles, and our regular columnists.
Now read in over 165 countries, this issue brings you 130 pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and around the globe. 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 July - August 2025 Communicator in
LARGE or SMALL format, or read it on-line like a magazine
Previous Communicator issues:
Search for past Communicator issues
We now have a comprehensive searchable index back to 2007
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
The Table of Contents for the July - August 2025 Communicator issue:
- The Unsung Pioneers - Some lesser-known early Amateur Radio experimenters and the dawn of wireless communication 4
- Some Early Surrey Amateur Radio Club History 7
- Telus Donates Tower/Trailer to SARC! 10
- News You Can’t Lose: The Centennial Gleissberg Cycle 12
- Page13—News You Can Lose: The Lighter Side 13
- Amateur Radio History In the Province of British Columbia 15
- Radio Ramblings: The Grab Bag 18
- Amateur Radio Contesting... But is your log accurate? 27
- Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications 30
- Remote WAN Operation and the Perils of CG-NAT Drive 32
- Six Meters: The SARC 50.070 MHz beacon 34
- Spooltenna Product review 36
- (ISED) Releases New Documents for Amateur Exams 39
- You’ve got the Power!! Monitoring your voltage 40
- Reinventing Spark Gap Radio 42
- 7300 SIG: Efficient SD Card Management 48
- Antenna Adventures: A compact 2m/70cm J-pole that wasn’t 52
- Fence Solar - Add a back-up power source 54
- The first interstellar software update: Voyager 1 58
- Update on the VE7NFR Pico Balloon 60
- AMSAT Designates SO-125: A New FM Repeater Satellite 61
- SkyRoof: New Amateur Satellite Tracking Software 62
- CQ: International Dog & Cat Days Special Event 63
- A Comprehensive Guide to Crafting an Engaging QRZ Bio 64
- Ham Radio Outside the box: An Improved Tank Circuit 67
- Top Ten Steps For successful portable QRP operation 70
- Small Pistols of Ham Radio Contesting 73
- The RSGB Looks at Morse Code 73
- "Too Many Antenna? What You Talking About Willis?" 74
- The World of CW - VE9KK Looks at a Contest Keyboard 76
- Zero Retries: Repeaters Are For Voice, Digipeaters Are For Data - NOT! 78
- KB6NU: What’s In Your Rubber Duck? 84
- Foundations of Amateur Radio: What's really happening at the IARU? 86
- Back to Basics: The Common Mode Choke 89
- No-ham Recipes: BBQ Chicken Marinade 93
- Profiles of SARC members: Fred Orsetti VE7IO 96
- Another SARC Founder: Ralph Webb VE7OM 100
- Here is a great new callsign search site 103
- SARC-SEPAR Field Day 2025: 3F at our Training Centre 104
- The RAC Canada Day Contest: Celebrating Canada’s 158th 107
- I have switched PDF readers! 108
- CQ WPX (CW) Contest: Using VB7MAN 109
- The New Look of Our Website 110
- Friends Lost... 111
- SARC General Meeting Minutes: May 2025 112
- SARC Annual General Meeting Minutes: June 2025 115
- The SEPAR Report: Field Day 2025 120
- QRT: OM, YL, and XYL: Are they still appropriate? 124
- Ham Leftovers... 127
- A look back at the Communicator—July 2015 128
The Communicator May-June 2025
Its a big issue, and great articles, along with our regular columnists.
Now read in over 165 countries, this issue brings you 120+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and around the globe. 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 May-June 2025 Communicator in
LARGE or SMALL format, or read it on-line like a magazine
Previous Communicator issues:
Search for past Communicator issues
We now have a comprehensive searchable index back to 2007
HERE.
As always, thank you to our contributors, and your feedback is always welcome.
The deadline for the next edition is June 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 Table of Contents for the May-June 2025 Communicator issue:
- The Rest of the Story: Pavel Schilling .............................................4
- NEW! A Complete Search Engine for The Communicator ..............7
- News You Can’t Lose: ..................................................................12
- News You Can’t Lose: Some enjoyable listening ahead! ..............12
- News You Can Lose: ARRL New Taxes for DX QSOs ..................13
- Mentoring Young Hams .................................................................15
- Post Special Event Summary: Operation Manna: .........................18
- Manna@80: The more unique contacts made by VB7MAN ..........24
- Radio Oranje and the ‘Kraut Sieve’ ...............................................25
- Radio Ramblings: Computing Science and Amateur Radio ..........28
- Computing Science and Amateur Radio ........................................28
- A LoRa-Based Mesh Network for Emergency Communication .....39
- A Heathkit “Cantenna” Deep Dive ................................................41
- Testing “Cantenna” oil ....................................................................43
- Making a Better Heathkit "Cantenna" ............................................46
- Another Notable Manna/Chowhound 80 Contact ..........................48
- Exploring the iCOM IC-7300's Internal Antenna Tuner ..................49
- Automatic Antenna Tuners & Couplers ..........................................52
- Electronic Keyers & Keyer Paddles ...............................................53
- Transients and Spikes on Power-line Voltage: ..............................55
- So... What is an MOV? ..................................................................57
- Testing MOVs ................................................................................59
- A Cheap and Light Weight HF Antenna .........................................60
- SO-124 [HADES-R] Satellite .........................................................61
- Tracking the ISS with an Arduino-Based System ..........................63
- Wondering where you can be heard? ............................................64
- A Reference for Coaxial Cable ......................................................65
- YADD: Maritime HF Activity Revisited ...........................................66
- The Mystery of the Mis-keyed Callsign ..........................................69
- Exploring Digital QSL Cards with DigiQSL: ...................................70
- How to Operate Pedestrian Mobile ................................................72
- Ham Radio Outside the Box: 25 Years a Ham ..............................75
- 2m: Weak-Signal Performance of Common Modulation Formats .79
- Zero Retries: An Introduction to the IP400 Network Project ..........82
- KB6NU: Buttons Are Back, Baby! ..................................................85
- KB6NU: Single sideband and a HAMNET update .........................87
- Foundations of Amateur Radio: .........................................................
- What is the difference between a Dummy Load and an Antenna? 88
- No-ham Recipes: Chinese Chicken in Sauce ................................91
- Back to Basics: A Balancing Act ....................................................92
- Profiles of SARC members: Jaspal Bagha VA7JB ........................98
- The Contest Contender: CQ WPX SSB ......................................102
- The Contest Contender: The 2025 ARRL Rookie Roundup ........104
- VB7MAN Participates in an International Microwave Party .........105
- High School Communications Course Update ............................113
- SEPAR Report: Winlink reestablished in the SEPAR program ....115
- QRT [Opinion]: The FCC Policy Statement .................................118
- Ham Leftovers... ..........................................................................121
- A look back: May 2015... .............................................................122
Tomorrow starts Manna/Chowhound Weekend
Manna@80!
Operations Manna and Chowhound were lifesaving food drops to Northwest Holland 80 years ago, just prior to the end of World War Two. Over 20,000 people had died from starvation and a colder than normal winter. Allied pilots and support staff from the UK, the US, Canada, Poland, and Australia dropped over 7,000 tons of food behind enemy lines.
There are 10 special event stations operating in these countries Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27. If you contact 4 or more, a special event certificate will be issued. Check QRZ.com for any of the following callsigns or Manna80.radio on the web where the stations’ current operating frequencies are available via HamAlert.
Participating stations:
The UK
2. GB80MAN: International Bomber Command Centre
3. GB8MAN: Royal Air Force Station Binbrook
4. GB80CHO: 100th Bomb Group Museum in Thorpe Abbots
The United States
5. W4C: Boca Raton Amateur Radio Assn
Canada
6. VB7MAN: Surrey Amateur Radio Communications in Surrey, BC
7. VB6MAN: Calgary Amateur Radio Club at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta
8. VE1MAN: Pictou County ARC in Picton, Nova Scotia
Australia
9. VK80MAN: Bull Creek Aviation Heritage Centre Perth, Australia
Poland
10. SN80MAN: The SP5KAB Radio Club
We hope to make contact with you.
![[IMG]](https://manna80.radio/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG_1100-768x494.jpeg)
Who said kids are not into Amateur Radio
We just graduated this mom and her two kids from our recent on-line course. The kids are age 11 and 13 and passed the written exam AND a CW endorsement with neighbour Guy VA7GI coaching them.
Congratulations and see you on the bands.
VB7MAN is ON AIR!
Mark VA7MM and others are our first guest operators
A recent VB7MAN QSO with Jake, KC7WXD, in Nevada.
Jake is an antique wireless experimenter and the chirpy note of the Command Set at VA7MM using VB7MAN, obviously caught his attention. The photo is of Jake’s homebrew 802 tube transmitter. His QRP signal at 2.5 W with the 802 transmitter was a perfectly copiable up here in BC.
If you would like to be a guest operator using the MANNA@80 callsign VB7MAN, have a look at the calendar for available slots and send us a note at [email protected]. You can use any band and any mode anywhere in BC.
~
The Planning for MANNA@80 Continues…
Planning for the special event stations commemorating the life-saving food drops to NW Netherlands near the end of World War II is now in full swing. 62 nationalities were part of Bomber Command in WW2.
Please visit Operation Manna @ 80 for a full list of stations around the globe. Here are the Canadian stations participating:
VB7MAN Surrey Amateur Radio Communications
In Canada, Surrey Amateur Radio Communications (SARC) has been granted special event callsign VB7MAN from April 1st to May 10th. We will be on the air from our training station and elsewhere prior to, during, and after the event and will seek involvement of the high school students from our RF Communications class. Contacts with Europe can be sporadic from our location but we are generally able to contact North and South America, Asia, and Oceania. We have created a QSL card to commemorate the event. The card bears the $100 Royal Canadian Mint gold and silver coin struck in 2020 for the 75th anniversary.
We will update this page as plans progress but hope to make a QSO with you in April or May. Any certified amateur in BC may operate the special event callsign, as long as it is only used in one location at a time. If you wish to use the call on any band or mode, a Google calendar has been set up to reserve the call for your use between April 1st and May 10th. If you wish to book an operating time for VB7MAN, please contact [email protected].
John VE7TI
Coordinator [email protected]
>
VB6MAN Calgary Amateur Radio Association
CARA will be operating from the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta. They will activate on April 25, 26, and 27th and May 9 and 10. The final dates and hours of operations will depend on the radio amateur operators participating.
>
VE1MAN Nova Scotia
The Canadian teams closest to Europe will be operating from their club station as VE1MAN. They may be activating from a former WW2 air base or another location of significance to tie in with the event.
Radio Amateurs of Canada published an article about MANNA@80 in the March-April issue of The Canadian Amateur, as did the Radio Society of Great Britain in their national magazine RADCOM.
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