Author Archives: VA3QR

About VA3QR

Obtained Basic (Canada) license on March 21, 1994. Received 5WPM Morse Code endorsement in the summer of 2003. Obtained my Advanced in the winter of 2014. Active on all Amateur bands between 160m - 70cm (excl. 1.25m), all modes. Primary rig is a Flex 5000A with ATU, RX2 and VHF/UHF module. Mobile rigs include Kenwood TM-D710A, and TM-480SAT. Antennas include Cushcraft MA-5B, Cushcraft A6270-13S, Hustler 6-BTV (with all 3 DX Engineering mods), 2 x Comet CX-333, Custom-Made Random Wire (tunes 160m - 10m), and MFJ Active Receive Antenna. I host the VE3PAQ Repeaters on 1.25m and 70cm, the VE3YAP APRS Digipeater, and the APRS2 Tier 2 network node for Ontario.

Digital Audio Combiner

It’s funny how many little boxes and weird circuits end up on my desk whenever I start on a new project. I built my dedicated ALE station a couple of weeks ago. The core components are a Kenwood TS-480HX and a Signalink SL-USB to send/receive audio from the transceiver. A couple of problems: Like almost… Read more »

Ontario Distracted Driving Legislation and Amateur Radio

Below is a letter I sent out to every RAC affiliated club in Ontario, as well as to the 4 Ontario Section Managers. Amateur Radio Operators in Ontario are currently exempt from the distracted driving elements of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, but that exemption is due to expire on January 1, 2018. As the… Read more »

HF Automatic Link Establishment (ALE)

Automatic Link Establishment, or ALE for short, has become a worldwide standard for initiating HF communications between two or more points. In short, you program a radio with the channels you have access to, and that radio scans and “sounds” periodically establishing knowledge of other radios similarly scanning and sounding to create a network. At… Read more »

CAF/CFARS: Exercise Noble Skywave 2015

For the past couple of years, the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics has hosted an international HF communications exercise that includes the “Five Eyes” nations of Canada, the US, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. One of the best parts about being a member of CFARS is that I get to participate. At 4AM… Read more »

VA3QR – Director for Ontario South, Radio Amateurs of/du Canada

Geoff Baldwin, VE4BAW, President of RAC called me on Sept. 3 to inform me that I’d won the recent directorial election and had been made a member of the board of directors of RAC. Naturally, I’m happy to have won, and I look forward to taking a more active role in the governance of an organization… Read more »