RamblerNewsletter of the

Ottawa Valley MobileRadio Club

Incorporated

Mar 2014 Edition 58 Page: 1

February Flea Market...................1Notice of Motion..........................3

Special Event Callsign.............3Invitation.......................................4Jerry Wells Award........................5VE3JW 40th Anniversary.......6-10

INSIDE

Club Meeting:

March 20th

40TH ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OFAMATEUR RADIO AT THECANADA SCIENCE ANDTECHNOLOGY MUSEUM

DOOR PRIZESBAOFENG UV3R+ DUAL BANDHANDHELD & A DIAMOND 771

DUAL BAND PERFORMANCEANTENNA

Meeting Date

OVMRC February MiniFlea MarketThe February meeting of the clubwas a mini flea market, held at themuseum on Thursday February20th. It was well attended (about 3dozen amateurs and non-amateurs)by both sellers and buyers, with 12sellers offering a vast variety ofparts and equipment. The buyerscame armed with big rolls of cash(perhaps from mortgaged homes?)but with sharp bargaining skills.

The unofficial award for ‘most-stuff-for-sale’ was won by Joe(VE3EUS) who brought enoughitems to cover 3 entire tables. Hehad a diverse selection of gently-used components and transceiversplus a vintage receiver, and he wenthome much lighter in the weight ofitems he had to carry, except forthose essential ones he bought atthe flea market from other sellers.At the end of the night he had athicker wallet.

Three amateurs, James (VE3MYZ),Jacques (VE3TSC) and Graham(VE3GBD) were unable to attendthe flea market and the items theyoffered for sale were displayed byJoe on their behalf.

Maurice-Andre brought in anumber of really nice items at greatprices.

Ernie offered his customary varietyof deals on components, with thebest steal being a heaping box ofmini fans offered at only $0.50 each

– a better deal than a cup of coffeeat Tim’s. The bag-of-componentsoffered at “Honest-Ed” prices at histable gave the person who wasrepairing some equipment orbuilding something from scratch agood selection of components fromwhich to choose.

Good to see Bob (VE3QV) again -he had a very neat table with a niceselection of handi-talkies and othergoodies.

Darin and Beth provideddiscriminating buyers theopportunity to purchase theiralmost-new computer and audioequipment.

Yours-truly had a small offering butmanaged to sell most items, and(thank goodness) that included aheavy power supply would havebeen ‘forgotten’ at the museum atthe end of the night if it had notbeen sold.

My apologies for anyone that Imissed, as I spent half the eveningbrowsing at other tables and oglingthe bargains that others hadpurchased – for example Darin hada really neat 2 band Arrow antenna.

At the conclusion of the night, ahappy band of buyers and sellersreturned home, secure in theknowledge that a good proportionof the stuff they were carryingwould be in the flea market nextyear after each of their respectivepartners were shown their best-deal-of the-century.

The Club benefited in the amountof $140 from both donated itemsand donations from sellers in lieu oftable fees.

Brian WilliamsVE3KNESecretary OVMRC

Page: 2 Mar 2014

OVMRC Executive2013-2014

President:Sandy Haggart, VE3HAZve3haz@rac.ca

Vice-President:VacantTreasurer:Joe Lemieux, VE3EUSve3eus@rac.ca,Secretary:Brian Williams, VE3KNEbdwill@rogers.com

Standing CommitteeChairpersons

Amateur Radio Exhibit:Darin Cowan, VE3OIJve3oij@amsat.org

Amateur Radio Training &Accredited Examiner:Ernie Jury, VE3EJJes282@freenet.carleton.ca

613-728-3666Membership:VacantTechnical:Paul Labbé, VA3NJSpaul.labbe@usa.net,Radio Operations:James Hall, VE3MYZve3myz@rac.caNewsletter Editor:Robert Cherry, VE2AGEcw527@ncf.ca

Webmaster:Chris Wiesner, VA3SMva3sm@yahoo.ca613-970-3993For information about the duties and re-sponsibilities about all Executive andChair positions, please visit the OVMRCforums, Member section or contact anymember of the Executive.

SponsorsThe OVMRC acknowledges the fol-lowing organizations for their supportof our activities:

• ACCEPTABLE STORAGE,Ottawa, ON

• BYTOWN MARINE,Ottawa, ON

• ELKEL LTEE.,Trois-Riviéres, QC

• KENWOOD ELECTRONICSCANADA INC.,Mississauga, ON

• TRAVEL-MOR TRAILER SALES,Ottawa, ON

The club’s web site is hosted by:

PRIMUS TELECOMMUNICATIONSCANADA INC..

www.ovmrc.on.ca

OVMRC Life Members

Ernie Jury, VE3EJJ

Maurice-André Vigneault, VE3VIG

Ralph Cameron, VE3BBM

Doug Carswell, VE3ATY

Doreen Morgan, VE3CGO

Ed Morgan, VE3GX SK

OVMRC Repeaters

147.300 MHz(+)444.200 MHZ(+)

Amateur Radio ExhibitVE3JWWeb site:

ovmrc.on.ca/ve3jw.htmCanada Science & Technology

Museum

The Rambler is the official newsletter of theOttawa Valley Mobile Radio Club Incorpo-rated and is published 11 times a year(monthly, except for July). Opinions ex-pressed in the Rambler are those of theauthors and not necessarily those of theOVMRC, its officers or its members. Per-mission is granted to republish the contentsin whole or in part, providing the source isacknowledged. Commercial use of the con-tents is expressly prohibited.Submit articles to the editor or by e-mailto:Robert Cherry, VE2AGEcw527@ncf.ca

Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club, Incorporated

PO Box 41145

Ottawa, ON K1G 5K9

www.ovmrc.on.ca

Visit the OVMRC Storeat

http://www.cafepress.ca/ovmrc

Mar 2014 Page: 3

At the general meeting ofMarch 20, members in goodstanding will be asked to

vote, by secret ballot, on a motionto confer upon Paul Labbé,VE3NJS, the Jerry Wells 2013Amateur of the Year Award.

Paul, VE3NJS, has served the Clubby managing the Club repeater, bymanaging the Club special eventstrailer and by taking the lead onseveral challenging technicalprojects. At the general meeting ofthe Club held on January 16, 2014,the undersigned members in goodstanding nominated Paul for thisaward.

Over the years, access to the Clubrepeater site had become difficult.Paul drafted a letter to the Ministerof Public and Government ServicesCanada outlining the situation andthe terms of the contract signed in1979 between the Crown and theClub governing the operation andmaintenance of that repeater. As aresult, an efficient and timelyprocedure for access to the repeatersite was put into place. ThePresident of the Club commented"The results achieved by Paul arebut one example of hisprofessionalism, great sense ofresponsibility, his leadership andhis dedication when he takes on atask on behalf of the Club." Paul isnow leading the committeeinvolved in assessing the conditionof the repeater and in planning whatmaintenance and upgrades may bebeneficial.

Paul has also taken on theresponsibility for maintaining,upgrading and towing the Clubspecial events trailer. Over the

years, he has continually striven toimprove the functionality of thetrailer. He modified the interiorand repaired the roof. He used hisown resources, vehicle and time toprepare and make available thetrailer for Field Day andLighthouse-Lightship Weekend.He has taken charge of preparingthe trailer for winter storage.

Using research, engineeringprinciples and experimentation,Paul proposed a solar poweredsystem to replace the 4KW gasgenerator that, for years, hadsupplied the trailer radios andlights. He led a work crew thatinstalled solar panels on the roof,wire harnesses to distribute thepower and additional batteriesinside the trailer. He devisedcontrollers for charging thebatteries and for distributing the DCpower produced by the systemthroughout the trailer. This newpower source allowed the club toparticipate in Field Day 2013 in aspecial category. The solar panelsperformed flawlessly throughoutthe event. Subsequently, Paulprepared a comprehensivepresentation that he presented to theClub on his research into solaralternatives and on the workrequired to implement the chosendesign.

We, the undersigned, are proud tonominate Paul Labbé, VE3NJS, forthe Jerry Wells 2013 Amateur ofthe Year Award.

Maurice-André Vigneault, VE3VIGErnie Jury, VE3EJJSandy Haggart, VE3HAZJoe Lemieux, VE3EUS

NOTICE OF MOTIONTO CONFER THE JERRY WELLS AMATEUR OF THE

YEAR AWARD UPON PAUL LABBÉ, VE3NJS

Special EventCallsign In Effect

In celebration of the 40th

anniversary of amateur radioat the Canada Museum ofScience and Technology, aspecial callsign has beenauthorized by IndustryCanada. For the entire monthof March, operators of themuseum demonstrationstation (VE3JW) will beoperating as VC3S, in digitalmodes, CW, and phone.

There will be a QSL cardissued for contacts withVC3S. QSL requests arehandled through VE3JW.Details are available at:www.qrz.com

73 de VE3OIJDarin

Page: 4 Mar 2014

INVITATIONC E L E B R A T I N G 4 0 Y E A R S O F A MA T E U R R A D I O

A T T H E C A N A D A S C I E N C E A N D T E C H N O L O G Y MU S E U M

March 2014 will mark the 40th year of amateurradio operations from the Canada Science andTechnology Museum (CSTM) in Ottawa.Industry Canada has authorized a specialamateur radio call sign, VC3S, especially tocommemorate this occasion.

For four decades, licensed amateur radiooperators from the Ottawa Valley Mobile Club(OVMRC) have interpreted for the visitingpublic the evolution of radio technology andits continuing strategic importance to everydaylife. They have used various analog anddigital radio communications modes toillustrate how radio amateurs “talk” to eachother locally and around the world.

Amateur radio is more than just an interestinghobby that can be enjoyed by young and oldalike. It can also serve communities duringcivil emergencies when domestic modes ofcommunications fail. Most recently, amateurradio communications were used to linkprovincial authorities with municipalitiesduring the land line and cell service outagesthat occurred during the Alberta floods.

During the weekend of March 15 and 16,volunteer amateur radio operators willdemonstrate various aspects of radiotechnology and amateur radio communicationtechniques. These demonstrations will takeplace at the amateur radio station, VE3JW,located at the Museum. Visitors will be able tohear and, if they wish, communicate with otherstations under the supervision of a licensedoperator.

The public is welcome to participate in thespecial events at the Museum during theweekend of March 15 and 16. To learn moreabout the evolution and importance of amateurradio, the public is invited to attend the regulargeneral meeting of the Club on March 20 at07:30 )P.M. at the Museum. Speakers willinterpret the history of radio communicationsand of amateur radio for today’s technologysavvy users. There will be door prizes.

For more information:Sandy Haggart, President,Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club,VE3HAZ@ rac.caOttawa Valley Mobile Radio Club (OVMRC):www.ovmrc.on.ca/index.htmCanadian Museum of Science and Technology(CSTM):www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/index.cfmwww.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/francais/index.cfmRadio Amateurs of Canada (RAC):www.rac.ca/ or www.rac.ca/fr/Ottawa Emergency Measures Radio Group(EMRG):www.emrg.ca/Alberta Floods:www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=9a2c105f-8370-40eb-980e-1312b1ba9ecc

Mar 2014 Page: 5

THE JERRY WELLSAWARDIt was my privilege and pleasure toknow Jerry Wells VE3CDS (SK). Ifirst met Jerry when, in 1992-93,shortly after I had retired, I took theOVMRC qualification course. Hewas the course administrator andalso the Club's AccreditedExaminer. There were over 20students in the class. Jerry, alongwith Brice Wightman VE3EDR,taught Morse code during the firsthalf hour of each Tuesday eveningclass. The required code speed atthat time was 12 wpm. As you mayguess, Jerry was a CW man. Hehad been a ham for many years. Hewas a very practical one. I stillrecall his lecture on propagationand some of his comments aboutelectromagnetic interference (EMI).The comment that I recall best wasthat “it rather shakes a ham when hesees his neighbour's lights going onand off in synchronism with his keystrokes.”

Jerry was a generous individual.He gave me some RG 58 flexiblecable for a 5/8-wave two-metreroof-mount antenna that I wasbuilding and a speaker magnet to beused for its mounting. The magnetwas quite strong and, when Imounted it in my lathe to widen itsgap, the cuttings would not fallaway, making the operation ratherslow: The head stock of my lathe isstill magnetized! Jerry's dedicationto the Club and to the course wasvery evident, even after his firstwife died. He did not miss a singleevening of the course.

Jerry was heavily involved with thedemonstration amateur radio stationVE3JW located at the CanadaScience and Technology Museum.In the mid-1990s, he and CyWebster VE3SIY organized therefurbishment of the station to itspresent configuration. Cy lookedafter the paper work to get a grantfrom the New Horizons Programadministered by Health andWelfare. That grant was used tobuy a Kenwood TS-850, an ALS600 solid state power amplifier anda Telex TH7DX beam antenna.Jerry's practical nature was apparenton the Saturday morning when theassembled TH7DX antenna wasinstalled on the top of the tower.To save the Club the cost of acommercial crane, he arranged foran Ottawa Fire Department laddertruck and crew to perform the task.One of Jerry's plans for therefurbished station was a systemthat would allow shut-in hams tooperate the station over a telephoneline from their residence.Unfortunately, this was neverimplemented because of technicaland administrative problemsinherent in restricting remote accessto the station to licensed radioamateurs.

Another of Jerry's interests wasworking with the handicapped. Hewas active with the High Horizonsrecreational program for thephysically handicapped held at theMacKay United Church in NewEdinburgh. It was there that he metJune Knight whom he later married.When he died in November 1997,Jerry was President of the OttawaHandicapped Association.

Following Jerry's death, LarryWilcox VE3WEH (SK)successfully promoted the OVMRCJerry Wells Amateur of the YearAward within the Club. The Awardwas to be given for outstandingservice to the Club and to amateurradio in general. Because of Jerry'sinterest in CW, the Award wasaccompanied by a quality set ofCW paddles. The Award was givenfor several years, but not for thepast few. It is being revived thisyear with the presentation to PaulLabbé VE3NJS.

On March 20, June Knight willmake the presentation of the JerryWells Award to Paul VE3NJS.

Ernie J. Jury VE3EJJ

Page: 6 Mar 2014

VE3JW 40TH ANNIVERSARY

H as it been this long already? The more than 20years that I have been involved with theAmateur Radio Exhibit VE3JW at the

Canada Science and Technology Museum seem to me,as I reflect on them, a fast blur of exciting times,special events, improvements through renovations,many enjoyable hours operating state-of-the-artamateur radio equipment at which is arguably the bestopen-to-the-public amateur radio station in Canadaand, addressing thousands of enquiring and interestingvisitors.

But this station has been around for more than 20years. This venture all started back in 1967 at the timeof the opening of the National Museum of Science andTechnology, as it was called then, when the curator ofthe communications exhibits called upon Ed Morgan,VE3GX (SK), to find radio artifacts for the museum. Itwas at around that time that the idea of an amateurradio station at the museum germinated in Ed's mind.It took many years to realize it, and finally in March of1974, the station was officially opened.

We will let Ernie Jury, VE3EJJ, narrate the beginningof the VE3JW station as published in the April 1999edition of the OVMRC Bulletin, the RAMBLER.

How did VE3JW get started?

“The callsign, VE3JW,was originallyheld by Jim W.Cotter, anearly radioAmateur whodid not havethe gift ofsight becauseof anunfortunatechildhoodaccident. Hebecame asilent key in1969 at theage of 67. Jimwas apersonal

friend of Ed Morgan, VE3GX, who had the jobof erecting an antenna for him whenever hemoved. His transmitter was a Johnson VikingII, which he operated with the aid of an audiooutput device, developed by Ed, that was usedin parallel with the panel meters of thetransmitter and antenna matcher.

When Jim's call sign became available, Ed hadthe idea of a demonstration Amateur station inthe communications section of the NationalMuseum of Science and Technology in Jim'smemory and that of early radio pioneers.

Ed had to reserve the vacated call sign, sell theidea to the Museum's exhibit curator, and getan equipment supplier on board, all of whichhe was able to accomplish after getting the go-ahead from the club.

The equipment supplier was Heathkit, whomade a long-term loan of the following kits thatwere assembled by club members: HW-101transceiver, HP-23B power supply, SB-600speaker, HDP-21A microphone, SB-610monitor scope, SB-200 linear amplifier. A 30'tower with a Mosley 3-element triband beamwas installed on the roof of the Museum byclub members.

Station operation was inaugurated on theevening of March 19, 1974, with JayneArbuckle, the 9-year-old granddaughter of JimCotter, sending the first signal with a 10”

Jim W Cotter after schoolingat Brantford, Ontario. Jim Cotter's grand-daughter keys the opening

of the original VE3JW station.

Mar 2014 Page: 7

spark coil transmitter, the sort used by the firsttransatlantic station, VAS, at Glace Bay, NovaScotia (and similar to the unit located in thedisplay beside VE3JW). The station operated in

this configuration for several years until thecommunications exhibit was revamped over aperiod of about three years.

During this period, Jerry Wells, VE3CDS (SK)took responsibility for the station and, alongwith a few others, designed the current stationconfiguration. Then, with Cy Webster, VE3SIY,he arranged for a New Horizons grant from the

Department of Health and Welfare to purchasethe equipment that we enjoy today (in 1995): aKenwood TS-850 transceiver, Ameritron ALS-600 linear, Hy-Gain 7-element triband beam,and a Cushcraft multi-band vertical antenna,to name the major items. The station log showsthat it does very well in DX operation,regularly reaching European and Africancountries, and occasionally Australia and NewZealand.

VE3JW is staffed on a volunteer basis, mainlyby members of this club, although as a nationaldemonstration station, it is available to anylicensed Amateur.

A few years ago, the OVMRC undertook tooperate the station for a minimum of 500 hoursper year in exchange for the use of theMuseum's facilities for our monthly meetingsand course requirements. So far, we havesuccessfully met this obligation.”

Thank you Ernie. And in the same issue of theRambler (April 1999) I wrote a report on the 25thanniversary of VE3JW. Here, follows a short renditionof it.

VE3JW Celebrates 25th AnniversaryFriday, March 19, 1999, marked the 25th Anniversaryof the opening of the VE3JW radio station in theNMST at Ottawa. I had never seen the station so busy!

Renovations at the Museum in 1995 moved the radiostation into a new area. Jerry Wells, VE3CDS, a recentsilent key, along with other Amateurs and Museumstaff, deserve much credit for the excellent modernexhibit, layout and equipment now in use.

The Museum itself had been very busy all week whenmore than 3500 visitors were recorded, and thisFriday, many more were expected.

I started calling on the 20m band. “This is VE3JWSpecial Event Station celebrating the 25th Anniversaryof Radio Station VE3JW at the Museum of Scienceand Technology in Ottawa.” I was surprised to hear themany stations responding to congratulate us so early inthe morning. One of the first callers was a station inMoscow, Russia, and it was followed up by manyother stations in Europe.

Original VE3JW station.

Jerry Wells (SK) during Girl Guide event,shows the rebuilt VE3JW station.

Page: 8 Mar 2014

Collin Guillas, VA3CSG, a 16-year-old newly licensedAmateur, came in to assist me. He set up the AmateurTV demonstration and opened up the PACKETstation. Then, he went to the 2m FM station andlogged many congratulatory QSOs from local stations.

Shortly after noon, Ken, VE3KJB, and Larry,VE3WEH, came in to take on the Trans-Provincial Neton 40m as control station. Following theirannouncement of the Special Event, they heard a floodof well-wishers.

During that time, I used the TH7DX beam to cover allthe provinces, East and West. An unusual amount ofvisitors were filing through the exhibit. I finished upon the 15m band with some interesting contacts fromSpain, Scotland, England and Eire, all wishing us wellon this special day. At the end of the day, we hadworked 2m FM, 2m Packet, 10, 15, 20 and 40m SSBand CW, while demonstrating ATV, computer-assistedsatellite tracking, and MIR space station trajectory andoverpass.

The activity at the VE3JW station on its 25th

Anniversary would have caused Jimmy and Jerry to bejubilant.

New JWWhen Jerry Wells and his group planned for theVE3JW station in early 1990, they had a vision of afuture station encompassing all modes and includingsatellite communications. In the late nineties, I becamemanager of the VE3JW station and I wanted to followJerry's vision.

A new challenge was underway: that of making theVE3JW Amateur Radio Exhibit the #1 demonstrationstation in Canada. The objective was to rebuild theexisting VE3JW station with new state-of-the-artequipment including satellite communications, largewall-display and facilities for visitor interaction. TheNew JW was to become not only a demonstrationstation but an operating station, and a training stationcovering all aspects and modes of the Amateur Radiohobby, and welcoming all licensed Radio Amateursregardless of club affiliation. Quite a tall orderconsidering the very limited funds available from thesponsoring Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club.

In year 2000, the Museum launched a new five-yearprogram for their Connexion Exhibit where the

VE3JW station is located. We had been working since1999 on a plan to include satellite communications inour display. However, the new Museum program didnot have sufficient funding to allow for our plan to beimplemented.

A new group, the Amateur Radio Exhibit Group wasformed to oversee the new development of the station.We solicited help from a number of manufacturers andretailers without success. In late 2000, we submitted ademand for a grant from the Ontario TrilliumFoundation. With an OVMRC operating reserve andan OTF grant of $7,600.00 for new equipment at thestation, the Museum decided to include the VE3JWplan in their renovation program.

Renovations started in Fall 2001. The radio station wascompletely emptied and only the partition wallsremained. New counters and shelves were built intothree separate consoles: VHF console; Satelliteconsole; and HF console. Mounted in the center wallwas a 36-inch video monitor to channel all ourdemonstrations from three computers and a VCR. TheAC power distribution was redesigned in order to giveeach console its own independent circuit.

VE3JW volunteers got busy on the roof installing thesatellite antennas. Telesat Canada donated a Quadpodsupport and we mounted a 10-foot pole to support theYeasu G5500 Azimuth-Elevation rotors. A 10-footboom was adorned with a 14-element VHF, and a 30-element UHF antennas. We added two 20db gainpreamplifiers. The Museum did a great job ofdesigning a special weatherhead for our cable run. Weadded an Anli base antenna for our newly purchasedKenwood TM-D700A used for APRS, Packet andIRLP.

Besides the D700A above, the OTF grant allowed usto acquire the satellite antennas, the rotors, a KenwoodTS-2000 transceiver, two preamplifiers, a dual-bandbase antenna, two Kenwood speakers, a power supply,satellite tracking interface and software, cables,connectors, and miscellaneous hardware.

Our station was closed for about one month while thiswas going on.

OpeningThe official opening of the New JW station took placeon October 12, 2001. Attending the opening wasOttawa MPP Claudette Boyer, the Museum DG and

Mar 2014 Page: 9staff, the OTF representative, Kenwood Canadarepresentative, Bytown Marine, Telesat Canada, RACrepresentatives, club presidents from the region, andVE3JW volunteer operators. Some Museum visitorsalso gathered around the station.

We made a full presentation of our new stationfollowed by short speeches from the MPP, the DG,and the OTF regional representative who presented aplaque outlining the Ontario government participationin our project. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took placeand everyone enjoyed the new JW cake.

The local media was on hand conducting interviews,and we were on the evening news with great coverageof the event – promoting Amateur Radio.

ResultsA lot of time was spent on the newer modes andequipment. PSK31 contacts all over the worldinterested many visitors who were invited to completea QSO at the keyboard. Witnessing a satellite contactwith full tracking display on our large screenfascinated many others as well as hearing astronautson the International Space Station answering our calls.We talked to Susan Helms, Frank Cuthberson andspace tourist Dr Simony. We conduted a direct ISScontact at our station for a school in Orléans.

We trained all our operators for satellite operation andoffered a free satellite course to any licensed amateurs.I tuned in Oscar 10 one day and called indicating that Iwas at the Museum’s demo station. I immediately gota pile up starting with Finland, then Denmark,Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Germany, Belgium, France,

England – a total of 15 contacts in 50 minutes takingtime to chat with each one. When the 2.4 GHz dishwas installed with the help of Clare Fowler, VE3NPC,and the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club volunteers, wewere able to chat at length, everyday, with stations inJapan, New Zealand and Australia through our largestsatellite, Oscar 40.

With three separate consoles, we were able to easilyhost groups of special events such as JOTA, GOTA,YOTA, giving an opportunity to these youths toexperiment with Amateur Radio on one band oranother. We also conducted White Cane Week everyyear and hosted Carleton University computer scienceclasses and other school groups.

The station was well attended as shown in the increasein volunteer hours, reaching up to three times whatwas required by the Museum.

AnniversariesDuring this time, we celebrated VE3JW's 30th and35th Anniversaries in 2004 and 2009 by inviting thewhole Jimmy Cotter family. In 2004, Jimmy'sdaughter Peggy, completed a Single Side Band contactwith T99A in Bosnia, which won her the palm for thefurthest contact on that special day. In 2009, Jimmy'sgreat-grandson, Cleary, was there to cut theAnniversary cake.

New phaseIn 2010 we approached the Museum to help us spruceup the station with new technology: the SDR(Software Defined Radio) development; the D-Stardigital voice system; new interface for satellitetracking; LCD monitors for our computers; and a

2001 renovation with satellite comm.

Satellite antennas with 2.4 GHz dish.

Page: 10 Mar 2014

larger 55-inch LED main demo screen display. TheOVMRC and the Museum reached an agreement for a50-50 split of the cost of this improvement.

The SDR demos are a great success and this new

system facilitates the use of many digital modes suchas JT65 weak signal communications. The D-Starsystem is now open to worldwide contacts regardlessof propagation. Its clear audio is a great improvementover the analog audio, and it is possible to find astation anywhere in the world by just entering the callsign.

Objectives reachedWhen Jerry Wells and his group envisioned theobjectives for a new station, here is how he presented

it in a correspondence to manufacturers and retailerswho were potential contributing companies:

''This station will be used to educate thevisiting public about radio communications ingeneral and the various facets of AmateurRadio in particular. We intend to demonstrateall modes of Amateur Radio communicationsavailable today so that young and old alikemay explore the wonders of speaking withpeople from around the world on HF or viasatellite, using Amateur communications totransmit data and images (including television)and capture satellite imagery and telemetry''

After spending time, over 20 years, at the station, Iwould use the same words to describe what we aredoing today. It would seem that we have attained ourobjectives, and in some ways even surpassed them.

Although, we must be aware that such a complete andadvanced station may intimidate some Amateurs to thepoint where they do not dare to show up. It is not ouraim to prevent access to the station for any licensedoperators. On the contrary, we welcome everyone witha desire to learn as our volunteers are also mentors.Come and spend some time at the station, even if it isonly for short-wave listening. You will soon appreciatethe facilities. Only, today, they are really “short”waves, that of the satellite signals on ultra highfrequencies.

On this coming March 19, 2014,

HAPPY 40TH VE3JW!

Maurice-André Vigneault, VE3VIGAmateur Radio Exhibit VolunteerCanada Science and Technology Museum

Jim Cotter's daughter Peggy, grand-son Clark,great-grand-son Cleary showing confirmationof winning contact during 30th anniversarycommemoration.

VE3JW renovations to include satellitecomm.VE3JW renovations to include satellitecomm.

New clocks, SDR, D-Star, in the "New JW"

Mar 2014 Page: 11

Ottawa Amateur Radio Club(OARC)www.oarc.net/blog/:The next meeting of the OttawaAmateur Radio Club takes place onWednesday 12 March at 7:30 PMin the Ottawa city Hall, secondfloor. Brian Jeffrey VE3UU willdeliver a historical presentationentitled “Adventures from theColdest Part of the Cold War.”

Rideau Lakes AmateurRadio Club (RLARC)ve3rlr.dyndns.org/:

West Carleton AmateurRadio Clubwww.wcarc.on.ca

.Seems pretty quiet aroundthe valley, eh? More infowill follow by email when itcomes available.

What’s HappeningElsewhere!

Ramblerdeadline

Meeting date minus 13 days

Apr 04May 02Jun 06Jul/Aug 09

Please submit articles for theRambler to the editor:

Robert Cherry

No later than the deadline forthe desired edition.

April Ramblersubmission deadline is:

Friday, 4th Apr 2014

2014Meeting DatesMarch 20

40th Anniversary ofAmateur Radio and the CSTMReflecting the history andvalue of amateur radio withinCSTM and our community

April 16 - Wednesday Home Brew Evening -Show us what you've beenbuilding this winter

May 15 Mobile Show n TellBring your mobile installationand we'll look and evaluate.Prize(s) to be awarded. To beheld outdoors, 19:00h

June 19 Annual General MeetingElections

NOTEAll meetings at the museum willhave access by the south sidedoor S5A, on the right side ofbuilding

OARC Project, GNU RadioThe OARC Project, GNU Radio for beginners, shows participants how to build basic software designedradios using GNU Radio, a free, open source software package, together with an inexpensive (~$20)USB TV tuner. Clayton Smith VE3IRR who leads the project is also teaching the necessary digitalsignal processing background required to understand how they work. The 35 participants have met onthree Saturday mornings so far exploring several SDR packages and and using GNU radio to build AMand FM (both narrow and wide band) receivers. On March 8 they will build an SSB receiver and modifyit to receive CW. Sessions have also demonstrated how versatile SDR radio can be beyond AM FM andSSB reception to include: receiving information from aircraft to track their position as they overflyOttawa, decoding the ever present water and power meter transmissions on 900MHz, reading pagermessages, receiving DMR and D-STAR transmissions and even building simple amateur televisionsystems.

Baofeng UV3R+ dual bandhandheld 40 th Anniversarydoor prize provided byPepper’s Radio Sales,Rockland