RAC Bulletin 2015-06-27

RAC Ontario Sections Bulletin for June 27, 2015

This is V__3____, Official Bulletin Station for Radio Amateurs of
Canada, with this week's bulletin

NATIONAL NEWS

1. Appointment of new RAC Corporate Secretary - Sukwan Widajat, VA3WID

Sukwan Widajat is originally from Indonesia and moved to Canada in 2011.
He has been working as a VP of Finance/Corporate Secretary for the past
few years of a paper product
distribution company in Brampton, ON. Sukwan lives with his wife and
three children in Mississauga.

He obtained his first amateur radio license in 1998 in Indonesia.
He received his Basic with Honours certificate in November 2013, and
became a member of RAC and the
Mississauga Amateur Radio Club in early 2014. He enjoys RTTY, satellite
work and is also a dxer.
He holds three call signs; YB0SWI, VA3WID and AB1XM.

-- Paul Burggraaf VO1PRB, RAC Chief Information and Technology Officer

ONTARIO SECTIONS NEWS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

2. Ham radio enthusiasts describe hobby

Prince Edward Island amateurs Robbie Robertson VY2SS and Bill Glydon
VY2LI talk about amateur radio
in the Journal Pioneer. They are among 250 licensed amateur operators
in Prince Edward Island which
Robertson says is a good spot to operate a ham radio. “It has a high
iron content. It’s like a big
reflective mirror down on the ground for radio signals, and it’s also
close to salt water,
which seems to add a bit of punch to your signals.”
In P.E.I’s iron-rich soil, Robertson’s currently getting by with a
33-foot antenna and 16 radials.

Read the full story at
http://www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2015-06-19/article-4188599/HAM-enthusiasts-describe-hobby/

3. Solar storms this week (or what happened to the HF bands?)

Geomagnetic storming reached the G4 — severe — level at 0513 UTC on June
23. The storm began a day earlier.
The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center said more geomagnetic storming,
although perhaps not quite as severe,
could lie ahead.

In a G4 event, electrical power systems can experience “widespread
voltage control problems,”
possibly tripping some protective systems. For radio amateurs, HF radio
propagation can become sporadic,
and satellite navigation degraded for hours at a time. Auroral displays
may be visible as far south as
Alabama and California (approximately 45° latitude).

According to the SWPC, the geomagnetic storm began as forecast, quickly
ramping up to severe levels.
This followed a G4 storm alert on June 22, after the storm slammed into
Earth at 1839 UTC.

The June 25 prediction is for G1 (minor) to G2 (moderate) geomagnetic
activity over the next 24 hours.
HF radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes, and aurora may be
visible as far south as Idaho and New York.

-- SWPC (Space Weather Prediction Center)

4. Work some DX the second weekend of July.

IARU HF Contest is on July 11 beginning at 1200Z Saturday, for 24 hours.

Its open to all licensed amateurs worldwide. Mixed mode (SSB/CW)

The object is to contact as many other amateurs, especially IARU member
society HQ stations,
using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands.

The exchange is a signal report and IARU zone (most of Ontario is zone 4)

For full particulars see: http://www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-championship

This concludes this week's bulletin. Does anyone require repeats or
clarifications?
Hearing none, This is V__3____ returning the frequency to net control.