Build-a-thon photos available

Here are some interesting pictures taken at the recent “USB Stereo Sound Card” build that took place in November.

(Thanks to Joe Valente, VE3VDK, for the pictures.)

No Homebrew This Month

There won’t be a Homebrew meeting this month. People are pretty busy, so we’ll meet again in January.

Have a great Christmas!

Homebrew Monthly Meeting – Tue., Nov 17

The homebrew gang will meet on Tuesday, November 17, 19:30 hrs. (That’s local time, not UTC or “zulu”.)

Address is 16 George Street North, Brampton at the corner of George St and Diplock Ln. There is a multi-story parking garage on Diplock Ln, and parking is free after 18:00.

Don’t forget to bring something for show and tell.

If anyone wants to meet up for dinner prior to the meeting, let Peter Ayearst know and we can make arrangements.

Buildathon USB Sound Card Project – November 21

Hi All Homebrewers:

The next PARC Buildathon will be held on Nov 21, 2009 at St. Bartholomews United Church, 22 Abbey Rd, Brampton.

Use the South West door which is on the left side at the back of the church. The session is scheduled to start at 09:00 EST and end around 17:00 EST. Tea and coffee will be available during the day and you will arrange for your own lunch. There is a fridge available if you would like to bring something for lunch.

This fall we will be building a USB stereo sound card. The kit will be housed in a case produced by PARC. The cost of the kit and case is $30.00 payable on the morning of the Buildathon.

If you own a soldering station (or two), please bring it along as there will be about 20 builders to accommodate. Here is a list of the other items you should bring to the session:

Tweezers
Hobby Knife (X-acto or OLFA style)
Wire strippers
Diagonal cutters
Needle nose pliers
Small slotted screwdriver
Small Philips screwdriver
De-soldering braid
Highlighter
Ruler (marked in inches)
Pencil
Partitioned container for small parts
Solder

Optional Items

Magnifying Glass (recommended)
Multimeter
L/C meter
PCB holder (third hand)

Homebrew Meeting – Tuesday October 20

The homebrew gang will meet on Tuesday, Oct20, 19:30 hrs. (That’s local time, not UTC or “zulu”.)
Address is 16 George Street North, Brampton at the corner of George and Diplock Ln. There is a multi-story parking garage on Diplock, and parking is free after 18:00.

Don’t forget to bring something for show and tell.

We will have a limited number of, “QRP Dummy Load – An  Introduction to SMT” kits available. The cost will be $8 for club members. This project is a good way to get comfortable working with SMD. The dummy load works very well and Gord should have an interesting enhancment to go with it to show off.

If anyone wants to meet up for dinner prior to the meeting, let Peter Ayearst know and we can make arrangements.

Fall Buildathon – sign up now!

The Peel Amateur Radio Club’s Fall Buildathon will be held on Saturday November 21, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.

The location is:

St. Bartholomews United Church
22 Abbey St.
Brampton

We will be building a “USB 16-bit AD/DA converter”. This external addition to your computer is also known as a USB stereo sound card or “S2”. All SMT parts will be pre-installed so it makes a good project for the first time builder and there will be a lot of assistance available during the Buildathon.

The project team has been organized and we are trying to keep the cost below $50.00 for club members. There will be an extra cost of $25.00 for non-club members that will include a one year membership in the Peel Amateur Radio Club.

Please register by the end of the club’s monthly meeting on October 6th, so we can order the project parts. To register for the Buildathon contact our Education Director, Wayne Highgate VA3WWH (905) 454-5831.

Homebrew Group Meeting – Tuesday, September 15th.

The Homebrew Group will be meeting at the Brampton Safe City Office on Tuesday at 19:30 hrs. The address is 16 George Street North, Brampton. Parking is free after 18:00 in the multi story parking garage on Diploc Lane.

As always, bring along your projects, working or otherwise and share your experiences with like minded Homebrewers. We will also be discussing our upcoming Buildathon.

See you there,

73, Frank VE3FAO

Ontario VHF Association Meeting – September 24th

The Ontario VHF Association (OVHFA) holds an annual get-together every fall at Humber College in Etobicoke. This years event will be held on September 24th. Guest speakers will share interesting information, and it’s an opportunity for like-minded VHF/UHF/microwave enthusiasts to fraternize. Those who are just getting interested can chat with more experienced ops to accelerate their learning and gain valuable knowledge. A mini-flea market will also be held.

Please see http://home.cogeco.ca/~ovhfa/ for more information/ PDF
information sheet download.

Information provided by Hugh Duff VA3TO

Homebrew – summertime fun to continue!

The PARC Homebrew group has been getting together on a monthly basis during the summer. In July we had 15 homebrewers attend and in August, 11 of the group came out to show their projects. We plan to continue to meet on the 3^rd Tuesday of each month at the Brampton Safe City office, 16 George St.North, Brampton.

Jerry VE3OBX explains his APRS system

Peter VE3POA shows off two Firefly SDR transceivers

Additional candid photos from the August Homebrew group meeting can be seen on the PARC Homebrew Yahoo group site. If you’re not a member of this Yahoo group, please join. The group website can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/parchomebrew/ .

73, Frank VE3FAO

ARES – upcoming activities

The very active ARES group is looking for club members and others to attend and/or help out at the following activities:

RAC AGM
Saturday August 29 at 1:00pm
St. Andrews College
Yonge St.
Aurora Ontario
Lets show our interest and communicate our concerns.

Brampton Day
Saturday September 12, 8:00am to 2:00pm
Gage Park, Main St. & Wellington St., Brampton
Join VA3PB who will provide all things displayable along with a portable voice and digital station. He will NEED backup in the booth, so please join him there.

National Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
Saturday October 3
Please make yourself and your station available.  This is what defines Amateur Radio and why we operate in so many frequencies in the radio spectrum. Without it, our bands could be lost to other services. Big business would pay big $$$$ to be where we are. So come out and protect what needs to be preserved.

CIBC Run For The Cure
Sunday October 4
10:00am race start time
Powercade Centre
Kennedy Rd south of Steeles Ave.

Jamboree On The Air (JOTA)
Saturday October 17
Contact Paul VA3PB at hotmail.com to show your support in the scouts who provided the food service for us on Field Day 09.  Jeff VA3QSL at RAC.ca is our contact.