Wireless Set No. 19 Gp - Signals/Telecom Section
Museum of Applied Military History Activity Report for 2000The Wireless Set No. 19 Group is the primary on-air operating component of the Signals/Telecom Section of the Museum of Applied Military history. While there are only five full members of the Sigs/Telecom Section, the W.S. No. 19 Gp has approximately 75 membrs, 25 of whom regularly participate in group events. The five full members participate in both reenactment activities (public displays) and on-air events. The following list shows the activities of the section for the year 2000. Nine (9) of these events involved interaction with the public while the other eight (8) were on-air events with only Group participation. In addition there were twelve (12) monthly voice net, fifty-two (52) weekly CW nets, ninteen (19) Slow Speed Nets and fifty-two (52) Old Sweats Nets. 1 Jan Millennium Net. On-air meeting at 0030Z using vintage equipment. Five stations participated (va3orp, ve3cbk, ve3rih, w1nu, wf2u). Jan - Apr Op "Vintage Op - 2000". On-air event with objective of making 2000 contacts using vintage equipment. Two stations participated (ve3bbn, va3orp). Jan - May Op "Home Brew I". Event to encourage members to construct simple transmitter at minimum cost. Two stations completed transmitter and made on-air contacts (ve3bbn, va3orp). Jan - Feb Op "Atlantic Hop - III". Unsuccessful attempt to work trans- Atlantic using vintage equipment. Four stations participated (la5mt, ik0moz, va7bm, va3orp). 23 Jan Special Event to mark 60th anniversary of RCAF AT1/AR2 General Purpose (GP) set. Passed commerative message to AVM (ret'd) Ralph McBurney, RCAF Dir of Sigs. Two stations participated (ve3cbk, va3orp). 6-8 May Op "Camp-X". Static and active display at site of Camp-X (Oshawa) to mark the 55th anniversary of VE-Day. Display included spy radios, W.S. No. 19, bell tent and uniformed reenactors. Used opportunity to conduct ground-wave tests (greatest range was 80 Km - Oshawa to St Catherines). During voice net on 7 May, a phone patch was made to Mrs Davie Gardner (CWAC at Camp-X, now living in Ottawa). Four MAMH participants on-site (Theresa Lawrence, David Lawrence, Douglas Lawrence, Bob Cooke). 27 May Static display (RCCS & CWAC) at "Swamp Ward Festival" (Kingston). Two MAMH participants (Theresa Lawrence, David Lawrence) 28 May Support to C&E Museum display at Kingston Militaria Show. Two MAMH participants (Theresa Lawrence, David Lawrence). 6 Jun Special Event for 56th anniversary of D-Day. Used vintage equipment on-air in AM mode. Four stations participated (ve3cbk, ve3bbn. ve3bdb, va3orp) 7 Jun Special tour of C&E Museum for members of Kingston Amateur Radio Club. 10 Jun Op "Oshawa". On-air event in conjunction with Ontario Military Vehicle Association drive-in. Used event to continue ground-wave trials (unsuccessful between Oshawa and Mississauga - 40 Km). Mobile operations with W.S. No. 19 were conducted (greatest range was 8 Km in voice, 16 miles in Morse code). Four stations participated (ve3rih, va3bbw, va3cgj, va3orp) Jun Support to Girl Guides Jamboree near Orillia. On-air demonstration of vintage radio equipment conducted by VE3BDB. 2 Jul Extreme range W.S. No. 19 Set ground-wave trials between VE3CBK and VA3ORP (109 Km). Partial success was achieved with one-way communications noted. 4-6 Aug Static and active display on WWII Liberty Ship - SS John W. Brown during its port visit to Toronto. Uniform reenactors acted as tour guides (Theresa Lawrence, David Lawrence). Active display included on-air activity with W.S. No. 48. Contact was established between SS John W Brown and HMCS Haida. Three stations participated (va3bbw/ve3cgj, ve3rih, va3orp/ve3rcs). 11 Nov Remembrance Day Sked. Annual on-air event conducted by VE1NU using W.S. No. 19. Good participation with 22 contacts made. Dec Op "Atlantic Hop - III". Trans-Atlantic attempt organized by W1HIS. Contact was established between W1HIS (Belmont, Ma) and LA5MT (Oslo, Norway) using W.S.s No. 19 at both ends. 23 Dec Op "Fessenden" to mark the 100th anniversary of first use of voice via radio (done by Reginald Fessenden). Event was run with vintage equipment using AM mode. Maximum range between 19 Sets was 82 miles. Maximum range between vintage stations was 232 miles. Ten stations participated (ve3cbk, ve3csj, w1his, ve3bbn, ve3rih, aj1g, w1gdz, w1nu, ve3bdb, va3orp/ve3rcs). Monthly W.S. No. 19 Voice Net. Time was advanced to 1900Z to avoid broadcast station interference. Day was changed from 1st to 2nd Sunday of month to avoid holiday weekends. Frequency remains 7.175 MHz. Average number of stations participating is twelve (12) with range of ten (10) to fourteen (14). Some work is being done to bring in stations from greater distances. Work continues to find suitable time/frequency. Weekly W.S. No. 19 CW Net. Time was changed to 20:00 EST to reduce conflicts with other activities. Net has evolved into an opportunity for informal discussion carried out at 15 WPM in Morse code. Average number of stations participating is six (6) with range of four (4) to nine (9). Weekly W.S. No. 19 Slow Speed Net. This was started on 24 Aug. Purpose is develop Morse skills, especially the skill of copying Morse without writing it down. NCS is VE3RIH. (3.703 MHz at 20:00 EST Thursday). Weekly "Old Sweats Net". This is an opportunity for Group members and members of the general public to have informal discussions on military and vintage radio matters. It is nornally run from the Military Communications and Electronics Museum using the callsign VE3RCS (Royal Canadian Signals/Radar & Communications School). It operates on 7.060 MHz LSB on Thursday at 10:00 EST. Website The Wireless Set No. 19 Website (http://www.qsl.net/ve3bdb/) continues to be the primary means for gathering/distributing information about the group activities. Good use is also being made of the address for automatic distribution of material ([email protected]). Webmaster for the group is Bob Cooke, VE3BDB (Sigs/Telecom Sect member). Awards Certificates for Remembrance Day Sked (VE1NU) and Op "FESSENDEN" (VA3ORP). Four endorsements for Vintage Operator's Award (AN/GRC-109; AT-1/AR-2; W.S. No.19; 1 Tube Tx) Technical Developed simple "Dipole Tuning Unit" which allows variometer to be used with resonate dipole. Provides for normal tuning indications (measurement of antenna current). Also helps reduce any spurious outputs from the 19 Set. Some progress in AM voice operations. Developed modified microphone insert which gives good output at normal voice levels. Further antennae measurements were made leading to better understanding of variometer use and possible mismatch with various types of antennae. Some interesting computer modelling of antennae carried out by W1HIS. Dave Lawrence VA3ORP