Interest Groups
6m, VHF & Upper Bands
Some of our members have much of their fun in the higher bands of the radio spectrum. The shorter wavelengths of these bands dictate that communication with them is more-local, because their signals tend to be absorbed or scattered by the atmosphere instead of reflected back to earth like those of the longer wavelengths. Therefore the higher bands are most commonly used for local mobile communications.
Our Repeater System
Our club has a system of "repeaters" located throughout the region to extend the reliable reach of mobile radios from across Lake Ontario to Barrie - even to parts of Orillia - and from Orangeville to Oshawa. (Repeaters are radios that are typically located on tall antenna towers, allowing them to receive signals and immediately re-transmit them over a wide area.)
Members extensively use our club's repeaters to chat with each other while they drive around the region and beyond. The repeaters are also often used for our community service work, providing communications support to communities and charities for large special events, and in our training for emergency and disaster support.
IRLP and APRS
Our repeater system also provides Internet Relay Linking Project (IRLP) access, permitting communication with repeaters all over the world through the internet. The VHF band is where the popular APRS protocol is most often used for exchanging data. (See Internet Linking and APRS here on our web site for more information.)
DX Communications with 6m & Up
Amateur radio has always been about exploring and discovering on the more-difficult fringes of radio communications.
Some of our members like challenging the "local-only" nature of radio in the upper bands, and spend some of their hobby time developing equipment and techniques for communicating across the continent (without repeaters) on these bands. They learn to detect elusive and erratic "openings" in the atmosphere that will carry the higher frequencies instead of scattering them, and take advantage of these to make contacts over much greater distances than is "normal" for the higher bands.
As is often the case in amateur radio, for these members the fun is in the learning and the challenge of pushing the envelope.
There are many facets to the amateur radio hobby, and this is but one of them. If these uses of radio sound interesting to you, check out our club to learn more! For more information, come out to one of our meetings (no invitation required) or contact us via our Contact Us page.
