Welcome to the November-December 2025 edition of the SARC Communicator, your go-to guide for all things amateur radio in our vibrant RF neighborhood. This edition is a journey across the history, innovation, and fascinating activities of amateur radio.
There are articles for all levels of amateur radio and you’re sure to find something of interest.
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Contents for this issue:
- The Rest of the Story: RTTY and Émile Baudot’s Enduring Legacy 4
- Radio’s Role in the 1917 Halifax Explosion 8
- NARA NVIS Test 12
- The Lighter Side of Amateur Radio 13
- Repair and Repurpose 14
- Radiofrequency and Telemetry in Insect Tracking 24
- What’s New at DLARC — October 2025 28
- ARDF Canada World Championship 2025 in Lithuania 30
- Integrating SkyRoof with the Icom IC-9700 32
- RTTY; A viable emergency digital mode? 36
- Pile-Up Control System – Take control of the pile-up! 40
- Satellite Tracking: Looking back on 2025, and ahead into 2026 42
- Homebrew Mobile Antennas 44
- The genius logic of the NATO phonetic alphabet 46
- The North American QRP CW Club 48
- Simple QRP 9:1 Unun Construction 50
- The Dominator End-Fed Halfwave Antenna by KJ6ER 52
- The POTA PERformer vertical antenna revisited 60
- FreqBuddy: A Modern Web-Based Radio Frequency Database 69
- Ham Radio Outside the box: PERformer modifications 70
- A good idea for suspending radials 72
- A Portable Power Project 73
- Zero Retries 76
- Margaret Atwood on CW? 80
- When your hobby revolves around electricity… 82
- Back to Basics – Digital Modes 86
- Study Aids 89
- No-ham Recipes: Meatloaf with sweet tomato-mustard sauce 91
- Profiles of SARC members: Sheldon Friesen VE7SRF 94
- SARC Member donates digital nautical archive 97
- SARC 50th Anniversary the transformative role of SARC 100
- Peter Vogel VE7AFV: Profile in Tech, Science & Amateur Radio 102
- SARC General Meeting minutes 104
- The SEPAR Report 110
- We’re back on track! 115
- QRT: Is Amateur Radio an Old Hobby or a playground for explorers? 116
- HAM LEFTOVERS… 118
- A look back… at The Communicator—December 2015 120