Sun Coast Amateur
Radio Club Society - blog

computer_hobby_movement_in_canada

Computer Hobby Movement in Canada

https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/exhibits/show/hobby_canada/hobby_canada

quick_offline_ham_search

Quick Offline Ham Search

On my linux computer, I keep a csv file of the ISED ham database for when I need to quickly look up someone. Here are a few tricks to make the process really quick.

Setup

Instead of using my browser to download the file from ISED (http://apc-cap.ic.gc.ca/datafiles/amateur_delim.zip), I run this script, which:

Downloads the zip file to my ~/Ham folder
Changes the extension to csv
Deletes all the files I don't want

ised.sh

#!/bin/bash
 
DIR=$HOME"/Ham"
 
echo "Downloading Amateur Archive from ISED website:"
wget --report-speed=bits http://apc-cap.ic.gc.ca/datafiles/amateur_delim.zip -P $DIR 
echo
 
echo "Unzipping archive:"
cd $DIR
unzip amateur_delim.zip
 
echo "Changing extension to csv"
mv amateur_delim.txt amateur_delim.csv
chmod 644 amateur_delim.csv
 
echo "Deleting amateur_delim.zip, lisezmoi_amat_delim.txt, and readme_amat_delim.txt"
rm amateur_delim.zip lisezmoi_amat_delim.txt readme_amat_delim.txt
echo
echo
 
echo "Done.  Note that the custom separator is:   ;"
echo

To look up the file, I added this line to my alias:

alias hamsearch='cat ~/Ham/amateur_delim.csv |grep -i '

Usage

To update my local file, I only have to type this into the terminal:

ised.sh

To look up something, I only have to type this into the terminal

hamsearch [Search Term]

Examples

You can search for a callsign:

hamsearch ve7aaa

VE7AAA;Arthur Ellwood;Abrahamson;760 OXFORD PLACE;CAMPBELL RIVER;BC;V9W7Y7;A;;C;D;;;;;;;

Or search for any strings in that file. Use '' if there's more than one word.

hamsearch 'vancouver general'

VA7LGH;Ernest;Mix;436 CARDIFF WAY;PORT MOODY;BC;V3H3T1;A;B;;D;;Vancouver Coastal Health Amateur Radio Group;c/o VCH Emergency Management - Vancouver General Hospital;855 West 12th Avenue, JPPS1, Room 1769;VANCOUVER;BC;V5Z1M9
VA7PRH;Ernest;Mix;436 CARDIFF WAY;PORT MOODY;BC;V3H3T1;A;B;;D;;Vancouver Coastal Health Amateur Radio Group;c/o VCH Emergency Management - Vancouver General Hospital;855 West 12th Avenue, JPPS1, Room 1769;VANCOUVER;BC;V5Z1M9
VA7RHS;Ernest;Mix;436 CARDIFF WAY;PORT MOODY;BC;V3H3T1;A;B;;D;;Vancouver Coastal Health Amateur Radio Group;c/o VCH Emergency Management - Vancouver General Hospital;855 West 12th Avenue, JPPS1, Room 1769;VANCOUVER;BC;V5Z1M9
VA7SGH;Ernest;Mix;436 CARDIFF WAY;PORT MOODY;BC;V3H3T1;A;B;;D;;Vancouver Coastal Health Amateur Radio Group;c/o VCH Emergency Management - Vancouver General Hospital;855 West 12th Avenue, JPPS1, Room 1769;VANCOUVER;BC;V5Z1M9
VA7SMH;Ernest;Mix;436 CARDIFF WAY;PORT MOODY;BC;V3H3T1;A;B;;D;;Vancouver Coastal Health Amateur Radio Group;c/o VCH Emergency Management - Vancouver General Hospital;855 West 12th Avenue, JPPS1, Room 1769;VANCOUVER;BC;V5Z1M9
VA7VCH;Ernest;Mix;436 CARDIFF WAY;PORT MOODY;BC;V3H3T1;A;B;;D;;Vancouver Coastal Health Amateur Radio Group;c/o VCH Emergency Management - Vancouver General Hospital;855 West 12th Avenue, JPPS1, Room 1769;VANCOUVER;BC;V5Z1M9
VA7VCS;Ernest;Mix;436 CARDIFF WAY;PORT MOODY;BC;V3H3T1;A;B;;D;;Vancouver Coastal Health Amateur Radio Group;c/o VCH Emergency Management - Vancouver General Hospital;855 West 12th Avenue, JPPS1, Room 1769;VANCOUVER;BC;V5Z1M9
VA7VGH;Ernest;Mix;436 CARDIFF WAY;PORT MOODY;BC;V3H3T1;A;B;;D;;Vancouver Coastal Health Amateur Radio Group;c/o VCH Emergency Management - Vancouver General Hospital;855 West 12th Avenue, JPPS1, Room 1769;VANCOUVER;BC;V5Z1M9

extremely_low_frequencies

Extremely Low Frequencies

https://computer.rip/2026-05-09-extremely-low-frequencies.html

html_offline_logger

html Offline Logger

HamBook (Full Web) is a super lightweight logger “program” that requires no installation. It's a single html file with almost 6000 lines of code that runs offline in your browser of choice. It has the ability to import/export ADIF and Cabrillo files.

I played around with it for a bit this morning to see if it could be used as a net logging program (I think it could, but with a few limitations).

I opened the file in a text editor and did a bit of “Find & Replace” to roughly translate some key terms from French to English. Here's my modified copy if anyone is interested in playing around with it a bit: hambook_en_v1.5.html.zip

echolink_webapp

Echolink WebApp

Looks like it's possible to run Echolink right from the browser:

https://webapp.echolink.org/

meshcore_split

MeshCore Split

There's some internal stuff going on in the MeshCore team. It's worth reading this blog post. I've updated the links on our MeshCore page to point away from the .uk site.

project_nomad

Project NOMAD

Project NOMAD is a self-contained, offline knowledge and education server.

te-kevflex

TE-KEVFLEX

Interesting product from Australia: antenna wire with a kevlar core.

emergency_communication_for_non-hams

Emergency Communication for Non-Hams

I just created a new page outlining two tools (FRS and Meshcore) that non-amateur radio operators can use to stay connected with their local groups in case of an emergency. To navigate there from the home page: Emergency → SCEC page → FRS and Meshcore.

Any club member should feel free to edit the page as needed!

Sun Coast Amateur Radio Club Society - blog