GCK71H VE3-APRS (Unknown Cache) in Ontario, Canada created by VictorEcho

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GCK71H ▼

A cache by VictorEcho Message this owner

Hidden : 9/4/2004

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

The cache is about Amateur Radio and APRS. I've given it a difficulty of 2 as you need to download software.

The cache is not at the posted co-ordinates (the posted ones are VE3UPH, a local APRS I-Gate). You must calculate the co-ordinates, as outlined below.
Inititally I was going to create a "VE3" cache about amateur radio, and an "APRS" cache, but I decided to combine to the two for a swift introduction. Both of these will be handy to know for an event cache I have planned before the end of this year

Victor Echo is the phonetics of the popular prefix of any amateur radio operator in Canada.
A pseduonym I often use online is "Victor Echo III" as it signifies I am in Ontario and an amateur radio operator to any other operators. Amateur radio is still alive and well in the National Capital Region. One of the neat areas of amateur radio I participate in is APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System). This is when you connect an amateur radio into a TNC through to your GPS, and it broadcasts your latititude and longtitude for all to see. It includes details such as your altitude, speed, and even has an instant messaging feature. You can often find me on APRS when geocaching. I use the Kenwood D7-AG which is the first handheld unit that has a built-in TNC. I plug it directly into my gps and go!
Getting your amateur radio licence is free, and I encourage everyone to try it out. A tiny loophole in getting your licence is you get your callsign on your licence plates for only $30! This means if you get your licence, and even if you never even use a radio, you will save +$50 on your licence plates.

I have used double quotes around letters below to signify the numbers you will need to discover the final location of the cache.
The National APRS Frequency is "abc.de" MHz, this is part of the "f" metre band plan. An amateur radio operator in Ontario has a callsign prefix of VE"g". Bob Bruninga is the inventor of APRS, his callsign is WB"h"APR. You need "ij" out of 100 to pass your basic exam in Canada.

To check out APRS online
(visit link)
(visit link)
For amateur radio in Canada check out:
(visit link)
and in Ottawa:
(visit link) and (visit link) to name a couple clubs.
There is APRS software available, which I recommend you try out, just to watch stations until you get your licence.
For Windows: WinAPRS (visit link) and/or UI-View (visit link) (you will also need the AGW packet engine (visit link) installed)
For Linux/Unix/BSD: (visit link)
There is also DOSaprs and MACaprs available.
You can get maps of the Ottawa area (for any of the above software) from
(visit link)

Once installed, find the co-ordinates of "aprsdYOW", which is one of our local I-Gates (a hub between radio and internet). They are in the format: N45 20."klm" W075 43.99"n". (You should not have to do any conversion from other formats here).
The OARC club holds a callsign that is not only an I-Gate, but it is also used at community events and on field day, the callsign is "o" characters long.

The cache can be found at:
(N) co ae.nbi
(W) 075 bc.fca
You will approach the cache from the North. Do NOT attempt to find the cache from the south of it, there is a barrier.

In your logs, please include your callsign(s) if you are an amateur radio operator. If not, please include your score out of 100 on the test exam which can be found at:
(visit link)

The cache was placed with the following radio related items:
(2) SO-239 Silver plated, teflon dialectric connectors
The Canadian Amateur magazine
Yaesu hat (picked up at Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio)
Several flyers about radio
Mini RC Car
Wire
Bonus for first finder:
Brass CW key (Morse code = Continuous Wave = CW) homebrew oscillator schematics easily found online))

73! (radio slang for good bye, take care)

--
Team Victor Echo III

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VE3-APRS Mystery Cache

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