The 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group held an exercise on Banks Island, NWT. This album is about the comms setup. This was an experiment to test the feasibility of an antenna mast system that could be used on the arctic tundra or any environment without trees. There is a hose clamp at the top end of the first mast section, and some hose to protect the fibreglass from the clamp. Three equal lengths of paracord were secured on one end to the ground with large tent stakes, and on the other end with a carabiner cam device to loops on the hose clamp. Pulled taut, this held the antenna mast upright. The takeaway is that the system works, but could be improved with bigger tent pegs, and another hose clamp secured higher up the mast once extended to enable another set of guy lines.


The radio used was a Kenwood TS-50, and the antenna was a Paracomm TDA-250 centre-fed dipole. Photos of VYJC on the laptop using Winlink VaraHF to send email via gateways in Smithers, BC, and Fairbanks, AK.


Photo Credits: VY1JC James

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