January 21, 2025
Issued during the first and third week of each month, it provides a quick reference for member activities, resources and links for the following weeks.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thursday Get-on-the-Air (GOTA) Net Temporarily Discontinued
The GOTA net is for new hams. After a short hiatus, it is expected to resume upon completion of the current basic ham class in March 2025 when newly certified graduates will be anxious to try out their radios and get comfortable making radio contacts.
Writing Help Needed
Do you want to get to know the members of SARC/SEPAR better? Do you want to become a columnist with what is possibly the most widely read amateur radio newsletter in the world? Have we got a job for you! We are looking for a columnist to coordinate the bi-monthly “Member Profile” for the Radio-Active column of The Communicator. The task involves sending out a questionnaire to a prospective candidate and then creating a 500-1000 word story based on the answers, along with a couple of photos. You do not need to be a top-notch writer, and the editors will help with spelling and grammar. If this appeals to you, please contact John VE7TI via communicator@ve7sar.net.
Parks-on-the-Air (POTA) Brochure Available
Those of us who do POTA are frequently approached by passers-by enquiring what we are doing. With this in mind, John VE7TI has created a SARC POTA brochure that can be given to those interested in additional information. The .PDF file is available for download at https://bit.ly/POTAbrochure.
10 GHz Beacon Featured in RAC Journal
You have heard about the 10 GHz activity on these pages previously, but the beacon project has caught the attention of Dana Shtun VE3DS who writes the 10m and Down column for RAC's Canadian Amateur magazine. See p. 10 of the January-February 2025 edition: https://www.rac.ca/digitaltca/. Update to the article: The beacon callsign is now VE7SAR/B and the power output 150 mW.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Meet the Royal Marines Event (Jan. 23)
The Royal Netherlands Army Signal Corp., callsign PA25MC, is organizing a communications event on Jan. 23rd from 1100 Z to 2000 Z. PA25MC is organized and supported by PI4VBD, the club station of the Royal Army. Here's their official statement: "PA25MC is on the air for just 1 day to introduce Marines to the world of ham radio. We try to use as many HF-bands as possible in SSB. Marines are used to speaking English but naturally [they will] keep their communications short." Look for PA25MC on the 10, 15 and 20m bands.
ARRL Winter Field Day (Jan. 25-26)
WFD is designed to help increase your level of preparedness and operating skills for disasters in winter environments, as the potential for freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and other hazards present unique operating conditions. It has been suggested that SARC and SEPAR members deploy the SEPAR trailer for this event. Please respond to this email if interested.
BC QSO Party (Feb. 1-2)
A team is being assembled to challenge the BCQP. We plan to operate two radios, CW on one and SSB on the other, both at 1 kw. The contest runs from 8 am to 8 pm Saturday and 8 am to 4 pm Sunday. If you have never contested before, you may choose to monitor or team up with an experienced operator who will help you get started. Let's see if we can beat last year's score of 1858 Qs and 1,842,308 points which got us the Top BC Multi-Op award. Check out contest details at: Orca DX and Contest Club -- BCQP Home Page.
Winlink Coaching (Saturday mornings with Horace by prior arrangement)
In follow-up to the Winlink workshop held on Dec. 14, Horace VA7XHB will be available on Saturday mornings to assist members in setting up Winlink. If interested, contact Horace at horace@zyserver.com with your name, callsign, make and model of radio and interface.
Related Item… SARC now has two Winlink Gateways
One is at Surrey Firehall 1 using callsign VE7HME-10 on 145.710 MHz and a second is on Concord tower at 100th Ave and King George Blvd using callsign VE7ADQ-10 on 145.770 MHz. Packet 1200 Baud and VARA FM Wide capable.
Every Saturday Morning (except when other scheduled events conflict) Members, spouses and prospective members are invited to join the SARC Breakfast social every Saturday morning from 7 to 9:30 am at Denny's Restaurant 6850 King George Blvd, followed by Operations & Training Centre ("OTC") activation from 9:30 am to noon at 5756 142 St. Surrey. At the OTC you may get help with your radio issues, operate the station radios including satellite station, participate in contests, write the exam, or join in workshops and training. Or just engage in friendly discussion with your fellow hams.
SARC Official Calendar
Your official reference for dates and times of events is the SARC Google Calendar, which is updated as details change, so please check the homepage on the SARC website: www.ve7sar.net.
NETS & REPEATERS
Tuesday Nets
Join the SEPAR net every Tuesday at 7:30 pm and the SARC net at 8 pm on either of the repeaters: North repeater is on 147.360 MHz tone 110.9 Hz and South repeater is on 147.360 MHz tone 103.5 Hz. IRLP and Echolink are only available on the North repeater.
Sunday Monthly 220 MHz Net (next one is Jan. 26)
Join the 220 MHz net taking place at 7:30 pm on the last Sunday of every month on VE7RSC repeater 223.960 MHz -1.6MHz tone 110.9 Hz, with net control, Shawn VE7BD. This is not a "chat" net – just check in, exchange signal reports, and get on with your evening.
Yaesu System Fusion (YSF) repeater 443.775 MHz+ tone 110.9Hz
This repeater is connected full-time to CQ-Canada (VE1AO) room 40678 – home to the Cross Canada C4FM Weekly Net on Wednesday 6 pm PST or 0200 UTC. Located on the Concord high-rise in Surrey, it is one of the few System Fusion repeaters in BC that is WIRES-X capable (i.e. it connects to the Internet). Using your Yaesu C4FM radio, you can use this repeater to talk to the world. It is connected to the highly fault-tolerant BC WARN Internet system, which is designed to remain operational during most internet outages. Familiarity with WIRES-X on our YSF repeater can play a crucial role in emergency preparedness.
Net Reminders
"Net reminders" for those running or participating in various nets are automatically sent out by AdvancedAmateur.ca. If you are forgetful like me, you may want to receive reminders by signing up at Net Reminders.
PROJECTS AND AD-HOC GROUPS
Satellite Station Project
Dino VE7NX is available to coach those who wish to learn how to make satellite contacts using SARC's new satellite station. Contact Dino dimtchog@gmail.com or reply to this email if you would like to learn more.
Innovation on 50 MHz and Up
As reported earlier, SARC's 10 GHz beacon VE7SAR/B running 150 mW is in continuous operation from our repeater site on Concord tower in Surrey. In follow-up to this achievement, Dino VE7NX operating from Concord tower, Scott VA7SC in Langley and Kirk VA7RKM in Victoria recently made 3-way contact on 10 GHz by bouncing signals off Mt. Baker. Dino has promised to help members who would like to assemble suitable equipment to monitor the beacon.
What's next, you ask? Stay tuned for announcements about a 6m beacon and 24 GHz beacon, both of which are under construction and testing by Dino VE7NX and Scott VA7SC.
Contesting Group
To participate in scheduled contests, or if you wish to operate the club station radios on your own time, please reply to membership@ve7sar.net. Coaching will be provided as needed. See WA7BNM Contest Calendar: Home for a complete list of available contests. Next big one is the British Columbia QSO Party on Feb. 1-2 (see Upcoming Events above for more information).
IC-7300/IC-9700 Special Interest Group
This group is hosted by John Schouten VE7TI, with the most recent update on pp 37-41 of the January-February 2025 Communicator.
POTPOURRI
Do You Want to Learn CW?
Check out the Long Island CW Club, which has a comprehensive and highly-regarded on-line program for learning CW and how to get comfortable using it: https://longislandcwclub.org/#.
Vancouver Area Frequency List
Reg VA7ZEB has created a Vancouver Area Frequency List, which is a vetted list of useful frequencies across several services including Amateur, EmComm, Broadcast, Weather, LADD, Regional Road, FRS/GMRS, Railway, Airband and Marine. It can be easily downloaded in Generic CSV, Chirp and RT Systems format, or you can download it in PDF format for printing.
Incoming QSL Bureau
Any member wishing to receive in-coming QSL cards should send Ken VE7BC an email at ve7bc27@gmail.com or call/text him at 604-816-5775 and the cards will be collected for distribution by Shawn VE7BD. Or, if you are simply wondering if Ken has any cards for you, please contact him.
Download the January-February Communicator in LARGE or SMALL format, or read it on-line like a magazine.
Free VE7DXE Advanced Certification Course: ve7dxe@hamshack.ca
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) Advanced Certification Course
Please contact the course instructor Dave Goodwin, VE3KG, at regulatory@rac.ca for information on how to register for RAC’s Advanced course.
Link to Basic Ham Class Overview: Welcome to our courses.pdf - Google Drive. The current course commenced Jan. 6, 2025.
ARRL Asks Hams to Send Radiograms via the Web
In a recent issue of the National Traffic System (NTS) Letter, the ARRL encouraged amateur radio operators to utilize the Radiogram portal on the web to submit free messages to friends and family. The link takes you to a webpage where you enter the particulars for sender and recipient, select a message and operators in the NTS will send it on to the recipient. Sending Radiograms helps volunteers hone their skills in preparation for emergencies. What happens next? A volunteer, FCC-licensed Amateur Radio operator will pick up your message from this web site and then send it, by Amateur Radio, over the air to other volunteers in the National Traffic System. The message will be received by a ham who lives in or near your recipient's city. Then, the message will be delivered in person or by telephone. For more information about The National Traffic System and traffic handling visit: https://nts2.arrl.org/training/. A typical sent message reads as follows:
From: JOHN SCHOUTEN
To: FRED SMITH
1234 ANY STREET
SURREY BC V0P 1R9 604 ve7vpu@myrac.ca
WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. ALL THE BEST,
JOHN SCHOUTEN
WANTED OR FOR SALE BY MEMBERS
Monty VA7MMW is still looking for a female connector like the one shown for his Yaesu FT-101B. It is a CINCH JONES S-312CCT POWER SOCKET 12PIN. If you can help Monty please contact him at mam@mail.ubc.ca.
~73, John VA7XB membership@ve7sar.net
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