The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) HF and VHF Contest committees will no longer accept multioperator contest entries MARCH 2020

The requirement for physical distancing has now hit amateur radio contests. See the information from the ARL Letter

The ban, in accordance with UK social distancing policies, is in effect until the end of June and applies to all RSGB-sponsored contests. Single-operator entries from shared stations also will not be accepted, unless the station is being shared by family members at the same address. The HF Contest Committee has canceled the RSGB HF NFD (Field Day) for 2020, but is okaying portable operation by single operators, “because of the potential mental health benefits associated with engaging in hobbies, as well as the lack of person-to-person contact in normal single-operator contesting.” RSGB is encouraging all to follow UK government guidelines regarding social distancing and unnecessary travel and will decide in early June if the VHF NFD, the IOTA Contest, and SSB NFD events can go ahead as planned.

[RAC-Bulletin] Radio Amateurs of Canada offers new Online Amateur Radio Courses

In response to the current Covid-19 crisis, Radio Amateurs of Canada is pleased to announce that it is introducing two new online Amateur Radio courses so that individuals can upgrade their qualifications while continuing to practise social/physical distancing.

RAC Online Basic Amateur Radio Qualification Course: The course offers an introduction into the wonderful world of Amateur Radio and prepares students for their Basic Qualification Examination. It will be conducted with the assistance of the Annapolis Valley Amateur Radio Club (AVARC) of Nova Scotia. 

RAC Maple Leaf Operator Online Advanced Qualification Course: The course is an excellent opportunity to upgrade your qualifications so that you will be able to run higher power and to operate your own repeater sites. The course is being offered at no charge to RAC Maple Leaf Operator Members – both current and future – who already have their Basic Amateur Radio Qualification.

Additional information:

RAC Online Basic Amateur Radio Qualification Course

This course prepares students for the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) Basic Qualification Level Operator Certificate exam to operate on allocated Amateur Radio frequencies.

The course will use the GoToMeeting web-based service and will start on Thursday, April 16 and will finish in mid-June. Classes will be held on Thursday evenings from 6 pm to 8:30 (1800 – 2030) Eastern Time (1900 – 2130 Atlantic Time) and Sunday afternoons 1 pm to 3:30 pm (1300 – 1530) Eastern Time (1400 – 1630 Atlantic Time).

The course instructor is Al Penney, VO1NO. Al was first licensed in 1977 and has been active in many areas of Amateur Radio including contesting, DXing, VHF/UHF weak signal, satellites, emergency communications and DXpeditioning. He has served as the President of six different Amateur Radio clubs in both Canada and the United States and currently chairs the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 Band Planning Committee. Al has taught the Basic Qualification Amateur Radio Course since 1994. 

Cost: The registration fee for the course is $50 plus GST/HST. The cost of the Basic Study Guide is extra and an order link will be provided upon completion of payment.

For more information please visit: https://www.rac.ca/basic-radio-course/

RAC Maple Leaf Operator Online Advanced Qualification Course

The new RAC Online Advanced Qualification Course is an excellent opportunity to upgrade your qualifications so that you will be able to run higher power and to operate your own repeater sites.

The course will be offered at no charge to RAC Maple Leaf Operator Members – both current and future – who already have their Basic Amateur Radio Qualification including:

  • Current RAC Maple Leaf Operator Members who have Basic certification
  • Current RAC members who upgrade their memberships to become Maple Leaf Operator Members
  • Amateurs who are not RAC members but who join RAC at the Maple Leaf Operator Member level

In order to offer maximum flexibility, we will be running two Advanced courses so students will be able to choose one of the following two options:

  • Sunday afternoons from 3 pm to 5 pm ET
  • Monday evenings from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm ET

The course will be 10 sessions in length and each session will be two hours long and it will run from the week of April 5 to the week of June 14.

The course instructor is Dave Goodwin, VE9CB. Dave has been an Amateur since 1975, is an active HF Contester and DXer and has many other interests in Amateur Radio. Since 1975, Dave has been teaching Basic and Advanced certification courses with the Fredericton (NB) Amateur Radio Club. He is also RAC’s Atlantic Director.

For more information please visit:

https://www.rac.ca/amateur-radio-courses/rac-online-advanced-course/
Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA
RAC President and Chair
Alan Griffin
RAC MarCom Director

SEA-PAC 2020 Cancellation Notice



For some time the SEA-PAC Executive Committee has monitored the COVID-19 pandemic working closely with our local health, public and government partners in assessing this unprecedented situation. 

With approximately 60 days until the event, the Executive Committee has made the decision to cancel the SEA-PAC convention for 2020. Convention fees paid will be refunded. 

This conclusion is based on the deadly seriousness of the virus, the rate of expansion, and the recovery time after the crisis apex is achieved. But more importantly, it is based on the genuine concern for the health and safety of the attendees, vendors and presenters. 

Details regarding this cancellation will be posted at www.seapac.org. 

Thank you for your understanding and we are looking forward to the next SEA-PAC on 4, 5, and 6 June 2021. 

Gary J Takis K7GJT

SEA-PAC 2020 Chairman 



Central Vancouver Island Nets -COVID 19

In response to the COVID 19 issue the Nanaimo Amateur Radio Association has published a list of nets for Central / Northern Vancouver Island. Some of these nets have become more frequent.

Nanaimo Area Nets

Daily VHF Nets Time Repeater Callsign Frequency (MHz) Shift Tone

10:30 AM * VA7DXH (Ladysmith) 145.410 MHz (FM) Minus (600 KHz) 88.5 Hz 3:30 PM * VE7ISC (Nanaimo) 146.640 MHz (FM) Minus (600 KHz) 141.3 Hz *Stay Connected Nets operate until BC is cleared of the virus restrictions

Other VHF Nets

Daily 8:15 AM Cowichan Valley ARS Morning Net Island Trunk system (FM) See ITS below

Daily 9 AM Rainbow Country Net 146.940 MHz No Tone (FM) 146.940 MHz

Monday 8 PM Island Trunk system Monday Net Island Trunk system (FM) See ITS Below

Tuesday 7 PM Coast Emergency Comms Association (Message passing Net) CECA VIU Repeater System (FM) Use a 141.3 Hz Tone 443.000 MHz – S. Nanaimo 442.525 MHz – N. Nanaimo 442.450 MHz – Ladysmith 147.080 MHz – Parksville

Tuesday 7:45 PM Vancouver SSB Net 144.22 MHz (USB) Vertical Polarization

Wednesday 7:15 PM Emergency Management BC Island Trunk System Hosted by VE7PEP (FM) See ITS below Thursday *

7 PM NARA Thursday Net Island Trunk System (see below)

Wednesday 6 PM CQ Canada Net (Canada Wide Net) This is a Digital Net using the Fusion C4FM 146.980 MHz (VE7ANI) 443.900 MHz (VE7DJA)

Saturday 11 AM Vancouver Island 50 MHz net* Single sideband (USB) (Hosted by NARA) 50.150 MHz (Simplex)

*Stay Connected Nets operate until BC is cleared of the virus restrictions

HF Nets

** 9 AM The Wrong Button Club 3.744 MHz

Daily 6:30 PM BC Public Service Net 3.729 MHz

Daily 7:30 PM BC Yukon Traffic Net 3.716 MHz

Sunday 4:30 PM NARA Weekly HF Net 3.744 MHz

** Normally Monday to Friday but presently 7 days a week during the virus restrictions

Island Trunk System – a system of linked repeater stations servicing the East coast of Vancouver Island from Victoria to Port McNeill and through Port Alberni over to Tofino. See http://www.islandtrunksystem.org/cms/content/link-codes for more information

W1AW to limit transmit schedule

The following was received from the ARRL

ARRL Bulletin 9  ARLB009
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  March 24, 2020
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB009
ARLB009 W1AW to limit transmit schedule

In response to an executive order from Connecticut Governor Ned
Lamont that all non-essential businesses and not-for-profit entities
reduce in-person workforces because of COVID-19 pandemic
concerns, W1AW has slightly altered its transmission schedule.

W1AW has suspended its morning code practice and qualifying run
transmissions, beginning March 24, 2020.  However, W1AW’s evening
transmissions, including qualifying runs, will be sent as usual —
there are no changes to the evening transmit schedule.

W1AW remains closed to the public.

Please see http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-headquarters-is-closing for
further details.
NNNN
/EX

[RAC-Bulletin] Amateur Radio during the current Global Pandemic March 27, 2020

Message from the RAC President
Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a part of our daily lives for several weeks now and will most likely continue to be for some time. The pandemic is of particular concern for Radio Amateurs because ours is a hobby that can be practised by people of all ages from elementary schoolchildren to senior citizens. In fact, it is frequently one of the activities that many take up as they near or begin retirement and finally have the time and resources available to participate. Consequently, we have a high proportion of seniors among our members and indeed some of the Amateur Radio clubs affiliated with RAC are senior citizen organizations.

Canadians are being directed to stay home in order to limit their contact with other people and to “flatten” or “plank” the coronavirus curve. As result, Amateur Radio club meetings and public events have been cancelled and clubs are investigating ways to keep in touch with their members – who are being encouraged to limit direct personal contacts through social/physical distancing and self-isolation – by using existing or new Amateur Radio nets (see below) and/or internet-based communication tools such as Zoom, GoToMeeting, WebEx and many others.

Isolation can have its own potential problems for people who live alone. Amateur Radio is all about communicating and we have the necessary hardware and expertise to enable individuals to stay in touch with their families, friends and colleagues.The Canadian Red Cross has prepared a “Psychological First Aid Pocket Guide” (PDF file, 631 kB)  which “provides emotional and practical support to individuals, families and communities who are having difficulty coping. It is about establishing a connection with people in a compassionate non-judgmental manner to bring calm and comfort.” 

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is assisting the effort at every level. Some regions have already activated their Emergency Operations Centres to help coordinate agencies working the frontline and because of the current state of emergency declared by provinces, territories and municipalities. This does not mean that Amateur Radio Emergency Services are active or will be activated for this event. We provide communications services to mitigate potential failures and currently, despite the reports of concerns, there have been no reported issues.

Amateur Radio nets regularly connect individuals on a scheduled basis, but perhaps they can play additional roles during these difficult times such as helping isolated seniors keep contact with one another and allowing their colleagues and club members to help out when needed. We do not have a complete list of all Amateur Radio nets in Canada but the links at the end of this Message will provide a good start.

The impact and duration of the unprecedented global pandemic we now face has yet to be determined and it is difficult to plan in an uncertain future. However, although the RAC Head Office in Ottawa has been closed indefinitely, the majority of activities and responsibilities of the RAC administration are now being performed remotely. In addition, the RAC Board and Executive and all RAC committees and volunteers continue to work on behalf of all RAC members and for Amateur Radio in Canada and internationally.

The Amateur Radio Service consists of a diverse population, both in age and abilities, and Amateurs and Amateur Radio organizations are adapting to the current crisis and using their skills and knowledge to help in any way they can. RAC is also rising to the challenge and is now looking at ways to do things differently and to take advantage of our technical skills and recent technological advances. For example, we are now in the final stages of organizing both a Basic and an Advanced online Amateur Radio course.  More information about this new initiative will be posted on the RAC website in the coming days.

It is interesting that we are discussing this new need for Amateur Radio to provide assistance as we approach World Amateur Radio Day which is held every April 18. It was on that day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was formed in Paris and Radio Amateurs worldwide now take to the airwaves each year in celebration.

Appropriately, the theme of World Amateur Radio Day is “Celebrating Amateur Radio’s contribution to Society” and Amateur Radio will play its part as the current global crisis unfolds. RAC is planning to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day this year on the air by inviting Amateurs in Canada and around the world to contact RAC official stations (VA2RAC, VA3RAC etc). The details are still being worked out and we will provide more information about this event in the near future.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding during this time of crisis. Please take care of yourself and your loved ones. 

Stay safe and, wherever possible, let us help one another during this extraordinary time.

Amateur Radio nets:

Radio Amateurs of Canada:

https://www.rac.ca/nets/

The Battleford’s Amateur Radio Association:

http://ve5brc.amateur-radio.ca/net.htm

The North Okanagan Radio Amateur Club:

http://norac.bc.ca/index.php/nets

—-

Canadian Red Cross Document:

Canadian Red Cross Psychological First Aid Guide:

https://www.rac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CRC-Psychological-First-Aid-Guide-2019.pdf