The January February e edition of TCA is available and may be found at

https://www.rac.ca/january-february-2024-etca-is-now-available/

CECA  would like to wish everyone a very healthy, happy,         prosperous and peaceful 2024.

The US FCC has approved the use of Pactor 4 for US Amateur Radio Operators effective January 8 2024.  The notice is found in the attached URL.  Congratulations to all that worked on getting this approval.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/12/07/2023-26770/amateur-radio-service-rules-to-permit-greater-flexibility-in-data-communications

While contesting is not part of emergency/auxiliary communication it does provide  a good learning environment for radio operators. Various operating conditions and pressure to make the contacts are just two factors.  This article provides a reminder to consider participating in contests.  In addition,  the comments with respect to the number of log submissions are noteworthy.

Don’t forget Winter Field Day Dec 30 2023

RAC Contest Managers:
Bart Ritchie, VE5CPU and Sam Ferris, VE5SF

The RAC Contest Management Team is pleased to present an updated version of  the RAC Canada Day Contest 2023 Results in the following pages.

We would like to acknowledge a couple of errors in the results.

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• In the listing for Multi-Operator Multi Transmitter Any Authorized Power Level the call sign for VE6TL was incorrectly listed as VE6RL as was the same error in the operators list.
• We were advised by Rob Noakes, VE3PCP, that there was an issue with the original scoring of his CJ3YLR entry. After reviewing we noted some formatting issues that were not identified which caused the incorrect scoring.  We have corrected his result in the Multi Operator Single Transmitter High Power (MOSTHP) updating his score to 17, 366.

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With a total of 108,225 QSOs logged, it was not only the best entry turnout but the highest number of logged QSOs we have ever recorded! Three new records were established this year with all of them in the new assisted categories. Please see inside for all of the details.

Thank you for participating in the contest! We would also like to thank all of our great sponsors for continuing to support the contest and Amateur Radio in Canada and internationally!

Please visit the RAC Canada Day Contest Results 2023 webpage for complete information.

Don’t forget the RAC Canada Winter Contest is on December 30. See you on the bands!

The annual winter on line course for the Basic License is now open for registration

https://www.rac.ca/basic-radio-course-winter-2024/

The following taken from the ARRL Letter. Lots of things to be learned from this article.  Great Work by all involved

A while ago my ham radio friend and I went camping along the Jemez River, New Mexico, in one of the many Jemez Campgrounds. It was a perfect place for ham radio operators to be, as there is absolutely no cell phone access there at all. There was no FM repeater reachable from that area either, which was fine by us. We busied ourselves with FT8 and FT4 as well as phone operation. We sent several Winlink messages earlier in the day utilizing stations in Wickenburg, Arizona and Framingham, Utah. We sent SMS text messages to our grandchildren, as they don’t like email.

As the evening wore on, my friend started having symptoms of a heart attack. He was familiar with the symptoms, as he had several stents and previous heart problems. We needed an ambulance, but there was no cell service, and it was miles to another phone. It was late at night and, being unfamiliar with the area, we were at a loss as to the best way to proceed.

I knew that Winlink has the ability to send SMS text messages, and my son was on call that week so he would answer a text message. I composed a message giving my location, including the GPS coordinates and the urgency of the situation. I sent the message via Winlink VARA HF to a station in Wickenburg. I waited for what seemed to be an eternity (in reality, only 10 minutes) and checked for a response. He had replied with a message that he had contacted the state police — they would take care of the situation. In approximately 20 minutes, an ambulance arrived and my friend was on his way to the hospital. He is alive and well today.

Being a Technician licensee is a wonderful start to the world of emergency communication, but when real emergencies occur, having General- or Extra-class privileges and an HF radio is even better. — John Mocho, KC5QOC, Albuquerque, New Mexico (with thanks to Jay Miller, W5WHN)

Everyone residing in BC should know what Tsunami zone you live in. Should a Tsunami occur there may not be enough time to goggle information.  The sites below will provide you with the information you need to know what a tsunami is, how to respond, and what zone you live in.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/know-your-hazards/earthquakes-tsunamis/tsunami

https://climatereadybc.gov.bc.ca/pages/tsunamis#tsunami-tools

The Radio Amateurs of Canada has announced their winter Advanced Radio Course. There are conditions to taking this course.

More information at

https://www.rac.ca/rac-advanced-course-for-maple-leaf-operators-winter-2024/

The Radio Amateurs of Canada have posted their Contest Rules for the 2024 Winter Field Day Contest.

RAC Canada Winter Contest 2023: December 30

December 2023 has been declared Youth on the Air Month.  To learn more about this event go to

December is Youth On The Air (YOTA) Month!