Once again a survey shows BC residents are not ready for a serious crisis. ARES are we ready ?

https://www.nsnews.com/most-b-c-residents-aren-t-ready-for-major-disaster-survey-suggests-1.23829122?fbclid=IwAR1HoA7fWgVZHYyjKQP7tAt3Sk9XwxRxN2IDaiYqJeB-vNJZbXdHC

It’s Almost Time for SEA-PAC 2019 ! ! !

SEA-PAC Registration

You still have a few weeks to register for SEA-PAC, the Northwest’s largest Ham Radio convention. The cost is still only $10, online. Mail-in registration has closed. Online registration closes at 11:59PM, Sunday May 26^th. After that, you’ll pay $15 to register at the door. With your registration, you’ll receive one prize drawing ticket good for the Hourly and Major prize drawings. Additional tickets are available for purchase at the convention.

Registration at convention will be open from 11AM to 8PM Friday, 8AM to 4:30PM Saturday and 8:30AM to noon on Sunday in the Convention Center lobby.

Ready, Set, Go

The convention doors open precisely at 9AM Saturday and Sunday.

Don’t forget to pick up your SEA-PAC Booklet when you enter the Convention Center.

SEA-PAC Pocket Lanyards and 2019 SEA-PAC Collector Pins will be on sale at the Registration Desk.

SEA-PAC Lodging

At this late date, Sponsor Lodgings, offering special convention rates, may be hard to come by. If you’re planning on staying in Seaside for the convention and haven’t yet reserved accommodations, do it now. A list is available on the https://www.seapac.org web site. Click on “Sponsor Lodging”.

SEA-PAC Prizes

There will be ample opportunities to win some really great prizes at the convention.

Additional prize drawing tickets will be for sale at the convention.

There will be Hourly Drawings on both Saturday, 10AM to 3PM and Sunday, 9AM to 11AM, during the convention. (Must be present to win)

The Early Bird Prize Drawing will take place Sunday at 1PM. Prizes includes:

(Need not be present to win)

Yaesu FT-8900R 10M/6M/2M/70cm mobile 

Kenwood TH-K20A 2M handheld

Icom IC-V86 HD 2M handheld

Yaesu FT-60R 2M/70cm handheld

Prizes for Saturday’s Major Prize Drawing at 2:30PM includes:

(Must be present to win)

Icom IC-7100 HF/6M/2M/70cm DSTAR Mobile 

Yaesu FT-DX1200 HF/50Mhz radio

Yaesu FTM-400XDR 2M/70cm C4FM Deluxe mobile

Icom IC-718 HF160-10MHz radio

Yaesu FT-2DR 2M/70cm C4FM handheld

Icom ID-4100A VHF/UHF DSTAR mobile

Davis Instruments 6250 – Vantage Vue Weather Station

Yaesu FT-70DR 2M/70cm C4FM handheld

And more…

Prizes for Sunday’s Major Prize Drawing at 1 PM includes:

(Must be present to win)

Elecraft KX3/PX3SHKPK-F Radio

Icom IC-7300 HF/50MHz radio

Kenwood TS-480 HX HF/50MHz mobile

Kenwood TH-D74A 2M/220/70cm handheld

Icom ID-5100A 2M/70cm DSTAR Deluxe mobile

Sharp 55″ 4K Ultra HD Roku TV

Kenwood TM-V71A 2M/70cm Mobile

Alinco DJ-G7T 2M/70cm/23cm handheld

            And more…

Prizes for Saturday night’s Banquet Prize Drawing include:

(Must be present to win)

Kenwood TM-D710G 2M/70cm mobile

Icom IC-V86 HD 2M handheld

Yaesu FT-60R 2M/70cm Handheld

            And more…

Volunteers Needed

SEA-PAC couldn’t happen without the dedicated efforts of countless volunteers. The Committee is looking for some specific help.

·         We need 3 more volunteers to help with Exhibitor Hospitality and someone who might be interested in taking over chairmanship of Exhibitor Hospitality next year. Contact Vanessa McCoy, KE7UBB, at ke7ubb@yahoo.com.

·         There are opportunities for several folks to help with exhibitor move in on Friday, from 11AM to 7PM and move out on Sunday after the 2PM convention closure. Contact Michelle Lee, KI7EJC, at cq.ki7ki7ejc@gmail.com.

·         And finally, we need another able body to help with flea market move in Friday from 4:30PM to 8PM. Contact Tom Hill, WA3RMX, at fleamarket@seapac.org.

ARRL Guests

SEA-PAC is also the ARRL Northwest Division convention and will be strongly attended by ARRL dignitaries.

In attendance from ARRL National Headquarters:

Rick Roderick, K5UR, ARRL President

Howard Michel, WB2ITX, ARRL CEO

Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, ARRL Marketing

The Northwest Division will be represented by:

Mike Ritz, W7VO, Northwest Division Director

Mark Tharp, KB7HDX, Northwest Division Vice-Director

All six Section Managers from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Eastern and Western Washington

Seminars Galore

Your paid admission to SEA-PAC entitles you to attend any of the 47 scheduled seminars. A complete list is available on https://www.seapac.org click on “Seminars”.

Events Sold Out

Friday’s Workshop, Saturday’s DX and YL Luncheons and the SEA-PAC Banquet are all sold out. A big thank you to all who registered for these exciting events. All tables have been sold for the flea market as well. Remember, the flea market is Saturday only this year.

For those who missed out, while at the convention, check in with the registration desk, as ticket holders for sold out events, who can’t use their tickets, may have them up for sale.

Friday Night’s Radios on the Beach and Spaghetti Dinner

Friday night’s special activity will be “Radios on the Beach”. Feel free to bring out your portable stations or just mosey on down and enjoy the sunset with other hams while making those QSOs.

Also Friday evening, local area Hams will be hosting their annual “all you can eat” Spaghetti dinner from 5PM to 8PM. $1 off admission with ham license or SEA-PAC registration. Details are available at https://www.qrz.com/db/WA7VE .

Satellite Station Demos

There will be satellite station demos on the beach Friday night and again at noon Saturday, under the Seaside Convention Center sign.

Trailers Across the Street

Display trailers from Multnomah County ARES, Mountain Wave Search and Rescue and Scott Burrows, N7DOD, will be on display across from the Convention Center. Take a break and check them out.

VE Testing

VE testing for new licenses and upgrades will be offered at 9AM on Saturday, pre-registration is required, contact John Bucsek, KE7WNB, at ve@seapac.org.

Compete SEA-PAC Convention Schedule

A complete schedule of convention activities is posted on the SEA-PAC website at https://www.seapac.org and click on “Schedule”.

For SEA-PAC information and updates please visit our website at www.seapac.org.

From the SEA-PAC Committee, we welcome you and hope you have an exciting, rewarding and educational convention.

See you in Seaside at SEA-PAC 2019!

73

SCS has released Firmware Version 2.30.97. This is an updated version that will provide inprovements on low SNR channels.

https://www.scs-ptc.com/en/Downloads.html

Mexican amateurs have been asked to provide communications in a remote area back to Protection Civil in Monterrey MX. 2 amateurs flown in by helicopter for first day of radio support. Fire has been burning for two days now, over 200 acres in rough terrain, about 65% contained. Temps have been over 100 F . A US station north of Austin Texas , N5TW, is also assisting in the operation.

The CW Portion of the CQ WW WPX Contest will be held on May 25 2019. For more information go to

https://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm

The RAC Board of Directors is pleased to welcome two new officers to the RAC Executive: Doug Schultz, VE1IOU and Al Masse, VE3CWP.

RAC Chief Information Technology Officer

Doug Schultz, VE1IOU, has been appointed as RAC’s new Chief Information Technology Officer.

Doug resides near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, having moved to Canada from the United States five years ago. He is a semi-retired Electrical Engineer, with a career spanning 38 years. He has 20 issued or pending patents in the RF/microwave and commercial semiconductor fields. He has been involved with the 802.11 WLAN market since its inception and he led the development of the first commercially available application specific chipset for this market.

Doug has been an Amateur since 1976 and is a member of Radio Amateurs of Canada and a Life Member of the American Radio Relay League. He is also a member of the Lunenburg Amateur Radio Club and the Quarter Century Wireless Association.

Doug’s Amateur Radio interest are varied and are centred primarily around HF operations including fixed, mobile and remote operating. His home station on Heckman’s Island includes an Anan 7000DLE SDR, SPE Expert 1.3kFA amplifier, along with various antennas including a Mosley Pro-67B with a good view of the Atlantic just 100 yards away. All station operation is fully automated and frequently operated remotely.

Doug also operates HF and VHF/UHF mobile, with a Kenwood TS-480 HF radio and an Icom ID-5100 VHF/UHF D-Star radio permanently mounted in his vehicle. During the winter months he frequently operates maritime mobile from Florida and the Bahamas. He also enjoys QRP operation in the field and experimenting with QRP equipment and antennas.

RAC Corporate Secretary

As announced in the May-June 2019 issue of The Canadian Amateur, Al Masse, VE3CWP, has been appointed to the position of RAC Corporate Secretary. Al served as the RAC Corporate Secretary from 2013-2015 and comes to us with a wealth of organizational skills, history and wisdom.

Al was first licensed on his 16th birthday on May 29, 1958 and has been active in Amateur Radio for over 60 years as described in the following profile:

“I enjoy homebrewing, experimenting with antennas, participating in contests, chasing DX, ragchewing and so on.

I operate on CW, but also enjoy QSOs on SSB, RTTY and PSK31, and am also involved with DMR. Lastly, I operate on all bands from 160 up to and including 440 MHz. My shack is visible on QRZ.com.

I retired in 2011 after running my own property management business for 18 years. I also served as a Bank Manager for two Canadian Chartered banks for 27 years.

My educational background includes a Fellowship in the Institute of Canadian Bankers (FICB) and I have a degree in Business Administration which I acquired by attending night school at various colleges and universities while working in the banking industry.”

Congratulations Doug and Al! We look forward to working with you.

Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA
RAC President and Chair

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The work of training and improving equipment is demonstrated in the attached article

Amateur radio society welcomes new members

Just a heads up for those using Windows 7. Microsoft has announced that their support for Windows 7 will end in January 2020. They are giving everyone plenty of notice. ARES Leaders now be the time to open discussion with your program coordinator if your group uses Windows 7.

The Radio Amateurs of Canada will have a presence at the Dayton Hamvention

https://wp.rac.ca/dayton-hamvention-2019-may-17-19/

The Winnipeg Amateur Radio Club will celebrate their 100th birthday on June 2 2019 with a conference and a hamfest. For more information go to

http://winnipegarc.org/100/index.html