Amateur radio operators activated nets in various states to assist those in need. To learn more go
http://www.arrl.org/news/ares-volunteers-reported-responding-to-severe-weather
ARRL Continues Rule Modifications for Field Day 2021
The COVID Pandemic requires some rule changes for the 2020 Field Day. Given the current state of affairs there will be rule changes in 2021. To learn more go to
BC QSO Party Feb 6 2021
The Annual BC QSO Party will be held on February 6 2021. All the information you need can be found at
CANADA’S NATIONAL HF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FREQUENCIES..
Do you know Canada’s National Emergency HF frequencies. If not see the site below
https://wp.rac.ca/national-hf-emergency-communications-frequencies/
Winter Field Day January 2021
The Winter Field Day will be held on Jan 30/31 2021. For more information go to
RAC Winter/Spring 2021 Online Advanced Course is filling up quickly!
RAC’s next online Advanced Certificate course for Winter/Spring 2021 is filling up quickly.
Since May 2020, 400 Radio Amateurs across Canada have used this course to prepare for the Advanced exam.
This instructor-led, 10-session course will begin in early February and end in early May. You can choose to attend either the Sunday afternoon sessions or the Monday evening sessions.
Background information:In response to the global pandemic, Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio Course so that individuals can upgrade their qualifications while continuing to practise social/physical distancing.
With your Advanced Certificate, you can run higher power, operate a remotely-controlled station, obtain operating privileges when travelling overseas, set up repeaters, be the trustee for club stations and even become an Accredited Examiner (AE).
Course information:
The course will be 10 sessions in length and each session will be two hours long.
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 EDT (12 pm PDT) starting on Sunday, February 7 and ending on Sunday, May 2
Or
- Monday evenings from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm EDT (5:30 PDF) starting on Monday, February 8 and ending on Monday, May 3
Note: There will be no sessions on February 14 -15, March 28-29 and April 4-5.
Course Instruction:
The course instructor is Dave Goodwin, VE9CB. Dave has been an Amateur since 1975, is an active HF Contester and DXer and his DXpedition to Point Amour Lighthouse was featured on the front cover of the November-December 2020 issue of The Canadian Amateur. Dave has also been a long-time volunteer at the national level and has served as the RAC President and as the RAC Director for the Atlantic Region. Since 2015, he has also has been teaching Basic and Advanced certification courses with the Fredericton (NB) Amateur Radio Club.
Course material pertaining to all topics covered in the course syllabus will be provided to all registered students and is available online at:
https://www.rac.ca/rac-online-advanced-course-winter-2021/
Course Requirements:
The RAC Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio course is being offered at no charge to RAC Maple Leaf Operator Members – both current and future as described below.
Participants in the course will need to meet all of the following requirements:
- Participants must already have the Canadian Basic Amateur Radio Qualification and a Canadian call sign.
- Participants must already be a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member or become one by joining RAC at the Maple Leaf Operator level or upgrading to that level.
- Participants must have a copy of the Canadian Amateur Radio Advanced Qualification Study Guide provided by Coax Publications. For more information please visit the RAC Study Guides webpage.
- Participants must have a computer and Internet connection capable of using the GoToMeeting (GTM) conference platform. You do not need your own account on GTM to take part in this course, but you will have to download an applet from the GTM site to participate.
- Participants must have a working email address to receive course materials and links to the sessions.
There is room on the conference server for 200 participants in each session. Auditors are welcome to attend on a space-available basis, provided they are RAC Maple Leaf Operator members. You can sign up by following the instructions on the Winter 2021 Advanced Course Registration Page.
Other Amateur Radio Courses:
Amateur Radio Basic and Advanced Qualification courses are also now being provided both online and in person by Canadian Amateur Radio Clubs and organizations. Please visit the Amateur Radio Courses webpage for more information at the link provided below.
https://www.rac.ca/amateur-radio-courses/embed/#?secret=dfiNwuIdDY
Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA
RAC President and Chair
Radio Amateurs of Canada issues update on Directors Jan 2020
As reported in the January-February 2021 issue of The Canadian Amateur magazine, following the call for nominations for Directors of Radio Amateurs of Canada’s Atlantic, Ontario North/East, Midwest and British Columbia/Yukon Regions, RAC would like to welcome the following Radio Amateurs to our Board of Directors 2021:
- Al Penney, VO1NO, was elected as the new Director for the Atlantic Region (see bio below)
- Ed Richardson, VE4EAR/VE4VT, was elected as the new Director for the Midwest Region (see bio below)
RAC would also like to welcome back the following Radio Amateurs to our Board of Directors:
- Keith Witney, VE7KW, was re-elected as the Director for the British Columbia/Yukon Region
- Allan Boyd, VE3AJB, was re-elected the Director for the Ontario North/East Region.
Alphonse (Al) Penney, VO1NO, was born and raised in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.
A Remco crystal radio kit Christmas gift, and the acquisition of a Halicrafters S-38D shortwave receiver as a boy sparked a lifelong fascination with the “magic of radio”.
Al was licensed in early 1977 after taking an evening course sponsored by the local Department of Communications (DOC) Radio Inspector.
Al has served on the Executives of many clubs throughout Canada and the USA, including Vice-President of the West Island ARC in Montreal, and President of the VE2CMR ARC, Halifax ARC, West Carleton ARC in Ottawa, and the Pike’s Peak Radio Amateur Association in Colorado Springs while serving at NORAD Headquarters.
More recently he co-founded the Annapolis Valley Amateur Radio Club in Nova Scotia, a “virtual” club that appeals to those who do not like to take part in more traditional clubs.
Al has been involved with teaching prospective Amateurs since the early 1990s. He is one of the primary instructors for the Halifax ARC for their Basic and Advanced courses, and organized and taught the RAC Online Basic Course in response to the global pandemic.
Al has been the RAC Band Planning Coordinator since 2013, and spearheaded the effort to update the Canadian HF band plans and have them published in a graphic format. He is currently coordinating the update of the VHF/UHF band plans. He lives in Aylesford, Nova Scotia on 10 acres he would like to turn into an antenna farm!
Ed Richardson, VE4EAR/VE4VT, has been a licensed Amateur Radio operator since 1983.
He was bitten by the radio bug in the early 1970s after discovering the excitement and challenge of listening to distant radio stations.
Introduced to the hobby of “ham” radio by his neighbour, Sandy, VE4SZ, Ed made the decision to get his licence and at the same time decided that a career in electrical engineering was what he wanted to do.
Professionally, Ed has worked as a microwave design engineer. Designing amplifiers, oscillators, filters, mixers and power amplifiers all the way to 28 GHz. Since 1998, has been Ed employed as the Communication Systems Engineer for the City of Winnipeg.
Ed joined the Board of Directors of the Manitoba Repeater Society in 1994. After five years as Technical Director, he assumed the role of President in 2000 and held this position until 2019.
As the Manitoba Frequency Coordinator for the past 14 years, Ed has worked with his counterparts in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Minnesota and North Dakota to keep the VHF/UHF bands organized in this region.
Ed is a founding member of Radiosport Manitoba and is currently serving as its President.
Both Al and Ed began their two-year term on January 1 and I look forward to working with them.
Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA
RAC President and Chair
Alan Griffin
RAC MarCom Director
SEAPAC 2021 CANCELLED..
The SEA-PAC Executive Committee has been closely monitoring the continuing COVID-19 pandemic situation has determined that the safest course of action for all is to cancel the 2021 in-person event.
This decision was based on the uncertainties of more COVID outbreaks, vaccine availability to all, and the probable social distancing requirements. But most importantly, it is based on our genuine concern for the health and safety of you, the attendees, vendors, and presenters. We firmly believe that providing our Ham Radio community with a safe and quality convention experience is paramount.
To offset this cancellation, the SEA-PAC Committee is exploring alternate online and on-air activities to engage our loyal attendees during 2021. Watch for future SEA-PAC Wave newsletters with the details as they become available.
Finally, we look forward to hosting you again in Seaside, Oregon, on June 3rd, 4th and 5th, 2022. Thank you for your patience and understanding and we invite you to start planning for SEA-PAC 2022.
73,
John Bucsek, KE7WNB
2021 SEA-PAC Chairman
Registration now underway for RAC Advanced Course for Maple Leaf Operators: Winter/Spring 2021
In response to the global pandemic, Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio Course so that individuals can upgrade their qualifications while continuing to practise social/physical distancing.
With your Advanced Certificate, you can run higher power, operate a remotely-controlled station, obtain operating privileges when travelling overseas, set up repeaters, be the trustee for club stations and even become an Accredited Examiner (AE).
Course information:
The course will be 10 sessions in length and each session will be two hours long.
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 EDT (12 pm PDT) starting on Sunday, February 7 and ending on Sunday, May 2
Or
- Monday evenings from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm EDT (5:30 PDF) starting on Monday, February 8 and ending on Monday, May 3
Note: There will be no sessions on February 14 -15, March 28-29 and April 4-5.
Course Instruction:
The course instructor is Dave Goodwin, VE9CB. Dave has been an Amateur since 1975, is an active HF Contester and DXer and his DXpedition to Point Amour Lighthouse was featured on the front cover of the November-December 2020 issue of The Canadian Amateur. Dave has also been a long-time volunteer at the national level and has served as the RAC President and as the RAC Director for the Atlantic Region. Since 2015, he has also has been teaching Basic and Advanced certification courses with the Fredericton (NB) Amateur Radio Club.
Course material pertaining to all topics covered in the course syllabus will be provided to all registered students and is available online at:
https://www.rac.ca/rac-online-advanced-course-winter-2021/
Course Requirements:
The RAC Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio course is being offered at no charge to RAC Maple Leaf Operator Members – both current and future as described below.
Participants in the course will need to meet all of the following requirements:
- Participants must already have the Canadian Basic Amateur Radio Qualification and a Canadian call sign.
- Participants must already be a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member or become one by joining RAC at the Maple Leaf Operator level or upgrading to that level.
- Participants must have a copy of the Canadian Amateur Radio Advanced Qualification Study Guide provided by Coax Publications. For more information please visit the RAC Study Guides webpage.
- Participants must have a computer and Internet connection capable of using the GoToMeeting (GTM) conference platform. You do not need your own account on GTM to take part in this course, but you will have to download an applet from the GTM site to participate.
- Participants must have a working email address to receive course materials and links to the sessions.
There is room on the conference server for 200 participants in each session. Auditors are welcome to attend on a space-available basis, provided they are RAC Maple Leaf Operator members. You can sign up by following the instructions on the Winter 2021 Advanced Course Registration Page.
Other Amateur Radio Courses:
Amateur Radio Basic and Advanced Qualification courses are also now being provided both online and in person by Canadian Amateur Radio Clubs and organizations. Please visit the Amateur Radio Courses webpage for more information at the link provided below.
https://www.rac.ca/amateur-radio-courses/embed/#?secret=oU7mDDg7E9
Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA
RAC President and Chair
Alan Griffin
RAC MarCom Director
www.rac.ca
720 Belfast Road, #217
Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z5
Amateur Radio Part of Storm Response on Vancouver Island. Jan 2021
The first 2021 winter storm struck Vancouver Island with high winds and a lot of rain. Below is an article of response activity in the Campbell River area of Vancouver Island.