VECTOR April 2020 News

Posted 1 April 2020 in newsletter

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

Our next members' meeting is April 1^st and we will hold it online using Zoom. Please register in BetterImpact if you will be attending.

Let’s look for people on-air on VE7TEL, VE7RVF, and VE7RVZ, as well as online on Zoom.

COVID-19 Information

The COVID-19 situation in BC is rapidly changing, and VECTOR members should all be following guidelines for social distancing. Up-to-date information can be found on the Province of BC COVID-19 Information website.

• At this time, all VECTOR activities should be happening either by radio or through Zoom online conferencing. Thank you for doing your part to protect vulnerable members and keep yourself healthy.
• The Vancouver Sun Run 2020 has been cancelled.
• The 2020 CommAcademy has been cancelled.

Upcoming Training & Practice Opportunities

• 70cm QSO Party

  All the fun of Field Day contesting, but with your handheld at home! Join on-the-air on Saturday, April 4^th, from 10:00 to 14:00 to make contacts on 70cm simplex frequencies.

  This event is hosted by our friends at REPARS. Instructions, logs, and more details can be found here on Google Drive.

• Net Control Operator training

  If you’ve checked in to the VECTOR weekly Wednesday night net, then you’ve participated in a directed net under the supervision of a Net Control Operator (NCO). The NCO training sessions will take you from being a participant to being that operator.

  A commitment of one Wednesday night a month (from approximately 19:30 to 21:00) for about 9 months is required. The schedule consists of:

  • 3 months of receiving training during the weekly net from a current NCO.
    Each month you will work with a different NCO as you progress from monitoring to running the net.
  • 3 months on the weekly net rota and running the net without assistance
  • 3 months of helping to train the next batch of incoming net control trainees

  After successfully completing the NCO training further opportunities for running nets during events and exercises become available to you.

  If you would be interested in attending an introductory session on the net control operator program send an email to Andrew (VA7YAA) and we’ll be in contact once viral circumstances permit.

• Radio Skills Course

  The next Radio Skills Course will be offered on Mondays, from October 26^th to November 23^rd. Consideration is being given to add one classroom session bringing the total to five evenings. Four instructional nets will be held on Thursday evenings rather than Wednesdays to avoid conflicts with VECTOR nets and our members' meeting.

  Feedback from past and prospective participants is welcome as well as from members who have yet to attend. Please share your thoughts on what would facilitate or encourage your participation as well as what might be hindering it.

  Members interested in delivering course modules are also invited to reach out.

  Please email your comments and questions to [email protected].

• On-Air Radio Activities

  Listen for activities on our repeaters or in Zoom to practice your skills, learn more and keep connected. Look for activities on our calendar. Contact Kevin (VE7SFA) and Jessé (VE7DET) to get involved.

Upcoming Service Opportunities

• Future VECTOR Investment Projects

  Will you raise your hand to help us figure out how to build our dream projects, to make VECTOR stronger and easier. We have openings for people to look into what we need to make each of these dreams happen, to bring together a concept and cost summary. We’ll use these plans to order parts we can use next year to build our dreams.

  Dreams we know:

  • High speed links at Fire Hall 5 to TEL and HAMWAN
  • 5 new “next gen” grab-n-go kits
  • Replace outdated and old donated items
  • High speed data links between our sites
  • Full remote control of our Radio Room systems
  • Multiple Winlink receiving stations
  • Wi-Fi bubble and email intake system

  Which dream can you help build? Contact Jessé (VE7DET) to learn how you can help.

• Summer Civic Events Planning

  Plans for our summer civic events begin in May (Canada Day) and June (Celebration of Light & Pride). Will you raise your hand to set us up to serve each organizer? We’ll work with VEMA and Film And Special Events (FASE) to verify how our long-standing plans fit today’s events and line our field teams up for success. Contact Jessé (VE7DET) to show your leadership and learn what we need to do.

• Field Day Planning

  Let’s start now huddling up every couple of weeks in Zoom to figure out how we are going to do Field Day in these unprecedented times. We’re thinking about holding Zoom huddles on Thursday nights. What do you think? Only with a Field Day team will our Field Day operations proceed. Email Jessé (VE7DET). First one: Thursday, March 26^th, in Zoom at 18:30.

Weekly Net

The weekly net takes place at 20:00 every Wednesday on the VE7TEL repeater (VECTOR channel 2, 145.170 MHz, -0.6 MHz offset). Each week, a secondary net follows on a different frequency, providing an opportunity for amateur radio operators to test their radio with other bands and modes of operation.

The schedule for upcoming secondary net frequencies is as follows:

Monthly Members' Meeting

The monthly VECTOR members' meeting is the first Wednesday of every month. The next 3 meeting dates are as follows:

• April 1^st online using Zoom at 18:30
• May 6^th online using Zoom at 18:30
• June 3^rd online (in-person TBD) at 18:30

Look for a link to the Zoom online conference room in your email ahead of the meeting to join remotely. You can sign up for upcoming members' meetings in BetterImpact.