VECTOR March 2021 News

Posted in newsletter

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

Our next members' meeting will be held March 3 online using Zoom.

1. Coming Meeting | 2. News | 3. Learn | 4. On Air | 5. Notable | 6. Secondaries | 7. Meetings

1. Coming Meeting

Details attached to mailed version.

  1. Party Planning for Disaster Preparedness - Mika McKinnon VA7SCI - 20 minutes
  2. Brief Practical Exercise - Send a Winlink message - 15 minutes
  3. O&I Forum - Upcoming Exercises, the Radio Skills Course, and teams - All - 55 minutes

2. Community News

Guest Speaker: Party Planning for Disaster Preparedness
VEMA in March
VE7RVF tone on
COASTAL RESPONSE update
CERV needs planners
BCARCC AGM in March
Radiograms with Friends in March
TABLETOP Episode 2 in April
Overlapping radio and meeting schedules are fine

Party Planning for Disaster Preparedness - 2021-03-03, 18:30

  • Learn how social connection enhances resilience confronting our specific local hazards.

  • See who Mika McKinnon VA7SCI (Field Geophysicist, Disaster Scientist) is on Twitter

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VEMA engaging VECTOR in March

  • Miranda Myles ramping up coordination with and between volunteer teams as our new emergency management manager

  • Kris Hayne holding technical communications strategy session for police, fire, VEMA, engineering, facilities, and VECTOR to set a target future state for communications technologies and support frameworks

  • Meeting VEMA and VPD to review the Memorandum of Understanding (annual)

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Input tone turned on for VE7RVF

  • Used the programming files available or listed information? You are ready

  • If you have yet to update your program, you will still hear the repeater and others will only hear you on the input frequency

  • Review the frequency list

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Exercise COASTAL RESPONSE on way to first planning meeting

  • EMBC intends to finish designing the exercise by October to start getting people ready for live exercise in February 2022

  • Understand the scenario’s story using the session materials

  • Tabletop scenario includes power and telecommunications disruptions, will the live exercise? TTX2 Guide, pages 7 and 8

  • How ready do our teams think we are (gear and people) to use our radios to help those parts of the city response who might need radio help?

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Replace CERV with Mobile Emergency Communications Unit for COASTAL RESPONSE

Details: Team Page | Add to Calendar | Add yourself to list

  • Help find answers for making our next decision

  • Next: Monday, 2021-03-01, 18:30, 2 h

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BCARCC AGM coming to Zoom in May: 2021-05-20 10:00

BCARCC Notice and Agenda

  • Help our community keep repeater frequencies open

  • Understand latest federal government update covering repeaters

  • VECTOR will pay dues for any members wishing to attend as VECTOR delegates

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Radiograms with Friends - On Air Exercise

RSVP | Details

  • Prepare to run a VECTOR remote station

  • Getting rusty over two years since VANSLAM

  • Get ready for Simplex Relay Day

  • Get a head start for Exercise COASTAL RESPONSE 2022

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TABLETOP Episode 2 coming in April: 2021-04-10, 13:00

Episode 2 Details

  • Learn what we might need to do in a major activation

  • Jump into a scenario already set up

  • Get to know other members and share knowledge

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Overlapping radio and meeting schedules are fine

Survey

  • 8 respondents so far agree: overlapping nets and sessions do not block their attendance
  • More than one-third are highly or passionately interested in radio, now
  • Most respondents skip both the meeting and the weekly net, half skip the nightly net
  • Nearly two-thirds lost interest in VECTOR, with different radio interest than VECTOR
  • Nearly two-thirds participate in other organizations, clubs, or activities
  • We appreciate how respondents shared insights and intend to learn from each

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VECTOR COVID-19 Update - Stay local with your core bubble

Use Jitsi for pop-up meetings when you need to share screens

Latest Pandemic Awareness and Restrictions

Summary information and links | Direct link

  • Respect people’s core bubbles
  • Limit outings to essential travel and careful neighbourhood walks
  • Our sites remain restricted as noted previously with our work rules posted in the members section of the website

Thank you for being a protector for people in our communities who could suffer from the impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC Provincial Health Officer:

“Be kind, be calm, and be safe.”

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VECTOR Seeks Technicians, Helpers, Devs and Teachers

  • Find your fit in VECTOR: Tools for you

    Who knows what? People section.
    What does each team do? Teams page.
    (Forgot the code? Check your MyImpactPage News.)
    Helpers give as much commitment as fits each person to finish jobs in VECTOR.

  • Be a presenter for the Basic Amateur Radio Proficiency Course

    Best way to learn is to teach another person. Find full details on the course page.

    Training Team | Ask Hiroshi VA7LET

  • Free the ideas from our Brainstorming Session recording

    Can you pull the treasure trove of ideas out of recording we have from the August 2018 Brainstorming Session and into a spreadsheet?

    Email Jesse VE7DET | Check it out

  • Help with VPD Disaster Communications Gear

    Help us work with VPD to make sure its amateur radio gear can work with us. One of the stations Bryan VA7BFY assembled has lost its home. It’s time to outfit that station for current needs.

    Email Jesse VE7DET | Join the conversation

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3. Upcoming Training & Practice Opportunities

Review Learning Program | Dive into Exercises

Radio Skills | Packet and Tech Nights | Net Control

Challenge yourself in March exercise

  • Refer to 4. On-Air Activities (below)

Become Better Emergency Communications Operators - Radio Skills Course

  • Closing night March 16. Openings for instructors.
  • Details on website - Events | Team
  • Ask to join team or volunteer to present a section - [email protected]

Level-up - Packet Radio and Other Tech

Team Page | Session Overview

  • What other technologies do you want to see? View on-camera demonstrations
  • Work with other attendees to solve your latest communications problem
  • Winlink is a key skill for emergency communications operators - packet radio goes far beyond Winlink

Level-up - become a Net Control Operator

  • Write an email to Andrew VA7YAA to join the list
  • First step: attend the introduction to the net control operator program on Zoom

Find more

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4. On Air Radio Activities

Local Nets | Program | Calendar | Jessé VE7DET | Team Page | Team Mail

Radiograms with Friends - 2021-03-06, 11:00

Time Estimate: 2 hours

RSVP | Details | Future Events

Prepare yourself to set up and run a VECTOR remote station. Two years have passed since our VANSLAM exercise. Join this easy way to get ready for our Simplex Relay day in July, and get a head start for Exercise COASTAL RESPONSE 2022.

Connect Casually Any Night - 19:05 nightly on VE7RVF

Time Estimate: 30 minutes

Find like-minded operators at Check-in and Chat Nets. Members have run these nets for over 280 nights (since 2020-04-01. The nightly Net Controller chooses a question or topic to share; anything from radio to food to entertainment to no topic at all. Connect to around 15 fellow members. A slow night might cover 8 check-ins, but several times 35 operators have joined and shared.

Keep Formal Net Skills Sharp on Weekly Net - 20:00 weekly on Wednesday, VE7TEL

Time Estimate: 30 minutes

Checking in on Wednesdays stretches a few less-used skills. Details below in 6. Weekly Nets.

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5. Announcements, Notable, etc.

Get to know other members on air

Nightly Check in and Chat | Monthly Exercises

Sharing weekly event information one-by-one

  • People are asking for the “Weekly Preview” in separate messages
  • Let’s give that a shot in next issue, unless otherwise advised: 2021-03-08

West coast emergency communications conference goes online - 2021-04-10, 2 days

CommAcademy | Register

  • “Disasters Here, There, and Everywhere - Are We Ready?”
  • Talks, training, and information on emergency communications

Refitting grab-and-go prototypes with aluminum-screen panels begins in spring

Team Grab and Go

  • Panels and hardware nearly ready for retrofits to prototypes
  • Many parts on hand for 2021 production
  • Next team huddle (bi-weekly) on Tuesday afternoons in Zoom: 2021-03-09, 16:00

ESS Zone C Team to start using on Zoom

  • Christine C organizing Zoom meetings to keep Zone C team active
  • Did you know? ESS is one of VECTOR’s partner groups. Zone C includes Trout Lake
  • Zone C team concerned about earthquake impact noted in report (see next)

Earthquake could cripple infrastructure, transport, supply chains, and commerce in BC

Highlights | Summary | Detailed 2013 Report

  • Major BC earthquake would significantly hit regional and national economy
    • $ 62 BILLION direct losses
    • $ 12.7 BILLION indirect losses
  • More than 55% of people in BC have no earthquake insurance (shake, tsunami, fire following, liquefaction and landslide)

Tech, international news, and local updates out today

SARC Communicator PDF

  • Turn a Raspberry Pi and cheap SDR dongle into an APRS iGate in an hour - Reg VA7ZEB
  • North America Summits On The Air proposing 146.580 MHz simplex as “adventure frequency” for contacting
  • VECTOR’s peers in Surrey are working on system for neighbourhood-emergency volunteers to reach amateur radio operators on FRS-GMRS - John VA7KB

Better understand flood and earthquake risks here

URBC.ca program and slides

  • Our May guest, Dr. Tiegan Hobbs, shares a bit about earthquakes in one talk)
  • Talks with maps and figures on YouTube

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6. Weekly Net

Catch the weekly net at 20:00 every Wednesday on the VE7TEL repeater: VECTOR channel 2, 145.170 MHz -600 kHz.

Each week, a secondary net follows on a different frequency, providing opportunities for amateur radio operators to test radios using other bands and modes of operation.

Schedule for upcoming secondary net frequencies:
Date Channel Frequency Information
March 03 430 446.100 MHz
March 10 401 443.725 MHz +5 MHz T88.5 Hz
March 17 44 146.430 MHz
March 24 20 147.200 MHz +600 kHz T100.0 Hz
March 31 7 147.450 MHz T100.0 Hz simplex
April 07 4 146.580 MHz simplex

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7. Monthly Members' Meetings

VECTOR gathers on the first Wednesday of every month to keep its operations flowing. Connect in our Zoom virtual space unless otherwise noted.

The next 4 Monthly Members' Meeting dates:
  • April 01 at 18:30 - Guest: Jordan Myers - getting ready for civic events
  • May 05 at 18:30 - Guest: Dr Tiegan Hobbs - what the aftermath would look like
  • June 02 at 18:30 - Guest: Kevin Bernardin VE7TDK - evolving VECTOR-VPD relationship
  • July 07 at 18:30 - Guest: VFRS?

Connect with others before and after the main session:

  • Join early (15 minutes) at 18:15
  • Hang around after (20 minutes) until roughly 20:50

Please find the link to the Zoom online conference room in your email edition of the newsletter for joining remotely or on your BetterImpact homepage. You can sign up for upcoming members' meetings in BetterImpact to log your meeting time automatically.

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Tnx es 73,

VE7DET || Jessé Neri, Director (he|him)
[email protected]

VA7SWZ || Simone Hoedel, Writer and Communications Consultant (she|her)

VA7DPO || Darryl Pogue, Director (he|him)

https://vectorradio.ca/members/discuss/
https://keybase.io/team/helpingvector
Traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), and Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilwətaɁɬ) peoples.