VECTOR September 2023 News

Posted in newsletter

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

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

1. Coming Meeting

Our next members' meeting will be held Wednesday, September 6. We’ll be at ECOMM in the Media Room, with online using Zoom.

Detailed agenda included in e-mail to members.

2. Community News - What’s Coming

  • Provincial State of Emergency
  • Psycho-social Resilience in Disasters Course
  • Volunteer Barbecue Sept 12
  • Suggesting agenda items
  • VECTOR marshalling retired HEMBC Radio Grab and Go Kits
  • DEEP Upgrades completed
  • Interesting Talks at RAC Conference
  • MIERCG Preparations - Drills
  • VECTOR supporting ECOMM’s Safety Code 6 Review
  • Renew for 2024
  • DSA3 Reconfiguration Update
  • Pride Run and Walk: 8 people
  • Pride Parade: 10 people
  • COL: VECTOR-ESS teamwork: 25 people
  • Autumn COVID-19 wave concerns

Provincial State of Emergency

Province started state of emergency on 2023-08-19 to support wildfire response during current drought; involves travel restrictions. Direct impacts:

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Psycho-social Resilience in Disasters Course

  • Date Options: September 12, November 24
  • Full day course, 08:30 to 16:30 (4:30 pm)
  • In EOC at E-COMM
  • 4 seats in each course
  • Learn the psychosocial needs of emergency management personnel and communities before, during, and after disasters, as well as strategies and resources to support psychosocial resilience (e.g., self-care, worker care).
  • Learn stress responses, vulnerable populations, resiliency toolkits, and risk and resiliency factors

Sign up

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Volunteer Barbecue Sept 12

Time to celebrate our hard work and accomplishments. VEMA is hosting a family barbecue on September 12 from 5:30PM to 8:30 at the Trout Lake Picnic Shelter.

We must solidify plans on September 5.

RSVP for the BBQ

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Suggesting agenda items

The board raises agenda items together each month. Let’s give it a shot for our monthly meetings. What do you want to cover?

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VECTOR marshalling retired HEMBC Radio Grab and Go Kits

HEMBC chose recently to only use commercial radio systems for back-up communications. VECTOR collected 18 units and is planning how to re-fit, use, and distribute them. For VECTOR, we need each kit to have at least a dual-band radio, TNC, and laptop. Further details about where the laptops go coming up. Team will retire existing single-band radios and offer them to our community early in 2024.

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DEEP Upgrades scheduled for late summer

VE7XAK upgraded power feed (15 A distribution with PowerPole connectors and 12 V socket), installed TinyTrak4 TNC, added high gain 55-inch mag-mount antenna for the Disaster Support Hub, and repaired the Dunbar Community Centre antenna.

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Interesting Talks at RAC Conference 2023-08-19

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MIERCG Preparations - Drills

  • Mid-Island Emergency Radio Coordination Group
  • Winlink Forms and radio network schematic updates
  • Key message: Each Emergency Program Coordinator or served agency must ask themselves “Who do they need to talk to and how will amateur radio make it happen for them in a grid-down disaster scenario” and drive the answer through dialogue with Emergency Communications Team members.
  • Preparing for SWEEPER 2023 (EOC call sign and Winlink address)
  • Test events (all finish at 12:00)
    • September 20 - VHF-UHF only, 09:30
    • October 18 - HF only, 09:30
    • November 29 - system-wide radio operating on VHF, UHF, and HF, 09:00

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VECTOR supporting ECOMM’s Safety Code 6 Review

Anthony VE7XAK is supporting ECOMM to complete a Safety Code 6 review of antennas at the site. Key people from ECOMM: Peter Dennis and Dave Cameron. Details: https://www.loomio.com/d/SalHPTur/e-comm-safety-code-6-review

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Renew for 2024

remind members about dues and renewal items, including annual time commitments.

(start Friends of VECTOR mailing list)

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DSA3 Reconfiguration Update

Jesse VE7DET, Ian VA7IT, and Tamara VA7ETR have organized to gather the DSA3 station into a single “sandwich” stack for the reconfigured DSA3. Target deadline to allow VEMA to re-activate DSA3 in September. Details.

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Pride Run and Walk: 8-person response

VECTOR worked with Frontrunners to organize our first radio support effort. Both organizations learned from the experience with plans for how to improve next year. Internal Plus-Delta.

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Pride Parade: 10-person response

VECTOR rallied a 10-person response with final emergency response plan coming in days before the event. Organizers and VECTOR learned much. Internal Plus-Delta.

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COL: VECTOR-ESS teamwork: 25 people

VECTOR organized a 25-person response for Celebration of Light. We encountered one concerning event on the first night which changed how we followed through on field requests. Further details in our Internal Plus-Delta and August 03 meeting records.

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Autumn COVID-19 wave concerns

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Help with, Work On, and Learn about

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3. Upcoming Training & Practice Opportunities

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4. On Air Radio Activities

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

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2m QSO Party - November 11

Time Estimate: up to 4 hours

  • 10:00 to 14:30
  • 2m FM or SSB
  • Details attached

Get to know other members on air - Friday Nights at 20:00 on VE7RVF

Time Estimate: 30 minutes

Get involved

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Practise with VECTOR Winlink Gateway - 441.025 MHz simplex

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Keep Formal Net Skills Sharp on Weekly Net - 20:00 weekly on Wednesdays, 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, Notables, etc.

  • Open Emergency Map. General reference for current conditions: Map

  • Understanding Crowd Density. City events public safety recommends we understand how to better rate crowd density. State of the art studies have developed a way to see crowds that we can use:

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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
September 06 44 146.430 MHz
September 13 20 147.200 MHz +600 kHz T100.0 Hz
September 20 7 147.450 MHz T100.0 Hz simplex
September 27 4 146.580 MHz simplex
October 04 1 145.450 MHz -600 kHz T100.0 Hz

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7. Monthly Members' Meetings

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

Add to your calendar

The next 4 Monthly Members' Meeting dates:
  • September 6 - 18:30 (ECOMM Media Room)
  • October 4 - 18:30 (location pending)
  • November 1 - 18:30 (location pending)
  • December 6 - 18:00 AGM (City Hall, Cascadia Room)

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Tnx es 73,

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

VA7DPO || Darryl Pogue, Vice President (he|him)

Join Loomio
https://loomio.org/vector-vancouver/
https://vectorradio.ca/members/discuss/
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