VECTOR April 2024 News

Posted 3 April 2024 in newsletter

Getting started on key events for the spring.

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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 is on Wednesday, April 3, in the E-COMM Media Room.

Detailed agenda included in e-mail to members.

2. Community News - What’s Coming

• Monthly Communications Test has room for you - Wednesday 10:00 - April 3
• Vaisakhi Parade needs you in 2 weeks — Saturday, April 13
• Retired Single-band VHF Radio? - $ 100 each, only 7 units
• Tiny USB TNC? - $ 22 each
• Sun Run seeks field operators - April 21, Saturday morning

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• May Communication Test - May 1, 10:00, Wednesday for 1 hour
• Teach at Discover Amateur Radio - April 27
• Many on air and service activities on our calendar
• Radio Skills Course date depends on you - great intro or refresh

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• Finishing HEMBC Kits for User Testing
• DSA2 Reconfigured
• Renew for 2024 - Volunteer Waiver Ready
• Missed Something?

Monthly Communications Test has room for you - Wednesday 10:00 - April 3

• April 3, 10:00, 1 hour
• Members testing the Radio Room, Fire DOC, and DSA4
• Members learning what to do (one spot left)

Sign up: https://app.betterimpact.com/Volunteer/Schedule/OpportunityDetails?guid=11a54af0-f738-4c37-beb4-c365e633e490

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Vaisakhi Parade needs you in 2 weeks — Saturday, April 13

For the first time, VECTOR buddy teams will see and hear for the annual Vaisakhi parade in South Vancouver. This event works like the Pride Parade, with a dash of COL responsibilities. A few walking roles and many stationary ones to cover parade progress, key intersections, public safety, and lost children.

Sign Up: https://app.betterimpact.com/Volunteer/Schedule/OpportunityDetails?guid=f483c24c-9eca-4469-9ed5-e10b108e696c

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Retired Single-band VHF Radio? - $ 100 each, only 7 units

• You can buy one of seven used single-band Icom IC-2200 VHF radios.
• Wait for our follow-up email before you pay.
• Add a Tiny USB TNC for extra $ 22.
• Details attached.

Buy a Radio.

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Tiny USB TNC? - $ 22 each

Anthony VE7XAK is ready to make Tiny USB TNCs for the IC-2200 radios. These little TNCs can work with laptops for other radios, so you can get one, too. Details attached, wait for our follow-up email before you pay.

Add your name to the list.

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Sun Run seeks field operators - April 21, Saturday morning

You will staff one of the locations throughout the course, seeing and hearing for the event to cover emergencies and lost children. If you are new, your buddy-mate will be experienced. Coverage Map

Sign Up: https://app.vansunrun.com/form/57231

May Communication Test - May 1, 10:00, Wednesday for 1 hour

Next month: DSA5 (Oak Park), Fire DOC, Radio Room.

Sign Up: https://app.betterimpact.com/Volunteer/Schedule/SignupFromCalendarFetchShiftDetails?activityId=1908200&activityShiftId=136083444

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Teach at Discover Amateur Radio - April 27

Richmond club invites you to help share what you know with people curious about radio for a day-long seminar for Technology Advancing Amateur Radio. Presentations are 20 minutes long and the day runs from 9 am to 4 pm.

Read more.

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Many on air and service activities on our calendar

Find links in the calendar!

• Monthly Communications Tests, first-Wednesday mornings
• May DSA exercise
• BCARCC AGM - 2024-05-26, 10:00
• Champlain Heights Summer Fair
• Field Day Weekend, June 22 and 23
• Celebration of Light (night 1) - Saturday, July 20
• Frontrunners Pride Run-Walk - Sunday, July 21
• Celebration of Light (night 2) - Wednesday, July 24
• Celebration of Light (night 3) - Saturday, July 27
• Pride Parade - Sunday, August 4
• Punjabi Market Live
• Main Street Car-Free Day
• BC Shake-Out exercise
• Fall DSA exercise

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Radio Skills Course date depends on you - great intro or refresh

We pick a day when we have around 12 people.
Join the Waitlist

A four-week deep dive into radio procedures, events, message handling, and more. Learn more about our key technologies and buying your first radio. Play in three specialized on-air nights. Non-VECTOR operators welcome with $ 20 fee.

Finishing HEMBC Kits for Member Testing

Three kits are ready for members to take home for user tests. Seven more will be ready next month. Test and practice voice and Winlink on 20 Watt radios.

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DSA2 Radios returning to site

Lis VA7EVJ finished the power wiring for the set. Anthony VE7XAK to install headset-speaker switch before we deploy the set back to DSA2 this month.

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Renew for 2024 - Volunteer Waiver Ready

Reminder to cover the Volunteer Waiver.

To remain active volunteers, we need three things current:

• getting a Police Information Check every fifth year
• accepting the City Volunteer Waiver every January
• updating our MyVolunteerPage (or BetterImpact) profile

You can pay your dues via Interac eTransfer to [email protected], or by cheque.

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Missed Something?

We intend that this news looks forward unless we wish to highlight accomplishments. I can only know about 20 - 50% of what’s going on. You can easily make sure we mention closer to 80% of what matters using our news form: Recommend Item.

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Help with, Work On, and Learn about

• Online Task Board shows things we are working on. Invitation Link. Cards on the board have checklists, conversations, and links to folders.
  • DSAs
  • Civic Events
  • Field Day
  • CERV
  • Maintain-Repair-Overhaul
  • Next Drill
  • High Speed Data
  • Board

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3. Upcoming Training & Practice Opportunities

• Radio Skills - Waitlist now
• Net Control - Email Andrew VA7YAA
• Key Files
• EmComm Skills Notes
• Updating Learning Program - best learning at monthly drills

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4. On Air Radio Activities

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

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VECTOR Equipment Drills

• Described in Community News above.

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

Time Estimate: 30 minutes

• Please take your shot leading as net controller for one night
• Connect to around 15 fellow operators (from 8 to 35 people any day)
• Origin
• Remember that we identify our signal
  • your call sign at both the beginning and end of each period of communication
  • per RBR-4 — Standards for the Operation of Radio Stations in the Amateur Radio Service section 9.3
  • even a casual net gives time to practice good procedures

Get involved

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Practise with VECTOR Winlink Gateway - 441.025 MHz simplex

• Take your shot Time Estimate: 15 minutes

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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.

• Amateur Radio Links from across my desk. (Jesse VE7DET)

  • Soldering tips and video
  • Cooperative communications strategy for HF in Washington state

• Help with Better Impact (MyVolunteerPage). Handy “How To” instructions and videos - Learn here.

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

• DEEP’s Event recordings: Posted online each month

• SEPAR and SARC magazine: John VE7TI publishes latest issue right before our monthly Members session on a bi-monthly interval: VE7SAR

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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:

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7. Monthly Members' Meetings

VECTOR gathers on the first Wednesday of each month at the ECOMM meeting room to keep its operations flowing.

The next 4 Monthly Members' Meeting dates:

• April 3 - 18:30
• May 8 - 18:30
• June 6 - 18:30
• July 3 - 18:30
• August 7 - 18:30

All at the E-COMM Media Room, with Zoom connection open.

Please find the link to the Zoom online conference room in your email edition of the newsletter so that you can join remotely. The link also lives on your MyVolunteerPage homepage online or in your MyImpact mobile app. 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, President (he|him)
[email protected] Recommend Item

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

Join Loomio to pitch in
https://loomio.org/vector-vancouver/
https://vectorradio.ca/members/discuss/ (Jump to) Traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), and Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilwətaɁɬ) peoples.