VECTOR March 2024 News

Posted 6 March 2024 in newsletter

Drills this week, can you come?

Getting started on key events for the spring. We need your thoughts about the newsletter: Newsletter Feedback.

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

1. Coming Meeting

Our next members' meeting will be held Wednesday, March 6, in the E-COMM Media Room.

Detailed agenda included in e-mail to members.

2. Community News - What’s Coming

VFRS March DOC Drill has room for more - Wednesday 10:00 - 2024-03-09
Community Centres Drill Next Saturday - 2024-03-09 10:30
Vaisakhi Parade in 6 weeks - Saturday, April 13
Teach at Discover Amateur Radio - 2024-04-27
Many on air and service activities on our calendar
BCARCC AGM coming up - 2024-05-26
Wildfire season starting in Alberta and BC?
Radio Skills Course coming soon - great intro or refresh
Repairing power supplies to finish HEMBC kit upgrades
DSA2 Reconfiguration Underway
Renew for 2024 - Volunteer Waiver Ready
HEMBC Upgrade Build Day
New Packet Radio Trial Internet Connection - 2023 March
Yaesu FTM-6000 Trial - 2023 March
2023 Events Snapshots

VFRS March DOC Drill has room for more - Wednesday 10:00 - 2024-03-09

March 06, 10:00, 1 hour
6 people estimated (Fire DOC, DSA3, Radio Room)

For March, DSA3

For April, DSA4

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Community Centres Drill Next Saturday - 2024-03-09 10:30

Shaking out the rust at Hillcrest and Sunset.

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Vaisakhi Parade in 6 weeks — Saturday, April 13

For the first time, VECTOR will be helping facilitate communications at the annual Vaisakhi parade in South Vancouver. This is a civic event similar to our volunteering with the Pride Parade.

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Teach at Discover Amateur Radio - 2024-04-27

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

Many on air and service activities on our calendar

Find links in the calendar!

May DSA exercise
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
[Champlain Heights Summer Fair]

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BCARCC AGM coming up - 2024-05-26

Sunday, May 26, at 10 am on-line via ZOOM. Updates on the website

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Wildfire season starting in Alberta and BC?

Health care is circulating invitations for our annual immunization for Influenza and COVID-19.

Monitoring Infection Levels in Wastewater

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Radio Skills Course coming soon - great intro or refresh

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

Scheduling our next 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.

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Repairing power supplies to finish HEMBC kit upgrades

Last weekend, several members stopped by Norman’s basement (VE7NWM) to help and test. We chose to pull all the power supplies to replace capacitors before they fail. Five kits are ready to go once the power supplies go back in. Three more kits are nearly ready. Soon, you can sign to take one for a spin. test these day-to-day (weekly nets).

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DSA2 Reconfiguration Underway

Lis VA7EVJ is preparing the interim station pack based on DSA3. We intend to have it ready for the first new City DSA training course.

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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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HEMBC Upgrade Build Day

Full details…

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New Packet Radio Trial Internet Connection - 2023 March

We evaluated an NPR Master modem with local internet access to connect over-the-air for 433.500 MHz client modems.

Full details…

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Yaesu FTM-6000 Trial - 2023 March

Net control operators and others evaluated a new radio on station two last spring.

Full details…

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2023 Events Snapshots

VECTOR around the community; checking, testing, serving, and connecting.

Full details…

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Missed Something?

We intend that this news looks forward unless we wish to commemorate accomplishments. I expect to know about 20 - 50% of what’s going on. You can easily make sure we get 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 active opportunities. Eight parts of VECTOR you can get involved in: Invitation Link. Task cards include links to file folders, checklists, and conversations.
- 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

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Drills

Refer to 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 to identify your 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

Give it a 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.

Learn when two-letter call signs become available. Jen VE7KIP wrote a tool that shares the latest two-letter call signs with Jesse VE7DET when released. February 2023: VA7YK.
Wells Grey hams a vital network in North Thompson. Critical communications service. Read the news article.
RCAF Special Event Call Signs including VE7RCAF. Celebrating the RCAF Centennial QSL Image. Events.
OGWX Reference Guide. OffgridWX makes a ham pocket reference: Field Reference Guide 10 minute tour. Reference Material. Thanks, Harondel VA7MCZ!
THD75A Teardown Video - VA3RWJ. Video on YT. Thanks, Chris VE3RWJ via Mastodon.radio.
Updating Coax and Connectors - ABR FME. 5-minute video. Thanks, Harondel VA7MCZ.
HF commercial radios linking Caribbean islands. Mid-Island is setting up something similar for disaster response. News article. Thanks, Paul VE7BZ.
Ready for communications failure. Interoperable, rapidly deployable, and scalable way for staying connected. Raise a common network in minutes.
Amateur Radio Links from across my desk. (Jesse VE7DET)
- Next ISS crew puts 4 hams on the space station.
- Lenovo T14 Generation 5 more repairable than predecessors.
- Morse Code documentary.
- More about High Speed Data. WaveTalkers, 1.25 hours.
- Top EmComm Apps. WaveTalkers, 1.5 hours.
- NTS Treasure Hunt. For radiograms.
- Amateur Radio Newsline?
- Exotic DX spot - Gabriola Island – almost as nice as Dry Tortugas?
- Last Maritime Morse Code Station - Radio Squirrels?.
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:

Date	Channel	Frequency Information
March 06	44	146.430 MHz
March 13	20	147.200 MHz +600 kHz T100.0 Hz
March 20	7	147.450 MHz T100.0 Hz simplex
March 27	4	146.580 MHz simplex
April 03	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. We have the meeting room at ECOMM and can also connect in our Zoom virtual space.

The next 4 Monthly Members' Meeting dates:

March 6 - 18:30
April 3 - 18:30
May 8 - 18:30
June 6 - 18:30
July 3 - 18:30

All at the E-COMM Media Room, and Zoom.

Please find the link to the Zoom online conference room in your email edition of the newsletter for joining remotely or on your MyVolunteerPage 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, President (he|him)
[email protected] Recommend Item

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

Join Loomio to pitch in
https://loomio.org/vector-vancouver/
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