VECTOR October 2025 News

Posted in newsletter

The summer events (and sadly, also the summer weather) are done, but luckily amateur radio can be an indoor activity too! We have several smaller scale events coming up in October to support emergency preparedness and support local community and regional organizations.

We hope to hear you on the air on October 16th for the BC ShakeOut. After you’ve practiced your earthquake survival skills, check-in on VE7RVF to the VECTOR activation net.

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

VECTOR News

  • October Members' Meeting - October 1st at 18:30

    The October members' meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 1st, at 18:30 in the E-Comm Media Room. We encourage in-person participation, but you can also join remotely on Zoom.

    This month’s meeting will feature an overview of radio setup and operations in a DSA, a review of message traffic formats, and a look ahead at a bunch of hands-on opportunities this month.

  • AGM & Director positions

    Our 2025 Annual General Meeting is on December 3rd this year, and VECTOR is looking for members who might be interested in standing for board positions. We welcome the insights that both new and experienced members can bring to our organization’s governance. Please reach out to any of the current board members if you’re considering standing for election and have questions.

    In particular, VECTOR is looking for a member to fill the treasurer position as Anthony VE7XAK will retire from the board after his 5-year term limit in that position. Are you comfortable working with numbers, meticulous and enjoy learning new things? The treasurer position is responsible for managing money, accounts, grants, and tax filings for VECTOR. For more information, including a more detailed job description, please contact Anthony VE7XAK or Darryl VA7DPO.

Training & Practice Opportunities

  • Net Control Operator Training

    Want to level-up your comfort on-air and support your fellow operators? Join the VECTOR Net Control programme and learn how to run a net. You’ll help run the weekly check-in nets, and also qualify to be a Net Control Operator for events like Vaisakhi, Celebration of Light, and the BC ShakeOut. Contact Andrew VA7YAA to sign up.

  • Basic & Advanced Certifications Courses

    VECTOR is offering both the Basic Certification and Advanced Certification courses beginning on October 18th and running for several weeks on Saturdays.

    If you know anyone interested in getting their amateur radio licence, you can point them to VECTOR’s Basic Certification Course.

    If you are interested in diving deeper into amateur radio and getting your advanced certification, you can sign up to join VECTOR’s Advanced Certification Course.

Hands-On Opportunities

  • Monthly Emergency Communications Test - October 1st at 09:30

    The City of Vancouver will be conducting their monthly emergency communications tests on Wednesday, October 1st at 10:00. You can find more information and sign up in Better Impact - Monthly Radio Tests.

    November’s test will be on Wednesday, November 5th.

  • BC ShakeOut Earthquake Exercise - October 16th at 10:16

    When an earthquake happens, do you know what to do? The annual BC ShakeOut exercise is an opportunity to practice “Drop, Cover, and Hold-On” followed by a check-in net on the VE7RVF repeater (VECTOR channel 1). This year, we will be trying to coordinate members to head to and activate some DSA sites for additional practice with message passing and logging.

    Find more information and earthquake resources online at the BC ShakeOut website.

    If you’d like to deploy to a DSA in the evening, please let us know in Better Impact - ShakeOut DSA Exercise.

  • NARA NVIS propagation testing - October 18th at 11:00

    The Nanaimo Amateur Radio Association is continuing to test near-vertical incident skywave (NVIS) propagation for emergency communications. On October 18th, they are looking for stations to provide signal reports and attempt communication with VE7NA.

    If you are interested in staffing the HF station at the VECTOR radio room for this, please contact Darryl VA7DPO.

  • ERTEX Provincial Exercise - October 29th at 09:00

    This annual exercise from the Provincial Emergency Radio Coordination Service (PERCS) simulates an emergency situation with communication between EOC and PREOC radio rooms. VECTOR will be aiming to staff our radio room and make contact with the South Coast PREOC as part of the exercise.

    More information is available on the PERCS website. If you are interested in staffing the VECTOR radio room for this exercise, please contact Darryl VA7DPO.

Community News

  • Delta ComFest Swap Meet - October 5th at 10:00

    The annual Delta ComFest swap meet returns for 2025! ComFest is the largest and longest continuously running amateur radio convention in the Lower Mainland held south of the Fraser. In addition to vendors and radio gear, there will be representatives from Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) and examiners available for anyone wishing to challenge an exam.

    More details can be found on the Delta Amateur Radio Society website.

  • DEEP Emergency Radio Introduction - October 18th at 10:30

    Dunbar Earthquake and Emergency Planning (DEEP), the Pacific Spirit MedVents (Medical Venturers) and VECTOR invite you to an introductory emergency radio training session on Saturday, October 18th.

    DEEP is offering this training session at the Disaster Support Hub to introduce the community to DEEP’s radio operations and give them some basic skills in how to use mobile radios to help out our community at a time of urgent need.

    You can find more information and RSVP on the DEEP website. If you are interested in helping VECTOR demonstrate amateur radio capabilities, please contact Jessé VE7DET or sign up in Better Impact - DEEP Radio Workshop.

On-Air Nets

The weekly net takes place at 20:00 every Wednesday on the VE7RVF repeater (VECTOR channel 1, 145.450 MHz, -0.6 MHz offset, tone of 100.0 Hz). 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:

Date Channel Frequency Information
October 1 44 146.430 MHz simplex
October 8 20 147.200 MHz, +0.6 MHz offset, tone 100.0 Hz
October 15 7 147.450 Mhz simplex, tone 100.0 Hz
October 22 4 146.580 MHz simplex
October 29 2 145.170 MHz, -0.6 MHz offset
November 5 430 446.100 MHz simplex

We encourage Winlink check-ins to the VECTOR net every week, just address your message to VA7EOC. Connect to VA7EOC-10 using simplex UHF on 441.025 MHz (VECTOR channel 420), simplex VHF on 145.600 MHz, or send your message through one of the other local Winlink gateways. The VA7EOC-10 gateway supports both AX.25 packet and VARA.

VECTOR also maintains a list of other local radio nets on our website.

Upcoming Meetings

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

  • October 1st in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
  • November 5th in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
  • December 3rd (AGM) in the City Hall Cascadia Room

We strongly encourage attending in-person, but recognize that online participation is more accessible for some members. Look for a link to the Zoom online conference room in your email ahead of the meeting to join remotely. You can find more details about members' meetings and RSVP in Better Impact.