VECTOR August 2026 News

Posted in newsletter

Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend. An enormous thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to support the Summer Lights in English Bay and Vancouver Pride Parade!

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

VECTOR News

  • August Members’ Meeting - Wednesday, August 5th, at 18:30

    The August members’ meeting will take place on Wednesday 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 a recap discussion of our work at summer civic events, a presentation on POTA operations, and a look ahead to events in September.

    If you are planning to attend the meeting in-person at E-Comm, you must RSVP in Better Impact.

  • Group Chats on Signal

    VECTOR uses the Signal Messaging App as an unofficial messaging app. There are a few Signal groups we created to discuss various topics. If you would like to join any of the groups, please find links in the members section of the website.

  • Car Free Days - Saturday, September 5th & 13th

    Car Free Vancouver and VECTOR are going to work together differently this year. We are going to be a special volunteer service working directly with the Zone Leads.

    Car Free has also requested we help during the Commercial Drive event so that we can be part of the warm-up for Main Street. We’ll serve in two ways during their critical times: communications for the volunteer coordinator and zone leads during setup and takedown, and validating entrace authorization while vendors are coming in with their vehicles.

    For Commercial Drive on Saturday, September 5th, we’ll be doing 2 shifts and need between 6 and 8 people in each shift. You can sign up in Better Impact - Car Free Commercial.

    At Main Street Festival on Saturday, September 13th, we also have our own booth to connect with the community and promote radio and preparedness. We’ll be doing 3 shifts and need 14 people during the load in and load out shifts, and 10 people for festival outreach.

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, Pride, and the BC Shake-Out. To sign up, contact Andrew VA7YAA.

Hands-On Opportunities

  • Monthly Emergency Communications Test - Wednesday, August 5th & September 2nd at 09:30

    The City of Vancouver will be conducting their monthly emergency communications tests on Wednesday, August 5th and September 2nd at 10:00. You can find more information and sign up in Better Impact - Monthly Radio Tests.

  • Monthly EMCR PREOC Radio Check-In - Wednesday, August 19th, at 18:30

    In the evening on the third Wednesday of every month, the South Coast Provincial Regional Emergency Operations Centre (PREOC) runs a series of nets on several radio systems to test communication with EOCs. VECTOR is encouraged to participate each month from the radio room.

    Learn how to use HF, Winlink, PACTOR, and IMERS from the radio room by signing up in Better Impact - Monthly PREOC Check-In.

Community News

  • Dunbar Area Coffee Meetup - Saturday, August 22nd at 10:00

    A few local amateur radio operators and members of the Dunbar Earthquake & Emergency Preparedness group have been holding regular monthly coffee meetups. The next meetup is on Saturday, August 22nd at 10:00, at Bynns Cafe & Sandwiches. Any Dunbar area amateur radio operators are encouraged to attend and build connections with their local community.

  • Hams Across the Border - Saturday, August 29th at 10:00

    Each year Canadian and US Amateur Radio Operators meet up at the Peach Arch State Park to meet one another, share contact information and to just have a good time.

    More information can be found on the VE7BAR website.

  • Ham Happenings / SMART Nanaimo - Saturday, September 12th at 09:00

    An all-day amateur radio event hosted by the Nanaimo Amateur Radio Association, including a flea market, commercial exhibitors, and presentations about amateur radio topics ranging from mesh networks to HF to microwaves.

    More information can be found on the Ham Happenings website.

  • New Radio Coffee Meetups are possible

    Initial polling suggests that we have enough people interested in meeting VECTOR neighbours in the downtown, Hillcrest, and Douglas Park neighbourhoods. You can learn more and help make these local connections possible during our meeting discussion this week.

    Optimistically, your efforts across the city will grow into 8-person affinity groups that inspire neighbours with radio.

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
August 5 7 147.450 Mhz simplex, tone 100.0 Hz
August 12 4 146.580 MHz simplex
August 19 2 145.170 MHz, -0.6 MHz offset
August 26 430 446.100 MHz simplex
September 2 401 443.725 MHz, +5 MHz offset, tone 88.5 Hz

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 145.610 MHz (VECTOR Channel 63), or by sending your message through one of the other local Winlink gateways. The VA7EOC-10 gateway supports both AX.25 packet and VARA FM.

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 meeting dates are as follows:

  • August 5th in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
  • September 2nd in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
  • October 7th in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30

We strongly encourage attending in-person when possible, 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.