VECTOR February 2026 News

Posted 3 February 2026 in newsletter

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

VECTOR News

• February Members' Meeting - Wednesday, February 4^th, at 18:30

  The February 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 guest presentation from Paul VA7XP about volunteering with amateur radio at the Vancouver Sun Run, more details about the Chinatown Spring Festival parade, kick-off planning for Field Day, and planning around some upcoming community engagement events.

• Chinatown Spring Festival Parade - Sunday, February 22^nd, at 09:30

  The annual parade through Chinatown for the lunar new year will take place in late February, and VECTOR is looking for volunteers to provide communications coverage along points of the parade route.

  You can sign up to help at the event in Better Impact - Chinatown Spring Festival.

Hands-On Opportunities

• Monthly Emergency Communications Test - Wednesday, February 4^th & March 4^th, at 09:30

  The City of Vancouver will be conducting their monthly emergency communications tests on Wednesday, February 4^th at 10:00. You can find more information and sign up in Better Impact - Monthly Radio Tests.

  March’s test will be on Wednesday, March 4^th and will include a test at DSA 3.

• BC QSO Party - Saturday & Sunday, February 7^th and 8^th

  Test your HF operating by trying to contact as many stations as possible within the province in BC over a 20 hour period. Visit the Orca DX & Contesting Club website for all the details.

• Monthly EMCR PREOC Radio Check-In - Wednesday, February 18^th, 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

• Radio Demonstration at Hasting Mill Museum - Sunday, February 15^th, at 13:00

  The Old Hasting Mill Store Museum is hosting a community fair the Family Day weekend: “Our Global Village”. On Sunday, VECTOR will be facilitating an amateur radio demonstration, showing how amateur radio can facilitate communication across the world and keep people connected.

  If you’re interested in helping to organize or run the demonstration, please join the discussion in Loomio - 2025 Outreach at Hasting Mill Museum

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:

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 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:

• February 4^th in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
• March 4^th in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
• April 1^st in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30

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.