VECTOR July 2026 News

Posted 1 July 2026 in newsletter

Thank you to everyone who came to Field Day last weekend in Queen Elizabeth Park! It was great to see so many familiar faces, and welcome some new members. Special thanks to everyone involved in the setup, take-down, and food support for the event.

We now turn our attention to the busy event season, with 3 civic events coming up at the end of the month that need our support.

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

VECTOR News

• July Members’ Meeting - Wednesday, July 8^th at 18:30

  The July members’ meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 8^th, at 18:30 online in Zoom. There is no in-person meeting this month.

  This month’s meeting will focus on our civic event commitments for the coming month with summer fireworks, the Pride Run/Walk, and the Pride Parade; along with a recap of Field Day and our attendance at community events.

Summer Events

• Frontrunners Vancouver Pride Run & Walk - Sunday, July 26^th at 07:30

  Join us to support a long-running local inclusive running and walking race fundraiser event. Vancouver Frontrunners needs 10 to 15 volunteers to provide radio support along the 5km and 10km routes along the Stanley Park sea wall on the morning of Sunday, July 26^th.

  You’ll be positioned along the route to give updates about runners and help communicate in case of injuries or emergencies. There are also opportunities for people with bikes to assist with sweeping behind the race.

  We need to confirm our volunteer numbers with the organizers by July 10^th so they can arrange lunch and swag for everyone. Sign up in Better Impact - Vancouver Pride Run/Walk

• Summer Lights in English Bay Fireworks - Friday, July 31^st at 17:00

  Vancouver is hosting a single night of fireworks this year, and the City of Vancouver has asked us to deploy volunteers to help the event run smoothly.

  Our role as volunteers involves walking around in the crowd at the beach areas and reporting crowd conditions (and any concerns) to the Vancouver Emergency Operation Centre by radio. The firework shifts run from 5:00 PM until roughly midnight, and dinner will be provided for all volunteers. Please be advised that this event involves walking and standing for several hours.

  Volunteers should attend the online pre-event briefing meeting on Wednesday, July 22nd at 19:00 on Zoom.

  We need between 25 and 30 volunteers to cover all areas of the event.

• Vancouver Pride Parade - Sunday, August 2^nd at 10:00

  We’re looking for volunteers to help the annual Pride Parade event run smoothly. Our role will be to give event organizers field observations about the crowd, parade location, and help with medical response by radio.

  This is a single day shift with onsite volunteer orientation session. The shift runs from 10:00 until roughly 16:30, and lunch is provided for all volunteers. Please be advised that this event involves walking and standing for several hours.

  We need 15 to 20 people for this event.

Community Engagement Events

• Collingwood Days Summer Festival - Saturday, July 18^th, at 10:00

  Join us for Collingwood Days’ big Festival Day at Gaston Park. Enjoy live music, dancing, storytelling, poetry, games, and workshops throughout the day. VECTOR will be setting up a table to talk about amateur radio and emergency preparedness.

  You can help staff a VECTOR display table by signing up in Better Impact - Collingwood Days Festival

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 5^th at 09:30

  The City of Vancouver will be conducting their monthly emergency communications tests on Wednesday, August 5^th 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 19^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.

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 145.610 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:

• July 8^th online only
• August 5^th in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
• September 2^nd 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.