VECTOR September 2026 News

Posted in newsletter

I hope everyone has had a good summer. As we move into the fall, our focus is on training and practice opportunities to help members get hands-on with skills and experience they need to be able to support their local neighbourhood. Our local radio coffee meetups are a great way to build connections with other VECTOR members in your neighbourhood. We hope those neighbourhood groups can help with regularly testing and exercising radio kits in nearby community centres.

Previous newsletters can be found in the archive.

VECTOR News

  • September Members’ Meeting - Wednesday, September 2nd, at 18:30

    The September 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 discussion about setting up and configuring MeshCore gear, recap of neighbourhood coffee meetups and our first club POTA activation, and decisions around upcoming community centre practice opportunities.

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

  • Patches and MeshCore/Meshtastic Pick-Up

    The patch orders and mesh equipment have arrived! You can pick these up at E-Comm during our September monthly meeting, and we can also make them available at local coffee meetups.

    If you are attending the meeting for pick up, you must RSVP in Better Impact.

    Please reach out if you would like to make arrangements for pick up at another time.

  • Car Free Commercial Drive - Saturday, September 5th

    We’re still looking for two more people to help with the evening shift for Car-Free Commercial Drive. You can sign up in Better Impact.

  • Car Free Main Street - Sunday, September 13th

    We need some more volunteers out to support the Sunday Car Free Day on Main Street. The morning and evening shifts are the most critical times for us to have volunteers to facilitate coordination and public safety during the setup and teardown phases of the event. There are more gates to staff than originally expected, and we still have scheduling gaps for radio operators.

    If you’re available, please sign up.

Training & Practice Opportunities

  • Net Control Operator Training - Wednesday, September 9th, at 19:00

    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.

    Our next cohort of Net Control Operators is starting soon. To sign up, contact Andrew VA7YAA.

  • Radio Skills Course - Starting Tuesday, September 29th, at 18:30

    VECTOR is running our Radio Skills Course beginning in late September to help amateur radio operators refresh their knowledge and get on-air experience. This course is primarily targeted to newly licensed operators who’ve completed the basic certification course, but open to anyone wanting to brush up on their knowledge. Open to non-VECTOR members for a $20 fee.

    The Radio Skills Course consists of 4 classroom sessions on Tuesday evenings, and 3 on-air instructional nets on Thursday evenings. To join the class, please fill out the online registration form.

  • Basic and Advanced Certification Courses - Starting in October

    VECTOR will be offering both the Basic Certification and Advanced Certification courses beginning in October 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 - Wednesday, September 2nd & October 7th, at 09:30

    The City of Vancouver will be conducting their monthly emergency communications tests on Wednesday, September 2nd and October 7th at 10:00. You can find more information and sign up in Better Impact - Monthly Radio Tests.

  • Monthly EMCR PREOC Radio Check-In - Wednesday, September 16th, 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, VARA HF, and IMERS from the radio room by signing up in Better Impact - Monthly PREOC Check-In.

Community News

  • Delta ComFest Swap Meet - Sunday, October 4th, at 10:00

    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.

    VECTOR will be hosting an information table so we can connect with other operators and foster connections in our community. You can learn more in the discussion thread on Loomio.

Local Radio Coffee Meetups

Local Radio Coffee Meetups happen monthly. Each local circle agrees on a time and location for the month. Typically, the sessions are around an hour long and sometimes radio fun ensues during or after any session. You can also find the sessions in the VECTOR Events calendar visible on our website.

The schedule for upcoming Radio Coffee Meetupss is as follows:

Local Date Time Location Radio Call In
Downtown September 27 09:30 Waterfront Center Food Court no
Douglas Park TBD 19:00 Cambie and 18 Plaza Channel 1
Dunbar September 19 10:00 Dunbar Community Centre, TBD Channel 1
East Central September 27 18:30 Ivy’s Kitchen, Main and 30 Avenue Channel 1

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
September 2 401 443.725 MHz, +5 MHz offset, tone 88.5 Hz
September 9 44 146.430 MHz simplex
September 16 20 147.200 MHz, +0.6 MHz offset, tone 100.0 Hz
September 23 7 147.450 Mhz simplex, tone 100.0 Hz
September 30 4 146.580 MHz simplex
October 7 2 145.170 MHz, -0.6 MHz offset

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:

  • September 2nd in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
  • October 7th in the E-Comm Media Room at 18:30
  • November 4th 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.