| Website Updated: Wednesday, March 17th., 2010 |
| WARC Westcumb Amateur Radio Club WARC |
| ...with members from Westmorland County, New Brunswick & Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. |
| Every Monday night except in July and August, Rick, VE9RWS conducts the WARC Weekly Net at 8 pm on various linked repeaters. Why not listen and check in? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Storm Watch: If the WX looks inclement for a WARC meeting night, then listen to the VE1WRC Repeater (147.285+ MHz) during the day for a recorded message regarding its status. |
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1) Congratulations to Samara (Sam), the daughter of Randy Elliott, VE1ADV of Advocate, NS upon passing her amateur radio exam on Thursday, March 4th, 2010! Well done indeed! Sam is the fourth new amateur to graduate from this winter's radio course. See photos HERE submitted by Bob, VE1EDP. Hope to hear you on the air soon, Sam! 2) Congratulations to Pravin Varma, VE9PKV, Paul Cant, VE9TTT, and Jim McNeill, VE1JWM, upon successfully passing their amateur radio exams on Thursday evening, the 25th of February, 2010! All three now have their callsigns. See the photos and report by Bob, VE1EDP, HERE. Scroll down the page. 3) Our club newsletter, The Tantramar for March, 2010 is now available HERE. 4)The minutes of the February 3rd, 2010 meeting of the WARC are HERE. 5) Exercise 'Handshake' for February 2010 - see the photos and story by Bob, VE1EDP and stats by Jim, VE1JBL HERE. Scroll down the page. 6) Earle Smith VE6NM, a WARC Club member, was recently honoured by the Peace Country ARC in Alberta. To see the article about Earle click here: http://www.ve6arc.net/joomla/images/stories/documents/pcarc_newsletter_feb_2010.pdf 7) The WARC February Brunch was held on Saturday, February 20th, 2010 at the West Winds Restaurant in Amherst, NS starting at 11 am. Thanks to Lorne, VE1BXK and Ron, VE1ZX there are some photos of this club event HERE. Scroll down. 8) Additional photos from the WARC Radio Course held on the 18th of February, 2010 were submitted by Bob, VE1EDP - thanks Bob. Scroll to the bottom of the page HERE. Helping out were Ron Bickle VE1BIC, Rick Sullivan VE9RWS, Randy Elliott VE1ADV and Bob Perry VE1EDP. 9) Recent photos and stories of the preparation of the VE1SPH Repeater and of the site visit to the hospital in Springhill, NS. Thanks to Brad, VE1ZX and Lorne, VE1BXK for the stories and the photos: HERE. New photos of the mast stand made by Brad, VE1ZX for the Sinclair antenna were added on 2010-02-17. Thanks for all of the time, effort and expense into this project guys! 10) See the new Springhill Hospital Repeater (VE1SPH) which currently resides in Brad's basement and is being readied for installation at the hospital. Photos and story by Brad,VE1ZX are HERE. |
| Upcoming Events |
1) Exercise "Handshake" - an ongoing exercise held on various repeaters and held monthly on the last Tuesday of every month starting at 7 pm in 2010: March 30th, April 27th, May 25th, June 29th, July 27th, August 31st, September 28th, October 26th, November 30th and December 28th. 2) The NSARA Contest - Sunday, March 14th - two four hour sessions 8 am until noon local time and 2 pm until 6 pm local time. See http://nsara.ve1cfy.net/nsaracst.htm for details. 3) The WARC March 2010 Brunch will be held at the Patterson's Restaurant in Sackville, NB on Saturday, March 20th. starting at 11 am. Patterson's Restaurant has been recently renovated so why not attend and see the changes while you enjoy your brunch with other club members and guests. 4) The Old Timers Club Net on Sunday, March 21st, 2010 at 3753 MHz from 8 am to 9 am local time will be a Special 50th Anniversary Net with reminiscences from several old timers about the net's early days. You are encouraged to check in or just listen to what is shaping up to be a most entertaining on-air event! The first OTC Net was held on March 20th, 1960. There are many members of the WARC who are also members of the Old Timers Club. Check out the website at: http://www.oldtimersclub.byethost31.com/ 5) The WARC April 2010 Meeting will be held in the meeting room at the E.D. Fullerton County Building, Amherst, NS across the street from the hospital on Wednesday,April 7th,2010 starting at 7 pm. Sandwiches: VE1ADV, Randy and Sweets: VE1AFH, Jim. 6) The WARC April 2010 Brunch will be held at Westwinds Restaurant (ESSO Station) in Amherst on Saturday, April 17th starting at 11 am. Why not bring a guest or two with you this time. Tell them the brunch is free and when you get there, tell them you forgot your wallet! :-) 7) Downeast Fleamarket in Halifax - Saturday, May 15th, 2010. 8) Field Day 2010 - Saturday, June 26th. through to Sunday, June 27th., 2010 9) IOTA - Saturday, July 24th and Sunday, July 25th, 2010. 10) The Seventh Maritime DX Forum: 6th - 7th August, 2010 in Halifax. See the information about it HERE and also the letter from Scott Wood, VE1QD below. If you wish to make a financial contribution to the DX Forum, the details and form are HERE. Looks like another great radio event! |
Please sign our Guestbook:
Bob Cooke, VE3BDB, RAC VP of Field Services reports that the new national RAC Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Training Manual has been completed and is available for download on the internet. See http://www.rac.ca/fieldorg/racares.htm to download it. |
| The North American QRP CW Club (NAQCC) welcome all who are interested in CW and have some interest in using QRP from time to time. Membership is free and you automatically become a lifetime member. Visit their website for more details: http://www.arm-tek.net/~yoel/ This info from Paul, KD2MX, Membership Recruiter for NAQCC as reported in TCA, Nov-Dec. 2008. |
| This webcounter was installed on 28th February 2009: |
| UP FRONT |
| Server space for the WARC Website is kindly donated by the Municipality of the County of Cumberland, Nova Scotia. |
| The following list of names and callsigns are of paid up club members for the 2009-2010 year thus far. List will be updated as Treasurer Kev, VE1KEV submits info to me. Thanks Kevin. If your name or call does not appear below, then you have NOT paid your dues. Please see Kevin at the next club meeting and become a club member. (List last updated on 18th January 2010) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VE1ZX & VE1BFB VE1JCH VE1SM VE1KEV VE1XDT VE9JMP VE1AFL VE1JSG VE1CHI VE1BIC VE1ADV VE9UH VE1DEH, VE1CLH & VE1TUX VE9RWS VE1KW & VE1YH VE1ZS VA1MAB VE9KM VE1EDP VE1XTL & VE1GK VE9NEL VE1JBL VE9TER VE1BSM PRAVIN VARMA VE1BSD VE1ROD VE9QRP VE1JSP VE1VH VE9DRS VE6NM VE1AVV VE1ALF VE9DWJ VE1AMU & VE1EXE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Life Members VE1CZD VE1BXK VE1AIC VE1JJC VE9ES VE1CF VE1CFK |
| For those of you taking the WARC Amateur Radio Course or those who just want a 'refresher', here is a "Basic Amateur Radio Course" available FREE online from the Toronto Emergency Communications (EmComm) Group: http://www.emergencyradio.ca/course/ |
| Check out N0NBH's site for everything you have ever wanted to know about Solar Data and HF Propagation!: http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html |
| The WARC Alternate Website URL: (backup in case of regular website failure) http://www.warc.byethost5.com/ |
| Access the weather for your area here: http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/msc/atl_map_e.html |
Learn Morse Code the correct way!... For those of you taking the ongoing radio course or for others wishing to brush up on your code or increase your speed, here is a free and dandy PC training tool which I think is tops! I have looked and tried enough of them. This morse trainer is called "Teach" from the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) group and was written by Gary Bold. You can download Gary's free software and read about this little utility here: http://www.nzart.org.nz/exam/morse.html Morse should be FUN to learn and this little program does just that. NEVER memorize morse code by sight as this will actually slow you down! Learn only by hearing it sent. |
| Now that you have brushed up on your code, click on the URL below for a great concert by Beethoven written in the key of CW! This is an amazing and entertaining short video. Have your speakers on. Thanks to Brad, VE1ZX for this URL: http://www.zerobeat.net/morse505.html |
SEVENTH MARITIME DX FORUM Halifax, Nova Scotia 6 - 7August 2010 The Halifax Amateur Radio Club (HARC) invites DXers, contesters and HF enthusiasts to the 2010 Maritime DX Forum. This year, as part of the MDF weekend, we are also hosting the Annual General Meeting of Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC). It begins at 2:30 pm on Friday, 6 August and will be followed at 5:30 pm by a reception, BBQ dinner and a bluegrass concert. The MDF program on Saturday, 7 August will run from 8:30 am - 4:45 pm and be followed by a reception and the MDF banquet. The Maritime Contest Club is our partner in making the annual MDF happen. Location: The MDF will be held in the Rosaria Centre of Mount St. Vincent University on Seton Road, the entrance to MSVU off the Bedford Highway. Please Google Mount St. Vincent University Location to see a map. Our speakers are active and outstanding members of our global ham radio community and include: · MARTTI LAINE, 0H2BH – Espoo, Finland · TIM DUFFY, K3LR – West Middlesex, Pennsylvania · DICK FREY, K4XU – Bend, Oregon · TIM ELLAM, VE6SH – Calgary, Alberta · A MEMBER OF A RECENT DXPEDITION Program: Again this year the MDF features a group of world-class speakers. The draft program is attached. Themes will cover new initiatives from Europe to spark the further development of ham radio; how contesting plays a role in advancing our hobby; technical advances in solid state amplifier technology; an exciting story of a major DXpedition; and an exploration of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), an important mechanism for the governance of amateur radio. A unique aspect of this year’s MDF is the inclusion of the Annual General Meeting of Radio Amateurs of Canada. This promises to be a meeting of particular importance to Canadian amateurs, but it will also be of interest to those coming from other countries. The social side of the weekend starts out with a BBQ dinner and bluegrass concert on Friday night. During the weekend, there will be ample time to talk with each of our program presenters and to each other; first, at the reception, dinner and party on Friday night and then during the coffee breaks, lunch and DX banquet reception on Saturday. Non-ham spouses will enjoy the evening events. A city tour on Saturday for non-ham spouses will be available. Moreover, post-MDF tours to Peggy’s Cove outside Halifax and to Prince Edward Island are being developed for attendees by TayMac Tours. The details will be announced on this page soon. John Scott, VE1JS, a volunteer ARRL QSL card checker will be on hand to confirm credits for DXCC, WAS and VUCC awards. Cost and Registration: The costs of the various events are: RAC AGM – no cost; Friday’s BBQ and bluegrass social - $25; Saturday’s Maritime DX Forum - $60; and the MDF banquet - $35. A registration forum and instructions can be downloaded from www.halifax-arc.org The MDF Chair, K. Scott Wood, VE1QD, will gladly answer any questions you may have. He can be contacted at: ve1qd@rac.ca or at (902) 823-2761. Maritime DX Forum Fun: To help augment the costs of operating and developing the MDF, we annually solicit donations. This money provides travel support for speakers when needed and covers some development costs. Details about the Fund are attached. Accommodations: For those wishing inexpensive lodging, Mount St.Vincent University has comfortable dormitory rooms with a shared bath (price TBD) and one bedroom apartments with bath (price TBD). The price includes tax, breakfast and parking. Reservations can be made with Patricia Drake: telephone (902) 457-6355 or e-mail: patricia.drake@msvu.ca. Tourism Opportunities: Why not plan your summer vacation around a trip to the Maritimes. Visit historic Halifax. Take a boat trip around Halifax Harbour. Tour the Nova Scotia mainland and Cape Breton Island. Visit the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Badeck. Hop the ferry or take a drive on the Confederation Bridge and visit our island province - PEI. AND of course, take in the Maritime DX Forum on August 6th and 7th at Mount St. Vincent University. If you wish tourism information for the Maritime Provinces, please note this on your registration form and a package will be mailed to you. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Beginning in June 1, 2009 a passport or enhanced drivers license/enhanced identification card has been required to cross into the USA. Thus returning Americans require this new level of documentation. Ensure you have the right ID! Finally: Please let your ham radio friends know about the Maritime DX Forum. They can obtain registration materials either from this website. Any questions you may have will be gladly answered by K. Scott Wood, VE1QD and Chair of the MDF. He can be contacted at: ve1qd@rac.ca or at (902) 823-2761. WELCOME TO HALIFAX IN AUGUST 2010! K. SCOTT WOOD Professional Position Mailing Address Professor (Retired) 232 Moser Island Road School for Resource and Glen Margaret, Nova Scotia Environmental Studies B3Z 3H5 CANADA Dalhousie University Tele: (902) 823-2761 (h) Halifax, Nova Scotia (902) 403-2191 (c) Canada Fax: (902) 823-2191 Amateur Radio Station VE1QD ( E-Mail: ve1qd@rac.ca) |
| Three Club Members meet in New Hampshire Kaye VE1YH, Jerry VE1KW and Jim VE1CHI met at the Bretton Woods ski resort in NH on Thursday, March 11th. 2010 for some 'serious schussing'. It was a day with brilliant sunshine and excellent snow conditions which all three enjoyed immensely. In the photos, you can see Mount Washington in the background and the Mount Washington Hotel in the lower left corner of photo #3. The snow forming the letter "L" is the track of the cog railway which goes to the top of Mount Washington where the N1NH repeater is located as well as the weather station. |
L to R: Jim VE1CHI, Jerry VE1KW and Kaye VE1YH
| Two Metre Repeaters in the Area VE1MTN/147.090 +/Moncton, NB VE9SBR/147.225 +/Shediac, NB VE9SKV/145.230 -/Sackville, NB VY2CS/147.390 +/Charlottetown, PE VE1CFR/146.850 -/Summerside, PE VE1WRC/147.285 +/Amherst, NS VE1BHS/145.350 -/Sugarloaf, NS VE1SPR/147.000 -/Springhill, NS VE1SPH/146.805 -/Springhill, NS VE1PAR/145.470 -/Parrsboro, NS VE1NET/146.745 -/Parrsboro, NS VE1HAR/147.135 +/Truro, NS |
| Google Earth Guy? I received an email from Ron, VE1BIC with the attached photo on the right taken from Google Earth Street View. They have vehicles which continually take photos as they drive down the streets and roads and you can access these on Google Earth or Google Maps for a 360° view of a street. If you happened to be standing there at the time, then guess who is on 'candid camera'? This one just happens to be of a WARC club member engaged in tower work outside. Can you guess who it is? Good detective work, Ron! ...and thanks to the 'Google Earth Guy' for permission to post this on our website! |
| The VE1WRC Repeater in Amherst, NS (147.285 MHz) is off the air until further notice. |
| Canadian Field Day 2009 Results The March/April 2010 issue of TCA contains the Canadian amateur radio club results for last June's 2009 Field Day contest on pages 58-60. The WARC using the call VE1WRC placed FIRST IN CANADA in the catagory 1F! Congratulations to the 12 participants who made us number one in our catagory in Canada once again! There were 111 QSOs for a total of 472 points. There were 1,697 Canadian participants in 148 different Field Day operations nationwide. Perhaps I should add that no one came second in our catagory as we were the only Canadian club entered in catagory 1F. :-) |