Website Updated: Sunday, February 7th., 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.
WARC SITE DIRECTORY

1) 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.

2)  During the WARC February 3rd., 2010 Meeting  
Certificates of Appreciation for service to
Exercise "Handshake"
were presented to club members by the Municipality of the County of
Cumberland. Photos may be found at the bottom of the "Congratulations" page or
HERE. Scroll down
the page. Look closely at the presenters and the recipients! :-)

3)
Exercise 'Handshake' story and photos by Bob Perry, VE1EDP are HERE. (Scroll down) During
this exercise,
Mike Masters VE1XDT, Brad Ross VE1ZX and Jim Hannon VE1AFH were
presented with
EMO jackets for their service during 10 or more EMO exercises. Congratulations
Guys!

4) Our club newsletter for February 2010, "The Tantramar", is now on the website HERE.

5) Minutes from the WARC regular January 2010 meeting are HERE.

6) A
VE1SPR Site Visit at Lynn Mountain took place on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 by Lorne
VE1BXK and Brad VE1ZX
in order to service a UHF hub repeater low TX deviation problem. Here is
the excellent report with photos sent to me by Lorne:
VE1SPR Site Visit. Thanks Lorne!

7)
Minutes from the WARC December 2009 Christmas Potluck Meeting are HERE.

8) Additional photos from
Bob, VE1EDP from the amateur radio course session held on Thursday
evening, January 21st, 2010. Click
HERE.

9) The
first WARC Brunch of the decade was held at Patterson's Restaurant in Sackville, NB on
January 16th, 2010. See the story and photos from this club event here:
January 2010 Brunch.

10)
Congratulations to Irene VE1CF and Bill VE1CFK Wheaton upon receiving Life Membership
Certificates
during the regular monthly meeting of the club on 6th January 2010. Congratulations are
in order as well for
Jon VE1JSG and Randy VE1ADV, both of whom recently received their
callsigns after passing their amateur exams before Christmas. See the photos from the meeting
HERE. Scroll to the page bottom.

11) Our
club newsletter for January 2010, "The Tantramar", is now on the website. Click HERE.

12)
Exercise "Handshake" took place on Tuesday the 29th December 2009 at the E.D. Fullerton
Building EMO/Club Room. Click
HERE and scroll to the page bottom for some photos from this event
thanks to VE1EDP, Bob.

13) The
WARC December 2009 Meeting and Christmas Potluck Party was held on Wednesday,
December 2nd. at the E.D. Fullerton Building meeting room in Amherst, NS. Click
HERE for photos and
story of this club event. Additional photos added on December 8th. taken by Bob, VE1EDP.
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: February 23rd, March 30th, April 27th, May
25th, June 29th, July 27th, August 31st, September 28th, October 26th, November 30th and
December 28th.

2) The
WARC February 2010 Brunch will be held at the Westwinds Restaurant across from the
RCMP Station at Exit #3 in Amherst, NS on
Saturday, February 20th, 2010 starting at 11 am. The
restaurant is associated with the Esso Station there. Come on out with a friend or neighbour - the
more the merrier!

3)
The WARC March 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,March 3rd,2010 starting
at
7 pm. Sandwiches: VE1KEV, Kevin and Sweets: VE1SM, Peter (Victor Echo One Sweet Man)

4)
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 why you enjoy your brunch with other club members and guests.

5)
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:
WARC Guestbook
Old Timers Club Website
EMO
Newsletters
Minutes
WARC History
Maritime Radio History
Brunches
Club Meetings
Field Day
Repeater Work
Fleamarkets
Past Events
Club Brochure
Lee Nolan Award
Congratulations
Graduates
Nets & Repeaters
WARC Swap Shop
Maritime Swap Shop
Antenna Projects
Radio & WX Photos
Radio Links Page
In Memorium
About Us
Guestbook
Join the Club!
Maritime Weather Net History
RAC Maritime SM Website

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.
Scanning Receivers

View My Stats
This webcounter was installed on 28th February 2009:
UP FRONT
Webspace 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/
NSARA News
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
Lorne, VE1BXK reports that the VE1PAR repeater in Parrsboro, NS is now working so 145.470 (-) can
now be used .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The new Springhill hospital repeater (VE1SPH) is in Brad's (VE1ZX) basement and is undergoing testing
before installation. Pease give it a workout at a frequency of 146.805 (Minus Offset). Thanks.

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)