| 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. |
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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:
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 |
| 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/ |
| 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) |