CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
SARA flea market: Saturday, October 16
We are very pleased to announce that the SARA fall flea market is coming up! We really hope you can make it.
--> See the details here! <--
VE6SP Estate Sale
A big thank you to everyone who showed up at Sig Preuss' estate sale this past weekend. That goes out to both the volunteers who did the organizing, set-up and tear-down for the event and the to folks who showed up to get things they wanted for their stations.
It was a lovely late-summer morning in the country and it was great to see everyone there. This was more than just buy-and-sell event. It was also a very nice social event that offered an opportunity for in-person visiting and catching up between folks who maybe hadn't been face-to-face for a while. People that knew Sig could be heard reminiscing about shared experiences and telling stories of days gone by, just as it should be.
President's update, September 10
I and others have been getting ready for this coming Saturday the 14th and the amateur radio equipment estate sale of Sig Preuss. See the front page of the QCARC website for a partial list of the equipment that will be for sale. There will be much more than listed including items from two other estates, some of which are listed on hamshack.ca. Further price reductions are likely as it would appear I have priced these items a bit high... HIIHI! If the WX cooperates we will have a very nice day in the country!Parking may be an issue as it's limited to the sides of the range road. Car-pooling is therefore recommended. Think of it as a mobile coffee meet-up, grab a java and head west with a co-pilot. Talk-in will be on VE6QCR. See you there! See the notice for this event on the main page of our website, along with a partial list of items for sale.
73, Neil, VE6TCK
President's update, September 3
September.... yes it's here already. A big deal for ones with young families as it's back to school or perhaps even off to school for the very first time. The weather is changing and we are getting a taste of what fall is all about. Luckily I have no serious schedules and can hide in the shack if the wind, rain and sunlight are not to my liking. There will be some potentially record breaking hot days this week and again I will be underground.Tables are starting to book up for the fall flea market and social and many of us are looking forward to that get-together. The sale of Sig Preuss' ham gear on September 14th will be a good reason to get together, see familiar faces and buy some things you may or may not need.
It's good to hear all the activity on VE6QCR and it's great to hear a new call or one I don't recognize on our repeaters.
I will close by reminding everyone about increased traffic with the return to school of the little ones.
73, Neil VE6TCK
It has been busy with tower work this week and the photo below shows the worst of it, a tower in the trees... HIHI! It's not obvious but we limbed several of the trees close to the tower but could only reach up about 25 feet on 45 feet trees. Thanks to some planning and a very skilled tower crew they managed to sneak the Mosley tri-bander through the maze of limbs.
This one will be posted on Hamshack.ca soon and I will lower the price on the existing listing to get people motivated before winter. As always a big thank you go out to the volunteer tower crew Jim, Ed and Wayne. I just supervised. Later this week the backup crew will be on another site planning and perhaps removing yet another tower. I sure wish more were going up than down.
We are in the planning stages of an estate sale on an SK's site which will be a bit different than having it all at a flea market. There will be a listing of available equipment soon. It will be all amateur radio gear with some military surplus for amateur use as well as vintage amateur receivers and transmitters. We will need volunteers to do table set up and moving the gear from the storage area. So imagine picking up a 50 lb piece of gear and carrying it 100 ft or more, a wheeler may be useful but not a perfect solution in some cases. If you are able bodied and interested please send me an email, phone or call me on 2M.
I hope the weather holds it appears to be later in the summer than I thought....where did it go?
73,
Neil,
VE6TCK
We understand that an obituary will be published in the Edmonton Journal soon.
Our condolences to Hugh's family, loved ones and friends.
I was recently doing some work for a club member and the subject of volunteering came up. They had experience outside our hobby with non-profit societies and as is often the case some people need a little encouragement to get involved. Some are unsure of the demands or skill-sets involved and then there is the time commitment. Some people can find it intimidating. I always encourage people to just show up and support the cause in whatever ways they can. For example, we are always short of able-bodied tower climbers. And for those that don't want to or can't go up a tower there are always plenty of things to do on the ground. More hands make for lighter work! The club will have several more opportunities before the snow flies to help out with tower removal and station disbursements. Some lifting is involved but it's not a contest or a race, you can do like I do and involve harmonics and call it "bonding" time, HIHI. If you have questions or just want to stop by and watch any tower rork please contact anyone on the executive.
Also, there will be no newsletter update next week due to vacation plans.
73,
Neil, VE6TCK
73 to all,
Neil, VE6TCK
Planning has started for the fall social and flea market. Several tables have already been reserved. A few more towers have come down, thanks to volunteers helping out SK's families. Watch hamshack.ca for details! Club-wise I hear lots of activity on QCR/PP which is what Paul always wanted. Just a few words or a signal report. Take a quick break from what you are doing to let that mobile station know someone is listening. I always try to answer mobile stations that are not residents of Alberta as well as calls I dont recognize. You may hear some newer stations on the repeater as well as stations getting reactivated after being inactive for a time, which is great. Make them feel at home.
Summer can be a time when people are busy with, well... summer... and that is good.
73, Neil, VE6TCK
After
several years of his fight with cancer, we are sad to announce the
passing of Paul Tyschuk on May 21, 2024, at the age of 60. He will be forever remembered by his loving wife, Teresa, of 30 years, daughters Justine and Megan, and son-in-law, Robbie. He is predeceased by his father William, his mother Lillian, his brother Bill, and his cherished grandchildren, Aiden and Gavin. There
will be a service for family and friends of Paul, which will be Held on
June 7th at 2:00 PM at Canora Community League- 10425 152 St NW,
Edmonton. We encourage you to wear bright colours or green to represent
Paul's favourite CFL team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The
family would like to extend a special thank you to the doctors, nurses,
and care staff at the Cross Cancer Institute, as well as anyone who
cared for Paul throughout his life. In
lieu of flowers, donations in honour of Paul may be made directly to
the Alberta Cancer Foundation or the Stollery Children's Hospital
Foundation. After
several years of his fight with cancer, we are sad to announce the
passing of Paul Tyschuk on May 21, 2024, at the age of 60. He will be forever remembered by his loving wife, Teresa, of 30 years, daughters Justine and Megan, and son-in-law, Robbie. He is predeceased by his father William, his mother Lillian, his brother Bill, and his cherished grandchildren, Aiden and Gavin. There
will be a service for family and friends of Paul, which will be Held on
June 7th at 2:00 PM at Canora Community League- 10425 152 St NW,
Edmonton. We encourage you to wear bright colours or green to represent
Paul's favourite CFL team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The
family would like to extend a special thank you to the doctors, nurses,
and care staff at the Cross Cancer Institute, as well as anyone who
cared for Paul throughout his life. In
lieu of flowers, donations in honour of Paul may be made directly to
the Alberta Cancer Foundation or the Stollery Children's Hospital
Foundation.
President's update, August 27
Normally I would start by saying another week has come and gone but it's been two weeks. Holidays and time away are important even for volunteers.
Hugh Kroetsch, VE6AN, Silent Key
We have learned of the passing of Hugh Kroetsch, VE6AN, on August 13.
President's update, August 13
Well it's been yet another busy week. It's a good thing I am retired, as I was just explaining to friends over a cold 807. Early in my day there is an expectation to sleep in and later in the day an afternoon nap is pretty much a given. One doesn't want to over-exert one's self!
Gordon Skutle, VE6DG, Silent Key
I was saddened to report another Silent Key tonight on the Alberta Public Service Net. Gordon Skutle, VE6DG, passed away on August 4th at the age of 104 years. He was a licensed ham for 84 years. Please see the story on QCARC.net where Star Convington, VA6SSC, interviewed him not too long ago. I had a chance to meet Gordon and have coffee with him a while ago. We discussed early AM broadcast radio and amateur radio in Edmonton. I had planned a return trip to continue those discussion and to learn more about his life's work. I wanted to bring one of his favorite receivers, a Hammarlund, for him to sit in front of again and tune around the bands. Sadly, that did come to pass. You can read more about Gordon's fascinating life and the significant contributions he made to AM radio here at the Edmonton Broadcasters Club website: https://edmontonbroadcasters.com/bios/skutle-gordon
From the Top of the Tower
It would appear there is an expectation for a few words for the week and subsequent weeks. So here goes! The Jasper fires have been on everyone's mind and the start of the fire season always raises concerns for what is coming. At first we seemed to be in reasonable shape provincially but a hot windy, drying period and a lightning storm can change everything in a heartbeat. We can only hope for the best for the rest of the year. Jasper will never be the same as so much went up in smoke including a lot of memories.
What has summer brought us?
Summer typically invites us hams to spend less time cloistered in our ham shacks and more time out of doors enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.
Until the heat becomes oppressive and the air well less fresh than it ought to be, that is.
Such has been the case in recent days with record-breaking heat around our province and far beyond.
Couple the heat with smoke from wildfires and it becomes downright disruptive to folks' enjoyment of the great outdoors.
This naturally varies somewhat based on QTH but it's true to some degree for just about everyone.
The result was that more than a few of us have taken refuge in our basement ham shacks.
What else is a ham to do?
Every cloud has a silver lining!
The warmer weather of spring is always welcome... or is it?
Everyone that lives this far north looks forward to the arrival of spring and summer. But we all know that the arrival of higher temperatures can bring stormy weather and that can give us hams grief. So it was for Hans, VE6TK, when a twister recently made an appearance on his property near Fort Saskatchewan. As you can see in his photo the 138 km/h wind did some real damage to his 2-element 80m beam. The 40m beam below it survived unscathed. We all share your pain, Hans!
Club Executive Changes
The club executive met on June 20th and made some appointments to get us through to the elections at the next Annual General Meeting. Doug, VE6BC, was appointed to the positions of Secretary/Treasurer for the interim and Terry, VE6EM, will be returning to the executive. Welcome back, Terry! To quote Michael Corleone in The Godfather: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"
Southern Alberta Repeater Association - Annual General Meeting, picnic and flea market
On Saturday, June 15 the Southern Alberta Repeater Association played host to all at their AGM (which always includes a flea market and SARA dogs!) in the scenic McKenzie Trails Recreation Area in Red Deer. People came from near and far to enjoy a nice day in the park, to buy and sell radio gear and to enjoy good company. The event was enjoyed by all and was a success by any measure. We thank our friends at SARA for putting this event on and we look forward to a repeat in 2025!
Paul Damion Sylvester Tyschuk Obituary
There will be a service for family and friends of Paul, which will be held on Friday, June 7th at 2:00 PM at the Canora Community League, 10425 152 St NW, Edmonton. We encourage
you to wear bright colours or green to represent Paul's favourite CFL team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The family would like to extend a special thank you to the doctors, nurses, and care staff at the Cross Cancer Institute, as well as anyone who cared for Paul throughout his life. In lieu of flowers, donations in honour of Paul may be made directly to the Alberta Cancer Foundation or the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation.
Message from the president, Neil Brown, VE6TCK/VE6JW:
Paul was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer that had spread to his liver in 2017. He had 28 radiation treatments and bi-weekly chemo for 6 months followed by surgery to remove the tumor and 3 sections of his liver. This got rid of the cancer for a while, but in 2019 some nodules started forming in his lungs, so he went back on chemo and had to continue bi-weekly treatments to keep it at bay. It was quite an aggressive cancer but he never stopped fighting. In total, he had over 100 rounds of chemotherapy and I never heard him complain. He was able to stay active and felt quite well most of the time with a positive attitude. His motto was "I have the cancer, the cancer doesn't have me." His last update was February 10, 2024 that indicated there was no new cancer and things were stable, but that all changed suddenly and we lost Paul May 21, 2024. When Paul called me and asked me to do the net on May 7th, I wasn't too worried, it had happened before. When he called on the 14th his breathing and lungs were the problem as well as the back pain and I knew things were changing rapidly. Sadly, on May 22nd I did his Silent Key announcement. He was such a huge part of the QCARC and the Amateur Radio Community at large. Many have asked what do we do now, we do what Paul would have done: keep moving. The best way to honor Paul is to keep active and support the QCARC. In time we will find a way to honor him with something specific and permanent. He will be so missed by so many.
The Free Advanced Amateur Radio Course
from Hamshack.ca is designed to assist licensed amateurs in upgrading
their certification from Basic or Basic with Honours. It incorporates a
novel QSL (Question Specific Learning) method, enhancing mobile
learning through a focus on understanding the reasons behind answers,
which aids in faster learning and better memory retention. The course
is tailored for mobile use and includes visual aids, extensive quizzes,
and exams to deeply cover advanced amateur radio concepts. It's freely
accessible to anyone with a Hamshack.ca account, providing an
invaluable resource for improving advanced amateur radio skills. The
course is also recognized for its ability to simplify complex technical
topics, making it a valuable tool for individual learners and ham radio
clubs alike. Clubs can include the QSL Advanced course in their
educational offerings for a minimal per-user fee, making it an
economical option for member training. To integrate this program into
club training, contact VE7DXE drosberg@telus.net
Here's a link to the course page: QSL Courses - Hamshack
Here's a link to the blurb listing on the Hamshack website with a review from a user: Hamshack.ca Advanced Amateur Radio CourseStudy on Your Schedule! - Hamshack
ANNOUNCEMENT - THE NEXT QCARC EVENT WILL BE:
QCARC FALL SOCIAL & FLEA MARKET
Admission $FREE Flea Market Tables $FREE Refreshments $FREE
ALFA RADIO, GPS CENTRAL (RadioWorld) & ICOM CANADA WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE
To book tables email mail@qcarc.net
UPDATE
For those who are in range of this repeater, listen often because there
are daily nets around the world connected to it that you can check in
to. There is a list of nets and details on how to use the repeater at https://www.ve6idk.com/ More information will be added as the owner, Sven VA6XL (also VE6IDK) makes progress.
THERE HAVE BEEN RECENT AND SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE AIRCRAFT TRACKING WORLD
ARNIE VA3WDR HAS JUST UPDATED HIS ARTICLE WITH THE NEW INFORMATION. CHECK IT OUT HERE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION YOU CAN CONTACT ARNIE BY EMAIL arnie@weisbrot.ca
QCARC'S EXPENSES ARE PAID FOR BY DUES, CASH DONATIONS AND THE SALE OF DONATED ITEMS
IF
YOU HAVE ITEMS TO DONATE FOR THE CLUB TO SELL EMAIL mail@qcarc.net
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE LIST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER WEEKLY, PLEASE EMAIL mail@qcarc.net
