Articles

Cold Lake Airshow

Jan 14th

Posted by VE6CIA in ARES

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Note from VE6CIA: All input, ideas or suggestions from Alberta amateurs is welcome, to save this event from extinction, whether it be ARES/ACS related or not.
Gentlemen,
I’m writing today in hopes of getting long term ARES/ACS training in place for Alberta.
Cold Lake Amateur Radio Society (CLARS) has been supporting the Cold Lake air show for a little over 20 years. We support this event with assistance from amateurs all over Alberta, and it has become a very well supported and anticipated event. Cold Lake holds airshows every two years, and we support this event by spreading amateurs throughout the crowd and looking for issues. If issues are discovered we report through our net control, who then forwards the issue to the Military Command Post for resolution.
Our assistance is highly valued by the airshow organizing committee, who in turn supports us with free admission, lunches on both days, as well as free airshow T shirts and ball caps.
This event perfectly mirrors the work that ARES/ACS would be called on to support in a real life event.
Our Club is aging, and our membership has dwindled. In the past our club could support the event on our own (albeit with reduced effectiveness)- that is no longer the case. As a result our club is reluctant to proceed as hosts, in that if support from other amateurs doesn’t happen we’re unable to do what we promised- and that’s a risk we cannot take. In addition, I’ve been doing the bulk of the work organizing the event, and I too am aging out of being able to continue.
I suggested that Alberta ARES/ACS take this event over from CLARS, and to date no one has been willing to step up. I understand the reluctance- however I believe that I may have a more palatable option- have ARES/ACS take ownership of the airshow and use it as our Alberta SET.
If the ARES/ACS leadership owns the event, they could allow a different radio club (or clubs) the opportunity to run the event every second year. This would provide tremendous training for both the ARES/ACS team lead, as well as ARES/ACS support personnel throughout the province.
Note that Cold Lake and Edmonton International Airport are both on a two year opposing cycle for airshows- the SET could be a yearly event if we included the Edmonton show.
We are at a critical junction with ARES/ACS- our relevance as “last chance” long haul communications is at an end (internet, satellite phones and Starlink have pretty much ended our usefulness). However, we have a huge potential for use in emergencies as observers- be it fire, floods, or whatever, a self led, self supporting group of people is a huge bonus for any emergency manager. This airshow is an exemplary example of that, and one I’d hate to see lost.
I have one more go left in me, and would be very happy to assist in getting the airshow scheduled for this summer organized. I have the routine down pretty well, and the bulk of the difficulties have been identified and overcome. However, if I do not have someone to pass the torch to then I’m done- and more importantly we’ll have lost a tremendous training opportunity.
Please note that CLARS will happily provide full access to the local VE6ADI repeater, as well as free camping at Mike’s and my farms.
Thanks for your time- and I’m available anytime to amplify this email and discuss options.
Cheers- Garry
FG Naylor
VE6FGN
ARES/ACS rep, CLARS
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Christmas Pot Luck Supper

Nov 16th

Posted by VE6BLD in Articles

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The Annual CAARC Christmas Pot Luck Supper will be held on Sunday December 7th at 4:30PM in  east Red Deer at the Bower -Kin Community place  85 Boyce Street.

 Please bring a food item dish and or dessert. The club will provide the turkey, ham and other fixings. If possible please bring a cash donation and or a non perishable food item for the Red Deer Salvation Army. We will meet at the hall from 4:30 PM until supper around 6:00 PM. Please bring your own cutlery and plates.

 

 

There will be a draw for the Gizmo also at this meeting. Please be prepared to add your personal touch to enhance this ongoing fun project.

Please click on view larger map below , then click on directions in the larger map for driving directions from your QTH

 

November 2025 CAARC ANNUAL General meeting

Oct 26th

Posted by VE6BLD in Articles

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CAARC Membership

The  CAARC ANNUAL General Meeting will be on Wednesday, November 19, at 19:30 hours.

Meet after 19:00 hours at the Calder School at Sunnybrook Farm 2879 Botterill Crescent . 

The Calder School entrance is behind Sims Furniture just north of the Bower mall at the south end of Red Deer.

At this AGM there will be a draw for a Baofeng radio and a basic RAC membership. You must be a paid up member and be in attendance for this draw.

The gates will be open at 1900 hrs. 

 

 

 

 

CAARC Field Day 2025 June 27th – 29th

Jul 21st

Posted by VE6BLD in ARES

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CAARC Field Day 2025

June 27th – 29th

Here are the pictures and videos of the field day. Thanks to those who sent me the pictures and videos.

The CAARC field day started out with a downpour just after we got the first tower and antenna up in the air! 

Make sure you click the second page of the pictures.

Thanks to all those who came to help set up Friday and take down Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to those who operated as the band conditions were pretty good again this year. 

 

 

 

Make sure you also click the second page of the pictures.

 

 

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CAARC 2025 Field Day

Jun 8th

Posted by VE6BLD in ARES

1 comment

Be Radio Active – Attend CAARC Field Day June 27th – 29th

 

Your CAARC executive is currently conducting extensive planning for ARRL Field Day operations.

We invite all CAARC members and interested parties to attend and participate.

CAARC plans to have two (2) fully operational HF stations and a VHF station dedicated for this ARRL contest.

The venue location is excellent, within a short drive from Red Deer and has onsite camping and facilities available.

Thank you for your continued support of CAARC.

We look forward to seeing you at this event.

Click this link for driving directions 

73

Don Westacott VE6HQ

CAARC President

 

Please click this  link to fill in the Goggle Form to volunteer your help to make this years Field Day a success again! 

Thanks in advance for your help to make this Field Day a success!

 

 

 

 

Amateur Radio Test Equipment 2025

Nov 1st

Posted by VE6HQ in Articles

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New CAARC Executive and winner of the new handheld.

Nov 21st

Posted by VE6BLD in Articles

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The November AGM was held on Wed Nov 15 with a great turnout. The draw for the new handheld radio donated by Mike VE6MIM was won by Tadd who is working on getting his license, CONGRATULATIONS. We hope to hear you on the repeater soon.

New CAARC President Don VE6HQ

Don VE6HQ

 

MikeVE6MIM presenting new Handheld to Tadd.

 

 

New 2023-2024 executive

Click this link to see the new executive.

Flight tracking

Jun 7th

Posted by VE6CIA in Articles

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ADSB Aircraft Tracking
2023-05-19
Have you ever wondered about that aircraft flying over your head? Perhaps you are already aware that
most aircraft are required to transmit location data. Anyone can easily receive that publicly available
broadcast data. Maybe you already receive that data and are feeding it to one or more of the flight
trackers. This article will help explain the fascinating hobby of aircraft tracking and will help you set up a
receiving system or tell you why it is desirable to send the data to other flight trackers.
Most aircraft worldwide are required to transmit data using a system known as ADS-B meaning More >

Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications

Feb 26th

Posted by VE6BLD in Articles

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Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications (Click this link to enter)

DESCRIPTION

The Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications is a library of materials and collections related to amateur radio and early communications. The DLARC is funded by a significant grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications, a private foundation, to create a digital library that documents, preserves, and provides open access to the history of this community.

This free resource combines archived digitized print materials, born-digital content, websites, oral histories, personal collections, and other related records and publications. The goals of the DLARC are both to document the history of amateur radio and to provide freely available educational resources for researchers, students, and the general public.

To contribute content for this project, email kay@archive.org

CAARC Christmas pot luck dinner

Dec 5th

Posted by VE6BLD in Articles

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There was a good turn out for the Christmas dinner on Dec 4.  Everyone enjoyed the great food and visiting. Thanks to all those who organized and prepared the food. Congratulations to Tiny VE6TIP for winning the Gizmo! We look forward to see what he adds for next year! Thanks to our new President Don VA6DFR for the pictures and video. 

 

Marvin VE6CJY presenting the gizmo to Tiny VE6TIP

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