In this issue: Last month at the OARC, Upcoming activities, OARC new hams news, Volunteer updates, Club business
Last Month at the OARC
It has been another incredibly active and successful month for the OARC! You can read a report on each one of our activities on the Latest Posts page (always visible on the lower half of the home page, too.) You’ll see reports on the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour – Community Event, OARC Field Day 2025, the first OARC “Come meet the new hams” BBQ and group photo, and the RAC Canada Day Contest 2025.
A special congratulations and “Bravo!” to Rod, VE3RXN, and Myles, VA3MYZ, for a terrific interview with Amanda Putz for CBC Radio’s “In Town and Out”. These two amazing spokespeople promoted Amateur Radio as a hobby and a community service, highlighted Scouts and their involvement in Amateur Radio, and talked about Field Day, and the OARC.
- Listen to the “In Town and Out” interview on the CBC Radio website (9 minutes).
Upcoming OARC activities
I’m pleased to announced that the OARC will be hosting a booth at an important conference in Ottawa:
- The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2025 International Symposium on Antennas & Propagation and North American Radio Science Meeting (AP-S/URSI 2025)
The conference will be at the Rogers Centre, 55 Colonel By Drive from July 13-18, 2025. Learn more about the plans for our booth and come see us! You can visit the exhibits area all day on Wednesday, July 16 for a $10 USD admission charge. Visit the conference registration page (scroll down to “Wednesday Exhibit Pass”).
There will be no Monthly Meetings in July or August but the Board will continue to meet because there is so much to do to prepare for the fall! You will see details of all upcoming activities in the online calendar on the OARC website, including: MS Bike 2025 – Community Event (Aug. 16), OARC Carp Hamfest (Sept. 6), Monthly Meeting (Sept. 10), and Radio in the Park (Sept 13).
OARC new hams news
I’m pleased to report that over 40 new hams benefited from our offer of a one-year OARC membership for just $1 and OARC New Hams Radio Bundle Deal for just $75. They have all had their GOTA workshop and hopefully you will begin hearing them on the air on New Hams Net on Tuesdays at 8:00pm on the VE2CRA repeater (146.940 (-) /100.0 or via Echolink (with registration) search for VE2CRA on the Repeaters tab. We were glad to connect in person with many of these new hams at the “Come meet the new hams BBQ” on June 28.
Volunteer updates
We are still accepting volunteers for our new working groups to help us deliver the following initiatives:
- Equipment upgrades (i.e., the Repeater),
- Club agility (i.e., ability to quickly deploy stations for activities), and
- Exploring a possible new-ham’s equipment library, and
- Workshops (soldering skills, kit building, pico balloon, Fox hunting and Geo Foxing activities).
More critically, we still need coordinators to help organize and administer our Education and Equipment programs overall. These are larger, longer-term roles.
Be part of a team that shares a passion for Amateur Radio and technical hobbies. Gain experience in a supportive, volunteer-driven environment. A letter of recommendation from the OARC could be another benefit of a volunteer job well done.
Visit our Volunteer webpage to learn more and email me directly by clicking Contact the Prez and we’ll set up a time to talk.
Club business
Newsletter
As reported previously, starting this month, the OARC will issue only one newsletter per month. We’re confident that you’ll know what’s happening with the Club from the website, and especially our always-up-to-date online calendar.
Membership Update
Renewal – important reminder: Until this year, everyone’s OARC membership expired at the same time: in September. Now, your membership is valid for 12 months from your date of payment. This year, we also switched to an online payment system. This system will send you a reminder 30 days before your membership expires. You will receive this reminder even if you set up an automatic renewal payment.
Visit our Membership page for information about membership fees, how to pay online, and the types of expenses your membership fee goes towards. On the FAQ page, you’ll also find answers to the following questions: “Can I pay for my OARC membership online?” and “How will I know when my membership is expiring?” Watch for new web content about renewing your membership, setting up or changing your payment method, including automatic renewal. I will include a link to the new content in my column next month.
Numbers are growing: The number of OARC members continues to grow. We recently discovered a small batch of current members we had missed previously. We’ve taken steps to ensure that doesn’t happen again. Big thanks to Claude for his attention to straightening out our records.
Join now: If you are not a member yet but you enjoy our free newsletter or come to our activities, I encourage you to become an OARC member today. Every penny of your membership fee is badly needed! Your annual membership fee goes towards the following types of expenses:
- Maintenance and upgrades of OARC radio-communications equipment, including repeaters and antennas, radios, tools, kits, and go kits;
- Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) insurance, which protects you from liability during club events and when you are operating on your own at home or out and about (some conditions apply);
- Monthly club meeting expenses such as room rental, audio-visual technology, refreshments; and
- IT and web expenses, such as web hosting and maintenance.
Critically important, larger membership numbers send an important message about the popularity of Amateur Radio as a hobby and the strength of our community.
Have a happy July!
All my best and 73,
Roger Egan, VA3EGY
The Prez
Last Updated on 2025-08-05 by Joannadanna