In this issue: Resurgence of Amateur Radio; Welcome new hams; Updates on Club operations (including administration, membership, and volunteers), and some closing thoughts.

1) Resurgence of Amateur Radio!

If this summer has shown us nothing else, it has certainly demonstrated that Amateur Radio is on the rise! Here are a few examples: 

• June 28: CBC Radio’s “In Town and Out” interviewed Myles, VA3MYZ and Rod, VE3RXN about OARC Field Day 2025 and the involvement of Scouts Canada in Amateur Radio
• July 21: The Ontario Government announced $545,000 for RAC as part of strengthening the response capability of Ontario Corp. 
• August 21: Jill Dunlop, Ontario’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response, visited RAC headquarters.
• August 27: The cover of the Globe and Mail had an article titled: “Provinces are making amateur radio operators an official part of extreme-weather planning”. 
• September 5: Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) officially launched the RAC and VE3RHQ flagship station.
• September 6: 2nd largest Carp Hamfest in the event’s 28 year history!
• September 6: The RAC AGM was held immediately following Hamfest in the same location, making it accessible to many more people.
• September 7: A RAC open house where local radio amateurs were invited to drop by to see the latest equipment with sponsorships from ICOM and FlexRadio.

A big, special thank-you to OARC members Mike Kelly, VE3FFK, and Craig Delmage, VE3OP, who planned, organized, and completed the refurbishment. Mike has practically lived at RAC headquarters over the past two years; from planning and design, to equipment acquisition, configuration, testing and go-live! Here is a link to the video of the launch event on YouTube (57:00) The segment with congratulations from OARC begins at 49:28.

2) Welcome new hams

I’m delighted to report that 28 new hams have joined our ranks following the spring 2025 OARC Basic Amateur Radio Course.

Most of them participated in our Get On The Air (GOTA) workshop and many took advantage of our New Hams Radio Bundle Deal, which includes a Retivis RT-95, 25-Watt VHF/UHF mobile radio, programming cable, and mag-mount antenna, and a DC cigarette-lighter plug with power-pole connection.

Please join me in offering them a warm welcome when you cross paths with them at our Monthly Meeting (in person or online) or at other Club activities, on the New Hams Net on VE2CRA on Tuesday evenings at 8:00pm or the Ottawa Amateur Radio Shack Discord server. 

3) Updates on Club operations

A) Administration

 OARC moves to Microsoft 365 (M365) Business Basic

As a non-profit organization, the OARC recently qualified for a free subscription to Microsoft 365 (M365) Business Basic, a comprehensive, cloud-based productivity platform that bundles Microsoft’s Office applications (like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) with other tools and services such as OneDrive, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams, along with advanced security. This month, the Board migrated all its online activities from a patchwork of different tools on various platforms to this single M365 ecosystem.

Chris brings 20 years of experience in IT consulting, cybersecurity, and digital transformation and has deep expertise in managed IT services, cloud computing, and security architecture. SKYROOT operates in Toronto, Ottawa, and across Canada. (And, yes, Chris is Eve’s brother!) A big thanks Neil Herber, VE3PUE, too, for providing support throughout the handover. Neil provided background on how things were set up in the past and why, and he worked closely with Chris to troubleshoot and fix any small issues that arose during the migration process.

Audio-visual equipment upgrade for meetings and courses

The Club has invested in some audio-visual equipment to deliver a higher-quality experience for our hybrid Monthly Meetings and courses, both for online participants and people attending in person. This equipment will deliver better quality sound and visuals, and will allow us to more easily switch between different presentation scenarios with fewer interruptions. 

Our purchases were guided by new-ham Alastair Francis, VA3FHQ, who has lots of experience in running hybrid meetings. We are very grateful for his expertise and advice. Alastair has also agreed to be the “show runner” for the Monthly Meeting, focusing on running all the audio-visual equipment. He will be assisted by Myles Bird as Teams “host”. 

New operating gazebo improves Club agility

This large gazebo was able to protect 4 operating positions at Field Day. All the screened areas made it possible for Field Day visitors to see what was going on without trampling all over our operators. 

A key advantage of this gazebo is that you only need about 5 minutes for both set up and take down, as you can see here in this youtube video. This Gazebo purchase is part of our effort to improve Club agility.

B) Membership

If you are not yet a member, please join now. Why? 

• If you enjoy our free newsletter or come to our activities, becoming a member is a way to say “thank you” to the Club and to help with our costs.  
• Every penny of your membership fee is badly needed for the Club to deliver on maintaining and upgrading local Amateur Radio equipment and infrastructure, Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) insurance, OARC Monthly Meetings, IT and website needs, and more; and 
• Larger membership numbers send an important message about the popularity of Amateur Radio. 

C) Volunteers

Thank you to the volunteers who are starting to fill many OARC roles! You will find more detail on all roles on the OARC Volunteer page. Last month’s The Prez Sez column  provided a detailed snapshot of filled and vacant positions so this month, I will just focus on what’s changed. If you think you, or someone you know, might like to volunteer, click Contact the Prez to email me directly and we’ll set up a time to talk.

Volunteers supporting Goal 1: Education 

Education Coordinator: VACANT This role is part of the Club’s management team and is responsible for the organization and administration of OARC courses and workshops. The lack of an Education Coordinator has meant slower progress in confirming workshop leads and working groups and this has delayed planning, organizing, and leading our workshops, including: soldering skills, kit building, pico balloon and fox hunting. 

Volunteers supporting Goal 2: Equipment 

Equipment Coordinator: VACANT This role is part of the Club’s management team and is responsible for the organization and administration of equipment upgrades, exploring our possible new-hams equipment-lending library, and exploring ways to improve the Club’s ability (i.e., ability to quickly deploy stations for activities). The lack of an Equipment Coordinator has meant that, since June alone, the OARC has had to refuse donations of equipment from nine separate people because there is no one who can pick up, assess, catalogue and store the equipment, either for use in the equipment library or to sell at Carp Hamfest as a fundraiser for the Club.

The Equipment upgrades (i.e., the Repeater) working group is going strong, with progress on three critical planning documents: System Requirements, Upgrade Implementation Plan and Upgrade Technical Specification. 

The two other equipment-related working groups still need volunteers: the New-ham’s equipment-lending library working group and the Club-agility working group. 

Volunteers supporting Goal 3: Active Involvement 

Activities Coordinator: possibly filled (TBC) The Activities Coordinator is part of the Club’s management team and is responsible for the organization and administration of Club activities and involvement in community events. 

Our most regular activity, our Monthly Meetings, still need volunteers to help with programming (e.g., crafting the agenda, inviting speakers), setting up the space, staffing the registration and membership tables, helping with refreshments (get snacks, make the coffee, tidy up the kitchen), and re-setting/cleaning up the space when the meeting ends. 

3) Closing thoughts

Carp Hamfest on Sept. 6^th attracted more than 500 people, the 2nd biggest crowd in the event’s 28-year history. The place was packed with hams from far and wide, exhibitors, and vendors. Click here to read the full Carp Hamfest 2025-Report.

Other Hamfests that are coming up include Eastern Ontario Hamfest on September 27^th in St-Albert, Ontario (courtesy of the Prescott-Russell Amateur Radio Club & Seaway Valley Amateur Radio Club) and the Kingston Amateur Radio Club Hamfest on October 18^th in Kingston (courtesty of the Kingston Amateur Radio Club). And, of course, there’s a full list on the RAC Events Database.

We are looking forward to another busy fall for the OARC and are especially keen to welcome new hams to our activities. Remember that the September OARC Monthly Meeting (Sept. 10th) has been cancelled because too many key people will be away. The draft September agenda will be pushed to the October meeting (Oct. 8, 2025). 

Welcome back everyone! 

All my best and 73, 
Roger Egan, VA3EGY
The Prez  

Last Updated on 2025-09-11 by Joannadanna