Club Activities Meetings

2026-02-15 OARC Monthly Meeting – February 2026 – Report

2026-02-15
Eve

The OARC Monthly Meeting in February 2026 had good attendance, especially considering all the snow and cold we’ve had lately! There were 24 people in the room and another 20 online. 

Roger delivered the opening portion of the meeting. He welcomed everyone, delivered the land acknowledgement, and reviewed the agenda. He then asked if anyone had any “wants or needs” (for example, if anyone was seeking a certain piece of equipment, or needing help with something). Roger then welcomed all the new hams who were present and asked them to say their name and call sign. 

Roger then introduced Allan Boyd VE3AJB/VE3EM, the President of Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC). 

Al’s bio 

Al is a retired Ontario Provincial Police Officer with 35 years of service and has been a  Amateur Radio operator for 40 years, with Advanced certification. He has held many positions with RAC including Emergency Coordinator (EC), District Emergency Coordinator (DEC), Section Manager for Ontario, Director Ontario North/East, Vice President and then President for Radio Amateurs of/du Canada. 

Al presently sits as Section Manager for Ontario North Section. His is an accredited Volunteer Examiner with ISED, President Manitoulin Amateur Radio Club Inc. In addition his sits as a Councillor and Deputy Mayor for NEMI Township. 

Al is into all forms of Amateur Radio including all the new digital formats. He’s been married for 43 years to his wife Judy with two sons and three granddaughters. 

Al’s presentation 

Al then delivered his presentation on D-STAR (Digital Smart Technology for Amateur Radio), covering the following topics: 

  1. History of D-STAR and how it came to be one of the leading digital modes in Amateur Radio 
  2. Why digital D-STAR is important in spectrum efficiency 
  3. How D-STAR works and the voice and data transfer at the same time 
  4. Explanation of the three levels of D-STAR radio 
  5. Why RAC and the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) program chose D-STAR as a digital mode 
  6. How to program a D-STAR radio 

Upcoming Activities 

Roger concluded the meeting by touching on upcoming activities, including: 

  • The OARC Monthly Meeting on March 11th , which will feature a presentation by Chris Schnobb titled: MeshCore, LoRa, Mesh Networking, and Building a Connected Ottawa and Beyond. Click here for more info and to register: OARC Monthly Meeting – March 2026 
  • Homebrew Night at the OARC Monthly Meeting on April 8th. Click here for more info: OARC Homebrew Night. A bit closer to the time, you will be able to register. This is especially critical if you are planning to present a project. 
  • World Amateur Radio Day April 18 – stay tuned for planned activities. 

Please check the OARC online calendar (on the right side of every web page) to see what else is happening with the Club. 

Last Updated on 2026-03-05 by Joannadanna