REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED End-Fed Half Wave Antenna Build Workshop
2026-05-31 13:00 - 17:00 (America/Toronto) | Scouts Canada National Office, 1345 Baseline Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 0A7, Canada
*** REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED ***
The End-Fed Half Wave (EFHW) Antenna Build Workshop will be of interest to anyone who has a multi-band HF amateur radio with up to 100 Watts of transmitting power. Assemble a 49:1 Un-Un transformer in mounting hardware with a SO-239 feedline connector, and optionally connect an antenna wire suitable for 80/40/30/20/17/15/12/10m or 20/17/15/12/10m bands.
Date: 31 May 2026
Time: 13:00-17:00
Cost: Non-members pay $10 more *** REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED ***
[] $75 – EFHW Antenna workshop with Un-Un transformer only, no antenna wire
[] $85 – EFHW Antenna workshop with Un-Un transformer AND 34’ antenna wire (20/17/15/12/10m bands, suitable for portable use)
[] $120 – EFHW Antenna workshop with Un-Un transformer AND 132’ antenna wire (80m band, also resonant on 40/30/20/17/15/12/10m, suitable for permanent installation)
Location: Scouts HQ (1345 Baseline Rd Ottawa, ON K2C 0A7, Canada)

WORKSHOP OUTLINE
1. Introduction
Definition and Purpose: An End-Fed Half-Wave (EFHW) antenna is a popular resonant wire antenna designed to be one half-wavelength long at its lowest operating frequency. Unlike a center-fed dipole, it is fed at the end, providing high installation convenience, and it naturally resonates on both odd and even harmonics of that base frequency.
Basic Components: 49:1 Un-Un transformer, feedlineconnector, mounting hardware, antenna wire
2. Design and Construction (overview of tools, materials and techniques)
Materials Supplied: 2 x 240-43 torroids; 100 pF capacitor; 14-gauge enameled wire; PVC junction box; cable ties; SO-239 and misc. hardware.
Construction Techniques: PVC junction box will be pre-drilled
3. Hands-On Building Session (assembly and troubleshooting)
Practical Assembly: Participants build their own 49:1 Un-Un transformer in PVC junction box under supervision, applying the techniques learned.
Troubleshooting: Guidance on common issues that may arise during construction and how to resolve them.
4. Testing and Tuning (performance testing, tuning techniques)
Performance Testing: Instructions on how to test the Un-Un and antenna’s performance using SWR meters and other tools.
Tuning Techniques: Methods for adjusting the antenna for optimal performance, including compensation coil, coax counterpoise, middle-of-wire capacitor
5. Conclusion and Q&A (wrap up and open discussion)
Wrap-Up: Summary of key points covered in the workshop.
Open Forum: Opportunity for participants to ask questions and share experiences related to EFHW antennas.

OARC Soldering Skills Workshop (Winter 2026)
2026-03-29 01:00 - 16:00 | Scouts Canada National Office, 1345 Baseline Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 0A7, Canada
Click the links below to download the workshop presentations:
Soldering Workshop for Antennas 2026 – Outline
Soldering Workshop for Antennas 2026 Session 1
Soldering Workshop for Antennas 2026 Session 2
Soldering Workshop for Antennas 2026 Session 3
Join us for the OARC Soldering Skills workshop (Winter 2026)! Three, fun, hands-on sessions where you will develop soldering skills for antenna and coax cable assembly. It is designed to complement the upcoming antenna-building workshop(s).
Dates: Three Sundays (29 March, 26 April, 3 May)
Time: 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Cost: $25 for OARC members / $35 for non-members (the fee covers the cost of some supplies and small tools)
Location: Scouts Headquarters, 1345 Baseline Road, Ottawa
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AND PAY FOR THE SOLDERING SKILLS WORKSHOP
This link takes you to Zeffy, our secure, zero-fee Canadian online payment system.
WORKSHOP OUTLINE

Session 1 (29 March): Essential tools and supplies needed for antenna and connector work with an emphasis on how much you should spend on kit.*

* You are expected to have your own soldering iron and basic tools for this workshop and the first session will provide you with some guidance. You have a month between Sessions 1 and 2 to give you time to buy or borrow the necessary equipment. If you don’t have everything you need for a session, the Club can provide some basic tools that you can borrow.

Session 2 (26 April): Solder and waterproof wires of a larger gauge used in many antenna projects.
Session 3 (3 May): Solder RF connectors on coax cable and waterproof the assembly. Participants will construct a jumper cable.

More details will be outlined in the first session.

Soldering Skills and Kit Building Workshop (Fall 2025)
2025-11-02 10:00 - 12:00 | Scouts Canada National Office, 1345 Baseline Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 0A7, Canada
Current OARC members are invited to register for the upcoming OARC Soldering Skills and Kit Building Workshop. If you are not a current member, please Join the OARC before registering for the workshop. If you are not sure, Contact Us and we’ll check our records.
Learn about soldering tools and consumables, the basics of soldering. and build your first kit, all with Wayne, VE3CZO, the OARC’s resident soldering sorcerer and gadget guru. The workshop outline appears below.
The workshop will occur over 4 or 5 sessions from November through January on Sunday mornings from 10:00am until 12:00 noon at Scouts Headquarters, 1345 Baseline Road.
The cost of participating is $25. This helps cover the cost of the facilities, refreshments, some consumables and a kit.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AND PAY FOR THE SOLDERING SKILLS AND KIT BUILDING WORKSHOP
This link takes you to Zeffy, our secure, zero-fee Canadian online payment system.

WORKSHOP – OUTLINE
Session 1: Tools and Consumables (Nov 2)

Introduction to the “tools of the trade” and consumables you’re going to need
Guidance about how much you can (or should) spend on tools
Determine how many participants are planning to buy, or already have, the tools and consumables they will need
Then, you’ll have a few weeks to go shopping and/or order these tools and consumables prior to the second session.

NOTE: The Club may invest in a few sets of tools that can be borrowed during the workshops. Anyone who borrows these tools will be responsible for them and would have to replace any tool that is damaged or lost.

Session 2 (Nov 23), Session 3 (Dec 7), and possibly Session 4 (Jan 11): The four basic soldering tasks

Soldering wires together
Soldering thru hole devices on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
Soldering Surface-Mount Devices (SMDs) on a PCB
Unsoldering all of the above

NOTE: You will have the opportunity to solder and unsolder and learn how to tell a good solder joint from a bad one. There will be a microscope available so you can inspect your solder joints close up.

Session 4 (Jan 18) or Session 5 (Jan 25): Build your First Kit

One kit will be provided for you to build
You’ll get to choose others starting at around $2.50 each
Learn about what you should find in a well-documented kit and where to begin if the documentation is not that great

NEXT STEPS: If everyone is enjoying themselves, then we will continue these sessions throughout the winter months on alternating Sunday mornings beginning January 25 or February 8th. We will discuss how we want to proceed as a group and we will figure out any additional costs for going forward. The group might consider collaborating on a club project or individuals might bring whatever they are working on to a session to share with the rest of the group, have a coffee and get some help troubleshooting a kit that isn’t working. Ideally, we will see some of your creations at our Homebrew Night in April 2026.

OARC's Basic Amateur Radio course - Fall 2025 (FULL)
2025-10-26 14:00 - 17:00 | Scouts Canada National Office, 1345 Baseline Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 0A7, Canada
Start date: Sunday, October 26, 2025
Duration: 3 hours (2:00pm to 5:00pm), every Sunday for approximately 12 weeks (no classes on holidays or long weekends)
Format: Hybrid
Cost: $100 Regular, $80 Student
THE COURSE IS NOW FULL – Please Contact Us to be added to the waiting list for next OARC Basic Course (Spring 2026)

The OARC Basic Amateur Radio course prepares you to write the exam for your Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Basic Qualification. The course covers all 100 Basic exam topics over approximately 12 weeks. All course materials are provided.

A mark of 70-79% on the Basic exam affords you access to radio wave bands that are great for short-range communication and the presence of repeaters in many places extend the range of communications. If you get 80% or more (Basic with Honours), you’ll have greater operating privileges.

OARC Morse Code (CW) course – Fall 2025
2025-10-26 14:00 - 15:00 | Scouts Canada National Office, 1345 Baseline Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 0A7, Canada
Start date: Sunday, October 26, 2025
Duration: 1 hour (2:00pm to 3:00pm), every Sunday for approximately 12 weeks (no classes on holidays or long weekends)
Format: In-person-only
Location: Scouts Canada National Headquarters, 1345 Baseline Road
Materials: Code practice exercises will be provided. You require a Morse Key and Code Practice Oscillator.
Instructor: Scott VE3NPX
Please note: Scott arrives at 1pm for anyone interested in reviewing the previous week’s lesson, however, the actual lesson starts at 2pm and lasts one hour.
Cost: $25 Regular, $0 Student (FREE)
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AND PAY FOR YOUR COURSE*
Note: Students will check the box on the payment form next to “The course participant is currently enrolled in school” and use the discount code they will see there.
This course prepares you to communicate using Morse Code (CW) and prepares you to take your CW Amateur Radio Morse Code Qualification exam. It will also prepare you to use morse code in practical CW QSOs on amateur bands. Students will practice sending and receiving code using a code-practice oscillator (CPO) to develop proficiency. There will be instruction in the proper techniques for sending morse code using a common straight key. Instruction will cover receiving and sending the 26 letters of the alphabet, the 10 numbers, common punctuation marks, and Q-code and other common acronyms used in CW communications.

* This link takes you to Zeffy. The OARC uses Zeffy to manage membership and other payments. Zeffy is a secure, zero-fee Canadian online payment system for non-profit organizations. It provides maximum security for you as none of your membership or payment details are kept on the OARC website. You will be asked for a donation to Zeffy, but this is optional. Whether you donate or not, OARC is not charged a fee.

SPECIAL NOTICE: RAC Aux-Comm Training Course
2025-09-27 - 2025-09-28 | Ben Franklin Place ,101 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa, ON K2G 5K7
The Ontario Government has funded Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) to train volunteers in Auxiliary Communications (Aux-Comm). The course is FREE. Below you will find details on: the target audience and goal of the course, the pre-requisites you must meet, the link to register for the course, and finally a course description. Course location will follow.
Target Audience:
The Aux-Comm course is designed for experienced Amateur Radio volunteers who provide communication support during planned events and incidents, as well as communication personnel from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and government Emergency Management services.
Goal:
The Aux-Comm course aims to improve interoperability among Non-Governmental Organizations and Emergency Management workforces, ultimately contributing to a more efficient and effective disaster response.
The goal of this 20-hour course is to provide instruction to Aux-Comm volunteers so that their individual and organizational efforts/expertise are appropriately integrated into the public safety/service communications support environment.
Aux-Comm volunteers provide alternate communications by supporting communications with other organizations:

in cases where local services have failed;
at emergency incidents/planned events/training exercises; and
within the emergency management structure (Emergency Operations Centre (EOCs), etc.)

Pre-requisites:

Sign up at the Ontario Corps Volunteer Registration Portal and complete the pre-requisite steps described there. This includes 4 on-line training modules that take about 2 hours to complete.
Complete a Criminal Record Check. You will be contacted by Triton Canada within about a week of completing your OntarioCorp registration and training. The turnaround is typically 2-3 days.
Complete the online IMS100 e-learning (2 hours)

Please CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE RAC AUX-COMM TRAINING program*
*link takes you to Eventbrite. Please note: The form currently allows you to register for each day separately. Until we can get that fixed, please just register for the first day, Sept. 27th. If you already registered for the 28th, don’t worry, we will not miss you!
Course description
Course outline

The Communications Unit and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)
Aux-Comm Roles and Responsibilities
Interoperable Communications
Incident Communications
Incident Radio Communications Plan
Incident Communications Centre
Team Management and Accountability
Resources, Safety and Deployment
Best Practices
Interoperability and Radio Networks

Group exercise scenarios:

SOP Exercise
Power Outage
Train Derailment
Wild Land Fire
Severe Storm/Flood

OARC Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) training course
2025-05-24 09:00 - 2025-05-25 16:00 | Scouts Canada National Office, 1345 Baseline Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 0A7, Canada
The OARC is offering an Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) training course over two days on May 24-25, 2025.
This course teaches the skills necessary to provide a wide range of effective emergency/disaster communications. It is designed for certified Amateur Radio operators but we also welcome West Carleton community members who are not licensed, so they will understand the techniques and can work along side ARES-trained operators during exercises and live events.
The course will include:

ARES Organization – Roles and Responsibilities
Deployment Kits
Net Operations
Operating Etiquette & Radio Procedures
Deployed Exercise

Prerequisite: Before taking the ARES Course, you must take the Introduction to Incident ManagementSystem (IMS 100) course, available online through the Emergency Management Training Portal Ontario. Click here IMS 100 course (e-learning) to take that course now.
NOTE: When you take the IMS 100 e-learning course, we’re told by some users that, if you want to successfully reach the “Certificate of Completion” at the end of the course, it’s best to use Google Chrome with no ad-blockers and also to use the save button early an often.
OARC ARES Course details:

Cost: $25. Parking is FREE. Bring your own lunch. Refreshments will be provided.

Instructor: Lance Peterson VA3LP is the Chief Instructor of the Eastern Ontario ARES District Training. He has been the District Emergency Coordinator of the Eastern Ontario ARES District for nearly 13 years and was the Group Lead for the Prescott-Russell ARES Group (PR-ARES) for 5 years before that.

Click here to register for the OARC ARES course and pay
This link takes you to Zeffy, the secure, Canadian online payment system.1.
1. The OARC uses Zeffy to manage membership and other payments. Zeffy is a secure, zero-fee Canadian online payment system for non-profit organizations. It provides maximum security for you as none of your membership or payment details are kept on the OARC website. You will be asked for a donation to Zeffy, but this is optional. Whether you donate or not, OARC is not charged a fee.
