This columnists page is your go-to destination for all things Amateur Radio. From gear reviews and operating tips to DIY antenna builds, propagation guides, and personal stories from the shack—we cover the wide world of ham radio with curiosity and passion.
Mike VE3FFK (mk)
mk’s Words
Mike Kelly VE3FFK was first licensed in 1970 and he has been an ISED accredited examiner since the early 1990s. For 30 years he was the “voice” of Admin2 in the Canadian Ski Marathon. He is a life member of Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) and was selected as RAC Amateur of the Year in 2024. He has written a regular column here and previously in the Groundwave for longer than he can remember.
Roger VA3EGY
The Prez Sez
Roger Egan VA3EGY was first licensed (basic with honours) in 2018. He upgraded his qualifications to advanced in 2023. He is the president of the OARC. He has so many interests in ham radio that he finds himself involved in way more things that he can ever hope to finish.
Craig VE3OP
Craig’s QRM
Craig Delmage, VE3OP, has nearly five decades of experience with the hobby. He earned his first amateur certificate and original call sign VE3KKU at age 16, later acquiring his advanced certificate and call sign VE3OP. Now retired, he held senior cybersecurity roles in both the private sector and the federal government. A former RAC Director, Craig currently serves as the OARC’s youth equipment coordinator and takes great satisfaction in helping young new amateurs get a solid start.
Ralph VE7DQS
Ralph’s Technical Trawl
Ralph McDiarmid, VE7DQS, has been a ham since 2016 and an electronics tinkerer since his Heathkit building and television repair days in the 1970s. He is a retired switch-mode power supply development engineer, with significant experience in innovative power management, renewable energy, and inverter technologies. Ralph is known for practical problem-solving and delivering reliable solutions. Today, Ralph lives in Burnaby, B.C., but was born and raised in Ottawa and so he enjoys maintaining his connection to the OARC.
Wayne VE3QO
Wayne Stacey VE3QO was first licensed in 1961 and earned his Advanced Amateur certificate a year later. He is now retired from his broadcast consulting engineering practice and often can be heard on the HF bands, operating CW and various digi-modes. He is currently a member of RAC, OARC and ARRL.
Wayne contributes columns describing experiences from his “Sixty Years of Weird Stuff in Radio”.
Harrie VE3HYS
Harrie Jones VE3HYS has been a licensed amateur since 1975. He has worked in the broadcast business since 1983 on all things technical – AM and FM transmitters, microwave radio links, computer networks, audio consoles and audio chains, etc. He has been teaching amateur radio courses since 2019, is an active Scout leader and member of the OARC executive. He is involved in New Hams Ottawa and Youth On The Air (YOTA).
Ed VE3WGO
Ed Sich VE3WGO was first licensed in 1992, and joined the OARC and CARF (pre-RAC) at that time. Aside from a long career in the wireless and microwave communications R&D industry, his radio-related interests include antennas and vintage gear. He has been the OARC Hamfest manager since 2007.
David VA3UDA
David Frigault VA3UDA received his basic license in January 2024, and his honours in February 2024. Aside from his radio-related activities at the Diefenbunker, he is a writer of novels and articles on many subjects. He is fluent in English and French and is a student of many other languages. Explore his content online.
Our mission is simple: to explore, celebrate, and expand the world of Amateur Radio—together. Jump to our latest posts.
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Visit the Groundwave archive
The OARC is fortunate to have a number of top-drawer columnists, some of whom were long-time columnists with Groundwave, the venerable OARC newsletter dating back 1951.
Past issues of Groundwave are stored as PDFs in a set of folders (opens in a new tab). Issues prior to 2000 are stored as PDF image files, which means there is no searchable text within them. From 2000 on, the PDFs include full text and images.
Last Updated on 2026-01-08 by Joannadanna