Greetings from Ken Read, call sign VE6CBZ, President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association.

In a few months we’ll be having elections. Treasurer, Stephane Raimbault, VE6NR will be stepping down so we’ll need a replacement Treasurer. Stephane tells me the time commitment should be no more than ½ hour every few days. He will be available from time to time to help out whoever becomes the new Treasurer to become familiar with the role. To serve on the Executive, membership in good standing for at least three years is required. Anyone interested is asked to please let the Executive know.

Going forward the General Meeting has moved to the third Saturday of the month at 1 PM. However, due to a scheduling issue with the CSCC this month (their AGM), we need to schedule our meeting one week later for the month of March only. This next meeting is now scheduled for March 23rd. Ben,VE6SFX will be doing a presentation on his antennas.

The Cochrane Winter Rally 2024 certainly had some challenges this year. The biggest challenge was snow. There was so much of it that a number of radio volunteer blockers could not get in to their position. I didn’t learn of this until I arrived on site Sunday morning, otherwise I would have spread the word. We started late (again due to snow), but got caught up running all stages, and finished on time. A very big thank you for the efforts of our net controls Bob, VA6BM and Stephane, VE6NR, our blockers and those riding with race officials. I’m betting Peter VA6RPL really had a lot of fun with his tactical call sign for the day. Even though it was a lot of work, I really enjoyed the Radio Coordinator role and am already looking forward to the RMR.

The CARATELS Net runs every Tuesday afternoon at 1 PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Thursday Evening Rag Chew Net runs every Thursday evening at 7PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Monday Evening Rag Chew Net will take place on VE6RYC 6M at 7PM. Anyone who wishes to check in to any of these three nets is most welcome.

I also want to remind everyone of the Coffee Klatches that take place every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM. There is one held at Chinook Mall (near the A&W) and one held at Sunridge Mall (near the A&W). I (and my XYL) usually go to the Sunridge Mall Coffee Klatch, which is often well attended. These klatches are a great opportunity to share experiences, and not just about Ham Radio. The gatherings are open topic.
Have fun with which ever amateur radio activity you choose. That’s what it’s all about.

73,
Ken Read, VE6CBZ
President, Calgary Amateur Radio Association 

Ken Read, call sign VE6CBZ, President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association.

In a few months we will be having elections. Our Treasurer, Stephane Raimbault VE6NR, will be stepping down so we will need a replacement. Stephane tells me the time commitment should be no more than ½ hour every few days. He tells me he will be available from time to time to help whomever becomes the new Treasurer to become familiar with the role and how to handle it. To serve on the Executive, membership in good standing for at least three years is required. Anyone interested is asked to please let the Executive know.

Based upon the success of our last General Meeting and feedback from the members attending, we will be moving our General Meeting from the 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:00PM to the third Saturday of the month at 1 PM going forward. The next meeting on February 17th will have two topics. I will be doing a presentation on DMR over a hotspot and will bring mine so that those with DMR radios can play too. Also, for anyone interested Neeroo VE6NRO and Mike VE6TC will be doing a presentation on doing a QSO in a contest.

The Casino is coming up on February 28th and 29th. There are still a bunch of positions open that must be filled or the event won’t happen. We use the proceeds to fund our projects, and without the funds our projects can’t happen. Please go to https://caracasino2024.ddns.net to sign up for a shift or a position. Please contact Alan Kearley VE6BUZ or casinos@caraham.org if you have any questions.

We do have a number of other events coming up that you might want to start thinking about as well. The Cookie Race will be on February 24th and the Cochrane Winter Rally will be on March 3rd. Please check the caraham.org calendar for details. I have found these events can be quite fun so they are well worth volunteering for. I’ve already volunteered for the Cookie Race and I will also be involved as a Radio Coordinator with the Cochrane Winter Rally.

The CARATELS Net runs every Tuesday afternoon at 1PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Thursday Evening Rag Chew Net runs every Thursday evening at 7PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Monday Evening Rag Chew Net will take place on VE6RYC 6M at 7PM. Any who wishes to check in to any of these three nets is most welcome.

I also want to remind everyone of the Coffee Klatches that take place every Saturday morning at 10 AM. There is one near the A&W at Chinook Mall and another one near the A&W at Sunridge Mall. I (and my XYL Colleen) usually go to the Sunridge Mall Coffee Klatch. It is often well attended. These klatches are a great opportunity to share experiences, and not just about Ham Radio. The gatherings are open topic. Have fun with which ever amateur radio activity you choose. That’s what it’s all about. 

Ken Read, VE6CBZ
President, Calgary Amateur Radio Association 

Greetings fellow Amateurs!

Ken Read her, call sign VE6CBZ, President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association.

I am saddened to announce two recent Silent Keys. Ernest Green, VE6GY, passed away on November 9th,2023. It was some time before we were notified and Don Cole, VE6EY/VA7EY passed away on Sunday January 7th, 2024. He was 86 years old, just two weeks short of his 87th birthday. We will have a moment of silence for these two Silent Keys at the next General Meeting.

We have many new amateurs from the latest Basic Class. Some have already been checking in on our Nets. I want to welcome all our new amateurs to the hobby. You’re in for a lifetime of fun! Congratulations!

We are going to try something new. The January CARA General Meeting will be at the Calgary Sports Car Club on the afternoon of Saturday, January 20th at 1PM rather than Tuesday evening, January 23rd, 2024. The topic will be a hands-on presentation of repeaters (the fun stuff) by Doug Howard followed by a short financials

presentation (because we have to). We’ll do our best to keep the dry stuff to a minimum. There will also be an outdoor barbeque with hot dogs and pop, weather permitting. I hope to see you there.

As a club, we’re also now looking at collapsing the special interest group meetings (DX and VHF) in favour of just one general meeting a month. Topics presented going forward will be from both groups. The thinking at the last general meeting is that the cross-interest exposure may help foster more interest and participation in CARA activities. The Saturday afternoon general meeting is a part of that. Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

We do have a number of winter events coming up that you might want to start thinking about. The Cookie Race and the Cochrane Winter Rally will need volunteers. Please check the caraham.org Calendar for details. I have found these events can be quite fun so they’re well worth volunteering. I’ve already volunteered for the Cookie Race and I will also be involved with the Cochrane Winter Rally.

The CARATELS Net runs every Tuesday afternoon at 1PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Thursday Evening Rag Chew Net runs every Thursday evening at 7PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Monday Evening Rag Chew Net will take place on VE6RYC 6M at 7PM. Anyone who wishes to check in to any of these three nets is most welcome.

Have fun with which ever amateur radio activity you choose. That’s what it’s all about.

73,

Ken Read, VE6CBZ

President, Calgary Amateur Radio

Greetings fellow Amateurs!

Ken Read her, call sign VE6CBZ, President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association.

We are going to try something new.  The January CARA General Meeting will, barring availability, at the Calgary Sports Car Club on the afternoon of Saturday, January 20th rather than the Tuesday evening of January 23, 2024. The topic will be a ‘hands on presentation’ of repeaters (the fun stuff) by Doug Howard, VE6CID followed by a short financial presentation because we have to. We’ll keep the dry stuff to a minimum. There will also be having an outdoor barbeque at the Calgary Sports Car Club.

As a club, we’re also now looking at collapsing the special interest group meetings (DX and VHF) in favour of just one general meeting a month. Topics presented going forward will be from both groups. The thinking at the last general meeting is that the cross-interest exposure may help foster more interest and participation in CARA activities. Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

We still need two volunteers to work with our Treasurer, Stephane VE6NR to go over the books to prepare for the AGM taking place in January. The volunteers need not be accountants. All we need are open eyes and minds. The two volunteers cannot be members of the Executive. Anyone interested is asked to reach out to Stephane at treasurer@caraham.org.

We do have a number of winter events coming up that you might want to start thinking about. The Cookie Race and the Cochrane Winter Rally will need volunteers.

The CARATELS Net runs every Tuesday afternoon at 1PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Thursday Evening Rag Chew Net runs every Thursday evening at 7PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Monday Evening Rag Chew Net will take place on VE6RYC 6M at 7PM. Anyone who wishes to check in to any of these three nets is most welcome.

Peter LaGrandeur has again volunteered to take on the post-Christmas Party this winter. I look forward to seeing what he can put together for us.

Have fun with which ever amateur radio activity you choose. That’s what it’s all about.

73, Ken Read, VE6CBZ 

Greetings. 

I am Ken Read, call sign VE6CBZ, President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association.

The picture on the cover of this month's issue of KeyKlix was taken by my son Brent Lucas-Read during the Rocky Mountain Rally for 2023.

My son was a spectator both days and was positioned at “Spectator” on Saturday followed by “Control Point Echo” on Sunday.
He took a lot of pictures, but the cover photo is one of his favourites.
We both had a really good time.
I had to go out on the stage route to replace a blocker who had to leave; a little bit different from my radio coordinator role.
It was some fun driving there, even though I did get a flat tire on the way back. Thankfully the folks in the course opening car were available and stopped by to assist.

I’m looking forward to participating in future rally’s for CARA and amateur radio. There were also more events that will have taken place by the time this issue comes out.
The last DX club meeting was on June 7th and the VHF group meeting took place on June 13th.

Other events this month were:

• the SARA Picnic and AGM,
• the Ghost of The Gravel – Deadgoat Racing (a cycling event),
• the MS Bike Tour (June 34-25), and
• the ARRL Field Day (June 24-25).

I’ve been very pleased to hear about the level of registration for these events from our Amateurs.
Way to go everyone! Elections are coming up this month.

We will have at least two positions opening up to bring us to five Directors on the Executive with up to four more if people are willing to serve, for a maximum of nine Directors.

Please do what you can to attend as we will need to have quorum to carry out the election.
A quorum is 10% of the overall membership in good standing. We will need at least 22 (preferably more) members in attendance.
The next CARA General Meeting will be on Tuesday, June 27th at 7 PM at the Calgary Sports Car Club. As mentioned, it will be the AGM.
Any member in good standing for at least three years is eligible to serve on the Executive.

The CARATELS Net runs every Tuesday afternoon at 1 PM on VE6RYC.
The Thursday Evening Rag Chew Net runs every Thursday evening at 7 PM on VE6RYC.
Anyone who wishes to check in to either net is most welcome.

Our Tube Bank Manager has stepped aside from his role. Anyone who would like to take on managing the Tube Bank is asked to contact the Executive and let us know you’re volunteering.

Have fun with which ever amateur radio activity you choose. That’s what it’s all about.

73,

Ken Read, VE6CBZ President,
Calgary Amateur Radio Association

Greetings fellow Amateurs!

I am Ken Read, call sign VE6CBZ, President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association.

I volunteered at both the Kananaskis Ski Marathon (or “The Cookie Race”) and the Cochrane Winter Rally. Everyone who volunteered at both events had a lot of fun. These events are great opportunities for volunteers to use their radios and help keep people safe.

Our Tube Bank Manager has stepped aside from his role. Anyone who would like to take on managing the Tube Bank is asked to contact the Executive and let us know you’re volunteering.

The CARA Spring Flea Market will take place on April 15^th at 10AM at the Eastside City Church, 1320 Abbeydale Drive SE. There will also be a Technical Conference on several topics taking place at the same time. The admission price is $5. Check it out if you’re looking for a few fleas. The QCARC Spring Flea Market Edmonton will take place the following weekend on April 22^nd if you can’t make it to our Flea Market. Please check the CARA Website calendar for a link to their website as well as for more information about our Flea Market.

By the time this issue of Key Klix comes out, we will have had our VHF Group PI Day meeting on Balloons With Ham Radio. Considering the interest that was shown at the February General Meeting about some amateur radio ballooning done out west in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, I’m expecting the VHF Group to be very well attended. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that great interest is demonstrated.

The next CARA General Meeting will be on Tuesday, March 28^th at 7PM at the Calgary Sports Car Club.

The Thursday Evening Rag Chew Net to run every Thursday evening at 7PM on VE6RYC. The CaraTels Net runs every Tuesday afternoon at 1PM on VE6RYC. Anyone who wishes to check in to either net is most welcome.

The Saturday morning coffee klatches are taking place in the food courts at Chinook Mall and Sunridge Mall at 10AM. The discussion topics vary widely, not restricted to amateur radio, each Saturday morning and are often a lot of fun. For anyone interested in getting to know your fellow amateurs, I recommend attending the coffee klatches, especially for the new amateurs amongst us.

Have fun with which ever amateur radio activity you choose. That’s what it’s all about.

73,

Ken Read, VE6CBZ, President, Calgary Amateur Radio Association

Greetings fellow Amateurs!

I am Ken Read, call sign VE6CBZ, the new President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association. I became a licensed operator (Basic with Honours) in May 2019 and have enjoyed the hobby ever since. I haven’t been too active on the air (my life has been rather full of family and work) spending most of my amateur time on VHF and playing with digital modes. Eventually I’ll get to HF. Having to hide my antennas in the attic does put a crimp on things, although I am coming up with some ideas.

I have previously served on the Board of my condominium association for many years, so I’m bringing some of that experience to my role here. I’m hoping that experience will benefit CARA. The learning continues. I wish to thank the previous Executive for their service to CARA. Thank you to:

• Peter LaGrandeur, VA6RPL,
• President Joel Weder, VE6EI,
• Vice-President Peter Barry, VA6PJB,
• Secretary Stephane Raimbault, VE6NR, Treasurer

Your service is much appreciated.

The new Executive

President Ken Read, VE6CBZ, Vice President Joel Weder, VE6EI, Secretary Andrew Webb, VE6EN, Treasurer Stephane Raimbault, VE6NR and Director-at-Large Frank-Michael Hofman, VE6FMH.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond his control, Andrew Webb, VE6EN will not be able to continue service on the CARA Executive. The Executive will appoint a new Secretary and is looking for a volunteer to fill the vacancy.

CARA has had a few items donated and we need some volunteers to evaluate these items and then sell them if appropriate. Please reach out to Rob, VE6CCL if you’re interested.

September is coming up and with that several of our special interest groups will be starting up again, along with our General Meetings.

• The CARA Station/DX group will be meeting on September 7th at 7:30 PM at the CSCC, as well as over Zoom for anyone who cannot attend in person. Our Basic Amateur Radio Class started on September 12th at the Bowness Scout Hall ($65 per student).
• The VHF Interest group will next meet on September 14th. I don’t know yet (check the event calendar) if it will be over Zoom, in person, or a hybrid meeting.
• The next General Meeting will be on September 27th (check the calendar for this one too).

Doug Howard, VE6CID recently posted an interesting note on Twitter. Are you aware CARA has 7,252 tubes in the tube bank?

73,

Ken Read, VE6CBZ
President, Calgary Amateur Radio Association 

This message from Secretary Peter Barry VA6PJB

Hello Fellow Hams,

This month it has fallen to me, Peter Barry, VA6PJB, CARA Secretary to write the message from the CARA executive. May – June is the busiest times of year for ham public events. Coming up we have the Rocky Mountain Rally on May 28, the Banff to Jasper Relay on June 4, the Central Alberta picnic and ham fest on June 17-19, the MS bike tour on June 25-26, and Field Day on June 25-26 also. There will be lots of opportunity to join in, so check out the information on the CARA website.

On top of those public service events we have two other important things happening in June. The most important source of revenue for our public service and hobby infrastructure is the money received from the government through the casino volunteer program. This will be on Thursday June 8th and Friday June 9th. Please volunteer to support the club.

The other major event is the executive election coming up at the June general meeting. If you have been a member for the last three years, please consider volunteering to serve. Please contact VA6PJB@caraham.org if you can help.

The May and June general meetings are going to be hybrid events - in person at the Calgary Sports Car Club or online Zoom. Join us in the way that feels comfortable for you.

There are many ways to participate, we look forward to seeing you soon.

73 DE VA6PJB

Peter B

Message from Peter LaGrandeur VA6RPL CARA President

Greetings, fellow amateur radio enthusiasts.  Your Executive Committee continues to work hard for you.  Contact us anytime at executive@caraham.org .

As I write this, our flea market has just concluded, our first in three years.  We had a great turnout at Calgary’s Eastside City Church, with two hundred and twenty one persons going through the reception table.  Many thanks to coordinator Joel Weder VE6EI and the very large team of people who all contributed to the success of the day.  Some highlights of the day include a record 50/50 pot of over $1600.  Another highlight was the plethora of gifts from vendors BH Electronics and NTF Communications.  Thanks, Brian and Ray!  The main prize was the raffle for the $1700 ICOM IC-705 tri-band amateur portable base radio donated by GPS Central in Calgary.  Many thanks to Greg Kulin for that one, with GPSC employee Cory on hand to present the prize to the raffle winner.

CARA’s parallel event at the ESC Church was the ‘annual’ Learning Conference aka ‘Ham University’.  Like the flea market, this was the first one in three years, due to the Covid 19 interlude.  That didn’t deter a full room of learners from attending the three sessions, all of which were top flight from great presenters.  “The New Solar Cycle” from ‘Professor’ Jerry Spring VE6TL, “Portable Operation in the Rockies” from Paul Mower VA6MPM, and “DMR In Calgary” from Peter Barry VA6PJB.  Well done gentlemen!  Many kudos goes to this year’s Learning Conference coordinator, Peter Barry VA6PJB.

We are now heading into our busy spring period of events, and our hats go off to all the organizers and volunteers who make them the great success that they always are.  Please see the Events Calendar https://caraham.org/events for upcoming activities.

As I look back on the last two years of the CARA executive committee, I can count numerous housekeeping tasks, and various improvements, that have made membership in CARA so much better.  Some of them include:

• Significant reduction of storage costs from $2000/yr to $700,  Most storage is now consolidated into a weatherproof sea can at a patrolled 24/7 accessible location very close to our clubhouse.  Shelves were built, which now enable efficient storage within, and keep things from being piled on the floor.  Our comm trailer has also been moved there, beside the container.  This site is flat and level, well drained, mouse free, plowed in winter, and easily accessible year round.

• This sea can has also been configured to serve as a remote radio station, and stands ready for the addition of radio gear and supportive infrastructure, when required.

• Our valuable bank of glass vacuum tubes has been better sorted and categorized, and now resides in the sea can storage facility.

• The ongoing large task of dealing with the tide of gear from Silent Keys, and donators, has been better organized and streamlined.  We now can assess the equipment, sort, categorize, offer to CARA interest groups, and advertise for sale on the CARA web site, with much greater efficiency.

• Our Policy and Procedure Manual has been updated, including clarification of CARA’s membership categories.  The electoral process has also been updated to provide better continuity from one year to the next, with annual elections, where only half the executive committee is changed out per year.

• That perennial, and worsening, problem of flooding in the basement of the Calgary Sports Car Club, which regularly endangered our world class VE6AO HF station, has now been mitigated.   Compounding the effect of water damage, was the looming threat of mold and potential condemnation of the building.  The improvements were achieved by negotiations with the CSCC to do significant landscaping and concrete work on the south side of the building.

• The VE6AO station has had some significant upgrades to its infrastructure:

• • An Earth Moon Earth (EME) bounce antenna system is close to completion.  

  • A log periodic antenna system is nearing completion, which will fill in gaps in bands for better comms and contesting.  

  • One of the HF contesting radios has been replaced with a new Yaesu FT-DX101D.  Preliminary reports on this radio indicate that its addition is a big success.

• A comprehensive member survey was conducted, which incorporated input from a large cross section of the interest groups.  The results have been made available to the members in unprocessed form.

• CARA’s web presence has undergone a revamp.  The objectives were two fold:

• • The previous CARA website functioned well enough to provide info for established members.  However, CARA has a great deal to offer in terms of activities and resources, and that website did not represent the club well.  Persons wanting to learn amateur radio, potential new members, amateur radio operators at large, our public service partners, benefactors like the AGLC, all had to root around in our menu system to find things, which were often buried several layers deep, in non-logical places.  To that end, a new “landing page” has become the new home page.  This new home page features “jump tiles” which showcase many of the great things CARA has to offer, and which facilitate “one-click” links to topics new visitors to CARA’s sites are commonly looking for.  

  • The website’s internal page structure has seen pages added, edited, amalgamated, shuffled, and retired, as required.  The result is a much more concise, intuitive interface with very limited “digging” to get to information.

• Our social media has been enhanced with a new FaceBook group page.  This complements our existing Twitter and YouTube streams.

Yes indeed, your Executive Committee, in concert with many members, has worked hard to make CARA a better place for our hobby.  May we ask each and every one of you to please consider taking your turn serving on the CARA exec committee.  The next election is at the June 28 general meeting.  Serving is a very rewarding experience.

from Joel Weder VE6EI, Vice President

The last time I wrote for Key Klix, it was November and winter was just getting started. Now it's March, and we're seeing signs that spring may really be near. The chickadees are calling out "Hi, sweetie!" all over town. By the time you read this, it may at least technically be spring, though we know there can be wicked storms in spring as well as winter, if not even more so!

            Speaking of spring, the CARA spring Flea Market and Learning Conference will be held on Saturday, April 9th at the Eastside City Church. The first conference session starts at 8:00 am. Doors will open for flea market vendors at 9 am, and for the general public at 10 am. Keep an eye on the CARA calendar and the Flea Market page (in the Resources menu) for more details. We'll also post any COVID-related changes there. We could still use a couple of volunteers, so please feel free to contact me to offer an hour or two of your time. Or if you'd like to reserve a table to offload some fleas, email me: tables@caraham.org

            The various CARA special interest groups are as busy as ever. There simply isn't room on this page to mention it all. The annual Kananaskis Cookie Race (cross-country ski "loppet") took place on the weekend of February 26, and was very successful. Thanks to all the volunteers who spent a long, cold day in the mountains, as well as organizer Dana VA6DJH. The club also assisted at the Cochrane Winter Rally on March 6th. Next up is the Rocky Mountain Rally, to be held on May 27-28. Details will be posted on the Events Calendar.

            The Station team has been busy performing maintenance at VE6AO, as well as doing prep work for addition of the station's new log periodic HF antenna. They've installed Winlink (email over radio) software on the station computers, and somehow found time to operate contests as well. Plus, they should by now have received a new Yaesu FTDX101 contest-grade HF rig to replace their faulty FT-2000.

            A successful Fox Hunt was held on February 12th at Confederation Park. There were about 20 attendees, a good very turnout for a winter event! Much thanks to organizer Neeroo, VE6NRO. We look forward to more hidden transmitter hunts, whether in warm weather or snow!

            Alan VE6BUZ is busy rounding up volunteers for the next casino, which will take place on June 8th & 9th. As the casino funds are a major source of income for CARA, we hope that you can find time to work a shift or two. Please contact Alan if you'd like to help out: ve6buz@telus.net

            Did you know that CARA has a presence on both Facebook and Twitter? Just search for "Calgary Amateur Radio Association." On Twitter our "handle" is @CARA club. We encourage all members to monitor our club feeds, and to post when you have interesting news to share!

            The next General meeting will be on VE6RYC, Tuesday March 26th at 7 pm. We'll be discussing the results of our big survey, which closed on February 15th with 85 responses. By the time this is published, you should be able to see the survey results by going to the Member Forum on the CARA website. We're aiming for an in-person general club meeting on April 26th, 7 pm at the Sports Car Club. That will be a welcome change for many of us. We hope to see you there!

Joel Weder, VE6EI   Vice President

Calgary Amateur Radio Association