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