Peter LaGrandeur VA6RPL, CARA Secretary, VA6RPL@techworld.ca

Greetings, fellow amateur radio enthusiasts. Happy April to all.

Your Executive Committee has been hard at work taking care of CARA’s admin tasks. These include financial matters (such as setting up a new on-line payment system for memberships), clarifying membership categories, asset storage, asset management (such as the vacuum tube collection), surplus asset disposal, investigating more CARA net infrastructure (a remote radio station and the AREDN), the next casino, requesting improvements to the CSCC building and grounds, and a new election strategy to turnover half the members of the executive committee every year to maintain continuity (oh, so important).

We look forward to the day when the Covid spectre departs and we can return to some normalcy. Members are longing to resume participating in our large roster of annual public service events, attending meetings for general gatherings and with our many interest groups, and with resuming classes in Basic and Advanced amateur radio. It’s a good thing that this latest pandemic occurred when we have global social networking technology available. Video conferencing has been a real boon, along with email, texting, and messaging.

In the immortal words of John F. Kennedy, "Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly." As applied to us radio amateurs, we have risen to the challenge of social distancing, and continued to have our meetings using electronic technologies.

The life blood of CARA are its many diverse interest groups. CARA’s claim to fame has been to support a wide range of interests in the amateur radio community. Your executive committee strives to keep its ear open to the needs and wants of its members. No one should be shy to suggest new avenues for our hobby, or even for the direction of the club.

There is one CARA member, in particular, I would like to recognize, who is also a member of more than one other amateur radio club in the area, who is currently serving as the editor of CARA’s long-time publication, the KeyKlix. Ken Oelke VE6AFO puts a lot of effort every month producing a fab newsletter, which really shows his many years of experience and participation in the hobby of amateur radio. Such a publication is the etched tablet of what the club does and is the club’s record for posterity. It is a pleasure to pick up and read every time it comes out. Well done, Ken!

In conclusion, I’d like to recognize the hard working members of the CARA executive committee, President Dave VE6DED, Vice President Harry VE6HRY, and Treasurer Stephane VE6NR, all of whom have been very dedicated to the smooth operation and well being of CARA. I have never seen such as group as this, that has an ongoing dialog of club business on a daily basis. Keep up the good work, guys!

Harry Maylor VE6HRY, Vice President

Hello Members. Well it’s my turn to send out the monthly Key Klix message, so I put away the Halloween gear and sent in an actual photo of my mug. Preparing these messages is a challenge for us Directors and I will share with you my cheat. Thanks to people like Ken Oelke, VE6AFO and his predecessors, Key Klix archives go back nearly sixty years to 1964. I cull through the archives of a decade or two for March and see a common theme which helps inspire me in which direction I should go. March is the cusp of spring and often people engage in spring cleaning which is my direction for March 2021.

As a club we need spring cleaning in so many ways. We the Board Members have been spring cleaning since last March when the lockdown hit. Over this past year different groups in the club have been working at cleaning their projects and plans. Cleaning is not always physical cleaning but can be cleaning up plans or just decluttering.

One of our Boards most puzzling cleaning tasks has been the clubs tube bank. Yes the club has a tube bank and it’s huge. There are thousands of tubes in about 45 boxes that we keep for members to use if needed. Jerry Spring VE6TL for some time now has been our tube bank curator and did a great job storing the collection. At one point we thought we should just purge the tubes but what if they have value? How does one go about sorting so many tubes? We have had a few opinions on the value of the tubes and due to the fact there could be value in those boxes nothing has been done with the tubes. The problem however is storing these tubes, which President Cason has temporarily taken on.  Storing things goes hand in hand with spring cleaning.

Just before lockdown the members came together and cleaned out the storage locker the club rents. We purged a large amount of antiquated and outdated gear then moved even more gear to the clubhouse. Unfortunately the lockdown hit and we had placed the valued stuff upstairs which is not our space. Many months later we finally got all the stuff under the stairs thanks to Dave our President. Some of the treasures we store are things like struts for a car?? Regardless we pay $1200 a year for storage and the board is working on many fronts to try and eliminate that expense. If we did some spring cleaning again perhaps we could truly empty the locker once and for all. The locker currently is in great shape as I stopped by and was relieved to see how tidy things are there. I’m sure the state of the locker is in no small part due to our new lifetime member Robert Wilson.

We as HAM radio folk are pack rats it’s just in our nature. I as a mechanic have the pack rat bug very badly. It kills me to need a part and think oh I had one of those but threw it out just the other day. The real problem comes when storing things for someday uses cost more money than the thing is actually worth. I have had to harden my resolve when it comes to purging stuff and I think Rob relies on it for the disposal end of our clubs cleaning.

Perhaps there are treasures in the pile and we should save them but we would end up with this for a storage locker.  Another light at the end of the tunnel for our clubs storage is the work going into the disposal process guideline. 

Thanks to Jack and Rob a great number of items were moved on to new homes. Jack and Dave sorted out the process guidelines and it looks like future estates donated will be dealt with quickly and fairly. 

I recommend each member and group take on the task of spring cleaning and searching for those things that just are taking up space. Once you have purged the old junk you will have so much room for new junk. NOT! Well I hope you get the idea and look forward to one day when we can get together again in person and have a flea market to sell stuff and find new stuff to store.

Dave Cason VE6DED

Now that it has rolled around to being my turn for this month’s Key Klix message, I thought I would cover the fascinating world of finances. Don’t groan in pain, this is good stuff! Anyway, as you know or maybe have heard somewhere, CARA is the club with the big bucks! Right !? Well yes, and no. 

We’ve been getting checks from the AGLC every 2 years for hosting casinos for the past 15 years. Oddly enough, while we have lots of money in our Casino Account, we also have another account called our General Account that is not quite as robust! (grin) That is the account we really need to watch. We are allowed to transfer 10% of casino money, which has to last over two years in to the General Account, and that is it. It is not enough money for our day-to-day expenses like internet, security alarms, repeater sites, other general club costs, etc!

As an example, we have a casino and from that we get a check for ~$51,000. Out of that we can take 10% and put that in the General Account, which is $5,100. But we need to remember, casinos only run once every two years so then for that one year we only have $2,550 in the General Account for that year from casino money, but we spend about $11,700 in a year. So as you can see, we have a deficit for the operation budget.

We have to make up the extra money by holding license classes, have flea markets, and the big one, membership dues. With COVID we can’t do the make up stuff, so that’s why we’re trying to cut costs. And yes, we will be able to raise funds in the future with license classes and flea markets, but not right now. And we don’t want to raise dues if we can avoid it. If we need to buy some equipment we’re in great shape because we can use the money in the Casino Account, but for day-to-day stuff, we’re a bit tight. So what we’re trying to do as an Executive is cut our day-to-day cost for things that have to come out of our General Account; we can’t run the club using money from the Casino Account, ever. The AGLC has a big thick binder called “Use of Proceeds”, and that is a hard "no".

We are trying to recover our storage costs for old equipment, and between the storage locker and the club trailer, we spend about $2,000 a year. If we can get rid of old things, and maybe keep the “must have things”, along with the trailer at the clubhouse, it would help cut our costs. And yes, we’re working on it!

Another expense is classroom rent for our ham classes that we hold to raise money for the club, but last time it cost us $1,700 to rent the hall. So again we’re going to try to use the clubhouse, and those ideas are in the works. So we are actively selling old equipment and working towards using the clubhouse for ham classes and trailer storage. If you have any other suggestions for us, please let us know!

Club members, it is a pleasure to bring you the January 2021 President’s Executive Committee Message.

The past year with COVID-19 and its requirements at various times with respect to distancing, face masks, and restrictions regarding social and family gatherings, has been very challenging, the more so with those who have unfortunately been infected or have been personally exposed to others with the virus.

As ham fans, we are very appreciative of a hobby that provides the ability to interact with others, socially and technically.

In December, the Executive Committee, with valuable member input, grappled with the unused hardware that has been accumulating, and communicated this to the membership. A sales protocol has been initiated, and sales continue.

The Executive Committee is anxious to continue the normal activities that the membership has missed over the past ten months.

Although it may be several quarters before “normal” resumes, we wish all members a healthy, safe, prosperous and active 2021 New Year.

Andy Norlander, Director

Calgary Amateur Radio Association

Fellow club members, it is my pleasure to bring you this month's Executive Committee message.

It has been a tough year with COVID-19 and the ongoing and changing social gathering restrictions. I write you this message shortly after the recently announced further restrictions right through the holiday season lasting right into the New Year.

This is a major disappointment for many. This is a time of year where we are meant to gather with friends and family, only to be told that this very act can help propagate this virus. It is a time like this where I really appreciate this hobby and the ability to connect to many like minded individuals over the radio waves. If you haven’t been able to get on the air lately, I encourage you to spend some time making these social connections over the air during the holiday season. This is a time where we need these social interactions, and the radio is a perfect pathway to these connections.

Later this month, the executive will be organizing a virtual Christmas party on December 22nd. Leveraging our Zoom club account, we will welcome all members of the community to join us for a virtual get together. Zoom information can be found in the calendar on our website. Join us to kick off this unusual holiday season.

At our last meeting, we recognized Rob Wilson VE6CCL’s amazing contributions to the club over several years by awarding him a Lifetime membership. Please join us in thanking Rob for his great contributions and accomplishments over the years. Thank you Rob!

Stephane Raimbaut, Treasurer

Calgary Amateur Radio Association

Greetings, fellow amateur radio fans. 

It has rotated to my turn to speak in behalf of the Executive Committee this month.  

We’ve just finished CARA’s second and last amateur radio event for 2020, the Test Day for the 2020 Rocky Mountain Rally, held on the Kananaskis Jumping Pound Forest Demonstration Loop, last Saturday.  Many thanks to local hams who made it out. In particular, kudos goes to CARA members Dana Harding VA6DJH and Garry Spicer VE6GDS for providing the leadership for the communications side of the event.  Before the event was greatly scaled back, due to Covid, we had a very large registration of radio operators for the day.  Over forty two, the last I heard. In the end, we were able to use maybe seven radio people for the rally.  Let’s hope that the world is free from this plague by this time next year. 

Your executive committee continues to work hard for the members.  Some of our initiatives include:

• developing new expeditious and logical procedures for storage and disposal of items that are casino funded surplus, and for items that are donated to CARA by Silent Keys. This includes management of the club’s vacuum tube bank. 

• working with the Calgary Sports Car Club on upgrades to the grounds and building which will mutually benefit them and CARA. 

• Identifying ways to recognize and reward outstanding club members, such as Life members. 

• Examining new technologies that can benefit amateur radio and CARA’s facilities around the Calgary area.

Covid, on the surface, is definitely something that, seemingly, puts a massive damper on many of our activities.  However, it’s does not have to hold us down.  Please MAKE opportunities to continue our learning and social activities using radio and digital technology.  We are masters of those media.  For example, I’m hearing that the club’s education department is now working on creating distance learning programs. To support that, a pool of instructors and Elmers is being formed to provide early support and encouragement for not only long timers, but especially, new hams, who might otherwise drift away.  Please contact Patrick VE6PDS@gmail.com to learn more of this program.  Great initiative, Pat and colleagues!

Members, please be sure to attend our next two socials on the air.  November will be a directed net on VE6RYC VHF on the topic of “The Year 2020 in Review”.  Please attend and participate.  In December, we will host a Christmas party using the club’s Zoom web conference software.  Please join the party from the comfort of your own home bar or pub. Pour some eggnog and rum for yourself, and show us your best elf or reindeer costume.  Visit the Event Calendar in the web site for days and times. 

Peter LaGrandeur VA6RPL

CARA Executive Secretary. 

Uhmmm, what? President!?!? Me!? Really?!?!

OK, just so you guys know, I dunno if I want to be in a club that would have me as a member much less the President! (grin). OK, I’ll do it, and I think it’s pretty safe to say those of you in the club who know me know what a serious and studious young man I am.   HA!

Anyway I hope I can do right by you guys and CARA, and if you have any problems or concerns about the club, and the way things are done, please call or drop me a note and let me know what the problems are that you see, and I’ll do my best to make it right! I’ll let you know right now the new Executive won’t be perfect, but if we can make 51% of you happy, that’s a good start! But I think we can hit 99% if we do it right, or at least offer up a decent explanation of why something was done the way it was.

I used to wonder why some things were done the way they were in the past, but boy after sitting on the board for a while, I think I owe some of the old Executive members a beer or two!

Anyway we have quite a bit going on right now with the Repeater Team and the Station Team and CARATELS, so be sure to check out what’s on the website and we’ll do our best to keep it up-to- date. Also, we’ll start the on-line meeting when the monthly meetings soon start, and it’ll be on VE6RYC, and we might try to have it on-line as well at the same time. So you can listen in on a radio and also on-line in Zoom or Google Meetings with a moderator running the on-line part and someone doing net control on the radio.

Anyway I’m happy to do another term as the CARA President, and if I can do half as good a job as Stephane did, I’ll consider that a success. I’d like to welcome Peter and Andy to the board and also thank Jim and Dana for a job well done. We did a bit of a shuffle for roles and who can do what because someone had to withdraw, but I think we did OK.

So here’s this fall’s new action-packed line up on CARA.

• Dave Cason – President;
• Harry Maylor - Vice President;
• Stephane Raimbault – Treasurer;
• Peter LaGrandeur – Secretary;
• Andy Norlander – Director.

Lastly, with great sadness we learned that Dale Olsen, former Board and CARA member, became a Silent Key this summer, and we extend our thoughts and prayers to friends and family of Dale.

Cheers

Dave Cason
C: 403 540 9041
president@caraham.org 

We enter this month with the typical June weather, but as we all know, this is no typical June thanks to the ongoing public health orders and recommendations on physical distancing. I would typically be writing to you about all the successful public service events that were recently completed and the others still coming this summer. However all of those events have been cancelled or postponed.

We, individually and as a club, try to forge forward in this new reality that physical distancing will be with us for quite some time. Club members are preparing for a Field Day event that I'm sure will prove to be unique in its challenges, and I look forward to what this innovative group is able to cobble together with the restrictions in place.

Another club event to be discussed is our biennial executive election. With the prospect of not being able to come together for our typical June election meeting, we faced a choice to either delay the election to when we could meet in person again, or forge ahead leveraging technology to hold an election and conclude the current 2 year mandate. A poll was issued to members earlier in June to get an understanding of how the membership would like to proceed. The results of this poll have recommended that we proceed with a June election leveraging our website for voting. Additional information on the election will be posted in Key Klix and emailed to all members in mid-June.

With the election set to proceed, I would like to thank all the club members who participated in a variety of club events and activities over the last couple of years. Without you, our volunteers, this club would not be what it is today. It has been my pleasure to serve you as the club president over the last 2+ years.

73 de VE6NR

Stephane Raimbault

CARA President

It’s hard to believe that just a little over 2 months ago the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, which would result in countries around the world to start shutting in citizens, disrupting economies and people's livelihood. As time drags on it’s hard to know if this was truly an effective response to this corona virus, but one thing seems clear to me, if governments had not acted when they did, we may very well be in a much worse situation today.

As a result, we have minimized our in-person club activities and have taken some of those activities on-line with the help of internet based tools and on the air, leveraging our repeater system to stay in touch.

As we look forward to our new and ever evolving normal, I’m left wondering how much of our “old normal” we will find at the end of all of this.

Over the coming days and weeks, the club executive will be meeting to discuss how the government’s re-launch strategy for the economy factors in how we operate the club. There could be the possibility of re-opening some in-person events such as meetings, operating the club station, or getting together for work parties. We will have more details soon, but I want to remind everyone that we are not near the end of this pandemic, but rather just entering the next stage. It is evident to me that there is still a long road ahead, and it is entirely possible that we will never find our “old normal” at the end of this, but rather we will have forged “new normal” that we will have to embrace for quite some time.

Stay safe and stay home if you can. I hope that during this time you can embrace the hobby and find some joy and on-air camaraderie.

It’s hard to believe that a month ago I was writing about all the upcoming club activities, such as our general meeting at the end of March, preparations for our Spring Flea Market, and upcoming volunteer opportunities at upcoming public service events.

In a little less than a month, events were cancelled, altered, and rescheduled. Many of our daily activities have been turned upside down by a viral pandemic that very few could imagine.

Our general meeting, instead of meeting at our usual location, took place over the air as a directed net on our main Calgary repeater, VE6RYC. The CARA Spring Flea Market was cancelled, and in its place, club members are organizing an on-line technical conference to take its place. The Rocky Mountain Rally, scheduled for May, has been rescheduled to the fall, and will take place in Kananaskis.

We continue to navigate this new world together altering our plans on a daily and weekly basis. I hope many of you have found our hobby as ways to communicate and socialize from a safe physical distance, and that the days that are passing by aren’t too lonely.

I look forward to the day we can re-group in physical proximity and forge a new way forward in what will undoubtedly be a new normal.

73 de VE6NR

Stephane Raimbault

CARA President