Page 40 January February 2018 TCA

although those of you who live on the British Columbia coast or
in the Maritime Provinces can do that. Even Vancouver Island,
Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, for example, have
IOTA numbers so those living there can activate from home!
The Canadian Island Activators (http://veislandactivators.
blogspot.ca) is for those of us living inland like here in Ontario.
Canada has many large and small islands which can be
activated under one of these programs. Many islands are
accessible by car or on foot so you don’t even need a boat to
get to them – unless it’s the local ferry. And if you are visiting or
vacationing in the US, there is a US Islands Awards Program at
http://usislands.org/.
For those of you living near mountains, there is Summits on the
Air (SOTA; http://www.sota.org.uk/) which has become popular.
There are no recognized mountains in Ontario listed for SOTA,
but there are for Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.
Operators were Al, VE3RRD (holding the mic), Ian, VA3QT, beside him Note: For more information on Summits on the Air please see the
and Mike, VE3MKX (taking the picture and including his finger in the article on page 49 of the September-October 2017 TCA.
photo as proof he was there).
If you don’t already have HF privileges, you should consider
Our first rewriting the Basic exam and upgrade – most of the fun is on HF.
contact was And while you’re at it, learn CW; much of the portable QRP (low
shortly after power operation, usually 5W or less) activity is using Morse
10:30 am code. Switching from SSB to CW can result in at least two
(1430 UTC) “S‑units” of improved readability at the receiving end. There are
and our last many computer programs and apps for your phone or tablet to
was just after help you learn Morse code.
1:30 pm
(1730 UTC). Joining in on a club activity like the ones mentioned earlier –
and don’t forget Field Day – allow Amateurs with only Basic
We took turns Qualification to get on HF and learn what it’s all about. There just
working a needs to be a properly qualified “control operator” sitting nearby.
total of 65 Of course you wouldn’t be able to use your own call sign when
stations and operating on bands you are not qualified for, but often a club call
there were will be used for club activities (or the control operator’s call could
pileups once be used).
we were When I wrote this article we questioned the Beaches on the Air
known to be organizers about the lack of Canadian beaches in their online
operating numbered list of beaches. The response was that no one had
from a sent them a list of beaches in Canada to enter into the database.
never‑before activated WWFF location (number VEFF‑0426). I have since submitted a list of 783 beaches located in the
province of Ontario which they plan on using. So next year when
It was very exciting being at the other end of a pileup with four or
more stations all calling at once. Those worked were in Italy, we activate Wasaga Beach, it will be under both BOTA and
WWFF official numbers – and it will give us an opportunity to
Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, the United States and Canada. have fun activating other BOTA recognized beaches in the
After three hours of fun, the bands were starting to drop out so Barrie area.
we decided to pack up and go to a nearby Tim Hortons to talk
about our experience over a coffee. We all agreed that we must So go find a lighthouse, beach, island or a provincial or national
definitely do this again next year! park to activate. Maybe like us, you will be the first one to
officially put it on the air. This is an aspect of our hobby many of
Another idea we are considering is to activate an island and I you may not be aware of – and it’s fun and can get you and
don’t mean Islands on the Air (IOTA; https://www.iota‑world.org/), Amateur Radio out of the house.

Al Duncan was first licensed in 1983 as VO1RD, then as VE4AOA
from 1985 to 1988 and VE3RRD from 1988 to the present. He retired
in 1989 after serving 20 years in the military where he was in the
communications and electronics trades. He then worked as a Bell
Mobility RF Field Maintenance Technician from 1989 until his
retirement in 2008. He has served on the Barrie Amateur Radio
Club’s Executive for nine years. He teaches the club’s Basic
Amateur Radio Qualification course and is an Accredited Examiner.
He has also created a special interest group in the Barrie club called
the Wireless Amateur Experimenter Group (WAX Group) to foster
learning how to build things for the hobby rather than just buying
“ready-made”.

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