Category: Uncategorized

The joint LSCO-SAARC flea market will be:

Saturday, May 30
9:30 am to 1 pm
Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization Foyer
500, 11 Street South, Lethbridge, AB.

$5 Admission
Includes door prize entry.
$10 Tables
To reserve, contact Larry, ve6wl.ve6bar@gmail.com or 587-425-5070

Room CE1305 (Richardson Oilseed Room), Lethbridge Polytechnic

Present: Larry VE6WL, David VE6DRL, Dave VA6SYS, Gary VE6CV, Cory VE6COR, Scott VA6JSR, Barry VE6BGR, Charlie VE6KN, Wayne VE6WEK, Gary NoCall, Ron VE6PAP, Stan VE6SYS, Forbes VE6FMP, Ed VE6EKG, Blair VE6AGH, Peter VA6ARI

Call to order by Dave DRL at 10:04 am, seconded by Charlie.

Reading of the minutes of March 28, 2026, AGM by Peter.

• No errors or omissions.
• Motion to approve minutes by Dave DRL, seconded by Ron. All in favour.

Treasurer’s Report by Dave.

• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Dave SYS, seconded by Wayne. All in favour.

Events Report Barry in Renze’s absence.

• Christmas supper will be held at Mings Chinese Cafe in Coaldale, 4 – 6 pm. Date TBA.

FIELD DAY. If you want a specific campsite, let Cory COR know.

• will try to get Fort Macleod Gazette out to do a story for extra points.

Repeater Committee Report by Barry in Cory’s absence.

• went out last Tuesday and did winter-to-summer conversion. Did a 10 amp load test on batteries, which tested out good. Cleaned the solar panels. Also took measurements for a wind turbine. Added 5″ whisper fans for shack airflow. Swapped the Yaesu back in.
• won’t hear squelch tail on C4FM.
• repeater may have shut down over last few days of cloudy weather. Barry sees two courses of action: wind turbine to supplement power, or get rid of the Yaesu.
• Ron asked about trying to bypass the AC. Repeater controllers run off the AC board so it cannot be bypassed.
• Ron suggested a better inverter.
• Cory COR asked why the Kenwood was switched out. Issue with the power switch, when it gets cold. Might be able to jumper out the switch.

OLD BUSINESS

1) Antenna project

• we have $8,500 in the fund and so we are going ahead.
• Barry sent out a quotation request to Dave Siggelkow

1. A) Fundraising

• we have a commitment for another $500. Wayne has donated his tower to the SAARC club and Barry has a bid for $250 on it.

1. B) Equipment Sales

• Dave DRL suggested a thank you note to be sent Mrs. Burke. Barry passed around a letter for everyone to sign.

2) The joint LSCO/SAARC flea Market confirmed for May 30.

• tables $10, entry $5 which includes door prize ticket. Setup at 9, out by 1 pm.
• all the SAARC equipment will be there.
• Don Plunket will be organizing the tables.

NEW BUSINESS

1) Wind Turbine

• Ron says there will be more liability issues because things fly apart. Also will have more noise and so will have to talk to land owner.
• Dave SYS suggested a marine turbine.
• Dave DRL has plans to put a small turbine on the corner of the building on a tower with supports.

2) Gary has set up and demonstrated ahis Educational website: ve6dok.net

3) Basic License Training

• Ron has someone interested. Gary has 4 or 5.
• Barry will look into it.

Motion to close the meeting by Wayne at 11:09 am.

Dave SYS presented on the Artemis II high-speed data links that were used during the recent mission.

Next meeting: May 23, 2026.

Barry won’t be at the next meeting.

Present: Larry VE6WL, Jim VE6JMB, Steve VE6SCL, David VE6DRL, Tyler VA6TI, Dave VA6SYS, Gary VE6CV, Cory VE6COR, Scott VA6JSR, Barry VE6BGR, Cory VE6CYT, Kalvin VE6KRO, Charlie VE6KN, Wayne VE6WEK, Gary No Call, Austin VE6QBD, Ron VE6PAP, Stan VE6SYS, Bill VA6VIV, Blair VE6AGH, Peter VA6ARI

Call to order by Jim at 10:10 am, seconded by Dave DRL

Reading of the minutes of February 28, 2026, by Peter.

• No errors or omissions.
• Motion to approve minutes by Blair, seconded by Bill. All in favour.

Treasurer’s Report by Dave.

• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Larry, seconded by Steve. All in favour.

Events Report by Barry in Renze’s absence.

• Christmas party: different or same place? Perhaps early evening Chinese. Or German Canadian Club Kitchen. Let Renze decide.
• FIELD DAY: Campsite is booked. Cory COR will provide info to Peter.

Repeater Committee Report by Cory:

• not much to report. Kenwood still out at site. Will be swapped with the Yeasu end of April. Looking for help with wind turbine project…Ron was suggested. Tyler recommend a high-end one because the low-end ones blow themselves apart. College may have one available. Ron will inquire.

OLD BUSINESS

1) Antenna project

A) Fundraising

• • we are at 75%. Quote will probably go up so would like to get another $1,000. Donations were received.

2) Joint LSCO/SAARC Flea Market

• May 9 is no longer available, so current date suggested is May 30.

NEW BUSINESS

1) Listing of equipment donated to SAARC from the widow of a silent key Marvin Burk. Barry will provide a list to email out.

2) Wayne has a pop-up antenna he is selling

3) Gary has a new info website VE6DOK.net

4) Gary will do the first info training again.

Motion to close the meeting by Steve at 11:01 am.

Election of 2026 Board:

• President: Barry Rushford – VE6BGR
• Vice President: Kalvin Kroker – VE6KRO
• Secretary: Peter Pankonin – VA6ARI
• Treasurer: David Laming – VE6DRL
• Three Directors: Renze Dam – VE6DC (Events), Cory Rushford – VE6CYT (Operations), David Sweetnam – VA6SYS (Training).

Election of Two Auditors:

• Steven La Hay – VE6SCL, Charlie Milazzo – VE6KN

Blair made a motion to close election, seconded by Bill.

Next meeting: April 25, 2026.

Present: Tyler VA6TI, Gary VE6CV, Barry VE6BGR, Cory VE6CYT, Renze VE6DC, David VA7ZYE, Kalvin VE6KRO, Norm VE6NFW, Dave VA6SYS, Kate (no call sign yet), Bill VA6VIV, Peter VA6ARI

Call to order by Kalvin at 10:07 am, seconded by Tyler.

Reading of the minutes of January 24, 2026, by Peter.

• No errors or omissions.
• Motion to approve minutes by Norm, seconded by Renze. All in favour.

Treasurer’s Report by Barry in Dave’s absence.

• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Dave SYS, seconded by Tyler. All in favour.

Events Report by Renze:

• Nothing planned yet.
• Field Day: Cory COR had a number of questions. Gary will forward them to Peter.

Repeater Committee Report by Cory:

• Nothing more to report. Searched for parts. Replacement parts available in Mexico. Will put the Yeasu back out mid March.

OLD BUSINESS

1) Antenna project

• Since we are very close to the 75% mark, Barry and Cory CYT will begin the ordering process and spec out the antenna.

1. A) Fundraising

• we’re almost 75% there. Wonderful response from the ham community.
• Barry sent letters to counties and has received no response. Gary suggested that the only way to get a response would be by doing a presentation at a board meeting.

1. B) Sale of equipment

• Barry discussed issues with the Motorola repeater which is in the business band. Gary suggested selling the unit and all agreed.

2) Gary’s training development:

• first session will be Thursday, March 5, 7 pm on Teams. Need volunteers to be on air around 7:15 to 7:45, on mobile VHF/UHF, a UHF WIRES-X handheld station that can work his repeater VE6DOK, and an HF station.
• Peter will send out another blast to the contact list regarding the Thursday session.

3) The joint LSCO/SAARC flea market will be May 9 at the LSCO foyer. Vendor setup at 9, done at 12.

4) Broadcasting the meetings: Dave SYS says that the TV and webcam would be available to use. Just need a computer.

NEW BUSINESS

1) AGM will be March 28. General meeting first followed by the AGM.

2) Barry received a phone call from a lady who has asked if the club would spread her father’s ashes at the CAM site. George was very active in the CAM repeater. Land owner Alan is in support of this. There will be a ceremony planned. A plaque will be installed inside the shack at the CAM site. No objections.

3) Tyler recommended contacting MLA’s regarding the shutdown of the weather radio system. He will prepare a letter.

Next meeting: March 28, 2026, will be our AGM.

Motion to close the meeting by Bill at 11:06 am.

Presentation by Dave: a continuation of the last session on path calculations with a deeper dive into path loss calculations.

Questions or for more information, please contact:

Peter Pankonin, VA6ARI, SAARC secretary at peter.pankonin [at] gmail [dot] com.

Present: Scott VA6JSR, Renze VE6DC, Cory VE6COR, Gary VE6CV, Cory VE6CYT, David VA6SYS, Ron VE6PAP, Walter VE6XWG, Barry VE6BGR, Wayne VE6WEK, David VE6DRL, Kate (no call sign yet), Peter VA6ARI

Call to order by Dave DRL at 10:11 am, seconded by Cory COR

Reading of the minutes of November 22, 2025, by Peter.

• One correction: the tower company is Bestway not Waybest.
• Motion to approve minutes by Wayne seconded by Walter. All in favour.

Treasurer’s Report by David (VE6DRL)

• paid RAC insurance and web hosting.
• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Renze seconded by Dave SYS. All in favour.

Events Report by Renze:

• no events planned yet.
• Cory COR has volunteered to organize field day.

Repeater Committee Report by Cory CYT:

• Kenwood repeater is out at the site right now. Six hours of sunlight is not enough to handle the Yaesu draw. We will need to look at adding the wind turbine.
• also getting interference on the repeater on 146.290. Perry VE6NX is trying to record the interference.

OLD BUSINESS

1) Antenna Project

A) Fundraising

• we’re about half way to the goal.
• Barry will be sending out another plea to members who have not donated.
• Barry has prepared a letter to the counties which he passed around for feedback.

B) Sale of equipment

• nothing new to add

2) Gary’s training development: sunrise sag, grey line propagation, solar weather, etc. are in the works. Will coordinate with Peter to announce presentations.

NEW BUSINESS

1) Update on initiatives taking place at the LSCO radio club

• new executive is very supportive of getting the radio club back up and running. Waiting for LSCO club to present proposals, like a six-month no-LSCO fee. Is open Saturday mornings now. Other initiatives are also on the table. Also interested in developing the relationship between LSCO and SAARC.
• CJOC sponsorship of LSCO.
• Discussed doing a joint LSCO/SAARC flea market in April or May. Will also participate in joint events.

2) Request to have meetings broadcast.

• will table for now and discuss with the executive.

Next meeting: February 28, 2026

Motion to close the meeting by Dave SYS at 11:01 am.

Presentation by Barry: Process of determining expected signal strength on a radio path.

This year’s CARA flea market will be on Saturday, April 11, 2026.

Location: Eastside City Church, 1320 – Abbeydale Dr. SE, Calgary, AB

Admission: $5.

Doors open at 8 am for vendors, 9 am for the public.

Join Gary VE6CV and other locals as we discuss the concept of Mesh Networking in Lethbridge and surrounding areas. Think of this as an off-grid, non-cellular, non-Internet messaging platform for a new era of secure communications.

• Date: Sunday Dec. 14
• Time: 2 pm
• Link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/cd43a24c-a38e-48a7-8c15-ba072abe6764@c55943f6-d9b9-4073-a7c2-9f90aa933054

Hosts Nathan Schmidt and Gary Wheeler

Present: David VA6SYS, Barry VE6BGR, Larry VE6WL, Wayne VE6WEK, Tyler VA6TI, Steve VE6SCL, Bill KJ7GNB/VA6VIV, David VE6DRL, Peter VA6ARI

Call to Order by Tyler at 10:13 am, seconded by Dave DRL.

Reading of the minutes of October 25, 2025, by Peter.

• No additions or corrections to the minutes.
• Motion to approve minutes by Larry, seconded by Steve. All in favour.

Treasurer’s Report by David (VE6DRL)

• Antenna Project donations received to date: about 40%
• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Steve, seconded by Bill. All in favour.

Events Report by Barry in Renze’a absence:

• Christmas brunch, 9:30 am, food served at 10:00 am, on Dec. 13 in Coaldale. $24.95/person, free coffee. RSVP to Renze.

Repeater Committee Report by Barry in Cory’s absence.

• Cory, Dave DRL, Barry, and Larry went out to winterize.
• may need a small wind turbine to supplement the power during cloudy days if the solar and batteries can’t handle the draw.
• need to add weatherstripping to door.

OLD BUSINESS

1) Antenna project

A) Fundraising

• • report by Wayne on Lethbridge and community support funds. Community Foundation of Lethbridge and S. Alberta provides funds for various projects. Mar. 15 is next application deadline. Wayne presented the antenna project. Eligibility: needs to be a registered charity, or needs to partner with one. Larry, Barry, and Peter will assist Wayne in developing the application. Dave DRL suggested Lions club and Salvation Army as potential partners.
  • report by Dave DRL on tower contractor costs. Ross uses Waybest, so no cost saving over current quote.
  • Motion by Bill that Barry contact Counties to request donations, seconded by Dave DRL. All in favour.

B) Sale of equipment

• • still have a couple of antennas, and the repeater. Will drop repeater price to $500.

2) RAC Memberships

• Cory is going to be sending in the insurance application toward the end of next week, so if anyone still hasn’t become a RAC member, please do so as soon as possible.

NEW BUSINESS

1) Gary VE6CV is working on developing training courses via Zoom.

No meeting in December due to the Christmas Brunch on Dec. 13.

Next meeting: January 24, 2026

Motion to close the meeting by Bill at 11:06 am.

Presentation by Dave SYS on VHF digital theory