Quarter Century Amateur Radio Club

In recent years commercial entities have expressed interested in the 33cm band. They seek to have it reallocated and to monetize it. While 33cm does not enjoy the level of interest and activity that 2m and 70cm do a quick scan of RepeaterBook will show that there are many 33cm repeaters operating in the US and Canada. Here in Alberta there are five repeaters operating in the 33cm band.

The ARRL has recently renewed their efforts in defending the 33cm band as detailed in this article:

ARRL Renews Defense of the 902-928 MHz Amateur Radio Band

Commercial pressure on spectrum allocated to the Amateur Radio Service has existed for some years now and will only ever increase. Hams in France were successful in fighting off parties interested in reallocating their 2m VHF band for aviation use several years ago.

As individual amateur radio operators what can we each do to defend our spectrum?

• Make use of the spectrum that is allocated to us (use it or lose it!)
• Support the organizations that are mounting defenses of our spectrum on our behalf
• Encourage new hams into the hobby

In Canada the organization that defends spectrum allocated to the Amateur Radio Service is RAC (Radio Amateurs of Canada). They have a Defense of Amateur Fund which you can read about here:

RAC Defense of Amateur Radio Fund

Defending our amateur radio spectrum is work. It takes time, effort, money and legal resources. And the need for this defense will only ever increase.

The International Amateur Radio Union is the worldwide federation of national amateur radio organizations. The IARU provides a forum for common matters of concern to amateur radio operators worldwide and collectively represents these matters to the International Telecommunications Union.

The membership of the IARU is comprised of more than 160 member societies in as many countries and separate territories. In Canada that society is the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC).

The IARU was founded in 1925 and celebrated their 100th anniversary in February of this year so we thought this a good time to mention them. Tim Ellam, VE6SH, currently serves as the president of the IARU.

See the IARU website here for more info on them and their activities on our behalf.

All Canadian hams should consider joining our national amateur radio association, Radio Amateurs of Canada. There are benefits to the individual but arguably more important are the ones to all amateur radio operators nationwide.

Now more than ever commercial interests are eyeing various pieces of the RF spectrum for their use. That includes the spectrum allocations that we amateur radio operators enjoy. RAC will represent our interests to the regulatory body that governs RF spectrum in Canada, Industry, Science and Economic Development, giving we amateur radio operators a real and unified voice at the spectrum governance table..

RAC publishes an excellent periodical which is available to members in either printed or electronic formats.

See the video below where Stuart Crawford, VE9CF, talks about the benefits that RAC provides. Also see the membership section on RAC’s main menu.

For this event we have learned that we will have some very nice door prizes!

• Icom Canada will be donating a handheld transceiver!

• GPS Central (Radio World) will be donating some gift certificates!

We thank these two vendors for their support of our event and of amateur radio in general. They are always generous in their support and it is greatly appreciated!

We hope you can make it to this fun event!

See the rest of the event details here.

The Southern Alberta Amateur Radio Club Spring Flea Market will be held on Saturday, May 3, from 10 am until noon at the Moose Hall, 1401 – 5 Avenue North, Lethbridge.

We’ve recently learned, via Vince, VE6LK, of a club that may be of interest to those with an interest in CW. It is called the Morse Telegraph Club and as well as having two chapters in Alberta they have five across Canada.

Here is a video that Vince posted to YouTube about them:

For all us QCARC members it’s time to renew our memberships.

The membership term runs from May 1 to April 30.

The renewal options are:

• Online via our membership page
• In-person at the upcoming AGM, spring social and flea market
• Via post: complete a membership form and mail it in with a cheque

The membership fee is still only $10 per year!

We thank all current, past and future members for your kind support. A club is only as strong as its’ membership. Every membership furthers our shared endeavours in ways that are both tangible and intangible to individuals and the larger group.

At the QCARC we believe strongly in one of the foundational tenets of amateur radio, that of hams helping hams. Your support allows us to foster and continue that tradition.

Coming up on Saturday, April 19th, is the QCARC Annual General Meeting, spring social and flea market.

With apologies for the change of venue and the sub-optimal date, both of which were beyond our control, the event will be held at the North Glenora Community League Hall at 13535 109A Avenue NW here in Edmonton.

The schedule is as follows:

• 0800h-0900h: doors open for vendor set up
• 0900h-1200h: doors open to the public, free refreshments after 1000h
• 1200h-1230h: annual general meeting

To book a table at the flea market please send an email to mail@qcarc.net.

You can see all the details including the AGM agenda here:

2025 QCARC AGM, Spring Social and Flea Market

There will be door prizes!

We look forward to seeing you all there!

The 2025 Southern Alberta Repeater Association’s Annual General Meeting and picnic has been scheduled. It will be on Saturday, June 7th from 1000h to 1600h in Red Deer at the McKenzie Trails picnic shelter, rain or shine.

There is no charge to attend. There will be a tail gate flea market and complimentary SARA dogs will be served at noon. There will also be a bunny hunt and a 50/50 draw. Talk in will be available on the VE6QE repeater (147.15 MHz) or on 146.52 MHz simplex.

All the details including directions can be found in this document:

2025 SARA Picnic and AGM

News, announcements and updates will appear here on the home page of our website.

Stay tuned!