Amherst, Nova Scotia
VE1WRC 147.285
 VE1AMH 145.190

WestCumb  Amateur  Radio Club  VE1WRC

  Serving Westmorland County New Brunswick & Cumberland County Nova Scotia since 1980

News & Information

May club meeting recap

There was a small turnout for this month's club meeting with 16 members taking part including Jim VE1JBL, Bill VA1BIL, Borden VA1CBC, Eric VE1JW, George VY2GF, Kevin VE1KEV, Robert VE1CA, Ron VE1BIC, Scott VE1CHL, Steve VE1OR, Terry VE1AS, Chad VA1CS, Brad VE1ZX, Lorne VE1BXK, James VE9WIN & Frank VE3AC.

We had two new members added to the club with Chad Starling VA1CS from Oxford NS and Randall King VE1ROfrom Bass River NS. Regrets from Gordon VE9GC.

A review of SMART was the main topic of discussion and thanks to Ron Bickle VE1BIC we now have some pictures of the event on the SMART page. All winners of prizes are also available on the same page.

If anyone would like to purchase a mug or t-shirt from the event contact me VE1JBL as I have them here at my home.

Final totals and recap will be on the agenda for next month.

Club brunch this month will be in Parrsboro at the Harborview Restaurant Saturday May 20th beginning at 10:30am.  

The last club meeting before the summer break will be June 13th beginning at 7:30pm 


April club meeting recap

Another great turnout for the April meeting of the WARC. There were 24 members including Jim VE1JBL, Borden VA1CBC, Charles VA3CPI, Eric VE1JW, Frank VE1FSM, George VY2GF, Gorden VE9GC, Jon VE1JSG, J.P. VE9ADV, Kevin VE1KEV, Brad VE1ZX, Scott VE1CHL, Lorne VE1BXK, Mike VE1MY, James VE9WIN, Pravin VE9PKV, Rob VE1CA, Ron VE1BIC, Ron VE1AIC, Steve VE1OR, Terry VE1AS, Peter VE1WIN, Mike VE1ZB amd Mike VE9MTV.

Regrets Don VE9CUB.

Frank VE1FSM who is now looking after the Monday night WestCumb 2 meter Net reported the net has been doing very well with over 40 check-ins.

The club brunch will take place Saturday April 22nd, 10:30am at Breakfast at Brittney's at 45 Victoria St. East in Amherst.

A reminder that SMART23 will take place Saturday May 6th beginning at 8am. If you would like to volunteer contact Jim Langille VE1JBL at   themaritimeamateur@gmail.com


Next club meeting is May 9th.



March club meeting recap

A very good turn out on Tuesday for the regular meeting of the WARC.

There were 25 members taking part including Jim VE1JBL, Borden VA1CBC, Charles VA3CPI,

Eric VE1JW, Frank VE1FSM, George VY2GF, Gorden VE9GC, Kevin VE1KEV, Mike VE1MY,

Pravin VE9PKV, Robert VE1CA, Ron VE1BIC, Ron VE1AIC, Scott VE1CHL, Steve VE1OR,

Peter VE1WIN, Mike VE1ZB, Jon VE1JSG, Frank VE3AC, Dave VE1DEH, Bill VA1BIL,

Terry VE1AS, Tom VE1TWH, Brad VE1ZX, Mike VE9MTV and one guest Chad VA1CS.

An update was given on SMART23 and there will be a final meeting for the SMART organizers on April 4th. The new t-shirts and mugs to sell at SMART were on display tonight. More information about these will follow soon.

Ron Bickle VE1BIC will set up a presentation of amateur radio for CFTA radio in April. If anyone would like to take part in this project contact Ron.

The club net is doing very well and Mike Masters VE1ZB passed the torch this evening to Frank Marks VE1FSM who will now look after the club net. Special thanks to Mike for looking after the net for the past eight years.

The club has decided to try and have the monthly brunches again. These came to an end back in 2020 with the onset of COVID. The next brunch will be held at Patterson's in Sackville NB on March 25th 11am. Kevin VE1KEV will book the room.

Next club meeting will be April 11th, 2023.

February club meeting recap

Another great meeting of the WestCumb ARC on Tuesday February 14th with 24 members present including Jim VE1JBL, Bill VA1BIL, Borden VA1CBC, Brad VE1ZX, Charlie VE1CPI / VA3CPI, Eric VE1JW, Frank VE1FSM, George VY2GF, Frank VE3AC, Gorden VE9GC, Jim VE1CHI, Mike VE1MY, James VE9WIN, Mike VE9MTV, Rob VE1RMJ, Ron VE1BIC, Scott VE1CHL, Steve VE1OR, Terry VE1AS, Tom VE1TWH, Peter VE1WIN, Mike VE1ZB and Lorne VE1BXK. The club also welcomed guest Chad Starling VA1CS from Oxford NS. Vice-President Mike Masters VE1ZB took over the reigns as President Kevin VE1KEV gave his regrets. Also received regrets from Jon VE1JSG. The club welcomed Adrian Glew from Dorchester New Brunswick as the newest member to our club. Adrian brings our club membership up to 64.

Under old business, Lorne Anderson VE1BXK is now the owner of the VE1XPR repeater call sign and the club will reimburse him for the charges to take this over. Replacement parts that were to be ordered for the VE1XPR repeater have been put on hold as the repeater seems to be working fine.

Mike VE1MY has agreed to take out the club website from Jim VE1JBL. Jim will be meeting with Mike to go over all aspects of the website and to make a smooth transition.

Brad VE1ZX and Lorne VE1BXK will soon start work on the replacements of three local repeaters. More on this as they get closer.
 
Club member Charles VE1CPI and received a new call sign while living in Ontario. He now has VA3CPI and hopes to have his radios up and running soon to be able to check into our local nets.
 
Frank VE1FSM will be making up a list of amateurs who would like to have reminders sent to them about the club met on Monday nights. If interested in being on this list, send Frank and email at ve1fsm@gmail.com To help remind amateurs of the Monday night net, Lorne VE1BXK will put an announcement promoting the net on the local repeaters to be broadcast daily.
Next club meeting will be March 14th, 2023

January club meeting recap

There were 26 members present at the club meeting including Jim VE1JBL, Charlie VE1CPI, Brad VE1ZX, Don VE9CUB,
Eric VE1JC, Frank VE3AC, George VY2GF, Gorden VE9GC, Jim VE1CHI, Kevin VE1KEV, Lorne VE1BXK, Mike VE1MY, Pravin VE9PKV, Robert VE1RMJ, Rod VE9HV, Ron VE1BIC, Ron VE1AIC, Scott VE1CHI, Steve VE1SV, Steve VE1OR,
Tom VE1TWH, Peter VE1WIN, Mike VE9ZB, Bill VA1BIL, Jon VE1JSG and Borden VA1CBC.
Regrets from Dana VE1VOX, Frank VE1FSM and Joe VY2JC.
The club welcomed new member Laurie Cormier VE1LAU who becomes the sixty-third member to the club.
Under old business, Kevin received a notice from Ron Blue's family thanking the club for looking after the auction and for the funds they received.
SMART23 is a go and will take place Saturday May 6th, 2023. New this year there will be a Friday night get-together with location TBA.
Lorne VE1BXK will be the new trustee for the VE1XPR DMR repeater. He will also provide a price for upgrades needed at the VE1XPR repeater site. There was also talk about moving the repeater to the John Black Road in Amherst.
There is a new forum for club members to put out information to all members. It is Google Groups and it is recommended for all club members to join.You must have a g-mail account to be in the group and it is very easy to set one up. 

Here is the link to join the group.  warc.ns.ca@gmail.com

A reminder to club members to check into the club net on Monday nights beginning at 8pm.
Next club meeting will be Tuesday February 14th, 2023 beginning at 7:30pm.


Update VE1NET Repeater

Dec.21st, 2022

From Lorne VE1BXK
VE1NET VHF repeater MTR2000 is programmed now for tone squelch decode - encode @ 88.5 Hz access (in testing period phase) as of today with the installation of the ICS Controllers J5 interface board.

December meeting quick recap

There were twenty-three members at the December meeting including Jim VE1JBL, Bill VA1JIM, Charlie VE1CPI,
Don VE9CUB, Eric VE1JW, Frank VE1FSM, George VY2GF, Gordon VE9GC, Jim VE1CHI, Joe VY2JC, Borden VA1CBC,
Jon VE1JSG, Kevin VE1KEV, Lorne VE1BXK, Mike VE1ZZZ, Pravin VE9PKV, Robert VE1RMJ, Ron VE1BIC,
Scott VE1CHL, Steve VE1OR, Terry VE1AS, Peter VE1WIN and Frank VE3AC.
The meeting started will a minute of silence for club member Ron Blue VE1BBB who passed away last week.
Jim VE1JBL has too many things on his plate and is looking for a member to take over the club website. Contact Jim if you are interested.
The first meeting for SMART 23 will take place on Tuesday January 3rd 7:30pm via Google Meet. All members interested in helping out this year are invited to attend with their thoughts about the event. More on this as time nears.
Ron VE1BIC brought up the idea of having a live amateur radio information broadcast on CFTA radio in the new year. It was very well received.
A reminder that the club net is each Monday night at 8pm. Would be nice to have more club members check into the net.
Next club meeting will be Tuesday January 10th, 2023.
Everyone have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Ron Blue VE1BBB (SK)

Joe Clements VY2JC has graciously  sent me a couple of pictures of Ron Blue. Ron had told Joe back in the spring that he would love to have some lobster so Joe went to Port Howe and picked up a few and brought them to Ron's house in Amherst. Joe cooked them up and he and Ron sat down for a feed. Great pictures Joe and a great memory.
Thanks for sharing.

November meeting quick recap

For the second month in a row twenty-three members participated in the November meeting including Jim VE1JBL,
Robert VE1RMJ, Ron VE1BBB, Lorne VE1BXK, Kevin VE1KEV, Mike VE1MY, Don VE9CUB, Joe VY2JC, Eric VE1JW,
Ron VE1BIC, Scott VE1CHL, Pravin VE1PKV, Gordon VE9GC, Mike VE1ZB, Charles VE1CPI, Brad VE1ZX, Steve VE1OR, Jim VE1CHI, Borden VA1CBC, Frank VE3AC, Terry VE1AS, Peter VE1WIN and Mike VE9MTV.
Under sick & Visiting Al Christie VE1AS is in the hospital at this time.
It was brought up at the meeting that Mike Johnson VE1MWJ had informed me the meeting room at the county office is available again for club meetings. 
With winter coming on it was thought best to keep the online meetings till spring.
 Brad VE1ZX brought up about having a Christmas pot luck supper the the county building in December. If anyone would like to take this on contact Mike Johnson VE1MWJ at mcjohnson@seasidehighspeed.com 
Next club meeting will be December 13th via Google Meet unless the pot luck supper goes ahead.
Just a note to let everyone know we now have 60 members in the club for 2022-2023.
On behalf of the executive and directors, thanks to everyone for their support.

October meeting quick recap

Twenty-Three members participated in the October club meeting including Jim VE1JBL, Robert VE1RMJ, Mike VE1MY,
Peter VE1WIN, Borden VA1CBC, George VY2GF, Terry VE1AS, Kevin VE1KEV, Bruce VE1VH, Frank VE1FSM,
Jim VE1CHI, David VE9DWJ, Pravin VE9PKV, Ron VE1BIC, Scott VE1CHL, Steve VE1SV, Don VE9CUB, Jon VE1JSG, Mike VE9MTV, Steve VE1OR, Mike VE1ZB, Brad VE1ZX and our newest member Charles VE1CPI.
Regrets from Eric VE1JW, Gorden VE9GC, Dana VE1VOX and Frank VE3AC.
The club welcomed new member Charles Pfinder VE1CPI back to the club. Charles was a member of the club back in the 90's but work took him away but he has now returned to Canada in Ottawa and wants to get his feet wet again with amateur radio.
The Pumpkin Patrol will be taking place again on Halloween. Contact Jim Hannon VE1AFH or Mike Johnson VE1MWJ if interested in taking part.
The club brunch will be held this month at Brittney's in Amherst on Saturday October 22nd beginning at 10am.
CLICK HERE for photo.
Next club meeting will be November 8th, 2022. Dues must be in by that date to remain on the email list and be covered by club insurance for the year.

WARC Annual & General Meeting

Here is a quick recap of the meetings.
The first meeting of the WestCumb ARC for 2022-2023 took part Tuesday September 6th, 2022 via Google Meet. There were 26 members present including Jim VE1JBL, Bill VA1BIL, Borden VA1CBC, Brad VE1ZX, Bruce VE1VH, Don VE9CUB,
Eric VE1JW, Frank VE1FSM, George VY2GF, Gordon VE9GC, Jim VE1CHI, Kevin VE1KEV, Mike VE9MTV,
Pravin VE9PKV, Rob VE9KM, Rob VE1RMJ, Ron VE1BIC, Steve VE1OR, Steve VE1SV, Mike VE1MY, Peter VE1WIN,
Mike VE1ZB, Joe VE1JCC, Dave VE9DWJ and new members Bill VA1WV and Frank VE3AC.
Regrets from Dana VE1VOX and Dave VE1DEH.
First up was the annual meeting for elections of officers. They remain the same for another year with Kevin Burke VE1KEV as President, Mike Masters VE1ZB as Vice, Ron Bickle VE1BIC Secretary and Jim Langille VE1JBL as Treasurer.
Club dues will remain the same for another year at 15 dollars for RAC members and 25 dollars for non members.
Meeting adjured.

The regular meeting began with finalizing new date and time for our club meetings. After some discussions of in person meetings and online meetings, it was decided to continue with the online meetings and the new date and time will be the second Tuesday each month and 7:30pm AT.
Under new business it was voted to donate 100 dollars to the Moncton Area ARC for door prizes to their flea market.
Frank VE1FSM is looking for club members who would like to purchase a custom illuminated call sign for their shack.
Here is the link to these items. CLICK HERE
Contact Frank at ve1fsm@gmail.com or call him at 902-297-2351.
George VY2GF mention a new service provided for helping out new amateurs to get them started "On the Air"
SASTAR ( Southern Alberta Support Team for Amateur Radio) is a group in Alberta who has started a service to help out new amateurs and George would like to see this expand to Atlantic Canada. If interested in helping George get this started contact him at dewarg@bellaliant.net or call him at 902-838-3282.
President Kevin brought up about starting club brunches beginning in September. If any club members are interested in joining in the monthly brunches, contact Kevin at ve1kev@gmail.com or call 902-694-9202.
Next club meeting will be October 11th, 7:30pm via Google Meet.