Category Archives: Events

Field Day – thank you!

Thanks to all the members of SARC, TARC and the Bluffer's Park Yacht Club who helped make this Field Day a success. Without your contributions it would not have been possible.

This is the first time in many years that we've been able to have a Field Day within the city of Toronto.

Our MPP, Doly Begum visited us and presented this award in recognition of our outreach efforts.

See you at the Zoom meeting on June 29.

SARC-TARC Field Day

Scarborough ARC and Toronto ARC are teaming up for ARRL Field Day this weekend (June 25-26) at the beautiful Bluffers Park Yacht Club in Scarborough!

Please sign up at Field Day 2022 Sign Up to confirm your attendance and operating shift.

Access to Bluffers Park is controlled by police during peak times. If you're not bringing equipment, please consider taking TTC. Route 175 runs every 15 minutes to and from Kennedy station on Saturday and Sunday between 0800 and 2200. At Kennedy you can connect to the subway, RT and GO Transit Stouffville line.

Talk-in frequency: VE3TOR 146.940- tone 103.5 Hz.

Thanks to Dave VE3SVL and the Bluffers Park Yacht Club for allowing the use of their facilities for this event.

Antenna Day

Hello SARC and Friends

Saturday June 11th is the Scarborough Amateur Radio Club's Antenna Day.


This is a special day where we get to spend some outdoor time with our fellow hams exploring the wonderful world of antennas.


Antennas are one of the most important parts of an amateur radio station whose performance can make or break a QSO. Unlike other station components the antenna determines the effectiveness of both the received and transmitted signals.


So bring along your ideas, your antenna experiments, your tools, your knowledge and your experience. We will delve into the mysterious art of antenna design, tuning, measurement and hopefully come away with some new insights on antennas.


Grey Abbey Park is a small park with limited resources but is ideal for our needs.There are no washroom facilities, however the Guildwood GO station is a few minutes away. It is a lightly used park that has an open area on the bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario with a few trees and benches. A wire rope fence with sturdy wooden posts should be great supports for our masts.


A generator will be available for power along with some fibreglass mast sections to mount the antennas. Various test instruments will be available to analyse the antennas. Who knows we may even make a few contacts.


Grey Abbey Park is located east off the end of Morningside Ave.
We will start around Noon and end around 6 PM.


Bring along some snacks and refreshments to share. We should have a great Antenna Day.


Let’s have some fun in the sun


See you there

Field Trip – Hammond Museum of Radio

Join us on our tour of the Hammond Museum of Radio in Guelph on Saturday, October 26, 2019 (note new date!)

Lunch courtesy of Hammond Manufacturing.

Carpool available from Scarborough. Meet at No Frills rear parking lot (Pharmacy/Eglinton) at 8 AM.

Cost of the trip is free but donations toward the cost of fuel are welcome.

Register now!

Hammond Museum photo

Scarborough Mandarin MS Walk 2019

The Toronto ARES group will be providing radio communications at the Scarborough Mandarin MS Walk on Sunday, May 5. 

Radio operators are needed to act as route marshals and assist the organizers and volunteers. 

The 5 km walk begins and ends at the Guild Inn Estate, 201 Guildwood Parkway, Scarborough. 

If you are interested in participating in this event, please contact:

Ian Clarke VA3KCP k9lyfgrd -at- gmail.com
Tim Andrew VA3TMA tandrew -at- rogers.com

For more information about the walk itself, see the MS Society event page:
http://mssoc.convio.net/site/TR/Walk/OntarioDivision?pg=entry&fr_id=6411

CANWARN Training 2019

Folks, 2019 will mark a year of change for the CANWARN storm spotter program in Ontario. I retired last fall from Environment Canada but have returned this spring on a part-time basis to assist with the planning and some of the delivery of the training. Gerald Cheng and Peter Kimbell of Environment Canada will handle the majority of the sessions with me helping here and there. Resource pressures have demanded a stricter look at the number of training sessions that can be provided, resulting in a reduction of available sessions from previous years. Part of my duties during my part-time assignment this spring and summer will be to develop storm spotter training material that can be posted on-line and accessed at any time by interested parties. What form this material will take has not been determined yet and it is not likely it will be available by the end of this summer. However, we will keep you all posted as to the progress of this project and as material becomes available; you will be more than welcome to access it. For those of you who may not be able to attend a session this spring but want to refresh/reinforce your severe weather knowledge, the following websites will be helpful…

National Weather Service Spotter Guide: https://www.weather.gov/media/bis/Weather_Spotter_Field_Guide.pdf 

National Weather Service Spotter Glossary: https://www.weather.gov/oun/spotterglossary

Environment Canada Lightning Safety: 
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/lightning/safety.html

In addition, Environment Canada recently launched a weather app called WeatherCAN available for both Apple and Android devices. This app represents the most direct way to receive our various severe weather watches and warnings. The app can be found in the app store on your Apple or Android device. More information on the app can be found here…
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/weather-general-tools-resources/weathercan.html

As an additional reminder, I have also attached the CANWARN reporting tip sheet to this email to reinforce the types of reports the Weather Centre would like to receive and the ways that information can be shared with them.
My long association with the CANWARN program has provided me with many fond memories and some of the biggest highlights of my 35-year career. The devastating tornadoes that struck near Ottawa and into parts of Quebec last September were a stark reminder of why timely and credible reports of severe weather remain essential. My thanks again to all of you for your continued support of the program and your dedication in watching the sky and reporting severe weather to Environment Canada. 
Please find following the list of training venues. Each venue specifies the way to RSVP your intention to attend through either a registration web link or a contact email. Some venues only have limited space, so please sign up early if you intend to go. The session in Sudbury this year will not be a full CANWARN session but rather a 1-hour presentation on severe weather focused on marine activities. More information can be found below. Should there be other venues added in the coming weeks, this announcement will be updated accordingly. 

April 25 – 7 PM – Dakota-Glenorchy Room, Halton Regional Centre, 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/canwarn-oakville-tickets-59771355734
April 30 – 6 PM – Holly Community Centre, 171 Mapleton Ave, Barrie RSVP at https://ca.apm.activecommunities.com/barrie/Activity_Search/34593
May 2 – 6:30 PM – Emergency Operations Centre, 275 Boler Road, London 
RSVP to Amy Leggate at [email protected] – space is limited
May 4 – 9 AM – Environment Canada Headquarters, 4905 Dufferin St., Toronto RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/canwarn-toronto-tickets-59774506157
May 7 – 7 PM – RIM Park Waterloo, Forbes Room (2nd Floor), 2001 University Ave East, Waterloo, RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/canwarn-waterloo-tickets-59845612839
May 8 – 7 PM – Niagara Region Council Chambers, 1815 Sir Isaac Brock Way, Thorold RSVP at https://niagaracanwarn.eventbrite.ca
May 14 – 7 PM – Essex Centre Sports Complex, 60 Fairview Avenue West, Essex RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/canwarn-essex-county-tickets-59775334635
May 14 – 6:30 PM – Greenboro Community Centre, 363 Lorry Greenberg Dr. Ottawa RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/canwarn-ottawa-tickets-59775547271 
May 28 7:30 PM – Spacecraft Brewery, 854 Notre Dame Avenue, Sudbury – (food and drink orders at 6:30, focus on marine severe weather)
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/summer-severe-weather-presentation-sudbury-tickets-59775965522

Regards,

Geoff Coulson

Warning Preparedness Meteorologist, Meteorological Service of Canada

Environment and Climate Change Canada / Government of Canada

[email protected] / Tel: 416 739-4466

Météorologue de sensibilisation aux alertes, Service météorologique du Canada

Environnement et Changement climatique Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

[email protected] / Tél: 416 739-4466

January 2019 Meeting

Hello to Everyone and Happy New Year.

The first meeting of SARC for 2019 is this coming Monday, January 14, 2019 at the usual place, the Don Montgomery Community Centre beginning at 7:00 pm.

Our new President, Duncan, VE3GNI will have some things to talk about and I plan to do a 'show and tell' about some very old wire (1858 wire) and some telegraph keys.

Hope to see you there; come and bring a friend or friends.

73 de Gord VE3CNA

Scarborough Mandarin MS Walk 2018

The annual Scarborough Mandarin MS Walk returns to Guild Park this year. The walk takes place on Sunday, May 6 from 8:30 to about 12:00 (check-in is at 8:30, walk starts at 10:00).

The 5 km route starts and ends at the Guild Inn Estate, 201 Guildwood Parkway. Radio amateurs help provide communication support to the organizers and volunteers.

If you are interested in helping, please contact Malcolm Kendall

2014 Simulated Emergency Test

ares

2014 SET (Simulated Emergency Test) will take place on Saturday October 18.

There will be a meeting on Friday September 19 at 7:30pm at the Regent Park Aquatic Centre, 640 Dundas Street East. The 505 Dundas Street Car runs right past the Centre, street parking also available.

We are hoping that many of our present members and Amateur operators that would like to take part in this exercise will attend. If you are unable to attend but would like to take part please e-mail me at [email protected] or [email protected]

The Toronto ARES group is now affiliated with The Toronto Amateur Radio Club and The Toronto Red Cross.

Agenda:
This Year’s SET scenario.
Base stations required
Mobile stations required
Operators required
Mode of operation Phone & Digital
Locations: to be used

Malcolm Kendall VE3BGD