Quarter Century Amateur Radio Club
Box 473, Edmonton, AB, T5J 2K1 Email: mail@qcarc.net     QCARC Membership Form
Membership dues and donations support these QCARC owned repeaters:

      VE6QCR 146.640 Stony Plain--VE6BOX 146.730 Athabasca--VE6PP 146.820 Whitecourt--VE6SS 146.880 Pigeon Lake - VA6RJK 146.790 Eagle Hill

All have 100Hz tone and offsets are all -600 KHz

 CLUB INFORMATION



CONTEST CALENDAR

WA7BNM Contest Calendar: 12-Month Calendar




SWAP & SHOP LISTINGS AND WEEKLY NEWSLETTER





QCARC TOWER & TECH TEAM-HAMS HELPING HAMS! mail@qcarc.net


We are dedicated to helping out any ham or their family that needs assistance with station takedowns and dispersals or the set up of new stations. We can also assist hams get back into the hobby after being away from it for a length of time. Also in many cases we may be able to help track down the source of interferrence or perform minor equipment repairs.




ANNOUNCEMENT


QCARC SPRING SOCIAL, FLEA MARKET & ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

   

   
DATE: April 27, 2024. PLACE: Canora Community Hall 10425 -152 Street Edmonton

   
Vendor set up starts at 9:00. Flea market runs from 10:00 - 12:00 followed by the 50/50 draw, and the AGM will begin at 12:30. After the business portion of the meeting, there will be a very interesting presentation about the Alberta First Responders Radio Communication System.  The presentation will be given by Doug, VE6BC who will explain all aspects of the system and answer questions.

We hope to see you at this excellent event!


 Admission
$FREE          Flea Market Tables $FREE        Refreshments $FREE

FLEA MARKET TABLES MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE.

There are several flea market tables already booked.
 
Book early to make sure you get yours.

Contact Paul VE6UFO 44bunyak@telus.net








VE6QCR AND VE6PP REPEATERS ARE LINKED FULL TIME


QCARC 2M NET WEDNESDAYS @8:30 PM ON PP AND QCR REPEATERS




                  

SHOW AND TELL!


SHARE  PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF YOUR HANDYWORK TO HELP INSPIRE OTHER HAMS TO DO SOME BUILDING. PLEASE COMPOSE YOUR ARTICLES AND PICTURES IN PDF FORMAT AND EMAILTHEM TO   mail@qcarc.net



CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SHOW AND TELL PAGE




 A VERY YOUNG HAM INTERVIEWS A VERY "WELL SEASONED" HAM!

This is Star Covington VA6SCC and I’m an eleven year old new ham, and today, April 1, 2023, I got to interview a man who may be the World’s Oldest Living Ham! And this is no April fools joke! Gordon Skutle VE6DG, who is 103 years old, has been a licensed ham for 85 years! Gordon has been around broadcast and ham radio for most of his life and certainly, longer than most of us have been alive. We were welcomed into the home by 3 generations of Skutles- Gordon, his daughter, and his granddaughter Michelle VA6MSH. Also there were my younger brother, my dad Kirby VE6MFX, Jim VA6JC and Paul VE6UFO from QCARC.
While this interview was very informal, it was a lot of fun to sit around the dining room table and listen to his stories of years gone by. He told us stories of the 1930’s as a young child, which he called, “the hungry thirties,” and what it was like searching for radio parts after the Second World War in his quest to build homemade radios.
Upon the dining table were many framed certificates and awards from Gordon’s long life in radio. He had a stack of QSL cards from every corner of the globe dating back to the 1940’s. What a time to be alive!
I asked Gordon what started him in radio and he related to me a story of him at a young age building a crystal radio set with the parts obtained through the Eaton’s catalogue. What a great way to start the hobby!
I haven’t talked very far on my radio, but Gordon has talked all the way to Israel! I enquired about what his first radio was, and he said it was an Emerson radio. Do they even make those anymore? When asked what his favourite part about amateur radio was, he immediately mentioned Morse Code! He sure enjoyed his CW. Displayed on the table was a shiny Vibroplex Bug I could tell was Gordon’s favourite 🙂
The best radio he ever owned was a Hammarlund, that he made better by putting parts of another radio in it. It seems Gordon was very good at making hybrid, home-brew radios. He even made a chassis for a radio out of an old car door. He had no power tools so he had to make the hole for the tube socket with a cold chisel and round it with a file. Talk about ingenuity! We had a really good time together and I’m very glad I could participate in it! Meeting Gordon was inspiring and motivational for me.
I wish to sincerely thank the Skutle family for this amazing experience. As a new ham, it means a lot to me.
73!
Star Covington
VA6SCC 😊

The QCARC is honoured to have Star and Gordon as members. Star did a great job conducting the interview and putting her article together. Star is the holder of the Basic with Honours qualification. Gordon has been a radio amateur for 85 years, likely the longest licensed ham worldwide, an accomplishment that most of us will never be able to acheive. Star and Gordon both received awards from QCARC in recognition of these achievements. An interesting bio of Gordon's long carreer in broadcast radio can be found at  Gordon Skutle | Edmonton Broadcasters Club  Also check out Gordon's CJCA scrapbook at   Www.infoese.ca  More pictures from the interview are on the new QCARC Facebook page. Check it out!








Silent Key - Les Abbott, VE6OG




We'll Miss you, Les!
Les Abbott, VE6OG of Edmonton passed away on October 9th, 2022 at the age of 78 years. He was a member of QCARC since the Club's formation in 1985 and he served in many capacities including President, Vice President, webmaster and repeater custodian and always stayed involved even after being made a Lifetime Member in 2017. Les was first licenced as VE3GMU in 1969 and has held VE6OG since moving to Edmonton in 1976. Les loved working on radio equipment and if he couldn't repair it, probably nobody could. After moving to Edmonton in 1976 Les spent many years working for AGT/Telus. Les was a great guy and he helped a lot of people in the community and in the amateur community as well. The obituary is at Foster & McGarvey - Edmonton Funeral Homes (fostermcgarvey.com)   Sincere sympathies to the Abbott family from the QCARC.


VE6OG MEMORIAL WSPR BEACON


The new VE6OG WEAK SIGNAL PROPAGATION REPORTING beacon went into service on Saturday 11/26/22. It is part of the  INTERNATIONAL WSPR BEACON PROJECT and it is located about 60 kms northwest of Edmonton, AB in DO23ts.The screenshot below shows typical North American coverage in addition to signals travelling over the Arctic Circle into Europe. There have also been spots into Asia, Africa and Oceania. The 200mw ZachTek transmitter and Diamond CP6 vertical antenna are sending signals 3 times per hour on the 80, 40, 20,15 and 10 metre bands. You can search for VE6OG HERE and view a map of signal paths in real time or a table of spots. Thanks to the Abbott family and the QCARC for their assistance with this project. Les was an avid WSPR user. He would be proud of this legacy.

















 














NEW !! BUNNY HUNTING TECHNIQUES, ANTENNA PLANS, ETC. BY IAN BURN VE6OB