There is a new Operating Tips section with information about interfaces for Winlink Express, using a Kenwood TH-D72A for Winlink Express, installing coax connectors and info for new hams.

The SSIARS helped out with communications for the Swiftsure International Yacht Race in 2013, 2014 and 2015, providing communications from the Swiftsure Bank back to Victoria. In 2016, the SSIARS crew was at Neah Bay.

• RAC
  Radio Amateurs of Canada is not a club. It is a national organization with a mandate to enhance Amateur Radio. Overall performance should be measured in whether spectrum is being enhanced and defended and whether Amateur Radio is growing or shrinking.
• Canadian Callsign Lookup
• Search for available Canadian Call Signs
• Industry Canada
• Study Guides
  for obtaining Basic or Advanced qualification in Canada
• Other Amateur Radio Clubs in BC
• Canadian Ladies Amateur Radio Association: CLARA
• BC Public Service Net 3729 KHz 01:30 UTC
  (17:30 PST winter / 18:30 PDT summer)
• Provincial Emergency Program (see below)
• Emergency Management BC
• CRERCC
• Vancouver Island Trunk System
• Cowichan Valley Amateur Radio Society is
  fund raising for VE7RNA & everything up on Mt Brenton
• Amateur Radio Tech Talks - Sharing ham radio tech talks with the amateur radio community!
• VECTOR...
  Vancouver Emergency Community Telecommunications Organization
• Lower Mainland Emergency Radio Coordinators... LMERC is a collaboration of Emergency Radio Coordinators working cooperatively for the benefit of their respective local authorities and the region as a whole.
• BCWARN (British Columbia Wireless Amateur Radio Network) is an association of amateur radio groups sharing the common goal of building a high-speed data network, capable of operating independent of commercial "internet" providers.
• BC Boater's Net
• UI-View32 Windows APRS Client
• Byonics TinyTrak TT3 and TT4
• Argent Data - OpenTracker OT, OTUSB, OT2m, OT3m, T2-135, T3-135, T3-301, AD-WS1, Tracker4
• British Columbia Amateur Radio Coordination Council
• VA7ALG
• VE7GDH
• Chip Quik for removing surface mount components!
• IRLP Internet Radio Linking Project
• BC HF Swap Net
• HamShack swap & shop by Don VE7DXE
• Delta Amateur Radio Society
• ComFest Swap Meet Sept 30 2018
• BCFMCA (VE7RPT etc.)
• Langley Amateur Radio Club
• Burnaby Radio
• Coquitlam Amateur Radio Club
• Fraser Valley Amateur Radio Emergency Service Society
• Radioworld - Toronto
• Radioworld - Calgary (GPS Central)
• Durham Radio - CLOSED FOREVER
• Queale Electronics - a division of Interior Electronics Ltd.
  Victoria - Burnaby - Kelowna
• Impulse Electronics 1-2851 Oak Street, Chemainus, BC
  (250) 246-5057
• BC Robotics in Nanaimo for Raspbery Pi and Arduino
• Morserino-32 a new way to practice Morse code!
• Prolific USB to Serial Driver (Windows) 4.6 MB download
• N1MM Logger+ logging software
• Winlink Express (formerly RMS Express)
• D-RATS is a communications tool providing chat style messaging and file transfers with a D-STAR radio, a TNC or a network connection. If that link doesn't work, try the D-STAR Info page.
• WSJT-X FT8, JT4, JT9, JT65, QRA64, ISCAT, MSK144, and WSPR plus ECHO from the moon.
• JS8Call, based on FT8, can be used for keyboard-to-keyboard contacts. Like FT8, it will work at amazingly low signal strengths.
• PSK-31 has links for DigiPan, WinWarbler and Fldigi, as well as a suggested frequency list.
• 3rd Planet Solar / KC9ON Offset Attenuators for fox hunts and other goodies!
• tape measure beam for fox hunting - 3 element Yagi by Joe Leggio WB2HOL.
• tape measure beam for fox hunting - 2 element Yagi by Joe Leggio WB2HOL. This has less gain and a lower front-to-back ratio than the 3 element Yagi, but it is also a much more compact antenna.
• UHF tape measure beam - 3 element Yagi by N5YM.
• dual band roll-up J-Pole antenna for VHF & UHF. Total length just over 50" / 128 cm.
• YOTA... Youngsters On The Air. The QCX was introduced at YOTA 2017. For 2018, the QSX was introduced, but it hasn't been released yet.
• Jeanne Socrates (VA7NER, VE0JS, VE0JSJ, KC2IOV) left Victoria on Oct 3 2018 on her latest attempt at circumnavigating the globe. Already the oldest woman to sail solo nonstop​ ​unassisted around the world, Jeanne became the oldest person to do so when she arrived back in Victoria on September 7 2019. Jeanne was sailing aboard the SV Nereida. She also raised funds for The Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The current position of Nereida can be viewed at winlink.org The red "marker" is the most recent position. It only shows the last year of the track, from south of Australia back to Victoria.
• The Pacific North West DX Convention will take place Aug 7 2021 via Zoom. This is a free virtual convention, and registration is open to all hams.

Propagation

This new section will deal with propagation... how it works and tools to help forecast how the sun and the ionisphere are treating us.

• What is the ionosphere?
• 11 Year Solar Cycle
• The Sun - propagation should be "OK" for the next 5 billion years.
• International Beacon Project
• Space Weather
• VOACAP (Voice of America Coverage Analysis Program)
• Reverse Beacon Network... who is calling CQ and where is there propagation?

Useful Devices, Kits & QRP...

• The µBITX (micro-BITX) is a multi-band SSB/CW transceiver that covers all bands between 80M through 10M. The µBITX builds on the success of the popular BITX40 by Ashhar Farhan VU2ESE. It has a 45 MHz roofing filter and a 12 MHz filter in the IF. The push-pull final uses a pair of inexpensive IFR510 transistors. Like the BITX40, it uses a Raduino (Arduino & Si5351A synthesizer) for the VFO. It puts out about 10W on 80M to 30M, about 7W on 20M to 15M, and 2W on 12M to 10M. It has dual VFOs, RIT and a CW keyer. The µBITX also has a general-coverage receiver that covers from 500 kHz to 30 MHz. It has variable rate tuning. The µBITX is just $129 USD with free shipping.
  
  
• The BITX40 QRP 40M transceiver with a RADUINO (Arduini & Si5351A synthesizer) for the VFO, complete with LCD display is still available. For experimenters, this "kit" provides a frequency agile 40M transceiver that covers all of the 7 MHz band. Some users have tweaked it to add CW, RIT, dual VFOs, AGC, S-meter, and even other bands and a full 3.5 MHz to 30 MHz receiver. To use it on other bands, it only needs changes to the bandpass filter which is used in TX & RX, and the LPF which is used only in TX, and a tweak to the software for the VFO. The BITX40 is just $59 USD with free shipping.
  
  
• QRP Labs released the QCX high-performance single band 5W CW transceiver with a 200Hz CW filter late in 2017. Less than a year later, over 4,500 have been sold. It has a microswitch right on the circuit board that can be used as a straight key as well as an iambic keyer. It can also run as a CW or WSPR beacon. It is available for 80, 60, 40, 30, 20 or 17M with more bands to follow. It uses the increasingly popular rock-steady Si5351A for a synthesized VFO with rotary encoder tuning and a 16x2 LCD display. The synthesizer is controled by an Atmega 328. The QCX has dual VFOs and and can run split or use RIT. It has 12 message pre-sets and 16 frequency pre-sets. It can also decode CW and show it on the LCD dispslay. As if it couldn't get any better, it also has its own alignment and test equipment built in. Running on 7-16V, it will put out 3-5W. The QCX in kit form is a lot of radio for just $49 USD. To see who is behind QRP Labs, take a look at this interview with Hans Summers G0UPL. Please disregard the incorrect URL that flashes on the screen about 30 seconds in.
  
  
• QRP Labs announced the all-mode all-band QSX at YOTA 2018. This 160M-10M transceiver will be just as much a high-performance radio as the QCX. It uses SDR technology and has a stand-alone DSP, with no computer required. However, it also has CAT control if you want to use it with a PC. It will do SSB, CW, AM, FM, PSK31, RTTY, WSPR beacon at 10W out with a 100% duty cycle. While it can run digital modes with a PC connected to the USB port, you can also connect a USB keyboard and do stand-alone PSK31, RTTY or CW with no computer. All surface-mount components are pre-soldered. The builder installs all the through-hole components. It is hoped to be released somewhere around November of 2018.
  
  
• QRP Labs announced the QDX data radio on Oct 9 2021. It is a four-band (80, 40, 30, 20m) 5W Digi-Modes transceiver kit. It is for digital modes that just use a single tone, so can't be used e.g. with VARA HF.
• Pignology Piglet, Pigtail, Pig Remote for remote control of rigs
• mRS mini Radio Solutions PC based Network analyzers
• Hendricks QRP Kits QRP SSB and CW transceivers
• LnR Precision PAR End-Fedz antennas and QRP radios
• YouKits QRP CW tranceivers, tuners, antenna analyzers
• Hamsource Lithium bateries for FT-817 or the shack, FG masts

Micro-Computers

Undoubtedly, amateur radio operators have enthusiastically adopted computers in the shack. However, there has also been a quiet revolution in the world of micro-computers. The first Raspberry Pi came out in February of 2012. While it was originally designed to promote the teaching of basic computer science in schools and developing countries, it is a fully-functional Linux computer as powerful as some desktop and laptop computers from just a few years ago. Only your imagination will limit what can be done with it.

The Arduino is a micro-controller, but is often used in conjunction with a Raspberry Pi as well as a stand-alone device. Note... an Arduino is used in the VFO for the BITX40 mentioned above.

• Raspberry Pi
• BC Robotics
• on Amazon
• CanaKit (good prices!)
• What can you do with a Raspberry Pi?
• Raspberry Pi and Amateur Radio
• Arduino web site
• Arduino Projects
• Arduino Absolute Beginner's Guide
• 
  Maker Pro is an active, open source platform for maker projects much like Hack A Day. These projects are centered around Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Intel Edison, home automation and more. And better yet, the content is completely user-generated. The site includes a section for amateur radio related projects.