The 10 commercial radios the club was expecting have now arrived and are at Eric's home. They have some basic channels programmed into them but we plan to adjust those frequencies to include a few more of the area's repeaters. As received, all radios work well but they need some work to setup the power and speaker connections. At present we need to either make or purchase a programming cable for the radios which will allow us to setup our own channels. We will also be receiving some better mics for the radios in the near future.

Ralph & Eric met again with Phil Lemire, this time we reviewed the equipment proposal that we had drafted for outfitting the Arena, EOC, repeater and future grab and go kit. Phil seemed quite interested in helping get the items needed for the arena and EOC as quickly as possible. He indicated that getting the items to upgrade the repeater were also possible in a fairly short time-frame. So the meeting was very encouraging. He will be giving the list to his own radio people to help price out the items and get them purchased and installed into the reception centre.

Ralph & Eric met with Rita Clarkson the city's ESS Coordinator and also the director for leisure services. We reviewed the Tour de White Rock 3 day bike event and how we could provide more help next year. Rita was quite pleased with the help we did bring earlier this year and is looking forward to our help next year. We discussed some support roles for club members including providing some training on radio use to her volunteers and providing the technical expertise to her with the commercial equipment they use.

Ralph and Eric met with Phil Friday afternoon to review the current state of where the club fits into the city's plans. Ralph reported on how our path tests performed between the Centennial Area and the fire hall. Phil expressed a desire to have the area site properly outfitted with a setup before the end of September. Ralph explained that we have access to a retired commercial radio from PEP but it would need antenna and power.

Here's a humorous little video singing (literally) the benefits of being a ham, See what you think!

Link at:  You-Tube