I took another trip to Vancouver, British Columbia on the long weekend of 12-15 April
2002, and for the first time made HF contacts from Canadian territory
after many trips in the past 5 years. Once again, my radio for
this trip was the Yaesu
FT-817, but due to size issues the multiband antenna I took with me was the
ATX Walkabout. Even with the rain, and relatively limited time I had
to work HF, I had fun on the air.
Relating to ham radio, I had two goals for this trip:
- Finally, make HF contacts from Canada
- If I could locate a Canadian amateur-license examiner, take the exams
for my own Canadian ham license
My HF time
I ended up having two opportunities to use the FT-817 (Friday - 12 April -
in the afternoon, and Sunday - 14 April into 15 April on the UTC clock -
afternoon). My first chance was a very short window of opportunity.
I made one QSO on 17 meters SSB with W9OTE in Illinois. After this QSO
I went to take my license exams - more on that later. On Sunday
afternoon (going into Monday, 15 April, on the UTC clock) I had more time
but between the rain, my limited station (5 watts, ATX Walkabout), and
spending time playing around with the antenna I added only two more QSOs to
my log. One on 10 meters SSB (WD4LTF in Alabama), and the other on 17
meters SSB (KF4MQI in South Carolina). Very few contacts, but fun!
I would have preferred to use my Outbacker Joey for this trip, but it was a
little longer than my bags - it would not fit in them. Maybe I will
get a case or something that will accomodate it in the future, but this was
not a trip focusing on operating my radio - oh well.
This was my first time operating HF from Canada, and the last time I will
operate from there using WD9EWK. When I operate from Canada on future
trips, I will operate with the Canadian callsign VA7EWK.
Operating in Canada
I moved the information related to licensing and the regulation of amateur
radio in Canada to its own page, in particular
how Canada views foreign amateur licenses against its licensing structure,
and how I obtained my own Canadian amateur license and callsign (VA7EWK).
Questions or comments?
If you have any other questions or comments about my radio trips, please feel
free to contact me.
WD9EWK/VA7EWK - VA7EWK - QSL VIA WD9EWK
