Welcome to NORAC The North Okanagan Radio Amateur Club

June 21-23 2024, Armstrong BC

This year's NORAC Field Day was held at Ralph VA7NU's QTH in Armstrong, BC. Ralph’s back field is the picture-perfect location for Field Day. In total, over 40 club members and guests attended with peak attendance at the fantastic prime rib roast and pot-luck dinner Saturday night. A highlight of the event was the implementation of the club’s new VA6AM HF triplexer, allowing for 3 stations to operate with the beam antenna all at the same time - this allowed for many more operators to get on the air during this 24-hour radio event.

Please click here for the photo gallery for this event.

Setup for the event started Friday afternoon with a bit of maintenance on Cranky’s primary antenna. It was imperative that all three bands (20m/15m/10m) had ultra-low SWR as the club’s new triplexer setup required less than 1.5:1 SWR for each for full 100 watt RF power use. All connections were cleaned and polished and new anti-corrosion paste was applied. Then the HF beam and collinear VHF antenna were affixed to Cranky’s tower, the tower erected and raised up to operating height. Setup crew consisted of Howard VA7PWF, Colin VA7EEH, Lorne VE7LWK, Bud VE7KBK and David VA7DRS.

Howard plotted the SWR of each band on the HF beam with his NanoVNA and noted the good areas of each band to operate in. The group then hooked up the triplexer and put 3 radios on the air to test it out. It worked perfectly - three radios at full 100 watt RF output transmitting and receiving at the same time without interfering with each other.

Mike VE7KPZ dropped off the club tables and set up static arrestors and grounding but could not stay Friday night. Simon VE7RIZ and son Bryson joined the group Friday evening, travelling in from Merritt.

The Field Day location had a different look this year with everyone parked around the perimeter. Cranky and the shack (Howard’s and Colin’s fly-screen-sided EZ-UP tents) were positioned in the middle of the area.

Saturday morning Ralph championed getting his folded dipole for 40m strung up between Cranky's tower and a tree at the end of the property. Felix VA7VOL was enlisted to assist.

Three stations (3A class) started the event strong on 20m and 15m, but 10m was pretty quiet. The 10m connection to the triplexer was instead connected to Colin’s dummy load and the 40m dipole hooked up to the third radio to start operating there. 15m and 40m provided a good flow of calling QSOs. 20m was so congested most operation on Saturday was search and pounce. All radios were powered by solar-charged LiFePO4 batteries for the entire event.

Howard and Colin had arranged to use N3FJP contest logging software. 3 laptops were powered by Howard’s Jackery kept charged via 200 watts of solar. Shack TCP/IP networking was facilitated via Colin’s old phone’s hotspot functionality. When Mike came back to the site on Saturday morning he added his tablet to the network to make for easy consolidated logging with the VHF station.

Speaking of VHF, Mike decided to use his Elk log-periodic antenna for some 2m calling on both simplex FM and sideband frequencies. There was not much activity on 2m, but in the end was able to make a 2m SSB contact with Gary VE7GCP in Kelowna.

There were a good number of new-ish operators this year. Howard VA7PWF and Colin VA7EEH graduated from last year’s newbies to elmers as their operation skills were exemplary throughout the event. Club secretary Felix got a good taste of operating HF as did Shawn VA7TBD who had attended NORAC Field Day events many times in the past, but never took on an HF operator position before.

Of course there were many seasoned operators as well, including Wilf VE7OHM and Alex VE7NOC, Ritchie VA7RLX, David, Ralph, Simon and Bryson, plus Mike all working the stations.

A variety of radios were utilized (demoed) for the event. Howard and Colin brought their bombproof Yaesu FT-891s, Simon his Icom IC-7300, Mike his Icom IC-705/DIY599 PA500/TopTek PA-85V setup and Colin also his trusty Kenwood TS-570SG. Of course radios with voice keyers were preferred, especially for the slower bands.

There were a good number of campers this year. Simon, Colin and David all brought their trailers, Simon his bus, Lorne his truck-bed tent, Shawn his ground tent, Kevin VE7XY the back of his Tacoma and Mike his Unimog camper.

The pot luck dinner was a real highlight with a great NORAC-sponsored prime-rib roast expertly cooked by Ralph himself.

Band conditions allowed the higher bands to run well into the night. 20m was open and usable until approximately midnight local (Pacific) time, 40m as well.

Sunday morning started early with Colin making some good rate phone QSOs on 20m, Howard on 15m, Simon on 10m alternating with Shawn or Mike on 40m.

The majority of QSOs this year were phone but Ralph was able to jump on as the sole CW operator and make some QSOs on both the 40m and 20m bands. Interestingly, zero digital QSOs were made - this group really prefers phone.

Our top three operators were Colin with 27% of the QSOs, Simon with 24% of the QSOs and Howard with 12% of the QSOs. In total 984 QSOs were made during the 24-hour event in approximately 19 hours of station operating time. Average QSO rate for the group was around 53.3 QSOs/hour (omitting breaks >30 minutes).

Big thanks to Howard, Colin and David for organizing the event and to all who stayed all the way to the end to clean up every last bit and leave Ralph's field looking like we had never been there.

Field Day really is a great event. The casual contest scenario with such positive happy stations on the other side of the QSOs makes for a wonderful opportunity for anyone to get on the air. This event is both a showcase of amateur radio and a wonderful opportunity to build confidence and skill in radio operation.

Looking forward to next year's event,
Mike VE7KPZ

Ps: let's also thank these folks for their special contributions:

Ralph VA7NU - event host and CW master. Also thanks to Ralph's YL Pam for her generous hospitality and the other members of the Olds family who came out to support the event.

Simon VE7RIZ, Howard VA7PWF, Ritchie VA7RLX, Mike VE7KPZ - photograph contributors.

JVCKENWOOD for the door prizes!

Everyone who attended and visited. It was nice to see so many faces, even if some just for a short time.

June 2024, Invermere and Merritt, BC

NORAC members Mike VE7KPZ and Jane VE7WWJ provided volunteer radio support service for both the Rocky Mountain Rally and the Pacific Forest Rally this year.

At RMR, based out of Invermere BC, the team took on the role of spectator radio on the Saturday and a radio blocker position on the Sunday.

At PFR, based out of Merritt BC, the team took on the role of radio support newbie coach on the Friday and a radio blocker position on the Saturday.

For each event, to get there, support the event and then get home, it is approximately 4 days of service per person... so in total that's about 16 days of volunteer service rendered.

Of course, there was "payment" in the form of having a first-hand view of the rally action... but really it is the local community that benefits immensely from the massive influx of tourist dollars related to each event.

If you might be interested in taking on a challenging volunteer radio position at a future event, email Mike at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Community Service Report – Falkland Rodeo Parade

19 May 2024: NORAC volunteers again provided radio support and marshalling assistance for the Sunday parade at the Falkland Rodeo. The event was well organized by the rodeo organizers and the parade went off without a hitch. The number of parade entries was less than usual, possibly due to weather. Nevertheless, the many parade spectators lined the street as usual. NORAC volunteers got everything from rain to brilliant sunshine during the event.

NORAC participants were:

Bud Kuzenko VE7KBK

Paul Elmont VE7PDE (& his dad, David)

Lorne Klassen VE7LWK (& YL Janet)

Jake Wendland VE7WEA (& YL Caitlin)

Colin Parkes VA7EEH

Felix Volta VA7VOL

Richard Reeves VE7NT

Ritchie Leslie VA7RLX (& YL Rose)

Mike Dennison VA7XDM

NORAC volunteers were “on duty” from 1030am until noon for a total of 17.5 community service hours from NORAC members and 10 hrs from guests of members. Thanks to Sabrina Ujma for rodeo tickets for our members, to all from NORAC who volunteered and to Mike VA7XDM for chairing the NORAC parade committee and liaising with the rodeo organizers.

Ritchie VA7RLX

It was a day, not unlike any other day, however, this particular day was a Thursday when two trucks quietly departed the Canadain Tire parking lot in Vernon, B.C. Having freshly stocked up on food stuff from the local grocer, VA7MXY and VE7PDE pointed their rigs east and head into the wild wonders of the B.C. backcountry. They went up hill and down hill and wound their way around corners. Cautiously avoiding pot holes and odd patches of snow they arrived at the destination, Grizzly Lake. Their arrival was preceded by forward recon scout VE7LWK. Having successfully secured the site and scared off any local critters, he was lazily awaiting their arrival.

Now that camp was established it was only a matter of time before the next participants in the weekends' activities arrived. A short time later, VA7EEH appeared out of the fading light and added his portion to base camp. The balance of the day was uneventful and peaceful relaxation around the campfire.

Friday saw our intrepid adventurers greeted with glorious weather that persisted for the balance of the weekend. Friday saw VE7LWK, VA7MXY, and Aiden try their hands at fishing. They confirmed that there are fish in the lake, however they decided, out of the goodness of their hearts, to leave the fish for the next fishers to cast their line. VA7EEH strung out a 100+ft long random wire and Aiden explored and stepped into the role of ensuring our adventurers never ran out of chopped wood for the fire. Meanwhile, VE7PDE relished in the opportunity to work with and try out different antennas.

Late in the afternoon, having broken free from his shackles of responsibility, VA7PWF arrived on site completing the list of those contributing to the resulting antenna farm. The farm currently having been planted with VA7EEH's long wire and vertical, VA7MXY's overly large rabbit ears, VE7LWK's OCF 80m Dipole and vertical. At this point in our story, I believe VE7PDE and create and was tweaking a 20m dipole. 

Thanks to an error in coordinates (VA7MXY was thoroughly beaten), VE7KPZ and VE7WWJ stopped, set up and awaited others at an adjacent camp spot. Later visited by VE7WEA and XYL making their way out to check up on our intrepid adventurers who then migrated over to main base camp. None the less, good times and good laughs were had around the fire.

Late Friday evening, after all the weary heads of our adventurers had hit their pillows and visitors returned home, VA7MXY decided to take a quick night shot. He was rewarded with the Northern Lights illuminating the sky.

Keeping with the glorious weather, our adventurers awoke to another beautiful day on Saturday. Sadly the previous nights visual display completely killed the bands. Leaving our rugged Hams struggling to make a contact. None the less, VE7KPZ and VE7WWJ moved their setup over to base camp and best efforts were put to making any QSO.

Some minor success was had. VE7LWK and VE7KPZ landed on an American station calling CQ POTA. The stellar band conditions saw the dedicated POTA peeps call CQ for 2 hours with only a couple contacts prior to being found by our adventurers. 7 additional contacts were given in under 5 minutes, giving a successful activation for the POTA Station. They again ganged up on W9IMS special event station calling CQ.

VA7PWF managed to make a QSO where he had the pleasure of being a first contact for an American operator. Meanwhile, VE7PDE strung out 300+ft of wire with 17ft of ground using a 9:1 balun and showed them all, much to their amazement, that a really long random wire is an amazing thing. 1.5:1 SWR or lower across the bands. Then proceeded to amaze all with an inverted J-Pole.

Meanwhile, VA7PWF entertained all with his dietary choices. Yes, that is a brownie headed for a dip in some cheesewiz.

Topping of the day with a bit of irony, our joyous Hams enjoyed some fresh farm raised pork supplied by VA7MXY. VE7PDE providing baked beans, VA7EEH providing said brownies for desert, VA7PWF adding his famous taco pasta salad, with VA7MXY and VE7LWK topping things off with chips and dip.

Belly's full, spirits high, our intrepid adventures laxed the evening away around the campfire. Sharing good times, good stories, and good music until each sought their respective beds.

Sunday morning again kept with the previous day and another beautiful morning greeted our travellers. Activity was slow around camp as each tore down their antennas and packed up their gear. Weekly net was joined, farewells were said, and talk of next time was put forth as our adventurers each departed on their own time and begin the return journey's home.

In all, it was a great weekend, though the bands didn't play along. I'd like to that VA7PWF (Howard), VA7EEH (Colin), VE7LWK (Lorne), VE7PDE (Paul), VE7KPZ (Mike), and VE7WWJ (Jane) for participating and making it a great weekend.

Special Mention to VE7WEA (Jake) and Kaitlyn (my apologies if Ive spelt that wrong) for making the trip up on Friday night and adding to the experience.

Lastly, and more definitely not last nor the least, I'd like to give a huge shout out to Tao for being there and adding some K9 class to the chaos.

Thanks again everyone. Look forward to QSO Backcountry Camping Party #2. Be good to one another.

73, VA7MXY (Cary)