Monthly Archives: December 2012

VA3XPR Launches Digital Service

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VA3XPR DMR MOTOTRBO Motorola amateur radio ham Toronto digital mobile

It’s time to shift into digital, Toronto!

Today, the VA3XPR repeater, the new voice for downtown Toronto, becomes the first amateur radio repeater within the city of Toronto to support Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) communications using Motorola’s MOTOTRBO technology. DMR, a published standard for digital voice communications utilizing TDMA technology, will enable amateur radio operators to communicate with one another, both locally, regionally and around the world using the Motorola Amateur Radio Club’s (MARC) World Wide network, commonly known as the DMR-MARC network. The benefits of using digital voice communications using DMR include:

  • Crystal-clear audio without background noise or static;
  • The choice of world wide, regional or local communications;
  • Global text messaging with any other user on the network;
  • Up to 40% longer battery life than using similar analog FM radios.

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Blind Ham Receives Radio Gift From Fellow Hams

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Rudie VE3OUA Scarborough amateur radio club VA3XPR HT Christmas Giving Toronto ham

Rudie, VE3OUA, with his new Yaesu FT-60 dual band HT. Photo courtesy of Ray Chow, VE3ZXC.

As everyone knows, the holiday season is all about sharing with others. And what could be better than to give the gift of ham radio! Just ask Heratch Toroian, a.k.a. “Rudie”, VE3OUA, a longstanding member of the Scarborough Amateur Radio Club (SARC) in Toronto, ON, who recently received a brand new Yaesu FT-60 dual band HT from his fellow SARC members. Rudie, a visually impaired ham that uses his HT frequently, had been experiencing problems with his old Yaesu FT-60, which kept him off the air and prevented him from using IRLP & EchoLink on the VA3XPR repeater, one of his favourite modes of communications. So the good members of SARC thought they would help him and that’s exactly what they did.

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Holiday Coffee Meet-Up

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Toronto amateur radio ham VA3XPR coffee meeting clubs repeater

Interested in meeting some of the many ham radio operators around the greater Toronto area? Then come out for coffee and meet them! On Wednesday December 19, 2012 at 7:00pm ET, there will be a ham coffee meet-up at the Tim Hortons located at 4 Lebovic Rd. Scarborough, ON. Come one, come all and enjoy a cup of Timmy’s and some holiday cheer with your fellow hams! Oh, and don’t forget to bring all of your favourite HTs and latest gadgets!!

For directions to this event, click here or monitor VA3XPR @ 441.950+ PL100.0Hz.

Say Hello to Santa!

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Santa Claus IRLP Alaska Toronto VA3XPR repeater amateur radio ham

Do you have some young ones that are anxious to get in contact with Santa to pass along the items on their Christmas wish list? Perhaps some new items were recently added and he simply needs an update? Well, they are in luck! On December 15, 2012 at 1:00pm ET, Santa Claus will be live on the air from the North Pole for the Alaska Reflector’s annual Santa Claus Net, being held on IRLP Reflector 9070. Tune into the VA3XPR repeater and let them say hello to Santa!

To find out more about this or other cool nets, check out the Net Calendar.