BARRIE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB |
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| Mission Statement | History | Meetings | Membership | Ham Courses | Events | Affiliations | |
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Mission Statement |
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History |
| The club started as a loosely knit group of hobbyists in the mid 1960's and formally organized as a club in 1968. At that time they were meeting in the basement of the old Registry Office building which was located at the site of the old County Court House building in Barrie. The building was being used by the Emergency Measures Organization. Later, with connections to Georgian College, BARC meetings were held in the Rowntree Theatre at the College. In 1982 with the help of 10 of the active members the organization was incorporated in the province of Ontario. For several years, the Club met at the Zehrs Store Community Room on Bayfield Street and on Big Bay Point Road at Yonge Street. The Barrie Amateur Radio Club currently meets regularly at the Barrie North Collegiate at 110 Grove Street East, and provides service to the community and amateurs of central Ontario. |
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Meetings |
| The Club usually meets the second Tuesday of every month except July
and August (summer break) 7:00 p.m. in the Cafeteria of Barrie North Collegiate School 110 Grove Street East in Barrie |
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Membership |
| Membership information and a membership form can be found by clicking here |
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Ham Radio Courses |
| A Basic Amateur Radio Course is offered by the club each fall starting in September. For further information please contact HamRadio@barriearc.com |
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Events |
| The club participates in community events whenever possible. It varies from
things like providing communications for a Walk a Dog a Thon to having an information
booth at community events. One event we are directly involved with is JOTA (Scout's Jamboree On The Air). This is an international event where we set up communications gear and let Scouts communicate with their counterparts in other countries throughout the world. JOTA is in the fall and is a good opportunity to see how long distance short wave radio communication is done The premier event of the year is called Field Day. Field Day is sort of a practice session for disaster communications. All over North America Amateur Radio groups, clubs, and individuals set up their equipment in a simulated disaster mode using generators for power and setting up antennas and operating gear in tents usually in a field, hence the name "Field Day". The object of the exercise is to make as many contacts as possible with other Field Day competitors during a 24 hour period. The pace is pretty hectic during daylight hours, first setting up all the gear and getting prepared, then in the wee hours of the morning you see who the truly dedicated radio operators are. It's a great opportunity to see radio communication at its finest. It also is an opportunity for unlicensed enthusiasts to try their hand at using the equipment under the guidance of a licensed operator. Field Day is on the 3rd or 4th weekend in June of every year. Give one of our contacts a call and try to get out to see it. All ages are welcome. The club also contains a group called the CBSS ARES Group (City of Barrie and South-Simcoe Amateur Radio Emergency Service Group) which meets regularly to practice emergency communications techniques. Anyone interested in this type of public service is welcome to become involved. |
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Affiliations |
| The Barrie Amateur Radio Club is a RAC affiliated club (#34283) and along with many other clubs provide support
to other public service groups. Radio Amateurs of Canada, (RAC) is our national
organization which provides a voice for Amateurs with our Federal Government and
internationally with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Two of the branches of RAC that provide
public service are, (ARES) Amateur Radio Emergency Service, and (NTS) National
Traffic System. ARES is an organization of licensed radio amateurs who have registered
their qualifications and equipment with RAC to provide communications in times
of disaster. NTS is an organization of licensed radio amateurs who provide a network
of operators that can relay formal message traffic around the world. Both of these
groups will usually be providing their services to the Red Cross who coordinates
the distribution of information to the public. One important type of traffic for
the Red Cross is the Registration and Inquiry information. That service provides
information to disaster victims and their friends and families to help reunite
them. Another recently formed and very important public service group is the Canadian Weather Amateur Radio Network (CANWARN). It is a joint project between Environment Canada and local amateur radio groups. It is an organization of licensed radio amateurs who are trained in the recognition of severe weather conditions. Its main purpose is to observe weather conditions at the time when tornadoes are likely to occur. When Environment Canada determines that there is a possible threat of tornadoes the group is called into action. A number of amateur radio repeaters in the effected area are linked together into a network. Network controllers are called into an amateur station set up at the Canada Weather office. The trained weather spotters relay information to the weather office via their ham radio equipment where the Weather Specialist determines what reports go out to warn the public via TV and radio reports. It gets pretty exciting hearing all the reports of things as they happen. |
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Letters Patent (Incorporation)
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| The Barrie Amateur Radio Club Inc. was registered with the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations on the 20th of May 1982. This document can be viewed here. |
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