JD's [VE0JD/VA7OTC] Radio Amateur page

"John D. Erskine, QTH Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

nam hr [name here is] JD(John)
call [international call sign] VA7OTC, amateur radio MM [maritime mobile callsign is] VE0JD"
Over the years I've held several callsigns, some have lapsed others renewed. Currently I hold VE0JD VA7OTC VE3OTC VE6OTC and sponsor club stations VA7RCN - HMCS MALAHAT ARC(Amateur Radio Club) and VA7AUX VMRS/Aux35 ARC. The latter one is for use by Victoria Marine Rescue Society or the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 35 - Victoria which it, VMRS, supports.

A brief history of various ICS I've held:
• VE3OTC - When I lived in Thunder Bay and Sioux Lookout, NW Ontario, accquired in spring 1985 (finally! I started studying when a teen in Toronto in 1973 and would've held a VE3Gxx if acquired then) and held until spring 1998, now recovered and mine ALL mine - has been frequently pirated on HF ("Shortwave"). VE3OTC was issued, no choice there, though I was happy with the association of abreviations to one the Navy uses for Officer In Tactical Command. The next class from Lakehead ARC, Amateur Radio Club, was allowed to select their own suffix much to the consternation of most "old timers" as it had been a mildly variable method of determining social seniority. So, they had change to deal with.
• ex-VE0MHI - On board a non-commisioned (ie not an "HMCS") Canadian Naval Patrol Craft, "RAPID" out of Halifax, NS in 1985. RAPID was a 95' ex-Canadian Coast Guard SAR craft, de-engined from 4 to 2 diesels by the CCG and stripped of her fire monitor (large deck mounted nozzle used to fight fires) at time of sale. I didn't get the imagined HF installation going as it took the powers that be _months_ to issue the callsign, so we as Reservists, were long gone. Likely to not return to that ship.
• VE6OTC - For four/five years when living in Calgary, AB - now also recovered - as in, a valid call of mine. This is the call I held when I worked the Magnetic North Pole DXepedition on Cameron Is. from my mobile.
• ex-VE0OTC - A former marine callsign of mine, required for legal "off shore" use, ie "on the High Seas", which is beyond the 12 mile limit. - not current. It's kinda of ugly in as much as a zero and letter O are beside each other.
• ex-VE4TC and ex-VE4DOT - accquired in anticipation of going to Churchill, MB when I worked with Transport Canada in Air Traffic Services as a Flight Service Specialist.
• Prior to this anticipated move I acquired and held VE3YXL as a club, now repeater call, for the Sioux Lookout Amateur Radio Group - 'SLARG'. Arr! I turned it over to Dave Williams VE3UKK on my departure. (C)YXL is the airport designator for Sioux Lookout, ergo the choice.
• ex-VE7JDE - was my call when I wanted to get a local BC one and before the VA7 block was available for general issue. VE7OTC was taken (Alan is very much alive and living some ten miles away) and I needed another year and a half before I had the ten years as an advanced radio amateur which was the prerequisite then to apply for a "two letter" call. This was changed to five years as an Advanced Amateur over the winter of 1999 as Industry Canada moved to abolish the requirement for us to hold both an Operator's Certificate (issued for life in Canada) and Station License (formerly issued on an annual basis). Now one simply has the callsign printed on one's Op Certificate and no station license is issued, which to most means a saving of $24 per year per call. Why not donate some of that to RAC - Radio Amateurs of/du Canada our national representative?
• VE0JD - My amateur radio Maritime Mobile ICS, required for use on the High Seas, however usable in coastal waters as well, yet not ashore. Want a good argument? Start a discussion about this on-air or over coffee. It was acquired in exchange for ex-VA7JD, in time for me to use it on board the R. TUCKER THOMPSON a New Zealand top's'l schooner between Hawaii and Victoria, BC in June 2005
• and VA7OTC my terrestrial callsign usally employed for voice and APRS.

Some of my radio amateur interests are data/digital including APRS(Automatic Position Reporting System), qrp (that's very low power radio), portable work were you haul your stuff out somewhere, marine mobile, nets, public service, HF, VHF, UHF, including 6m and 220.

With respect to data/digital comms, one of the most active Canadian groups is VARPA or the Victoria Amateur Radio Packet Assoc.. Our web site is at http://www.varpa.bc.ca/. VARPA was formed in 1989 at the south Vancouver Island "Ham Happenings" (usually the second full weekend in September each year. This year HH is sponsored by the other club I belong to here the West Coast Amateur Radio Assoc. better known as WARA.) VARPA has regularly published an informative newsletter "Connect Request" put out by it's seemlingly tireless editor Larry Joe, VE7DIE and his digital elves. Larry's name may seem familiar as he has also had a column about packet radio in RAC's TCA - The Canadian Amateur.

Try the web based Java delivered map to see if my APRS station VA7OTC is on the air. Or at FindU.com. If not, check at the VARPA site for other local hams on APRS, several use automatic tracker units.

Please send me an e-mail to any of my current callsigns via the RAC redirection, ie VE0JD@AUNTIESPAMrac.ca if you wish to discuss any of this. Unsolicited commercial e-mail is not welcome.

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Created 98/12/08. Updated finally, on 2007/11/21. Finally since last update was 2006/12/30