P.A.R.C. Historical Items of Interest

Vancouver Aeradio Circa 1945

Radio Range or Aeradio (Now called Flight Services) Position
Vancouver Airport – 1945

Prior to 1944 the Vancouver Aeradio position only had one operating position with one radio operator per eight hour shift. The work at that time consisted of contacting itinerant aircraft, weather broadcasts, monitoring adjacent stations broadcasts and course stability, contacting Airways Traffic Control and miscellaneous associated duties.

This commenced to change with thesigning of a contract with Canadian Pacific Airlines (CPAL) to handle reservations and operational messages destined for and originating from the Vancouver Headquarters. Also at this time message traffic increased between the Department of Transport Regional office and all other DOT establishments in the B.C. region.

This situation required the installation of more equipment and more radio operators. By 1945 the staff was grdually ioncreased to a total of five men on the day shift but decreased to two during the quietest hours. The operation was supervised by the Officer in Charge, Mr. JW (Robbie) Robertson. With this increase of circuits remote transmitters were located at the Garden City Road Transmitter site.

Normally all operating equipment would have been installed in steel but due to the wartime steel shortage new racks were installed of wood construction. This created certain electronic problems due to the difficulty of obtaining a common ground through the control racks.

Description on the operating postions is as follows:

• Position 1. – Far right.
  Radio Range. Duties. – As previously mentioned with an increase of traffic due to military training flights preparing for increased action in the Pacific. This also increased the communication with Air Traffic Control.
• Position 2. – Second right.
  CPAL Duties. – Air to ground voice. Receiving pilot’s position reports for delivery to CPAL Dispatch and Air Traffic Control. Transmitting information from CPAL dispatch and ATC to the aircraft.
• Position 3. Third right.
  CPAL Duties. – Point to Point CW (Morse Code) CPAL operational and reservations messages to and from all stations concerned including both those in B.C. and the Northwest Staging Route.
• Position 4. Fourth right.
  Government Business Duties. – Point to Point CW Transmitting and receiving messages between the Vancouver Regional Office and all other DOT airports and Aeradio Stations in B.C. This circuit also handled some weather reports for the meteorological office.
• Position 5. Opposite Side of Room.
  Telephone Duties. – Receiving and delivering messages to or from various Regional Offices in downtown Vancouver.
• Position 6. Fifth right.
  Training position. – This was established as required for training new radio operators entering the service. Although all operators had either a first or second class certificate they were completely unfamiliar with much of the type of traffic they would be required to handle on most stations.

Didja Know:-

In 1961 the PARC Meetings were held in the old Penticton city jail on Van Horne Street. In 1964 the meetings were being held in the basement of the Old Post Office Building at the corner of Main and Nanaimo. By 1966 they were being held in their present location on Dawson Ave.

In 1974 the South Okanagan Amateur Radio Society was formed and registered under the Societies Act and generally became known as SOARS. This was done in order that an application for funding could be made under the then existing Federal New Horizons program.

The local representative for this area was a Mrs. Beacham. As a result of our application and her submission the SOARS group received $14,496. A meeting with the then Mayor, Frank Laird, approved the additional space the present club now uses.

The funds were used to purchase a commercial repeater for Mt. Kobau, a complete station and linear, test equipment, beam antenna and tower, fridge, stove, air conditioner, extra room improvements and other miscellaneous items.

The Federal Minister in charge of the New Horizons Program made the awarding of funds over a telephone hook-up connected to a public address system. The press were present and the event received considerable publicity. The present Radio Club is still enjoying some of the SOARS benefits.