Date: October 2025
Amount: $8,704

The Matane Amateur Radio Club is a 60 member group serving a remote community on the St. Lawrence River. The club maintains local communication infrastructure, provides training for new operators, and supports emergency communication during storms and outages.

The project installs a permanent HF station at the club site. It will provide Winlink email capability across Quebec, operate with backup power, and support remote control. The station will be used for emergency communication, public demonstrations, digital mode training, and regular regional exercises.

Update

The main objective of the project was to establish a fully autonomous HF amateur radio station at the VA2CMQ club station in Matane, Quebec, capable of maintaining critical communications during grid failures, natural disasters, or prolonged power outages, and capable of sending and receiving emails using the Winlink system to facilitate communications throughout Quebec, the Magdalen Islands, and beyond.

The ARDC grant was used to install an HF antenna system on the club’s tower, appropriate transmission lines, and a complete radio operating setup in the club’s shack, including an ICOM IC-7300 MK II transceiver, antenna tuner, computer workstation, and the necessary digital interface equipment to support modern digital communication modes. A backup power system was also installed, consisting of deep-cycle batteries, a charging system, and a generator, along with the required power cabling to ensure continuous operation during electrical outages.

The station is now fully operational and supports both traditional voice and modern digital modes such as Winlink, PSK31, and FT8, allowing members to bridge conventional radio communication with contemporary digital networking. In addition to on-site operation, the station also offers hybrid access, enabling remote operation via remote desktop so that members can operate the station from home during severe weather or emergency situations.

During implementation, the club optimized the original specifications by upgrading to an ICOM IC-7300 MK II transceiver and installing a higher-capacity 3000-watt generator to provide improved reliability and additional power overhead; the additional cost associated with the generator upgrade was absorbed by the club.

With the project objectives fully achieved, the station is already being actively used by members. In addition to its primary role in emergency communications, the station serves as a platform for promoting, training, and experimenting with amateur radio activities involving the public, club members, and local partners. It also enables real-world communications practice to facilitate hands-on learning and operational experience with Winlink technology. The station will support regular training exercises throughout the region and across the province, with at least one coordinated activity each month in collaboration with other amateur radio clubs and civil security organizations.

In accordance with the ARDC principle of open information, the club plans to share the technical results and lessons learned through the VA2CMQ website (http://va2cmq.net), RAQI regional bulletins, and presentations at upcoming regional amateur radio hamfests and conferences.