Six IslandHF members visited the Propagation Lab at UVIC on November 16th: Ron VE7IRR, Doug VE7HZY, Joseph VA7YJJ, Alan VE7UBA, Pierre VE7NRO and Glenn VA7HC. They were joined by Clara VE7XOC. Our host was Steve Pocock VA7KH. Thank you Steve for arranging the tour.

Within the Lab are two radio station setups. One is used for HF contesting. Eric Manning VA7DZ runs this station along with the aforementioned Steve Pocock and David James VA7VK. Both Eric and David are members of IslandHF. This contest station has excellent hardware with an Elecraft K4 being the centerpiece.

The second radio station is used by UVIC engineering students. They use a Flex 6600M transceiver. It, along with the K4, use an extensive antenna system headed up by a formidable Optibeam which is seen in one of the gallery pictures.

Levente (Levi) Buzas VA7QF detailed for the IslandHF members all of the hardware and much of the software used in the radio stations. He also mentioned the satellite projects he is responsible for. There will possibly be a great opportunity for IslandHF members to get involved with the next satellite project which will involve an important radio amateur component. Stay tuned. Many thanks to Levi for taking the time to talk to our members.