Featured Items
Internal Review of YARS' Emergency Planning
- Details
- Category: Civil Defence
- Hits: 60
Given the recent Wildfire events, including the evacuation of the City of Yellowknife and the fact that the services of the Yellowknife Amateur Radio Society and of the amateur radio service were not called upon by civil authorities, the Society is carrying out a comprehensive review of all of its emergency planning including any role that the amateur radio service should play in civil defence activities. Comments are welcome and can be submitted to
Maui Disaster, Hawaii August 2023
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- Category: Public Information
- Hits: 141

The news from Hawaii has focused on personal accounts and images of damaged housing and infrastructure from the recent wildfires on the island of Maui in the Hawaiian archipelago. Communications have been reported as intermittent and the full extent of casualties is still not yet known.
Limited contact with radio amateurs occurred in Lahaina due to there being very few HAMs in the area. A report of confirmed active and destroyed repeater systems is at: https://amrron.com/2023/08/10/maui-disaster-ham-radio-updates/ . Further updates are at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CfWIk6ZTlbcbfizyZ9-DOJyqHusbA0KWBE2RSVMCtMg/edit .
Registration for the RAC Advanced Course is now underway!
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- Category: Training
- Hits: 104
https://www.rac.ca/rac-advanced-course-for-maple-leaf-operators-fall-2023/
The next RAC Advanced Courses start on Sunday, September 10 and Monday, September 11 with 10 weekly sessions. You need to be a RAC Maple Leaf Operator Member (present or future) to register for this course. See below for information.
Radio Amateurs of Canada is once again offering an online Advanced Qualification Amateur Radio Course so that individuals can upgrade their qualifications.
With your Advanced Certificate, you can run higher power, operate a remotely-controlled station, obtain operating privileges when travelling overseas, set up repeaters, be the trustee for club stations and even become an Accredited Examiner (AE) if you also have the Morse code qualification.
Read more: Registration for the RAC Advanced Course is now underway!
Dramatic Images of Hay River Fire (May 2023)
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- Category: Public Information
- Hits: 529

VE8NSD has been kind enough to share some dramatic images from his QTH of the fires in the Hay River area, taken 2023-05-14. He and his family and several cats were evacuated during this period from Hay River to the Yellowknife Multiplex facility. The fire broke out on the outskirts of the Town of Hay River and the town was evacuated around 2023-05-14. The fire was brought under control on 2023-05-26 and the evacuation alert cancelled on 2023-06-06. There was significant damage to Kátł'odeeche.
Society is Returning to Operation
- Details
- Category: Public Information
- Hits: 927
[2023-09-14] While Yellowknife remains under an Evacuation Alert and a number of communities in the South Slave are just starting to be "repatriated", the Society is returning its website back to normal operations. Local amateur radio operators no longer are requested to maintain a radio watch on the VE8YK and VE8RAE repeater network. Many thanks to those who maintained HF contact with the south during the Evacuation Order. The Society will be re-examining its emergency planning along with that of the the GNWT's NWT Emergency Plan and the City of Yellowknife Emergency Plan. Comments may be email to the Society via the reflector -
YARS Repeater Frequencies.
NWT Wildfire Links
- Details
- Category: Civil Defence
- Hits: 2002

[2023-09-14] While Yellowknife remains under an Evacuation Alert and a number of communities in the South Slave are just starting to be "repatriated", the Society is returning its website back to normal operations. Local amateur radio operators no longer are requested to maintain a radio watch on the VE8YK and VE8RAE repeater network. Many thanks to those who maintained HF contact with the south during the Evacuation Order. The Society will be re-examining its emergency planning along with that of the the GNWT's NWT Emergency Plan and the City of Yellowknife Emergency Plan. Comments may be email to the Society via the reflector -
Some links for up-to-date information are provided:
Draft Strategic Plan
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- Category: Society Governance
- Hits: 1288
Our Vision
Our vision is to promote interest in the amateur radio service by
- providing education and training to add qualified and licensed individuals to the body of amateur radio operators in the amateur radio service;
- encouraging licensed individuals to keep interested in the amateur radio service through technical projects related to the amateur radio service;
- supporting civil authorities in emergency preparedness and emergency response to civil emergencies; and
- promoting the amateur radio service generally.
Our Mission
The Yellowknife Amateur Radio Society is a non-profit volunteer organization which designs, builds and operates amateur radio equipment and promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. We aim to work in partnership with government, industry, educational institutions and fellow amateur radio societies. We encourage technical and scientific innovation and promote the training and development of skilled amateur radio designers and operators.