SOME HISTORY FACTS ON HOW HAM RADIO BECAME TO LIFE IN ST-QUENTIN , N.-B.
 

Here's how Ham Radio became to life in St-Quentin!  

The following is my personal point of view

(VE9DCD)...

Without Michel Phillips (VE1MIK)  around, maybe, we would just start to learn about Ham Radio...  here in St-Quentin! OK he's not the first who operated a radio, but as I'm concerned, he's the first one who set goal  on making Ham Radio  what it is today here in St-Quentin.

Michel and his friend, a Ham operator (VE9DNR) Daniel, started with a first repeater in his backyard, at "Five fingers".  Then they builded a small shack to protect the repeater equipments.  This was almost 10 years ago...  After a couple of years, since the coverage of the repeater wasn't as good as he expected, Michel decided to look for higher grounds for the repeater.   From that moment on, Michel  had to work alone on his adventure.

So,  he had to find some help, and the easiest way to find help, was to give a small course to form new  Ham operators, and that worked.  The new Hams were:  VE1ALI (Aline), VE9MAB (Marcel), VE9BEN (Ben) , VE9VON (Yvon), VE9PIR (Pierrette), VE9DAL(Daniel) and VE9SMD(Sonia).

Then Michel found a new site for the repeater.  The perfect place for the repeater site was, and still is at "rang 18" East outside of St-Quentin limits.  He had lots of work;  cutting trees, thinning bushes... to make place for the shack and the foundation of the tower.  But he wasn't alone anymore and had lots of help from the new Hams. 

After all was done, Michel passion was so big that everywhere he'd go, even at his work,  he only had words about his favorite hobby.  It's how I became interested, me VE9DCD (Denis) a simple scanner listener. 

Then, more and more people wanted to get their Ham operator licence.  So, Michel went back to work, with the help of 3 other Ham, to give 2 other course...  The results were great, since now we're about 30 Ham operators in the region...

By then, we were enough to form our own Ham Radio Club.  So In the autumn of '98  the "Club Radio Amateur Restigouche" (C.R.A.R) At the frequency 145.450(-) was created.

The club is well up on it's feet, we have a great executive comity and very good comities (technical, emergencies and social).  The club, with it's members worked to raise funding for new equipments and a new foundation for the new tower.  Many chipped in to have what we have today.

Thanks a lot to all !  And I hope it's gonna last for manny years !

Your Host VE9DCD (Denis)

73,88 till next time !