Meet our ISED Examiners

The Kamloops Amateur Radio Club is very fortunate to be blessed with two really experienced and generous ISED Examiners: Dwight, VE7BV who has been our examiner for many years, and our newest examiner Mark, VE7ARN.  If you are interested in taking your Basic Amateur Licence, upgrading to Advanced, or taking your Morse Code exam, please contact Dwight or Mark to arrange to sit your exam.  Thank you to Dwight and Mark for volunteering your time and for giving so much back to the amateur radio hobby!

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Dwight Edward Morrow VE7BV

Licensed in July 1970, upgraded to advanced in 1974. (Scored 100 percent on all levels.. in those days, written exam, CW, oral exam, drawing by memory schematic diagrams). Original callsign was VE7BCU.  Became VE7BV in January 1989.  Holds Guatemalan Callsign TG9BBV.

Member of the Kamloops Amateur Radio Club, Orchard City Amateur Radio Club, Radio Amateurs of Canada, American Radio Relay League, Interior Director of ORCA DX Club, member and past president of the BC DX Club, past member of NORAC, Shuswap Amateur Radio club, Surrey Amateur Radio Club, alumni of VE7UBC, and Socio de Club de Radioaficionados de Guatemala.  Interested primarily in HF, chasing DX on all modes, all bands, 160-6 meters, contesting, and likes CW ragchewing.

Passionate about promoting this all encompasing hobby! Frequently did Jamboree on the Air, Guides on the Air, Thinking Day, regularly shared shack with numerous school and church groups, in the past tested scouts for signaler badges.

Fluent in Spanish, handled BC emergency traffic for Mexican Consulate in Vancouver, and Mexican Embassy in Ottawa during Mexico City Earthquake September, 1985.  Participated in Edmonton Tornado Disaster Health and Welfare Traffic July, 1987 and Guatemalan Earthquake emergency traffic in February, 1976.

73 de Dwight, VE7BV

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Mark Perren VE7ARN

I have been interested in radio ever since I was a young child living in Banff AB . I remember sitting on my father's knee and listening closely as he would tune through the a.m. broadcast band night listening on a transistor radio which was new technology at the time. He had set up a long wire antenna in our front yard, and I was very excited to hear stations from so far away.

Several years later I was given a 1950s era tube type radio that had short wave bands, I would be glued to it every evening carefully turning the Vernier tuning dial and listening to the shortwave broadcast stations from all around the world. As a young teenager when I got my first job I saved every penny and purchased a Sony shortwave radio. I would run home after school every day and clamp on the headphones emerging only for supper time or for homework and then back to the radio. I was definitely an avid short wave listener and I collected very many QSI cards from countries all around the world. Around about that time one evening I heard a very powerful signal coming from the 40 m band which turned out to be that of a ham radio operator who lived a few blocks away. I got up my courage and went to his house, knocked on the door and he welcomed me in and was delighted to show off his equipment. He was using Yaesu101 echo and several dipoles for the various bands. He wanted to teach me Morse code right away and to tutor me in ham radio theory. Unfortunately I thought I would never learn Morse code And so did not get licensed right away. I enjoyed the electronics theory and went on to build several receivers, starting with a classic crystal radio and moving on to various kits.

In the 1970s there was the CB radio craze and I ended up buying one and getting on the air, I remember chatting with the truck drivers who would pass by on the highway and became friends with many of them. I remember the days when the skip would be in because of the height of the solar cycle, it was a terrible racket but it amazed me nonetheless that people could talk to each other over such distances. But my lack of belief that I could learn Morse code still kept me out of ham radio.

While living in Fort McMurray I purchased a set of cassette tapes which were for learning Morse code using the Farnsworth method. I taught myself the code and I was first licensed as an Amateur while living in Ft. Simpson NWT, with the call VE81AM, in May 1988. At that time a Canadian Amateur had to work for one year on CW only in order to qualify for the Advanced Amateur upgrade. I made that upgrade, with 15 wpm CW, in May 1989, while living in Ft. Providence NVVT.

As a Northwest Territories resident I really enjoyed the VE8 call sign, as they were a bit rare, and a desired call area for those chasing various awards.

In the early 1990's I moved to Kehewin, a small mission in northern Alberta, my new call being VE6IHS. I began operating VHF and UHF for the first time, as there had been only HF in the NWT (with the exception of the Yellowknife area). After about 5 years, I moved to Bonnyville, AB.

I was an accredited examiner and member of the Cold Lake Amateur Radio Society which was a very active club. I am a proud Canadian and am a member of RAC. I encourage every Canadian Ham to support RAC.

I had a Kenwood TS 440 for years as my base HF rig in the shack, but I recently upgraded to an Icom 7300. The new technology has me very impressed. The HF antennas consist of a dipole for 80 and one for 40. I run through a tuner for 60 and 30 and I have an R5 vertical for 20 through 10 and an AR 6 vertical for 50 MHz. 6 m is new to me, I've made no contacts but hopefully there will be openings in the not too distant future. I run two metres and HF from the mobile as well.

I moved to Kamloops in September 2020 to be closer to the grandchildren and I am pleased to be a member of the Kamloops Amateur Radio Club. Once again I find myself an accredited examiner. CW is my 'pet' mode, I really enjoy a good CW ragchew, I enjoy checking in on HF nets regularly and chatting on two metres.

I hope to meet other Hams in the area at least on the air and eventually in person once COVID-19 is no longer a problem.

73 de Mark, VE7ARN