Meetings: The club meets on the first Tuesday of each month, from September to June, at the Sharon Temperance Hall at the corner of Mount Albert Road and Leslie Street in East Gwillimbury, handy to highway 404. All meetings begin with introductions, then updates from the board of directors. After a short break, a presentation of interest to radio amateurs follows. Topics are wide-ranging, from solar power to antenna design. More.

On-air and Virtual Meetings: YRARC hosts three scheduled on-air “nets” where the host (“net controller”) takes calls from anyone listening, and it’s an easy way to get on the air. You’ll find the net controllers and participants always eager to help a new amateur make the most out of their equipment and time. We also have discussions on Google Meet videoconferencing to provide help and advice to anyone seeking assistance with any issue with their radios or computers. More.

Public Service: A favourite activity of many of our club members is to provide communications support to charitable and non-profit organizations across the region. From the King Maple Festival in March to the Run for the Cure in October, we help the organizers run a well-coordinated, safe and secure event. If you are interested in having the York Region Amateur Radio Club support your event, contact our public service director, Eric Brown VE3EB. We provide training to anyone who wants to participate by pairing them with an experienced member. Volunteers always have fun and it provides valuable communications experience and service to our community. More.

Emergency Communications: As part of the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) structure, the club participation in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) began not long after the club was formed in 1959. We work with regional government, the municipalities and other stakeholders to extend communications capabilities when commercial and government communications are overloaded or unavailable. Our ARES volunteers train and practice emergency communications procedures. If you are interested in participating in our emergency communications team, contact Rob Schuetze, our emergency coordinator. More.

Field Day: Each year, on the fourth Saturday in June at 2PM Eastern Daylight Time, amateurs all over North America start up portable stations set up outdoors on table, in tents or in trailers, to make contact with their counterparts. Operating with emergency power is encouraged, and our club uses solar and/or generator power to run up to 8 stations simultaneously from a field in Stouffville.  The event continues through the night and until 2PM on Sunday, after which we tally up our scores and send them to the ARRL in Connecticut for publication. Field Day is the largest operating event in North America attracting thousands of stations, and we’ve been regular participants since the sixties. More.

Projects: For 2025 we are embarking on some new projects and developing new ideas. A project in the early stages of development is using a technology known as AREDN (Amateur Radio Emergency Digital Network) to provide high speed data communications within the region. Not just for emergencies, this will provide exciting new capabilities for club members and our community partners, to be able to use amateur radio fast and reliable communications services.  More.