TORONTO – Digital Amateur Radio equipment has been installed at the First Canadian Place office tower in downtown Toronto to help the Greater Toronto Area maintain reliable communications through severe weather, earthquakes, or other natural disasters.
Known as "ham radio", Amateur Radio is a non-commercial radio service that allows licensed operators to use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with one another for both public service and recreational purposes. Amateur Radio operators, often referred to as "hams", are federally licensed by Industry Canada and are allowed to use specially allocated radio frequencies to carry out their operations.
Using the Amateur Radio call sign of VA3XPR, GTA-based hams may communicate with one another locally or around the world using radio equipment that leverages Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) technology to relay vital information when other communication lines have failed. By using DMR, the VA3XPR digital Amateur Radio system is able to facilitate noise free communications, unlike traditional analog Amateur Radio equipment which is more prone to interference and noise, thus limiting its ability to be used during adverse conditions.
"During times of crisis or natural disaster, the only reliable form of communication would be using Amateur Radio, as cellphones and the Internet will become useless," said Don Trynor, sponsor of the VA3XPR digital Amateur Radio system, in the news release. "For this reason, we have installed digital Amateur Radio equipment at First Canadian Place to serve as a back-up when all other systems either become congested or failed altogether. This will allow Amateur Radio operators around the greater Toronto area to help facilitate communications in times of crisis, providing an invaluable service to their local communities."
Trynor is a licensed Amateur Radio operator with the call sign of VA3XFT.
In photo: First Canadian Place in downtown Toronto, home of the VA3XPR Amateur Radio system. (Credit: Don Trynor)
