SUBMARINE HAM RADIO STATION
VA2GNQ
Site historique maritime de la
Pointe-au-Père
has converted Canadian Submarine
HMCS ONONDAGA
into a submarine
museum at Father's Point (Pointe-au-Père) near Rimouski, Quebec, Canada. The official opening of
the submarine museum was on 12 June 2009.
Club radioamateur du
Saint-Laurent VE2CSL of Rimouski,
Quebec has reactivated the radio room onboard ONONDAGA and has put the submarine back on the air
as a Ham Radio Station.
In memory of ONONDAGA’s
old radio call sign
CGNQ,
ham radio call sign
VA2GNQ
has been assigned to the submarine museum.
Submarine ONONDAGA
has now joined other submarine museums and other ship museums “on the air”
around the world.
SUBMARINE HAM RADIO STATION
VA3ZFQ
Note: Canadian Submarine HMCS OJIBWA has also been
converted into a submarine museum at Port Burwell, Ontario.
In memory of OJIBWA’s
old radio call sign
CZFQ,
ham radio call sign
VA3ZFQ
has been assigned to the submarine museum.
Donald Courcy
VE2GW / VE2CNX
Former Radioman
Submarines HMCS ONONDAGA, HMCS
OJIBWA, HMCS OKANAGAN... Destroyer HMCS GATINEAU
VA2GNQ QSL CARD
VA2GNQ QSL CARD
Photo Above - Submarine Ham Radio
Station VA2GNQ was operated as a special event station under special 4-letter
suffix call sign VA2CGNQ during the official opening of the Onondaga
submarine museum on June 13 and 14, 2009. From left to right: Loïc
Cavarroc VA2GHA, Jocelyn Pineault VE2ACU and Timo Rissanen
VE2TDR of
Club radioamateur du Saint-Laurent VE2CSL.
Photo above - Loïc Cavarroc VA2GHA,
Jocelyn Pineault VE2ACU and Timo Rissanen VE2TDR looking for more
contacts during the special event of June 13 & 14, 2009. Local QRN was severe
and made radio communications difficult on some HF bands. It was not known at
the time if the source of electrical interference was inside or outside the
submarine but it was suspected that the culprit was the equipment used to access
and convert Hydro Quebec power for onboard use.
Photo above - Loïc Cavarroc VA2GHA and
Jocelyn Pineault VE2ACU keeping up with the log as Timo Rissanen
VE2TDR is busy at the mike.
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