The VE2BG repeater went on the air at 1710 hours on June 2, 1999 from its new home at the Pointe Claire water tower. The repeater offers excellent coverage of the West Island and also offers good coverage for mobile and base stations to the north and south of Montreal Island and also to the west as far as the Ontario border.
Previously the VE2BG had been located on Burnside Hall at McGill University and was operated on the club's behalf by the Amateur Radio Club of McGill University. While the repeater had good coverage downtown it was located only a few blocks from Concordia University where VE2RCU has better coverage. Following the ice storm of January 1998 it was felt that a new location with backup power should be found for the repeater.
The City of Pointe Claire was approached and the mayor was receptive to the idea. While progress was slow the feeling was always to make the project work. Rather than erect another antenna on the water tower it was suggested that the club could couple the repeater to the existing Fire Department mutual aid antenna system with a lower risk of interferece. Finally permission was received to make the move. The club has also agreed to provide communications assistance to the city should this be needed during any future emergency.
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On May 31, 1999, VE2BG was taken off the air at McGill and the cavities were retuned and modified to improve their performance by Rafael Celedon, VE2HKI. Those involved in the antenna removal and dismantling of the repeater were Ken Fraser, VE2KLF, Stuart Smith, VE2JSS, Steven Faguy, VA2SMF, Vernon Ikeda, VE2MBS, Frank Torontour, VE2TOR and Jim Hay, VE2VE.
A special thank you goes to Ken Fraser, VE2KLF, for his dedication to maintaining the repeater when the McGill club ceased being active. We look forward to Ken's continued assistance with the repeater in its new location.
Since we were not sure of the power supply which was used on the old repeater a new one had to be procured. While Rafael was looking for parts for his modifications I suggested he could acquire a power supply for us during one of his stops. This elicited a call from Bill Letovsky, VE2QL, who offered the donation of a very solid and ample power supply which we gratefully accepted and for which we sincerely thank Bill.
In order to connect the repeater into the mutual aid antenna system a multicoupler had to be found and Eric Meth, VE3EI, was able to locate one for the club in a very short time. Don Dashney, VE3RM, finished the work begun by Ken to make a G.E. Royal Exec II radio ready for repeater use and once the cavities were ready the repeater was put on the air on June 2, 1999. Those assisting with the installation of the new repeater were Don Dashney, VE3RM, Ken Fraser, VE2KLF, Steven Faguy, VA2SMF, Vernon Ikeda, VE2MBS, Stan Patacic, VE2QXP, Rafael Celedon, VE2HKI, Raymond Faguy, VE2SJA and Jim Hay, VE2VE.
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Once on the air stations started trying out the "new" repeater and Fred Hart, VE2LSQ, was good enough to keep a list of those checking in and their power and antenna type. This has given us a clear idea of the coverage of the repeater which was much better than expected.
On March 1, 2000, Don Dashney and James R. Hay went up the repeater site and installed the temporary controller donated by Keith Daniels, VE2KXD.
At approximately 13h00 on May 23, 2019, VE2BG went off air. Unfortunately we had to remove the equipment pending the identification of, and move to, a new site because the City of Montreal no longer permits non-aqueduct infrastructure or personnel on their sites. As soon as we have confirmation of a new site for the repeater we will announce it here.