What the VE3WE and VE3TOR Call Signs Mean on ve3we.org

VE3WE is the club call sign of the Scarborough Amateur Radio Club, and it is the call sign its net control operators use on the air. VE3TOR is the call sign of the repeater the club uses for its nets, operating on 146.940 MHz. In short: VE3WE identifies the club and its net control; VE3TOR identifies the machine you tune to when you check in.

VE3WE: the club's identity on air

The site's domain name, ve3we.org, matches the club call. According to the club's own welcome page, "Our club call, VE3WE is always used by net control." That means when you hear VE3WE on the air, you are hearing the station representing the Scarborough Amateur Radio Club, not an individual member's personal call.

This matters practically if you are new to the club or listening in:

• Net control is the station running the net — taking check-ins, keeping order, and directing the session. The VE3WE call tells you the session is an official club activity.
• Individual members checking in use their own personal call signs, so you will hear a mix of calls during a net.
• The club itself is based in Scarborough, in the eastern part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is why the call carries the VE3 prefix common to that region.

VE3TOR: the repeater, not the club

VE3TOR is a separate call sign — it belongs to the repeater, the relay station that receives and retransmits signals so club members across the area can hear each other. The club's welcome page lists it as "the VE3TOR repeater" and gives the frequency as 146.940.

If you want to listen in or check in, this is the detail that matters:

Note one inconsistency on the club's page: the introductory sentence says nets are held "on Thursdays and Saturdays," while the schedule immediately below lists Thursday and Sunday. If you plan to check in, confirm the day through the club's Events page or mailing list rather than relying on the summary sentence alone.

Why the two call signs are easy to confuse

Both start with VE3, the prefix for amateur stations in this part of Ontario, so they look like a pair. They serve different roles:

• VE3WE is a person-operated station — the club's station, keyed by whoever is net control that session.
• VE3TOR is an unattended repeater — equipment, not a person, though a trustee holds its license.

A useful way to remember it: you talk to VE3WE (through net control), and you talk through VE3TOR (the repeater). For example, if you are preparing to check in for the first time, you would set your radio to 146.940, listen for the VE3TOR repeater, and wait for net control identifying as VE3WE to call for check-ins.

Where to confirm details

The club says it holds regular meetings in person and online, with details on its Events page, and it maintains a mailing list for events and projects. You do not need to be a club member to join the mailing list. For current net schedules, meeting arrangements, or any change to the repeater frequency, those two channels are the places to check, since the welcome page itself shows the Thursday/Saturday versus Thursday/Sunday discrepancy noted above.