An ARRL Special Service Club
One of the benefits of CVARC membership is email forwarding. This service is a forwarding (or “alias”) service only. No messages will be stored on our server. E-mail sent to “your call sign”@cvarc.org will be forwarded to the real e-mail address that you provide to us.
Club members who would like to use this service should send an email with their name, call sign and their preferred destination email address to: info@cvarc.org
For Sale: A Collins 51J4 General Coverage HF Receiver.
This is a classic working receiver in very good original condition. This one has not been cut up, drilled out, or hacked up. It has all three filters, hard to find cabinet, and very rare tools. You have to look hard to find a nicer one than this. It’s the one you’ve wanted, priced at $1300. Continue reading “For Sale: Collins HF Receiver”
CVARC’s next project build is scheduled for Saturday, November 10. Adrian Jarrett-K6KY will assist CVARC members in building a Magnetic Loop Antenna. The cost of the materials will be roughly $80 or $140, depending on the capacitor chosen by the builder. Sign up at the September CVARC meeting, or contact Adrian.
The details: Continue reading “Upcoming Project: Magnetic Loop Antenna”
An easy to build, 6m halo antenna. By Adrian Jarrett-K6KY
The Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club was looking for project ideas for the members. Early in 2017 the Radio Society of Great Britain published a 2-meter band halo design, which looked easy and fun to build. This was chosen as one of the club’s projects. However, the Conejo Valley is surrounded by hills, and so long haul 2m may be a bit problematical. That, and after having a great time in summer 2017 on 6m sporadic E, first with JT65 in the June ARRL VHF contest, and then with FT8, a 6m halo seemed like a worthy project. The Continue reading “6 Meter Halo Antenna Project”
The next regular club meeting is Thursday, September 20, 2018 (always the third Thursday) at the East County Sheriff’s Station’s Community Room 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks at 7:30 pm.
Talk-in coordination is on the Bozo repeater, 147.885 ( – 127.3).
Topic/Guest Speaker: What’s New With the ARRL? John Kitchens-NS6X, the new Santa Barbara Section Manager for the American Radio Relay League will talk about the activities of the only association representing amateur radio operators at the federal level. There are 1100 hams in the Santa Barbara section which consists of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties. John will welcome your questions about the many activities and services of the national organization.
Raffle Prizes: TUBE coax line isolator choke, Nagoya NA-771 1.6 inch whip antenna, Dr. Meter 48-watt soldering station
Pre-Meeting Dinner: Join fellow club members for a pre-meeting dinner, at 500 pm, at Szechuan Garden, 484 E. Los Angeles Avenue in Moorpark, 805-517-1930.
About a dozen members met at Don Cuco’s in Moorpark for the pre-meeting dinner.
Stu Forman-KK6VYS
The meeting began at 7:30 with the Pledge of Allegiance. First time visitors were welcomed, and newly license hams and those who upgraded their licenses were acknowledged. Thanks given to Mike Felio-KM6EII for bringing the coffee, and to Joe Sprissler-AI6MW for bringing the cookies.
New Website – New content will be added throughout the month; @CVARC.com email addresses are available to members who are interested; There are sections that allow comments. Just like the newsletter, please send us anything you’d like included on the website. Continue reading “August Meeting Summary”
CVARC is offering free classes to help you prepare for the Amateur Radio License exams. We are currently offering classes for the TECHNICIAN (Entry Level) and GENERAL (Intermediate Level) Licenses.
All classes will be at the East County Sheriff’s Station Community Room, 2101 E. Olsen Road, in Thousand Oaks.
TECHNICIAN LICENSE CLASSES
Classes are held over four Saturdays, September 22, 29, October 6* and 13, from 1:00 – 5:00 PM
GENERAL LICENSE CLASSES
Classes are held over five Saturdays, September 15, 22, 29, October 6* and 13, from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM Continue reading “License Training Classes Return in September”
By Norm Campbell-AB6ET
Each band has its own personality and characteristics. The sun and ionosphere, as well as other factors, cause the HF bands to be different during the day or at night and also at different times of the year. Getting on the air is the best way to find out what works and what doesn’t. Pick a band, get on it, stay with it for a while. Tune around, move up and down across the band. Try different times of day.
HF bands are not quiet and solid copy like VHF/UHF FM simplex or repeaters. It takes a good ear to successfully hear HF signals. SSB has its own sound. CW has its own sound. Mix in QSB, noise, interference, other band conditions, and you have some listening to do to gain skill on HF. Continue reading “Personalities of HF Bands”
By Ben Kuo, AI6YR
“CQ CQ CQ… CQ Summits on the Air, Summits on the Air… This is Alpha India Six Yankee Romeo, calling Summits on The Air…”
There I was, standing on the peak of the highest point in New England, Mt. Washington, known for some of the worst weather in the world, braving at least a 40 mph wind in forty degree weather and not making any contacts. The peak, the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River, sits at 6,288 feet, and is known for one of the fastest wind speeds ever recorded on the surface of the Earth, 231 miles per hour, recorded in April 12, 1934. The peak is also well known for being on the Appalachian Trail. Continue reading “Amateur Radio and Mt. Washington: The Highest, Coldest Point in New England”
Hello! …and welcome to the new CVARC website! Take a few minutes to explore it. Click around. I’ll wait… But then come back, ok?
Yes, we’ve moved into a new era. Instead of publishing a monthly newsletter, we’ve decided to make our website a little more dynamic, by blending most of the information that was part of our previous website with the features that were typically part of our monthly newsletters. Hopefully this new approach will make it easier for people to find the information they’re seeking. This redesign will also give the website more of a magazine-feel, with new content being adding throughout the month. Continue reading “President’s Message”