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N6ZE/Rover in the January VHF Contest

Woodie-WA6WDY listens for stations on 135 cm (222.1 MHz SSB). Pete-N6ZE uses a 33 cm (927.5 MHz) yagi and ALINCO 33 cm FM handi-talkie to make a contact on that band. Using the ALINCO handheld provided 4 contacts on that frequency band from the Mountains and from Palos Verdes.

By Pete Heins-N6ZE

The ARRL January 2020 VHF Contest was held on January 18 – 19, 2020. N6ZE/R, operated by Pete Heins-N6ZE and Woodie Woodward-WA6WDY, made just over 250 QSOs on 6 bands from activating four Ventura and Los Angeles county grids. Our 7-hour stint at our Saturday location in the Santa Monica mountains (DM04qb) yielded 150 QSOs.

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February Club Meeting Information

The next regular club meeting is Thursday, February 20, 2020 (always the third Thursday) at the East County Sheriff’s Station’s Community Room, 2101 E. Olsen Rd, Thousand Oaks at 7:30 pm. Talk-in coordination is on the Bozo repeater, 147.885 (- 127.3)

Topic/Guest Speakers – Solar Cycle:  Ken Larsen – KJ6RZ discusses sunspots which have a profound effect on HF radio communications.  HF communications are excellent during solar maximum (lots of sunspots), but not so great during solar minimum when few if any sunspots are visible.  Why is this?  Why do the number of sunspots follow an 11-year cycle?  What are the predictions for the upcoming solar cycle?

Raffle Prizes: Viaboot Rasberry PI 3 Complete Kit – 16Gb, Samlex 250W AC Inverter, Heil Handie-Talkie Headset

Pre-Meeting Dinner: Join fellow club members for dinner at 5:00 p.m. at Junkyard Cafe, 2585 Cochran Street, Simi Valley.

Upcoming CVARC Programs

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Mesh Network Live Demo “Flashmob”

Tran’s mesh go-box, photo taken at the CVARC meeting November 2019

Join us for CVARC’s first mesh network “flashmob” on Sunday, February 23, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the East County Sheriff’s Station’s Community Room, 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks  and outside areas as appropriate.

This event is intended to give CVARC members hands-on experience setting up a wireless mesh network for a public service event or as an emergency communications activity.  

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January Club Meeting Information

The next regular club meeting is Thursday, January 16, 2020 (always the third Thursday) at the East County Sheriff’s Station’s Community Room, 2101 E. Olsen Rd, Thousand Oaks at 7:30 pm. Talk-in coordination is on the Bozo repeater, 147.885 (- 127.3)

Topic/Guest Speakers – High Places Ham Radio – Summits on the Air (SOTA): Scott Hanley -WA9STI will talk about SOTA, which is HF and VHF operation from mountain and hill tops.  Since 2014 Scott has operated ham radio from 200 summits in 24 states and Ireland and has communicated with over 2200 hams from the summits.  He will talk about the radios, antennas, batteries, and hiking gear that he takes on his trips. The talk will also cover the use of APRS, a hiking plan, and the 146.52 MHz Wilderness Protocol. 

Raffle Prizes: TBA

Pre-Meeting Dinner: Join fellow club members for dinner at 5:00 p.m. at Stonefire Grill, 3635 E Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Westlake Village.

Upcoming CVARC Programs