Author: Stu Forman

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CVARC Picnic & T-Hunt

The CVARC Picnic and Mini T-Hunt is coming up fast. Bring the family and join fellow CVARC members and their families on Saturday, August 24th from 10 am to 2 pm at Conejo Community Park.

We’re in Picnic Area 1 in the Conejo Community Park.  From W. Gainsborough Road turn right on Jeaunine Drive.  You should see a parking lot on your left across from the Kids Adventure Garden.   Walk down Jeaunine Drive to the picnic area. Click here for a map.

The picnic is partly potluck. CVARC will be serving hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and drinks. Members are encouraged to bring side dishes, snacks, paper goods, etc. If you’re planning to attend, please contact Diane Wainwood-KJ6JEJ to let her know the number of people in your party, and what you plan to bring.

Please also remember to bring your yagi antenna. Bring an extra, if you have more than one. Hope to see you there.

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The Ham Cam

Last month we featured an article by Stephen Terry about his High Altitude Balloon project. The balloon was recently launched. Here are Stephen’s photos from the event. Thank you Stephen!

Anything you want to share? Send photos and a brief description to info@cvarc.org.


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Interested in Emergency Communications?

CVARC is open to anyone with an interest in amateur radio. Our members enjoy building and operating radio equipment and, perhaps most importantly, putting our skills and equipment into use to help our community when needed. 

CVARC has a very active Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) which stands ready to assist authorities by establishing communications when traditional methods become unavailable, as they sometimes do after a natural disaster.  To prepare, CVARC ACS members operate weekly nets, monthly Operational Readiness Training, and provide communications for community events, marathons, and bike rides. 

If you’re interested in training to assist with emergency communications, please contact Zak Cohen at zcohen@ieee.org. 

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President’s Message

“Two Alpha?”  “No, 20 Alpha…  2-0.”  “20 Alpha?!?!  Wow!”  If you spent any time operating as AA6CV on Field Day, you undoubtedly experienced this.  Probably more than once.  We have a lot to be proud of. 

Every year CVARC has a very impressive Field Day operation; the tents, the number of stations, the antenna farm… the BBQ alone was an impressive undertaking.  Working Phone, Digital and CW on eight bands, we made over 1000 contacts in 72 different Sections, 53 States and Provinces, and 15 countries.  Wow!

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A High Altitude Balloon Project

by Stephen Terry- KM6ZXQ

Just before Christmas of 2018, my son told me he wanted a drone for Christmas so that he could send a camera into space and take pictures of Earth.  After explaining to him that perhaps there are more suitable vehicles to achieve this task and admiring how simple getting a camera to space was in his mind, I wondered myself if we could do it.  I mean, how hard could it be?  I knew then that it wouldn’t be as simple as it was to him, and after digging into it I realized it would be a much larger challenge than I anticipated.  This was my welcoming to amateur radio. 

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RF Bonding and Ground Planes

Every cable connecting the components in an Amateur Radio Station can act as an antenna. Differential and common mode voltages and currents in these cables can result in interference and even an RF shock. Stations with more than a few components can benefit from RF bonding and ground planes.

Simply stated, RF Bonding is the interconnection of all the station component chasses with a low RF impedance bonding strap. If the bonding strap is also connected to a ground plane under the station and both the bonding strap and ground plane connect to a ground rod the possibilities of RF shock and RF interference are virtually eliminated.

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