Category: President’s Message

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

Where has 2022 gone!  I cannot believe how quickly 2023 is coming at us. And with that we have the CVARC Holiday Party on December 15^th. The event will begin at 6:00 P.M. at the Best Western Posada Royale, 1775 Madera Road, Simi Valley. It’s a time to meet and socialize with other members and enjoy some great food. There will be a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings as well prime rib, and of course desert.  As I understand, you can go back for seconds! We encourage you to attend. Tickets are $30 per person.  As Zak Cohen-N6PK is so very fond of saying, “we need more people!” Reserve your seats now with Zak at n6pk@cvarc.org. There will be two raffles conducted at the party. 

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

Woah, it has been a hot week. Stay out of the sun, stay hydrated and be prepared for flex alerts and grid and equipment failures.  Where I am in Newbury Park, we have experienced two unscheduled power outages in the past week.  Each outage was greater than 4 hours.

The CVARC General meeting last month was about batteries, solar and emergency power, which was very timely as September is National Preparedness Month. Visit https://www.ready.gov for more detailed information and guides. In the past, Southern Californians have been conditioned to prepare for earthquakes. Well, times have changed and if anything, the last three years have shown us that evacuations due to fires are now a reality. With the aging electrical infrastructure and greater demand, power outages are becoming more common.  

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

The CVARC General meeting last month was awesome! It was about go kits, we had no less than 15 go kits on display. It was great to see all the different kits and talk to the builders.
Thank you to all who brought in your builds.

At our August 18th CVARC General Meeting at the East County Sheriff Station, the topic will be Emergency Backup Power. A panel will discuss several approaches to emergency power including home-brew solar/battery set ups, UPS, and other power storage and generation systems. If your E-power is mobile, bring it to the meeting. It is going to be an interesting discussion. I will be bringing my portable 1700 Wh home brew battery power and describe how I use it both in the home and portable.

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

It’s now July, I have seen my first June bug!  CVARC Field Day 2022 at Lake Sherwood, Saturday and Sunday June 25-26, was well attended by our local officials, guests and many members. Propagation was memorable, it was non-existent. Regardless, a great time was had by all and a special thanks to Mike Felio-K6MJF, Kat Hunley-KK6VQN, Robert Hunley-KK6VQO and Bill Wilcox-KF6JQO, for a most excellent BBQ.  It was a feast for the record books. A big thank you to all who worked behind the scenes to get it all setup and torn down! To Gary Bostrup-KM6DMM, who secured our site, and of course, Martin Hickey-AJ6CL whose excellent work kept us all moving in the same direction. Martin, thank you!

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

It’s June and you know what that means? That’s right, June bugs!  Have not seen any yet, but I know they are out there. And speaking of out there, Field Day 2022 is upon us! Friday June 24^th is setup, Saturday June 25^th and Sunday the 26^th are the operating days. Come out to the Lake Sherwood field and join us. With solar number on the way up, propagation should make for a very memorable Field Day. If you would like to volunteer or participate, please contact Martin-AJ6CL. Check the CVARC.ORG website for more information.

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

It was great to have our March CVARC General Meeting in person at the East County Sheriff Station. The meeting was well attended, and it was great to see everyone. At our April 21^st meeting we will have Santa Barbara Section Manager John Kitchens. The topic will be: ARRL Update: Getting More from Your Membership – a new emphasis at ARRL to enhance member services. Check the website for meeting details.

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

It is with great pleasure and excitement that our CVARC General Meeting will be held IN PERSON, March 17^th, the first time in two years!  I am looking forward to meeting all of you.
The guest speaker will be our very own Bill Wilcox. He will be discussing ways to reduce radio interference on Field Day. Check the CVARC website for meeting details.

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

We had a great start to the new year! Our CVARC January General Meeting speaker was Dr. Jack Nilsson-N8NDL owner and inventor of the COMPACtenna. I have one and find it to be a surprisingly good performing antenna for the extremely compact size of 9 inches!  Several members of the club have purchased the antenna and are getting good results.

Winter Field Day was Saturday January 29^th at Dos Vientos Park. The event was well attended by members and visitors, including two new club members! Thank you to Martin Hickey-AJ6CL for securing the park and seeing that everyone was fed. A well-fed HAM is a happy HAM. Our next event will be the Spring Fling in April. More details will be coming at the next club meeting.  

Happy New Year CVARC members, families, and guests!

I am honored to be your new CVARC President for the coming year. A big thank you to all the 2021 Board Members who worked to keep everything moving forward during this unprecedented time.  With 2021 now in the books (and not a day too soon), the past two years have been unlike any I can remember. When our neighborhoods all but shut down, our ham community stepped up, big time! Whether checking in with members to make sure all was well; to more frequent nets, zoom classes and zoom meetings, our members made a difference.