June has rolled around again and it is time for another Field Day. For many people Field Day conjures up visions of die-hard operators staying up all night to operate, but it is also an occasion for all Hams to get together and have some fun.

There is, of course, a serious side to Field Day. It offers an opportunity to advertise the hobby to the general public, and also to demonstrate emergency readiness. However (some would say, more importantly) it is also time for the traditional Field Day barbecue on Saturday evening. Many local Hams and their families will be there, so it is a good place to meet (or to re-acquaint yourself with) other Hams.

It is a particularly good time for newcomers to the hobby to join in. Or, if you know somebody who might be interested in Ham Radio, it is an opportunity to show them the hobby. If you like camping then Field Day is a good excuse to pitch a tent for a couple of nights… or to get the Motor Home rolling

The “contest” aspect of Field Day is taken a bit less seriously than other contests. Many Hams who would usually run to 17 Meters at the sound of a contest come out for Field Day. There is time to explain things to visitors, and there are plenty of opportunities for visitors to take the microphone and make some contacts themselves.

This year we are at a very accessible location at the Hillcrest Government Center, on the hill above the Oaks Mall, and just below “Fireworks Hill”. Please join us for the Saturday night barbecue or, if you can’t be there for the barbecue, please at least stop by to say hello.

73… and see you there!

Steve champion, AE6NX

Our June meeting will focus on Field Day 2005 plans. The program will be present by Rory Eikland, KG6HCU, CVARC Operations Chairman with help from Greg Lane, K7SDW (our resident Field Day expert), and others. The meeting will begin at 7:30 PM at the Elks Lodge on Conejo School Rd., with a social session prior to the meeting from 7:00 to 7:30. Hope to see you there.

CVARC hosts FCC License Examinations at 8:30 AM on the second Sunday of even numbered months at the Ventura East County Sheriff Station on Olsen Rd. (near the Reagan Library). CVARC conducts exams for all license classes . Exam candidates must bring a form of government issued photo I.D., the original AND a photocopy of any existing license or Certificate of Exam Element Completion, a Social Security (or government issued Taxpayer I.D.) number, and $14 ARRL VE Exam fee (cash is preferred). No advance reservation is necessary, walk-ins are welcome. Advance notice is needed for special circumstances, such as reading the exam to sight-impaired candidates. If you have any questions, contact CVARC VE Coordinator Jeff Reinhardt at 818-706-3853.

Field Day on June 25th and 26th is quickly approaching! The site for Field Day this year will be the Hillcrest Government Center (the old city hall facility) on the hill over looking the Oaks Mall. The facility is now home to the National Parks Service and the Thousand Oaks Park "&" Rec. Department. We have made arrangements with the City to set up our CVARC Field Day activities in the grass area and upper and lower parking lots shown in the picture on the next page. A map is also provided on the next page showing the location of the facility for those of you who are not familiar with the site.

This should be an excellent location for us in terms of attracting the general public so that they can see what amateur radio in operation and learn about all the things that we do. The City is actually quiet excited about us holding Field Day at this location. By supporting us for Field Day, they are demonstrating to the community their comment to City Emergency Planning. We may even have the City’s Manager of Emergency Services, Mr. Grahame Watts, participating with us in the Field Day activities.

Planning for Field Day is going well. Rory Eikland, KG6HCU, and Bruce Elbert, K6ZB, are organizing the operations aspects of Field Day, lining up band captains, equipment, and antennas. Tom Stough, W0UFC, has made arranges for dinner Saturday evening (see the following article for details), and Jeff Reinhardt is working on publicity.

As in the past, we will be operating low power battery operated radio stations with a maximum output of 5 watts (QRP) to maximize the points that we earn for each of our contacts. Currently we have plans to operate 7 stations during Field Day, but that number could easily grow to 10 stations by the time Field Day arrives.

We will begin Field Day set up Friday afternoon and evening June 24th . We would like to get as much set up on Friday as possible, and Rory promises food and drink to keep us all going. Actually, it sounds like a party to me, So, if you get a chance, come on over Friday afternoon and evening to help with set up. A couple of us may camp over at the site Friday night, just to keep a watch on things. Bright and early Saturday morning we will complete any final set up and testing of stations. Field Day activities officially begin at 10 AM Saturday morning and run 24 continuous hours until 10 AM Sunday morning. As mentioned above and in the following article, we have made arrangements for dinner at the Field Day site Saturday evening. Having dinner at the site has always worked out well in the past. It provides and opportunity for those operating a “hot” band at dinner time to catch a quick bit to eat and to keep on operating to log those points. For the rest of us, it is an excellent time to socialize. The event officially ends at 10 AM on Sunday. If things proceed as they have in the past, we will have all of our antennas down, equipment packed, the area cleaned up, and be leaving the site by noon on Sunday.

The current band captains for the stations that we plan to operate are:

In the past we have also operated 20 meter phone, 20 meter digital, and 15 meters. These stations are currently unassigned for anyone interested in operating one of these frequencies and modes.

During our CVARC club meeting on June 9th, we will be finalizing our operational plans and signing up operators for each of our stations. As in the past, if your schedule does not permit you to sign up as a band captain or operator, you are very welcomed to stop buy the site any time on Saturday or Sunday morning to just say hello and, if you have time, to operate one or more of the stations for awhile.

Check the CVARC web site, www.cvarc.org for the latest details as Field Day approaches.

The City is allowing us to set up our Field Day stations in the upper parking lot (where the buses are located), the lower parking lot (where the cars are parked in this picture), and the grassy aread in front of the lower parking lot. The Oaks Mall can be seen in the upper part of this picture. The T.O. Park and Recreation buildings and the National Parks Service facility extend off the right side of the picture. The top of the Civic Center DRiive is shown to the immediate right of the grassy area.

The Field Day site is at the end of Civic Center Drive. From the Ventura Fwy, exit north on Lynn Road. Turn right of west Hillcrest Drive to McCloud Ave. Turn oeft on McCloud and go a few hundred feet to Civic Center Drive. Turn right on Civic Center and follow it up the hill until it ends in the Hillcrest Government Center parking lot.

Howdy, radio buckaroos and buckarettes! Come to our traditional CVARC Field Day barbeque!  Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm. Cost is $ 12.50 per adult for tri-tip, chicken, beans and all the fixins'.  (An adult dinner will be plenty big enough to share with "lil' dogies".) Catering is by Newbury Park Meat Market.  I will be selling tickets at the June 9 CVARC meeting.  Please bring cash or checks made out to "CVARC".

If you can't make it to the club meeting, please call me at (805) 341-1354 to make meal arrangements. I must have a complete list of everyone who will be joining us for dinner by June 17th so that I can place an order with Newbury Park Meat Market. Y'all come!

During May, I vacationed in England, but naturally managed to briefly get on the air a couple of times despite a hectic tourist schedule

From a Crawley (Gatwick) hotel,  G4DBL, at a distance of about 60 miles, was worked on 2m SSB during a British VHF contest. A couple of other Gs were heard as well as one F station.

Several days later, I briefly went hill-topping about 10 miles South of Stratford-on-Avon and made a number of 2 meter QSOs with hams in Birmingham (about 30 miles away) and a 70cm QSO as well.

Once again, the Yaesu FT-817 QRP multi-mode rig and a 1/4 wave whip were used.

And yes,  Robin, KD6FOT, and I also visited many tourist spots during our nine day 1600 mile driving trip.

73s

N6ZE

Whether you're training for the USA championships in August or just learning how to track radio transmitters for fun, this Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) event at Bonelli Park on June 11 is for you. A ham radio license and knowledge of radio equipment are not required.  Experts will be on hand to teach you the basic techniques of on-foot radio direction-finding (RDF).

If you are a beginner, there will be entry-level two-meter fox transmitters, set by Joe Moell K0OV.  For advanced radio-orienteers, there will be a 5-fox two-meter course of about the same length as typical national championship courses, set by Marvin Johnston KE6HTS. An optional 80-meter fox transmitter will also be on the air.

This event is being held in cooperation with the Los Angeles Orienteering Club (LAOC).  LAOC fees are charged only for the advanced two-meter course.  The beginner course and the 80-meter transmitter hunt are free of charge and e-punch is not required for them.

Participation fee for the advanced course is $5 per individual adult and $3 per individual youth who are LAOC members. Non-member individuals pay $7.  Groups of two to four persons can go out on the course together, in which case the group fee is $7 for LAOC members and $9 for non-members.  LAOC's color orienteering map of the park will be available for your use.  Electronic punching will be used on the advanced course, so bring your "e-stick."  If you don't have one, you can rent one for the day at the start of the hunt.

Bring any 2-meter RDF "sniffing" gear you have.  If you don't have any, just bring your HT or scanner.  Even if you don't have that, come out anyway.  A limited number of RDF sets will be available for loan. Also be sure to bring anything you'll need while going after those radio foxes, such as munchies, bottled water and sunscreen.  Make sure all batteries are fresh.  For map plotting, bring your own compass, protractor and pencil.

Practice 2-meter transmitters will go on the air and registration will open at 9:30 AM.  The beginner and advanced hunts will begin at 10:00 AM.  You may start hunting at any time until 1:00 PM.  There are picnic tables and BBQ grills nearby, so you can bring your lunch or cook up something if you wish.  Courses close at 3:30 PM.

Bonelli Regional Park is near Raging Waters, Brackett Field, and Puddingstone Reservoir.  From the 57/210 freeways, take the Via Verde exit and go east through the entrance to the park.  There is a $7-per-vehicle entry fee on weekends.  Go approximately 1/4 mile beyond the entrance and turn left into the parking lot for the bike rental stand.  Look for the orange-and-white orienteering flag directing you to the starting site.

A map to the site is at www.homingin.com

Results of the two May ARDF sessions are also at www.homingin.com

73, Joe Moell K0OV

Ventura County Area 2 R.A.C.E.S. members are encouraged to check in every Tuesday night at 7:00 pm on the Area 2 Check-in Net. Specific ARES/RACES times and frequencies are as follows:

Net Control operations for the weekly ARES/RACES Area 2 check-in is run from the ARES/RACES communications center at East County Cheriff Station on Olsen Road each Tuesday at 7:00 PM. Visitors are welcome and have the opportunity to operate the station equipment. Contact Jerry Goldman KC6SO ( 805) 241-9187 if you plan to attend. RACES members, should remember that their RACES card is issued for only two years. When your card is due to expire call Jackie ( 805) 646-2551 at the Office of Emergency Services in Ventura to renew your card. For questions concerning ARES/RACES call Area 2 Emergency Coordinator Ken Larson KJ6RZ ( 805) 495-9435 or go to the ARES/RACES secion of the CVARC website at http://www.cvarc.org.

The Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club is an ARRL affiliated Special Service Club. Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month, unless otherwise noted. Meeting location is at the Elks Lodge, 158 Conejo School Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA. Meetings start at 7:30 pm. with a pre-meeting social and technical assistance session, for those who are interested at 7:15 pm. Meetings are open to the public, and members are encouraged to bring their friends.