Hundreds of local Amateur Radio operators will work ‘round the clock the weekend of June 28 - 29 to set up field radio communication stations, get on the air, and contact thousands of other operators in the US and Canada as part of participation in the American Radio Relay League’s Field Day.

Ham Radio is the one communications system that never fails, said Rory Eikland of Thousand Oaks, president of the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club. Time and again, Amateur Radio operators have volunteered their skills to assist in times of emergency. Field Day is an opportunity for us to sharpen our skills with ‘real-world’ experience.

Field Day is the annual "shakedown run" for the ARRL’s National Field Organization. Field Day is a way for hams to get outdoors and have fun under some difficult operating conditions, Rob Hanson, a ham operator from Newbury Park says. We use generators, battery and even solar power, and we set up antennas in the field. The idea is to put together a self-sufficient, working station quickly and begin making contacts over a 24 hour period.

The ARRL Field Organization has been effective in establishing emergency communications networks during floods, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes and other major disasters, such as the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and following the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster. Members of formal emergency organizations such as the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) regularly participate. The League estimates that more than 35,000 hams participate in Field Day every year.

The Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club will set up operations in Thousand Oaks. The public is invited to attend.

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 $12 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.

The Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club (CVARC) is forming a class for prospective Amateur (Ham) Radio operators. Classes will begin on June 3 and will run each Tuesday evening from 7 p.m. to 8:45 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints located at 3645 Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks. There is a charge of $20, which covers the cost of the study manual and classroom materials. The class will culminate just prior to a scheduled FCC examination in August. There is no minimum age requirement for FCC licensing. Family members are encouraged to attend, no previous technical knowledge is required.

Interested persons should contact Karl Moody at (805) 523-0622.

The CVARC web site has a new look that should make the site easier and more fun to use. All of the original links and information are still there. In addition, a new technical section has been added which contains technical articles written by local area amateur radio operators. This section will continue to grow as new articles are submitted. Also, the web site home page has the latest information covering current events, activities, and pictures. Visit the web site at www.cvarc.org and check it out. If you experience any problems viewing the site, please contact me at KJ6RZ@arrl.net.

Lake Los Carneros Park in Goleta, CA will be the site of southern California's next international-style on-foot foxhunt on Saturday, June 21. This event is hosted by Scott Moore KF6IKO and Marvin Johnston KE6HTS. There will be five fox transmitters with international-rules timing, plus one or more optional 80-meter transmitters. The main 5-fox hunt begins at 9 AM. Hunters may start any time until 11 AM.

Directions: Meet at the Stow House Parking Lot just off of Los Carneros Road. From US 101 about 8 miles west of downtown Santa Barbara, take the Los Carneros Road exit, head north about 1/4 mile and turn right into the parking lot. There should be plenty of free parking. Look for the orange-and-white orienteering flag. For a map, go to www.homingin.com . For the full article, see the CVARC web page at www.cvarc.org .

Plans are under way for our club's participation in the annual amateur radio Field Day weekend.  Field Day 2003 activities will begin Friday afternoon June 27 and end at noon on Sunday June 29.

Our Board Member-at-Large, Greg Lane K7SDW, has arranged for us to hold Field Day at Byrd Hill in Newbury Park. This will be our fourth year at this excellent site.

Directions [see Map below].  To get to Byrd Hill, take the Ventura Freeway (Highway 101) to the Ventu Park Road exit. Go south (toward the coastal mountains) on Ventu Park to Lynn Road.  Turn right on Lynn Road (west) to La Cam Road.  You will pass East Kelly Rd. and Mapleleaf Ave. before getting to La Cam Road. If you pass Whitegate Rd, you have gone too far. Going west on Lynn Road from Ventu Park, turn left on La Cam Road. It is a small road that may not be marked well. As you go up La Cam, you will come to stone pillars with a metal gate. The gate will be open for Field Day. Go through the gate and up the hill. The road is paved all the way and rather steep.  At the top of the hill the road ends and there are several dirt pads for future home sites.  There will be house trailers on some of the pads.  However, there are three unused pads, two on the right and one up the hill to the left, which Mr. Byrd has allowed us to use for Field Day.

Byrd Hill is a beautiful place for Field Day. Byrd Hill overlooks all of Conejo Valley to the north, Hidden Valley to the south, and you can see the Pacific Ocean and off shore islands to the west. The sunsets over the ocean are great from up there as are the lights of Thousand Oaks at night.  Sometimes in the early morning, around sunrise, Conejo Valley is covered in fog while it is crystal clear up on top of Byrd Hill. If that occurs, the view is awesome, a bright blue sky, Conejo Valley down below a sea of white clouds, and the mountain tops to the north and the west protruding through the clouds like islands in an ocean.

We will begin setting up antennas, tents and equipment, including the CVARC Comm Van and Trailer, Friday afternoon and continuing into Friday evening.  SSB, CW, and digital stations will be set up on 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters.  We will also have stations set up on 6 and 2 meters. A few people may stay on the hill Friday night, although most will return home for a good night's sleep.  The Field Day contest actually begins at 11AM Saturday and runs for 24 hours until 11AM Sunday.  During that time we will work as many other Field Day sites in North and South America as possible.  Many of our stations will work all 50 states, and often Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and perhaps Europe.

On Saturday evening we will have our traditional catered BBQ Chicken and Tri-tip dinner.  RSVP to Jonathan Becker (KC6QOQ) phone 805-371-1333, email kc6qoq@arrl.net by June 15. Or talk to Jonathan at the CVARC general meeting on Thursday, June 12. The cost for dinner last year was approximately $12.50 per person. Our general meeting is also a good time for any of you who want to be operators during Field Day to sign up with me, Tom Stough W0UFC, if you have not already done so. I will be coordinating the Field Day operation activities and I have provided an overview of Field Day procedures (see next article "What Is Field Day?") to help get everyone up to speed.

Visitors, licensed or not, are encouraged to come up to the CVARC Field Day site and join in the fun. ARES/RACES members: please wear your yellow shirts, as we plan to invite the news media. So if you have not already done so, mark the weekend of June 28 on your calendar and come on up to Byrd Hill and join in the CVARC Field Day Activities.

"Field Day is an operating event designed to test emergency preparedness in less than optimal conditions. It is the largest on-the-air operating event sponsored by the ARRL. Field Day gives both experienced operators and neophytes a chance to share new ideas and new experiences. Each year, tens of thousands of amateurs and guests join in the excitement and camaraderie." (June 2003 QST, p. 101)

Just in case you can’t attend the June 12 CVARC meeting, here are a few items about Field Day on June 28 and 29. Come out and have fun with us again!

Abbreviated Field Day rules are published on page 101 in the May 2003 issue of QST. Complete rules may be downloaded from www.arrl.org/contests/forms  CVARC members and any other hams wishing to participate in our Field Day activity need this basic information.

 If you participate at a field day site as an operator, then do not contact that FD station, for score, on your way up or on your return home.  Each FD site is required to list those participating. Your contact with a site at which you participate is not counted in the point score. Calling the FD site to coordinate with the Operations Chair, to find directions to the site, or to obtain other information that is not related to the FD exchange format is permitted.

As Operations Chair, my job is to coordinate and direct the "band captains" in establishing station layout for the event. (Please check the Web site for latest information on where your station will be placed.)  If you would like to be a band captain, please call me at (805) 373-6836 ASAP. You must supply the radio, antenna, operating table and chairs. All operations are at 5 watts battery power. If you need a suitable deep-cycle battery, I can supply up to five units--first come, first served.

However, please remember: antenna setup and teardown is a shared responsibility. For safety’s sake (as well as for camaraderie), pitch in and help erect masts. Teamwork, ladies and gentlemen!

 Be sure to let the band captain know what hours you will be able to operate.  If you want to operate on more than one band, prepare your schedule with each of the band captains so that they can expect you.

The CVARC log sheet is to assist the operator in the recording of the station contacted (call sign) to the dupe sheet.  The dupe sheet is the official entry for each station that is sent to the ARRL along with the summary sheet and other required reports.

 When helping with the log or dupe sheet, be sure the call sign is printed clearly on the dupe sheet where it belongs.  It should be clearly entered in the log sheet so that if someone else takes over the function of transferring the call signs to the dupe sheet they will be able to read it.

The bands we operate are to allow you and your helpers to tune up your listening and reporting skills.  It is hard enough to stay awake for 18 hours, let alone 24, so having enough operators for "shift" changes really helps out.

A typical voice exchange for Field Day is as follows: "CQ Field Day from AA6CV, over." "AA6CV from W0UFC." "W0UFC from AA6CV. Copy 59, Santa Barbara. QSL?" "QSL, you are 59 Kansas." "QSL and 73. CQ Field Day..." CW and data modes follow a similar pattern.

Keep it short when calling CQ. Listen a lot and attempt to give another station a call when you can hear him, especially if he is answering stations in the same "call district."

I will go over this again at the club meeting and answer any questions.  I hope you can attend, as I hope to show one or two short videos about FD that will give you an appreciation of the effort and pleasure in this annual event.

See you at the CVARC meeting June 12th.

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:

The Net Controller’s script for the Area 2 weekly RACES check-in net is on the CVARC website, in printable form. Every member is encouraged to periodically serve as net controller. RACES members should remember that their RACES card is issued for only two years. When your card is due to expire call Jackie at the Office of Emergency Services in Ventura for an appointment to renew your card. Call (805) 654-2551 or toll free from the east half of the county at (800) 660-5474. For packet, call coordinator Dan Dicke KE6NYT (805) 983-1401. To register for Red Cross Disaster Services Classes, call (805) 339-2234 ext 0 Ventura County ARES/RACES web site: http://home1.gte.net/res19999/

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.