May Club Meeting

The next regular club meeting on May 20, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. will be conducted via Zoom video conferencing software as we continue meeting remotely to combat the spread of COVID-19. Details on how to access the meeting are below.

Martin Hickey-AJ6CL

Topic – Field Day 2021: CVARC Operations Chair Martin Hickey-AJ6CL outlines the plans for the club’s Field Day.

Continue reading “May Club Meeting”

CVARC Member Aids Sheriff in Finding Missing Hiker

(credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)

A 45-year-old hiker who was reported missing after he texted a friend that he was lost in Angeles National Forest has been found. Ham radio operator and satellite mapping enthusiast Benjamin Kuo, working from a cell phone photograph, helped authorities pinpoint the hiker’s location. View this interesting Twitter thread in which Ben explains how he managed to geolocate the hiker using only the general area and a grainy photograph. 

Source: losangeles.cbslocal.com

Spring Fling Rover Roundup Nets 737 QSOs

CVARC’s Spring Fling Rover Roundup was held Sunday April 11, along with a Zoom meeting hosted by Brad Ormsby-W6VO. It was a three-hour 2M simplex contest that allowed multiple QSOs with the same operators provided at least one of them had changed their location to another 6-digit maidenhead square. Each square you bagged, either as a rover or from home, counted as a multiplier. Several dozen people participated, and 18 submitted their scores during the Zoom meeting. Like all our VHF contests this past year, it was designed so that everyone could be competitive with any license or level of equipment.

Continue reading “Spring Fling Rover Roundup Nets 737 QSOs”

CVARC Spring Fling Set for Sunday!

CVARC is planning a special amateur radio event for the afternoon of Sunday, April 11th

While the pandemic still makes it impossible for us to get together in person, we hope to keep the spirit of camaraderie and togetherness alive among hams in the Conejo Valley with the CVARC Spring Fling.

The idea of the CVARC Spring Fling is to hold a series of events connecting hams over the air and on Zoom.

Continue reading “CVARC Spring Fling Set for Sunday!”

N6ZE’s Report on the Spring 2-Meter Sprint

N6ZE operated for the first half hour of the Spring 2-Meter Sprint in the Santa Monica mountains. Note the brown/orange layer over Santa Monica Bay. This indicated that there was a temperature inversion between Ventura County and San Diego County which served to make 2-meter signals much stronger than usual over the 180-mile path. Three San Diego stations with just handhelds were worked by N6ZE.

By Pete Heins-N6ZE@aol.com

The first of the Spring VHF/UHF sprint events was held on Monday evening, April 5th. As per usual, I decided to operate from a favorite high spot in the Santa Monica mountains for the first half hour (7 P.M. – 7:30 P.M.) of the 4-hour contest period and to watch the setting sun.

Continue reading “N6ZE’s Report on the Spring 2-Meter Sprint”

Have You Seen Me?

I miss my antenna friend. I am a 25-foot telescoping antenna mast, cleverly disguised as a flagpole, and a drive-on antenna mount.

I joined my antenna friend in about 2010 and together we worked hard for the CVARC radio guys and gals at several Field Day events.

But somehow my friend, the antenna, and I were tragically separated.  We miss each other.

Can you please check your garage or storage unit an see if I might be there?

If you find me, please contact either Bill Willcox-KF6JQO, at KF6JQO@yahoo.com or Martin Hickey-AJ6CL at hickmodawg@gmail.com.

Thanks so much,

Masty

Amateur Radio Gets a Partial Reprieve on 3.5 GHz

Pending future FCC action, amateur radio secondary use of the 3.3 -3.45 GHz band segment may continue indefinitely. The FCC decided that “continued access by amateur radio to 3.3 – 3.45 GHz should be allowed while it analyzes whether that spectrum can be reallocated for commercial wireless use.”

The FCC action represents a partial “and temporary” reprieve from the FCC’s December 2019 proposal to remove amateur radio from the entire band, and it makes available an additional 50 Megahertz than an FCC proposal last fall to allow amateur temporary use of 3.3 – 3.4 GHz.

Continue reading “Amateur Radio Gets a Partial Reprieve on 3.5 GHz”

April Club Meeting

The next regular club meeting on Thursday, April 15, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. will be conducted via Zoom video conferencing software as we continue meeting remotely to combat the spread of COVID-19. Details on how to access the meeting are below.

Keith Elliott-W6KME

Topic – Educating Hams: Keith Elliott-W6KME, CVARC’s Education Director previews some exciting new additions to the club’s education program including the Saturday Morning Radio School, a series of short presentations of interest not only to new hams, but also to experienced hams wanting to learn more about new mode or technique.

Continue reading “April Club Meeting”