Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club
An ARRL Special Service Club since 1970
One of the benefits of CVARC membership is email forwarding. This service is a forwarding (or “alias”) service only. No messages will be stored on our server. E-mail sent to “your call sign”@cvarc.org will be forwarded to the real e-mail address that you provide to us.
Club members who would like to use this service should send an email with their name, call sign and their preferred destination email address to: info@cvarc.org
CVARC is offering free classes to help you prepare for the Amateur Radio License exams. We are currently offering classes for the TECHNICIAN (Entry Level) and GENERAL (Intermediate Level) Licenses.
All classes will be at the East County Sheriff’s Station Community Room, 2101 E. Olsen Road, in Thousand Oaks.
TECHNICIAN LICENSE CLASSES
Classes are held over four Saturdays, September 22, 29, October 6* and 13, from 1:00 – 5:00 PM
GENERAL LICENSE CLASSES
Classes are held over five Saturdays, September 15, 22, 29, October 6* and 13, from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM Continue reading “License Training Classes Return in September”
By Norm Campbell-AB6ET
Each band has its own personality and characteristics. The sun and ionosphere, as well as other factors, cause the HF bands to be different during the day or at night and also at different times of the year. Getting on the air is the best way to find out what works and what doesn’t. Pick a band, get on it, stay with it for a while. Tune around, move up and down across the band. Try different times of day.
HF bands are not quiet and solid copy like VHF/UHF FM simplex or repeaters. It takes a good ear to successfully hear HF signals. SSB has its own sound. CW has its own sound. Mix in QSB, noise, interference, other band conditions, and you have some listening to do to gain skill on HF. Continue reading “Personalities of HF Bands”
By Ben Kuo, AI6YR
“CQ CQ CQ… CQ Summits on the Air, Summits on the Air… This is Alpha India Six Yankee Romeo, calling Summits on The Air…”
There I was, standing on the peak of the highest point in New England, Mt. Washington, known for some of the worst weather in the world, braving at least a 40 mph wind in forty degree weather and not making any contacts. The peak, the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River, sits at 6,288 feet, and is known for one of the fastest wind speeds ever recorded on the surface of the Earth, 231 miles per hour, recorded in April 12, 1934. The peak is also well known for being on the Appalachian Trail. Continue reading “Amateur Radio and Mt. Washington: The Highest, Coldest Point in New England”
By Andy Ludlum-K6AGL
Many hams have found the low-priced radios from China like the Baofeng UV-5R hard to resist. Seriously, who doesn’t have room for one more HT if it costs less than $30?
The delight of having a new radio to play with quickly turns to despair when you take a look at what passes as an owner’s manual. Programming a frequency into one of the memories is not easy, because the procedure is not described in the manual.
Continue reading “Programming a Baofeng UV-5R”Save the date! Saturday, October 6th will be the next CVARC Mini Field Day & Picnic. NEW LOCATION: Dos Vientos Community Park, 4801 Borchard Rd., Newbury Park).
This is a great opportunity to enjoy some operating, as well as food and socializing. This is the time to try a new mode or play with a new antenna configuration. For new hams, this is also a great opportunity to check out other people’s equipment and ask questions.
Band conditions permitting, there should be some activity on the air, as October 6 begins the 53rd annual California QSO Party. Come on out. All are welcome!
The next regular club meeting is Thursday, August 16, 2018 (always the third Thursday) at the East County Sheriff’s Station’s Community Room 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks at 7:30 pm.
Talk-in coordination is on the Bozo repeater, 147.885 ( – 127.3).
Topic/Guest Speaker: “I Just Got My Amateur Radio License…Now What?” Stu Sheldon-AG6AG continues our theme of providing information for newly licensed Hams. Stu offers common sense advice on a variety to topics from buying the right radio, setting up antennas as well as suggestions on activities where you can put your new ham privileges to good use. And as always, CVARC elmers will chip in with their best tips.
Raffle Prizes: Viaboot Rasberry PI 3 Complete Kit – 16Gb, Arduino Projects for Amateur Radio, Heil Handie-Talkie Headset
Pre-Meeting Dinner: Join fellow club members for a pre-meeting dinner, at 5:00 pm, at Don Cuco Mexican Restaurant, 254 W. Los Angeles Avenue, Moorpark, (805) 523-2261
As some of you may know, a few of us have been working with the family of the late Terry Graves (K7FE/sk) to find new homes for many of his Amateur Radio and engineering treasures, while at the same time trying to recover some much-needed revenue for the family. To that end, in May, 2017, we published the first list (i.e., Rev. 1.0) of “For Sale” items for your review and consideration. We will try to keep the list as current and accurate as possible, dropping items that are either PENDING SALE or SOLD, refining item information as appropriate, and adding items as they become available. Items currently available for purchase are listed at http://terrygraves.org
