Category: Club Projects

When and Where: 9:15 A.M. April 27, 2024  at the East Valley Sheriff Station

Cost: $25.00 Please pay in advance so materials can be ordered. Payments can be made to CVARC at the next meeting on April 18th.

Contact / Sign up: James E. Smith-KK6YAM

KK6YAM@cvarc.org

805-294-3009 Text/Phone if needed.

The 2M Slim Jim Antenna will be constructed with the group, all materials provided. A discussion on the theory will be made and can be seen at the website listed below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-pole_antenna

The design is based on this with a 1inch PVC pipe for stationary self-supporting or can be coiled up for portable use. Will also work on 70cm band but not as efficiently as the 2M band.

By using the larger 450 Ohm ladder line vs the 300-ohm ladder line, this antenna is larger but much easier to construct. The design can be made smaller by using RG-174 coax and 300-ohm ladder line or twin lead, but I found that soldering the coax to the twin lead difficult since multiple locations may be needed to be tried/re-soldered for best tuning.

https://www.hamuniverse.com/ke4nu450slimjim.html

The J-POLE is a dual band, 2 meter and 70 cm antenna. It’s perfect for portable operations and well suited for mounting at home. Best of all,  it takes up very little space! Primarily a dipole, the J-pole antenna exhibits a mostly omnidirectional pattern with an average gain near 2.2 dBi.

The antenna will provide a great improvement in range for repeater access and simplex contacts.

CVARC will provide everything you need, including all the materials and tools needed to complete the project. There will be easy to follow instructions and experts there to assist with soldering, assembling, and testing your new antenna. All you need to do is sign up, show up, cut, and assemble the pieces.  It’s a great project build and a lot of fun.  We even provide you with an overview on the history of the J-Pole and how it works at the build. 

Saturday May 20th 8 A.M. at the East County Sheriff Station located at 2101 E. Olsen Road in Thousand Oaks.

Continue reading “CVARC Hosting J-POLE Antenna Build May 20th”

Join us for CVARC’s first mesh network “flashmob” on Sunday, February 23, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the East County Sheriff’s Station’s Community Room, 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks  and outside areas as appropriate.

This event is intended to give CVARC members hands-on experience setting up a wireless mesh network for a public service event or as an emergency communications activity.  

Continue reading “Mesh Network Live Demo “Flashmob””

Just in time for the spring equinox, CVARC is participating in a science night event at Walnut Canyon Elementary School in Moorpark this Wednesday night between 6 and 8 p.m.

Bill Willcox-KF6JQO has been coordinating the club’s involvement in this educational activity. He’ll be joined by CVARC members Brett Price-KM6VFW, Mike Felio-K6MJF, Stu Forman-AD6SF and Harrison Forman-KM6VGE.

Here’s where you come in. Our team at the school will be monitoring and calling CQ on 40M (7.220 to 7.200 MHz), on the Bozo repeater and on the Amgen repeater. They’ll begin tuning up about 5 p.m. Kindergarten through 5th grade students and their parents will be participating on the air between 6 and 8 p.m. Please monitor or call our team at the school directly. Again, the call signs to listen for are: KF6JQO, AD6SF, KM6VFW, K6MJF and KM6VGE.

Please join in and help us promote amateur radio to a new generation.