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CVARC Winter Field Day is January 27th

Save the date – Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club will hold its Winter Field Day event at Dos Vientos Park, 4801 Borchard Road, Newbury Park, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday, January 27, 2024. 

The purpose of Winter Field Day is to foster ham camaraderie, field operation, emergency operating preparedness, and just plain on the air, outdoor fun during winter for American, Canadian, and international radio amateurs.  Don’t let those winter doldrums keep you locked up in the house. Get out and play some radio!

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President’s Message

Hello, CVARC Members and Visitors,

Daphne Vandervalk-KN6TXX

First, I’d like to thank you for electing me as the new President of CVARC. I had the pleasure of serving as Vice President in 2023 – the board is such a great group of people! As far as personnel changes, our former President Ed Zimmerman-N6XEW and I have switched roles, as he will serve as Vice President this year. We would like to welcome Huston Herman-KK6WT as our new Member at Large, who will be replacing Phil Bartlett-K6UJO. Thank you to Phil for serving on the board – you are appreciated, and I really enjoyed our conversations.

As much as I’ve gotten to know many of you already, I figured I should start out by introducing myself and give you some background information that will answer some common questions.

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Hand Keys in January 2024

By Norm Campbell – AB6ET

It’s that time of year when hand keys, Morse Code, and the way it was on CW is on the air again.

Every year on New Year’s Day it’s SKN, Straight Key Night sponsored by the ARRL.  Everyone is encouraged to get on the air for the special event, not a contest, simply to talk with others using hand keys of some type. 

Straight keys are considered to be regular hand keys, cootie keys, bugs, and even makeshift keys such as wires, beer can tops, and paper clips.  I know paper clips are used because I talked with John-WI6O who was using just such an arrangement.

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AJ6CL Winner of the 2023 Bosma Award

CVARC President Ed Zimmermann-N6XEW presenting the Bosma Award plaque to Martin Hickey-AJ6CL.

Martin Hickey-AJ6CL has been selected by the CVARC Board of Directors as the recipient of the 2023 Hugh Bosma Legacy Award. Martin was recognized not only for his leadership with club operations and Filed Days, but also for his efforts to foster interest in the club’s MORSE Group and portable operations such as Summits on the Air.

NEW PHOTOS FROM THE PARTY
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Results of the December 10th VE Session

CVARC held a VE session on December 10, 2023. There were 15 candidates, and 13 new licenses or upgrades were earned: 2 Technician, 7 General, and 4 Extra. Among those who earned new licenses or upgrades at the session were:

Donald YatesGeneralKO6COI
David KingGeneralKN6YPH
Charles OhTechnicianKO6COS
Daphne VandervalkExtraKN6TXX 
Gary StarGeneralK6GPS
John BriggsGeneralKO6COJ
Mike MakiGeneralKO6BGB
Albert LiwagExtraAK6EG
Charles RichardsExtraKN6CX
Charles MaslinExtraKD6AEJ
Christopher DimondGeneralKJ6QOP
Marco CarmonaTechnicianKO6COT
Roger KhachatoorianGeneralKO6CNL
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CVARC Members in Action

April Taylor-KN6QQW volunteering at the Camarillo Christmas Parade.
David Arata-KA9WMI recently upgraded his battery box with the addition of two lithium batteries.
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President’s Message

Hello CVARC members, families, and guests!

Ed Zimmermann-N6XEW

It’s December, and we’ve made it through the year, and what a year it has been for CVARC:

  • Welcomed 18 new members
  • Held a Winter Field Day event
  • Hosted two club building projects
  • Continued the Spring Fling Rover Round Up
  • Staged a very successful 2023 ARRL Field
  • Conducted our first club SOTA event,
  • Gathered for the annual club picnic
  • Held two Technician, two General and one Extra licensing class

We had some excellent speakers at our monthly meetings and to top it all off, we are expecting a record turnout for our upcoming CVARC 2023 Holiday Party.    

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Book Recommendation: Ham Radio Boost by Lucien Koch-DH7LM

James Smith-KK6YAM recently picked up a copy of Ham Radio Boost written by a German ham Lucien Koch-DH7LM.

James said “although it is a non-technical book, I think many hams can find it helpful to get some pointers on ham radio, keep motivated to make contacts, and not get drawn down into the nuts and bolts of the hobby. I found that I picked up some great ideas on focusing on enjoying ham radio and not over engineering things.”

James added that “if you find yourself buried in projects and parts as I have, this book can be your way back to being a ham station operator.”

Whether you are an experienced ham or just beginning your amateur radio journey, this book encourages you to try new things, and think differently about the hobby. Koch reflects on his own radio lessons and provides tips and tricks to overcome your stumbling blocks – and bring your ham radio experience to a new level.

The book is available in paperback and e-book formats on Amazon.

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2024 CVARC Board of Directors Elected

The 2024 CVARC Board of Directors was elected by acclamation at the November 16, 2023, General Meeting. Board members serve for a one-year term beginning January 1, 2024.

President: Daphne Vandervalk – KN6TXX

Vice President: Ed Zimmermann – N6XEW

Secretary: Craig Grimm – KD6NFD – (Keith as backup)

Treasurer: Christian Ylagan – K6CAY

Operations: Martin Hickey – AJ6CL

Technical: James Smith – KK6YAM

Publisher: Andy Ludlum – K6AGL

Social: Mike Felio – K6MJF

Education: Keith Elliott-W6KME

Public Relations: April Taylor – KN6QQW

Member at Large: Zak Cohen-N6PK

Member at Large: Warren Wegerer-K6WKW

Member at Large: Huston Herman-KK6WT  

Member at Large: Ron Topolinski-K6CPR

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Field Day Results Published

The Field Day results have been published in the December edition of QST Magazine. And once again CVARC had the biggest operation in the country at 18A. Those of you who worked Field Day probably experienced having operators asking to reconfirm “18-Alpha,” probably thinking they were not hearing correctly. Congratulations to our Field Day Chair Keith Elliott-W6KME, the band captains and everyone who worked so hard to pull off another great Field Day. Above you can also see the results from the other Ventura County clubs. VCARS and Simi Settlers worked at 11A and VCARC was 12A.