OVH Members Participate in Emergency Exercise

On November 18,  the city of Manassas and the city of Manassas Park held a joint emergency exercise for their combined Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).   The exercise was held at Osborne High School and involved finding victims in blacked-out rooms and the triaging and transporting the victims. The purpose of the exercise was to use the skills learned in the class room and apply them in a simulated exercise.   The teams checked for bleeding , airway obstruction and shock.   One of the victims was under a table and had a knife protruding from her legs.  Victims were sorted by severity and transported to the medical treatment area. The OVH members who had just received the training and were part of the teams were Ray , KM4EKR,  Sandy, KM4JUS and … Read more >>

A Visit by the PIG

The OVH Pig graced us with her presence at the November OVH Meeting.   She will be part of the OVH float at the Dec 2, 2017 Manassas Christmas Parade.  To volunteer for the parade,  email N4OGR@arrl.net or K4GVT@comcast.net   The OVH Pig in real life is Rosalie Fuller who purchased the outfit at her personal expense.  Thanks Rosalie.

Amateur Radio – a 21st Century Hobby

The following video is posted by the Radio Society of Great Britain and is posted on YouTube. W4OVH member, Jeff Porter recommended the video as an excellent video for our members to view. The video is posted to YouTube via the Creative Commons license and all credit is attributed to the Radio Society of Great Britain 73, Andy, KJ4MTP

Sunshine Corner November

SUNSHINE CORNER Happy birthday wishes to Wayne N7QLK, Kevin KX4KU, Baofang KK4JFK, Theresa KG4TVm, Butch W4HJL, Greg KM4CCG, Jeff WB4TT, Gene KD4RHC, Charlie WA4YGI and Joe AB4QV Happy Veteran’s Day to all our service members, thank you very much for your service. Please continue to send positive thoughts to Butch W4HJL as he continues his recovery, he is back in the hospital in Fairfax this time as of the date of this being written. Condolences to Luther WA3FMO and his family on the sudden passing of his mother-in-law in October. Condolences to Butch W4HJL and his extended family on the passing of his mother-in-law at the end of October. HOLIDAY PARTY – Sunday, December 10th at the Yorkshire Restaurant, starts at 6 pm. Please bring a potluck dish to share. … Read more >>

Presidents Letter

Presidents Letter:   Greetings All, I hope that everyone had a happy and safe Halloween. Oh, all of the left over candy. Are your batteries charged??  Is your radio configured properly??  If not, then this may be the time to ensure they are.  With the weather getting colder, and the recent hurricane season, this is the perfect time to check the functionally of them.  For the newer members, don’t hesitate to ask someone for assistance if you need it. Also, December 2nd is For those that are D-Star folks, stay tuned for updates. I want to pass this along. It is from the ARRL Virginia Section Manager, Dr. Joseph G Palsa, K3WRY. “ SKYWARN™ Recognition Day (SRD) will take place this year on Saturday, December 2 from 0000 until 2400 … Read more >>

VP’s Corner

VP’s Corner Jeff Fuller WB6UIE The approaching holiday season and year’s end are traditionally a time for reflection and giving thanks for our many blessings.  This Veteran’s Day, lets take a moment to express thanks to our veterans – the young ones who are in harm’s way today defending our freedoms, and those who have gone before, sometimes giving all. In honor of Veteran’s Day, here’s an account of some brave WWII vets who put their electronic  knowledge and amateur radio skills to work in an amazing example of extreme homebrew. It begins in 1941 with Wendell Fertig, a recent college graduate on his first job as a mining engineer in the Philippines. Having earned an Army Reserve commission through ROTC, Fertig soon found himself called to active duty as war clouds darkened in the Pacific. Within months Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, followed shortly afterward by … Read more >>

The Making of a full size 160 Horizontal Loop

Jeff Fischer, WB4TT, recently decided to add a 520 foot horizontal loop to his antenna farm. Jeff wanted this to be a homebrew antenna and not an off the shelf antenna. He made his own 1:1 balun rated at a kilowatt out of 12 gauge magnet wire over which he applied a 3M coating for extra insulation. With the help of neighbor, Gil Thompson , KM4OZH, he created  antenna mount points for the trees from hardware store hardware. These mount points are designed to flex with the trees to avoid snapping the antenna wire through metal fatigue. The mounts consists of an 8 inch eye bolt in the tree connected to two pulleys. The pulley connected to the eye bolt is connected to Dacron rope that is a loop to … Read more >>

New Club Member Peaches Attending Club Meetings

So it appears as though I have been remiss in introducing a new recent member to our club that has been attending our Ole Virginia Hams club meeting recently and I thought I would correct my oversight tonight via a post. Almost two and a half months ago, a new Ole Virginia Hams member was introduced at our monthly club meeting by Rosalie Fuller, call sign WIFE to our Vice President, Jeff Fuller, WB6UIE. Rosalie brought Peaches to the club meeting and it appears Peaches had an uncanny familiarity with the club and of course fit right in with our members. Since that club meeting in August, Peaches has been religiously attending every club meeting with Rosalie and cheering on the club in all of its endeavors. Please welcome Peaches … Read more >>