Well, it’s half past September. Cooler weather and less humidity is on the way. I’m a big fan of that. The sun will be going down sooner too. I’m not much of a fan of that, however. And, to borrow a phrase from “The Game of Thrones”, winter is coming. Summer activities are winding down too.  Off of the top of my head, we have 2 Tri-It-Now events, the Manassas Christmas parade and our annual OVH Christmas Party left on 2022’s To-Do List. While I am on the subject of activities, let us not forget that this is National Preparedness Month. I am a huge fan of being self contained. I probably got that from my old man. As a kid, 5 of us, a dog and a parrot (with … Read more >>

Location, location, location.   As a Florida boy, I know that Hurricane Season officially starts on June 1st. However, here in the Mid-Atlantic region, it unofficially begins in a few weeks. Now would be a good time to check your emergency communications equipment, supplies, including batteries. It would also be a good time to verify the integrity of both your antenna(s) and the guy wires. I’m reminded that 3 years ago George, K4GVT suffered a lightning strike around this time. It completely obliterated his antenna & damaged his radios & other electronics. So I think it would also be good to review your safe grounding & isolation setups. Back on July 24th, the OVH supported The Tri It Now – Summer Super Sprint at the Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center in … Read more >>

Finally, our busy season is winding down. It’s been a whirlwind for some time now. On June 25th & 26th the OVH took part in ARRL Field Day 2022. Under the guidance of returning Field Day Chairman Byron, AK4XR, we had our best Field Day in 20 years.  We claimed 5,266 points. Preparation started the day before, on Friday. Lines were shot in trees Friday afternoon, everyone started showing up early Saturday, and we were ready to go long before things got started. We also had the return of the Pot Luck Supper on Saturday; there was no shortage of camaraderie. You can read more about it in John, KG4NXT’s excellent article:  https://w4ovh.net/ovh-field-day-best-in-20-years/ Back on the 4th of July, OVH supported The Freedom Firecracker 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run Mini-Tri … Read more >>

The Ole Virginia Hams once again provided support for a 4th of July “Mini-Tri” marathon for Prince William County, led by Wayne, N7QLK, code named “Shadow”.  As with most of our Mini-Tri’s, this was held at The Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center, in Manassas, VA. Officially titled The Freedom Firecracker 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run, the race was started about 8:30 AM & had about 200 participants. The runners went first, followed by the walkers about 10 minutes later. It was a very colorful event. If you look closely at the photos, while running attire was the norm, tutus (with and without deely bobbers) and patriotic garb were also quite popular. Complementing race officials, we also had a Course Marshal on a bicycle assisting us. At this time, we would … Read more >>