The OVH successfully completed another VE session on Saturday, August 15, 2026. This session was an opportunity for two of the VE team members to learn how to use the new ExamTools system. The exam session was also an opportunity to use our newly printed yard signs. A total of four signs were placed along the parking lot to direct applicants to the rear entrance of the Chantilly Regional Library. A fifth sign was placed on an easel indoors to direct applicants to the exam room. A total of four candidates took the Technician Class exam. Three passed and (sadly) one failed. It was gratifying to have two youth candidates attend our session. Getting kids involved is so important in keeping our hobby vibrant and relatable in our technology-driven world. … Read more >>

President’s Letter August 2026 August started with the Berryville Hamfest. There was a fairly good turnout despite the rain. Theresa, KG4TVM and I saw a number of OVH club members including Rob, KR4EEV; Byron, AK4XR; and Mark, WA4KFZ. See the photograph below. We will have an OVH VE session on August 15, 2026. Setup will begin at 8:00 am and the exam session will start at 8:30 am. The location is Chantilly Regional Library, 4000 Stringfellow Rd, Chantilly, VA 20151. There will be a memorial service for Ken Brant’s wife Paula, on Saturday August 15, 2026, at 1:00 pm. The memorial will be held at the Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 5114 Twinbrook Rd. Fairfax, VA 22032. All OVH members are welcome to attend the memorial. We have the Willing … Read more >>

President’s Letter July 2026 The OVH had a great June with a successful Hamfest and successful Field day the next weekend. Theresa, KG4TVM, chaired our successful Hamfest; we have not had a Hamfest in several years and instead having tailgates. We had good attendance, good table sales and good outside tailgate participation. Importantly, we made enough money to get us through 2026. A huge thanks to all who made this possible. We approached Field Day with a dreadful weather forecast. However, we had very little rain on Saturday and only a shower on Sunday which quit in time for us to take down the antenna without being soaked. George, K4GVT, setup his satellite system and made 13 or so contacts. One negative was that our balloon launch was cancelled because … Read more >>

The weather forecast predicted rain all day Saturday and Sunday. However, it did not rain on Saturday and we only got a few hours of rain on Sunday. Although we had no rain on Saturday it was very cloudy and we had to cancel the the balloon launch because the radio package would pick up cloud moisture.  Also, with the clouds, we did not put up solar panels. We had a lot of OVH members turn out: Theresa, KG4TVM; Byron, AK4XR; George, K4GVT; Wayne, AG4ZZ; Gene, N4HFW; Jay NQ4T; John, KG4NXT;  Butch, W4HJL; Paul, W4ZB; Lillian, KK4WX; Gil, KM4OZH; Mark, WA4KFZ; Scott, KR4BNF and Bruce, KN4GDX. We had many guests this year and the most distinguished guest was George Stewart who is the new Gainesville supervisor. He also visited Heritage … Read more >>