President’s Letter for May 2022

by

It’s hot. It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s dry. Repeat. Often. Last winter’s schizophrenic weather just seems to go on and on. On the plus side, we certainly aren’t experiencing the drought the folks out west are experiencing. I am proud to report that The Ole Virginia Hams has selected 2 STEM students for the 2022 Steve Frick Scholarship. Additionally, I am very pleased to announce that for the first time ever, we have two young women as our STEM student scholarship winners. These young people will be present @ the beginning of our May 17th meeting for the award presentation. On May 8th, OVH supported our second Run, Bike, and Swim Mini Tri of 2022. Officially called “The Tri It Now – Ladies Choice”, there were also a number of … Read more >>

Sunshine Corner

by

Happy birthday wishes to our club members celebrating this month – Kenneth, KI4EOH; Lynn, KX4HR; John, KM4VCJ; David, KG4GIY; Bill, WA4FIC; Jack, N4YIC; Carl, KK4ZYX; Craig, WA3UFY; Roberto, KM4RIE; Dick, KM4UXE; Susan, K3SSP; Bruce, KN4GDX; Don, Wa2SWX; Robert, KJ4EOR and John, KG4NXT It’s crunch time! Hamfest is on Saturday, June 4th. Still time to volunteer to help on that day! In addition, tables are still available for inside sales. Please contact our Chairman, Don, WA2SWX if you can help with this event at wa2swxdm@gmail.com. Thank you to those that have already volunteered to help. Field Day 2022 planning meetings are under way; contact Byron, AK4XR for information at ak4xr@dillonelectric.com During the April meeting, Jay, NQ4T, was presented with an award for serving as the club president the last 2 years … Read more >>

Antenna Party

by
Gil KM4OZH and Byron AK4XR put on their climbing harnesses

Ken, Ke2n had determined that our old 2 meter repeater antenna had severe problems after a lot of rain. He ordered a new antenna but had a stroke before he was able to install it. Ken asked for members to come install it. The team consisted of Byron, AK4XR; Gil, KM4OZH; Al, KB4BHB; John, KG4NXT; Jeff, WB4TT and Cat, KM4PBD. Byron had previously climbed the water tower at Mount Pone. The first climb was cancelled because of a death on Byron’s family. On the second attempt, there was some sprinkles in the morning but the climb went on. Cat was unable to help because of work. The antenna was replaced on May 12, 2022 in a job that lasted from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM. The only lunch we had … Read more >>

The OVH Supports “The Tri It Now – Ladies Choice”

by

On May 8th, The Ole Virginia Hams supported the “The Tri It Now – Ladies Choice”, our second Run, Bike, and Swim Mini Tri of the 2022 season. Ladies Choice participants ran the gamut from tweens on up. The Tri It Now events are relatively easy and short events on a Sunday at The Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center, Manassas. The course consists of: Run 1.5 miles – Bike 4 miles – Swim 250 yards. It’s a great way for our Technician Class members to get involved as the only things needed are a Handy Talkie (HT) and a desire to serve for a couple of hours on a Sunday morning. Weather wise, it was not a good weekend, with the official rain tally at 2.02 inches in total @ … Read more >>

Jay NQ4T has China contact on FT8

by
Logbook of the world confirmation of Jay's China contact

Our old President, Jay, NQ4T  got a contact with BG0CAB on 20 M  FT8.   Jay was using a wire antenna and was not using an amp.   The contact has been confirmed in LOTW (Logbook of the World)  as seen in the photo.  Click the photo to see it bigger.  CONGRATULATIONS Jay.

Sunshine Corner

by
March Hamfest planning meeting, held at Sam & Joe’s Pizza & Subs Left to right Wayne N7QLK, Ken KN4DD, Ron K3FR, John KG4NXT, Gill KM4OZH, Lori KC0EWN, Don WA2SWX, Wayne W4HCR, Tony KM4KLB and not seen Theresa KG4TVM (taking photo).

Happy birthday wishes to our club members celebrating this month – Mark, KN4OGC; Shaun, KC9TXL; Harry, KN4IJY; Brian, KK4CBS; Gene, KN4JMB; Gil, KM4OZH; Paul, N4PD; Joe, KI4OHR; Lillian, KK4MXY; David, KI4AZX; Paul, W4ZB and David, KD4DEE. Thoughts and prayers to the family of Ruth, KU4WH.  Ruth was a very active member of our club and held the office of President for 2 years.  She had moved to Strasburg, VA and passed away at home.   No information is currently available on services. Continued best wishes to Ev, the xyl of George, K4GVT as she recovers from surgery. Hamfest planning sessions are in progress, please contact our Hamfest Chairman, Don, WA2SWX if you can help with this event. You can reach Don at  wa2swxdm@gmail.com .  Thank you to those who have already … Read more >>

Sunshine Corner

by
hamfest planning meeting

Happy birthday wishes to our club members celebrating this month – Michael, KO4BCN; David, KO4HIR; Matt, Wayne, N4HCR; Scott, KM4FTD; Gary, K4MRL and Jeff, N1SN. Our new club president Ken, KN4DD will be holding his first club meeting this month! Thanks to Ken for taking over the reins from Jay, NQ4T. Very grateful for Jay’s last 2 years as President and taking us thru the pandemic! Our officers for 2022 are President, Ken, KN4DD; Vice President, Tony, KM4KLB; Treasurer, Don, WA2SWX and Secretary, John, KG4NXT. Thanks to all for your leadership! Reminder – the Virginia QSO Party is on March 19th and 20th. The key is to include the OVH as your club on the log sheet. Anyone that attended our January club meeting was able to see all the … Read more >>

OVH Member Fixes Fortune 500 Company problem with Aluminum Foil

by
George K4GVT with spectrum Analyzer and aluminum foil hat

George, K4GVT has been an engineer for years and recently retired from Cisco. George found himself bored and took on some part time work from a Fortune 500 company that we can not name. This company manufactures chips. These chips start out as silicon wafers and then are processed into chips. The manufacturing process is quite delicate and the wafers are never touched by humans as they process down the assembly line – moved by a track system. George was told that track system was often stopping at one point in the plant. The unintended stopping point was near machines that generate plasma. George knew that the plasma was generated in a chamber using kilowatts of RF. The company has a RF sniffer and it was not registering a problem. … Read more >>