JOTA – Jamboree on the Air

Cat, KM4PBD, supervises morse code practice

On October 19,  OVH supported the JOTA event at Camp Snyder in Haymarket.   Modes included: DStar, 2 meter FM,  FT8,   HF SSB and  QRP SSB on a loop.   Scouts contacted Germany, France, Portugal and Belgium as well as many stations in the U.S.   We also had an oscilloscope on display and morse code keys with sound for the scouts. Duane, KK4BZ,  was on horseback in the battle field and worked many of our scouts on 2 meters.   We do not get a lot of horseback mobiles ! Scout Leader  Rob, W4FSK,  is a member of our club and was our sponsor at Camp Snyder.   We got a scout lunch of hot dogs and baked beans.   Participants included  Rob, W4FSK;  Al,  KB4BHB; Don, WA2SWX;  Duane,  KK4BZ;  Theresa , KG4TVM;  Cat , … Read more >>

Informal Club Shoot

OVH shooters

On October 14, 2019,  a number of club members went target shooting together at the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club.  Since this club is only open to members and guests,  two OVH members who are also gun club members sponsored the rest of us as guests.  Thanks very much George, K4GVT and Phil, AC4PL.   The event was thought up and organized by Cat, KM4PBD. The gun club has several ranges.  We were at one that had a 220 yard rifle range as well as a pistol range and a .22 range.    The 220 range had reactive steel plate targets that fell over as we shot them.   The pistol range also had reactive steel circles that could be reset at the pull of a rope. George, K4GVT, brought his tracking … Read more >>

Sunshine Corner

Happy birthday to the following club members:   Doc W1IMX, Robert KK4MXU, Ray KM4EKR, Scott KB8NUM, Bob KC4TNC and Phil AC4PL Wedding Bells were ringing at the beginning of September for Art W1CRO, congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple! Congratulations to the Club for helping at the Prince William County Half Marathon on Sunday, September 29th.  Wayne N7QLK chaired this event and pulled together over 20 club members to be out on the course.    I was at mile 1 and 12, I did receive many thank you’s from participants for being on the course.   The runners/walkers do appreciate us being there.    Great job everybody! Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is coming up on Saturday, October 19th.   We will be working with the scouts for this event.  Rob W4FSK  presented … Read more >>

VP’s Corner

Cooler temperatures of fall will soon be here and, along with them, the beginning of the holiday season. I’m sure your family, like mine, has some holiday traditions which have been passed down over the years. We carry them on, not necessarily for practical reasons, but as a means of bonding and connecting with past generations. Learning to communicate using Morse code or CW is one such tradition in the amateur radio community. I’m happy to see several of our new hams accepting the challenge. Here are some interesting Morse factoids to encourage you in your studies. Q. Why do hams call it CW? A. CW stands for Continuous Wave, meaning a sine wave produced by an electronic oscillator. The first radio signals from spark transmitters were damped waves occupying … Read more >>

Prince William Half Marathon a big success

handicapped runner

On September 29, The Ole Virginia Hams provided communications support for the 4th annual half marathon which also included a 10 mile and 5K race. Over 1500 runners participated, which gave the community a very visible example of our community service. During the race, we kept track of the male and female race leaders and also kept track of the Tail End Charlies. There were instances of a runner exhausted or down, and we responded and called for transport or medical help, which did arrive. Wayne, N7QLK , was the chair for the fourth time and did an excellent job. We had 22 club members participate. This is over 25 percent of our total club members, some of whom do not live in the area. The members participating and their … Read more >>