Ken "The Other Ken" Brant

What a difference a year makes.  On December 3rd, the Ole Virginia Hams supported the 76th Annual Greater Manassas Christmas Parade. While just cloudy last year, this year’s forecast called for poor weather. They got it part right. While the weather was gloomy during the preparation phase or setup phase of the parade, the weather did improve as the day went on. John, KG4NXT, Theresa, KG4TVM and yours truly met at the Manassas City Yard at 6:30 AM to collect & decorate the OVH trailer. It was about 50 ° at that time. Overnight and that morning we had about .3” of cold rain, which made lying on the ground to hook up the trailer and electrical just miserable. It was too wet to put a lot of decorations on … Read more >>

Greetings to All, I hope that everyone had a happy and safe Halloween. I was going to say something about leftover candy, as if there would actually be any candy left over. But, never mind. November 11th is Veterans Day. As you probably know, originally it was designated as Armistice Day in remembrance of World War I veterans. It has since evolved in the US to honor ALL veterans of our military services.  So, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of our members who have served, and also all who are currently defending, those who have served, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank You. Our Former VP Jeff, WB6UIE, always a fine writer, has written another enjoyable article for Veteran’s Day, on our website. … Read more >>

and John Heartney, KG4NXT On October 23rd, the Ole Virginia Hams wrapped up its support for the 24th Annual Tri It Now season with its eponymous Tri It Now “SEASON WRAP UP”. There are normally 6 events per season occurring either on a Saturday or Sunday. The OVH usually fields 5 to 8 volunteer spotters. That is, we are there to provide eyes, ears & communication support throughout the event. Normally, we spot riders with broken down bicycles and riders who haven’t trained enough, so they are suffering from sore limbs. I myself took one rider with ankle pains & his bike which had 2 flat tires (related perhaps?) in my truck back to the finish line. In short, usually nothing serious happens. What many of you do not see … Read more >>

It’s October and 2022 is winding down. I’m finding that for me, the cooler night air is “free air conditioning” but honestly, Mrs. KN4DD thinks I’m a bit out of my mind.   Heavy sigh. Last year, I was invited to be part of the 2022 Warrior Bike Ride Executive Planning Committee. At that time, I had no idea how much planning, work & (three county) coordination went into a one day event. It was both a privilege and a pleasure working with these very professional women & men and I learned quite a bit. Additionally, I have some new numbers for the SOWW Warrior Bike Ride that took place back on September 10th, 2022. It took 150 volunteers to support the ride with 1,350 hrs of manpower for event day … Read more >>

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 >>