June brings sweltering heat to northern Virginia and a chance for hams to adapt to a new version of Field Day. This month’s ham radio history takes us to the steaming heat of the WWII Solomon Islands and the story of a young ham who used every bit of his Field Day skills to keep his gear up and running while reporting on enemy forces and dodging Japanese patrols. Sydney, Australia native Paul Mason became interested in amateur radio during his school days, becoming proficient at Morse and building his own transmitter in 1936 [1]. Thanks to his work as a plantation manager before the war, Paul had good knowledge of the Solomons and their inhabitants. His background made Mason a perfect candidate … Read more >>
As we commemorate both Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day this month, lets take a moment to recognize some of the contributions made by our fellow hams in uniform. For this month’s vicarious escape from cabin fever, we’ll explore a fascinating but little covered corner of radio history – the role of Joan and Eleanor in WWII OSS secret agent communications. OSS (Office of Strategic Services) entered service as America’s national intelligence agency during the dark days of WWII on 13 June 1942. In addition to its traditional collection and analysis missions, OSS was responsible for covert action against Axis forces. That meant inserting agents behind the lines in Axis occupied territory to link up with partisan resistance groups. Reliable and secure communications with these groups was essential for receiving … Read more >>
As we hunker down in isolation during the current health crisis, many of us are finding our hobby a welcome way to connect with others. Not surprisingly, the press has reported increased public interest in amateur radio. And OVH is receiving new membership applications. Looks like some opportunities for online Elmering may be on the way. How about some other activities to distract from cabin fever? Antennas. A traditional spring sport for hams in keeping with that classic quote “If your antenna stayed up last winter, it wasn’t big enough”. Tell us about your latest design, how well it worked and how you managed to hide it from your HOA. Or, how about your wackiest encounter with an HOA. Exploring new bands. Could we maintain comms across the local area … Read more >>
This is a collection of stories and photos of OVH members during the QSO party. We do not have all of the stories. If you would like your story to be added, please e-mail it to KG4NXT@ARRL.NET. First , our two oldest members operated together. Al, KB4BHB, and Chick, KC1PIA, operated from Al’s house using a 100 watt 2m amp and HF random wire. These guys were both born in 1933 and did a fine job. Next, John, KG4NXT, and Theresa operated from a state park cabin at Lake Anna. John managed to forget a jumper with pl-259 connectors on both ends. He did have a coax with one pl-259. He managed a field expedient for the other end – see photo below. John operated Digital on JS8 mode and … Read more >>
For our cancelled March meeting, Jim Stanley was scheduled to give us a briefing on the Virginia Defense Force. Jim is a Major in the VDF and is also KM4BID. We hope to be able to reschedule his presentation at some time in the future. In the meantime, Jim has sent us his briefing slides. Click here to view the VDF slides
On March 14, 2020, OVH held a VE session. We had a host of people from Maryland and Arlington because several other VE sessions had been cancelled. We had 17 candidates and they earned 10 new technician , 1 new general and 3 new extra licenses. One fellow went from no license to Extra. Three candidates did not earn a new license. The VEs assisting were John, KG4NXT; Al, KB4BHB; Chick, KC1PIA; Luther, WA3FMO; Steve, N4OGR; Steve, KB4OF; Mark , WA4KFZ; George, K4GVT; Byron, AK4XR; and Ray , KM4EKR.
Ladies and Gentlemen, COVID-19 has been confirmed in Prince William County. County officals have canceled all events at county facilities until further notice. In light of this, and to protect everyone’s health; it has been decided that the March meeting has been cancelled. We will continue to plan on having the April meeting as normal and will make any changes as we know how this unfolds. Stay safe. 73 Jay NQ4T
This week we’re experiencing a few days of spring like weather and the ionosphere is teasing us with occasional HF openings into Europe and hopes for an increase in the sunspot number. Speaking of HF, this spring marks another anniversary in radio history. In spring of 1956, Air Force General Curtis LeMay led a flight of several aircraft half way around the world while maintaining continuous HF SSB communications with several Strategic Air Command (SAC) ground stations. Why? As commander of SAC’s newly minted nuclear bomber force, LeMay needed a way to guarantee continuous command and control of his forces. Smaller fuselage designs of faster jet bombers meant smaller crews and no room for a Morse operator. AM’s noise vulnerability and poor talk power weren’t going to hack it. What … Read more >>