Member Spotlight

June VHF Contests – 2 OVH Winners – Compare & Contrast

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VHF Contest logo

VP – OVH This last June 12th thru 14th saw the ARRL June VHF Contests. The contest began 1800 UTC Saturday and ended 0259 UTC Monday. The Ole Virginia Hams fielded two of the winners, Gil, KM4OZH and Ron, K3FR. Both are Amateur Extras and “of a certain age”. Both started contesting almost immediately after licensing. While similar in their passions for both amateur radio and contesting, their approach is significantly different. Ron is well seasoned, having acquired his novice license in 1959. For this contest he used mostly FT8. By comparison then, Gil is a relative newcomer, getting licensed just 6 years ago. Gil used SSB/phone. Gil, KM4OZH : Gil, KM4OZH, was first licensed in 2015. And as previously stated, gravitated to contesting shortly thereafter. He really enjoys roving … Read more >>

OVH Member scores HIGH on June VHF Contest

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Gil with 80 M mobile for VAQP

Our own Gil Thompson, KM4OZH, came in second as a Limited Rover in our Roanoke division.   The Roanoke division consists of the states of Virginia, West Virginia,  North Carolina and South Carolina.   In addition, Gil came in fifth in the Southeast Region which consists of Delta, Roanoke and Southeast Divisions of the ARRL.   You can find him listed as KM4OZH/R on page 80 of the December 2019 QST. A Limited Rover is limited to the lowest four bands  – 6M, 2M ,  220 and 440.   In addition,  a Limited Rover has the same power limits as the single operator low power category: 200 watts on 6M and 2M and 100 watts on 220 and 440. Gil also operated in the September VHF contest and expects to place high in that … Read more >>

OVH Member Ranks High in ARRL Grid Chase

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Grid Chase Leader Board

Ham radio divides the world into Maidenhead grids defined by latitude and Longitude.  For example,  Manassas is in grid square FM18.  If you look up your own callsign in QRZ, you can find your grid square in the detail tab. ARRL is running a contest to see who can contact and confirm the most grid squares.   This is done by confirming contacts via Logbook of the world.   If you have confirmed contacts in LOTW this year, you will be ranked. OVH Member Jeff Fladling, KM4FTK, has been actively working this contest and now is ranked 10th in Virginia !    He has 776 unique grids confirmed and 3338 QSOS.  Congratulations Jeff !!! The easiest way to accumulate grid squares is the new FT8 mode.    If any one wants assistance … Read more >>