Hello Everyone,
With September only a few weeks away, I am reminded that while Hurricane Season officially starts on June 1st , here in the Mid-Atlantic region it unofficially begins in September. 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.
Over the years, the Ole Virginia Hams have had several members completely fry their equipment due to lightning strikes. So, I think it would also be good to review your safe grounding & isolation setups. While depriving you of a good story, it’ll save you a lot of money and (setup) aggravation later on.
Cat’s, KM4PBD head injury
Back at the end of July, Cat, KM4PBD, gave us quite a scare with a misadventure at work. Her metal press failed while she was working with it, and suffered an injury to her head. She was understandably shaken up and went to the hospital to get checked out. Thankfully, it was more of a scary event than it was a serious injury event. And yes, she is doing much better now.
Mini-Tri
Back on July 30th, the OVH supported The Tri It Now – Summer Super Sprint at the Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center in Manassas.
Lead by Andy, KJ4MTP – code named Shadow, we were there by 6:45 AM & gone by 9:45.
As is our custom, we operated on simplex at 147.525. We backstopped this with the W4OVH repeater at 146.970 – PL 100.0.
We would like to acknowledge our volunteers : Mike, KO4BCN; James, KQ4CAX; Lynn, KX4HR; Al, KB4BHB, John, KG4NXT; Ken, KN4DD & David, KG4GIY
I am happy to report we had no incidents.
Berryville
The Berryville Hamfest was Sunday, August 6th from 6 to 3 PM EDT and once again at:
Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds, 890 W. Main Street, Berryville, VA 22611
The Berryville Hamfest had great weather and great attendance. Theresa, KG4TVM and John, KG4NXT saw the following club members: Cat, KM4PBD; Gil, KM4OZH; John, KK4TCE; Bill, AF4LL; David, KD4DEE as well as brand new members Luis, KQ4GBC and Daniela, KQ4IKQ.
Cat was buying tubes for an audio project. We only have one picture from the hamfest which is below. It is a group shot of NVTN net people. It includes Bill, AF4LL and John, KG4NXT.
POTA
The OVH is developing a dedicated group of POTA enthusiasts. The pictures below are from a POTA activation at Lake Brittle by OVH club members.
The members were James, KQ4CAX; Don, WA2SWX; Gene, N4HFW and John, KG4NXT, who is closing in on 2,000 contacts.
James, KQ4CAX made 50 contacts that day. Other guys in photo are Al, KB4BHB; Gene, N4HFW and Don, WA2SWX
ARRL VHF
The results of the January’s ARRL VHF contest are in and once again Gil, KM4OZH is a force to be reckoned with.
The Warrior Bike Ride
The OVH is supporting the 6th Annual Warrior Ride on September 9th, which is only about a month away. We will need about 26 volunteer spotters in total to man this 60-mile bike ride. I know this is a lot of volunteers, but this is a very worthwhile charity and we really need the help. And a big thank you to those of you who have already volunteered and registered.
This will be largely a mobile 50-watt radio event using both the W4OVH repeater and the Bluemont repeater. Some locations will be able to operate using hand-held radios, but that is only in very few locations.
The event will be that Saturday morning from 0600 – 0800 starting (depending on your location through about 1400-1500 (2 – 3PM ending time). Lunch and volunteer shirts will be provided to all.
Go to https://www.bikereg.com/volunteers-warrior-ride and register.
PRESIDENT’S NOTE: This is a FREE event to ham operators. But you must start the registering process from the website, AND THEN SCROLL DOWN UNTIL YOU SEE “HAM OPERATOR”. Select “Ham Operator” only. If you then finish the web form, you will see at the bottom that the cost to you is $0.00!
If you are interested, please contact Andy/KJ4MT via e-mail @ andy@gamponia.com
No triathlons or marathons this month, but will resume September 10th with the Tri It Now “The 14.06”
You don’t have to wait until our in-person meetings to see everyone again; you can come out Saturday, August 12th at 8:00 AM for our monthly breakfast. Pioneered by Byron, AK4XR, we get together every Saturday before our meetings at a table or two in the back of Yorkshire Restaurant for some good food and good conversation.
Yorkshire Restaurant
7537 Centreville Rd
Manassas, VA 20111
(703) 368-4905
Menu: https://www.yorkshirerestaurantmanassas.com/menu/
We hope to see you there.
Our next monthly meeting Tuesday, August 15th
W4OVH Monthly Meeting
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
Buckhall VFD Hall
7190 Yates Ford Road
Manassas VA 20111
Also, a reminder to check in to the OVH’s Thursday night VHF/UHF repeater net at 8 PM.
The details for that are on the OVH’s web site: https://w4ovh.net
This is a great way to stay in touch.
Questions, comments or war stories can be directed to my e-mail: KN4DD@arrl.net
73, Ken / KN4DD