OVH Club POTA activation

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Jerry KR4EZZ, Al KB4BHB, John KG4NXT, Ted, Theresa KG4TVM

On July 18th, the OVH had a club POTA activation at Conway Robinson State Forest, located in Prince William County, VA. We also invited members from the Heritage Hunt club and two of them came. We had two stations running. The first station was John, KG4NXT, with an end fed, half wave antenna in the trees using Lithium battery power. The second station was George, K4GVT, who ran his portable Delta Loop antenna, which was powered by both battery and solar cells. This was George’s first activation and it was successful with 13 contacts. John also successfully activated with 20 contacts. In addition to the operating, there was also some socializing, which was nice. Theresa, KG4TVM, brought coffee and donuts. The OVH members attending were George, K4GVT; James, KQ4CAX; Al, … Read more >>

President’s Letter for July 2025

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    Hello Again Everyone,   Once again, our busy season is winding down, and it’s been a whirlwind for some time now. On June 28th & 29th, the OVH took part in ARRL Field Day 2025. Under the guidance of returning Field Day Chairwoman Cat, KM4PBD, we had another good Field Day weekend. I look forward to reading our official stats. Despite the humidity and light rain, preparation started the day before, on Friday. Antenna lines were shot into the trees Friday afternoon. We also had our second weather balloon launch (or second and third if you are going to be a stickler for such things) on Saturday. Please see the July 9th article on our OVH webpage for an in depth look as well as great graphics (a … Read more >>

OVH supports 4th of July Firecracker 5K race

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Theresa KG4TVM, John KG4NXT, Jerry KR4EZZ, Al KB4BHB. Greg KM4CCG taking picture

Early on July 4th, the OVH did communication and overwatch at the George Mason University Freedom Center, at Manassas, VA. We watched for safety problems on University Blvd. Helping were Greg, KM4CCG; Theresa, KG4TVM;  Al, KB4BHB; John, KG4NXT and Jerry, KR4EZZ.   Jerry had just received his license grant on July 2nd and showed up with an HT to support the race.  We were released about 10:15 AM.  The sponsors provided race T-Shirts to all OVH members. Those shirts will be distributed at the July OVH meeting. Click the picture for more pictures.

Sunshine Corner

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SUNSHINE CORNER – JULY 2025 Happy Birthday wishes to the following club members:  Jack, KN4HHQ; Steve, KM4WVP; Philip, KI4WCG; Jeff, KM4FTK; Bruce, KN4TS; George, K4GVT; Jim, KB0HSA; Sandy, KM4JUS; Rosalie, KN4ZLY; Jeff, K9VEG; Richard, KJ4ZIH; Luther, WA3FMO; Stephen, KO4GQR and William, WB4KLC!   Field Day – Wow, we did sweat out there, but it was a successful, fun weekend! Tons of equipment, pounds of food, great fellowship and a successful balloon launch. Thanks to everyone that pulled this event together and participated. Parks on the air (POTA) – Are you interested in POTA?  Not sure where to start?  Looking for some tips and hints?   Well, on Friday, July 18th starting at 9 AM and going to 11 AM, maybe 12 depending on participation, several of us will be set up … Read more >>

Field day balloon launches with radio packages

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Bruce KN4GDX ties APRS radio package to Mylar balloon with Byron AK4XR helping

Amateur High |Altitude Balloon (HAB) Launches – W4OVH Field Day 2025  One Field Day bonus is an educational project. At one of the planning meetings, we decided to do a balloon launch with a radio package as our educational project.  We has done one before, but with disappointing telemetry. Bruce, KN4GDX, took the project on again for 2025.  Payloads Planning and Testing Two amateur payloads were planned and prepared for the Field Day 2025 launch.  Launch was planned for ~1500 on June 28 at the field day W4OVH site; and actually occurred at about 1530.  The following description covers the planning, launch activities and tracking of the two payloads. The first payload, from Zachtek, was similar to the 2024 HAB payload launch, which worked while testing, but unfortunately did not … Read more >>

Sunshine Corner

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SUNSHINE CORNER – JUNE 2025 Happy Birthday wishes to the following club members:  Jan, KE4TMW; Ed, KQ4DPP; Jim, KM4SXM; Robert, W4PHX; Seth, WA0FZY; Wayne, AG4ZZ; Gene, N4HFW; Bob, K4HJF; Daniela, KQ4IKQ; David, KQ4BDS; Dana, KM4TTP; Ron, K3FR and William, KO4QDL – best wishes for a great year ahead! We have quite a few of our club members on the injured reserve list for one reason or the other – surgery, sickness, family member health issues – so let’s send healing thoughts to everyone for complete & quick recoveries. The 2025 Tail Gate Event is now in the books. Mother Nature had other ideas that weekend, but we did muscle our way thru. Special thanks to John, KG4NXT, who was the Chairman for this event. Also thanks to the club members … Read more >>

President’s Letter for June 2025

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Hello Everyone, I’d like to start with another apology for the short President’s Letter. My wife’s and my medical issues persist, but I am told by the doctors that there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel. We are close to the end of our adventures. Our 2025 Tailgate Party (in lieu of Hamfest) was back on June 7th  : this year we had a confluence of poor weather. It was humid and we had a persistent light rain and wind, the combination of which kept attendance down significantly. As such, the club’s take was down compared to recent years, however we still managed to turn a profit. Our 2 club photographers, George, K4GVT and Rosalie, KN4ZLY, have once again provided us with many memories. OVH Tailgate … Read more >>

Sunshine Corner

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SUNSHINE CORNER – May 2025 Happy Birthday wishes to the following club members: John, KM4VCJ; David, KG4GIY; Bill, WA4FIC; Carl, KK4ZYX; Robert, KQ4PSE; Craig, WA3UFY; Roberto, KM4RIE; Susan, K3SSP; Bruce, KN4GDX; Don, WA2SWX; Jim, WI4EE; John, KG4NXT; Kenneth, KI4EOH and Lynn, KX4HR.  Hope you have a great year ahead! Sending get-well wishes to Art, W1CRO: he had to spend some time in the hospital.  Hope he is back on his feet soon! Ken, KN4DD, is recovering from his second knee replacement. We hope to see him moving around better, soon. Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms, hope you had a special day to celebrate. Final planning meeting for Tailgate and Field Day will be a combination meeting for both events on Tuesday, May 27th.  The meeting will be at … Read more >>