SUNSHINE CORNER – September 2023
Happy Birthday wishes to our club members celebrating this September – Gus, N4MLE; Scott, WB6EFW; Al, KB4BHB; Jim, WE4JJ; Kyle, No Call Sign; Maury, W4HYB; Luis, KQ4GBC; Ron, N4RDZ; Mark, WA4KFZ; Lori, KC0EWN and Bill, AF4LL. Hope you all have wonderful birthdays with lots of candles!
- Special Happy Birthday to Chick, KC1PIA whose 90th birthday was at the end of August.
- Special Happy Birthday to Al, KB4BHB who had his 90thbirthday September.
This is really awesome. Glad you are smiling. I hope you got lots of gifts and fun stuff.
Congratulations Corner: Many thanks to the OVH volunteers who helped the Willing Warriors community with their 6th Annual Warrior Bike Ride back on September 9.
Also, a big shout out for all the OVH Team, below, who helped out at the TRI-IT-NOW held at George Mason University on Sunday, September 10.
Fun times, and all went well, except some riders and runners went off course several times. But helping them get re-routed back to the course is part of the job. Thank you Andy, KJ4MPT, for the doughnuts.
Kudos to John, KG4XT for 2,000 POTA activation.
This is special. That you get to see the national and local parks in the area and get to make contacts is truly awesome. Hope to see more pictures of the parks visited and you and your gear.
Kudos to Gil, KM4OZH, our National Competitor as a rover in this past weekend’s VHF contest. Little birdie told me that he was running up to Pennsylvania and down to southern Virginia to collect multiplier grids. As Gil, KM4OZH, mentioned in latest email – ” …. many thanks for the OVH pileup Sunday evening. Even with poor conditions resulting in lower multiplier count, each 6m or 2m contact was worth 49 points and each contact on 220 MHz or 440 MHz is worth 98 points. Even 1 contact makes a difference. So with OVH’s outpouring I achieved a personal best claimed score of 11,319 …. ” WAHOO!!!!!!!
September OVH Meeting: If you want to know more about OVH, please attend one of our meetings that are held on the third Tuesday of the month. Our next scheduled meeting will be Tuesday 09-19-2023 at 7:30 PM at the Buckhall Volunteer Fire Department, 7190 Yates Ford Road, Manassas, VA 20111. You are welcome to attend without obligation. From the parking lot, you will see a wing wall projecting from the building with signage that reads “Training Room”. The single door to the room where we usually meet is at the left end of the wing wall on the corner of the building. If you are able to attend, we ask you to tell us a little about your amateur radio biography, but only if you are comfortable doing so. OVH is a friendly, welcoming club and we hope you will attend. Our meetings often start with a presentation on a radio-related topic and this may be my favorite part. Please contact Luther, WA3FMO with any questions or concerns.
TRI-IT-NOW: Sunday, September 10, 2023 (Manassas, VA) was a great success with no emergencies and only bikers and runners occasionally going off course. (LOL)
Season Wrap up is Oct 15, See link: https://www.triitnow.com/index.htm and Andy Gamponia at andy@gamponia.com to sign up. The TRI-IT-NOW events schedule should be on our W4OVH web site event calendar to show the remaining 2023 mini triathlons and races. The calendar widget on the right side of our web site will show a link for our upcoming calendar events.
Amateur Events: December, 2023:
Rookie Roundup is a contest aimed at Amateurs licensed for three years or less. This six-hour event is held three times per year (April, August and December). Rookies can contact anybody, while “Old Timers” make contact with only Rookies.
WHEN: Sunday, December 17, 2023, using CW.
WHY: Mentoring is a big part of this event! Please see http://www.arrl.org/rookie-roundup
Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP): October 14, 2023
The SEQP is a typical ham radio contest for those who wish to makes tens, hundreds or even thousands of CW, SSB or digital mode QSOs on 160 through 6 meters during the 2023 and 2024 American solar eclipses. Each QSO will become one of millions of data points which will help researchers answer science questions about ionospheric variability. See Link for more information: https://www.hamsci.org
Concerns Corner:
- James Funkhouser NV4VA has just had surgery, and OVH wishes him to get better.
- Byron AK4XR lost a very close family member on Sunday morning, and it is with our deepest sympathies and condolences.
NET NIGHT: 
Every Thursday at 8 PM, we have the club’s weekly net. Please join us, say hello and hear up-to-date information on club news. See W4OVH.NET web site for details. Having issues with your radio equipment or need help with anything ham radio? This is a great forum to ask questions and hear the latest news on current club events.
Andrea, KI4SXM is providing input to the Sunshine Corner. Please send your information to me at sunnybeach4us9@gmail.com.
Friendly Reminder!!! Happy Ham’in and Enjoy amazing solar activity and summer!
73, Andrea, KI4SXM