Author Archives: Robert Shank

Ventura County BOS Proclamation: June is Amateur Radio Month

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On June 3rd, local amateur radio operators (aka Ham Radio) were honored with a proclamation from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, recognizing June as Amateur Radio Month. Jeff Reinhardt AA6JR, Public Information Coordinator for the American Radio Relay League, accepted the proclamation and reminded us how valuable these unsung heroes of communication are, especially in times of crisis. John Kitchens NS6X, Santa Barbara AARL Section Manager, also spoke about the value and contribution made by ham radio operators in our county and world-wide.Their motto, “When all else fails, we are there.”You can meet these hard-working volunteers at the annual Amateur Radio Field Day, June 28-29, 2025. For more information you can visit https://www.arrl.org/field-day Ventura County Board of Supervisors and other Officials: You are cordially invited to visit the Ventura County Amateur Radio Club’s FIELD DAY ACTIVITIES (see back of page) AT OXNARD COLLEGE JUNE 28-29, 2025 FROM 11AM ON… Continue reading →

VP Says – June 2025

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This month, during our June 13th meeting, we will have one guest speaker, Geoffrey Dann (N3CFX) who will present QRP. We will also have our Field Day 2025 Planning Meeting, led by Dave AI6VX. Geoffrey Dann (N3CFX) will present QRP. In Ham Radio, QRP refers to low-power operation, typically transmitting with 5 watts or less for CW (Morse code) or 10 watts or less for SSB (voice). The term comes from the Q code “QRP,” meaning “reduce power,” but in practice, it’s about maximizing efficiency and skill to communicate over long distances with minimal power. QRP enthusiasts often use compact, portable radios, like the Elecraft KX2 or Yaesu FT-818, and focus on lightweight antennas for field operations, such as during events like QRP Field Day. It’s a challenging and rewarding niche in amateur radio, emphasizing operator skill and equipment optimization. Geoffrey’s bio: My grandfather was an electronic engineer who worked… Continue reading →

Choosing the Right Handheld Radio (HT) for Emergency Communications From Oliver K6OLI

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During the recent Walk for Kids event, the topic of handheld radios (HTs) came up. Choosing the right HT is crucial for effective emergency communications, and it largely depends on your personal preferences, budget, and intended use. Here are some key points to consider: 1. Usage First, think about how you plan to use your radio. If you primarily operate on 2m/70cm repeaters and occasionally use simplex for local events like Walk for Kids, a basic dual-band HT might be all you need. Analog Radios Analog radios come in a variety of price ranges: Digital Modes LAXNORTHEAST primarily uses analog modes to ensure inclusivity and reach a broader audience. If you’re interested in digital modes like DMR, Fusion, or D-Star, make sure there are compatible repeaters in your area. Most digital radios also support analog 2m/70cm operation. 2. Programming Software There are two main choices for programming software: For HTs… Continue reading →

World Wide Web (WWW) launches in the public domain (propvided by Hanson, Robert – W6RH and Beach, Orv – W6BI

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The Internet itself was first established in 1983.  Tools like ftp, gopher and finger were used extensively. But the World Wide Web, overlaid on top of the the Internet, with  its ease of use, led to its wide adoption as an information source. On April 30, 1993, four years after publishing a proposal for “an idea of linked information systems,” computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee releases the source code for the world’s first web browser and editor. Originally called Mesh, the browser that he dubbed WorldWideWeb becomes the first royalty-free, easy-to-use means of browsing the emerging information network that developed into the internet as we know it today. Berners-Lee was a fellow at CERN, the research organization headquartered in Switzerland. Other research institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University had developed complex systems for internally sharing information, and Berners-Lee sought a means of connecting CERN’s system to others. He outlined a plan… Continue reading →

VP Says – May 2025

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This month, during our May 9th meeting, we will have two guest speakers, John Kitchens (N6SX) and Pat Anglum (N6XTM); both are members of our club. Our first speaker, John Kitchens (NS6X), will present “ARRL Happenings”. John was first licensed in 1966 as WN6UYJ through the Robert E Peary Junior High School’s TRXster radio club, WA6VUA, taught by electric shop teacher Don Ulrey, WA6TRX. John built a 5-watt transistor radio (not tubes-transistors were new) from a schematic in a book, he thinks was titled weekend solid state projects. It worked. That was about 1967. John was licensed as KZ5JS in the Panama Canal Zone, in 1975-76, while in the USAF. He became an Amateur Extra about 1983 for those “extra 25 KCs” for CW contesting. John has been Section Manager for about 10 years and a member of K6MEP since 1981. He is also a member of CVARC, Simi Settlers,… Continue reading →

VP Says – April, 2025

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Our guest speaker for the April 11th meeting will be Dave Schmidt (AI6VX), our club’s President, who will present “Meshtastic”. What is Meshtastic? A short description from Meshtastic.org: Meshtastic® is a project that enables you to use inexpensive LoRa radios as a long range off-grid communication platform in areas without existing or reliable communications infrastructure. This project is 100% community driven and open source! A longer description teaser from Dave AI6VX: Meshtastic is open-source software that is installed onto an inexpensive microcontroller board which, using an on-board radio module, becomes a node that can pass text messages to another node.  A direct RF path between the two nodes does not need to exist!  Intermediate nodes will relay the message, using a routing table each node builds, based on the stations it can hear. This ‘mesh’ arrangement is wholly crowd built, and does not rely on any existing communication infrastructure.  Only… Continue reading →

VP Says – March 2025

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 Our guest speaker for the March 14th meeting was Dr. Ed Fong (WB6IQN). As many of you may know, he is the inventor of the DBJ-1 and DBJ-2 antenna that was featured in the February 2003 and March 2007 QST. His most recent antenna was the TBJ-1 – a triband base antenna that was published in March 2017 QST. His DBJ-1 is a highly effective dual band VHF/UHF base station antenna and the DBJ-2 is the portable roll-up version. The DBJ-2 won the QST Plaque of the Month Award. Both of these antennas are featured in the ARRL VHF Antenna Handbook and also in the ARRL Antenna Classic Handbook. There are over 40,000 of these antennas in use today. About half are used by hams and the other half by government and commercial agencies. Dr. Fong has extensive knowledge of RF design and teaches at UC-Santa Cruz. His students learn… Continue reading →

VP Says – February 2025

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January, to me, came and went very quickly. During the month, our club members and friends enjoyed the following activities: Of course, our club held all of the weekly nets (Monday Night 2m/70cm, Wednesday Night 40m and Sunday afternoon 10m) and were joined by club members, local Ventura County hams, and some “long distant” hams from back East and the Mid-West on our 10m net. Remember that if you act as net control for our Monday Night Net in a given month, you will receive three raffle tickets (up to six if you are net control twice or more during a given month). February brings a number of activities to our club: See you all at the Friday the 14th club meeting (Valentine’s Day) at the Grace Lutheran Church 6190 Telephone Rd. Ventura CA 93003 where Paul Strauss, WD6EBY, will present “Ventura County Repeater Status”. Please bring your ideas, energy… Continue reading →

VP Sez – January 2025

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Happy New Year 2025! As your club Vice President, I will focus on program planning, as well as supporting our president, Dave AI6VX. My first action is to obtain great speakers and topics for our monthly meetings. I have used our groups.io website to reach out to everyone with a poll, asking for volunteers to present. I have also contacted local hams (and YouTubers) directly, who have expertise in technical subjects. Finally, I have contacted various ham-related businesses who have or might want to provide our group with important information. Members Clement Alberts KM6OKZ, Tim Tenopir KN6JGB, Dave Schmidt AI6VX , Phil Cohen WA6BUZ, Mark Thompson AE6GD, Pat Anglum N6XTM, Geoffrey Dann N3CFX, Paul Strauss WD6EBY and John Kitchens NS6X have already volunteered to present, as well as YouTuber Stu AG6AG and businessman (antenna engineering professor) Ed Fong WB6IQN. Additionally, Cory Gibson of DX Engineering is presenting NVIS at our… Continue reading →

The shape of light: Scientists reveal image of an individual photon for 1st time ever

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News in Space.com By Victoria Atkinson Using a groundbreaking new technique, researchers have unveiled the first detailed image of a photon — a single particle of light — ever taken. Researchers in Birmingham have created the first image of a photon, a lemon-shaped particle of light emitted from the surface of a nanoparticle. The theory that made this image possible, reported Nov. 14 in the journal Physical Review Letters, enables scientists to calculate and understand various properties of these quantum particles — which could open up a range of new possibilities across fields such as quantum computing, photovoltaic devices and artificial photosynthesis. Light’s quantum behavior is well established, with over 100 years of experiments showing it can exist in both wave and particle form. But our fundamental understanding of this quantum nature is much further behind, and we only have a limited grasp of how photons are created and emitted, or of how they change through space… Continue reading →