Ventura County Board of Supervisors Declares June “Amateur Radio Month” on June 18, 2024

ARRL Field Day 2024 logo

Waiting for the Amateur Radio Proclamation to be Announced by Supervisor Kelly Long District 3 Chair of the Board of Supervisors Jeff Reinhardt AA6JR Public information Coordinator ARRL – Santa Barbara Section listens as Rob Hanson W6RH Ventura County ACS Radio Officer and Ventura County ARES District Emergency Coordinator speaks to the Board of Supervisors about the Auxiliary Communications Service and Amateur Radio Emergency Service community service. Andy Ludlum K6AGL Assistant Section Manager ARRL – Santa Barbara Section presents details of amateur radio volunteers and projects in the Ventura County community. Jeff Reinhardt AA6JR Public information Coordinator ARRL – Santa Barbara Section presented a slide show about amateur radio and its contributions to the nation as well as our local communities. This slide depicts three club’s Field Day locations and Jeff invited all attendees to come out and see for themselves how emergency communications can be established under field conditions.

Slides From June 14th 2024 Club Meeting

ARRL Field Day 2024 logo

Thank you all for coming out to our club meeting Friday June 14th. We had a good working meeting to go over our Field Day 2024 plans. As promised, here is a link to the slides presented out our meeting. Slide 15 has the details on loading N3JFP logging software onto your laptop. Slide Deck A Zoom invite for our meal planning and N3FJP tutorial will be listed on our club calendar and over Groups.io Field Day 2024 is right around the corner! Dave AI6VX

President’s Message – June 2024

Boston Dynamics Spot with person

President’s Message – June 2024 Field Day 2024 is here! What seemed so far off in the distance is now a mere 2 weeks away.  Our June club meeting will be 100% focused on final Field Day planning.  To help with the planning, and to get the latest information, please try to attend this meeting in-person or over Zoom. Our HF nets are taking off!  The last few 40M nets have been amazing.  Strong signals locally and up and down California.  We even have a non-club member check in regularly from the South Western tip of Utah.  We had 16 check-ins at one of our recent 40M nets, 13 of which were from outside of our area!  If you haven’t been working the HF bands, give it a try!  And don’t be afraid of calling out CQ.  I’ve noticed there seems to be a lot of friendly folks that tune… Continue reading

VP Message – June 2024

Image of Jacques KN6VVQ

Hello Ventura County Hams, Can you believe that we are just over two weeks away from Field Day, how has the first half of this year gone by so fast? Our Field Day Committee has been busy planning all the technical aspects of handling one of the largest turnouts in the country, and we are looking forward to a fun 24 hours of operating at Oxnard College. We started the day with 12 stations last year, let’s try and make it 13 this year! Even if you haven’t attended any of the Planning Committee or General Membership meetings, that doesn’t mean you can’t participate. On the contrary, we would love to have you come out and operate with us! There will be plenty of great food, camaraderie, and on-air time for all. No rig? No problem. There will be lots of radios for you to jump on the air and… Continue reading

Club Project Build May 18, 2024

Club Project Basics demonstration

After the ham exam, held at the Grace Lutheran Church, Dave Schmidt AI6VX and Mark Thompson AE6GD put on a club project build-basics demonstration. John Gartman W6JPG, Chris Dimond KJ6QOP. Burt Auerbach KA6BJA, Larry Gray K6LWG, Ben Holmes, K6QV, Duane Smeckert KO6ACQ and Robert Shank KM6RSS watched Dave demonstrate the correct way to create wire connectors with Anderson Power Poles and saw Mark show the many ways to remove components from a circuit board. Dave also went through the steps of preparing an RG8X-B coaxial for a crimped PL-259 connector. Dave shows how to add an Anderson Power Pole while Ben, Chris, and Mark watch. Mark used several soldering techniques including a solder-sucker, solder remover using braided wire, temperature-controlled soldering iron and a hot air gun. No fingers were burned although some rosin smoke enhanced everyone’s enjoyment of the demonstration. Dave used three cable insulation cutters to obtain the best… Continue reading

Ham Exam held on May 18th

Ham Exam

Our club hosted its second ham exam this year (the first was held on March 9th at the Dudley House); this was the first time we held it at the Grace Lutheran Church 6190 Telephone Rd, Ventura CA 93003. The Church has a lot of parking and meeting room space, great seating and Dave brought the donuts! Six people attended; two received their technician license and two received their amateur extra license. Dave AI6VX (upper left), Larry K6LWG (walking at center), John W6JPG (far right), and Robert KM6RSS (taking the photo), administered the test as Volunteer Examiners with the ARRL as the VEC. Our next exam is scheduled for July 13 (8:30 AM) at the Grace Lutheran Church. All applicants must pre-register for an exam by sending an email to licensing@vcarc.club with your information. We will reply within a day to confirm your spot, and include information on what you will need to… Continue reading

VP Says – May 2024

Image of Jacques KN6VVQ

Hello Ventura County Hams, We continue to creep ever closer to our big event of the year, Field Day! If you haven’t alreadystarted planning what antennas and gear you are going to bring, now would be a good time tostart. We are hoping for another big turnout this year, which means we will all have to worktogether to get as many people on the air as possible. Expect some more updates as the monthprogresses. Last month we had two CQers Club get togethers at Ventura State Beach. The second one wasthe day before the M2B Marathon, which made it difficult for some people to attend. Thismonth I probably only have one weekend day to get out again, so we will tentatively scheduleour next outing for Sunday, May 19th . Keep an eye on Groups.io for more information as themonth progresses. I attended the International DX Convention in Visalia last month… Continue reading

Pres Says – May 2024

Boston Dynamics Spot with person

Welcome to the month of May!  Can you believe that one third of the year has passed?  I for one am glad that the rain is behind us and the weather has been warming up. What did we do in April?   What do we have planned for May? Is there anything else you want to learn at this event?  How to use a multimeter?  Test batteries?  Let me know and I’ll try and add it in. See you guys at the May 10th club meeting!

The Keyer Has Been Retired

Image of an antique morse key, mounted on stained wood

The Keyer has been a monthly Ventura County Amateur Radio Club newsletter containing articles, information on past and upcoming club events, and news about the club and ham community. Written by members, officers, and local hams, this newsletter has been tirelessly assembled by many editors over its 88-year history. Today, with the internet, we no longer have to wait until the next newsletter to provide you with up-to-date information. Within minutes an article or news item can be posted on our new website, and include vibrant photos and clickable links. Because our new website duplicates many of the functions the Keyer provided, the Keyer has been retired. The April 2024 issue was the last one. A big thank you to all the Keyer editors over the years, and especially to Robert KM6RSS – our most recent editor. Your work will live on in the archives. Dave AI6VX