Pres Says – December 2024

Time change, cooler weather, shorter days, nuisance amounts of rain, 2 elections, VE session, and Thanksgiving.  Whew!  November was full, and here we are racing through December. Decemberfest is right around the corner!  Instead of our regular club meeting at Grace Lutheran Church, in December we will be having a Decemberfest dinner and celebration at Black Bear Diner in Ventura.  Cost for club members in good standing (paid up for club year 2025), plus up to 1 guest is $20 per person.  Non club members, or attendees above the member+1 guest, will be charged  $39.  We currently have 55 people signed up, doors open at 6:30pm and food will be served by 7pm.  There will be trivia, a slide show of the year’s activities, a gift exchange, and the Monday Night Net raffle drawing!  It will be a fun way to end the year.  If you haven’t yet let us… Continue reading

DECEMBERFEST DINNER 2024

When: December 13, 2024Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pmWhere: Black Bear Diner 2401 E Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001 Instead of a regular club meeting in December, we get together for a dinner celebration. Like we did last year, this year’s venue will be at Black Bear Diner in Ventura. Seating begins at 6:30pm and food will be ready to dish up at 7:00pm sharp.  We will have a gift exchange, trivia, a slide show of activities we did in 2024, and more!  Please dress for the Holidays or ‘Business Casual’ The menu will be the same as last year: Roasted Turkey and Tri-TipMashed potatoes and gravyMixed salad and fruit saladCornbread muffins and dinner rollsGreen beansButter squashSoda, iced tea, coffeeDesserts As mentioned at the club meeting and on the Monday night net, the club is contributing towards the cost of the dinner for club members in good standing (dues paid for 2025). … Continue reading

Pres Says – November 2024

Pres Says – November 2024 Remember when Halloween was far away?  We are now almost a week past it. Remember when Thanksgiving was so far away? It’s just over 3 weeks from now.  Remember when Decemberfest was so far away?  Yeah, that’s coming up quick!  But I am getting ahead of myself. The month of November is important for our club as we hold elections for officers.  So not only do you get to vote for our next President of the US, two days later you get to vote for our club’s next president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and board members.  So far most of the nominees are familiar incumbents, but we have some new folks too running for office..   Current club members (paid up for 2025) are eligible to vote and run for office, and we have 3 ways for you to vote.  #1 – In-person at our November… Continue reading

Pres Says – Oct 2024

It’s October!  We’re in the last quarter of 2024 and we have a lot of holidays in the next 3 months ahead of us.  Weather has been pretty nice, and though I keep hearing about a heat wave coming, so far our temps have been mild.  That said, I can feel that Autumn is here. Speaking of weather, hurricane Helene has demonstrated why 2-way radio, especially ham radio, is still important and relevant. I’ve read the emails and visited links from the ACS/ARES Groups.io page about isolated people and towns, and how ham radio has been the only way for folks to get the help they need and messages sent out.  In preparation for this article, I checked to see if communication was still a problem, and sure enough it still is.  Even though cell providers have deployed mobile cellular nodes, and many workers to repair damaged fiber optic lines… Continue reading

Upcoming Contest and Club Competition: CA QSO Party

Image of Jacques KN6VVQ

Hello all, In case you haven’t figured it out by now with my Groups.io posts or VP Says messages on the K6MEP website, I really enjoy HF contesting. I think contests are a great opportunity to: get on the air without having to worry about rag chewing; find your on-air voice and hone your HF operating skills; figure out what works and what doesn’t work with your station; compete against yourself; work stations in states/countries you might not have QSOs with otherwise; and have fun! Well, we have a great contest coming up for us California stations. The CA QSO Party (CQP) is a little over two weeks away. It starts at 9:00am Saturday, October 5th and ends at 3:00pm Sunday, October 6th (if my GMT to Pacific Time math is correct). Like most HF contests, it’s SSB and CW on 160m-10m (no WARC bands). Now, why is this such a great contest for us… Continue reading

VP Says – Sept 2024

Image of Jacques KN6VVQ

Hello Ventura County Hams, Summer is great: the family is all out of school, we get to go hang at the beach, travel out of town, and enjoy not having to do – or grade – homework. And while I will mourn the passing of the educational summer now that those around me are firmly established back in the classroom, it does leave slightly more time for radio related activities. So, what is on the horizon? Have you been wondering why we are at the peak of the solar cycle with record high SFI numbers, but propagation seems to be… not great? I posted a link to an article by Tomas, NW7US, to our club’s Groups.io page that explains why summertime in the Northern Hemisphere wreaks havoc on propagation. It’s not an overly technical read, and I hope you find it as informative as I did. Why Is Propagation on… Continue reading

Pres Says – Sept 2024

Boston Dynamics Spot with person

September 2024 President’s message Welcome to September – we’re in the last 1/3rd of the year.  Kids are back in school, which should make my commute to work easier, and soon we’ll be seeing pumpkin drinks sold everywhere.  There are only 3 more club meetings before Decemberfest and our last picnic for the year is less than 2 weeks away.  Fall equinox comes just days afterwards, and our days will be shorter than the night for 6 months.  If you’re wondering if you missed reading the August 2024 Prez Says post, you most certainly did.  Of course I helped by not writing one.  I tried no fewer than 3 times but could not muster enough energy or words to complete any of them.  Have you ever had that one project that you just can’t get around to completing?  No? Just me? I am writing this message two days after The… Continue reading

Club Meeting Friday August 9th at 7pm

Hourglass on a beach

Please join us for our monthly club meeting on Friday August 9th at 7pm. Jacques KN6VQ will be giving a presentation on contesting. We will also be talking about club activities through the rest of the year. Please join us in-person at: Grace Lutheran Church 6190 Telephone Rd, Ventura 93003 or via Zoom (details below). Thank you! Dave AI6VX Topic: VCARC August Club MeetingTime: Aug 9, 2024 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/98296525365?pwd=yRaVEYuGH2mwrcWsafPURcaCrSPp5Z.1 Meeting ID: 982 9652 5365Passcode: 452178

Pres Says – July 2024

Hourglass on a beach

Time passes by differently at different stages of one’s life.  When I was still in school, there was school time, then Summer break time.  After graduating from college, there was no more Summer break time – it was work, then the weekend.  Gone were the days when I would have a large block of time off.  Lately, at least for the past 10+ years, it’s been ‘The Holidays’, then the 4th of July. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas go by in a blur, then it’s all over until ‘The 4th’.  And after ‘The 4th’, next thing I know it’s Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas again.  Another trip around the Sun, another year older. It’s all going by too fast for me. Field Day 2024 was so far in the future at the start of the year, and yet here we are already past it by 2 weeks.  What a great weekend that… Continue reading

Field Day 2024 Photos

Field Day 2024 is now in the history books. The Oxnard College location was once again was a nice place to spend 24+ hours with fellow club members and visiting hams. It was great to see everyone spreading out and setting up your stations, helping others, and watching and hearing you all operate. The food was great (thank you meals and menu planning committee folks) and big thanks to the folks at the end that helped tear down and clean up. I believe we left the place in better condition than when we arrived. If you took photos, please share them! You can either email me photos or send me a link to a file sharing location and I can get them up on the website. Meanwhile here’s photos that Robert took during Field Day 2024. Enjoy! Dave AI6VX