Pres Says - march 2025
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Welcome to March! Can you believe that it is almost time to change our clocks again?? The above screenshot was taken from shows the hours of daylight each day for the whole year - the stepped offset is where the time changes and the white vertical bars shows our current date.? On March 9 we will set our clocks forward 1 hour. I¡¯ll be happy to have more light in the evenings, and I think this time change will help our 40M net on Wednesday, though 40m conditions have been pretty good this past month. In February we had a very interesting talk from Paul Strauss WD6EBY on his work implementing a simulcast repeater system.? For those that missed it, when complete, Paul¡¯s system will allow you to communicate on one frequency seamlessly anywhere in Ventura County.? You would no longer have to switch between different repeater frequencies depending on location.? This technology is already being used with public service agencies and it¡¯s amazing to hear that we will also have this capability.? Thank you Paul! Also in February, 15 of the 57 ham operators (26%) that volunteered for the Ventura Marathon were from our club!? Thanks to all those that provided communications and assistance for the event.? Organized once again by Burt KA6BJA, everything went smoothly.?? Volunteering to operate at marathons is a great way to put your ham radio skills to use. You¡¯ll learn which repeaters work best for your location, communications protocol, being part of a larger group of ham operators all using the same networked repeaters, using your equipment in a portable setting, being the face of ham radio, and having fun doing it! The next marathon is the Mountains to Beach Marathon on April 13 and Burt is ready to take volunteers.? Are you interested?? If so, or if you¡¯d like to know more about what is involved, contact Burt KA6BJA at bjauerbach@... or talk to him in-person at our next club meeting. What¡¯s planned for March? Club Meeting - Friday March 14th 7pm is our next club meeting where Ed Fong WB6IGN will be joining us over Zoom to give a talk on VHF/UHF antennas.? Many of you are already familiar with Ed, having read his QST articles and/or purchased his antennas.? When I got back into the hobby, I attempted to build Ed¡¯s designs but ultimately purchased his roll-up dual bander, which I carry everyday in my backpack along with a dual band HT.?? Also at this meeting we¡¯re going to kick of Field Day 2025 planning.? Can you believe it is only 3 months away? Picnic - Saturday March 22nd 11am - 2pm we¡¯ll have a picnic and portable radio operations gathering at Grace Lutheran Church in the outside pavilion area. This will be potluck style like we¡¯ve done in the past where the club will provide the fire, meat, and bottled water, and you bring the rest.? Please also bring a radio, antenna and coax and get on the air!? With Field Day only 3 months away, it¡¯s time to dust off what you¡¯re going to use. Signup sheet for food will be at the club meeting and also on Groups.io VE Session - Saturday March 22nd 8:30am there will be a VE session (license testing) at Grace Lutheran Church.? If you are looking to upgrade, or get your license for the first time, drop us an email at licensing@... so we can send you information on what you need to bring on testing day. We¡¯re one of a few local locations where you can test using real paper tests, writing your answer down on real paper answer sheets.? We have modernized the way tests are submitted, so your upgrade or new license will be issued within days of your test, however for those of you that like paper testing, we are your answer. Nets - Our nets have not changed.? The 40M Wednesday net did not change as conditions improved.? 2M Monday and 10M Sunday net are unchanged.? We are still looking for hosts for the Monday 2M net.? If you¡¯re interested, you can sign up for a date by going to this link Note that if you volunteer to host a Monday night net, you will receive 3 raffle tickets that can be used at a future club meeting in 2025. (elected club officers are not eligible) This wraps up my Pres Says for March 2025.? See you all at the March 14th club meeting! Dave AI6VX VCARC President |
