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QCWA Wants You!
by Vic Culver W4VIC
How many years ago did you receive
your first Amateur Radio license? If your answer is more than
25, then you're in! If less than that magic number, you have something
special to work towards!
 A
quarter of a century or longer in Amateur Radio results in a knowledgeable,
experienced 'ham', ready to offer guidance to others, whether just
beginning or somewhere along the way in this interesting hobby.
The elite organization called QCWA
- the Quarter Century Wireless Association - is ready to welcome
you within its ranks!
Members can be found in 20+ countries
around the globe! Lots of activities take place on and off the air
- awards, certificates, contests, scholarships, luncheons and dinners
to name a few. Many gather annually at the QCWA convention that
is held in a variety of cities, or occasionally, like this year,
on a cruise.
Your local club is very important!
QCWA is unique!
Ever on the watch for the betterment
of Amateur Radio!
QCWA: The Amateur Radio Way
Information about QCWA and QCWA membership
can be found on the
national web site. Local contacts for
QCWA Chapter
119 include our President,
Ron W8RJL
and Secretary, Vic W4VIC.
Local Spotlight
 The
ARRL has awarded
a Certificate of Recognition to George W. Schmidt, WA4GDB, proudly
acknowledging 50 years of loyal membership. The next time
you see George, please thank him for all he does for the Hampton
Roads Amateur Community!
George is an accomplished
instructor and VE, he has dedicated untold hours to the various
regional testing and training programs. Before he retired
and we got George's talents for free, the US Navy employed him in
numerous roles as a Chief Petty Officer and later as a Warrant Officer
in an aviation electronics maintenance and flight capacity.
George is also one of
the few (actually the only) Hams that I know who can make the claim
to have operated CW mobile from a bicycle! Thank you sincerely
for all your time and energy George!
VBARC/CARS Tech Classes Yield
New Amateurs
The
VBARC/CARS
Technician Classes culminated in a test session at the CARS Springfest.
The 6 students were among the testers and did very well! Congratulations
to all of the new amateurs and upgrades from the CARS test session
on Sunday, March 22nd! We look forward to hearing you "on
the air"!
Jim AG4XT & Paul K4PRB would like
to thank all of the instructors and VEs for their continued outstanding
support of the local amateur community!
Fixing Stew’s Antenna
by Zach Butler KJ4EZJ
 After
the tower moving party, Stew K4STW brought Ed KN4KL, Bob N4RAZ &
I, (Zach KJ4EZJ) over to his QTH to assist in the repair of an element
on his beam. We took tools to Stew’s backyard and adjusted
the guy wires for Ed to climb the tower. We also made a harness
with rope and Ed climbed about ½ way up and came back down. We had
a problem... Stew’s tower had rusted through one of the three
supports running the length of the tower! Luckily, it was
a crank up tower and it was in the down position during the storm.
The top section of the tower supported the outer bottom half, and
kept it from breaking in the storm.
 I
learned that you cannot rotate a beam with the break on, as we lowered
the tower and needed to maneuver the beam around some tree limbs.
Stew showed me how while Bob and Ed safely lowered the tower.
We straightened the driven element, which had become loose in the
storm. Then, the tower went back up and we had to lower Stew’s
CB antenna by chopping off the bottom in order for his beam to rotate.
After finishing the
job we all enjoyed a nice cold cup of ice water. Stew thanked
his us all for our help in fixing the beam. He has been working
the world with it and was delighted to restore it to an operational
status! Please have a look at
all of the photos when you can...
Tower Moving
Party
By Ron Young W8RJL
The Tower Crew from left to right: David KF4NMK, Steve
W4XQ, Stew K4STW, Mark KI4VB, Ed KN4KL, Bob N4RAZ, Bill
WA4EUL, Joe KI4RKB, Ed W8NLZ, Barry K5VIP, Al WA4TCJ
& Zach KJ4EZJ. |
On Saturday, March 7th
twelve local Hams worked together to move a 53 foot crank-up tower
from the W9DJQ (SK) QTH to the W8RJL QTH. Joe KI4RKB provided
the trailer and with all twelve Hams helping lift the 550 pounds,
no one so much as pulled a muscle.
The weather was perfect
for the move, as well as were the hamburgers, dogs, and drinks that
followed! After the Tower Crew had their fill of the fair
and some good fellowship, several in the group went to Stew's K4STW
QTH in an attempt to resolve some of his tower/antenna issues.
Please have a gander at
all of the photos when you get a chance!
J-Pole Party
by Zach Butler KJ4EZJ
On Saturday, February 21st, around
one o'clock, people began trickling into Bruce’s house carrying
copper, tools and handhelds. When all were mustered, the crew
consisted of Bruce W7OTQ, Zach KJ4EZJ, Charles KJ4GWD, Jerry KJ4IRN
and Jerry Junior.
 Bruce
supervised, as Jerry² watched and Zach & Charles got to work building
their J-Poles. Zach cut T-connectors which will attach the
two small sides of the J to the largest side (which will extend
down also acting as a mast for the antenna). The mast/ largest
side of the J will be one whole piece for support reasons.
Charles began cutting the copper pipes to length, and once Zach
finished, he helped Charles.
 Zach
measured the spot to attach the T on the mast, and ended up cutting
the pipe there. The experienced supervisor didn’t notice until
all 3 pipes were cut. Luckily, Jerry volunteered to cross
the street and pick up some new t-connectors from Home Depot.
While the Jerrys were gone, we positioned a 40 foot mast to support
a 2 meter base antenna for Bruce's new
IRLP Node.
Jerry & Jerry Jr. returned just in
time for the antenna raising.
 Bruce
got on the roof to steady it; Jerry Sr. and Charles were in the
yard where they pushed it up to Bruce and Zach was in the alley
with the guy wire keeping it straight and lined up. The antenna
went up perfectly and was strapped to the fence below. The
node should be functional any day now. If you would like to
utilize Bruce's Node, you can find him almost anytime on the W4KXV
146.97 repeater in Virginia Beach.
 Charles
and Zach went back to the antennas, and sanded the ends of the pipes
to facilitate a good flow of soldier. They fit the pieces
together and fired up their propane torches. Both antennas
came out really well. Jerry & Jerry Jr. had to depart before
the soldiering was completed. After soldiering a wire to the
back of the SO-239 connector, Bruce attached it with a screw.
They hooked up their antennas to an SWR meter and moved the wire
up and down the antenna in search of perfect SWR. When they
found it, they marked it and soldiered it in place. Afterward,
Zach put on the end caps and the antennas were complete!
 The
antenna building party was very successful. Bruce got his
Node antenna up, and checked into the net with one watt. He was
crystal clear over the repeater and heard by many across Virginia
Beach. Later, Zach put his J-Pole up at about 25 feet, and
checked into the net with 100 milliwatts! He was heard on
the input by many Hams, as far away as 15 miles. After the
net, he worked other stations FM simplex using only 5 watts (many
of which that he previously couldn’t work with 50 watts)!
March VBARC Membership Meeting
by Bernadette Williams KI4VCR
 The
meeting was called to order by President Steve W4XQ at 7:40 pm with
59 members and guests in attendance.
Al WA4TCJ discussed the upcoming
Shamrock
Marathon and the pre-race meeting.
 For
the record, the Shamrock Marathon resulted in a superb turnout and
valuable service provided by VBARC; thanks to the many volunteers
and the superlative coordination by Al WA4TCJ and Tom WS9B!
 Ed
W8NLZ gave a presentation on equipment, antenna's and portable operations.
Ed Demonstrated equipment that he uses on trips, camping or hiking
in the woods. His equipment and antennas are easily set up
and he uses a pull cart to transport everything he is taking on
his hike or trip. Everyone really enjoyed this presentation
and we all got a lot of useful information. Thank you Ed for the
awesome presentation and demonstrations!
The
proposed
changes to the Bylaws were presented for a vote before the membership.
The changes were unanimously adopted and the new
VBARC By-Laws are now available at the
VBARC web site.
The following announcements were made at the meeting:
- If you are interested in Supporting VBEARS (the benefactors
of the local W4KXV '97 and '895 repeaters). Along with membership
comes some additional repeater features, not available to all users.
Please see Linda KI4LO at any VBARC Meeting; dues are 12.00 a year.
- The Wisconsin
Club meets every 2nd Saturday at Gus and George's Restaurant
at 12 noon.
- The Virginia
DX Century Club (VADXCC) meets every 3rd Tuesday at Frankie's
Place for Ribs in Kempsville at 7:30pm.
- The
Virginia Beach Hamfest is closer than you think; start saving
your pennies now! Saturday, September 12th & Sunday September
13th, 2009 at the Virginia Wesleyan College. It should be
a lot of fun, so come out and support the dealers and the local
clubs.
-
Field Day rules are out on the
ARRL website.
VBARC is (once again) looking to its ranks for a starving artist
to create a design for this year's Field Day T-Shirts. The
person who designs the winning shirt will get theirs for free, not
to mention the notoriety and gratitude that comes without mention!
- Don't forget the
Digital
Conversion is coming up in June. The television stations
are still looking for volunteers to help man phone lines and answer
questions. If you can help, please
shoot Steve W4XQ an email.
 -
If you have any ideas for VBARC programs,
John WB4AXY would love to hear them!
- Special event stations: The Pungo Strawberry festival is coming
up Memorial day weekend. If you have any ideas or suggestions
for other Special Event Stations, please
toss Steve W4XQ a line.
Bill Holland WA4EUL won the 50/50. Bill walked away with
$44, and of course VBARC got an equal amount. Not a bad haul
Bill!
HRHams Calendar
Jack Main W4YCZ - SK
Ron Young W8RJL sends
It is with a heavy heart I bring to you the
bad news that Jack Main W4YCZ passed away at 9 PM Saturday night.
I don't have to tell you what a great friend and ham Jack has
been. He will be missed.
The funeral will be held at the First Church
of God, Granby & Bay View, Norfolk, Wednesday, April 1st at 3 PM.
Jack's obituary is now online at PilotOnline.com.
Additionally,
condolences to the family may be left at the Altmeyer Funeral
Home web site.
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