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COVID-19 Impact Updates

MEETINGS: We will meet virtually using Zoom until it is safe to gather at the clubhouse. The club Secretary will send out links to these meetings to club members. If you are not a club member but would like to attend, please use the CONTACT FORM on this website to request the access link.

BERRYVILLE HAMFEST: The 2020 Berryville Hamfest has been canceled.
In response to the safety concerns and various COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club’s Hamfest Committee has decided to cancel the Berryville Hamfest scheduled for August 2, 2020. We tried hard to make it work and surmount all the obstacles, but we could not ensure the quality event our attendees have come to expect. We are sorry to disappoint the many people who look forward to the Hamfest on the first Sunday in August each year. We WILL see you all on August 1, 2021! 

VE TESTING: Our club’s VE sessions will be suspended until further notice—at least until October. Please contact VE Coordinator John Kanode N4MM or leave a message in this Contact form of this website. To find other VE testing sites through ARRL listing, CLICK HERE.

WANT TO JOIN SVARC? CLICK HERE to get more membership information and CLICK HERE to download the club membership application and use this website’s CONTACT page if you have questions.

Please stay safe and follow CDC guidelines.

QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo Aug. 8-9, 2020

A First for Ham Radio!

Challenging times call for creative solutions, and here’s a cool one: an ARRL-sanctioned virtual amateur radio expo with renowned speakers, exhibitors, and special conference rooms built on a virtual reality platform.

Non-geek translation: You can do this from the comfort of your own home (desktop, laptop, tablet, or computer).

Register by July 24, 2020, to receive early bird prize incentives. “Free Attendee Early Bird Tickets.”

Mark your calendar!

August 8 and 9, 2020

August 8, 0100 Zulu (GMT) for keynote speaker, Dr. Scott Wright, K0MD

August 7th and 9th, 1500 Zulu  USA Speaker Tracks start. Check individual Exhibitor Booths for their hours, but most will open at 1500 Zulu on Saturday and Sunday.

CLICK HERE for the amazing line-up of speakers and topics — terrific for those getting started in Ham Radio.

CLICK HERE for exhibitor information and pricing

CLICK HERE for all the details and for links to register.

Sponsors of this event to date:

Platinum Sponsor:

ICOM

Gold Sponsors:

FlexRadio
rtSYSTEMS
DX Engineering
Elecraft
RFinder
GigaParts
RigExpert
NCG Company

Spread the word. This is a great way to support our hobby and become more proficient when we can’t gather in person.

 

Field Day 2020: Thumbs Up!

You can’t keep a good ham down, and that was proven with a great Field Day 2020 at the Clarke County Fairgrounds and Tom Sherwood KW4CW’s leadership. Social distancing and other pandemic precautions were taken, but the Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club was on the air and well-attended, all things considered. We made over 600 contacts!

Thanks to John Foote W3GX for these great photos above and below.  Tom KW4CW has already submitted our results. CLICK HERE to view/download the stats.

Mark your calendars next year for the fourth full weekend in June: June 26-27, 2021.

CLICK HERE for SVARC’s Field Day Page.

CLICK HERE for ARRL’s Field Day Page

Field Day 2020 at Clarke County Fairgrounds
Tom KW4CW at work
Gary K4GJF
Gary K4GJF
Field Day 2020 at Clarke County Fairgrounds

Special Officer Election June 18

After the resignation of our club president earlier this year, that position has been vacant, with Vice President Slater serving as acting president.

Pursuant to the club’s constitution, the board has appointed Ross Slater to fill the president vacancy for 2020.  This was officially announced in the virtual club meeting Thursday, June 4, 2020.  We will conduct an official vote at our next zoom meeting scheduled for 18 June at 7:30pm to confirm the club’s acceptance for this appointment.  All eligible voting members are encouraged to attend so we can be sure to have a quorum. The Zoom link will be sent out before that meeting.

73,

STEPHEN J. PEDERSON, KN4IOU
SVARC Secretary

Field Day 2020 is a “Go”

Field Day at Clarke County Fairgrounds

The club has decided they can safely conduct Field Day this year on June 27-28, even under the safety constraints of a 10-person limit. Because of managing the attendance, please let the club secretary know if you plan to attend and/or operate so a schedule can be set up.

See our website Field Day page for more information: https://svarc.us/field-day/.

For overall ARRL information about Field day, click here: http://www.arrl.org/field-day.

Food will not be provided

Bring your own food, snacks, and beverages. There will probably be a grill if you want to bring hamburgers or hotdogs to cook on it.

For more details, contact Tom Sherwood KW4CW.

Hamvention QSO Party

Dayton Hamvention logo onlyThe Dayton Hamvention for 2020 has been canceled. WWROF, in cooperation with the Hamvention organizers, wanted to create a fun way for people to celebrate the Hamvention experience over the air – the Hamvention QSO Party.

In memory of Ron, W8ILC, who became a silent key just two days after the Hamvention 2020 cancellation announcement. Ron had attended every Hamvention since the beginning.

This is a 12 hour fun event on Saturday of Hamvention May 16, 2020.

CLICK HERE for more info on rules, bands, operating hours, etc.

SVEN and WINFRED ARES Nets Moving to the K4USS Repeater Until Further Notice

If you attempted to join into the SVEN on 3/31 at 7 PM, you probably shared in the experience that resulted in Net Control (and Net Manager Tony, KM4HUE) moving the net to the K4USS Repeater (145.39 MHz) mid-stream. The noise levels at the W4RKC 146.82 MHz repeater receiver when the squelch was open were not able to be overcome with sufficient signal strength to create high enough signal-to-noise ratio to facilitate even minimally-intelligible voice communication at that time. Tony’s quick thinking moved the net to the idle K4USS repeater at 145.39 MHz (minus offset direction, CTCSS tone 146.2 Hz), and several of those attempting to participate in the net followed suit.

Following the net, I discussed the issue with Tony, and then had a conversation with Royce. The consensus is to that until further notice, the SVEN will continue to meet as normal, but with one change – the net will be conducted on the K4USS repeater. The day of the week remains Tuesday, and the time remains 7:00 PM local time. This is expected to be temporary until the W4RKC club repeater can be troubleshot and remediated of whatever ailments it is found to be suffering. The K4USS repeater sits about 3/4 of a mile southwest (down the same ridge) of the W4RKC repeaters on North Mountain, and should have similar coverage characteristics.

Similarly, Dave, KG4BIR, the ARES Emergency Coordinator for Winchester and Frederick County (Virginia) has also opted to move the Sunday night 8:30 PM ET nets to the K4USS Repeater in similar fashion as the SVEN. One thing to remember about the ARES net is that it is on the repeater with one caveat – on the last Sunday of the month, the net is held on a simplex frequency  (147.510 MHz) in lieu of using repeaters.

If you require assistance configuring your personal equipment to access the K4USS repeater, please reach out to me or others in the club so that you might be assisted via e-mail, over the air, or over the telephone. In honoring the idea of not contributing to the risks of the current pandemic, I will politely decline invites to meet in person until such is deemed no longer a high risk activity, and would encourage others to do the same.

Thank you for your participation in this net, and if you are not a net participant, please consider joining us on Tuesday evenings!

73,

Mike – KG4Y (kg4y at arrl dot net)

In Memoriam: Godfrey Miller N8GM

Amateur radio and the Shenandoah Valley Radio Club lost a valued and respected individual when Godfrey Miller, N8GM, died on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. For about a year, he had been taken care of with love and respect at Lake Manassas Health and Rehab long term facility in Gainesville Virginia. Godfrey’s long-time friend and fellow ham, Royce W3IF, stayed in touch with Godfrey after he moved away from Winchester and often reported back to the club on how Godfrey was doing.

Father, husband, friend and Navy veteran, Godfrey grew up in Winchester VA and joined the Navy in 1956. He loved working as a Mass Communication Specialist, Radio Man and traveling the world. His love of amateur radio stayed with him his entire life. Continue reading “In Memoriam: Godfrey Miller N8GM”

Dayton Hamvention Canceled

FROM THE DAYTON HAMVENTION FACEBOOK PAGE:

The Hamvention Executive Committee has been monitoring the COVID19 pandemic. We have worked very closely with our local and state health Departments.

It is with a very heavy heart the Hamvention Executive Committee has decided to cancel Hamvention for this year.

This decision is extremely difficult for us but with around two months until the Great Gathering we felt this action necessary.

More specific details regarding the closure will soon be posted on our website www.hamvention.org.

Thank you for your understanding in this time of International Crisis.

Jack Gerbs
General Chairman HV2020
JackWB8SCT@gmail.com