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The Roanoke Valley Amateur Radio Club (RVARC) is a non-profit, Special Service Club dedicated to the advancement and enjoyment of amateur radio. The club has been serving Southwestern Virginia since 1932. -- The RVARC meets the 2nd and 4th Fridays of every month at 8pm, except June (2nd Friday only), November (2nd Friday only), and December (Christmas party only). -- The VE testing session is the 3rd Sunday of each month at 2pm except June and December. -- The W4CA repeater is located on 146.985 (-) pl 107.2. We have a weekly social net on Wednesday at 8pm. |
Roanoke Valley Amateur Radio Club's 2010 HamFest |
| RVARC will have it's annual Hamfest on July 31st at 8am to 1pm. William Bird Middle School 2910 E.Washington Ave. Vinton, VA. Talkin on 146.985 (-600) T-107.2 Free Parking; Night before dealer setup July 30th 4-7pm Day of show; Setup 6-8am. Hourly Door prizes Main Door Prize First; Yaesu FT-7900 dual band Second; Alinco; DR-135T 2 meter mobile third; Yaesu VX-3R handheld $50.00 cash ticket advance drawing ARRL VE Exams at 11am. Walk in registration Great forums for all to enjoy. Come play Bingo, 10 - 11:30am free- prizes awarded Food concession Admission is $5.00 advance and $6.00 at the door Tailgate is $5.00 Inside Venders with air conditioning is $10.00 for table. Come One, Come All, it should be a very good time! |
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Net Manager |
| The W4CA net is in need of someone to take over my responsibilities as net manager. This "job" is not very work intencive and has it's rewards. The only things you need to do are make sure the net is covered and send out certificates when someone has checked into the net 5 times. If you're interested, give me a shout at 540-651-4072 or russ.abbey©gmail.com. 73 Russ Abbey KG4MAV Net Manager W4CA |
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W4CA Net |
| The Wednesday night net needs a net control operator for the third Wednesday night of the month. This is to replace Doug Moore K4WVS who has been a net control for a very long time. We owe Doug thanks for all he has done for the net and the Club. If you are interested in being a net control please let me know. You can contact me at russ.abbey©gmail.com or on the phone at 540-651-4072. 73 Russ Abbey KG4MAV Net Manager |
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Message from the ARRL President |
| A message from ARRL President Kay Craigie N3KN Dear fellow Amateurs,I am the president of the American Radio Relay League, I live in Blacksburg, Virginia, and I need your help with legislation in Washington that is important to Amateur Radio. This legislation, called S. 1755, the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act," is now under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill passed the U.S. Senate unanimously and was referred to the House late last year. Our Virginia 9th district Congressman, Representative Rick Boucher, serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and is chairman of the sub-committee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. His support is critical to get S. 1755 successfully out of the committee and on to the floor of the House of Representatives before this session of Congress ends.This bill promotes and encourages the valuable public service, disaster relief, and emergency communications provided on a volunteer basis by licensees in the Amateur Radio Service. It tasks the Department of Homeland Security with undertaking a study of the uses of Amateur Radio for emergency and disaster relief communications, by identifying unnecessary or unreasonable impediments to the deployment of Amateur Radio emergency and disaster relief communications, and by making recommendations for relief of such unreasonable restrictions so as to expand the uses of Amateur Radio communications in Homeland Security planning and response.This legislation has support from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. It does not matter what political party, if any, you may belong to. It does not matter whether you intend to vote for Rep. Boucher or his opponent in this year's election. This is about ham radio, not about elections or politics.I have already written to Rep. Boucher about this bill, as maybe you have, but we are at a critical time for this legislation, and more letters from constituents are needed now. That is why I am reaching out for help at this time to some ARRL members in the 9th district.Would you be willing to write a letter to Rep. Boucher now, urging his support of this legislation and telling him briefly about how Amateur Radio is important to the citizens of our district? This letter should be either mailed or faxed to the ARRL's Washington representative, so he can hand-deliver a stack of constituent letters to the Congressman's office. That makes an impression!Here is the address to which your letter should be mailed or faxed:Mr. John Chwat Chwat & Company, Inc. 625 Slaters Lane Suite 103 Alexandria, VA 22314Fax: (703) 684-7594Below is a sample letter that you can customize to suit yourself. We need Rep. Boucher to understand that we are not just a few of his constituents talking about something of interest only to ourselves. We are a few of his constituents who are prepared to serve ALL of his constituents if a disaster occurred here. Please put in a few lines in your own words explaining how you as an Amateur Radio operator serve your community.If you do not wish to write to Rep. Boucher, that is entirely up to you. If you have any questions about the ARRL's legislative program that you would like to ask before writing, the best person to help you is Dan Henderson N1ND, the Regulatory Information Manager at ARRL HQ. His contact information is dhenderson@arrl.org. If we are not personally acquainted and you want to make sure I am who I say I am, Dan can confirm that, or you can contact me at the home phone number shown on page 15 of QST.Thank you for being an ARRL member and for helping get this bill passed, if you are able and willing to do so.73,Kay Craigie N3KN President, ARRL Blacksburg, VA======= Sample Letter =======[date]Representative Rick Boucher 2125 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515Dear Representative Boucher: As one of your constituents in the 9th District who holds an FCC license in the Amateur Radio Service, I am writing to ask for your support for S. 1755, the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Enhancement Act" pending in the Committee on Energy and Commerce. This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to undertake a study on the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio communications in emergencies and disaster relief. It promotes and encourages the valuable public service, disaster relief, and emergency communications provided on a volunteer basis by people like me who are licensees of the Federal Communications Commission in the Amateur Radio Service. * * * Here you could put in an example or two of how you and hams in your area are active in emergency preparedness. Keep it brief and positive, and please avoid any jargon a non-ham wouldn't understand. * * * Please help me and other Amateur Radio operators in our district become better prepared to serve our fellow citizens by supporting this legislation in the committee and again when it comes to the floor of the House of Representatives.Thank you for your attention to this issue.Very truly yours,[Your signature][Your printed name and postal mailing address] |
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Upcoming Events |
| Upcoming Events with W4CA! Well, it looks like summer’s here. Time to get the shack cleaned out so you can escape the summer heat and get on the air. Please support the RVARC by participating in the events listed below. Club Events Our Hamfest is always the “day before the first Sunday in August”. This year that makes it July 31st. Phil Roark K4WFO is the Hamfest Chairman once again, so please direct any inquiries to him. Please see the Hamfest page linked at the top of this website for more details. In August we have a foxhunt planned for the 14th. Pat Lewis N3AYW will be organizing this event. September we have the Blue Ridge Bonanza, a 2 day special event very similar to the Route 66 event, with a number of stations on air spanning the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This will be on September 18 & 19. If you are interested in operating one of the locations, please contact Ron AB4A or Ray AB4YZ. The last event of the year will be the ARRL Sweepstakes contest. In years past this has been operated from Dave KS4BO’s ‘clubhouse’. Hopefully this year won’t be any different. This contest operates on November 20 & 21. Events supported by the RVARC Every year we have several events that rely on volunteers to help with communications. This year is no different. In September we have the Big Lick Triathlon at Smith Mountain Lake on the 25th. Please contact Fletch K4DCF if you would like more information. October 3rd will be the Poor Mountain Hill Climb. This is a bike race up Poor Mountain, and volunteers are needed to act as spotters along the race route. Also in October is the Jamboree-on-the-Air on the 16th & 17th. Please help out with this by contacting as many Boy Scouts as you can on the air. Finally, our last 2 events needing volunteers: The Raleigh Court Christmas Parade on November 20th, and the Salem Christmas Parade on December 3rd. For more information about these 2 parades please contact Ron AB4A. Meetings The RVARC Meets every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month, except June November and December. June and November we will meet on the 2nd Friday only, December we do not meet at all except the annual Christmas Party, on December 4th at the Coach & Four restaurant. Please RSVP in November to reserve your seats. There is also a VE Testing Session every month except June, November and December, at 2pm on the 3rd Sunday of every month at the Red Cross building on Church Ave in Roanoke. Additional classes, testing times and locations may be planned as well, and will be announced as they come up. |
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Finding Contact Information for Other Hams |
| Quite often I get emails requesting contact information for other hams. Several options are available if you have internet access. Phone numbers will NOT be available online due to possible security risks. The FIRST thing I always check is QRZ. Many times this is also the last place I need to check. If it's someone in the club, check the Contacts page linked at the top of the website. A number of club members are also committee members, and their emails will be linked on that page. Also, if you've signed up on this website, you'll see a Members List link to the right. Check there for the person you're looking for. If they're there, you can email them or send an IM via this website. (You may need to login again when accessing the Member's List.) |
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