Our next WVARA meeting will be held in-person on Wednesday, May 8, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose.  Social time begins around 6:45pm, with the meeting commencing at 7pm.  If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.  
This month’s meeting will be a double-header.  Mark Aaker, K6UFO, will bring us up to speed on how to be more effective at FT8 contesting.  FT8 is the most popular mode for daily operation and DX chasing, and this popularity is now spilling into contesting.  While entering a fast-paced SSB or CW contest can be intimidating, FT8 cycles reduce the frantic pace and are great for the contest newcomer.   And learning to contest in FT8 can gain you DX, improve your daily FT8 skills, and develop skips that will help you in other contests.
After Mark’s presentation, I will review the status of WVARA’s plans for Field Day, which is June 21-23.  We’ll be on Mora Hill and having a blast as usual.

BTW, several of us meet nearbyfor dinner prior to the meeting at 5:30pm at Disn-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose):  https://dishdash.com . Feel free to join us.

Three things to remember:

• Since the west side entrance to the Red Cross Building is always locked, we recommend entering the Red Cross Building through the main entrance situated on the north side of the building.

• The Red Cross locks the main entrance at 7pm sharp, so please come early in order to get access to the building.  

• Since Meeting Room 3 is about 100 feet from any entrance, any late comers who knock on an outside door won’t be heard from our meeting room.  So please try to arrive early!  If you need help getting in the door, you can call my cellphone:  408-636-6172.

Jim, K6EI
WVARA Vice President