As I write this, I’m far from San Jose but very much still connected to WVARA and Amateur Radio. I’ll be traveling across the Nordic countries—Norway, Sweden, and Denmark—through most of April, but rest assured, I’ve packed my KX2 and several antennas and I’ve already done a few POTA activations in Norway as LA/KK6IK, and I invite you to listen for me on 20 meters CW and FT8 from the island of Svalbard as JW/KK6IK on April 8, between 08:00 and 17:00 UTC. If band conditions cooperate, I hope to catch some familiar callsigns!
Meanwhile, there’s plenty happening stateside with WVARA this month. Our club continues to grow in energy, participation, and community, thanks to all of you who show up—on the air, at meetings, and for the informal get-togethers.
What’s Happening in April
- April 8 General Meeting: Dave, WR6Z, will be leading a hands-on discussion and demonstration on AllStar. This will be a great opportunity to learn how to connect and configure your equipment so more members can connect on the W6PIY repeater system.
- April 20 “Coffee Take Down”: at Peet’s Coffee (144 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA) in Sunnyvale — always a relaxed, enjoyable time to meet fellow hams, swap ideas, and maybe plan that next activation.
- WVARA Spring POTA Event – April 25. We’ll close out the month with a group Parks on the Air activation at a location to be announced soon. Bring your rig, batteries, antennas and enthusiasm—let’s make this one a big turnout!
Looking Back at a Busy March
March was full of momentum. Our March 11 general meeting had excellent attendance, as Eric, W6HS, guided attendees through MeshCore configuration and duse. We also held our second “Coffee Take Down” on March 23 at Blue Bottle at Santana Row along with a fun mini-POTA activation at Martial Cottle Park in San Jose after coffee.
Importantly, the club membership passed two major votes shaping the club’s future:
- Adoption of the new WVARA Bylaws, paving the way for a more inclusive and modern club framework for now and into the future.
- Approval of a new, larger, more central meeting location, beginning in September 2026 at the West Valley San Jose Public Library, Community Room (1243 San Tomas Aquino Road, San Jose).
Until our summer break, we’ll continue to meet at the Santa Clara Valley Red Cross Building, as usual.
Behind the scenes, your Board has been hard at work, too. We’ve started to reconfigure the W6PIY repeaters to enable for AllStar-linked operations while keeping the ability to have a local communication capability (as well as working to fix the 1.2 GHz machine), centralized club assets in a new storage unit, and created a private WVARA MeshCore channel for members.
Looking Ahead
Mark your calendars: Saturday, May 9, 2026 is our biggest annual fundraiser, the WVARA benefit at the ASVARO Electronics Flea Market. It’s always a fun day and an important support event for the club.
Whether you’re chasing DX, chatting on our repeaters, or hanging out at local WVARA gatherings, thank you for continuing to keep WVARA active, welcoming, and innovative. I may be operating from across the globe this month, but I’ll be thinking of you all on the airwaves. I’ll see you all at the April 25 POTA!
73,
Scott, KK6IK
President, West Valley Amateur Radio Association
San Jose, California