Category Archives: News

70th International DX Convention

The 70th International DX Convention in Visalia is coming up soon:  April 12-14, 2019.
Online pre-registration closes this Saturday, March 30th at 5:00 PM PDT.  If you register before the deadline, we’ll have your nice registration packet waiting for you in Visalia and you’ll be eligible for a special pre-registration prize.
Currently 558 avid DXers (and contesters) have pre-registered for IDXC, including 40 DX visitors and 79 first-time attendees. http://www.dxconvention.com/pages/attendees.html
Why do folks attend IDXC?
• Learn something new 
• See the latest ham radio gear
• Get QSL cards checked
• Meet a famous DXpeditoner
• Take home a nice raffle prize
• Operate the special event station
• Experience the latest hotel cuisine : >)
• Eyeball QSOs: just happy to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones
Raffle prizes ?  Check out this awesome list — pure Eye Candy.http://www.dxconvention.com/pages/prizes-major.html
Go for it.  Pre-Register now:  http://www.dxconvention.com/pages/registration.html
Hope to CU there !
73, John Miller, K6MM
Rich Seifert, KE1B
Co-Chairs, IDXC 2019

Electronics Flea Market

I want to alert all of you that the Electronics Flea Market season is starting very soon.

We have received an agreement from Fry’s Electronics to hold the flea market at their Sunnyvale location again for 2019.

We have looked at the costs for 2019 and determined that the fee for this season will be $600 per event. You should use this number for planning and budgeting purposes. We will begin sending out the official invoices to the first groups early next week once the ASVARO board has approved it.

The following is the planned schedule for the flea market in 2019:

2019 Schedule – Electronics Flea Market

Saturday Mar.   9Flea Market – Hosted by Palo Alto Amateur Radio Association. 
Saturday Apr.  13Flea Market – Hosted by South Peninsula Amateur Radio Klub. 
Saturday May  11Flea Market – Hosted by Santa Clara County Amateur Radio Association. 
Saturday June   8Flea Market – Hosted by Southern Peninsula Emergency Communications System. 
Saturday July  13Flea Market – Hosted by Foothills Amateur Radio Society. 
Saturday Aug. 10Flea Market – Hosted by Silicon Valley Emergency Communications System. 
Saturday Sep.  14Flea Market – Hosted by West Valley Amateur Radio Association. 

— Mikel Lechner
ASVARO

February 13 Meeting

Tonight, Wednesday February 13th, we will be having, via Zoom, Dave Casler, telling us about Digital HF Modes!

Dave’s Biography is in the Het, And he has Hundreds Of Presentations on UTUBE, covering Topics from your 1st Station, To courses on Technician, General and Extra Licenses, helpings Thousands Of People Get Their licences!

I’m Sure that we’ll All enjoy and Learn from Dave’s Presentation Tonight!

I’ll look forward to seeing you at tonight’s meeting!

Many will be at Dish-n-Dash for pre-meeting dinner.

Amateur Radio Annual Winter Banquet (sponsored by FARS)

Amateur Radio Annual Winter Banquet (sponsored by FARS)

Friday, February 15, 2019 – 6:00 PM

Highlights from the Archives: Early Amateur Radio and Accounts of SOS Calls

Presented by Bob Rydzewski, KJ6SBR, California Historical Radio Society (CHRS)

Reservations Required

http://www.fars.k6ya.org/banquet/banquet2019

WVARA has again been invited to join the Foothill Amateur Radio Society (FARS) for their annual Amateur Radio Winter Banquet at Michael’s restaurant in Shoreline Park. Many WVARA members enjoyed the event and won prizes last year.

This event is open to anyone who wants to attend, but reservations are required. Bring a spouse or a friend, and, of course, bring a few dollars for the raffle. There are over $1,500 in great prizes. See http://www.fars.k6ya.org/banquet/banquet2019

All sign-ups should be received by 6:00 PM on February 11th. You can sign up online on FARS web site using PayPal. Or you can download and mail a paper reservation form with a check. Mailed sign-ups should be posted by February 7th to be received on time.

Annual Holiday party

Wednesday, December 12th, WVARA is Having it’s Annual Holiday Party.We will be meeting at the American Red Cross, on the corner of 1st Street And Plumeria At 7:00pm in our usual meeting room. The affair is, as usual, a “Pot Luck” where we are treated to some Great “Special” dishes that our members bring to delight our tastebuds each year! People with Last Names beginning A-M please bring a “Main Dish” And People whose Last Names beginning M-Z Please bring a dessert! 

We have some Great “Door Prizes” this year, with some “One-Of-A-Kind” Items That Have Never Been Available At Any Of our Holiday Parties in years past! 

Please arrive early, to help set-up the tables if you can. All members And their guests are Welcome to attend our Holiday Party, So Come One And Come All, To our Best Party Of the Year! 

Hope to see You There! -73-Bill N6FFC 2019 Vice President elect West Valley Amateur Radio Association — 

QST FD Results

The December issue of QST came out today in digital form. It contains the Field Day results.

The top four:
W3AO 33942 15A
W4EZ 21645 9AB
K6EI        19720 14AB
W4IY 16988 9A

We were just under 2000 points behind W4EZ, while Watching 4IY was a bit less than 3000 points behind us.
A couple of thoughts –
1) it might be interesting to get with the EZ folks and see if we can get a friendly / collaborative competition going. I suspect it is always there, but it would be interesting to exchange info on what we both do, how it is similar and how it is different. We might be able to give each other ideas that improve both efforts. 
2) It’s about time to start planning the 2019 effort. It should contain ideas to improve operations on the low bands. With 10 and 15 pretty much out of play (10 more than 15), 40 and 80 are even more important to our results.

In any case, we can pat ourselves on the back for a very short time (don’t hurt that keying arm, though) before we get started on next year.

And with the number of spotless days for the year officially at 60% today, and the percentage guaranteed to be above 51% overall for the year, perhaps we need to take up a collection to buy some sun spots.

Seriously, congrats to K6EI, K0XI and the folks who put this together, and all of team WVARA for the effort involved in setting yet another record.

73!
Jack, W6FB

FD Results

Not only did WVARA score #3 nationwide, we also succeeded in setting a new all-time record for the 14 Alpha Battery category.  (Our East Coast friends at W4EZ likewise set a new record for 9 Alpha Battery.)
One obvious question: does WVARA want to pursue a new Field Day category record in 2019?

WVARA Meeting – Wednesday 10/10 – John Miller K6MM – Hot DX from Baker Island

Hello Everyone,

With CQP just happening this last weekend, apologies for not sending this out sooner, but we have a meeting this Wednesday (10/10) at the Red Cross at 19:00 in Meeting Room 5 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. Talk in is available on the association repeaters, 2m is a good choice.

This month, we have a visit from our dear friend John Miller, K6MM to talk to us about his recent DXpedition to Baker Island at the end of June / early July. While we were out at field day and thought we had some warm weather, John and rest of the Baker team were baking in the South Pacific.

If you’ve been paying attention at all, you know that FT8 is starting to see major use in DXpeditions with its new DXpedition mode. Baker Island was one of the first DXpeditions to give it a full shakedown, find out how it worked out for them!

Baker Island is an uninhabited atoll located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean about 3,090 km (1,920 mi) southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbor is Howland Island, 42 mi (68 km) to the north-northwest; both have been territories of the United States since 1857, though the United Kingdom considered them part of the British Empire between 1897 and 1936. Located at 0°11′41″N 176°28′46″W, the island covers 2.1 km (0.81 sq mi), with 4.8 km (3.0 mi) of coastline. The climate is equatorial, with little rainfall, constant wind, and strong sunshine. The terrain is low-lying and sandy: a coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef with a depressed central area devoid of a lagoon with its highest point being 8 m (26 ft) above sea level. The island now forms the Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge and is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the U.S. which vouches for its defense. It is visited annually by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For statistical purposes, Baker is grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. Baker Island is also the last piece of land that experiences the New Year (earliest time zone).
Pre-meeting dinner:
A few of us usually meet for dinner somewhere near the Red Cross around 6 pm prior to the meeting and anyone is welcome to join. This month we’re going to go back to Dish’n’Dash just a block down the street: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dish-n-dash-san-jose

Hope to see you at the meeting!

73,
Bill/W9KKN