Dave Brown’s, WR6Z, 900MHz band presentation from our October meeting. PDF
October 14 – Virtual Meeting
WVARA’s monthly meeting will be at 7pm on Wednesday, October 14, via Zoom. (Zoom instructions can be found at the end of this email.)
At this month’s meeting, Dave Brown (WR6Z) will give a virtual presentation on How to Get On 900 MHz.
Looking forward to seeing you at our virtual meeting.
Jim, K6EIWVARA Vice President
Meeting Topic: The 902-928MHz amateur band poses some interesting obstacles to get on the air and operate as there are no amateur specific radios commonly available. This makes the band ideal for the ham radio DIY experimenter to get on the air and is not expensive to do so. This presentation will cover the origins of the 900MHz ham band, how to obtain and modify equipment to get on the air and where to operate.
A Bay Area native, Dave Brown was first licensed in 1977 as WD6EBC and later upgraded to the extra class, changing call signs to WR6Z. Being active in the hobby since he was first licensed, he enjoys building projects, working on radio equipment as well as operating portable on HF, VHF and UHF. A graduate from Cal Poly, SLO he has worked in the field of electrical engineering for over 30 years specializing in RF, mixed signal and power management systems. He is an active WVARA member and is currently working in R&D application engineering focused on semiconductor products for mobile platforms at Kinetic Technologies, Inc.
Zoom Meeting Specifics: Topic: WVARA MonthlyTime: Oct 14, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82509826854?pwd=cURvemF0VEwzTHNlZzMvdk1HTDZVQT09
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Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system. Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZYod-CgrD0iH9BslXI74UAM2QFMhePvTO3Q/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGqqzsjEtaTuByDRpwQGYigXfzzpiFHgvp_jxPdKncHVyLbZNNkH7p6IM7k
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Meeting ID: 825 0982 6854Passcode: 226249 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdSzPLLbNq
Amateur Radio (HAM Radio) Linkedin group
To all amateurs that use Linkedin:
I manage a Linkedin group that is focused on Amateur Radio.
The name of the group is Amateur Radio (HAM Radio). We have over 4,000 users world-wide. The group can be found at
Come join! Read our posts, add some posts, tell your friends.
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/94303/
73 de Robert KB6QXM
September Virtual Meeting
Meeting Topic: WVARA and the California QSO Party (CQP) • WVARA’s history in CQP
• Five ways that WVARA members can have fun in CQP 2020
• Suggested WVARA game plan for CQP 2020 — which occurs the first weekend of October.
Dean Wood (N6DE) works as a hardware design engineer for networking companies in Silicon Valley. Dean’s involvement with WVARA spans two decades, with responsibilities including past WVARA President, Vice President, Secretary, Board Member, Field Day Coordinator, Flea Market helper, meeting presenter, and other things I’ve forgotten. Dean’s involvement with CQP includes:
Participated in his first CQP in 1995 as a college student
Current member of CQP organizing team and CQP County Coordinator
Current holder of 15 CQP records: 12 county records and 3 overall CA records (Top CA S/O Expedition, Top CA S/O-Assisted Low Power, Top CA School)
Been on 14 county expeditions to 10 different counties
Long time active helper behind the scenes in CQP, including log checker, publicity coordinator and several other things
Time: Sept 9, 2020 19:00 PDT
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83252301029?pwd=cG0vNDZGS1J2NzJ1ZXZ2VUY2S1l4Zz09
Meeting ID: 832 5230 1029
Password: w6piy
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+13462487799,,83252301029#,,1#,028366# US (Houston)
Or you can dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
Meeting ID: 832 5230 1029 (Dial-in audio password: 028366)
Annual bBQ Cancelled
I have been notified by Sunnyvale’s management that all city park reservations for the month of August have been cancelled due to Covid-19. As a result, we will not be holding our annual BBQ in Sunnyvale’s Bayland Park on August 15.
Jim Peterson
ARRL has issued an updated set of FAQs
For those who are interested, the ARRL has issued an updated set of FAQs at:http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-contest-program-issues-field-day-2020-faq
June 10 Virtual Meeting
Due to the coronavirus, this month’s WVARA meeting will not be held at the Red Cross Building. Instead, we will hold a virtual meeting via Zoom at 7pm on Wednesday, June 10. At this month’s meeting, Jim Deloach (WU0I) will give a virtual presentation on his Field Day operation from a remote location in the wilds of Southeast Alaska.
Time: Jun 10, 2020 19:00 Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83252301029?pwd=cG0vNDZGS1J2NzJ1ZXZ2VUY2S1l4Zz09
Meeting ID: 832 5230 1029
Password: w6piy
I have placed my Alaska DXpedition presentation on my website here:
http://www.deloach.net/AlaskaDXpedition.pdf
Tales of an Alaskan Field Day: Have you ever wanted to participate in a DXpedition but did not want to wander too far or spend a lot of money? Then you should try Alaska! Alaska makes a great vacation destination, it is rare enough and exotic enough (with its own DXCC listing) to be a fun DX spot, and adding an Amateur Radio component to your vacation is easier than you think! In his presentation, Jim explains how he and his lovely XYL mounted a Field Day DXpedition to Alaska in 2017, and nearly won the state!
Jim DeLoach, WU0I, is a Silicon Valley wireless and location technology systems engineer specialized in data analytics, field testing, product definition, and tools development. For fun, Jim loves to build high-performance temporary contest stations, but prefers to get out of the way and let the real operators take over as soon as the station is up and running! Jim and XYL Maggie (KK6DZS) are WVARA members, live in Sunnyvale, and love to travel. Jim can be reached at jim@deloach.net.
May 13 Virtual Meeting
This month’s WVARA meeting will be held via Zoom at 7pm on Wednesday, May 13. George Zafiropoulos (KJ6VU) will give a virtual presentation on PackTennas — lightweight, compact, portable HF antenna systems ideal for a simple, solo Field Day. George will tell us the story of these antennas, explain their design, and give tips on how to get the most from them.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86292324465?pwd=Q3RxWGdaZnJ0S3hyM2hzcXJ6ZVN5Zz09
Meeting ID: 862 9232 4465
Password: 505589
April 8, Virtual Meeting
Due to the coronavirus, the April WVARA meeting will NOT be held at the Red Cross Building. Instead, we will hold a virtual meeting via Zoom at 7pm on Wednesday, April 8.
At this month’s meeting Edison Fong, WB6IQN, will bring us up to speed on DMR (Digital Mobile Radio). This mode is getting really popular. The radios cost about $100-$150 depending on the quality you want. All of them also have conventional FM. DMR is a full digital format that is interfaced via the internet where one can 24/7 talk all over the world. The dream of working DX sitting on your couch is here. Since it is an open system originally set up by Motorola there are over 15 manufacturers of DMR radios – both hand held and mobiles. Learn how to get register as a DMR user, where to purchase a radio, how to program the radio and talk to the world without depending on propagation conditions.
Ed is a design consultant and has worked at Loral Space System, Microsoft and National Semiconductor. He has 25 years of experience in analog design for communications, data conversion and RF systems. Fong has 12 issued patents and has published more than 40 papers. He is a senior member of the IEEE. He also is on the faculty of UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley, where he teaches RF Wireless Communications and I/O Design Fundamentals.
Looking forward to seeing you at Wednesday’s VIRTUAL meeting!Jim, K6EIWVARA Vice President
Join Zoom Meeting on Apr 8, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
https://zoom.us/j/660067844
Meeting ID: 660 067 844
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Meeting ID: 660 067 844
March 2020 Meeting will be Virtual
Due to the CoronaVirus, the March 2020 WVARA meeting will NOT be held at the Red Cross Building. Instead, we will hold a virtual meeting via Zoom. Below are the specifics:
Time: Mar 11, 2020 19:00 Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/112102081
Meeting ID: 112 102 081
One tap mobile
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+19294362866,,112102081# US (New York)
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 112 102 081Guide to Zoom:https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-Meeting