Albemarle Amateur Radio Club

The February 14 Club Meeting will be held at 7:30 pm at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville. The Board will meet at 7 pm. Linda (KI5LLB) and Roland Beard (KK4EDU) are doing the Feb program. It will feature a solar powered emergency power supply and radio system that they are constructing in a Yuppie Wagon Hauler they can take to a disaster or a radio event and run several radios, a computer, printer, and other things. They are hoping for an open forum on solar power. This will be a good one!

The Standing Committee and President's Annual Reports are available here for reading and/or downloading as a doc file.

The AARC Annual Meeting will be held on January 10 in the NRAO Building on Edgemont Drive in Charlottesville. The meeting will begin at 7:30 pm. The primary purpose of the annual meeting is to receive annual reports from officers, directors, and committee chairs; and to elect officers and directors for 2012. This is a very important meeting to attend and cast your vote for the leadership of the club for the coming year. Put it on your calendar and plan to participate. The board will meet at 7 pm to receive annual reports to be presented in writing to the secretary.

The reservation count for the AARC Annual Awards Banquet stands at 74 this morning. I was only dreaming when I asked if we could top 60. What a great membership. You are asked and you perform exceeding what could reasonably be expected. The AARC is truely the best amateur radio club in the world and that is because you make it so. You have every reason to celebrate!!!

The December Issue of the club newsletter, The Beacon, is now available. To download in pdf go to the index on the left.

Reservations for the 2011 AARC Annual Awards Banquet are rolling in and at this date and time, they stand at 70 -- an all time record. If you want to attend, scroll down this page and you will find reservation details.

Saturday, November 12 saw a great turnout of AARC VEs and potential licensees and upgrades. Many thanks to Mark WA1A, the AARC VE Liaison and the following VEs. Bill AD6JV, Bill N0WP, Bill K4IB, Linda KI5LLB, Dave K4DND, Terry KT4UO, Harry W2HD, Alan K9MBQ, Don K4UVA, Will KJ4XZ, and Jim K4CGY.
With such a turnout of VEs, one wonders what someone thought who came into the room to be tested. In fact there were 11 people that showed up for licensing or upgrading taking a total of 17 elements. Six people received CSCEEs for new license grants, and 4 received upgrades.
Interestingly, 2 of the new licensees came in with no license, and walked out ready to receive their Amateur Extra class license. Another went from no license to General, while a fourth went from his current Technician license to Amateur Extra at this session.
Also thanks to the team who put on the Amateur Extra classes under the direction of Bill AD6JV. Other course instructors were Dennis K4THE, Alan K9MBQ, Will KJ4XZ and George AA4D.
Great work by all, and congratulations to all new hams and all upgraded hams.

There will be an Amateur Radio License test session on Saturday, November 12, starting at 9 am in the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. 520 Edgement Road, Charlottesville. Tests will be available for all three license classes. You must bring a photo ID, pencils and $15 in cash for the fee. If you have a current FCC Amateur License, you must bring the original and a copy to attach to your application. No reservation required -- just walk in.

The November Issue of the Beacon is now available for download. The current and past issues of the Beacon can be accessed from the index column on the left.

Our next AARC Club Meeting will be held on November 8 at 7:30 pm at the NRAO. K4THE will give a presentation on his Variable Off-Center Fed Folded Dipole, aka the VA2ERY Clothesline Antenna, along with a discussion of JT-65 weak signal digital mode for HF. The board will meet at 7 pm.