Albemarle Amateur Radio Club

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.

Get your tickets at $17 per person for the AARC Annual Awards Dinner on Dec 13, 6:30p at Elks Lodge, 389 Elks Dr (Google Maps).

Online tickets must be purchased by Thu., Dec. 8, 11:59p US Eastern Time.

If you prefer to pay by check, you can pay at the door when you arrive. Be sure to email your reservations to jecrosby[at]comcast[dot]net by Friday.

The club roster has been up-dated as of October 14, 2011 to include 126 members -- four of whom are Associate Members who are working on obtaining their call.

New pictures are always popping up on the Photo Gallery. Check out the pictures of the tower erection at K4CGY's QTH. Just go to the column on the left and find Photo Gallery nine buttons down from the top. Click on the name and presto you are there to browse and gape.

The AARC Technical Committee is pleased to report the following progress.

1. The WA4TFZ 146.925 repeater is back on Heard's Mt and appears to be functioning normally.

'2. The WA4TFZ 146.895 repeater audio level has been set.

3. The WA4TFZ 224.760 repeater desense problem has been corrected and the TX frequency tweaked. Please give this club repeater a try at its new location.

The October Issue of The AARC Beason is now available on this site. Click on the Beacon button on the top left second from the top and download the current issue at the top of the list.