Enjoy using the VBARC website?  Not a club member, but like what we do?  Perhaps you are a club member and just struck it rich by winning the 50/50 and want to give some back?  Whatever the reason, if you would like to make a donation to VBARC - you can do so securely through PayPal.

• AG4XT
  [ 36 mins, 14 secs ago ]
• KC4MEC
  [ 41 mins, 55 secs ago ]
• KA1DBE
  [ 3 hours, 25 mins, 45 secs ago ]
• WA4EUL
  [ 3 hours, 55 mins, 54 secs ago ]
• K4MIL
  [ 6 hours, 44 mins, 10 secs ago ]
• WT4M
  [ 6 hours, 55 mins, 10 secs ago ]
• KF4SPV
  [ 9 hours, 41 mins, 15 secs ago ]
• K4LJL
  [ 9 hours, 54 mins, 48 secs ago ]
• KJ4WJE
  [ 10 hours, 29 mins, 53 secs ago ]
• N1BDU
  [ 23 hours, 18 mins, 28 secs ago ]

Quick Email Contact Links for VBARC Leadership

VBARC's Mailing Address:

Virginia Beach Amateur Radio Club
PO BOX 62003
VIRGINIA BEACH VA 23466-2003

Check the status of your license at the source!

Silver Diner Fundraiser

Tax Day was highlighted not by paying our taxes, but by the great time we had at the Silver Diner! Everyone who came out, whether to enjoy the fare or get busy with cleaning it up (some did a little of both), had a great time.

Stew K4STW did a great job in the foyer selling 50/50 raffle tickets and also a gas card raffle. The 50/50 was the more popular option, and raised 77 dollars. Half of that went to the winner, Larry WA4UAC. We caught Larry in philanthropic mood and he donated his winnings back to the Club! Thank you Larry for your support of VBARC!

The 50 dollar gas card raised 55 dollars. One of our newest members Dick KE4SAV won the gas card! Congratulations Dick! So chalk up another $5 for VBARC.

Many VBARC members came out to the Silver Diner and brought their families. Joe KI4RKB, Don WQ1E, Jim AG4XT, Al WA4TCJ & Don KC4H did a great job keeping the tables clean and getting all the table ware back to the dishwasher lickety-split. If I missed anyone, please give me a shout so I can add your name. Don WQ1E did such a splendid job that he got a job offer from one of the patrons who owns a restaurant!

The event ran from 6 to 9 PM. After all the tabulation was done by the Silver Diner Manager, the Club earned $179.30! So the grand total for a grand evening was:

50/50 earnings: $38.50
50/50 donation from Larry WA4UAC: $38.50
Gas Card earnings: $5.00
Silver Diner earnings: $179.30

Silver Diner Fundraiser Total: $261.30

It is without doubt that this will be just the first fundraiser VBARC will have at the Diner. The manager and staff at the Diner were pleased with our performance and turnout, likewise we were happy to top-off our coffers to make sure that we can continue to do great things for the community and amateur radio!

Please take the time to have a look at all of the photos from this fun event!

Posted by WT4M on Thursday 29 April 2010 - 09:13:30 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |

I have 100 beautifully embroidered VBARC patches in my mitts! I am quite certain that several of them will soon belong to you. They are absolutely exceptional quality patches and will go nicely on your favorite polo, jacket and hat! They are 4 inches in diameter and I placed my Iraqi QSL (standard size) in the picture for perspective. Click on the image above for an up close, high res version.

While the initial sales will go to my personal piggy bank (as I came out of pocket for these beauties). But once I have recouped my expense - all profits will go to VBARC, with a potential of raising up to $450 once all of them are sold!

The patch will be available at the next VBARC meeting, and each following meeting until they sell out! The cost is $7 for a single patch or $20 for 3 (cash or check). For those who simply cannot wait that long, I have made them available via PayPal! I'll have them in first class mail to you the day after you order ($1 for postage).

If you are a Hampton Roads amateur club leader and would like the scoop on how to get your own handsomely embroidered club patch at a reasonable price, please and I'll be more than happy to give you my suppliers' details!

Posted by WT4M on Saturday 03 April 2010 - 12:31:42 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |

Section Manager wins Vic Clark Award

So far, 2010 has been quite a year for our esteemed Section Manager (and VBARC member), Carl Clements W4CAC! Just a few weeks ago Carl won re-election as Virginia Section Manager. It has now come to our attention that Carl has won the 2009 Vic Clark award!

The Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award was instituted in 1968 by Roanoke Division Director, Vic Clark W4KFC. Vic intended the award to be recognition for a long history of significant and consistent contribution to Amateur Radio. The amateur selected would have, over the years, dedicated much of his or her time to Amateur Radio and the ARRL Nominees and resumes are encouraged and accepted from any amateur in the Roanoke Division.

Winners of the service award become members of the selection committee and vote on which nominee should be honored the next year. An individual can receive the award only once. The administration of the award is done by the Roanoke Division Director. Director Dennis Bodson W4PWF has confirmed that the winners of the 2009 Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award are Carl Clements W4CAC, SM VA and Gary Dixon K4MQG, DXAC Rep/Assistant Director. Congratulations to both!

Posted by WT4M on Wednesday 10 March 2010 - 19:51:13 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |

Club Member Roster

In an effort to preclude release of your personal information on the web, and yet provide an avenue for Club Members to allow other Club Members to contact them via email (or whatever other information you wish to provide), VBARC now provides links to Club Members QRZ pages.

As a licensed amateur, QRZ will publish your name and address on their website, unless you decide to opt-out. QRZ is used by many Hams world-wide and is probably the primary source of information when it comes to obtaining direct QSL information (where to send your QSL cards).

Additionally, basic membership at QRZ is free, and amateurs can update their own personal info at QRZ, with such things as an email address, a bio, links to your primary website, etc.

Thus, providing member links to QRZ will facilitate easy access to personal information that you have already provided to QRZ and thus it will not be necessary for VBARC to release any of your personal information.

VBARC encourages its members to take advantage of QRZ’s free service and update your QRZ listing as you see fit! For a free QRZ account (needed to update your info) please visit https://secure.qrz.com/subscribe

Just as an example, here is what my QRZ Listing looks like... WT4M

To access the new Club Roster, you must be a VBARC Club Member. Registered User's do not have access to the Roster. Simply look for the "Club Members" item on the main menu.

Posted by WT4M on Tuesday 09 March 2010 - 20:17:05 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |

Carl Clements W4CAC Wins!

Our very own Carl Clements W4CAC wins another term as Virginia Section Manager! Not surprising, due to the long list of accomplishments that marks Carl's tenure as our Section Manager over the last few years. Carl is a member of VBARC, and the club officially endorsed his bid for reelection.

Many good things to come! Check out the full story from the ARRL... To find out what is going on at the Virginia Section, please visit their website often!

Posted by WT4M on Wednesday 24 February 2010 - 21:54:36 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |

February VBARC Meeting

President Steve W4XQ called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM and turned the meeting over to Vice President John WB4AXY. John introduced our guest speaker, Mr. Bob Eshleman W4DR. Bob delivered a great presentation on his life in Amateur Radio. He was first licensed in 1950 and continues to be very active in DX. His wife Rosalie N4CFL have traveled the world for their DXpeditions.

Bob also told us about the many awards he has won, for example: Five Band DXCC, The DeSoto Cup, CQ Magazine's DX Hall of Fame, and 160 WAZ to name a few! Bob had some wonderful slides to go with his presentation of the many DXpeditions he has worked.

John thanked Bob and presented him with a certificate of appreciation. Next order of Business was an ARES report from Al, WA4TCJ. The Shamrock Marathon is coming up. It will be held on March 21st and Al needs operators to help with communications for the race. If you can help, please and let him know. Al will also have a sign up sheet at the meetings prior to the race. There will be a pre-race meeting the Thursday, March 18th.

The club is having a “Run the Diner Night” at the Silver Diner on Virginia Beach Blvd. This event will be April 15th from 6-9 PM. Twenty percent of anything over $1,000 in sales goes to the club! If you can help with this event, please . If you are too busy to lend a hand, please help spread the word so that other will come and eat and have fun watching some of VBARC's finest bus tables!

Training & Licensing – Jim AG4XT discussed the upcoming Technician/General Classes being held at the Fire Training Center in cooperation with VBCERT.

Hamfest – Lew W4BLO told us this year's Virginia Beach Hamfest will be held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The theme is "Back to the Beach". Come out and show your support for the club and vendors. Advance tickets are $9.00. The date is September 11th & 12th, 2010. Hours are 9 AM to 4 PM on Saturday and 9 AM to 3 PM on Sunday. There will be plenty of room for tailgating and lots of fun to be had by all!

Field Day – There will be a Field Day meeting on March 27th, 10 AM at the Windsor Woods Library. Anyone interested in being a Team Captain please come out!

T-Shirt designs need to be turned in prior May 19th. The Board of Directors will pick out the winning design at the May BOD Meeting on that day.

The Breakfast Club – Stew K4STW announced that every other Wednesday morning some of the local hams get together for breakfast at the Little Creek Diner. It is located on Little Creek and Halprin Drive. Please for more details. The next Breakfast Club Meeting will be March 3rd.

Elmer Express – Ed Gibbs KC4UFN is heading up a VBARC Elmering Program. If you have a special expertise and would like to share your knowledge with a new ham or maybe someone who has been away from the hobby for a while, please . This is a wonderful way to make new hams feel comfortable with utilizing their new priveledges!

We have some exciting programs coming up in the near future. In March, Jeff Hanscom KA1DBE will be giving a presentation on Super Simple Satellites. In April we will have a weather program, May is
the Auction and of course, June is Field Day!

Do you belong to the ARRL? If so, did you know you can renew through the VBARC? You can! You can also sign up through the club to become a member. If you have any questions on this please contact the Club's Treasurer: John WT4M at a meeting or .

Treasurer's Report – John WT4M went over the new budget. It was motioned and accepted as presented.

The 50/50 was won by Larry Livingston K4LJL. Larry returned to his QTH with $30.50!

President Steve brought in some pictures of a club members Shack. Judy W4JJL was the first winner of "Guess Whose Shack" and won a T-Shirt!

Steve adjourned the Meeting at 9:15 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Bernadette Williams KI4VCR
VBARC Secretary

Editor's note: Please check out all of the photos from the February VBARC Meeting, when you get a chance...

Posted by WT4M on Sunday 21 February 2010 - 17:41:17 | Read/Post Comment: 1 |

Local Amateur N4BRA SK

Eugene Russell Taylor, 82, passed away on Wednesday February 17, 2010 in his residence surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Maquoketa, IA on December 8, 1927 the son of the late Albert E. and Hazel Babcock Taylor. He had retired from Norfolk Naval Supply Center after 30 years of service. He was an avid golfer and he was an amateur radio operator, N4BRA.

Eugene is survived by wife of 36 years, Wilma Virginia Taylor; his daughter, Elizabeth Taylor; his five sons, Christopher Steven Belk, Bryan Alan Belk, Clark Taylor, Mark Taylor, Brian Taylor, his two brothers, James H. Taylor of Lisbon, IA and Albert E. Taylor, Jr. of Wheatland, IA; his sister Lois A. Gruenwald of Maquoketa, IA; he is also survived by his special granddaughter, Sarah Virginia Belk and his canine companion Caesar and numerous extended family.

Friends are invited to gather with the family on Friday, February 19, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Great Bridge Chapel of Oman Funeral Home & Crematory, 653 Cedar Road, Chesapeake 23320.

Memorial donations may be made in Eugene’s name to your local chapter of the SPCA.

Posted by WT4M on Wednesday 17 February 2010 - 17:38:55 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |

Proposed Change to VBARC By-Laws

At the January VBARC Board of Dirctor's Meeting a proposed change to the VBARC By-Laws was presented and subsequently approved by the board. In a nutshell this change would remove the current provision for newly licensed amateurs to obtain free membership to VBARC. It was the opinion of the board, that in order to keep new amateurs active in the hobby, it was imperative that they join the ARRL and begin to receive QST. There is no other periodical that would so greatly assist new amateurs in how to use their new ticket - by introducing them to the depth and breadth of amateur radio!

It was therefore resolved that in order to help keep our new amateurs active and informed, it would be more prudent to offer VBARC membership free to those who join the League. In this manner, the new amateur gets the benefits of both ARRL and VBARC for the price of the ARRL membership.

The proposed change was presented for review to the membership at the February VBARC Meeting and shall be presented for a vote at the March VBARC Meeting. The proposed change is outlined below:

Posted by WT4M on Tuesday 16 February 2010 - 20:18:46 | Read/Post Comment: 5 |

This is Kilo Alpha One Delta Bravo Echo - Bicycle Mobile
by Jeff Hanscome KA1DBE*

I have a variety of hobbies and I like to combine them when the chance presents itself. This was one of those occasions. Cycling and Ham Radio.

Attending a VBARC meeting one night, Stewart K4STW mentioned that he needed volunteers for the Tour de Cure in Chesapeake. It was at that moment that I asked myself, “why am I not participating in that event?” To give you some background, I am Type 2 diabetic and my Granddaughter is Type 1 insulin dependent. When I got home, I “Googled” Tour de Cure to get more information. I signed up online for the 30 mile course.

I thought about how I could carry amateur radio on my ride. I settled on APRS and hoped that all my family and supporters could track me on APRS if I used an HT, a TinyTrak4 and a Larsen 5/8ths wave vertical. Well, lets just say that it worked for the first 2 miles and then I dropped off the map. Now for the rest of the story.

The following year I decided that I would tackle the 100 mile course. I still wanted to carry amateur radio along “Just in case”. My 5/8ths wave vertical was not very efficient on my recumbent bike so I again turned to my good friend Google for a better way. Here is my simple and very effective solution.

Enter the trusty J-pole. Using a J-pole enabled me to be ground independent and I don't believe my bike had enough surface area for a vertical. This antenna is actually a combination of two ideas that worked well when put together.

The J-pole I built was made out of 300 twin lead (TV ribbon) designed by Craig LaBarge, WB3GCK. Here are the dimensions:

Next was how to mount it to the bicycle. I remembered something I had read on an APRS reflector and again Google had my answer. Gregg Wonderly, W5GGW took a twinlead J-Pole and taped it to a bicycle flag. It was such a simple and effective mounting solution. Off to Wal-mart I went and purchased a $5.00 bicycle flag. I taped it in a couple spots to hold it straight and then wrapped it completely with white electrical tape. Below is my result.

This antenna worked very well, I was able to stay in contact with the repeater through out the entire course. It was good to hear friendly voices on some of those long stretches of road.

This antenna is not only just for bicycles. I have used it on my camper and it makes a good gain antenna for your HT for public service events.

Team Madison is riding again this year in the Tour de Cure (April 17th at Hickory High School) I will again be on the 100 mile course with my HT and my J-pole and hopefully I will hear a few more friendly voices.

* Jeff was licensed in 1979. He enjoys all aspect of Amateur Radio including CW, Digital, Satellite, and QRP operating. He is a member of VBARC, QRP Amateur Radio Club International, AMSAT, and the ARRL. His other hobbies include Cycling, Camping, Geocaching, and picks an occasional banjo string.

Editor's note: Thanks Jeff for the great article! If you have an article that you would like to post here on the VBARC site, please don't hesitate to (along with any images you would like to include).

Posted by WT4M on Friday 12 February 2010 - 18:17:35 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |

The next VBARC Membership Meeting will be Thursday, September 2nd, 7:30 PM at Saint Andrew's United Methodist Church. Be sure to check our calendar for more important events!

Visit the ARRL Virginia Section - ARES/RACES of Virginia website.

This website employs Java! If you are having difficulties with pages loading (particularly Live Chat or CQDX) please check to see if you have the latest Java installed by clicking here!