We're going to defer the Face to Face picnic planned for September, due to COVID. So, the plan for September? Let's have lunch together via Zoom .... hard to share (ham) sandwiches, but we can share our ham radio stories and exploits. Details for our Sept social (bring your own lunch): When: Saturday, 18 Sep @ 11:30 am Where: Zoom, link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/968580533?pwd=QUJPWHh2ZWpOcW9TNVdyUjdFMWw2QT09 What: General rag chew See you on the 18th!

Join our friends at Vienna Wireless Society as they host the ARRL NAQP-SSB event starting at 2pm on Saturday, August 21st. The event will be held in Great Falls, and all members must RSVP by 15 Aug to Mike @ aimonema <at> aol <dot> com There will be NO 1130 lunch, but a light snack dinner will be offered about 5pm.

Instead meeting in June, we suggest you spend a few hours working the ARRL Field Day event, which this year is June 26 & 27. We will hold our first Face to Face meeting on July 17th at PJ Skidoos, in Fairfax

Hope you'll join us for a discussion by Chris, W2PA, a noted Amateur Radio Historian. Meeting is Sat, May 15th, at 1130 on Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/968580533?pwd=QUJPWHh2ZWpOcW9TNVdyUjdFMWw2QT09 Our topic is: "Where Did the Bands Come From?" This is a historical look at the early days of radio during which several aspects of amateur radio were established that survive to the present day. This includes, the HF bands (particularly 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters), call sign formats, QSLs, operating practices, and equipment characteristics. Many of these things taken for granted today have become disconnected from their origins, and the reasons why they exist, forgotten. The definition of the HF band allocations is particularly interesting. It started with the 200 meter limitation of 1912, changed as hams demonstrated the utility of the shortwaves, and changed again in response to the radio boom of the 1920s and the first international treaties. Lots more information, articles, and photos are on Chris' website web site: www.w2pa.com

Last year I was #18 in the 4th call area! Woo Hoo!

Our April meeting will NOT be our customary 3rd Saturday of the Month (Apr 17th), but rather we are asking you to consider joining the ARRL VA Section Convention, which is Saturday, 24 Apr starting at 9am. The schedule is at: VA_Sect_Convention_2021 Track Schedule and Zoom Links - Google Drive The convention will host 3 simultaneous tracks: 1) Ham radio boot camp, 2) tho topics, and 3) Auxiliary Communications. You can slip in and out of any session in any track as you wish. The URLs for the 3 tracks will be shortly posted, on the schedule above. See you for a meeting on May 15th. We'll have a guest lecturer talking about how the Amateur bands came about way back in the din of history.

Instead of our meeting on March 20th, we invite all Ch 91 members to work the QCWA and VA QSO Parties. Likewise in April, we're going to join the VWS as they host the ARRL VA Section Convention on Apr 24th.

There will be no online ZOOM meeting this month. All are encouraged to join individually in the VA QSO Party (20-21 March)

Join Chapter 91 members as we welcome Ken Oelke, VE6AFO the President of the Quarter Century Wireless Association meeting via Zoom. The URL link is: https://zoom.us/j/968580533?pwd=QUJPWHh2ZWpOcW9TNVdyUjdFMWw2QT09 Ken will discuss the plans and vision for the Association, as well as examples of best practices from other Chapters.

Join QCWA Ch 91 members for our first meeting of the new year on Saturday January 16th at 1130 via Zoom. Kerry, WA4BQM will join us again to talk about solar impacts on HF propagation, and updates on the Solar Cycle 25. Monthly Meeting details coming. https://zoom.us/j/968580533?pwd=QUJPWHh2ZWpOcW9TNVdyUjdFMWw2QT09

Join QCWA Ch 91 members for our first meeting of the new year on Saturday January 16th at 1130 via Zoom. Kerry, WA4BQM will join us again to talk about solar impacts on HF propagation, and updates on the Solar Cycle 25. The Zoom link is: https://zoom.us/j/968580533

Our Sunday Net meets every week at 9:00 am on 146.685 (neg offset, 110.9 Hz CTCSS). All are welcome.

This will be our annual Holiday Party. (probably on Zoom - more to follow)

We will virtually visit the Heritage Hunt Retirement over 50 community and tour the Heritage Hunt Amateur Radio Club facility. This meeting will also be our election of officers.

Our October ZOOM meeting will begin at !!:30 and our featured speaker will be Lee Garlock - KD4RE (radio engineer). He will give us the ins and outs of Software Defined Radio (SDR).. Is this the new wave for ham radio?

Our September monthly meeting, on Saturday, Sep 19th starting at 1130, will again be via Zoom, and the link to join is: https://zoom.us/j/968580533?pwd=QUJPWHh2ZWpOcW9TNVdyUjdFMWw2QT09 We are co-hosting the meeting w/ the Vienna Wireless Society, so we should have a great crowd. We cancelled the formal program, by Professor Marconi himself who was planning to present 87 fuzzy black and white vu graphs describing, using differential equations (and quantum theory), how the ionosphere works (whoa). Instead, I understand the VWSers are going to show off their Shacks during lunch, in kinda a “SHACK CRAWL”. If we run out of shacks to crawl through, I’d like to open the topic of “what it means to be a ham radio operator in the 21st century!” It might be interesting to hear the thoughts of the multi-generational group. As a virtual picnic, it’s “Bring your own Burger or Brat” day. Of course you can fix your own, order via Doordash from Micky-D, or for that matter contract the talented QCWA Ch 91 cooks to cater your lunch. Looking forward to our meetings for the rest of the year: please mark your calendars for October 17th, where Lee will discuss Software Defined Radios, and November 21st, where Tim Tatum, K6SLK will describe his journey to establish a vibrant ham radio club at the Heritage Hunt 55+ community. We also need to have elections of new officers in November. If anybody wishes to volunteer for a club position, drop me an email. Our December meeting is usually your holiday party … more to follow on our December mtg.

We will once again meet on zoom. Exploring alternative solutions for operating a HF station from retirement communities, assisted living locations and other locations dictated by elder living adjustments. We will learn about some specific solutions available in local retirement and similar situations. We may all have to adjust to a different hamshack situation at sometime. Our meeting will discuss a few solutions. Zoom link is: https://zoom.us/j/968580533?pwd=QUJPWHh2ZWpOcW9TNVdyUjdFMWw2QT09

“Homebrewing – the original Maker Community” Dean, KK4DAS will join us for a talk on the emerging interest by newer ham radio operators to build their own radio equipment. He’ll describe some of the interesting projects he, and some of his friends in the “Maker Community” are doing, and his enjoyment when he achieves the “Joy of Oscillation” The meeting will be held via Zoom and the log in is to: https://zoom.us/j/968580533?pwd=QUJPWHh2ZWpOcW9TNVdyUjdFMWw2QT09