[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] REMINDER: Invitation to Alexandria Radio Club Monthly Meeting via Zoom on Friday, February 12th

[Don (KI4D)]

From: Don (KI4D) <don.ki4d at gmail.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 8:39 PM
To: 'alexandriaradioclub at mailman.qth.net'
<alexandriaradioclub at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Invitation to Alexandria Radio Club Monthly Meeting via Zoom on
Friday, February 12th

 

Alexandria Radio Club is inviting you to a scheduled Monthly meeting via
Zoom.  

 

Time: Feb 12, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Featured Topic: Virginia QSO Party (2021)  by Gordon Miller ( NQ4K) 

 

For many years, Gordon has traveled to Alexandria to brief the Alexandria
Radio Club on the details of the upcoming annual Virginia QSO party.  Each
year Gordon has taken a photo of the members of Alexandria Radio Club.  This
year we are asking all attendees to turn on their Zoom cameras so that we
can get screenshots  of club members for 2021.  This year the Virginia QSO
Party will be held during the weekend of March 20-21th.  

 

Gordon became interested in ham radio while in high school in the early
60's, but did not become a ham until 2001.  The intervening time was
occupied college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, by family, and 20 years
in the Army. 

 

He followed a slightly different route to licensing.  He studied materials
available on line. Took his Morse code and tech license exam in Laurel
Amateur Radio Club and passed.  Immediately tried the General exam, without
any prior studying, and passed. Then tried the Amateur Extra exam and did
not pass.  This started his continuing impression that the Amateur Extra
Exam is significantly more difficult.  Finally took the Amateur Extra Exam
at a session sponsored by the Loudoun Amateur Radio Group.  Next, he applied
for and received a vanity license, NQ4K. Only after that did he buy his
first radio, an FT-101ZD, through eBay.  He was very lucky.  Not knowing
anything, he got a radio with a built in power supply and a digital
frequency meter.  All he needed to get on the air.  His first QSO was on 27
July 2001 on 40M SSB using a long wire stretched between tree limbs a few
feet off the ground. He did not understand the need to tune an antenna to
the operating frequency.  But eventually he learned, primarily through
joining a club and listening to the experience of others.   This experience
contributed to his continuing interest in clubs and licensing classes.

 

Gordon became involved in the Virginia QSO Party in 2004 when he became the
President of Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club.   The Virginia QSO Party was
started by the Roanoke Valley Amateur Radio Club in the 1960's and was taken
over by the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club in the 1970's.  When Gordon
first became involved, there were 142 logs were submitted.  This past year,
they received 613 logs.

 

Gordon especially enjoys the Party, because of the opportunity to meet
people throughout Virginia. It takes many people to run the Party and each
one has an interesting story.  Everyone wants to contribute and participate
and many make extraordinary commitments to the event.  He will talk about
some of these during his presentation.

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/243973461?pwd=Vm5YR3N5UFNYWTR6RzhHT3c0dHl0UT09

Meeting ID: 243 973 461

Passcode: 408685

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