THE LOUDOUN AMATEUR RADIO GROUP

March 1996 NEWSLETTER

KF4BTQ

The Loudoun Amateur Radio Group, P.O. Box 1004, Purcellville, VA 20134

President John Unger, W4AU (540) 338-4620
Vice-Pres. Gary Quinn, NC4S (540) 882-3017
Secretary Don Nicolson, KC1AT (540) 883-4718
Treasurer Dale Cabaniss, KD4LSL (540) 338-3521

Regular Meetings held the Third Saturday of each month, 8:30 AM at the El Rancho Plus Family Restaurant, located at 101C S. Maple Avenue in Purcellville VA. Talk-in on 147.480 simplex.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FEBRUARY MEETING:

A special thanks to Paul Bock, K4MSG, for sharing his Vibroplex Key collection with us. Paul has an impressive collection of "bugs" dating from the early days of Amateur radio to present. He shared with us the history of Vibroplex and the situations which led to the development of this popular device. Although the basic mechanics of this keyer remain unchanged from its original design, Paul was able to demonstrate with his collection the variations in materials and finish. Thank you Paul for this fun and informative demonstration.

Immediately following our meeting, the balloon committee met to discuss progress on our project. Work on this project had stalled during the Winter but recently the project received a kick start and the group hopes to have a payload ready for launch on Saturday May 18th. Tom Carney, WB9RXJ, will be organizing teams of "trackers" to retrieve the balloon after the flight. Anyone interested in Radio Location or Direction Finding is encouraged to contact Tom at our next meeting. Our previous fox hunts were enjoyed by all who participated and we feel that tracking the balloon during its flight will be very exciting.

Plans for our Next Meeting:

Charles Preston, K4LJH, has recently purchased the Video tape "Big Antennas and Tall Tales". This video interviews several members of the Southern California DX association and details the lives of three avid contesters and their equipment. We will be viewing this video which lasts approximately 45 minutes following our short business meeting.

We will be making early plans for field day. John, W3GOI, has downloaded this years rules and we hope to make some decisions in regards to the number of stations we will use and the types of antennas.

Paul, K4MSG, will be bringing a vintage oscillator Vibroplex key to demonstrate the differences between the "bug" and the straight key. If you would like to get some hands on experience with a bug, be sure to attend our March meeting.

We will receive an update from the balloon committee as to the progress during the month of February and work yet to complete.

Calendar of Events:
Every Sunday 8:00 PM Club Radio Net, 28.360 MHZ USB
Every Third Saturday 8:30 AM Club Meeting, Purcellville, VA
Weekday Mornings and Evenings Commuter Net, 147.48 MHZ Simplex
May 18, 1996 Balloon Launch, Hamilton Community Park
June 22-23, 1996 Field Day, Ida Lee Park, Leesburg VA
Sept. 8, 1996 Loudoun Hospital 10K Run, 9:00-11:00 AM

Calendar of Events:

Every Third Saturday 8:30 a.m. Club Meeting - Third Saturday - Purcellville
Weekday Mornings and Evenings Commuter Net, 147.480 MHz Simplex
Every Sunday 8:00 p.m. LARG 10M SSB net, 28.360 MHz