Amateur Radio From Loudoun County VA

MEETING LOCATION : The January 18, 2003, LARG meeting will be at 8:30 in the Leesburg Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 605 West Market Street. The church is located at the intersection of Market Street and Catoctin Circle on the west side of town. It is just east of the bypass. From the Bypass, take the Leesburg exit at the west end of town and the church is on the right just past the stoplight. Please enter through the door on the east side of the building where you will see both steps and a ramp by the door.

January Club Meeting Plans - - We will have the election of officers for 2003. A ballot with the Nominating Committee's recommendations and places for write-in candidates is attached to this letter. Bring your ballot to the meeting (don't worry; if you forget, we will have extra ballots available). We will appoint a chairman for 2003 Field Day activities; it is not to early to begin planning for this important club event. We will have a report from the Public Service Committee on our activities at Leesburg First Night. Pay your 2003 club dues! Fill out the attached membership form and mail it in or bring it to the next club meeting.

December - Annual LARG Holiday Dinner - About 30 LARGer's enjoyed the 5th Annual LARG Holiday Dinner at the Tuskarora Mill restaurant the evening of December 18. Thanks to BA and Bill, K8SYH, and to Paul, N4PD, and Nancy, KE4RTP, for organizing this year's event. The food and companionship both were excellent and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. The highlight of the evening was John Unger, W4AU, receiving the Ham of the Year Award . John is certainly well-deserving of this honor as he has done a lot for and with the club over the years, including, but not limited to, editing the monthly LARG Newsletter, leading our Contest Committee and marshalling support for the club's annual foray in the Virginia QSO Party, assuming duties as Field Day Chairman at various venues over the years, and pitching in for many other LARG activities. Thank you, John!

Contesting News - We had good participation in the ARRL 10-Meter Contest last month; if you operated in this contest, be sure to send in your log to the ARRL by January 15, and don't forget to put down "Loudoun ARG" as your club. You need to enter the club name just like that, because this is how they have us listed in their club database. The weekend of January 11/12 is the CW part of the North American QSO Party (NAQP) contest. This contest goes from 1800Z on Saturday to 0600Z on Sunday; you can operate only 10 out of the 12 hours. It gives you a great opportunity to work on your Worked All States (WAS) award. The exchange is your name and state. You can work the same station again on a different band, and multipliers are states, provinces, and North American countries. The phone version of the NAQP is the weekend of the club meeting, January 18/19; ditto for times and operating time. Contact John, W4AU, if you have any questions.

Club News - It is with sadness that we report that Bill, K8SYH, and his lovely wife BA, are leaving the area to move to greener and larger pastures in central Virginia. The good news (for Bill) is that he will have plenty of room for all sorts of antennas, and the good news (for LARG) is that he will be activating a rare county for the VA QSO Party! Bill has done a fantastic time over the past few years as our Training Coordinator, and the growth and health of LARG is due in no small part to his efforts. THANK YOU BILL!

We have included a calendar of LARG-related events for 2003 along with this Newsletter . The calendar is not meant to be inclusive of all the activities of LARGer's but will help us with our planning. Let your editor know if other events should be added.

Dues - It is that time of year again; your modest membership fees for 2003 are due! We still only charge $12.00 per year (that's only $1.00 per month, or about $0.03 per day...) for membership in the finest amateur radio club in western Loudoun County. The fee for additional family members is $1.00 per year per person. Checks should be made out to Loudoun Amateur Radio Group (LARG ).

You can bring this form to the January meeting or mail it to our Treasurer, c/o LARG, P. O. Box 1004, Purcellville, VA 20134.

This form not only helps you to get your dues paid, but it also will let us update our membership data base so that we can provide you with a new membership list early in 2003. Our big expense is mailing out this newsletter and we need the $'s to keep it going!

Note: Your call sign, first and last name, city, and state will be posted on the publicly available LARG web site. The other information will be available to club members only and will be posted on the password protected members only LARG web page.

Call Sign ___________________ (if you have one)

First Name ____________________ Last Name ________________________

Phone # ________________________ (please include area code)

Mailing Address ___________________________________________________

City ____________________ State ____ ZIP ________ (5 digits only)

email address ______________________________________________

email address ______________________________________________

Type of membership (please circle): Regular Family Student

I would like my LARG newsletter sent via (please circle):

USPS email Website

Are you a member of the LARG reflector? ___

Are you a member of ARRL? ___

Are you a member of ARES/RACES? ___

License class (please circle):

None Technician Tech Plus General Advanced Extra

What year did you first join LARG?________

What year were you first licensed? ________

What was your first call? ___________________

Thanks for taking the time to fill out yet another form! If any of this information changes, please send me the new information so I can keep the LARG member list current.

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BALLOT - 2003 LARG ELECTION OF OFFICERS

President

Larry McCaig, KC1YC -------------------- _____

_____________________ -------------------- _____


Vice-President

Dale Harrison, K3CN --------------------_____

______________________ --------------------_____


Secretary

Carol Boehler, KF4TJJ ---------------------_____

_____________________ ---------------------_____


Treasurer

Gary Quinn, NC4S ---------------------_____

_____________________ ---------------------_____


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LARG 2003 Schedule of Events

January
11 - NA QSO Party - CW
18 - NA QSO Party - SSB
18 - LARG Club meeting
18-19 - ARRL VHF contest
24-26 - CQ 160 meter CW contest

February
15 - LARG Club meeting
15-16 - ARRL DX CW contest
21-23 - CQ 160 meter SSB contest

March (big goings on this month...)
2-3 - ARRL DX SSB contest
15 - LARG Club meeting
15-16 - Virginia QSO Party!!
29-30 - CQ WPX SSB contest

April
19 - LARG Club meeting

May
4 - New England QSO Party
16-18 - Dayton Hamvention
17 - LARG Club meeting
24-25 - CQ WPX CW contest

June
14-16 ARRL VHF Party
21 - LARG CLUB meeting?
28-29 - ARRL Field Day!!

July
12-13 - IARU contest
19 - LARG Club Meeting

August
2 - North American QSO Party - CW
9-10 - MD/DC QSO Party
16 - LARG Club meeting
16 - North American QSO Party - SSB
24 - Reston Century bike ride (?)

September
13 - ARRL September VHF QSO Party
20 - LARG Club meeting

October
11-12 - Pennsylvania QSO Party
18 - LARG Club meeting
24-26 - CQ WW SSB contest

November
1-2 - ARRL Sweepstakes CW contest
15-16 - ARRL Sweepstakes SSB contest
15 - LARG Club meeting
21-23 - CQ WW CW contest

December
10 - 6th Annual LARG Christmas Dinner
6-7 - ARRL 160 meter contest
13-14 - ARRL 10 meter contest
31 - Leesburg First Night

Calendar of Events:

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