Amateur Radio From Loudoun County VA

      The next LARG Club meeting will be on May 19, 2001, at 8:30 in the Conference-Training Room at the Leesburg Police Station on Plaza Street at 8:30 a.m. The facility is located on Plaza Street between East Market Street and Edwards Ferry Road. Talk-In is on 147.480 MHz. You can join other LARG members for breakfast (~7:30) before the meeting at the Bob Evans Restaurant located in the Leesburg Corner Shopping Center.

April Club Meeting - John, W4AU, gave a brief summary of the club's results in the Virginia QSO Party. Not only did we have some fine individual efforts, but the club total score of 848,549 points was a new record for LARG and just may be enough for us to win the club category this year! Bob, W4POF, gave a demonstration of camera package that will be part of the payload on the next balloon flight. His ingenious combination of a 35mm camera, a motorized shutter system made from a dysfunctional VCR, and a large block of Styrofoam, combined with gaff-rigged mainsail, was a sight to behold. The fox hunt after the regular meeting had fewer participants than normal due to other conflicting events (see below) and the fact that everyone seems to be busier in the spring-time. A late start did not prevent Tom, NA4MA, from finding the fox, which was virtually in WB3AKD's backyard.

May Meeting Notes - Gary, NC4S, will bring us up to date on this year's Field Day plans and will have the operator sign-up sheet at the meeting for everyone to pick an operating or logging time. Remember we need people help set up antennas on the Friday evening and the Saturday morning before Field Day starts as well as to help take everything down on Sunday after 2:00 p.m. Also, we will have some notebook computers at the meeting to do some more TRLog training to get people ready for Field Day and computer logging. Field Day Sign-up - The sign-up sheet for operating at Field Day is looking pretty blank right now! We need more members to put their names down for operating times. We should make it clear that you have more than one option: First, of course you can just sign up to be the principle operator at a given station, remember we will have 6 separate operating locations, including VHF/UHF. Second, you can sign up to be assistant or auxiliary operator. You might choose the latter alternative at a station using the mode(s) you want to operate early in Field Day just to see how an experienced operator works or if you are uncertain about the computer logging, for example. Then you can sign up at that or a similar station to operate later in the day. A third option is to sign up for a free slot and then indicate that you would like to have an experienced op to sit in at least for a while just to get you over any "rough" spots. Remember we want and need as many operators as possible; we don't want to have any unattended stations during FD this year.

Club News - Norm, AI2C, put together a fine ham radio demonstration at the Boy Scout Camporee on April 21. We had six LARG members on the site helping the scouts make the first QSO's and to work on their merit badges; eleven other LARGer's served as contacts for the HF and VHF stations at the site. Be sure to check out Norm's fine photos on our website.

The launch date for the next LARG balloon flight has been set for July 21, which will replace our regular club meeting.

Don't forget to come to the Manasses Hamfest on Sunday, June 3. Not only is this fest one of the best in the region, but it is where the awards for the 2001 Virginia QSO Party will be given out. Come and cheer for your club and its members!

Under the direction of Bill, K8SYH, we've started our General Class license classes in the Balch Library in Leesburg. The library has excellent facilities and a comfortable meeting room for the classes. It's not too late to join if you have been thinking at all about up grading your amateur license.

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