There are still a few seats left for the Richmond Amateur Radio Club's Extra Class License Prep Class.  If you're thinking about upgrading to Extra, this is a great opportunity to learn the material in a classroom setting where you can interact with others and ask questions.  This 6-week course will meet Tuesday nights from April 2 to May 7 at Bon Air United Methodist Church.  The registration deadline is March 22.  You can find more information and a registration link on the RARC web site at https://rarclub.net/license/class-schedules/

The Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Association will be on the air to celebrate their 100th anniversary from 2:00 PM local time Friday, March 15 through 2:00 PM Saturday, March 16.  You can find them on or around 7.150, 7.220, 14.256, and 14.340 MHz.  They are offering a VTARA QSL card for HF contacts.

From their QRZ page:  "The Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Association is a student-run organization dedicated to advancing the amateur radio hobby in the Virginia Tech community. VTARA provides field communications, emergency communications, education, and volunteer testing services to the local community.  The origins of VTARA date back to 1913, but [it] was officially associated in 1922.  Our principle members are current students at Virginia Tech."

Every now and then, the club could really use the help of some folks with desktop publishing and/or graphics design background, such as postcards and other mailings, fliers/PDFs announcing club activities, outreach and promotional materials for Field Day and other club activities.  We're sure there are people in our club who are really good at this, and we'd like to know who you are.  If you can volunteer your time to produce something beyond the basic stuff we have been making in Microsoft Word and Windows Paint, please send a note to board@rats.net and let us know.  We don't need this very often, but it will be good to have a list of members who can help the next time the need arises.

The monthly RATS Membership Meeting is this Friday, February 16 at 7:30 PM on Zoom.  All are welcome; you do not need to be a RATS member to attend our meetings.

Minutes for the last RATS meeting (January 19) have been posted to rats.net/minutes for membership review and approval at this week's meeting.

This month, we will have two special guest presentations.  Gordon Miller NQ4K of the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) will be speaking briefly about the upcoming Virginia QSO Party.  Then, Kevin Behn K0KLB of Ham Radio QRP - K0KLB on YouTube will join us to talk about QRP (low-power) operation.

The 2024 Virginia QSO Party will take place the weekend of March 16 & 17.

VAQP is designed to promote amateur radio activity in Virginia's 95 counties and 38 independent cities.  This contest offers an abundance of certificates and plaques for operators of all skill levels and capabilities.  RATS has sponsored the Single Operator VHF Only plaque for many years.

You'll find the full contest rules here.  Here's an excerpt with the key points from the rules as currently published (2/10/2024):

• Virginia stations work all stations. Out-of-State stations work Virginia stations only.
• Work fixed stations once per band/mode.
• Work Virginia Expeditions, Rovers, and Mobiles in each Virginia County or Independent City from which they operate.
• Stations on County or Independent City lines count as one QSO and one County/Independent City multiplier.
• Mobile, Rover, and Expedition stations must use appropriate suffix in call sign.
• Satellite contacts allowed.
• No cross-mode or repeater QSO's.
• Spotting nets, DX clusters, etc., may be used to locate other stations.
• Self-spotting permitted.

This year, we plan to put a radio or two on the air at Laurel Park in Henrico County.  We're in the process of finalizing our reservation for the same shelter we use for Summer Field Day every year.  We hope you can join us on the air or at the park.

As usual we'll be looking for a few volunteers to help with equipment transport, set-up, and tear-down.

Find out more at our February and March membership meetings.

Rob Marshall KI4MCW reports, "We're all submitted.  Claimed score is 3292, including bonus points for outdoor setup, multiple antenna setup, and for setting up away from home.  We had 21 CW contacts and 214 phone contacts, from 47 different states and provinces and 4 different DX entities.  Bragging rights go to Mike KM4WSA, who had the most contacts (81)."

Here's a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Pocahontas State Park, and especially the folks who helped lug equipment to and from storage, put antennas in the air, or donated to this event.

THANK YOU Scott Avery AD4SA, Bill Catogni N4WLC, David Kleinholtz KO4RNT, Wayne Scarberry K9WVU, and our cash donors for your generous support of Winter Field Day 2024.  Donations covered over 100% of the $763 cost for cabin rental, portable toilet rental, food/beverage, and other expenses.

Dues pay the bills, donations help make the big activities happen.  If you'd like to throw a few extra bucks in the pot, go to rats.net/donate.

The National Weather Service Wakefield WFO will offer Basic SKYWARN Spotter Training on Thursday, February 29 at 6:30 PM, at the Ashcake Volunteer Rescue Squad, 8375 New Ashcake Road in Mechanicsville.  Seats are limited and pre-registration is required.  To sign up, register here.

Spotter training is offered at various locations around the Wakefield CWA each year.  Training is good for three years and may be renewed by taking either a Basic or Advanced Spotter class.

The RATS 146.88 machine is the primary SKYWARN repeater for central Virginia.  When severe weather threatens our region, volunteers from the NWS Wakefield SKYWARN Amateur Radio Support Team (WX4AKQ) may activate a net to collect reports from spotters.  For more information on the SKYWARN program, see rats.net/skywarn.

Traveling?  Away from a radio?  Curious what's happening on C4FM/WIRES-X or DMR but don't have the right equipment?  You can once again listen to the RATS repeaters from anywhere, 24/7/365.  Internet streaming has been restored.  The 146.88 and 442.55 repeaters are live now, and the DMR repeater will be added soon.  For information and links, visit rats.net/streaming

Richmond Amateur Radio Club is offering license classes for all three levels, plus some skills seminars featuring topics like antenna modeling, D-STAR setup, radiosport and contesting, remote station setup and operation, and "Station Setup 101."

If you see something that interests you, we encourage you to sign up early!  RARC's high quality educational programs can fill up fast.

You'll find their schedule and registration links here.

Members who have signed up to volunteer on the club's new Elmer Program should have received an invitation to a kick-off meeting tonight (February 6) via Zoom.  If you need a re-send, contact Nathaniel Wooley W1OLE.

The RATS Elmer Program will be a multi-faceted program that includes several educational and technical assistance resources for new and upgraded hams, proactive outreach to new licensees, online resources and reference materials, and a technical "help desk" e-mail address.  Services are available to all RATS members and selected new and recently upgraded licensees in central Virginia.  Around a dozen RATS members with various areas of expertise have offered up their knowledge and experience for this program, and we look forward to offering this service to the community.

The RATS Board of Directors will hold its monthly business meeting Wednesday night (February 7) at 6:30 PM via Zoom.  All RATS members are welcome to attend.  Club members can find draft minutes and video from last month's Board meeting here.