This Friday September 15th, we will be welcoming back Axel Fisser (K8AXX). Axel will be following up on his battery building presentation from a couple months ago with a lithium charging presentation. Join us on zoom this Friday at 7:30pm eastern time.

The Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society is looking for more people to do presentations for our club meetings. If you have a presentation, or have someone in mind to do a presentation, please email programs@rats.net and our program committee will get back with you to coordinate a schedule and discuss your topics.

At its September 6 meeting, the RATS Board established a Program Committee.  According to our by-laws, the Program Committee "shall be responsible for the coordination and procurement of speakers and/or programs for each meeting."  This will alleviate a burden traditionally taken on almost entirely by the Board of Directors and it should help bring compelling content and new presenters to the monthly membership meetings.

If you would like to give a presentation at a RATS meeting, or if you are interested in serving on the committee (up to four seats are available) contact programs@rats.net.

The current RATS membership year ends September 30.  Members are encouraged to renew now to avoid a lapse in membership.  Dues will increase on October 1.  Renew before the end of day September 30 to enjoy the current 2019 rate ($25 individual, $40 family) for one more year.

Memberships not renewed will lapse on October 1, resulting in a loss of voting rights and other membership privileges.  Lapsed memberships may be immediately reinstated at the new pricing by paying online no later than December 30, after which a new application must be submitted for approval by the membership.  Don't delay, renew today.

Voting in the club's annual election closed at the start of this month's membership meeting and results were announced this evening.

Outgoing Board members - thank you for your service!

• Secretary - Ray Robins KN4OJB
• Director - Charles John KI4WCK
• Director - Jason Pye KD4LEM

Incoming Board members:

• Secretary - Steve Crow KG4PEQ
• Director - Bill Catogni N4WLC
• Director - Nathaniel Wooley W1OLE

Re-elected for a second term:

• Treasurer - Doc Ellis W4RYQ

The final meeting of the current Board will be Wednesday, September 6.  New Board members will take office at the September 15, 2023 membership meeting.  Official election results can be found here.

The monthly RATS membership meeting will be held via Zoom beginning at 7:40 PM.

Voting in the annual club elections will close immediately upon start of the membership meeting.  Electronic ballots will be tallied and the results of the election will be announced later this evening.  If you have not yet received a link to your ballot, or if you have experienced any difficulty casting your vote, please contact board@rats.net for assistance as soon as possible.

Club member Nathaniel Wooley W1OLE will give tonight's presentation.

RATS member David Thomas WD3O has passed along a list of items for sale from the estate of Chuck Smith W4SVR (SK).  Sale of the assets is being facilitated by Marshall WA4OFW.  You can find his contact information at the top of the list.

[W4SVR (SK) Estate Ham Gear and Electronics for Sale]

As previously advertised, this year's club election will be held online using the same service we used at our August 2022 Special Membership Meeting.

The Nominating Committee has distributed links to an online ballot for all active club members with a working e-mail address on file.  Please look for an e-mail from our online voting service provider, Election Runner.  E-mails went out this morning (7/31) around 6 AM.  You can access candidate biographies by clicking on the "i" icon next to their name on the ballot.

Voting will close on August 18.

As a fully-electronic club, RATS asks all members to keep an up-to-date e-mail address on file at all times.  This will ensure you receive club announcements and other important communications.  Members can do this by logging in to their account on this web site.  If you are an active RATS member and did not receive a link to your ballot, please contact Ray Robins at secretary@rats.net.

The Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club is hosting its 72nd annual Berryville Hamfest at the usual spot, Clarke County Fairgrounds, 890 W Main St in Berryville, about 2.5 hours north of Richmond via I-95 and US-17.

Gates open at 6:00 AM, country ham and egg breakfast served at 7:00, and vendor buildings open by 8:00 AM.  Admission is $10 (cash only), under 16 free.  Camping spaces are available Saturday night for $15 per vehicle.

VE testing will be held at the nearby Clarke County High School beginning at 12:00 noon.

For more information, see the Berryville Hamfest web site.

All area hams are invited to join the RVAHams Slack server, which hosts a variety of discussion channels on such topics as simplex, digital voice & data, HF, direction finding, and more.  There's also a beginners channel which is an excellent source of information for newcomers in the hobby, a market channel for buy/sell/trade posts, and a general-purpose ragchew channel for stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else.

This Slack server was started several years ago and is hosted by Reid Barden N1VCU.  There is no cost to participate.  It has a well established user base of numerous local hams and we'd love to have you join us.

Click here to access the RVAHams Slack server