*VE Testing a succes!

Thanks to KA3VXR Barb Bender and the Dividing Ridge Amateur Radio Club :

On Thursday, April 16, 2009 the Dividing Ridge VEs sponsored an ARRL/VEC exam session on the UPJ Campus in Johnstown. Because of their hard work and efforts, there are now 15 newly-licensed amateur operators on the air. Thanks to everyone involved!

*A new repeater in the area:

CVARC member and Cambria ARES EC K3WS Tom Brew has announced the instllation of his repeater K3WS-R in Northern Cambria. This new repeater operates on 147.060 MHz with positive input and uses PL123. Tom will have this machine operating as the northern hub of the Cambria County ARES/RACES emergency radio network. Let's give this new rig a workout and give Tom a round of thanks for his efforts. Thanks also to a host of others behind the scenes that made this repeater possible, including N8PSU and the Blue Knob Repeater Association, N3YFO, and last but not least N3XCC. Good work everyone!

*Echo Link Now Available On WA3WGN

With thanks to K3WS Tom Brew, Cambria ARES EC, EchoLink is now available to users of the WA3WGN repeater on 146.94 mhz. If you're already an EchoLink user, click K3WS-L to connect to the CVARC repeater. For those not familiar, the quick story on EchoLink is that it allows an operator to connect to repeaters via the internet. It's a great way to contact fellow hams who may have relocated or who are no longer able to maintain a larger station but can use a computer. For more information on this enormously popular mode, visit www.echolink.org.

*Thursday Night Digital Get Together

At 7:30 (or so) on Thursday evenings, several local amateurs have been getting together on WA3WGN for digital slow scan. If you're not familiar with digital modes, come in and ask questions. It's informal and informational, and there will be plenty of help available to get you started. If you're familiar with digital modes, our favorite program seems to be EasyPal for digital slow scan. We'll be looking for you there!

*WA3WGN Is Back On Laurel Mountain!

On Saturday, November 1, the WA3WGN repeater moved to its new home on Laurel Mountain. The repeater is housed in the Sumrada Communications building at the summit of Laurel Mountain above Decker Avenue. The antenna is approximately 180 feet above ground. This professional antenna installation by climber Andy Hower, with help from Dave Chubski and John Sumrada, is expected to serve the Club well for many years to come. Along with Andy, Dave, and John, CVARC members KA3OAC Gary, KB3PSJ Tom, and WB3JSW Dave spent a long day on the mountain helping to get the job done. WA3WGN now has Echo Station capabilities and there is talk of setting up Echo Link in the near future.Good repeater reports are coming in and many operators who haven't used this machine in quite some time are rediscovering it. With such a good equipment installation, the CVARC can now concentrate on the fun of amateur radio! Click here for pictures

The Sunday Night Net has returned to WA3WGN -146.94mhz - at 9:00pm every Sunday. Hope to hear you there!

*Cambria County RACES/ARES Net

With the return of the WA3WGN repeater, the Cambria County RACES/ARES Net will revert to the prior system, which was following the CVARC net on Sunday evenings. Here's the rundown: The CVARC net will run at 9:00 Sunday evenings on the WA3WGN repeater at 146.94mhz. Immediately following the CVARC net, the Cambria RACES/ARES net will be conducted on the KC3DES repeater at 145.21 mhz PL123. We will call all check-ins from the CVARC net, and of course we will welcome anyone else who can join in. Eventually, as their ranks fill, RACES/ARES will conduct a net of their own. Information will be posted here and announced on the nets as that time approaches.

*Meeting Reminder

Just a friendly reminder to those of you who may not have been to a meeting recently: Meeting time has moved back from 7:30pm to the original 7:00pm. The later time didn't seem to attract any more participants, so the group voted to return to the more popular 7:00pm time slot. Meetings are still held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Hiram G. Andrews Center in Johnstown. All amateur radio operators in the area are welcome to attend.

*Monthly Breakfast

The monthly CVARC Breakfast has been gaining steadily in popularity over the last few months. If you haven't been there yet, give it a try. Who can argue with good food and good company?! Breakfasts are held on the Saturday immediately following our monthly meeting- 8:30am at Our Son's Restaurant on Broad Street in Johnstown.