W4CA
Roanoke Valley Amateur Radio Club (RVARC) is dedicated to the advancement of amateur radio, serving Southwest Virginia, since 1932
Mission Statement
To provide emergency communications services to the community;
assist other civic organizations;
promote the technical craft of amateur radio
through class training and testing;
mentor new amateur operators and members;
and enhance fellowship among radio amateurs.
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Join Us
Meetings: 2nd and 4th Fridays at the American Red Cross (see footer for more information)
Facebook group: rvarc.w4ca
Email list: Get signed up HERE
Officers
President: Martin K4EQS Rosendale president@w4ca.com
Vice President: Ben KK4EWT Williams viecpresident@w4ca.com
Secretary: Linda KQ4VGS Cheek secretary@w4ca.com
Treasurer: Doug N4MGW Kabler treasurer@w4ca.com
Membership/Webmaster: Linda KQ4VGS Cheek membership@w4ca.com, webmaster@w4ca.com
ARES DEC: FM KI4LH Hite ARES@w4ca.com
Directors: Scott KN4ZFI Shrewsbury, James KN4MKX Pascoe, William N4ZSG Dodge, Tom W4TKW Wilcox coreteam@w4ca.com
2026 Planned Events
March 28 – Radios In The Park
April 25 – Auction
May – Dayton Hamvention
June – Field Day
August 1 – Hamfest
September 6 – Blue Ridge Bonanza
October – Radios In Ther Park
October 17-18 – JOTA
November 1 – Mill Mountain Star
December – Holiday Party
Potluck February 27
RVARC Auction -- April 25
It’s time to get ready for the auction in April. Go through your equipment. See what you aren’t using anymore, and consider putting it in the auction. You’ll get 90% of the proceeds, and 10% will be donated to RVARC.
Go through your equipment and think of what you would like to have that you don’t. Then come to the auction and bid on those items that might be available.
If you would like to help with the auction, contact Ben KK4EWT Williams at activities@w4ca.com.
Looking for a Few Good Men and Women
By Pat N3AYW Lewis
Recently a local served agency asked if there was a way to connect two cities (in Virginia ) for keyboard to keyboard emergency “comms” .
BUT without any infrastructure in between….. no links, no internet, no satellites, no packet modems
AND this mode would allow humans to talk to humans almost real time but have the weak signal and error correction just like the proven programs used for sending messages via Winlink.
Turns out…
Vara Chat ( Varac or VarAC ) already does an incredible job of many things hams like to do. Even QSO ing…. Actually communicating directly… just like CW or voice at a distance. But Vara Chat has many more secrets….even beyond hams texting ( hi hi )
So. If you are up to the challenge, you should load the free program and try it. It looks complicated at first. Runs on the same computers as Winlink ( either windows 10 or 11 at my shack with ICOM 7300 , 9700, and 705 so far )
My hope is that some more local hams will adopt Vara Chat, and help me learn how to use it ( both of VHF and HF ). And sometime this year live testing between two Red Cross teams in different towns can be supported by a communication technique that doesn’t require cell phones, satellites, or internet ( or even repeaters). Human to human in effect. But for now we can experiment and play and learn locally too.
Meeting With Eating
Our next Meeting with Eating is March 14 at 8:30 AM at Golden Corral, 1441 Town Square Blvd, Roanoke.
They will arrange a row of tables for us in the main room as it takes over 15 people to reserve a back room. Just watch for one of us at the check-in to point you in the right direction.
We need better attendance than January, when only 2 people came. If we don’t have a group, we shouldn’t reserve the room. So please consider coming for socialization, with spouse, family and friends.
Analysis of Questionnaire About How RVARC Can Be Better.
Thank you for your responses to our questionnaire. 32 people responded. We will use the suggestions to make improvements in how the club proceeds.