(Editor)

Greetings to All OVH Members:

Welcome to my first column as OVH President. I hope the coming year will provide fun and learning opportunities for our membership. The February meeting minutes in this newsletter mention some activities for the OVH in the next several months. If you have ideas for programs or club functions, please let me know. (Phone 361-5865 e-mail KV4AP@arrl.net) Do you have questions about operating or technical matters? Let's try to provide some answers.

Please remember that March 30 is the end of the renewal period. If you haven't renewed your membership by then, you won't receive the 2001 membership card with the new repeater codes. I urge you to send in your dues before the end of the month. Better yet, come to the meeting on March 19 where you can renew and participate in our OVH plans.

Jeff/KV4AP

Local information can always be obtained, at any time, through the usage of the OVH repeaters (146.97- & 224.660- Mhz). All are welcome.

Letters to the Editor and Classified Ads are accepted and welcome. Approx. Circulation - 170

Happy March Birthday to Henry/N4AZC, President Jeff/KV4AP, Russell/WB4HHN, Scott/KE4LYN, and Rita/KE4TMU. May each of your birthdays be a great day!

Good news! Mary, wife to Ken/W5AOC, is home from the hospital!

More good news! Idee, wife to Bob/N4RL, is back in Annaburg Manor. Call Bob to schedule a visit -- 703-361-7335.

Also plan to visit Dick/WD4AZG at home. He has a busy schedule, so please call first -- 703-791-3839.

Have a great Ham month!

• This weekend on the radio: The North American Sprint (RTTY) and the Wisconsin QSO Party are the weekend of March 9-11. JUST AHEAD: the CLARA and Family HF Contest (SSB and CW) is March 13-14; the Virginia QSO Party is the weekend of March 17-18. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, http://www.arrl.org/contests/ for more info.
• Eastern New York gets new Section Manager: The ARRL Eastern New York Section has a new Section Manager. Rob Leiden, KR2L, who had served as SM since March 1996, has stepped down because he has moved out of the section. On March 1, ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, appointed Peter A. Cecere, N2YJZ, of Woodstock, New York, to complete Leiden's term of office, which expires March 31, 2002.
• JAMSAT makes donation to Phase 3D Project: The Japan Amateur Satellite Corporation has donated approximately $38,000 to the Phase 3D Project. AMSAT-DL has expressed its gratitude for the contribution toward ongoing AO-40 activities. In a letter to JAMSAT President Tak Okamoto, JA2PKI, AMSAT-DL President and P3D Project Leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, wrote that the money would go toward helping AMSAT-DL to speed up the commissioning of AO-40, including the SCOPE cameras contributed by JAMSAT.
• 10-10 Net President Thomas A. Henderson, K4CIH, SK: 10-10 International President Tom Henderson, K4CIH, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, died March 4. He was 64. Henderson reportedly had suffered a massive heart attack February 14 and had been in a coma. He was an ARRL member. Known to other 10-10 International Net members as #33233, Henderson was licensed in 1959 and had been active in 10-10 since 1980. He joined the board as a director in 1993 and became president in 1995. Henderson was a retired nursing supervisor. Services were private. Chuck Imsande, W6YLJ, has been designated to succeed Henderson. Visit the 10-10 Net International Web site at http://www.ten- ten.org. --Gerry Gross, WA6POZ
• Richard "Rick" Vahan, N4PBF, SK: Well-known Southern Florida amateur Rick Vahan, N4PBF, of Miami, Florida, died February 28, of leukemia. He was 73. Vahan served as president of the Dade Radio Club, was a past director of the South Florida FM Association and a member of Dade County ARES, as well as an acclaimed volunteer for W4EHW at the National Hurricane Center. He also served as an ARRL Public Information Officer. Vahan's interest in scuba diving led to a position as a curator at the New England Aquarium, where he also did public relations. He later became curator of education at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. In 1972 Jacques Cousteau invited Vahan to ghostwrite The Ocean World of Jacques Cousteau. Vahan later worked for the Dade County Office of Film and TV Coordination, where he promoted the county as a TV and film location. He retired in 1994. A memorial service will be held March 17, 2 PM at the Unitarian Church, 7701 SW 76 Ave, Miami.
• Javier Ledesma, EA4AV, SK: Well-known DXer Javier Ledesma, EA4AV, of Madrid, Spain, died February 24. He was 64. Ledesma was named one of the first three International DXCC Card Checkers by ARRL at the URE national convention in 1996. He very actively served URE members and the ARRL DXCC Desk in this volunteer role until last December when he had to withdraw because of failing health. He was involved as a delegate to the Madrid section of URE, and he was a member of the URE general assembly. Ledesma held DXCC Number One Honor Roll, 5BDXCC, 5BWAS, and 5BWAZ (all 200 zones). --Paco Campos, EA4BT; by Chuck Hutchinson, K8CH
• Burton to serve term in Texas: FCC sources say that former ham Richard Allen Burton, ex-WB6JAC, who was convicted of unlicensed operation, will spend his three months in jail in a federal detention facility in Ft Worth, Texas. Burton also was sentenced earlier this year to one year's probation and must undergo psychological treatment. The sentence resulted from a plea agreement. Originally set to begin serving his term in late February, Burton was allowed another couple of weeks to report to the federal prison in Ft Worth on his own, instead of being transported there in the company of US marshals. He's scheduled to report to begin serving his term March 19. Burton, who has a long history of alleged unlicensed operation, has been free on $20,000 bond since his arrest last August.