SPARC

SPARC to Meet At New Location Starting January 2026

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 12/06/2025

At the December 2025 SPARC meeting, members approved moving the SPARC meetings to the Wyoming Antelope Club in Pinellas Park. We will meet there starting with our January 2, 2026 meeting. There is more info to follow about the site including pictures but please review the meeting location page for more information on getting to the site. PLEASE remember to stay under the posted speed limit. We are guests so please observe the posted speed limit.

There is also a work party on Sunday December 14th at the DMI location … Click for more

New 2026 Board Officers…

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 11/16/2025

At the November 2025 regular meeting of SPARC, the membership elected the nominated officers. As there were no challengers to the current board and the current board agreed to serve another year, the officers for the new year are the same as the old year.

Elected for another term include:

Tom Schaefer NY4I – President
Carol De La Torre AB4YI – Vice-President
Bruce Solov K2BHS – Secretary
Will Scott W7WMS – Treasurer
Board Members
- Dee Turner N4GD
- John Toth KI4UIP
- Dan (Nic) Nichols KZ0J

You can find a full list … Click for more

Clubs can support the ARRL’s HOA Bill as Well…

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 11/06/2025

As you may be aware, the ARRL is supporting a grass roots effort to help pass the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act (“HOA Bill”). Any licensed amateur or GMRS operator can fill out the form available. Hams can use this link: https://send-a-letter.org/hoa/

GMRS operators can use this link: https://send-a-letter.org/gmrs/

If you are both a ham and a GMRS operator, fill them both out…

But clubs can also pitch in to help pass this bill. The difference is clubs were asked to send PDFs of a signed letter (drafted by the organizers … Click for more

Officer Nominations 2025 and Proposed Bylaw Changes

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 10/13/2025

The nominating committee led by Hal Chase W1EES put forth a slate of officer nominations at the October 2025 SPARC meeting. All the current officers were willing to run again hence that was the slate the nominating committee put forth. The members in attendance were then asked if there were any nominations from the floor for each specific position. Hearing none, the nominations were closed. Per the SPARC by-laws, nominations from the floor must be made at the October meeting and are not accepted at the November meeting. Since none … Click for more

SPARC Searching for a New Home…

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 10/03/2025

SPARC as you may know maintains a club station and meeting location at a local business named DMI in Pinellas Park. SPARC was advised recently that due to the owner’s changing priorities, we must find a new meeting location. This also means we must remove the equipment from the club station and all our antennas including the tower. We just found out about this recently and there will more discussions on the subject. Your officers have been contacting others and handling the calls we have been receiving about people offering … Click for more

Introduction to WinLink by Mike Drake. SPARC meeting, July 2025

By Ed NZ1Q on 07/17/2025

WinLink presentation by Mike Drake at SPARC’s July meeting. Email over radio, including concept, detailed operation, and how to set up your own WinLink station.

In this presentation by Mike, he starts with the basic concepts of email via radio and then goes into many of the features of WinLink. Finally, he discusses what is needed to set up your own WinLink station.

Click here for the video.