Club banners and satellite antenna [Photo by AF4O]It would be somewhat trite to say we got the band back together for ARRL Field Day this year, but that is nonetheless what we did. Members of SPARC teamed up with members from the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society and the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club for the annual ARRL Field Day this past June. Specifically, June 27 and 28th at the Clearwater Fire Training Center off of Belcher Road.
We have been at this facility before with both the other clubs for the most recent Winter Field Day in January and in years past. It is a wonderful facility and sharing the workload with the other clubs allows us to put on what I think is a better event. As with other Field Days in the summer, we opt to setup temporary antennas but we do operate inside. We also use commercial power (since for a real emergency, we are well-versed in using the generators and the Clearwater EOC which is also at this facility has a generator).
We set out to run 3 stations plus the free VHF station for 6 meters and the satellite station. This all went to plan with the three UPARC Elecraft K3 radios, Paul KC4YDY (“6 meter Paul”) Yaesu radio for 6m and the 9700/Arrow antenna satellite station.
We grabbed the usual bonus points such as the natural power QSOs, a visit by a served agency, passing the Field day message to the Section Manager and copying the Field Day bulletin. We also managed to send 10 NTS messages from attendees and even had a youth contact. While we always get the media publicity bonus, this year thanks to the tenacity of Bruce K2BHS, we did it in style.
WFLA Comes to Town
Bruce K2BHS joined the Field Day Planning Committee with the intention of acting as the public relations person. Bruce sent invitations to various elected officials, served agencies and many media outlets. This paid off handsomely. Bruce was contacted by WFLA that they wanted to do a live broadcast from our Field Day site on Sunday morning starting at 6:00 AM. Yes, 6:00 AM on Sunday–not a typo. Reporter Jenna Bass and her camera operator came out to the site and setup for their live shot. But it wasn’t just one live shot. Bruce did three on-camera interviews. You can see one of those videos here.
Jenna Bass of WFLA talks to Kenny K4OB [Photo by AF4O]Jenna Bass of WFLA and Bruce K2BHS during one of the Live Standups [Photo by AF4O].The video at the end of this article is a later video they did at 6:00 PM on the Sunday of Field Day. This has more “action shots” and interviews with other members.
So how did we do?
We made over 2400 QSOs this year. The three HF stations stayed busy as did the 6m station. Here is a map of all the ARRL sections we contacted:
ARRL Sections WorkedAll operators making at least one QSOGraph showing how active the stations were. Notice even overnight stayed relatively busy.
Olev at the Digital station [Photo by N4OHI’s camera]Orin KG1S (foreground), Bruce K2BHS, Danielle, Jeff NE4C and Jason N4BOZ on the background [Photo by N4OHI]
I have plenty of pictures yet to put in a gallery. But this gives you an idea of the event. More to come…
On Saturday June 21, members of CARS, SPARC and UPARC met at the Clearwater Fire Training Center for the Field Day Dry-Run. This is where we setup the radios and computers to ensure we have all the necessary cables for this coming weekend’s ARRL Field Day. We do not setup the antennas or coax but we do perform a transmitter test on the Elecraft K3 radios to ensure they are transmitting full power.
Ron N2SKH and Ryan AF4O setting up the CW station. while Olev N4OHI looks on. [Photo by K2BHS]We started at 9:00 AM and were able to finish up by 11:30 AM. It is a few well-spent hours to make sure we have all the little cables and other accouterment that radios and computers need to operate (microphones, CW keys, foot switch, USB cables, etc).
Rob WD4IFT and Tom NY4I setting up the computers. [Photo by K2BHS]You still have time to register for Field Day to let us know you are coming. The deadline is TONIGHT at 11:59 PM to guarantee food. We need an accurate head count so if you have not signed-up already, please do so today. If you are unsure if you have already signed up, you can confirm by clicking here. If you have not signed-up, please go to this link to sign up now.
The St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club held its annual Mobile Installation Contest at the Monthly Meeting on May 2, 2025.
Congratulations to this year’s winners: Lisa, KC1YL and Joe, W4GGJ.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest. A great time was had by all.
(photos by: Bruce, K2BHS)
Lisa KC1YL, winner of the HF category Installation (with Paul KA4IOX). [Photo by Bruce K2BHS]Joe W4GGJ, winner of the VHF/UHF category Installation (with Paul KA4IOX). [Photo by Bruce K2BHS]Lisa KC1YL next to her POTA-mobile complete with orange mast. [Photo by Bruce K2BHS]How exactly does Lisa KC1YL get through a drive-thru? [Photo by Bruce K2BHS]Ed NZ1Q filling in his score sheet as a judge. [Photo by Bruce K2BHS]The mounting section of Lisa KC1YL’s portable antenna. [Photo by Bruce K2BHS]
Bruce K2BHS’s installation.Bruce K2BHS
Glenn N4GRC showing his installation [Photo by Bruce K2BHS]
You are still welcome to attend but please plan on your own meals.
ARRL Field Day is a combined event to test our ability to setup radio communication under less than ideal conditions–think temporary antennas, generators and radio gear. Our event this year is a combined event with three clubs—the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society (CARS), St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) and the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club (UPARC). The date is Saturday, June 28thstarting at 2:00 PM until Sunday, June 29th at 2:00 PM. Setup generally begins in earnest at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning. The location for all of this is the Clearwater Fire Department Fire Training Center at 1716 N. Belcher Road in Clearwater. Click here for a map.
The operation is comprised of 3 HF stations (all Elecraft K3 radios). We also have a 6 meter station and a satellite station. We use TR4W for logging and WSJT-X for FT8/FT4 operations. All operations are inside in the training center building (air conditioning since it is Florida in June). For modes, we run SSB (voice), FT8 and CW. For CW operators, a Bencher paddle is provided but if you have a favorite paddle or straight key, bring it along. The computer sends CW as well but you can go “old-school” if you like. No experience is necessary beyond a willingness to learn and try something new. If you have never operated a radio, we have plenty of people to help you out to show you how to make a contact to help you get started. In no time, you will be working stations all over the US and Canada. If you plan on operating, please bring your own headphones. For sanitary reasons, we do not share headphones or microphone headsets. We have adapters for your headphones as well as Heil and RadioSport cables. We also have desk mics for the radios for those that do not have microphone headsets.
We have the equipment all arranged as well as food and drink. Lunch is provided. Dinner Saturday will be provided (more details to follow) with sides provides by the attendees (dish to share). We do ask a few things related to food:
One, we need to know you are coming so please sign up by clicking here so we have an accurate count of the people attending so we do not run out of food.
We also ask that if you are coming for dinner on Saturday, bring a dish (side or dessert) to share with everyone (no, a bag of chips is not a side-dish).
If you do sign-up for meals but your plans change, please let us know so we have as accurate a count as possible.
The public is welcome as one of the purposes of Field Day is to introduce amateur radio to new people.
Field Day is the premiere event on our club calendars and we hope to see as many club members and guests as possible. Remember, Saturday June 28th–rain or shine–at 2:00 PM with setup starting at 8:00 AM.
Sunrise over the southeastern Georgia coast [Photo by NY4I]Just beyond the Florida-Georgia border, exit 1 off I-95 ushers you into a world that feels distinctly different. As you leave the bustling traffic of Jacksonville behind, time seems to slow in St. Marys, Georgia. The first landmark to greet you is the sail of a mock Polaris submarine, seemingly surfacing from the parking lot of the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. From March 26th to March 30th, several members of local radio clubs made their way to Crooked River State Park (US-2170) to participate in an annual Risk tournament (yes, the classic board game). As dedicated amateur radio enthusiasts, we quickly realized that being in a state park also provided us the perfect opportunity to operate our radios and activate US-2170 as part of the Parks-on-the-Air (POTA) program. And as a bonus, this was the weekend of the CQ WPX SSB contest which meant using one of our 2×1 callsigns would make us the belle of the ball where other stations wanted to work us for a multiplier–meaning we could call CQ and work massive pile-ups!
First up was the antennas.
Ryan (AF4O), Jeff (NE4C), Jason (N4BOZ), Tom (WX4TOM) and Tom (NY4I) arrived and began setting up several antennas and equipment. Our primary rig was an Elecraft K4, complemented by a bit of extra power from an Elecraft KPA500. If we could have figured out a way to power a KPA1500 from the stove, we would have certainly given it a shot—but we needed the stove for cooking!
Ryan AF4O working on the Hex beam while Jeff NE4C looks on [Photo by NY4I]
The hex beam raised pointing to Europe [Photo by AF4O]
Ryan and Jason immediately got to work setting up a wire antenna to get us on the air, while Tom (NY4I) prepared the K4 and amplifier. We also had a CW paddle and FT8 capability, allowing us to make contacts in those modes as well as SSB. The cabin we used for our setup was shared with two non-hams for sleeping, making CW and FT8 ideal for late-night and early-morning sessions when others were asleep. However, the highlight of our operation was the Hex Beam, where we focused on calling CQ POTA via SSB.
On the Air
Each day was a blend of radio operation during the day and Risk tournament games in the evenings following by socializing around the campfire at night; which left us with limited time for evening operating. The daily sessions leading up to the WPX contest resulted in constant pile-ups, with everyone eager to work US-2170. While most parks operate with a maximum of 100 watts to wire antennas, our setup with 500 watts to the Hex Beam gave us a significant advantage, ensuring we had a strong signal.
The following chart shows all the different places we contacted:
[Image by AF4O]The contacts mentioned above also included participation in the WPX contest, which awards multipliers for unique callsign prefixes. Notably, Jeff Palmer’s callsign, NE4C, features the rare NE4 prefix. After analyzing logs from previous years, we discovered that relatively few NE4 callsigns participated in the WPX contest compared to AF4 and NY4. As a result, we decided to utilize Jeff’s callsign for our operations. Additionally, since we were operating from a park, the WPX contest contacts also counted toward our POTA (Parks on the Air) totals. The QSO break down was as follows:
Results
Here is a break down from the POTA.APP website on each operator (NE4C, AF4O and NY4I) all using the callsign NE4C:
Jeff (NE4C) is a master of SSB contacts, effortlessly racking up QSO after QSO. On Thursday, March 27, he made an impressive 390 contacts, followed by 227 on Friday, 115 on Saturday, and 12 on Sunday (all times are in UTC, so anything after 8:00 PM on Saturday technically counts as Sunday). A great feature of POTA logging is that under a single callsign, both the main call and the operator receive credit. When we enter “OPON” in our logging software (TR4W, of course), both the operator and the station callsign (NE4C in this case) are credited. You can also see the CW contacts made by NY4I on March 27, along with the late-night data contacts.
Incidentally, KQ4WTG listed in the table above was not in our group. He is a frequent activator of Crooked River State Park. We never heard him on the air.
The following are some more pictures of our trip.
Look at the wall-to-wall stations on the waterfall. [Photo by AF4O]Our operating position at the cabin’s dining table. [Photo by AF4O]The outside of the cabins. [Photo by AF4O]
We also had time to enjoy the area. On Friday morning, we took a trip out to Folkston, Georgia to visit the Folkston Train Viewing Platform to watch trains.
A southbound Amtrak train. Yes that is of course an IC-705 in the foreground. [Photo by AF4O]A CSX freight train rolls by…[Photo by AF4O]
Wrap-Up
This trip was a blast! We packed a wide range of activities into just a few short days. A big thank you to all the POTA hunters who worked with us, as well as to the stations we contacted during the WPX contest. Special thanks to Ryan (AF4O) for bringing all the antennas and the amplifier, and to everyone who helped with the setup. Jason (N4BOZ) and Tom (WX4TOM) didn’t even operate but helped setup! While we can’t make any guarantees for next year—especially considering the pesky bugs this time of year—we’re considering a simpler setup, like an antenna on a truck mount or just a pole along a fence. Regardless of what we decide, one thing is certain: it will be a fun experience!
