SPARC Members attend West Central Florida Section TECHCON

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 02/26/2017

Section Manager Darrell KT4WX discussing PICAXE Microcontrollers.

On Saturday, February 25, several members of SPARC made the trip to Sarasota for the 3rd annual WCF section TECHCON. This is a free technical conference put on by the WCF ARRL section technical staff. The location changes to various places around the section to allow the most section members to attend.

This year, there were two conference tracks. One focused on more introductory topics such as station design, antenna building, APRS and programable microcontrollers such as the PICAXE and the Arduino. … Click for more

HAMCATION 2017

By Bob Wanek N2ESP on 02/12/2017

The trip over to the big Hamfest in Orlando was easy and the weather was great. I chatted with Ed NZ1Q, Bob N2ESP and Bob KC4SXO mobile to mobile on the way. I think we all got there just before the gates opened. All the usual factory vendors were there and you could see all the new stuff. It was a little odd not to see AES there but HRO and the other main radio suppliers were there. HRO had Gordon West signing autographs and promoting educational supplies.

Moving outside … Click for more

Some New Toys Released at Dayton

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 05/20/2016

Here are some pictures I collected from Twitter feeds of the Hamvention in Dayton.

New Kenwood APRS and DStar HT (in the flesh)

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2015 SPARCFest Review

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 11/28/2015

It was a crisp morning, but it was a welcome respite from a summer in Florida that decided to overstay its welcome. Start time was 8:00 AM but as usual, that means folks were lines up at 6:30 to get the best spots. The SPARCFest at Freedom Lake Park in Pinellas Park is in its 3rd year now. This is an extension of the hamfest the club used to do at Lake Maggiore in St. Petersburg. The SPARCFest had the usual assortment of people selling treasures from their attic to … Click for more

Posts published in “Hamfests”