SPARC | St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club

Radio Clubs in the Park

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 08/21/2019

Our friends in the north, the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club, have for a long time done a monthly foray into a local park called UPARC in the Park. This is to setup radios/antennas and just get together for some outdoor fun. Since we all enjoy getting together at the “Field Days” with UPARC and CARS, we decided to do a joint Radio Clubs in the Park. On September 21, 2019, at Eagle Lake Park in Largo, we invite everyone to

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SPARC’s Own Lisa, KC1YL – ARRL’s “Member Spotlight” Sept QST

By Ed NZ1Q on 08/13/2019

SPARC salutes one of our members for being highlighted in QST for Ham Radio Accomplishments in Connecticut as well as Florida. Don’t miss the full page article in QST where Lisa is in the ARRL Spotlight – Volunteer operating, E-Coms support, CERT, club participation and VE testing, new ham promotion and more.

On the ARRL web site page 13 (login required) or read the article here.

Related Images:

Getting Started on the SPARC Remote Station

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 08/05/2019

A few people have asked recently how to get started on the SPARC Remote station. For those that may not know, a benefit of SPARC membership is the ability to use the club station remotely via your PC. This is done via the free RemoteHams software. You can always find information on how to get started on our Remote Station page but I will summarize it here too. The complete RemoteHams Getting Started Guide is available as a PDF. I highly recommend reading this before you get started.

Assuming … Click for more

Are You Ready to RTTY…

By Bob Wanek N2ESP on 07/13/2019

As announced at the last meeting, will be participating as W4TA in the North American QSO Party-RTTY.

This contest begins at 2:00 PM local time on Saturday July 20, 2019. The contest continues for 12 hours, ending early Sunday morning. W4TA will be operating in class M2, i.e. two transmitters will be on the air at the same time, but on different bands.

This contest is a great chance for newcomers to get your feet wet in digital contesting. WARNING: RTTY contesting is addictive, so plan to stay awhile. … Click for more

SPARC Lagniappe *

By Bob Wanek N2ESP on 07/12/2019

For some interesting free weather software, check out www.windy.com

Top Ten Ways You Know You Just Might Be Married To a Ham

10) His favorite superheroes are Marconi and Tesla.
9) His sense of wellbeing is tied to the sunspot cycle.
8) His electric shaver has a backup diesel generator.
7) He shows you his PL-259 connector.
6) For a romantic honeymoon, he chooses Dayton over Tahiti.
5) He rates your love making in S units.
4) He buys you an HT for your anniversary.
3) He attaches a … Click for more

Field Day 2019 Wrapup

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 07/03/2019

One could not have asked for better weather. An old standard is that ARRL Field Day is the fourth full weekend of rain in June. This year, that axiom proved false as there was not any rain in site the entire weekend. Of course, this being Florida, no rain at the tail end of June means heat—and it was HOT!

The three club banners on the big fire tower stairs [N2ESPhoto]

Antennas

Therefore, the antenna crew got an early start on Saturday June 22, raising the … Click for more