“The Sun and HF Radio Propagation” by Ed, NZ1Q, presented at the Dec 1, 2023 SPARC meeting.

By Ed NZ1Q on 12/06/2023

This second presentation given by Ed, NZ1Q followed last month’s presentation by KC4SXO on “What the Numbers Mean.” The Dec presentation discusses how the sun’s activity affects radio wave propagation on Earth.

View Ed’s presentation on the SPARC YouTube page: HERE

Download the PowerPoint slides: The Sun & HF Propagation

Tune in to the SPARC nightly net for the latest numbers on our repeater (Nightly SPARC Net 6:30 pm, SPARC Repeater 147.060, pre-net @ 6 pm), via EchoLink (NZ1Q-L), or on Broadcastify.com as WA4AKH https://www.broadcastify.com/webPlayer/35028

“What do the Numbers Mean” by Bob, KC4SXO. Presented at the Nov 3, 2023 SPARC meeting.

By Ed NZ1Q on 11/05/2023

On the nightly SPARC net (6:30 pm SPARC Repeater 147.060, St Petersburg, FL) Bob presents the Solar forecast for the day. He runs through the published numbers for the sun’s activity and subsequent radio conditions on Earth. This presentation describes what the numbers really mean.

View Bob’s presentation HERE

Download the PowerPoint slides: What Do The Numbers Mean title page (1)

Tune in to the SPARC net on the repeater, or via EchoLink (NZ1Q-L), or on Broadcastify.com as WA4AKH https://www.broadcastify.com/webPlayer/35028

Cancelled: October SPARC Operating Event: Makrothen RTTY Contest

By Tom Schaeffer W4CU on 10/02/2023

Unfortunately SPARC will not participate in theMakrothen RTTY event and the club station will not be open October 14 and 15

Makrothen RTTY is a favorite operating event of SPARC and other RTTY operators because the score for a contact is the distance from you to the contact. Scores in the millions of points are routine. In fact, in 2017 SPARC placed Second World Wide with a score of 2,023,660. This year’s contest will take place October 14 & 15.

Leslie Johnson WA4EEZ SK

By Pat AAØO on 08/30/2023

I’m sad to report that we were informed that Leslie Johnson WA4EEZ became a silent key last week. Leslie was a club board member in 2005 and was later that year voted in as VP when the president resigned and positions were adjusted. She served as VP in 2006 and then served as club President in 2007 & 2008, after which she was given the President Emeritus title. In 2013, Leslie completed the impressive Worked All Counties award, working all 3,077 counties in the US. Leslie enjoyed contesting, particularly RTTY … Click for more

North American QSO Party Side Band Results!

By Tom Schaeffer W4CU on 08/22/2023

SPARC had another successful effort in the August 19, 2023 NAQP SSB contest. The W4TA team worked a total of 873 QSO’s in 12 hours for a score of 136,118 points. The score was the second highest of Florida Contest Group Multi Two entries exceeded only by a group in the Virgin Islands. Looking at the 3080’s reported M/2 entries, W4TA was 11 out of 20 in the category.

SPARC operators were: AA2MF, WD8MIU, K04WPO, KQ4DVG, KQ4DXM, KA4IOX and W4CU. Special thanks to W7WFS who worked on raising the tower, … Click for more

SPARC Club Station Open to All Members and Visitors August 19.

By Tom Schaeffer W4CU on 08/17/2023

SPARC will activate the club station for the National QSO Party SSB (NAQP SSB) contest on Saturday August 19. The contest begins at 2:00 pm and runs for 12 hours. Sign ups for operating have been completed. The station will be open to interested club members, hams, non-hams, family and friends to see the station in action, learn about contest operation, or help out. For additional information, contact Tom W4CU at tjsw4cu@aol.com