05/13/2024
St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club
Originally licensed as WN2JTL in 1968. License and interest lapsed until 1984 when relicensed as N2ESP. I currently hold an Extra class license and a BSEE from the Florida Institute of Technology.
I am past President of the St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) and trustee of W4TA, the club’s contest station. I’m also a member of Florida Contest Group, an ARRL Volunteer Examiner, member of the ARRL A-1 Operator Club, frustrated DXer, 10-10 member (40586) and charter member of the Radio Shack Battery of the Month Club.
Station QTH is a small island (USi: FL285S Coquina Key) on the shores of Tampa Bay (Pinellas County / EL87qr). Station consists of an Elecraft K3/P3 (100W) into a ZeroFive GP-1040 Vertical/Ground Plane or an 80M Horizontal Loop. QSL via LoTW.
For those folks that missed Dean’s, (W8IM) program at our August meeting, a link to the video produced by Ed, NZ1Q is available by clicking here.
UPDATE: Below is a radiogram sent to Bob, N2ESP from Dean, W8IM aboard the USS American Victory, KKUI after his presentation to SPARC.
If you would like to learn the art of radioteletype, aka RTTY, do we have a deal for you. The ARRL is sponsoring the North American QSO Party – RTTY. Starting on Saturday July 21st at 2:00PM local time, and running for 12 hours. We will be running two stations simultaneously at W4TA in class M2.
NAQP – RTTY is a fun contest as all stations are required to run 100 watts or less. This makes for a relatively even playing field, with advantages to stations with good antennas … Click for more
The SPARC Contest Group, W4TA, just completed another running of the Florida QSO Party sponsored by the Florida Contest Group. The only good thing I can say about the propagation was that it sucked equally for all contestants. In spite of conditions, the FCG did everything in its power to pull off another successful event. Thanks for all the hard work.
SPARC has a habit of keeping score to a different drummer. Yes we had QSOs–1263 to be exact. These break down as follows…
Band Mode QSOs Pts … Click for more
Did you know that Wi-Fi and mobile technology are the main ways people access the internet? How do 50 wireless clients can all share the same access point channel at the same time? Why are there so many questions about Wi-Fi? Join us at our May 4th meeting as SPARC member and Wi-Fi professional, Glenn N4GRC, answers these and other questions about Wi-Fi and WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networking) technology. And, if time allows, he will also answer that question that we are all dying to know: “Can you … Click for more
Technically, it’s still after the holidays, so….it’s time to party.
Thanks to efforts by Molly, KN4GFN, we have a place for our After the Holidays Party. We’ll be dining at Bob Evan’s Restaurant at 2410 66th Street (corner of Tyrone & 66th). The date is Sunday, March 18 at 4:00PM. Dress is casual and everyone will be responsible for their own bill.
A signup sheet will be available at Friday’s club meeting, or email Bob, N2ESP you plan to attend. Hope to see you there.
SPARC has a wide variety of used equipment for sale. Equipment is on display inside W4GAC Clubhouse. Local pickup only. Click here to view the list.