Posts published in “Contesting”

SPARC August Operating Event – North American QSO Party SSB

By Tom Schaeffer W4CU

SSB Operators needed: The SPARC Club Station at DMI will be fired up for the SSB edition of the North American QSO Party (NAQP) on August 20th. The contest starts at 2PM Eastern Time and runs for 12 hours. The North American QSO Parties are favorites of beginners and seasoned operators alike. Everyone is invited to participate. We would particularly like to see newly licensed hams and new club members get involved or just stop by to see what’s going on.

Details of the event can found at: https://ncjweb.com/NAQP/… Click for more

SPARC July Operating Event – North American QSO Party RTTY

By Tom Schaeffer W4CU

Following up on a successful Field Day, SPARC is planning to participate in the July North American QSO Party (NAQP). The NAQP takes place 6 times a year with 2 RTTY, 2 CW, and 2 SSB. events. The upcoming RTTY event will be held Saturday July 16 starting at 2PM Eastern Time and lasting 12 hours.

Details can be found at: https://ncjweb.com/naqp

Experienced operators and anyone wishing to learn more about RTTY or improve their skills are encouraged to contact either Rich AA2MF at: rcariello49@gmail.com or Tom W4CU at: tom_w4cu@yahoo.com.

SPARC Member A Top Ten Finisher

By Bob Wanek N2ESP

SPARC member and former club Vice President Rich, AA2MF, was among the top finishers in the 2021 ARRL RTTY Roundup radiosport event. Competing in the Single Operator, RTTY Only, Low Power category, Rich earned 102,178 points, giving him a top ten finish in the US and Canada. Congratulations Rich for a job well done.

4 QSO Parties this Weekend Covering 16 States.

By Tom Schaefer NY4I

This weekend (May 1 and 2) is the “4 QSO parties in one” weekend.

This includes the New England QSO Party (6 NE states), 7th Call Area (8 states), Indiana and Delaware.

QSO parties are a great way to pick up states you need to WAS on different bands. With better propagation lately, you may even be able to get some 10 meter states.

To make it easier to log, the organizers of these four events will all accept logs with contacts of the others. They will filter out the … Click for more

Winter Field Day This Weekend!

By Tom Schaefer NY4I

Winter Field Day is this weekend. Full rules can be found at the Winter Field Day website at https://www.winterfieldday.com. The event starts at 2:00 PM EST Saturday and goes until 2:00 PM EST on Sunday. Available modes are SSB, CW, RTTY, PSK31 and other conversational digital modes–not FT8 or FT4 according to their rules.

For the last several years we have joined with our friends at the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society and the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club at the Clearwater Fire Training Center to setup for Winter Field … Click for more

Aardvarks Rank High in Makrothen RTTY Contest

By Bob Wanek N2ESP

Seeing the need for a small Radiosport (contest) group, two SPARC members, Tom W4CU and Rich AA2MF asked members of CARS, SPARC and UPARC if they would be interested in learning more about contesting by joining a small local group. As a result, the Aardvark Wireless Group was formed. When asked how the name was chosen, Tom stated “we’ll always be at the top of the list.” Members of the group consist of both experienced contesters and folks that have never participated in a contest. The group provides a focal … Click for more