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Posts published in “Field Day”

ARRL Field Day 2025 Follow-Up Report

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 07/11/2025

Club banners and satellite antenna [Photo by AF4O]
It would be somewhat trite to say we got the band back together for ARRL Field Day this year, but that is nonetheless what we did. Members of SPARC teamed up with members from the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society and the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club for the annual ARRL Field Day this past June. Specifically, June 27 and 28th at the Clearwater Fire Training Center off of Belcher Road. 

We have been at this facility before with both the other clubs for the most recent Winter Field Day in January and in years past. It is a wonderful facility and sharing the workload with the other clubs allows us to put on what I think is a better event.  As with other Field Days in the summer, we opt to setup temporary antennas but we do operate inside. We also use commercial power (since for a real emergency, we are well-versed in using the generators and the Clearwater EOC which is also at this facility has a generator).

We set out to run 3 stations plus the free VHF station for 6 meters and the satellite station. This all went to plan with the three UPARC Elecraft K3 radios, Paul KC4YDY (“6 meter Paul”) Yaesu radio for 6m and the 9700/Arrow antenna satellite station.

We grabbed the usual bonus points such as the natural power QSOs, a visit by a served agency, passing the Field day message to the Section Manager and copying the Field Day bulletin. We also managed to send 10 NTS messages from attendees and even had a youth contact. While we always get the media publicity bonus, this year thanks to the tenacity of Bruce K2BHS, we did it in style.

WFLA Comes to Town

Bruce K2BHS joined the Field Day Planning Committee with the intention of acting as the public relations person. Bruce sent invitations to various elected officials, served agencies and many media outlets. This paid off handsomely. Bruce was contacted by WFLA that they wanted to do a live broadcast from our Field Day site on Sunday morning starting at 6:00 AM. Yes, 6:00 AM on Sunday–not a typo. Reporter Jenna Bass and her camera operator came out to the site and setup for their live shot. But it wasn’t just one live shot. Bruce did three on-camera interviews. You can see one of those videos here.

Jenna Bass of WFLA talks to Kenny K4OB [Photo by AF4O]
Jenna Bass of WFLA and Bruce K2BHS during one of the Live Standups [Photo by AF4O].
The video at the end of this article is a later video they did at 6:00 PM on the Sunday of Field Day. This has more “action shots” and interviews with other members.

 

 

 

So how did we do?

We made over 2400 QSOs this year. The three HF stations stayed busy as did the 6m station. Here is a map of all the ARRL sections we contacted:

ARRL Sections Worked
All operators making at least one QSO
Graph showing how active the stations were. Notice even overnight stayed relatively busy.

 

Olev at the Digital station [Photo by N4OHI’s camera]
Orin KG1S (foreground), Bruce K2BHS, Danielle, Jeff NE4C and Jason N4BOZ on the background [Photo by N4OHI]
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have plenty of pictures yet to put in a gallery. But this gives you an idea of the event. More to come…

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ARRL 2025 Field Day Dry-Run Report

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 06/23/2025

On Saturday June 21, members of CARS, SPARC and UPARC met at the Clearwater Fire Training Center for the Field Day Dry-Run. This is where we setup the radios and computers to ensure we have all the necessary cables for this coming weekend’s ARRL Field Day. We do not setup the antennas or coax but we do perform a transmitter test on the Elecraft K3 radios to ensure they are transmitting full power.

Ron N2SKH and Ryan AF4O setting up the CW station. while Olev N4OHI looks on. [Photo by K2BHS]
We started at 9:00 AM and were able to finish up by 11:30 AM. It is a few well-spent hours to make sure we have all the little cables and other accouterment that radios and computers need to operate (microphones, CW keys, foot switch, USB cables, etc).

Rob WD4IFT and Tom NY4I setting up the computers. [Photo by K2BHS]
You still have time to register for Field Day to let us know you are coming. The deadline is TONIGHT at 11:59 PM to guarantee food. We need an accurate head count so if you have not signed-up already, please do so today. If you are unsure if you have already signed up, you can confirm by clicking here. If you have not signed-up, please go to this link to sign up now.

A K3 station ready to go…[Photo by K2BHS]

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ARRL Field Day 2025

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 05/23/2025

The Sign-up deadline for food has passed.

You are still welcome to attend but please plan on your own meals.

ARRL Field Day is a combined event to test our ability to setup radio communication under less than ideal conditions–think temporary antennas, generators and radio gear. Our event this year is a combined event with three clubs—the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society (CARS), St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) and the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club (UPARC). The date is Saturday, June 28th starting at 2:00 PM until Sunday, June 29th at 2:00 PM. Setup generally begins in earnest at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning. The location for all of this is the Clearwater Fire Department Fire Training Center at 1716 N. Belcher Road in Clearwater. Click here for a map.

The operation is comprised of 3 HF stations (all Elecraft K3 radios). We also have a 6 meter station and a satellite station. We use TR4W for logging and WSJT-X for FT8/FT4 operations. All operations are inside in the training center building (air conditioning since it is Florida in June). For modes, we run SSB (voice), FT8 and CW. For CW operators, a Bencher paddle is provided but if you have a favorite paddle or straight key, bring it along. The computer sends CW as well but you can go “old-school” if you like.  No experience is necessary beyond a willingness to learn and try something new. If you have never operated a radio, we have plenty of people to help you out to show you how to make a contact to help you get started. In no time, you will be working stations all over the US and Canada. If you plan on operating, please bring your own headphones. For sanitary reasons, we do not share headphones or microphone headsets. We have adapters for your headphones as well as Heil and RadioSport cables. We also have desk mics for the radios for those that do not have microphone headsets.

We have the equipment all arranged as well as food and drink. Lunch is provided.  Dinner Saturday will be provided (more details to follow) with sides provides by the attendees (dish to share). We do ask a few things related to food:

  • One, we need to know you are coming so please sign up by clicking here so we have an accurate count of the people attending so we do not run out of food.
  • We also ask that if you are coming for dinner on Saturday, bring a dish (side or dessert) to share with everyone (no, a bag of chips is not a side-dish).
  • If you do sign-up for meals but your plans change, please let us know so we have as accurate a count as possible.

The public is welcome as one of the purposes of Field Day is to introduce amateur radio to new people.

Field Day is the premiere event on our club calendars and we hope to see as many club members and guests as possible. Remember, Saturday June 28th–rain or shine–at 2:00 PM with setup starting at 8:00 AM.

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SPARC Field Day Results & Video

By Tom Schaeffer W4CU on 07/03/2024

The 2024 SPARC Field Day was attended by 47 Hams, guests and visitors. Twenty two individuals operated and shared in reaching 1924 QSOs. The breakdown of QSOs was 800 on phone, 671 on CW and 453 on FT8. The Club’s total submitted score was 6,796 with 6096 points attributed to contacts and 700 bonus points for items such as media publicity, sending formal messages, copying the ARRL Field Day message, and site visits by an elected official. The picnic lunch/dinner event was enjoyed by all who attended. Over all, Field Day was a success and lots of fun.

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Join Field Day at SPARC, June 22-23

By Ed NZ1Q on 06/08/2024
The St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club will hold its annual ARRL Field Day 2024 operating event from Saturday, June 22, 2024, through Sunday, June 23, 2024. The Field Day activities will commence at 14:00 local time on 6/22 and end at 16:59 local time on 6/23.
 
Field Day is an important and fun annual event for the Amateur Radio Community. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) has been holding it annually every June since 1933. This will be the ARRL’s 91st Annual Field Day event.
 
Field Day is a 24-hour event that allows amateur radio operators to test their communication skills in simulated emergency situations. Originally, this was done without the luxuries of typical infrastructure (e.g., AC electricity). Some clubs and/or participants would actually participate in this activity in parks and campgrounds, where they would have to rely strictly on the bare minimum to power communication equipment. Some participants slept in tents during this event when they were not working the airwaves.
 
All amateurs, regardless of current license class and their families and friends, are invited to participate. Multiple modes will be used, like CW, SSB, and digital modes, to name a few. It is also a time to promote fellowship amongst the worldwide Amateur Radio Community.
 
All are invited to attend and encouraged to do so. The event will be held at our club station at:
DMI Research
6699 90th Ave. N.
Pinellas Park, FL 33782
 
Sign-up on SLACK or contact a SPARC officer. We look forward to seeing you there.
Pictures from SPARC FD last year.
73’s
Bruce H. Solov, KF4TYA

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SPARC Field Day Video

By Ed NZ1Q on 07/04/2023

 

The video covering most of the efforts by the SPARC operators was captured by 3 participants and put together in a short video on the SPARC YouTube channel.

Video Here

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