Panoramic view of the Battery on Egmont Key State Park
I noticed a tweet describing how SPARC member Pat Connelly KX4HL and a few others participated in the State Parks On the Air this past weekend. I asked Pat if he could pass along some pictures and a summary of their activities. This is Pat’s report:
I saw a post in the Amateur Radio section of Reddit about the Florida State Parks on the Air operating event/contest. This was the first I’d heard of it, but the second year of the event. I’ve been interested in portable operating and have done it a few times. The post on reddit was from Corey Clark N1COR who was talking about activating Egmont Key State Park for the event. I’ve been out to Egmont Key a few times and it would be a great place to setup so I sent him a message to see if I could join him and he agreed.
Pat KX4HL operating from the Egmont Key State Park
I met up with Corey and his friend Anson Shurr WU2F at Fort Desoto and we took the ferry over to Egmont Key State Park. We setup in Battery Mellon at the north end of the island. Conveniently, there was a picnic table inside the one of the rooms we used as the shack. We both used 12m Spiderbeam fiberglass push-up poles as antenna supports. Corey setup with an end fed antenna using his Yaesu FT-450D transceiver and a LiFePo4 battery. I used my Yaesu FT-891 transceiver with an AGM battery connected to a solar panel. Since my radio doesn’t have a tuner I use resonant antennas. I first setup a quarter wave 40m wire vertical with 2 elevated radials. This worked better than previous times I had tried it and I was able to make around 20 contacts. Later I switched to a 20m dipole and made a few more contacts. We had some issues with interaction between the antennas so we took turns transmitting. We made over 60 contacts with the furthest being in Italy! It was a fun day in a beautiful spot.
If you’re interested in activating state parks, there are a couple programs that run all year: World Wide Flora & Fauna in Amateur Radio (WWFF) and the US only spin-off of WWFF, Parks on the Air (POTA). POTA is still building their logging database but it will be done soon. The main difference between the two is that WWFF requires 44 QSOs for an activation to count and POTA only requires 10. Both groups have very active Facebook groups where activators post their activity so you can chase them.
So far I’ve activated 4 parks (2 POTA and 2 WWFF, counting last week) and I plan on taking a road trip soon to do a bunch more.
Not a bad way to spend a dayPat adjusting an antennaAnson WU2F on an HTAnson WU2F operating an HF stationPat roughing it from the “shack”RF finds a way…
Thanks Pat for the report and activating the park. It is great to see SPARC members in action….
The April meeting program by Paul, KA4IOX will describe how to setup the two most popular digital communication applications, FLDIGI and WSJT-X. This overview will cover basic concepts for connecting your equipment and establishing communications with digital modes. Paul will also offer (for later use in your shack) a detailed step-by-step written process for set up and operation of your own digital station. Common setup issues will be covered along with how to troubleshoot them.
The presentation includes connections for a separate transmitter-receiver pair with a digital interface as well as using the latest digital enabled (USB) transceivers, both can easily be setup for FLDIGI (PSK, Olivia, MFSK, etc.) and WSJT-X (JT-65, FT-8, etc.). Join us for an informative “how-to” presentation that will get you started with some of the best digital operating modes.
SPARC will be conducting a full day DXLabs workshop on Saturday April 21st starting at 10:00 AM. The purpose of this is to introduce people to using the DXLabs Suite of software. If you are a recent convert to DXLabs or looking to change from a different logging package, this is the session for you. Topics we will cover include:
Installing the software
Converting from your current logging software
Set up of Logbook of the World (LOTW), QRZ and eQSL integration
Getting setup on LOTW including TQSL and completing your setup if you bring your LOTW postcard (more below).
Connecting DXLabs to your radio for rig control
Using DXView so you can see where the DX is.
Digital interfaces
Using DXKeeper for award chasing specifically DXCC and WAS.
Other topics as determined by the audience
This is an all day session so bring lunch. We have a small ‘fridge if necessary and a microwave. Water and soft drinks are available for purchase from the club’s ‘fridge. The workshop will end around 5:00 PM. Please plan on staying the whole time.
Important – If you have a laptop that you use in your shack, bring it along. That way we can install the software right on your computer. Also, seating is limited so please email NY4I@arrl.net to reserve your spot. Please only register if you are actively looking to switch to DXLabs or have recently done so. You are welcome to attend if you are just curious but since this is a hands-on workshop with laptops, if we have too many people, it will be difficult to help those seeking to actively switch to the software.
If you have never heard of DXLabs and would like more info to see if you want to switch, check here. You will find information on the software and its capabilities.
Logbook of the World (LOTW)
Since one of the areas we will cover includes LOTW, if you are still trying to get setup on LOTW, we can help at this session too. Even if you use another logging package, bring along your laptop and we can help you get setup on LOTW. However, if you have never tried to setup on LOTW before, you MUST go to this link and get started. The process starts with installing TQSL and requesting a certificate. The ARRL will send you a post card. Bring this post card along to the session. If you have trouble with this step, email Tom at NY4I@arrl.net. When you register, please let me know if you are just looking for LOTW help or to switch to DXLabs suite of software.
The SPARC Contesters invite everyone to come out and operate the CQ WPX SSB contest starting at 8:00 PM on Friday, March 23. We will be at the club station to work as many stations as we can–all on phone. The WPX contest is a fun contest as we use a rare prefix (NY4) which makes us a multiplier and hence, a desired station to work. You can experience what it is like to operate on the “other side” of the pileup. Rates of 100 contacts an hour are not uncommon. But we also stress introducing new people to contesting and will also work with anyone new to get them comfortable working stations. We have lots of “Elmers” around to help you out. When not operating, we always have people hanging around to discuss your latest project.
We need operators. If you can come out, please email Tom at NY4I@arrl.net so we know you are coming. We can create a schedule so even if you only have a couple of hours, you can get in and operate. Full rules on WPX contest are available here. Please bring your own headset or headphones. If you do not have a headset with a microphone, you can use the boom mic but you will want headphones so bring a set along—we have adapters.
In yet another new feature to bring more contesting to you, you can now watch the SPARC contesters live in the shack. Click here to go to the Upcoming HF Events page here and you can watch a live bird’s eye view of the stations operating. It is video only (no sound). We will be down there until 1:00 AM Sunday morning.
You can also watch how we are doing with our real-time score board available here.
While we hope people can make it to the station, this is the next best thing to being there. This is a work in progress so your feedback is appreciated.
This past weekend (February 10th – 11th, 2018), the SPARC Contesters activated the SPARC club station again to participate in the CQ WPX RTTY Contest. You may recall that in last year’s effort, SPARC achieved the highest score in our history and had the top score in the 4th call area. We also had the 7th highest score in the US in the Multi-operator, Single transmitter category.
2017 Certificate (Note the score is the final score versus the 3.1 million points we submitted)
The WPX RTTY contest, sponsored by CQ Magazine, uses unique callsign prefixes as a multiplier. So the more distinct prefixes used, the higher the score. This means that stations with a rarer prefix as desired by the other participants. This time we used the callsign of Dave KR4U. Using a rarer prefix means we predominately stayed on a frequency and called CQ—waiting for stations to call us. At times, this yielded 4 contacts a minute which is about as fast as one can make a complete RTTY contact.
The contest was organized by Ron KP2N with help from the rest of the team. Dave KR4U and John KI4UIP ( with the additional assistance of Donn N4KII) have been working hard on antennas and the star of the antenna farm in this contest was the new Force 12 Sigma 40 vertical dipole. We made use of the Log Periodic for 20 meters and the new 80/160 doublet for 80 meters. We even used the doublet as a receiving antenna when working 40m to help with any noise the vertical antenna picked up.
We had the usual assortment of goodies including our now customary Sunday morning bagels to keep the 9 people that operated well-nourished. Considering this was the same weekend as the Orlando hamfest, it is a fine testament to the dedication of the contest team that we were able to keep the station operating for the full 48 hours. So how did we do?
Our score and QSO totals were similar to last year but with us adding 100,000 to last year’s points for a total points total of 3,284,788 points. That was made up of a total of 1941 QSOs and 700 unique prefixes (multipliers). Bob N2ESP led the contact count with 548 QSOs. Rounding out the top 5 operators in QSOs was Scotty N4RI, Ron KP2N, Dave KR4U and Tom NY4I. Other operators included Paul KA4IOX, Rex KB8ESY, Leslie WA4EEZ and John KI4UIP.
The Real-time Score Display showing on a TV at the station
If you were at Field Day, you may recall our real-time score display on both the big-screen TV at the station as well as available on the SPARC website. This was in-use again with one of our usual contesters, Tom W4CU even checking the score while on vacation in Hawaii.
Tom W4CU and his YL Joy in Hawaii.Leslie WA4EEZ operating the RTTY station
Here, you see a few action shots of Bob N2ESP and Leslie WA4EEZ running stations. As this is a RTTY contest, it is mostly point and click using the computer to decode and send the RTTY signals. When 3 different stations as all calling at once, it gets very intense and it is always fun to have rare DX call us.
Bob N2ESP makes contacts while Leslie WA4EEZ looks on…
Speaking of rare DX, on Friday night, Dave KR4U mentioned he had been trying to bust through a pile-up on 30m at home to get the Kosovo station z60A on RTTY. During his first shift at 8:51 PM Friday, z60A called Dave on 40 meters. It pays to have the rare call in a prefix contest!
From the chart below, you can see the breakdown of contacts per band and our rate. As anyone that has contested with us knows, we are competitive and like to keep track of these things, but we also like to have people that are new learn.
Showing our sustained rate per hourTotal number of contacts by band
We had two of our newer regular contesters, Paul Ka4IOX and Rex KB4ESY with us again. John KA4UIP also made some contacts (That is rare as John is the club fabricator/machinist and is usually found putting things together rather than operating—what would we do with John and Dave?). It is always great to see newer contesters continue to participate with us. Learning to use the logging software (N1MM) on RTTY is a new experience for us all (having switched from WriteLog last year). We learn together and get better each time. As we always say, all are welcome and no experience is necessary. We will stop everything to teach new people how to contest as that is what keeps a ready supply of contesters for years to come.
As we cannot all operate at the same time, we can even do non-contest things while we are at the station. On Sunday, Winston VE3YFB/W4 emailed Tom NY4I asking if anyone could help him checkout a Yaesu FT901 HF radio he bought at Orlando. Since we were at the station, I said to bring the rig down and we could check it out. It was fun to tune a radio with the tube in the final amplifier. I hadn’t done that in awhile but it’s like riding a bike. It’s dip the load and peak the plate, right?. We checked out the rig and it was working well. While there, we also put a new set of UHF connectors on coax for the new 30 meter dipole. That is a great example that even if you are not contesting, just being there will expose you to different aspects of the hobby. We hope to see you all there next time.
Our next RTTY contest is on February 24. You are welcome to come down. It is a great time to hang out with fellow hams, learn a few things and just have fun.
