The second issue of the ARRL’s new On the Air magazine is available to all ARRL members online. Click here for more information and to access the latest issue. While you may think you are an old hand that cannot learn anything new, so far both issues have been interesting. It is also good to read to know the types of things appealing to newer hams.
If you are not an ARRL member, please consider joining. It is our national amateur radio organization that provides many services plus advocacy on many issues regarding the various commercial interests with eyes on more and more radio spectrum. New ARRL members can choose to receive On The Air or QST.
Another Winter Field Day has come and gone (more than a few weeks ago due to my belated report). The weather was mild if not just a tad cold at night (for us Floridians anyway). The now annual combined Winter Field Day effort between the Clearwater ARS, St. Petersburg ARC and Upper Pinellas ARC took place the weekend of January 25 at the Clearwater Fire Training Center.
Antenna crew lifting the beam into place on the tall fire tower [Photo by Julie NF1T].Ron KP2N at the CW station [Photo by ]Rex KB8ESY and Glenn N4ESU operating one of the SSB stations. [Photo by ]Tom NY4I at the satellite station talking to Charlie W4OQM. [Photo by ]Club members working the off-center fed dipole. [Photo by ]Pre-setup team meeting. [Photo by ]Operating a SSB station [N2ESPhoto]
So how did we do?
Our total numbers of contacts was above 1200 making for the most we have made from this site in a Field Day (Winter or Summer). The total points of 19788 were sent in at the end of February with the results typically released about 4 months later. We had a great time, made lots of contacts including all possible bonus points and the satellite contact, tried some digital modes and had a total of 21 operators make at least one contact. Getting new people to work stations is always one of our goals so it’s great to see new people working the radios. Hams making contacts included:
NE4C N4ESU N6MSA WA4OAB AA0O
WR6N KB8ESY KR4U K4OB N4EC NY4I
W4WYR KC1EMJ N4KIN N4GRC NB2G
N4BOZ KP2N WB9AZV KO4V NF1T
From the map below, you can see we worked all US sections and just missed two VE sections.
Dave KR4U operation the CW station while Ron KP2N looks on [N2ESPhoto]Our hosts [N2ESPhoto]Rich AA2MF “The Band Boss” talks with Dave KR4U and Ron KP2N [N2ESPhoto]Tom NY4I operating the satellite station while Jeff NE4C looks on [N2ESPhoto] – Yes, the cigar makes it work better.Front(l to r): Jack N4KIN, Scott XXXXX; Middle: Rich AA2MF, Glen N4GAC; Rear: Pat AA0O and Norm. [Photo by Julie NF1T]The power behind it all. [Photoo by ]Arrow antenna for the satellite contact [Photo byRon N6MSA working his Braille keyboard running stations on 80m. [Photo by ]
I have lots more photos and some videos to put together into an album. That will be forthcoming along with fixing the credit for some of these photos.
As you may recall, the club experienced damage due to the tornado in Pinellas Park last week.
Club tower bent over from the tornado
Dave KR4U, John KI4UIP, Pat AA0O and Billy KN4LUZ were on site to work on the project (The author arrives late so anyone was had already left, please accept my apology for the omission).
The tower was bent just above the first section nesting point. With the help of a crane secured by Pat AA0O, the tower was safely lowered on Thursday 2/13 along with the log periodic antenna. This is only the take down stage. The 40m antenna on the shipping container appears to be ok but the wire antennas that used the tower as a center support are also down. Click the video below to see the crane in action (video by Pat AA0O).
Billy KN4LUZ overlooking the Log Periodic [Photo by Pay AA0O]Crane getting setup to lift the tower. [Photo by Pay AA0O]The tower on the ground sans antenna. [Photo by Pay AA0O]You may have also heard that the DMI roof suffered some damage. Fortunately, that was not in the rear of the building so the club station did not experience any direct damage other than the tower. The server room did not experience any damage either.
As we are still in the dismantling stage, no plans have been made yet on repairing the equipment. No doubt the club officers will share that information. Stay tuned to the normal SPARC information channels (Web site, Daily Nets, etc).
The recent tornado that passed through Pinellas Park on Thursday February 6th was not kind to SPARC. While this damage pales in comparison to people that had trees fall on their homes; nonetheless, the tower at the club station suffered some damage such that it will not crank down. The tower appears to have bent at the base of the joint where the sections overlap. One element on the log periodic antennas appears damaged as well.
Club tower bent
Further behind the club station, you can see from this picture taken by Pat AA0O how the high tension wire poles fared (yes, that pole appears to be leaning over).
Club members Dave KR4U, John KI4UIP and Pat AA0O (among others) stopped by to check out the damage. The wire antennas were taken down. Plans are underway for how to safely remove the tower from its base. Restoring this will be a big project requiring lots of volunteers so more on that later.
For the last few years, SPARC has held Homebrew Night in February. No, we are not talking about beer. In a long tradition, Homebrew in Amateur Radio is the things you craft yourself that you find useful in some aspect of radio. This is an evening where club members can show the projects they have built over the past year. The loose definition of homebrew equipment is something you built from scratch or a piece of gear you modified to suit your purpose. It can be an antenna project, a useful accessory, a piece of software (yes, radio-related software counts as homebrew), some modification and others. We usually get a good assortment of gear so if you have something you have come up with (or even a kit you built from plans), you are welcome to participate.
The way this works is at the February 7, 2020 club meeting, we take the allotted time (usually 45 minutes), and divide it up by the number of people that wish to show something. You each get that amount of time to show us what you have. Bring your presentation on a thumbdrive to display on the TV screens. Some projects like antenna projects cannot travel well so pictures and whatever you have that will show the club what you did are fine. If you can bring your project to pass around and let members see it, all the better. So, now is your chance to put the finishing touches on your latest project.
If you plan to show something at Homebrew Night, please let Lisa KC1YL or Pat AA0O know about your project as soon as you can so we can get a count and schedule time.
*Thanks to Ed, NZ1Q for the original article for homebrew night.
On Saturday March 14th, 2020, SPARC is hosting a gathering for club members (and our north county CARS and UPARC friends) to setup in the park. This is an informal gathering so plan on bringing your own stuff to this one. The site is Lake Seminole Park (shelter # 6) starting at 8:00 AM. Grab your lunch, drinks, a radio and come out and play radio in park. More information is available at Radio Clubs in the Park ( https://www.sparc-club.org/event/radio-clubs-in-the-park )
![Billy KN4LUZ overlooking the Log Periodic [Photo by Pay AA0O]](https://www.sparc-club.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Image.jpg)
![The tower on the ground sans antenna. [Photo by Pay AA0O]](https://www.sparc-club.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Image-1.jpg)
