SPARC

Field Day!

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 05/03/2018

Last Day to Signup to be Guaranteed Meals: Monday June 18. Sign up now!

As Spring turns to Summer, a young ham’s fancy turns towards…Field Day! The annual ARRL Field Day emergency preparedness exercise/contest/social event is Saturday June 23rd and Sunday June 24th. As usual, SPARC is participating in this event but this year, we are building upon the success of the Winter Field Day event with a joint Field Day operation with the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society and Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club. The event will be held at the Clearwater Fire Training Center on Belcher Road in Clearwater.

For those that may not be familiar with Field Day, Field Day is an annual operating event sponsored by the ARRL. From the ARRL website,

“Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

What you can do right now is to sign-up. We need people to setup, operate, tear-down and ready to have fun. We will be running three simultaneous stations with one station dedicated to CW and the others as SSB and PSK-31. We will have a satellite station and a vast array of different antenna types. Taking advantage of the training facilities, we are setting up temporary antennas but operating from inside in the classrooms. This makes the FLorida heat a bit more comfortable. The clubs are providing meals and drinks throughout the weekend but all are asked to bring a dish to share for Saturday evening. We start setup at 8:00 AM on Saturday June 23 and start operating at 2:00 PM. We will then operate throughout the night straight through to 2:00 PM Sunday.

Field Day is always a great event to come out and make new friends and share a weekend hamming with old ones. No experience is necessary and we welcome new people and anyone interested in ham radio to enjoy a weekend of radio fun, good food and great camaraderie. Please go to this link to sign up.

We will discuss this more at our club meeting as we also need more volunteers to help with the planning stage. Field Day is a team effort and the more people that participate, the more fun it is!

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W4TA Scores to a Different Drummer in the FQP

By Bob Wanek N2ESP on 04/30/2018

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 Mult Pt/Q

7 CW 334 1336 14 4.0

7 LSB 64 128 4 2.0

14 CW 338 1352 51 4.0

14 USB 501 1002 62 2.0

21 CW 26 104 1 4.0

Total Both 1263 3922 132 3.1

Rich AA2MF working with new operators [N2ESPhoto]

But those are just the numbers for which most stations vie. At SPARC, we keep score differently. We introduced two hams to Radiosport that had no clue what a contest was. We re-introduced two more hams whose experience was limited to some Field Day QSOs (we all know FD is not a contest…at least until 2:00 PM local time). Finally Dave KR4U beat his old record
for the longest contest QSO. Running on the CW station on 20M, Dave put the brakes on the CW keyer to answer a 5 WPM call. As has happened in previous FQPs, Dave learned the operator’s name, antenna and rig type, and most importantly, 599 in PA. SIX MINUTES after calling CQ, another CW QSO was in the log. This is the true spirit of amateur radio, and in our eyes, the only way to keep the hobby growing.

Rich AA2MF helps Gail KD2PCS make her first contest contacts. [N2ESPhoto]

Competing in the FQP were the following SPARC operators: Lisa KC1YL, Rich AA2MF, Gail KD2PCS. Ron KP2N, Bob N2ESP, Dave KR4U, Pat KX4HL, Dee N4GD, Scotty N4RI, Tom NY4I, Tom W4CU, Johnnie W4TSP and Rex KB8ESY.

“The Schaef[f]er Brothers”, Tom W4CU and Tom NY4I [N2ESPhoto]

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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Wi-Fi

By Bob Wanek N2ESP on 04/25/2018

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 4^th 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 fix my home Wi-Fi?”

Glenn has extensive experience in wireless site surveys and Wi-Fi troubleshooting. Glenn has over 21 years of IT experience with Duke Energy, the largest power utility in the US and WLAN design experience with Presidio, an industry-leading Value Added Reseller. Currently Glenn works with the network infrastructure team at Tech Data, one of the world’s largest distributors of technology products, services and solutions.

In addition to an A.S. degree in electrical engineering, Glenn is a Certified Wireless Network Expert. Glenn holds an Amateur Extra license and has a passion for designing and building antennas.

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Pat KX4HL and Friends Activate Egmont Key State Park

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 04/11/2018

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.

A picture of the Gulf of Mexico from Egmont Key State Park — Not a bad way to spend a day

Pat roughing it from the "shack" — Pat roughing it from the “shack”

Thanks Pat for the report and activating the park. It is great to see SPARC members in action….

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Setup digital modes and interface a radio to your computer

By Ed NZ1Q on 03/27/2018

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.

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DXLabs Workshop on April 21, 2018

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on 03/15/2018

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.

Current Registered Attendees

Name	Call
Leslie Johnson	WA4EEZ
Glenn Cate	N4GRC
Bob Wanek	N2ESP
Dave Trewin	KR4U
Rich Cariello	AA2MF
Steve Heppler
Mark Foltarz	KA4JVY
Bud Nocera	WO4K
Paul Krahmer	KA4IOX