SPARC

Morse Code – Who Had A Clue?

By Bob Wanek N2ESP on 01/26/2018

Another interesting email arrived at SPARC this week. A lady had “received” a message in Morse code she couldn’t decode. Strange you ask? True. She asked us for help in decoding the message. Forwarding the request to a few SPARK members, Ed NZ1Q, stepped up to the challenge.

Ed was given a phone number that connected him to the recorded CW message. Thirty seconds later, the message was decoded. It turns out that sender of the email was involved in a “learning challenge that involves solving [a series of] … Click for more

2 Meter 6:30 PM Net to start EXTRA Class Questions tonight

By Ed NZ1Q on 01/22/2018

Every night on the net members and non-SPARC members check-in to just chat about their day after handling any NTS traffic. We also have a multiple choice question each night from the license pool. On your check-in you can give your best answer or just take a guess. We do it just for fun and to help those that are thinking of taking an exam.

We just completed the General class questions and are now starting the Extra Class questions. Even if you are studying for the General Class, many … Click for more

All Hams on Deck

By Bob Wanek N2ESP on 01/13/2018

As president, I get a lot of emails from folks who search on Google for the terms “ham radio” and “St. Petersburg.” Recently I received an email from a boat owner who lives in Seminole. He was having VHF radio issues on his sailboat, and was not sure what or where the problem was. Sailors, like hams are resourceful folks, resulting in the email to me. I forwarded the email request for help to the SPARC membership via the SPARC email reflector.

Within hours SPARC member Jack, W4GRJ, was making … Click for more

Get your Homebrew project ready for Feb 2

By Ed NZ1Q on 01/13/2018

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 … Click for more

A Tale of Two Roundups

By Bob Wanek N2ESP on 01/08/2018

SPARC received word that we did well in last year’s RTTY Roundup, Multioperator Low Power category.

First in the West Central Florida Section
Second in the US & Canada
Winning the Southeast Division

Operators enjoying this victory are: KA4IOX, KB8ESY, KP2N, KR4U, N2ESP, N4GD, N4KPJ, N4RI, NY4I, VE3XD, W4CU and W4TSP.

Not to be out done, the 2018 Roundup just ended. Some new antennas and software enabled the W4TA team to beat … Click for more

HF Propagation presentation is now available

By Ed NZ1Q on 01/08/2018

“The Sun and HF Propagation” presentation by Lu W4LT, has been uploaded to the SPARC Resource Page under Ham Radio Resources. Look toward the bottom of the left-hand column on this website (www.sparc-club.org) to view the presentation.

Many thanks to Lu for sharing his presentation with SPARC and his presentation at the last club meeting.