UPARC

Winter Field Day 2020

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on December 11, 2019

Wednesday at 7:00 PM is last chance to sign up and guarantee meals. Click here now.

Do you like operating in the field but hate dripping in sweat while setting up antennas? Does the idea of enduring another Field Day constantly fighting off every mosquito in Tampa Bay make you wish they held Field Day in January? Well, you’re in luck! Winter Field Day is an event very similar to the June ARRL Field Day except—you guessed it—it’s held in Winter. Specifically January 25 & 26, 2020. This is the third time SPARC is participating in Winter Field Day and it is a joint operation with the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society (CARS) and St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club (SPARC). … Read the rest

Black Friday at Honeymoon Island State Park

By Alan Streitman on December 3, 2019

Alan W4UB, Dee W4DCH, Ken WK4KM and I arrived around 9:00 AM and began setup in the small gazebo across from Cafe Honeymoon at the main beach parking area.

Equipment

We used Alan’s Icom 7600, Ken’s Honda generator and my “Alan’s Baluns” end fed wire on a tripod and push-up pole. The antenna is approximately 60+ feet long—resonates on 20 & 40 meters—and was raised close to 40′ with the tripod & pole. A ground rod, coax and a guy line completed the antenna system.

Setup

Setup took about 20 minutes, and we were on the air checking into the SOUTHCARS net in quick order. After spotting on the Parks on the Air (POTA) website, we … Read the rest

UPARC in the Park – October 19 – Canceled Due To Weather

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on October 6, 2019

Hams wanted! Join us for UPARC in the Park on Saturday Oct 19 @ 0900 at John Chestnut Park shelter #13 located at 2200 E Lake Rd S, Palm Harbor, FL 34685. Dust off your portable gear and come on out. If the Scouts attend, we will participate in Jamboree On The Air.

Please let us know who is coming and what equipment you are bringing. Don’t forget to bring your own food and refreshments.… Read the rest

Radio Clubs in the Park – Sept. 21st @9am

By Jason Esterline on August 17, 2019

We’ve had so much fun doing UPARC in the Park, that we’ve decided to do “Radio Clubs in the Park” on September 21st @9am at Eagle Lake Park in Largo. CARS/SPARC/UPARC will once again team up to have a great day of operating in field type conditions.

The three clubs will set up radios and antennas in the park, have some lunch, and make lots of contacts. It will afford the opportunity for attendees to bring out equipment they want to use in a field environment.

Club will provide a main dish with a potluck-style lunch.

More details to follow!… Read the rest

Field Day 2019 Wrapup

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on July 3, 2019

One could not have asked for better weather. An old standard is that ARRL Field Day is the fourth full weekend of rain in June. This year, that axiom proved false as there was not any rain in site the entire weekend. Of course, this being Florida, no rain at the tail end of June means heat—and it was HOT!

Antennas

Therefore, the antenna crew got an early start on Saturday June 22, raising the beam on the tall fire tower. The location was our now familiar Field Day site, the Clearwater Fire Training Center. The participants were members of the Clearwater ARS, the St. Petersburg ARC and the Upper Pinellas ARC.

With the beam installed, next came the sloper, … Read the rest

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