UPARC

Winter Field Day 2020

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on March 16, 2020

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.

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 … Read the rest

Repeater Status Page

By Jack Kinney, N4KIN on March 9, 2020

March 24, 2020

We are working with local tower repair companies to schedule a climber, however have been impacted by the Corona Virus.

March 18, 2020

Alan W4UB visited the site and upon checking the antennas with an antenna analyzer, it shows a VSWR of 6.9:1. Alan double checked the hardline at the repeater end connector to no avail it appears we will be scheduling time with a tower climber to determine if we have a coax issue or antenna issue.

March 17th, 2020

Dave Shuey WA3VRE did extensive bench testing of the Kenwood repeater and it is working fine. Debugging continues to the next pieces in the chain (duplexers, coax and antennas).

March 9, 2020

Lady Luck is not … Read the rest

On the Air Magazine

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on March 8, 2020

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. I would … Read the rest

Upcoming Events – March 2020

By Jack Kinney, N4KIN on February 29, 2020

UPARC Events
3/07/20: UPARC TESTING – 8:30am @ Station #65
3/07/20: UPARC MONTHLY MEETING – 10am @ Station #65 — Tech Presentation: Wire Antennas
3/28/20: Breakfast Social – 9am @ Bob Evans

Operating Events
03/14/20: Radio Clubs in the Park – 8AM @ Lake Seminole Park, Shelter #6: 10015 Park Boulevard, Seminole, 33777 More Info

Hamfests: As provided by the ARRL West Central Florida Section
3/07/20: CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAMFEST 2020 – Punta Gorda Boat Club – Punta Gorda, FL.
3/14/20: GULF COAST ARC SPRING HAMFEST 2020 – Millennium Academy – New Port Richey, FL.
3/21/20: ZAARC HAMFEST 2020 – St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church – Zephyrhills, FL.
3/28/20: SERC HAMFEST AND TAILGATE 2020 – American Red Cross HQ – Sarasota, FL.… Read the rest

Echolink Progress

By Jack Kinney, N4KIN on February 15, 2020

Today we connected the audio output of the repeater to the Echolink PC. The repeater controller doesn’t recognize the PTT from Echolink so transmitting will not work. Tom NY4I will be doing some research on that front.… Read the rest

Upcoming Events

By Alan Streitman on January 29, 2020

What’s happening in February
Feb 1 – UPARC Testing – 8:30am Fire Station 65, 250 W Lake Rd, Palm Harbor, Fl 34684
Feb 1 – UPARC Monthly Meeting – 10am Fire Station 65, 250 W Lake Rd, Palm Harbor, Fl 34684
Tech Presentation: Magnetic Loop Transmitting Antennas – Richie, AA2MF
Feb 7,8&9 – Hamcation
Feb 22 – Breakfast Social – 9am at Bob Evans 29335 US Hwy 19 N, Clearwater, FL 33761… Read the rest

Upcoming Events

By Alan Streitman on January 5, 2020

What’s happening in January
Jan 4 – UPARC Testing – 8:30am Fire Station 65, 250 W Lake Rd, Palm Harbor, Fl 34684
Jan 4 – UPARC Monthly Meeting – 10am Fire Station 65, 250 W Lake Rd, Palm Harbor, Fl 34684
Tech Presentation: N1MM Log operation, Tom NY4I
Jan 7, 14 & 21 – Operator Training Sessions will start after the weekly 8pm net
Jan 25&26 – Winter Field Day. The event will be held at the Clearwater Fire Training Facility on Belcher Road south of Sunset Point Road in Clearwater.… Read the rest

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

Upcoming Events

By Alan Streitman on November 20, 2019

What’s happening in December

Dec 7 – UPARC Testing – 8:30am Fire Station 65, 250 W Lake Rd, Palm Harbor, Fl 34684

Dec 7 – UPARC Monthly Meeting – 10am Fire Station 65, 250 W Lake Rd, Palm Harbor, Fl 34684

Tech Presentation: HF Portable Operation, Glenn N4ESU

Dec 3, 10, 17 – Operator Training Sessions will start after the weekly 8pm net

Dec 19 – N1MM Log Workshop Online – 7pm Tom NY4I will host on Zoom. Email with specifics to follow

Dec 28 – Breakfast Social – 9am at Bob Evans 29335 US Hwy 19 N, Clearwater, FL 33761

… Read the rest