UPARC

Annual Meeting, Picnic, Elections, Fox Hunt – Nov. 2nd

By Jason Esterline on October 25, 2019

It’s that time of the year again! Delicious food, Ham radio conversation and a fox hunt all the right ingredients for a great time.

The annual picnic, business meeting and election for 2020 Board of Directors will be held at 10am on Saturday, November 2nd at Fred Howard Park, Shelter #2. 1700 Sunset Dr, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689.

Please note the business meeting starts at 2:00 PM so if you cannot attend earlier, please come for the business meeting to ensure we have a quorum.

2020 Board Elections

Our by-laws require that we must have 1/3 of our membership in order to conduct business, so this is in important meeting to attend. If you cannot be here, you can designate … Read the rest

Upcoming Events

By Alan Streitman on October 25, 2019

What’s happening in November

Nov 2 – UPARC Testing – 8:30am Fire Station 65, 250 W Lake Rd, Palm Harbor, Fl 34684

Nov 2 – Annual Picnic and Election – 10am at Fred Howard Park Shelter 2, 1700 Sunset Dr, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689

Nov 9 – SPARC Fest – 8am Freedom Lake Park 9990 46th St N, Pinellas Park, FL 33782

Nov 19 -Operator Training Sessions will start after the weekly 8pm net

Nov 23 – Breakfast Social – 9am at Bob Evans 29335 US Hwy 19 N, Clearwater, FL 33761

We hope to see everyone there, to get text alerts on events text ‘UPARC’ to 84483.

… Read the rest

Upcoming Events

By Alan Streitman on October 15, 2019

What’s happening in October

Oct 5th – UPARC Monthly Meeting – 10am Fire Station 65, 250 W Lake Rd, Palm Harbor, Fl 34684
Oct 19th – UPARC in the Park / JOTA – 9am at John Chesnut Park Shelter 13, 2200 E Lake Rd S, Palm Harbor, FL 34685
Oct 26th – Breakfast Social – 9am at Bob Evans 29335 US Hwy 19 N, Clearwater, FL 33761

We hope to see everyone there, to get text alerts on events text ‘UPARC’ to 84483.… Read the rest

What is this HamWAN thing again?

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on October 6, 2019

For those that may not recall—or are new to the club—HamWAN is a project with the goal to use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to establish a high-speed data link. Think WiFi but at 5.6 Ghz across greater distances and with higher power (ERP).

UPARC’s efforts for HamWAN include the ability to create an Internet connection that we have full access (inbound and outbound connections). This will enable us to use EchoLink to connect the repeater to EchoLink users.

Another benefit of HamWAN is it provides an emergency backup for the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) that is in the Palm Harbor fire house. During Hurricane Irma, the area experienced Internet outages. If we had HamWAN in place, we could have offered … 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

HamWAN Deployed!

By Jason Esterline on October 1, 2019

Thanks to some great people, we were able to mount and align the HamWan antenna. Due to it’s highly directional characteristics it took several hours to accomplish. Bottom line we were able to connect to the internet and watch a YouTube video. The next step is to run the Cat6 cable from the antenna to the repeater closet. Jack and Alan will try to work on that after the club meeting on Saturday.

We will then be ready to get EchoLink set up!

A big thank you to those that were involved, your efforts are really appreciated.

… Read the rest

Upcoming Events

By Jason Esterline on September 8, 2019

Lot’s of things on tap for September — be in the know!

Sept 14th – Tech Exam Training Details Here
Sept 21st – Radio Clubs in the Park – 9am Details Here
Sept 28th – Breakfast Social – Bob Evans Details Here
Sept 28th – Tech Exam Training Pt. 2 Details Here

We hope to see everyone there, to get text alerts on events text ‘UPARC’ to 84483.… Read the rest

Save SARNET – FDOT discontinuing support!

By Jason Esterline on August 20, 2019

Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) management decided on Thursday August 15, 2019 to end all support for SARNET. This is NOT the SARNET Administrator. This action will have an immediate affect on SARNET since ongoing maintenance activities have also been stopped. In addition, it will lead to the slow-death of SARNET as problems occur that are not addressed. It is particularly disturbing that this decision was made in the middle of hurricane season.

If you are willing, we need you to send a letter or email to the chief engineer of the FDOT. We have prepared a form letter for you to print, sign, and mail to the FDOT. A link to it is below. You can also cut and … 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

Skywarn Training – August 13th 7pm

By Jason Esterline on August 4, 2019

Skywarn Training Sponsored by the National Weather Service Pinellas County Emergency Management and Pinellas County ACS/ARES

Pinellas County ACS / ARES and Pinellas County Emergency Management will host a National Weather Service (NWS) SKYWARN Severe Weather Spotter training on August 13th from 7pm till 8:30 at the Pinellas County Public Safety Complex 10750 Ulmerton Rd, Largo, Florida 33778.

Get Tickets Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-training-tickets-67202573707

Americans live in the most severe weather prone country on Earth. Each year, Americans cope with an average of 10,000 thunderstorms, 2,500 floods, 1,000 tornadoes, as well as an average of 2 deadly hurricanes. Some 90% of all presidential declared disasters are weather related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and nearly $14 billion in damage.

What

… Read the rest