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UPARC

The Joys of Being a Member of a Club

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on February 20, 2023

For those that may not know me, I have mobility issues. While I used to be able to climb ladders to work on antennas, drive ground rods and generally do my own work to setup my ham radio station, unfortunately those things are not possible for me now. That being said, I now depend upon the kindness of friends in UPARC to setup my antennas and sometimes the bigger projects inside the shack too. The point of this post is not only to thank all the wonderful hams in UPARC but also to point out this is one of the benefits of being a member of UPARC.

Of course, UPARC is a club of many interests. We have Field Day, … Read the rest

February 2023 General Meeting Recap

By Jack Kinney on February 4, 2023

President’s Award

Mike Branda KH4N

Mike is an Extra Class ARRL Volunteer Examiner. He has been serving the amateur radio community guiding hams thru the license testing and application process since 1994! If you’re counting that’s 29 years so far. He helps not only our club, but most of the amateur radio clubs in Pinellas County. He is a terrific ambassador for the hobby. Congratulations and thank you for all you do for the hobby Mike. Keep it up!

Presentation

 

Winter Field Day

Fred W2SUB gave the group an update on the results of Winter Field Day. The UPARC and CARS teams did a great job with a calculated (not yet certified) score of more than 35,000 … Read the rest

Winter Field Day 2023

By Jack Kinney on January 29, 2023

 

 Winter Field Day LogoWinter Field Day in West Central Florida is a misnomer. However, it doesn’t stop Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club and Clearwater Amateur Radio Society clubs from having a great time!

Antennas

The most important component are the antennas. Without them nothing matters. The antenna team and “The Band Boss” ensure antennas are installed, tuned and ready for contesting. I apologize. I meant to say an Emergency Communications exercise. That’s what we are doing. Absolutely NO competition at the event. None!

The primary antenna is a hex beam antenna. It handles the 10m, 15m and 20m bands. Installed on the top of a five story fire training tower it is higher than everything in surrounding area.

If you have never … Read the rest

Winter Field Day 2023

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on January 7, 2023

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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 28 & 29, 2023. This is a joint operation with the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society (CARS). The event will be held at the Clearwater Fire Training Facility on Belcher Road south of Sunset Point Road in Clearwater. Prior efforts were a great success.

Winter Field Day … Read the rest

Fall Picnic & Officer Elections

By Jack Kinney on November 5, 2022

It was a bit humid for November, but it didn’t stop us from having a good time at the 2022 Fall Picnic & Officer Elections.

We were a bit remiss and capturing photos of the event probably due to all the socializing that occurred.

We met new friends and gained a couple new members in the process. The morning started with a fox hunt. It seems Jason N4BOZ and Jack N4KIN did a good job of hiding the fox as it wasn’t found. The annual business meeting was called to order by Jack N4KIN around 11:30. Everyone was welcomed, the voting process was reviewed and several announcements were made. Jason N4BOZ reviewed the monthly treasurers report. W2SUB provided an update … Read the rest

POTA Activation at Honeymoon Island

By Fred Botero on November 1, 2022

On Saturday, October 29th, UPARC had a very fun day at Honeymoon Island activating two club stations and making over 150 contacts as a Parks on the Air (POTA) activity. We had a great turnout of club members along with family and some visitors who had curiosity about ham radio which we took care to enthusiastically explain our wonderful hobby. The star visitor was a very sizable gopher tortoise that wandered close to our antenna guylines but eventually decided to high-tail it out of there (well, as fast a tortoise can go)! The weather was very nice and our pavilion (special thanks to Ray W8RD) had shade, tables and shore power along with a few mosquitoes, but we did not … Read the rest

Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club

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