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UPARC

UPARC in the Park is coming on Saturday, April 29th!

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on April 20, 2023

UPARC will again be activating Honeymoon Island State Park for a POTA activation on Saturday April 29th, 2023 starting at 8:00 AM.

Honeymoon Island State Park is POTA park K-1880 located at the end of the Dunedin Causeway. In case you have not been there before, there is a fee for each car to get into the park so carpooling with others would allow you to share the entrance fee. Pavilions are first come, first serve but we plan to get there early to grab a location with power. Ask on the club’s repeater (147.12 + PL 100 Hz) or on the club’s Slack channel. You can also look for all the antennas in the parking lot near … Read the rest

April 2023 Meeting Recap

By Jack Kinney, N4KIN on April 1, 2023

President’s Award

Alan Streitman W4UB

Need an antenna? Alan. Need a balun? Alan. Radio isn’t working? Alan. MARS mod your Icom 7300? Alan. I could keep going but it’s probably easier to list what Alan hasn’t done for the club or club members since he got his ticket and joined the club. Not one to sit still he’s always helping someone or working on a project. The author likely wouldn’t be on the air without him. Congratulations on receiving the President’s Award this month. Well earned!

Presentation

QSLing

What is a QSL? Why do you want to QSL? Who do you QSL? When should I QSL? When should I send a QSL? All important questions that could be asked about … Read the rest

March 2023 General Meeting Recap

By Jack Kinney, N4KIN on March 5, 2023

President’s Award

Tom Schaefer NY4I

One of the founders of the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club, Tom is an Extra Class operator who loves all things Amateur Radio. An Elmer who has helped the club and many of it’s members not to mention hams throughout the county. Congratulations and thank you for all you do for the hobby and for UPARC Tom. Keep it up!

Presentation

March Mobile Madness

After all of the “business” stuff concluded, we moved on to a presentation about Mobile Installations presented by Ryan KO4KGP. We’ll steer clear of the rabbit holes but suffice to say Ryan has spent more than a little time working on his mobile install. From VHF/UHF to HF, WinLink, APRS, scanners … Read the rest

Why People Say “This Is” when Checking into a Net.

By Tom Schaefer NY4I on February 20, 2023

You may have listened to a local 2m net and heard people saying “This Is” before they give their call sign during check-ins. An alternative is they may say “Net Control” instead of “This is”. Plus there is the combined effort of “Net Control, This is”. Why are they doing this? If you have wondered about that, here is the answer…

One problem when the net control station calls for check-ins is that stations all try to check-in at once and thus can double. Doubling is when two or more competing stations transmit at the same time, one station captures the receiver and gets through rendering the calls of other people transmitting moot since they are not heard. Another … Read the rest

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, N4KIN 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, N4KIN 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

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