News from the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)

The SPARC web site is at http://www.qsl.net/sterling.

Monday, December 01, 2025

IN-Person Meeting, Wednesday 3 Dec 2025 at 7 PM

Hi, Our last in-person meeting of the calendar year will be on Wednesday, 3 December 2025, at the Sheriff Substation in Sterling starting at 7 PM.

Refreshments will be provided by Steve, KN4BGW.

The activity will be building 2M Monopoles. The directions are attached. Gordon, NQ4K, will provide the parts for four antennas.. We will build it without the PVC Pipe in anticipation of most people hanging it from a tree or ceiling in a house. Ala, KR4FJB, built one and will bring his in to show.

We need volunteers to bring:

Soldering stations (for attached wires to the SO-239( Wire cutters and strippers (for preparing the vertical and grand plane wires)

If we have time we can discuss some club business.

Virginia QSO Party
10 of the 30 plaques are spoken for already.
Update on "Virginia is for Lovers" bonus station initiative.
Proposal to have club calls as bonus stations also.

The Get to Know a SPARC Member will be Ala, KR4FJB.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie # 8:11 AM

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Monthly Meeting Summary November 5, 2025

• The meeting was attended by 13 SPARC members and three guests

• Refreshments were provided by Evan Mann KM4SK

• Conrad N4ZQA led the meeting and reviewed the agenda for the evening

• Conrad Johnson N4ZQA introduced the guest presenter, Andy Z. K1RA who shared a presentation on LoRa and The Meshtastic Project

o Andy provided a robust presentation detailing LoRa and Meshtastic including definitions, equipment, local networks, performance, and costs

o Additionally, Mitch Dickey W4LAN provided examples of the equipment used and met with SPARC members to discuss their use

o Many thanks to Andy Z K1RA and Mitch Dickey W4LAN for their participation and information share with the group

• Conrad led a discussion regarding pending changes to the VA QP Bonus Station in order to assist Gordon in deciding upon any changes for the upcoming contest

• Kevin Stuart W4KLS did a “Get to Know a Member” presentation

• Everyone in attendance (in person or via Zoom) had a chance to describe recent personal radio related activities over the past month

• Conrad adjourned the meeting

• Next in-person meeting is scheduled for December 3rd with refreshments being provided by Steve Balik KN4BGW

posted by SPARC'ie # 9:32 AM

Friday, October 03, 2025

SPARC Monthly Meeting Summary October 1, 2025

• The meeting was attended by 12 SPARC members and one guest presenter • Refreshments were provided by Kevin Stuart W4KLS • Gordon lead the meeting and reviewed the agenda for the evening • Conrad Johnson N4ZQA introduced the guest presenter, Mr. Ed Cabic N2EC from the Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club who shared a presentation on his design of the VersaHex Dipole/Vertical antenna system o Ed described his challenge of building a dipole/vertical combination antenna in a cost effective way versus commercial options o His design utilized off-the-shelf components and a unique design of a hub printed on a 3D printer o Ed gave the group several good component source contacts to source materials for the build o He has tested his design in several venues and has found that the performance has been outstanding o His current preference is for using the design as a dipole and he is interested in testing out different configurations in the future o He generously provided the group with information used to build the antenna systems so that SPARC members could replicate his design if desired o Many thanks to Ed for his presentation and information share with the group • Gordon handed out award certificates from the Virginia QSO party where several SPARC members were high award winners • Rhett Linke WW4RL did a “Get to Know a Member” presentation • Jeff Barr KB4IWD provided an update on the QSL Bureau • Gordon briefed the group regarding upcoming license training and testing challenges related to the ARRL policy of automated/on-line testing • Everyone had a chance to describe recent personal radio related activities over the past month • Gordon adjourned the meeting

posted by SPARC'ie # 4:55 PM

Monday, September 29, 2025

In-Person Meeting on Wednesday, 1 Oct, at 7 PM

Hi, Another month and another meeting. Wednesday 1 Oct, at 7 PM at the Sheriff Substation.

Refreshments will be provided by Kevlin, W4KLS.

Conrad, N4ZQA, arranged a presentation by Ed, N2EC on the "VersaHex Antenna. See https://n2ec.us/project/the-n2ec-versahex-antenna/ Conrad has seen the presentation at another club club meeting and recommends it.

The Virginia QSO Party is about 5 months away and it is time for us to begin preparations. If anyone has any recommended changes to the rules, please be prepared to discuss them at the meeting.

Rhett, WW4RL, recommended we start a new meeting agenda item called "Get to know a SPARC member." Rhett will be the first so we all know what to do.

See you all there.
73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie # 1:54 PM

Thursday, September 25, 2025

Roanoke Division Newsletter- A MUST READ!

Subject: Roanoke Division Newsletter- A MUST READ!

Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2025 22:26:11 -0400 (EDT)

From: ARRL Members Only Web site

To: gormil@aol.com Dear ARRL Roanoke Division Members:

You won’t want to miss our latest newsletter full of news. You will read about:

• Town Hall September 29 On Antenna Relief For Homeowners

• Grassroots Antenna Relief Campaign In Full Swing—Support Needed

• Changes In DX Representation and New DX Award You May Already Have Earned

• ARRL Opens Its Virtual Museum With Over 1,000 Pieces Of Equipment

• Special Event Station For One Year Anniversary of Hurricane Helene Response

• 2026 Events Announced - Year Of The Club And Semiquincentennial

• Ham Radio At State Fair

• List of Fall Hamfests

PLUS, MUCH, MUCH MORE…..

To access it, click the link below (or paste in your browser):

https://www.arrl-roanoke.com/Roanoke Newsletter Fall 2025 Final1.pdf

Don't forget to join us next Monday night for our next Roanoke Division Town Hall. Login information will be coming to your mailbo x soon

Also, if you haven’t yet signed up to support the campaign to get the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act passed, read more about it in the newsletter. Better yet, take a few seconds to respond now by going to:

https://www.arrl.org/hoa

Many thanks, join us for the Town Hall, enjoy the newsletter, get on the air and enjoy the Fall weather.

73,

Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, ARRL Roanoke Division Director

Bill Morine, N2COP, ARRL Roanoke Division Vice Director

posted by SPARC'ie # 7:15 AM

Tuesday, September 09, 2025

SPARC September Monthly Meeting Summary

• Eight members attended in person at the Sheriff’s station in Sterling and one member joined via Zoom. • The meeting leader was Kevin Stuart W4KLS while Gordon was away on travel. • The topic of the meeting was “Show and Tell” with members displaying amateur radio equipment and describing their various attributes and uses. There were a couple of antenna set-ups, an attachment device for antennas, a new Baofeng UV-5R mini radio, and other radio related devices shared with the group. • Kevin Gaukel WB0POH, joined via Zoom from Bloomington, MN where he has been doing a POTA rove there and in several surrounding states. • There was a short discussion about a potential licensing class to be held in late October or early November of this year. • Several members have signed up to provide refreshments through the month of January 2026. • There was a discussion about having a member at each meeting provide a “Get to Know You” talk so that club members could learn more about each other. This idea was well received and the first talk is scheduled for our next meeting in October. • Kevin requested ideas for upcoming meetings with two topics suggested. o Discussion of NetLogger software o Kevin Gaukel to do a talk and demo on POTA • The next scheduled SPARC in person meeting is scheduled for October 1, 2025 at the Sheriff’s station in Sterling. Refreshments will be provided by Kevin W4KLS. Rhett

posted by SPARC'ie # 8:39 AM

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