News from the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)

Hi,

It is time for the monthly meeting for June on Wednesday. This month has gone by very quickly.

I had a full month. Worked on Virginia QSO Party and updated plans for Herndon Festival (4-5 Jun) and Field Day (25-26 Jun). Also worked the CQWW WPX CW contest this past weekend (only 20 QSOs on 40m).

Refreshments will be by Jim, AF4MO.

The presentation will be by Bill, KJ4VTH, on "JT65 Digital Mode." At the last two meeting, several people commented they have tried JT65 and found it to be very usable. It will be interesting to learn some more about it.

We have several items of club business.

Herndon Festival is coming up this weekend. We finalized our plan at the last meeting, except for a few minor items. First, Red, N3TG, mentioned using the Dulles repeater and, although I was initially negative about it, I think it offers some advantages and we should do that. Secondly, I remember not being able to understand who was talking last year, so I added tactical call signs to the plan. See http://www.qsl.net/sterling/HerndonFest/HerndonFest.html.

The Virginia QSO Party awards ceremony is on Sunday, 12 Jun, at the Manassas Hamfest. We should quickly go over who will be there to help with the award of the plaques. We recently emailed a list of the the plaque winners to club members. You may have noticed that FARA won both the Club plaques, completing a several year effort to outscore CVCC at the Club Combined Score competition.

Field day is coming up at the end of the month - 25-26 Jun. Paul, K4PDF, pointed out that the field we normally use was just planted and therefore not available. Jim, KF4PQL, coordinated with the school for the use of another area at the school. This will require some thinking about how to position our antennas and equipment. This will be a big change.

Finally, we should nominate and elect officers for next year. If there is anyone who is interested in assuming responsibility for President, Vice-President, Sterlingfest Chair, Herndon Fest Chair, Field Day, Virginia QSO Party or other post, please let us know.

June is a busy month for SPARC. Please come by the meeting to help with last minute planning and enjoy the camaraderie.

73, Gordon, NQ4K