News from the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)
The SPARC web site is at http://www.qsl.net/sterling.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Meeting, FRIDAY 4 May at 7PM
The meeting this month is on a FRIDAY, 4 May 2018. That is right. FRIDAY not Wednesday. We could not get the meeting room. So the meeting is on FRIDAY.
Refreshments will be by Gordon, NQ4K. He is promising incredibly boring and non-innovative snacks.
We have a very interesting presentation this month. Bob Anderson, KJ4RBD, will give a chalk talk on Smith Charts. I hope to learn something.
We also have a couple of items of club business.
We can review coordination for Field Day.
We can discuss support for Herndon Fest and Race.
And finally, we can compile a list of nominations for
club officers. The SPARC year is almost over and we at least need a new president and vice-president.
See you at the meeting on FRIDAY
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
VQP 2018 Log Scoring Party CANCELLED
We have cancelled the log scoring party. We only have 17 logs and I can re-score these in a half hour or so.
Thanks to those who indicated they would come out.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Monday, April 16, 2018
First Foxhunt! by W8ANT
Larry, W8ANT, spoke at our last club meeting. The below announces some foxhunts he is conduction.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
**********
To All:
As promised, I will be holding a series of foxhunts. We'll have an information session on how-to, followed by a foxhunt, and the first few dates are as follows:
-Sunday April 29th at Sam Michaels Park, Jefferson County WV. Education session at 1 PM; Foxhunt at 2 PM sharp.
-Saturday May 5th at the Great Hagerstown Hamfest. I've been invited to have a table there; details are still TBD, and I will have more information by 4/28 which will be posted below, and I will send out an update, but we will have a foxhunt at the hamfest.
-Sunday June 3rd at the Manassas Hamfest. Details are also TBD; I will know more by 4/18, but I will have a table there, and we'll follow the same format as elsewhere- we'll have a educational session followed by a walking foxhunt on the Hamfest grounds.
For more information and updates on activities, please go to the Mid-Atlantic Portable Operators Association website- https://midatlanticportableoperatorassn.wordpress.com/
Email inquiries to MAPOA@runbox.com; Go/Nogo for weather will be posted on the MAPOA website by 6 PM the day before the foxhunt.
I hope to see a number of your members at the foxhunt!
73, Larry Wright W8ANT
VQP Logs Submitted Status
The Virginia QSO Party was in March and the deadline for submittal of logs was Friday, 15 April.
The number of logs received is 407. This is the second highest number of logs we have ever received. A really good showing.
We have only 17 paper logs this year. Therefore we only need one or two people to help with the paper log scoring at our scoring party on Saturday, 21 April, at 0900 at my QTH. Please come out to see how it is done and enjoy a little camaraderie. It will not take long.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Monday, April 09, 2018
Herndon Festival Booth on Saturday 2 June
SPARC normally does a booth at the Herndon Festival on Saturday. we set up a canopy, put in a HF radio with a 20M antenna, and talk to passers-by. Some time it is busy, most time it is not. If a couple of SPARC people help operate the booth, then the time passes fast.
I will also post the draft plan to our website.
If you can help out, please email back.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Saturday, April 07, 2018
National Beer Day
I know it is off topic. However, it may affect our ability to operate our radios within the guidelines outlined in part 97 and we may notice strange behavior on the airwaves from others.
This is National Beer Day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Beer_Day_%28United_States%29
And it is national Beer Day in Virginia
https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?181+ful+HJ90
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Friday, April 06, 2018
Virginia QSO Party Scoring Party - 21 April at 0900
The Virginia QSO Party was hold on 17-18 March and from all accounts was very successful. We have been receiving electronic and paper logs since then with the log count now at 387 logs received.
We have received some paper logs. Sixteen so far and we expect to get more on Monday, when Dick W2YE, picks up from the SPARC post office box.
We need to check/rescore the paper logs. There tend to be a lot of mistakes in them.
Our paper log scoring party will be on Saturday, 21 April, at 0900 at my QTH.
This usually takes only an hour or so, with lots of significant discussion about important matters.
We only need a few people. Please come and join us.
We are planning on posting the draft log data to the web shortly after 21 April. Make the selection of plaque winners at that beginning of May. Order the plaques during the second week in May. Hold the awards ceremony at the Manassas Hamfest on 3 June. And mail certificate shortly thereafter.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Two Presentations Available on Web
We have the two presentations from last Wednesday's meeting available on the web. See the activities page and scroll down to the April meeting. Click on the respective presentations.
The presentation by Marty, NV3H, opens as a pdf file.
The presentation video by Steve, KN4BGW, "Low Budget Vehicle Mount" takes a while to load, but it will eventually.
http://www.qsl.net/sterling/Activities/activities.htm
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Wednesday, April 04, 2018
Meeting, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 at 7PM - REMINDER
Meeting tonight.
One more update, Steve, KN4BGW, will give the Tech-Ten Talk Team Tech-Ten Talk on Low Budget Vehicle Mounts.
See you there.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Tuesday, April 03, 2018
Meeting, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 at 7PM - UPDATE
This is a reminder of the meeting and an UPDATE.
We have a presentation for the meeting. Marty, NV3H, will give a talk on "Raspberry Pi for Amateur Radio." I have a raspberry pi and I know that several others do also. I have never used mine for anything, but to appear to be one of the knowledgeable, tech-savvy in-crowd by saying I have one, but other people do use them.
In addition, Larry Wright, W8ANT, from West Virginia, will give us a 10 minute talk on the series of foxhunts he is sponsoring this year in the western Metro DC area.
We are still ot sure what the Tech Ten Talk will be for this month. It will be a surprise.
See you at the meeting!
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Watch "Transistor Full Documentary" on YouTube
Dick, W2YE, pointed me to a documentary titled "Transistor Full Documentary" on YouTube. Really good, but an hour long.
https://youtu.be/U4XknGqr3Bo
73, Gordon, NQ4K
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