News from the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)

Hi,

It is time for our monthly meeting.  Next Wednesday, 2 January at 7 PM.

Refreshments will be provided by Red, N3TG.


We have two activities for the January meeting.

The first is a Show and Tell.  Please remember to bring in something to show and talk about.  This is always informative and sometimes even interesting.

Second and more fun is the White Elephant Gift Exchange.  White elephant means something who value has diminished for you but may be of significant interest to someone else.  Under $5.  Preferably related to ham radio but not required.  Past year gifts have been free multi-meter from Harbor Freight, free flashlight from Harbor Freight, old ARRL handbooks, box of chocolates, and rolls of wire.  Maybe something you no longer need around the ham shack.

We also have a few items of club business.

This is our annual dues collection meeting.  $10 to our secretary, Eric, AJ4LN, who keeps track of our membership.

We will also take a group photo sometime in the middle of the meeting.

We can review the status of our preparations for the Virginia QSO Party.

Finally, we can talk about our upcoming February tech class and examination.  We have not set a date yet, but probably will be the time of the meeting.

We will close with our Tech-Ten-Talk Team Tech Ten Talk.  I think someone is going to talk about one of the digital modes.  Be there and be surprised.

See you at the meeting,
73, Gordon, NQ4K

Hi,

Mike, K3MT, visited us from Culpeper.  He joined us for dinner at Joe's, introduced a video on antennas by K3AW, and sold a few books he publishes.  Altogether a good adventure.

The video was "Everything you always wanted to know About Antennas (but were afraid to ask): by Frank Rutter K3AW.  It is up on Youtube.  He uses a 3 GHz transmitter and a receiver antenna hooked to a audio sound generator and demonstrates the characteristics of almost all antenna designs.  It is a fascinating video.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

Hi,

Some addition information on the Wednesday, SPARC meeting.

Mike  K3MT, and his spouse, Joyce, KG4ABD, will be joining us for dinner at Joe's Pizzeria at 5:30.  All are invited.  Pay your own way.

Some other comments from Mike about the presentation.

"Program will be a brief into by me, a plug for the books and DVDs I publish and a movie "Everything you always wanted to know about the radio antenna, but were afraid to ask" - Modeling HF antennas on a table top range at 3 GHz, done by K3AW (SK) in 1981.  Excellent subject, but video quality is fair to good. Still well worth the time.  You will definitely lean something from it.  Movie runs  -- one hour--."


See you at the meeting,
73, Gordon, NQ4K