News from the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)
The SPARC web site is at http://www.qsl.net/sterling.
Saturday, May 30, 2020
June Monthly Meeting 7PM On-Line
It is time for the SPARC monthly meeting. Tuesday, at 7PM, On-line.
Refreshments will be provided by you. I expect they will be good, maybe even great.
We should have a presentation. Details are being worked out.
We should have a tech ten team talk. Details are being worked out.
It is amazing how slow I am becoming the longer I stay home.
We could talk about the upcoming Field Day, but we have cancelled the event. We will still entertain comments of suggestions about the event.
Speaking of getting slow. It is also time for election of new officers for the next year.
Ray, KD4RSL, has stated he is looking for a replacement as treasurer. So we need a volunteer for that.
Also, if anyone want to be president, please let us know. I believe the current president will not contest your bid to assume the office.
This will be a Zoom video conference. Email for connection information or see the meeting announcement on our email list.
See you on Tuesday.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
PS. This is not the Wednesday evening SPARC 2M/Zoom Net which is on Wednesday at 6:30PM.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Field Day Update 4
This is an update and a decision.
We have been struggling to find a good idea for Field Day. Out normal mode of operation was not going to work. Too many people, too close.
In the last Field Day Update, we asked for people to respond if they would commit to participating in Field Day.
We had only ONE positive response. Plus me makes TWO. We have had several people say they will not participate this year, due to health concerns.
Therefore, we are cancelling the SPARC Field Day event. Field Day is an emergency preparedness exercise, but we are not currently in an emergency requiring communications. We should strive to remain safe.
This does not preclude us individually or maybe in a small group from participating in Field Day. I will from my home. I hope you are able to also.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Wednesday, 20 May, 2M/Zoom Net at 6:30PM - Summary
We held our Wednesday 2M/Zoom Net Meeting this evening at 6:30PM.
10 hams signed in. Better jokes this time
Evan, KQ4CI, talked about his experiences with Over-the-air TV reception. Gets approximately 50 channels. A couple of other folks pitched in and said they get 40-50 channels also. I am going to have to try this out.
Hope to see you in the Net next week, Wednesday, 27 May, at 6:30PM.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Virginia QSO Party Awards Ceremony Proposal
We are almost done with the selection of plaque awardees. Crown Trophy is still open and accepting orders to produce the plaques.
Barry, KD4BK, is working on certificate inscriptions.
Normally we would hold an awards ceremony at the Manassas ham Fest. But that is cancelled.
Options include 1) cancelling the event, 2) hold it at the Berryville Ham Fest, or 3) hold a virtual ceremony.
I propose a virtual ceremony maybe along the following lines.
1. Saturday, 13 June, at 1000 (same as we would do anyway).
2. Do Zoom or WebEx. We have experience with both.
3. Someone would need to be the Tech person to run the software, allow only appropriate people into the meeting, etc.
3. I would moderate as usual. Give the powerpoint presentation, etc. Use show screen option to show both my smiling talking head and the powerpoint presentation.
4. Someone would need to take screenshots as we normally do with the photographer. Normally Ray, KD4RSL (not available) or my XYL (also not available).
5. Someone would need to take notes as to who was there accepting awards, etc. Normally done by Eric, AJ4LN.
6. We send out an announcement and post the meeting details on our web site.
7. Mail out plaques and certificates after the virtual ceremony.
8. Hope for the best.
Comments?
Volunteers?
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Field Day Update 3
We have has a couple of suggestions.
1. Set up at Inova Loudoun Hospital. LARG will not be supporting a FD site this year although individual might run some multi-op stations.
2. Set up a couple of antennas and let people drive in and use their own radios. Still need to think about logging computers.
3. Maybe Herndon has a park we could use.
4. Maybe an HOA has a shelter we could use.
I should ask another question,
Who will commit to doing a field day site this year?
Who will commit to being a night operator at our field day site?
If yes, let me know.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Field Day Update 2
Paul, K4PDF, reports that the Lower Loudoun Little League baseball fields are not available for our use. They are following the same guidelines as the Loudoun County school system.
We are looking for ideas on an alternative venue or approach.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Field Day Update 1
1. Given that we do not know what the coronavirus situation will be at the end of June, we can proceed with Field Day planning. We can always cancel.
2. However, we can make some assumptions, predictions, observations, comments, etc.
a Coronavirus will still be around.
b. We should be prudent about exposure.
c. Some of the club members are very vulnerable to serious illnesses, and will not want to attend in person. At least one person in the club has expressed this already and I know of at least two others who should probably severely limit their exposure.
d. We should not have a mass gathering such as a meal, etc. Maybe even setup should be constrained.
e. We should not have a GOTA station, to limit exposing ourselves to random people.
f. Ray, KD4RSL, has indicated that he will be unable to run the UHF/VHF station this year. Most contacts from this station are on 6M.
g. We normally run 3A. Three HF stations, not counting the GOTA station. Two voice stations and one CW station. And we run on emergency power, i.e., Russ brings the club generator.
h. We had trouble last year fully manning the three stations.
i. Maybe we should cut back to 1 or 2 stations.
j. Night manning is problematic. Fewer folks want to work the night shift. Without people that at night, we cannot secure the radios and other equipment.
k. Paul, K4PDF, checked with the Loudoun Public School system. Park View High School fields are not available. All are closed.
m. Paul, K4PDF, is checking with Little League to see if the Jeff Cobb baseball field, or other facility in that complex, is available.
3. Some thoughts on directions for planning.
a. Work toward 2 stations only. One HF CW and one HF SSB.
b. Use generator.
c. Only two antennas.
d. Most bonus point activities can continue: formal message traffic, publicity, satellite contact, etc. Some will not, i.e., those which involve groups of people.
e. Still need computer logging and intranet.
4. Other thoughts
a We should investigate remote operation. Maybe we can work out a method of controlling a radio from home, to avoid having a lot of people on-site. We need a volunteer to investigate this.
b. Potentially, mobile HF rigs could drive in and be part of the operation, however, logging and avoiding duplicates becomes an issue.
5. That is as far as I have gotten in thinking about Field Day.
Comments?
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Wednesday, 13 May 2020, 2M/Zoom Net at 6:30PM - Summary
We had a good 2M/Zoom Net this Wednesday evening. Nine participants. Good conversation.
Jokes are getting better.
Thanks again to Evan, KQ4CI, for the use of the very good repeater.
A couple of items to pass along.
The contest University online course is tomorrow. https://www.contestuniversity.com/
The presentations are online and interesting.
We discussed Field Day for a while. Generally folks for tentatively supportive. Would like to see it go on, but with caveats for safety. One person will decline to participate for health reasons.
See you next week.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Thursday, May 07, 2020
New Club Call Sign Trustee
Jerry, K4INT, emails that he has received a copy of the K4NVA license and I see that he is now the K4NVA call sign trustee in the FCC ULS.
Congratulations to Jerry.
Red, N3TG, has been the call sign trustee for 20-25 years. A very long time. We should all think him for his dedication when we see him next.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Monday, May 04, 2020
Monthly meeting on Tuesday, 5 May, at 7:00 PM - REMINDER
Our monthly meeting is tomorrow, Tuesday, 5 May at 7:00 PM. This will be an online meeting using WebEx. Marty, NV3H, has scheduled the meeting. To participate, use the following link.
I clicked on the link and installed the software a little while ago and it was easy.
We have five items of club business.
First, we will have a new club call sign trustee. Red, N3TG, is relinquishing his role of trustee after many many years. Maybe we can ask him how long he has been trustee.
The new trustee will be Jerry, K1INT. We will transfer trustee ship in a couple of weeks.
Second, Dick, W2YE, as the manager of the Incoming, 4th Call Area, 2 Letter Prefix QSL Buro, tells us that he has a couple of letters that need new letter managers. Maybe Dick, can explain what this means during the meeting. If you are interested, please email back. I personally run the "X" letter. It takes me about an hour a month to sort incoming QSL cards, put bunches of cards in envelopes, and mail them out.
Third, the weekly 2M/Zoom net we are holding on Tuesdays at 6:30PM is fun. We have a simple agenda. Start the net. Do check-ins. All make an initial comment. Have a short story or discussion (usually by me, because I have no other volunteers), Have a final round of comments with joke. We have had around 14 participants and the whole thing takes about 35 minutes. We use the Dulles Radio repeater in Ashburn (145.310(-) PL77) and concurrently use Zoom for those who cannot hit the repeater. Some do both at the same time. Kevin, W4KSL, mentioned EchoLink. I think he is trying to set that up also in coordination with Evan, KQ4CI, the owner of the Dulles Radio repeater. We send out a separate notice before the meeting with as a reminder and with the zoom link. Please join us this coming Wednesday.
Fourth, Ray, KD4RSL, is relinquishing his role as club treasurer. So we need a volunteer to do this. Ray says it does not take much time, but it is a necessary function. Please email back if you are interested.
Fifth, Field Day is coming up at the end of June. Paul, K4PDF, is checking to see if the Park View High School baseball field would even be available. Regardless, we should start thinking about what we want to do.
I think that is it for now.
See you on WebEx tomorrow, Tuesday, at 7PM.
73, Gordon, NQ4K
Archives
April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 June 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 September 2011 October 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024
