News from the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)

 Hi,

Another month has gone by very quickly.  It is time for our December Club Meeting.
        Wednesday, 2 December 2020, at 7:00 PM.
This is a virtual meeting via Zoom.  connection information is below.

Refreshments are not provided by the club.  You can provide your own.  I will be having a root beer with a couple of cookies, not sure what kind yet.

The activity for the month will be a "Show and Tell."  Normally we do this in January along with a gift exchange.  However, Marty, NV3H, has arranged for an excellent presentation for the January meeting so we will do the Show and Tell this month.  So please remember to bring something to talk about.  Should be easy since you are at home.

We do not have much club business.

Virginia QSO Party.  We have started to solicit plaque sponsors and have 11 of the 26 plaques lined up so far.  We need to have a small meeting of the VQP committee people.  We will set this up for sometime in December.

Our new treasurer, Charlie, K3SR, is now fully up and operational. 

Mike, WB8RDN, is looking for a large free venue to conduct licensing examinations.  A big room, or a warehouse, or empty store front. Somewhere good fo social distancing.  If you know of a place, please let us know.

I think that is all.

See you at the meeting,
73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 8:26 PM

 Hi,

We had 14 attendees.  Two on FM repeater.  The remainder on Zoom.

The jokes are getting better.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 6:21 PM

 Hi,

Our weekly 2M/Zoom Net will be Wednesday, 25 November at 8:00PM.

 Same agenda.
   Open net
   Check-ins
   Initial round of introductions and comments.
   Short story/tech talk (looking for volunteer)
   Final round of comments with Joke
   Close net

 You can join us on 2M repeater or on Zoom or both.

 73, Gordon, NQ4K

 Join via 2M Repeater
      2M on the Dulles Repeater 145.310 (-) PL77

posted by SPARC'ie  # 2:40 PM

 Hi,

Our weekly 2M/Zoom Net will be Wednesday, 18 November at 8:00PM.

 Same agenda.
   Open net
   Check-ins
   Initial round of introductions and comments.
   Short story/tech talk (looking for volunteer)
   Final round of comments with Joke
   Close net

 You can join us on 2M repeater or on Zoom or both.

 73, Gordon, NQ4K

 Join via 2M Repeater
      2M on the Dulles Repeater 145.310 (-) PL77

Email for Zoom instructions

posted by SPARC'ie  # 12:27 PM

 Hi,

We had seven attendees.  No rain, Nice breeze.  It was so nice that one of our members wore shorts.

Stayed an hours.  Enjoyed the talk. 

Mike, WB8RDN, is looking for a big room, like a warehouse, for conducting testing.  Big enough for social distancing, etc.  If you know of a place, really really cheap or free, please let us know.

We will have the next stand-in on Sunday, 20 December, at 1PM at the Claude Moore Park Visitor Center Amphitheater.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 12:27 PM

 Hi,

We will have our Sunday Stand-In on Sunday, 15 November, at 1300 at the amphitheater at Claude Moore Park (near the visitor center).

For the Stand-In, we bring masks and enjoy a lot of talk. 

The weather will be a little cool, i.e., 60 degrees, with a low probability of rain, i.e., 25 percent chance.  We should be alright.

Remember not to park on the grass - you could get a ticket or warning.

Hope to see you all there.

73,

posted by SPARC'ie  # 5:50 AM

 Hi,

We had 13 attendees.  Two on 2M only and 11 on Zoom.  Overall a good meeting.  Excellent conversation. Reminiscing about military service.  Jokes were good.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 5:50 AM

 Hi,

Our weekly 2M/Zoom Net will be Wednesday, 11 November at 8:00PM.

 Same agenda.
   Open net
   Check-ins
   Initial round of introductions and comments.
   Short story/tech talk (looking for volunteer)
   Final round of comments with Joke
   Close net

 You can join us on 2M repeater or on Zoom or both.

 73, Gordon, NQ4K

 Join via 2M Repeater
      2M on the Dulles Repeater 145.310 (-) PL77

posted by SPARC'ie  # 1:08 PM

 Hi,

The November monthly meeting was very good.  We had 23 members and guests attending. 

The presentation by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR on Energy and Emergency Power for the Ham was exceptionally good.  We will put the video and the presentation on our web in a few days.    Thanks to Marty, NV3H, for arranging the presentation.

The winner of the trivia contest and Bob's book on Energy was Steve, KG1S.

A few other notable items.

Gary, K4SRX, suggested we support a Santa Claus event.  Maybe over Zoom.  We are working on ideas.  His white beard is looking great!

Someone also mentioned two resources for learning or improving your cw skills.  There are:
   LCWO.net (i.e., Learn CW On-line)
   CW Academy by CWops

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 1:08 PM

 Hi,

It is time for our monthly club meeting.  It starts at 7 PM on Wednesday, 4 November 2020.  This will be a virtual meeting.  The Zoom connection information is below.  This is the same as the Zoom connection we have used during the past few months for our Wednesday 8PM Net meetings.

Marty, NV3H, has arranged for a presentation by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, on "Energy and Emergency Power for the Ham."  This should be informative as I do not know enough about power sources and it seems that the technology is moving fast. Bob has published a book on the subject titled "Energy Choices for the Radio Amateur."

As a special attraction for the meeting,  Bob will select a "winner" who will receive a copy of his book.  I think the selection may be cased on who can answer questions at the end of the meeting.  It will be interesting.

We also have some business items to discuss.

Steve, KS1G, will an update on the proposed Loudoun County Public School contact with the International Space Station.  They will need help with this endeavor.

The estate of Dick, W2YE (SK) still has two antenna towers and antennas for sale.  In addition, most of his radio equipment is for sale, but I do not have a list.

The Virginia QSO Party is coming up in March 2021.  We need to review any rule changes.  In addition, if anyone wants to help with putting on the event, please let us know.  Our current team includes Henry, K2BFY; Eric, AJ4LN; John, KX4O; Marty, NV3H; Barry, KD4BK; and myself.  We can use at one more person to handle solicitation for plaques.

As a reminder, the FCC is willing to let you pay $50 for amateur license transactions.  You comments are welcome on their web site.

Please pass this invitation along  to your friends.  All are welcome.

See you at the meeting,
73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 12:59 PM