News from the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)

 Hi,

Our weekly 2M/Zoom Net will be Wednesday, 31 March at 8:00PM.

I probably will be the host and Net Control.  Kevin, W4KLS, is back from sunny Arizona and may take over host/Net Control duties.  If he does then maybe there will be more jokes.  You will have to join us to see.

 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

 Join via Zoom Meeting

posted by SPARC'ie  # 2:07 PM

 Hi,

Good meeting. Eleven attendees.  Many jokes but one was good enough for me to repeat to my spouse.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 2:30 PM

 Hi,

Our weekly 2M/Zoom Net will be Wednesday, 24 March at 8:00PM.

I probably will be the host and Net Control.  Kevin, W4KLS, is back from sunny Arizona and may take over host/Net Control duties.  If he does then maybe there will be more jokes.  You will have to join us to see.

 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 connection information.

posted by SPARC'ie  # 7:39 AM

 Hi,

Our next regularly scheduled Stand-In would be Sunday, 21 March. 

However, the Virginia QSO Party is on 20-21 March. 

Therefore, we have cancelled the Stand-In so we can be on the air in the VQP.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 9:50 AM

 Hi,

Very good meeting.  Twelve attendees in total.  Ten on Zoom and two on 2M repeater.

Chaz, KK4TNO, joined us from North Carolina.  Bill, WJ4U, joined us from Dallas, TX. And Kevin, W4KLS, joined us from Sierra Vista, AZ hotel room. 

Jokes are getting better.  I thought three were good enough to repeat to my XYL.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 9:49 AM

 Hi,

Our weekly 2M/Zoom Net will be Wednesday, 17 March at 8:00PM.

I will be the host and Net Control.  I believe Kevin, W4KLS, is still in sunny Arizona.

 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 connection information.

posted by SPARC'ie  # 6:26 AM

 Hi,

Nine attendees.  Seven on Zoom and two on 2M repeater.

Lasted an hour.  Jokes were average, except for one exceptional joke by Henry, K2BFY.  My joke was not a hit and someone suggested I go back to the pickle book.  HI HI

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 8:15 AM

 Hi,

It is time to have a meeting to review progress on getting ready for the Virginia QSO Party.  It is 20-21 March.

Wednesday, 10 March at 2:00 PM. 

I know this sounds like a strange time, but is apparently the time that most of our committee people are available.

We may have attending:

  Gordon, NQ4K
  Marty, NV3H
  Henry, K2BFY
  Barry, KD4BK
  Eric, AJ4LN
  Chris, KT9N

And anyone else who would like to join us.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 9:14 AM

 Hi,

Our weekly 2M/Zoom Net will be Wednesday, 10 March at 8:00PM.

I will be the host and Net Control.  I believe Kevin, W4KLS, is still in sunny Arizona.

 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

posted by SPARC'ie  # 9:13 AM

 Hi,

It was a great meeting.  We had 18 members and guests in total.  A good turnout. Several people I had not seen in a while.  After the meeting, Bill, WJ4U, sent an email from Dallas, TX saying he was sorry he missed it - the time difference messed him up.

Thanks to Kevin, W4KLS, for suggesting and Marty, NV3H, for arranging the presentation for this meeting.

Mike, AF7KB,, has a series of books supporting amateur radio licensing.  Mike's presentation during the meeting was fantastic.  He is a very entertaining speaker with a way of clearly explaining things.

Mike has a website at: https://fasttrackham.com.  And a youtube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0TUltCJoV2ufJ4dSUY19jw.
Alternatively go to youtube and do a search for AF7KB.  His books are available on Amazon.

We now have a donation button on our website.  Bottom of home page.  Wait a little while before using it.  Charlie, K3SR, is working out the kinks, like how to get money from paypal into our checking account and figuring out who sent the money.

The Virginia QSO Party is 20-21 March.  Please put this on your calendar and plan to participate.  We also have a new plaque this year.  A GOTA plaque for single unlicensed participants under the supervision of a control operator.  The genesis for the plaque came from Theresa, KG4TVM, during out VQP presentation to the Olde Virginia Hams radio club. 

That is all for now.
73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 7:10 AM

 Hi,

It is time for our monthly club meeting.  The first Wednesday of each month at 7 PM.  Virtual meeting.  See connection information below.  Pass along to interested parties if you like.

Marty, NV3H, has arranged for another excellent presentation.

Michael Burnette, AF7KB will present “How to Hammer Your Next Ham Exam”  There are some nice videos by him on the net.  It should be an entertaining and interesting presentation.  I believe that Kevin, W4KLS, is using his book to study for his extra exam.  maybe we will see what Kevin has to say about it also.

The Virginia QSO Party is coming up on the 20-21 March.  I hope you are all ready to participate. 

We did put in a new plaque this year.  A Get-On-The_Air (GOTA) plaque.  Single participant under the supervision of a control operator.  It is a little late in the cycle to introduce something new, but it is an interesting idea and we will see what happens.

We have not had a Tech Ten Talk in a while.  Maybe we can see if we can get these started again.

73, Gordon, NQ4K

posted by SPARC'ie  # 2:22 PM