September 18, 2025
“Mathison, Timothy D. took his last flight July 23, 2025. He leaves behind family and many friends to cherish his memory. Memorial service will be Saturday, September 13, 2025, 1 pm at Faith United Church of Christ, 1650 Pinehurst Road, Dunedin, FL 34698.”… Read the rest
It would be somewhat trite to say we got the band back together for ARRL Field Day this year, but that is nonetheless what we did. Members of SPARC teamed up with members from the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society and the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club for the annual ARRL Field Day this past June. Specifically, June 27 and 28th at the Clearwater Fire Training Center off of Belcher Road.
We have been at this facility before with both the other clubs for the most recent Winter Field Day in January and in years past. It is a wonderful facility and sharing the workload with the other clubs allows us to put on what I think is a better event. … Read the rest
Check out this useful tool pointed out by Fred W2SUB: https://archive.org/details/dlarc… Read the rest
On Saturday June 21, members of CARS, SPARC and UPARC met at the Clearwater Fire Training Center for the Field Day Dry-Run. This is where we setup the radios and computers to ensure we have all the necessary cables for this coming weekend’s ARRL Field Day. We do not setup the antennas or coax but we do perform a transmitter test on the Elecraft K3 radios to ensure they are transmitting full power.
We started at 9:00 AM and were able to finish up by 11:30 AM. It is a few well-spent hours to make sure we have all the little cables and other accouterment that radios and computers need to operate (microphones, CW keys, foot switch, USB cables, etc).… Read the rest
The Sign-up deadline for food has passed.
You are still welcome to attend but please plan on your own meals.
ARRL Field Day is a combined event to test our ability to setup radio communication under less than ideal conditions–think temporary antennas, generators and radio gear. Our event this year is a combined event with three clubs—the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society (CARS), St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) and the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club (UPARC). The date is Saturday, June 28th starting at 2:00 PM until Sunday, June 29th at 2:00 PM. Setup generally begins in earnest at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning. The location for all of this is the Clearwater Fire Department Fire Training Center at 1716 … Read the rest
On April 12, 2025, some members of UPARC got together to play radio at Honeymoon Island State Park. We activated Parks on the Air site US-1880 an attempted to reach our goal of 1,000 contacts for our W4AFC callsign. At least one of us was eager to get going as evidenced by a photo he sent. 
I am not sure of the total count but would say at least a dozen people met up and there were at least five different stations setup. In the past UPARC has typically provided all of the equipment for a UPARC in the Park event. This time our President Ryan Rager AF4O decided that people would bring their own equipment and “run what … Read the rest
Just beyond the Florida-Georgia border, exit 1 off I-95 ushers you into a world that feels distinctly different. As you leave the bustling traffic of Jacksonville behind, time seems to slow in St. Marys, Georgia. The first landmark to greet you is the sail of a mock Polaris submarine, seemingly surfacing from the parking lot of the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. From March 26th to March 30th, several members of local radio clubs made their way to Crooked River State Park (US-2170) to participate in an annual Risk tournament (yes, the classic board game). As dedicated amateur radio enthusiasts, we quickly realized that being in a state park also provided us the perfect opportunity to operate … Read the rest
On January 25th & 26th, 2025, local ham radio clubs participated in the annual Winter Field Day event in Clearwater, Florida. The day started out as planned with people gathering at 8:00 AM–some even earlier–at the Clearwater Fire Training Center for Winter Field Day 2025. This was a joint effort between the Clearwater Amateur Radio Society, the St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club and the Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club. This was the first time SPARC had been back in a few years for Winter Field Day and given the number of members from different clubs, it was great to have everyone back together again.
Due to the forecasted weather being a bit too chilly overnight (yes, I know, it’s … Read the rest
