December Business Meeting Reminder

December is here and this month's business meeting will be held at Golden Corral located at 1492 W. O. Ezell Boulevard in Spartanburg.  Our annual Christmas Party will begin at 6:00 pm and members and guests are invited to attend.  Club members please check in with Lisa, N4BOO when you arrive so the club can pay for your meal and all non-members will pay as they enter the restaurant.  Santa has sent his gifts for our drawing so don't miss out on the time of fun and fellowship.

See you at the Golden Corral!

Tower Auction, Tuesday, November 8th

The final tower has been removed and will be auctioned off at the Rag Chew this Tuesday, November 8^th.  The rag chew begins at 7:00 pm and the auction will begin as soon as all parties have an opportunity to see the components that are available for purchase.  If you plan to bid on any of the merchandise please be prepared to take it with you.  Items that will be auctioned are: 

Tower Package – starting bid $350.00

·         5 sections of straight tower

·         1 taper top

·         1 six foot base section

·         1 rotor plate

·         1 mast

·         6 guy lines and turnbuckles

·         Assorted coax

Rotor – starting bid $75.00*

·         Ham IV rotor

·         Control box

·         Rotor cable

Moseley Classic – starting bid $200.00

·         HF Beam 24 foot boom

Cushcraft Six Meter Beam – starting bid $40.00

40/80 meter wire dipole – starting bid $10.00

*Rotor starting bid may be dropped to $45.00 if when checked out it does not work completely.  

 

     

Tower Removal

Saturday, October 22, 2016, SPARC will be taking down a tower at the home of Randy Clair. Climbers participating need to arrive at 9:30 am and ground crew members need to arrive at 10:00 am.  The address is Clair Drive, Cowpens, SC.  Robert will share more information on Friday's net so make sure to join us at 8:30 pm on 147.315 for the latest information.

JOHN CROCKETT, W3KH Silent Key

Please keep the family and friends of John Crockett in your thoughts and prayers.  He was a tremendous advocate for amateur radio.  Below is a notice that was posted to the scheart.us web site:

It is with deep regret that we inform you of the passing of John Crockett, W3KH. After a long bout with cancer, John passed peacefully this morning, surrounded by his beloved family and wife, Karen. John and Karen had their 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Amateur radio and emergency communications had no greater advocate in South Carolina than John Crockett. His tireless devotion to service led to the establishment of the SCHEART network, the SC DMR network and countless other innovations of immeasurable service to the people of South Carolina.

Spartanburg County's Emergency Preparedess Day

On September 24th, SPARC will participate in Spartanburg County's Emergency Preparedness Day which will be held at the Harvest Day Festival in Inman, SC.  We will begin set up at 8 am and the event will start at 9 am and end at 5 pm.  All club members are invited to come and participate. Come and stay all day or come out for an hour or two; all help will be appreciated.  This is a great way to get some DX time in and practice using the club radios.  Harvest Day is a great festival so there will be many opportunities to "sell" ham radio to those in attendance.  The map below shows the location of those participating in Emergency Preparedness Day.  We are listed as "Ham R" on the map.  Our location has been moved a little from what is shown on the map and may be moved some on Saturday so look in this vicinity for the trailer.  If using a GPS we will be located close to 43 North Main Street.  The business located at this address is Carolina Vision Associates.  Parking will be available across the railroad track and across the street at Inman First Baptist Church.  If you have difficulty walking long distances and would like Pokey to pick you up and bring you to the operation site please call him on the radio using our 2 meter repeater (147.315).  Hope to see you there!

September Business Meeting

The Spartanburg Amateur Radio Club will auction off the tower that was donated by Lea Salter's son-in-law this Tuesday at our monthly business meeting.  If you plan to bid on this please make arrangements to take it home with you after the meeting.  As a reminder, this auction is open to club members only so that club members have the opportunity to enhance/improve their radio stations. Pictures of the tower and antennas are below.  

The following components will be auctioned off:

Tower, rotor plate, mast, and house bracket - $125.00 is the suggested starting bid

Rotor (this rotates but does not indicate - $25.00 is the suggested starting bid

6 meter beam - $40.00 is the suggested starting bid

2 meter beam - $25.00 is the suggested starting bid

We will also have a program tomorrow night on software defined radio presented by Jim Caldwell, K1VKD. Make sure to join us for all the fun!  See you tomorrow!

 

 

Tower Class

Robert Cockman, WD6ELK with hold a climbing class this Saturday, August 20th, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.  The class will be held at the Duncan Fire Department, 230 School Street, Duncan, SC 29334.  If you are interested in attending please bring $1.00 for the CD you will receive. 

2016 Fox Hunt & Summer Supper

This Saturday, July 23rd you are invited to join us for a Fox Hunt and our annual summer supper. The fox hunt will start at the Spartanburg Herald Journal building located at 189 W. Main Street in downtown Spartanburg.  The Fox will run a "stuck mic" scenario.  The hunter with the lowest mileage when they find the fox wins.  Those participating should be at the Herald Journal building between 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm to record their starting mileage with the hunt starting at 2:00 pm.  All transmissions will be on 146.565 MHz and the Fox will be within a 10 miles radius of the Herald Journal building. The hunt will end at 4:00 pm.

At 6:00 pm join us at the Grapevine Restaurant for our annual summer supper.  This is dutch treat and our chance to get together for fun and fellowship.  All are invited to attend so we hope you will join us!  The Grapevine is located at 1926 Boiling Springs Road (Highway 9).

Saturday is a big day and guaranteed to be filled with fun and fellowship so make sure and join us for all the fun!  See you there!

FIELD DAY 2016

Once again it is time to participate in the ARRL Field Day.  The objective of field day "is to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions.  The dates for this year's event are Saturday, June 25th through Sunday, June 26th.  Again this year Drayton Fire Department will host us for this fun event.  The fire department is located at 50 Carney Street in Drayton, SC.  We will set up antennas and radios on Friday, June 24th at 9:00 am and Field Day activities will begin at 2:00 pm on Saturday, ending at 2:00 pm on Sunday.

We hope you will make plans to join us for this great event!  All help is welcomed, we need people to assist with set up, 24 hour operations (radio operators and contact loggers), clean up and tear down.  If you have never worked field day with us before below are links to videos that will familiarize you with the logging software we use and the club radio that is used for the voice station.  Also, if you plan to operate the radios and have headsets please bring them with you.

N3FJP Field Day Log - A Quick Start video from N3FJP shows how to use the logging software and highlights some of its new features.  

IC746PRO Videos - These videos will give you an overview of how to operate the radio that will be used on our voice station.

Upcoming Events - April & May 2016

April and May are busy months for SPARC so below is an update on our upcoming events:

March of Dimes Walk - Saturday, April 30, 2016

Set up for the walk will begin at 7:00 am and volunteers should be in place by 7:30 am.  Registration begins at 8:00 am and the walk begins at 9:00 am.  SPARC volunteers should meet at the District 7 Operations Center parking lot located at the corner of Union Street and Virginia Street to receive t-shirts and decide on operating positions.  This year there will be 2 water stops and 2 poop (sag) vehicles.  We would like to have radio operators at each water stop and in both poop (sag) vehicles. The poop (sag) wagons will pick up their radio operators at the District 7 Operations Center parking lot as they have in the past.   Robert Cockman, WD6ELK will serve as net control again this year.  

SPARC Business Meeting - Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The  May business meeting will feature a program on Hallicrafters SCR299 and it's contribution to WWII.  Jim Caldwell, K1VKD was originally scheduled to present a program on software defined radio but we have moved this program to June because Jim has been sick.  Please keep Jim in your thoughts and prayers as he recovers from his recent illness.  We look forward to his presentation in June!

Upstate Hamfest, Saturday, May 7, 2016

The Upstate Hamfest is a great local event that will again be held at the Spartanburg Fairgrounds.  We plan to take the SPARC trailer this year so stop by and chat with fellow club members during your visit to the Hamfest.

Elmer Night, Tuesday, May 10, 2016

SPARC is having the first Elmer Night beginning at 7:00 pm at the Spartanburg Herald Journal Building.  The rag chew session will be occurring also but we plan to have 4 Elmers (experienced amateur radio operators) available to answer questions about our hobby.  This is a great opportunity for those new to the hobby and those who are thinking of becoming licensed to ask questions.  This will be a relaxed environment to ask all the questions you may have.  Stay tuned for more information on our Elmers and their specialties!

Assaults on Marion and Mt. Mitchell, May 16, 2016

Once again it is time for this great bike event.  Stay tuned for more information about the volunteer meeting and final details.

Thanks in advance for all those who are going to make these events a success.  I'm looking forward to all the fun.  If you haven't volunteered and want to there is still room for you.  Come join the fun!

  

COME TO THE COWPENS! MEET US AT THE COWPENS!

The Spartanburg Amateur Radio Club will set up at Cowpens National Battlefield (BF 03) on Saturday, April 23, 2016, to activate the battlefield and the Overmountion Victory Trail (TR 10) which passes through the battlefield for ARRL's National Parks On The  Air.  Set up will start at 9 am when the park opens and we plan to begin operating by 10:00 am; operations will end at 4 pm.  This is a great way to show off our fun hobby to park visitors and may even recruit some new hams.  We will be operating from the group picnic shelter located in the picnic area of the park (see map below). When you enter the park go past the Visitor's Center on the Loop Road; the picnic area will be on your right.

Fun Fact:  Except for New Jersey there were more Revolutionary War battles and skirmishes fought in South Carolina than in other Colony.

Learn More at The Overmountain Men

652 Net Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night, April 14th, 2016 at 8:30 PM we will hold a 652 net.  K4XP will be net control.  Please plan to join in the fun on 146.520 simplex; find out who you can hear, and who can hear you on VHF FM simplex!

Ham Radio & Space Exploration Rescheduled

We have rescheduled our special guest speaker, Mr. George Knudsen, W4GCK, for this Tuesday's business meeting (April 5, 2016).  Mr. Knudsen is a former NASA employee who worked with the space program from the launch of the Mercury program until man landed on the moon.  This is sure to be an entertaining and educational program. The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm at the Spartanburg Herald Journal building in downtown Spartanburg.  Make sure to join us for this great program!

Ham Radio and Space Exploration

We have a special guest speaker scheduled for our monthly business meeting on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.  Mr. George Knudsen, W4GCK, is a former NASA employee who worked with the space program from the launch of the Mercury program until man landed on the moon.  This is sure to be an entertaining and educational program.  The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm at the Spartanburg Herald Journal building in downtown Spartanburg.  Make sure to join us for this great program!  

JANUARY S.C. SECTION MANAGER'S REPORT

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Marc, N4UFP with the
January 2015 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report. Please
remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrlsc.org/
where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date
information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina.
You should receive this report Friday afternoon and I want to remind
you about the SC QSO Party, which will take place tomorrow from 9:00 am
to 8:00pm local time. The rules can be found at scqso.com. The SC QSO
party will be one-half of the Carolina QSO party weekend, the other
half being the NC QSO Party, which occurs this Sunday from 10 am to 8
pm. More information on this event can be found at 
http://www.rars.org/ncqsoparty/
/> This year’s SC QSO Party contains a “contest within a contest”
The organizers have added the “HUNLEY CHALLENGE” Award, created to
commemorate the mission of the H.L. Hunley submarine against the
Federal blockade ship USS Housatonic off the coast of Charleston, SC on
February 27, 1864.
Objective: Awarded to stations spelling “HUNLEY” during the 2016
South Carolina QSO Party by contacting at least ONE amateur radio
operator located in counties which begin with these letters.
Qualifying counties:
H – Hampton Horry
U – Union
N – Newberry
L – Lancaster Laurens Lee Lexington
E – Edgefield
Y – York
Those who complete this challenge will receive a commemorative
certificate via email.
The following information on the statewide communications exercise
comes from Roger Mull, KD4JQJ
ARES/RACES District Emergency Coordinator for the South Carolina
Emergency Operations Center
kd4jqj@arrl.net
From 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM starting Monday March 14 and concluding on
Tuesday March 15, the state will be conducting its annual full scale
exercise involving communications. This year exercise centers on an
earthquake with an epicenter near Summerville. ARES, RACES and
AUXCOMM members are highly encouraged to check into nets, conducted
training, support local agencies, and exercise your local emergency
response plans. This Full Scale Communications Exercise is open to all
Amateur Radio Stations! Please consider checking into one of the
scheduled nets. It is a great time to check out your equipment and to
test simplex coverage from your home station.
County ARES/RACES groups may be conducting local exercises during these
two days, so please check with your ARES Emergency Coordinator to see
what is planned for your county. Monitor your county tactical
frequency for updates.
Statewide Activities:
Statewide nets will be conducted on two hour intervals starting at 0900
Monday and running through Tuesday. General Net Schedules will be 0900,
1100, 1300 and 1500. The State Emergency Operations Center will act as
Net Control for the statewide nets. Priority will be given to traffic
from County EOC's or Incident Command locations but all amateur
stations are encourage to check in and provide information from your
location. Follow Net Control instructions for format of your traffic.
Frequencies-
Statewide communications will be following the ARES/RACES Tactical
Guide.
Simplex 146.595 PL tone 156.7- Stations in the Local Columbia Area may
be asked to relay traffic to stations located out on coverage range.
If possible, we'd like to have some coastal stations send traffic on
this frequency and it be relayed across various counties to the SEOC.
This will simulate loss of repeater coverage and demonstrate Amateur
Radio Operator's ability to move messages without infrastructure.
HF- 3.990 MHz - 3.9935 MHz LSB and/or 7.323 MHz LSB
HF stations are welcome to check in and relay messages from other
stations. There will be opportunity for a station remote from the
State EOC to act as net control depending on conditions.
SCHEART analog network.
The VHF network will be linked statewide during the nets. It will be
unlinked outside of the nets and available for stations to practice
linking using their DTMF or to pass routine traffic
The UHF network will be used by health care organizations at various
periods during the two days but may not follow the same times as the
statewide HF and VHF nets. During periods that hospitals are not
participating in the exercise, users are free to practice DTMF linking
and pass routine traffic.
SCHEART DMR Network-
The DMR network will be in Emergency Operations Mode for verification
of communication talk group functions, message routing ,and operator
training from 8:45 to approximately 4:00 on Monday and Tuesday. There
may be periods during the day where the network is re-linked to NCPRN
network and then de-linked as training is conducted. During the time
period, users should expect the PRN talk group will only link to
repeaters within South Carolina. Out of state talk groups (Tac 1, Tac
310, DCI and Southeast) will not be operational. The DMR Local talk
group traffic coverage should remain normal. After the exercise period
each day, the DMR system will return to normal operational mode.
REMEMBER!
This is a once a year opportunity to participate with State, County,
Local Government and Non Government Organizations. It is an
opportunity to show how ham radio can be vital to a community during an
emergency and helps ensure spectrum remains available for our hobby.
Deviations to this plan such as exact net times or statewide coverage
of the SCHEART network may occur depending on failures injected during
the exercise. Just like a real world event we need to be flexible and
adapt to a changing environment. So check-in, have fun and
demonstrate the power of Amateur Radio.

Cowpens NPOTA Activation Postponed

Hello All,

                The National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) activation scheduled for this coming Saturday at the Cowpens Battlefield has been postponed.  Due to cold temperatures and a requirement of the National Park Service, it was decided to postpone the SPARC activation until we can meet the requirement and the weather conditions are better.  I will send a notification when another date for the event is chosen.

Thanks,

Frank – K4SPD

It's Test Time!

Yes it's time for our first testing session of 2016.  Testing for all licensing levels will be held Tuesday, February 9, 2016, at the Spartanburg Herald-Journal Building located at 189 W. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC.  Parking and the entrance are located on the east side of the building.  Testing will begin at 7:00 pm and those wishing to test need to arrive between 6:30 pm and 6:45 pm to complete the necessary paperwork.

Please bring the following items with you:  picture ID, $15.00 cash (correct change is appreciated), certificate of completion (first time testers will not have this), a copy of your license (first time testers will not have this).

Not ready to test on Tuesday?  No problem, we will hold testing sessions on these upcoming dates: April 12, June 14, August 9, and October 11.  For those of you who test tomorrow night and those preparing to test in the future, Good Luck!