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Sparky’s Links for August 2024

Our adventurous avian presents a roundup of radio-related news and information from around the web.

Submitted by Savi, W1SAV

Big Bear HamEscape™
Join me at the Big Bear HamEscape™

A few hours away, the Big Bear Ham Escape is taking place for the second year in a row. There are seminars, networking, and some POTA. I plan to be there starting Thursday, April 24 and leaving on Sunday. I had fun last year, and made two activations. Will I see you there?

Submitted by Tony, K6TTP

WBCQ: A One-of-a-Kind Shortwave Radio Station – Radio World
There are all kinds of shortwave radio stations in the world, but WBCQ seems unique.
Ask Hackaday: Is Shortwave On Life Support?
Between World War II and Y2K, shortwave listening was quite an education. With a simple receiver, you could listen to the world. Some of it, of course, was entertainment, and much of it was propaga…

Another posting for OLD hams and SWL-ers, like me, who remember the good old days.  Listening to SW in the late Postwar ’40s is what led me to become a ham at age 10 in 1952.  Those days are over but I recall them nostalgically.  They will never be back, nor is there probably any reason why they should be back.  But it was fun once upon a time.

QRPblog: VHF/UHF Handheld Comparison


To the dismay of some and the exhilaration of others, here’s some good dope on some HT units.  May be useful to potential buyers of new/used HTs.

Is Inflation Making Off Grid Power Too Expensive? – Off Grid Ham
Let’s pick apart the phenomenon of off grid energy equipment inflation and see if there is anything to this reader’s theory.

Submitted by John, KK6ZVQ

A Reason To Get On The Air – The KØNR Radio Site
I don’t need much but I do need a reason to get on the air. This can take many forms as I wrote in this blog post some time ago. I see quite a few new hams struggling with the problem of “I got this license but now what?” Operating goals or awards are a fun way to keep focused Continue reading A Reason To Get On The Air→
An archive of RadioShack Catalogs (1939-2011)
Flip-through every RadioShack electronics & computer catalog. These catalogs include vintage electronics, stereos, speakers, CB radios, tube radios, computers, communication equipment, electronic test equipment, gadgets, technology & more!

Adrian, KN6MHG added that there is also a Facebook group that discusses vintage RadioShack catalogs.

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Pictures from Our SOTA-POTA Fest 2024

SPARC’s first SOTA-POTA Fest was a chance for club members to gain experience operating in the great outdoors. Jeff W2JCL activated Flint Peak for SOTA. Five miles to the southwest, the POTA team of Savi W1SAV, Steve KN6ZOO, Colleen KN6DOQ, and John KK6ZVQ activated Rio de Los Angeles State Park. After a little bit of effort, we successfully made a summit-to-park contact.

Savi, W1SAV with his operating set up
Colleen, KN6DOQ making contacts.
MFJ-1898 HF antenna
The sBITX transceiver being field tested
Steve, KN6ZOO demonstrates how he learned to wrap cables during his days as an audio engineer.

Savi enjoyed communicating with fellow members of the Long Island CW Club. On VHF, we heard from John AC6VV, Jason KM6WJQ, and Vince KF6FLJ.

W1SAV’s video and after-action report is available on his blog.

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August 2024 Meeting: SOTA and POTA


At our August 2024 meeting, SPARC members enjoyed presentations on SOTA (Summits on the Air) and POTA (Parks on the Air). Walter “Savi” Savinovich, W1SAV led with his talk on the joys and challenges of operating from parks. A video of Savi’s presentation is embedded below and is available on his YouTube Channel. Next, David Hodge, N6AN explained how he tackles SOTA activations and showed off photos from local peaks. David is a past president of the Pasadena Radio Club and a well-known competitive DXer. 

Walter Savinovich, W1SAV
David Hodge, N6AN

We concluded the evening with a door prize drawing. Two attendees went home with multi-purpose Teraoka tape donated by Carol KE6SRN. And in honor of David N6AN, our third prize was  Contact Sport, a book about the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship, in which David participated. (There’s a picture of him on page 45.)    

On August 17, SPARC will hold its very own SOTA POTA Fest. We’ll be activating Flint Peak for SOTA and Rio de Los Angeles Park for POTA. If you’d like to participate, join our Groups.io mailing list.  

Click here to download Savi’s slides.

Links from Savi’s presentation:

Mapping Contacts | Global DX Map w/ Propagation

POTA main page | POTA spotting page | POTA scheduling page

Field equipment: Chameleon Antennas | Yaesu Radios | Elecraft Radios

Savi’s home logging program: Amateur Contact Log | Mobile logging software: HAMRS

Savi’s dashboard of Log Analytics (built with Tableau Public)

Savi’s Blog | Savi’s YouTube Channel | Email: w1sav [at] arrl [dot] net

More SOTA/POTA inspiration:

“Radio and Rides” blog by SPARC member Carol K6SRN

Article on POTA by Jenna Canillas, WW0MAN for the Rio Hondo ARC June 2022 newsletter

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June 2024 Meeting: Preparing for Field Day

At our June monthly meeting, we discussed SPARC’s upcoming joint deployment with the Pasadena Radio Club for Field Day. This will be our clubs’ first in-person Field Day since 2019. SPARC has volunteered to set up a VHF/UHF station and organize its operators. The details are:

Start: Saturday, June 22 at 11:00 a.m.
End: Sunday, June 23 at 10:59 a.m.
Location: Art Center College of Design parking lot
Enter at 1700 Lida St., Pasadena, CA 91103
What3Words location: help.rock.vouch

If you were unable to attend the meeting and would like to operate with us, please reach out to us through our contact form.

Click this link or the image below to download a copy ( 1.9 MB PDF) of this year’s Field Day presentation.

If you can’t be with us in person for Field Day, we hope to hear you on the air!

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May 2024 Meeting: Learning CW with Carol, KE6SRN

At our May 2024 meeting, SPARC member Carol Bruegge, KE6SRN gave an overview of proper Morse code usage and shared tips for how to become proficient. (Apologies for the blurry photo above.) Fun fact: What we refer to as “Morse code” is more accurately called “Gerke code” because it was standardized by a German telegraph pioneer named Fredriche Gerke. Carol covered several topics including efficient communication and free learning tools. Below are links to the tools that Carol recommended.

Click here to download all of Carol’s slides (1.7 MB PDF).

After Carol’s presentation, we had a show and tell session with paddles, straight keys, and “bugs” from SPARC members’ collections.

To the left of the paddles were laptops loaded with RufzXP, Morse Runner, and Iambic Master. Attendees could compare the programs and see which ones might be worth trying at home.

At 9:13 p.m. the ham radio satellite SO-50 passed overhead, and Rick Besocke, KI6ZKM led the group in a contact demonstration. This was an opportunity to see a satellite contact in action, inspired by our February meeting on the topic.

Rick, KI6ZKM contacts SO-50

Next month, it’s time to talk Field Day! Join us on June 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Eddie Park House.

73,
John Aboud, KK6ZVQ

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April 2024 Meeting: State of the Hobby with Diana Feinberg, AI6DF

At our April member meeting, SPARC welcomed ARRL LAX Section Manager Diana Feinberg, AI6DF. Diana has served the local ham community as section manager since 2016 and in numerous other capacities before that.  She is currently president of the Palos Verdes Amateur Radio Club, and she was formerly president of the 220 Spectrum Management Association of Southern California. She has chaired the Los Angeles Area Council of Amateur Radio Clubs, served as the chair of the HAMCON hamfest, and has been active in the Los Angeles County Disaster Communication Service.

Diana opened by discussing what is new with the ARRL both nationally and locally. Topics included:

  • How to know when the digital editions of ARRL magazines are available.
  • The fight to protect radio spectrum from high-speed trading systems.
  • ARRL membership numbers in LA County. 
  • A program that helps members locate sources of RFI (hint: check your dimmer switches first). 
  • Patterns of volunteering.

The second part of her presentation was titled “Surprises in Amateur Radio.”  It covered the aspects that make our hobby unique, including the constant improvement of its equipment and development of new modes such as the M17 standard.

As a gesture of our thanks, we presented Diana with a bag of Li’l Sparky’s Blend whole beans (actually the Lost Parrot Blend from Jones Coffee Roasters).

UPCOMING EVENTS

ARRL SSB Rookie Roundup, 4/21

For the purposes of the event, a Rookie is defined has having been first licensed in the current calendar year or the previous three calendar years, regardless of license class. You can also be a Rookie if you haven’t made any contest contacts on the contest mode (in this case, SSB).

May Meeting, 5/1

We’ll be discussing CW and Morse code. Do you have an interesting Morse key, bug, or paddle? Bring it in for a show and tell.

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Exploring the End-Fed Half Wave Antenna

Ferrite core

Tony K6TTP sent us this article on the end-fed half-wave antenna written by John VA3KOT for Ham Radio Outside the Box. “This is probably the best overview article on end-fed half-wave antennas I’ve read in many many years. It broadly addresses in brief the fact and opinion that exists in the EFHW world, and explains the complexities, alternatives, and some variations on the type.” It’s a great introduction for anyone considering constructing one of their own. The caption for the image accompanying this post reads, “49:1 showing 2xFT140-43 ferrite cores. No case, insulated wire protects windings from moisture.”

You can tell us about your antenna building adventures on Instagram, Threads and Mastodon.

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SPARC and Friends Support Family Bike Ride

SPARC was proud to provide communication assistance to South Pas Active Streets during a community cycling event on Saturday, March 16. Jason KM6WJQ and David KK6DA, two active members of ARES LAX NE who recently worked the Firecracker 10k in a similar capacity, lent their considerable expertise. Together with John KK6ZVQ, they monitored the progress of a bike caravan along Mission Street and informed ride marshals whenever the group became split up by red lights or delays.

South Pas Active Streets organized over eighty bicyclists to ride from Garfield Park to the South Pasadena Nature Park and back. Over half of the riders were children, many of whom had never visited the Nature Park or Arroyo bike path before. Several community groups participated in activities at both parks, including South Pasadena Beautiful, Friends of the South Pas Nature Park, the D.U.D.E.S., a local Lionsheart chapter, and The Hive which provided a craft station. Mayor Evelyn Zneimer and Councilperson Janet Braun joined the group and spoke about the importance of community involvement with our civic planning.

Below are two embedded Instagram posts showing a selection of photos from the event.

We look forward to helping with similar events in the future!