On Saturday, January 24, SPARC returned to Eddie Park for the 2026 edition of Winter Field Day. Club members had a chance to deploy antennas they had not used before and test new field operation set-ups. While most of the country suffered through bitter cold and adverse conditions, we enjoyed the lovely setting of Eddie Park and introduced ham radio to several curious passersby. We operated from approximately 10:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Total Contacts: 23 20m: 7 phone, 2 digital (JS8Call) 10m: 6 phone 2m: 8 phone
ARRL sections and RAC provinces where we made contacts on Winter Field Day 2026. Map generated by N3FJP logging software.
At our June monthly meeting, we reviewed plans for SPARC’s upcoming joint operation with the Pasadena Radio Club, JPL Amateur Radio Club, and the Caltech Amateur Radio Club for Field Day. This represents an expansion from last year’s Field Day and an attempt to recapture some of the scale from pre-Covid times. The details are:
Start: Saturday, June 28 at 11:00 a.m. End: Sunday, June 29 at 10:59 a.m. Location: ArtCenter College of Design, Hillside Campus, south parking lot Enter at 1700 Lida St., Pasadena, CA 91103 What3Words location: help.rock.vouch
There will be a Get on the Air (GOTA) station operating from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Members of the public with no radio license are welcome to visit the station and get a taste of Field Day excitement for themselves.
We will operate under the special event call sign N6P, “November Six Papa,” as a class 4A station. The GOTA station will operate with SPARC’s call W6SPR, “Whiskey Six Sierra Papa Romeo.” Thanks to our Field Day coordinator Carol, KE6SRN for securing the special event call!
If you were unable to attend the meeting and would like to operate with us, please reach out through our contact form. If you are operating from home and would like to contribute your score to the aggregate club total, note that our group name will be “PRC/SPARC/JPLARC/CITARC” this year.
Click this link or the image below to download a copy ( 2 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!
The building used as Michael Myers’s house in the original Halloween. Photo via Loopnet.com.
The South Pasadena Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) invites operators from around the world to experience the frightful delight of Halloween as only our town can celebrate it. Dozens of famous movies and television shows have used South Pasadena as a location, including the original Halloween (1978). On October 31, our club will operate outside the South Pasadena Historical Museum which sits one block south of “Michael Myers’s house” from the classic horror film. We will use the special event call sign W6H.
Special event electronic QSL card available on request
SPARC members will operate W6H on October 31st starting at 2 p.m. Pacific time (21:00 UTC) and concluding at 9 p.m. Pacific (November 1, 04:00 UTC). We will primarily operate phone, but we will attempt other modes as conditions permit. The chart below lists our intended frequencies.
40M
20M
10M
6M
2M
PHONE
7.266
14.266
28.466
50.166
145.600
CW
7.033
14.033
28.033
50.033
FT8
7.074
14.074
28.074
Depending on conditions, frequencies may be +/- several kHz or not usable at all.
To find us during the event, please check your preferred cluster or spotting tool. You can also look for updates by following @southpasradio on threads.net and mastodon.radio.
Logs will be uploaded to QRZ under our club call W6SPR. After the event, logged stations can request an electronic QSL card by emailing contact@southpasradio.org.
Don’t be scared, get on the air!
Sign seen on October 12, 2024 outside the location used as the home of movie heroine Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. The South Pasadena Historical Museum
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 upColleen, KN6DOQ making contacts.MFJ-1898 HF antennaThe sBITX transceiver being field testedSteve, 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.
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!
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.
Starting on January 10, SPARC will experiment with adding a simplex net to its monthly schedule. We will adjust the net based on need and experience if necessary. Here is the current monthly schedule.
1st Wednesday of the month, 7:30 p.m. Monthly member meeting — NO NET
2nd Wednesday of the month, 7:30 p.m. Simplex net on 145.600 MHz, no PL tone
3rd and subsequent Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. Check-in Net on the TELCO Repeater 145.180 MHz PL 156.7 Negative offset
Our goals for the simplex net are to practice emergency communications skills and to develop a propagation map of the city so that club members know “who can hear me” without a repeater.
Our November 2023 membership meeting was cancelled due to a guest speaker falling through, but spirits were high at our annual December social at the Canoe House restaurant. Over a dozen members gathered to catch up and discuss their various radio-related projects.
A week later, during our December 13 on-air net, participants described their favorite ham radio gifts, either received or purchased for themselves. The fond memories included:
September is National Preparedness Month, so now is a great opportunity to get ready for the Great Shakeout, the world’s largest earthquake preparedness exercise. SPARC member, and ARES LAX Northeast District Emergency Coordinator, Oliver Dully, K6OLI has written a guide to using Winlink’s built-in “Did You Feel It?” form during the Shakeout.
Send Winlink DYFI (“Did-you-feel-it?”) Exercise reports with your group. We encourage you to send reports with Modified Mercalli Intensity V (5) or greater.
