Category: Events

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Wrapping Up Field Day 2026

Field Day 2026 is in the books, and Carol, KE6SRN, has submitted our results to ARRL.  We earned 7626 points from our QSOs, and 2335 bonus points for a total of 9961. 

Once again, Field Day was a collaborative effort between SPARC, Pasadena Radio Club, JPL Amateur Radio Club, and the Caltech Amateur Radio Club. Dedicated members of all four clubs contributed to make this a great success. 

A special recognition goes to David, N6AN and Mark, WB6CIA who ran a 24-hour marathon on the CW key and logged 1029 contacts. 

Mark, WB6CIA pulling an all-nighter at the CW station. Photo credit: Carol, KE6SRN.

Steve, KO6DTY and Neil, N7YUY came through getting our 2 antenna trailers to the site, then had help from another handful of volunteers to get them set up. 

Steve, KO6DTY and Neil, N7YUY our muscles (antenna tower leads). Photo credit: Carol, KE6SRN.

John KK6ZVQ rounded up our VIPs, including Congresswoman Laura Friedman, members of the Glendale and South Pasadena Fire Departments, and ARRL Section Manager Diana Feinberg, AI6DF. Several media mentions helped bring members of the public to ArtCenter to learn what ham radio is all about . 

Congresswoman Laura Friedman, Representative of the 30th district of California.  Left to right: John Aboud, KK6ZVQ; Laura Friedman; Mark Seigel, W6MES; Bruce Nolte, N1BN.  Photo credit: Bruce N1BN.
Vince, KF6FLJ and Frank, K6FOD with members of the Glendale Fire Department. Photo credit: Carol, KE6SRN.

We earned all of our Bonus Points this year.  Yeah!! 

Thank you Hal KF6RRR for rounding up the Scouts, and thank you all the Station Captains and all who turned out to make it a successful 24 hours. 

Ellie from BSA Troop 5 with GOTA coach Rick KI6ZKM. This young lady is destined to be a scientist when she grows up.

Thanks also go to Mark, W6MES and Carol, KE6SRN for being our Field Day co-chairs again this year.  There are a lot of details to attend to in order to make this all happen, and Mark and Carol did a great job.

Field Day chairs Carol, KE6SRN and Mark, W6MES

Carol has created an event blog post (link below) — but please if you have any stories to share, let me know.  Carol’s favorite story is meeting eleven-year-old Scout Ellie, who told her that she wants to be a quantum physicist when she grows up.  And after working with her on her Radio Merit badge for an hour, Carol said she can go wherever her dreams take her.

Thanks again to everyone who turned up at the Art Center or worked Field Day from home.

—Tom, KE6SRO

Field Day 2026

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Field Day 2026: June 27 and 28

What is Field Day?

ARRL Field Day is amateur radio’s open house! Every June, more than 31,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill, and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

For Field Day 2026, SPARC will participate in a joint operation with the Pasadena Radio Club, JPL Amateur Radio Club, and the Caltech Amateur Radio Club. Come visit us and see all that ham radio has to offer!

Start: Saturday, June 27 at 11:00 a.m.
End: Sunday, June 28 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

Do I Need a License to Participate?

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.”

Licensed hams who are operating during Field Day from home and would like to contribute their score to the aggregate club total, note that our group name will be “PRC/SPARC/JPLARC/CITARC” this year.

Here is a summary of Field Day 2025 written by event co-chair Carol Bruegge, KE6SRN.

Field Day 2025

And here is a video produced by Bruce Nolte, N1BN.

If you have questions or want to learn more, please reach out through our contact form.

We hope to see you at ArtCenter!

Photos from Field Day 2025

Hal Frank, KF6RRR with scouts from Troop 55. Photo credit John AC6VV.
Rick Besocke KI6ZKM took out his measuring tape antenna, made at a SPARC meeting, and taught us all the technique for making a contact using a satellite repeater. We had success at 12:45 am in hearing other Southern California operators call each other via the International Space Station (ISS). Photo credit Carol KE6SRN.
State Assemblymember Mike Fong, center, visits the Field Day site.
San Gabriel Councilman Jorge Herrera Avila observes a Boy Scout radio merit badge candidate operate the GOTA station. Photo credit Graham AF6QR.
Carol Bruegge and Mark Seigel, Field Day chairs. Photo credit Graham AF6QR.
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Winter Field Day 2026

SPARC members at Winter Field Day 2026

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.
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June 2025 Meeting: Field Day Plans

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!

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Halloween in South Pasadena: Special Event Station W6H

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. 

40M20M10M6M2M
PHONE7.26614.26628.46650.166145.600
CW7.03314.03328.03350.033
FT87.07414.07428.074
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

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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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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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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!

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New Net Schedule for 2024

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.

Please join our Groups.io announcement mailing list for news about meetings, events, and changes to the net schedule. We hope to hear you on the air soon!