We had a SPARC Activity Night meeting last night, where we discussed acquiring a party tent for Field Day. We used to do that in our earlier Field Days via the overwhelming generosity of Dave KD2FSI, who would unselfishly donate the funds to the club. Now we have an organization, Hadley Communications Technologies, that we can go to, to ask for the needed dollars We want to acquire a 10 X 20 foot commercial party tent with sides that can withstand the elements better than the Harbor Freight style car port that we've been using the past couple of years.
Not the best photo, but this is what we used the first several Field Days. It was enclosed on three sides. Just from the one end you can see the "windows" and get an idea of how sturdy it was. Notice the anchor ropes holding it down. The best part was that the company we rented it from came to the park on Friday to set it up and would come back on Monday to tear it down and haul it away, leaving us with one less chore for us to worry about.
Then we went to this, which worked, but was not deluxe:
The car port we used with makeshift tarp sides. There were several times, in the midst of Field Day, that a good wind would come through and we literally had to "hold down the fort"! It made do, but was not as sturdy or robust. When it would start to rain, this arrangement left a lot to be desired.
After that discussion, Bill W2AOF gave a talk about solar panels and controllers and the MC4 connectors used in conjunction. Those are available through Powerwerx and are much more robust that Anderson Power Poles.
So ........ on to this weekend:
Contests:
CW operators, you may hear A LOT of digital activity this weekend! Primarily the ODXS 070 New Member Jamboree, the EA RTTY Contest, the RSGB FT4 International Activity Day,
Georgia State Parks on the Air - https://gaparks.org/rules-register/
Florida State Parks on the Air - https://flspota.org/rules/
Louisiana QSO Party - http://laqp.louisianacontestclub.org/laqso_rules.htm
Mississippi QSO Party - https://www.arrlmiss.org/
Missouri QSO Party - http://www.w0ma.org/index.php/missouri-qso-party
SP DX Contest - https://spdxcontest.pzk.org.pl/2024/rules.php
George Batterson 1935 QSO Party - https://www.qsl.net/ve7sl/batterson.html
Monday Night:
ARS Spartan Sprint: - http://ars-qrp.com/Spartan_Sprint/Spartan_Sprint.html
Tuesday Night:
NAQCC CW Sprint - http://naqcc.info/sprint_rules.html
And a reminder .......don't forget NEXT weekend:
Special Events:
04/05/2025 | Polio on the Air
Apr 5-Apr 19, 0000Z-2359Z, W7P/O/L/I&W0O, Seattle, WA. Norwhal Amateur Radio Society (NR7WL). see website for list of frequencies. QSL. QSLs, will be mailed, to all contacts. nars@narwhal.be or https://nars.narwhal.be/polio
04/06/2025 | GERATOL NET 52nd Anniversary
Apr 6-Apr 13, 0001Z-2359Z, N1KL, Wheelwright, MA. GERATOL NET. 3.668. Certificate. Kevin Lynch, POB 124, Wheelwright, MA 01094. Ther GERATOL Net Worked All States net is celebrating 52 years of service to the Amateur Radio community. For special downloadable certificate, look for W1G Special Event on 3.668 Mhz starting at 0100Z each evening. https://geratol.net
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
