Category: Meetings

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Wrapping Up 2023 and Looking Ahead to 2024

The Canoe House

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:

To inspire future hams, Mark WB6CIA suggested donating a pair of walkie-talkies to a Toys For Tots drive.

On behalf of everyone at SPARC, we hope you have a happy, healthy, and radio-active 2024!

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October 2023 Meeting: Preparedness, Maui Fires, and a Radio SOP

At our October 4, 2023 membership meeting, SPARC President Stan Tahara, KR6CV, led a discussion about emergency preparedness at home and in our community. Using a slide presentation highlighting the resources posted on SPARC’s online preparedness page, Stan solicited ideas and feedback from those in attendance. The presentation is embedded in this post below.

Next, Rick Besocke, KI6ZKM, gave a talk about a family member’s experience escaping the fire which devastated Lahaina, Hawaii in August. The tragic events in Lahaina demonstrate all the complexities of an evacuation. Everyone will have unique considerations in an emergency, and Rick’s narrative was a stark reminder that there is no “one size fits all” plan.

Finally, Jeff Liter, W2JCL, presented his draft of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for SPARC’s communications response to an emergency. We discussed how it could be revised, implemented, and practiced in the future.

We hope you find the below presentation useful, and we encourage you to participate in the Great Shakeout later this week (read this post for full details).

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September 2023 Meeting: Checking in with Winlink

At our September 2023 member meeting, we learned about the latest features of Winlink from Jeff, W2JCL. In his role as Assistant District Emergency Coordinator for ARES LAX Northeast, Jeff uses Winlink extensively and stays apprised of its development.

Winlink is an email client and a network infrastructure for sending email over amateur radio frequencies. It is especially useful in emergency communications because its robust error correction ensures critical information is sent exactly as intended.

Slide from Jeff, W2JCL’s presentation

Anyone interested in learning about Winlink should visit the official site at Winlink.org. More resources are linked on our Winlink project page, and you can read an earlier presentation from Jeff here (274 KB PDF).

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August 2023 Meeting: T-Hunting Practice with Bill Hacker, WB6MGT

Bill Hacker, WB6MGT with his t-hunting beam antenna

SPARC welcomed Bill Hacker, WB6MGT to our August meeting for a presentation on his experiences as a transmitter hunter. Bill began t-hunting in 1970 in Simi Valley using a Yagi antenna made out of coat hangers and tied to the mirror of a 1958 VW van. He’s upgraded his equipment since then as you can see in the above picture of Bill and his current professional-grade Yagi. For much of Bill’s t-hunting career, he has partnered with his college roommate Doug, WA6RJN. Bill’s longest hunt required locating a transmitter in Barstow, California; one near Las Vegas; one along the 15 freeway in Arizona; and the main transmitter in Saint George, Utah. Bill has worked in IT at USC for over twenty years and serves as net control for USC’s Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Team. He last spoke to SPARC at our March, 2022 meeting.

After his presentation, Bill led a practice t-hunt in Eddie Park. SPARC members got a chance to use their tape measure Yagis and signal attenuators to locate a transmitter stashed out of sight. Below are some pictures of the hunt in progress.

SPARC thanks Bill for a fun and informative evening!

Tuning in to 146.565 MHz
It must be this way…
Closing in on the fox box
Transmitter waiting to be found in a bush
Two MicroFox transmitters made by Byonics

Resources to explore t-hunting:

Southern California Transmitter Hunters (greater LA)
Southern California Transmitter Hunters (San Diego area)
Homing In, a site maintained by Joe Moell, K0OV

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Spring 2023 Meetings: Antenna Tuning and Attenuator Building

KC9ON Fox Hunt Attenuator

At SPARC’s April, May, and June meetings, we continued working with the tape measure beam antennas we constructed in February. At the April meeting, we tuned the antennas to make sure they resonated at 146.565 MHz, the local t-hunting frequency. By adjusting the spacing of the steel elements, we made sure each antenna was ready to hear a hidden transmitter.

Checking the antenna on an analyzer
Testing the antenna in Eddie Park

At the May and June meetings, we constructed an attenuator kit to pair with the antennas. Stan, KR6CV arranged a group purchase of kits from KC9ON. The V7 kit provides 4 MHz of signal attenuation. KC9ON explains how that helps:

When you’re closing in on the fox [the hidden transmitter] you may find the signals to be strong enough you can no longer find a peak or null with your antenna. Sometimes the signal is so strong that the RF will leak straight into the radio, connections and other equipment making the antenna useless. The solution is to use an offset attenuator. The circuit consists of a small RF generator, in this case 4 MHz, which will mix with the incoming fox signal (such as 146.52 MHz) and produce new signals at plus and minus the fox signal (142.52 MHz and 150.52 MHz). A potentiometer on the board changes the injection level of the RF generator which in turn attenuates the incoming mixed signal to your radio to a level where tracking can continue.

KC9ON Fox Hunt Attenuator
Product image of the V7 attenuator from KC9ON
Building the V7 kit during the June 2023 meeting

Instructions for building the kit can be found here.

With our antennas and attenuators ready for action, we planned to hold a practice t-hunt at our August member meeting.

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March 2023 Meeting: Learning CW with Jim Marr, AA6QI

At our March, 2023 member meeting, Jim Marr, AA6QI presented “CW – The Why and the How.” Sending Morse code over CW is the oldest radio transmission mode, but it remains useful today. CW isn’t merely a nostalgic throwback. Jim explained that while digital modes like FT8 and JT65 may be more efficient, they can only exchange limited information. CW is “totally unstructured” with no limits on what knowledgable operators can communicate. 

Why Learn CW? from Jim Marr, AA6QI's presentation

Learning CW continues to be a badge of honor for hams, as expressed on the shirt seen here on Jim’s introductory slide.

In his teen years, Jim practiced his code skills by transcribing stories from the daily newspaper. As his proficiency increased, the practice of sending and receiving CW became more enjoyable. “You like to do what you’re good at, and you’re good at what you do a lot,” Jim observed.

A slide explaining the fundamentals of CW spacing and speed

Jim recommended that anyone interested in learning CW should explore the two most popular training methods, Farnsworth and Koch, and see which one feels more natural. Some online resources include:

Koch Trainer app for iOS and Mac

G4FON Koch app for Windows

Morsle.fun, a daily challenge inspired by Wordle

The FISTS CW club

Learn CW Online

Many HF rigs include an internal CW keyer, but some operators may prefer an external device such as a WinKeyer-compatible kit sold by K1EL. 

SPARC thanks Jim for his comprehensive guide to radio’s most famous mode.

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Build an Antenna with SPARC on 2/1

2m tape measure Yagi

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope it will be a good “radio” year for all.

I would like to announce that SPARC will host an antenna building session at our February member meeting – Wednesday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. Specifically, we will construct tape measure antennas for 2m. The materials will be free of charge to SPARC members. If you are not a member, for the price of membership ($20) you too can participate. As a bonus, you will become a SPARC member for one year! Please join us for a fun and convivial meeting, even if you just want to observe the proceedings. All are welcome!

If you are interested in participating, please email me (president@southpasradio.org) by Wednesday 1/18. We need to get a head count to purchase enough materials for the build.

Thanks in advance and hope to see you soon,

Stan KR6CV
President
SPARC

WHAT: 2m tape measure antenna build
WHEN: Wednesday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Eddie Park House, 2017 Edgewood Dr., South Pasadena, CA 91030

The photo above is an example only. Our antenna will not look exactly like that one. Photo via Wikimedia and Texas ARDF.

PS: Don’t forget about our Winter Field Day operating event, also at Eddie Park, on January 28.

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December 2022 Meeting: See You at the Canoe House

The Canoe House

Dear SPARC members and friends,

The South Pasadena Amateur Radio Club will meet in person for a holiday social gathering on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at 7:30 PM at the Canoe House restaurant located at 805 Fair Oaks Avenue, South Pasadena, CA 91030. The return of this event is cause for celebration so please spread the word and join us for an evening of good cheer in the company of our amateur radio family.

Thank you,
Rick Besocke, KI6ZKM
SPARC President

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November 2022 Meeting: In-Person Meetings Have Resumed

Eddie Park House

It’s official: The South Pasadena Amateur Radio Club has resumed in-person monthly meetings. The timing remains the same, the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m., but our location has changed. As of October, we are now meeting at the Eddie Park House at 2017 Edgewood Drive, South Pasadena, CA 91030. SPARC would like to thank the City of South Pasadena for their help in securing this new venue. We look forward to increasing the scope and ambition of our monthly meetings now that we can once again meet offline. Eyeball QSOs are back, and we hope to see you soon!

Photo credit: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG

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September 2022 Meeting: Radio and the AC 100

At our September meeting, SPARC member John Minger, AC6VV gave a presentation on the radio tools he uses to support the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run. As the ham radio coordinator for the AC 100, John oversees a mix of analog and digital equipment that tracks the location and safety of the runners. Below is a selection of John’s slides which gives a sense of the scale of this annual event in our local mountains. If you’re interested in volunteering to help the AC 100, visit the official web site. SPARC thanks John for this informative and exciting look at operating under difficult conditions.

Highlights of AC 100 Presentation by John Minger, AC6VV, September 2022Download