Sparky’s Links for September 2024

Here’s what Li’l Sparky stashed in his nest of bookmarks this month.

Carol, KE6SRN filed new reports from Alaska and, closer to home, from Hoyt Mountain.

Savi, W1SAV worked some POTA at Crystal Cove and Rio de Los Angeles.

NASA’s Next-Generation Solar Sail Mission

Tony, K6TTP writes: It seems that hams could bounce radio signals off this reflective sail to communicate with other hams.  It would be a much larger target than a satellite, the ISS, or the moon.  But I think the location is problematic.
Hackaday also posted an article on the sail.

Positive reviews of this convenient tool make it sound like a great addition to the shack.

Another solid option for license test prep.

This is an impressive iOS app that can help you self-spot SOTA and POTA activations without Internet access. Its developer Brian, AB6D had done some incredible work. Thanks to Ammed Ismail, KN6STX for posting about it on the SoCal SOTA Groups.io.

ARES LAXNORTHEAST and Oliver, K6OLI debuted a collaborative mapping project. The press release above explains how you can participate in Shakeout this year and contribute data to the map.

2024 California QSO Party

Savi, W1SAV encourages everyone to participate October 5 and 6. This year, there are some POTA challenges!

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 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.

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