Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)

2002 Sterlingfest

     Bill Lorentz, K4SII, volunteered to coordinate the effort. Most of the club members have been at this event before and all knew what was needed. Bill sent an email outlining the task and requirements, and asked for help. Within a few days, club members offered radios, an antenna, tables, chairs, and a tent; and all was ready for the big day.

     Bill Rowlett, KC4ATU, (and Club President) had arranged for the same spot as we had the previous year. This simplified the set up – we just did it the same way as last year. The tables went up first, then the antenna. Bill brought his vertical dipole. Russ Thomason, W3RST, drove up pulling the club owned generator, an ancient, trailer-mounted, 8 KW set that has served the club well for many years. He set up the generator and laid the power cords. Just as all was ready, Joe D'Angelo, WB2SAI, arrived with an ICOM IC-735 and MFJ antenna tuner. We plugged it in and we were all set. Time to get on the air.

     We operated all day using the club call sign, K4NVA, and were able to contact stations on SSB as well as CW. We did have a lot of competition for space on the bands from the numerous operators participating in the Pennsylvania QSO party, next state over, but managed to work through their activities.

     As always we took the opportunity while QSO’ing to talk about the weather. We learned that the mid-west was expecting cooler weather with a slight possibility of snow. While those in Florida were lamenting that the weather was getting cooler – into the 80’s. We were quite happy with temperature in the high 60’s and overcast with no rain.

     Several interesting people stopped by to visit. Two volunteers from the local volunteer ambulance service inquired about ham radio in support of emergency operations. Also set up close by was the Herndon REACT club. They were well-equipped with two vans, roof mounted antennas, racks for radios, and comfortable chairs and tables. With their HTs, they were helping to operate the event.

     Laurel, KG4UPK, and Margaret, N5TEJ, Brown stopped and chatted. We almost convinced Laurel, who received her Technician license about 2 months ago, to fill in as an operator on our radio while we took a break; but there were too many other interesting things to do at the Fest.

     Pieter Engelbrecht, AI2P, and Joe D'Angelo, WB2SAI, brought their sons who had the opportunity to operate for a short while.>

     In the late afternoon, Forrest Snyder, N4UTY, came rolling in with his QRP CW rig. Measuring about 2 x 2 x 1 inches and running off of a few dry cell batteries, it was dwarfed by the MRJ tuner necessary to connect it to the antenna system. Forrest was able to get a few contacts with 1 watt on 40 meters before the end of the day. The QRP’ers in the group were amazed, but the high-power folks were not impressed.       At 4:00 PM, it was time to QRT. Within 20 minutes all was down and gone. We had a great time, met some interesting people, and now have some fond memories of the event.

Gordon, NQ4K, at the SPARC booth.	Gordon, NQ4K (on left seated) and Dick, W2YE (on right standing)	A view of the fest.	Gordon, NQ4K, at the SPARC booth.
Joe D'Angelo, WB2SAI, and his son work a few stations on 20 meters.	Joe D'Angelo, WB2SAI, and his son work a few stations on 20 meters.	Joe D'Angelo, WB2SAI, and his son work a few stations on 20 meters.	Forrest, N4UTY, showign his QRP rig  which he stores in a small cooler.
Pieter Engelbrecht, AI2P, is working HF and Forrest Snyder, N4UTY, is setting up his QRP rig (the little black box with the red binding post in the top right corner).	From left to right, Pieter, AI2P, Forrest, N4UTY, Dick, W2YE (standing), and Bill, KC4ATU (seated)	From left to right, Dick, W2YE, Pieter, AI2P, Forrest, N4UTY, and Bill, KC4ATU.	From left to right, Duane, K4UW, Bill, KS4II, Bill, KC4ATU, and Dick, W2YE.
Duane Durst, K4UW; Bill Lorentz, KS4II; Bill Rowlett, KC4ATU; Russ Thomason, W3RST; and Dick Maylott, W2YE, “supervise” Forrest Snyder, N4UTY, making CW contacts with 1 watt. Bill Rowlett and Bill Lorentz are the current and past Club presidents. Russ Thomason maintains the club generator. Forrest Snyder is the trustee for the club call sign, K4NVA. Dick Maylott operates the incoming QSL Buro (4th call area, 2 digit suffix).

High resolution images may be obtained from Gordon, NQ4K, at [email protected].