Lancaster, Pa. 17608-1033
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Lancaster, Pa. 17608-1033 |
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 Ham Radio Classes Latest Site Photos Field Day 2004 SPARC-Ware Workday Results Schedules About SPARC
Public Service
Hambright ISS Contact Technical Contact SPARC
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Greetings! You have reached the home page of SPARC, or the
Southern
Pennsylvania Amateur Radio Club. Our web page is here for the benefit
of
our membership, the amateur community at large, or casual browsers and
others having an interest in amateur radio. Thanks for your
interest.
We hope this site was useful to you.
SPARC is group of amateur radio operators, or those who use radio to communicate with each other and to serve the public good. SPARC is a public service club. We provide crowd and traffic control for community events such as parades and the annual July 4 concert at Long’s Park. We participate in and manage ARES, RACES and SKYWARN for Lancaster County. These groups provide additional communications capability during civil and weather emergencies. We work closely with PEMA and LEMA, the official county and state emergency management organizations. The Club's cornerstone service project is a self-contained mobile communications van which can be quickly brought to the site of an emergency situation. It relays live audio and video to county officials to help them make better and more informed decisions about the emergency situation. The club’s equipment includes 2-meter and 440 MHz voice repeaters, a packet radio system, both slow and fast-scan ATV or Amateur Television systems, and an autopatch system. Like cell phone sites, these repeaters greatly extend the communications range of small hand-held radios. The packet radio system provides digital communications capability over the airwaves, including e-mail and links to the Internet. The Autopatch system allows authorized amateurs to access the telephone system through the repeater. One local scout troop used this system to phone home during a hike on the Appalachian trail using just a hand-held radio. Much of the equipment is powered by backup generators so it can remain on-line during emergencies. We meet on the third Wednesday of each month at the Rapho Township Municipal Building, which is located at 971 North Colebrook Road. Visitors are always welcome. Meetings begin at about 7:00 PM with a short discussion of club business and current events. The bulk of each meeting is devoted to a technical topic. Speakers, including both club members and invited experts, give a talk about a particular area of interest or expertise. The club conducts a newspaper and aluminum can drive and has a collection bin at the meeting site. If you wish to join SPARC print and return this application or contact us by e-mail. If you just want to know more about amateur radio check out the ARRL web site or these links. SPARC has begun the establishment of working groups to advance and promote Amateur Radio. The first of several groups to be established will promote Training, Information, and Education. This group is charged with improving the technical skills of existing hams and with providing new and prospective hams with the skills they need to be successful and productive. |
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SPARC Inc. is a 501(C)(3)Not-For-Profit Organization Incorporated March 27th, 1992 |
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