[GCARC] Join the GCARC WSPR Beacon Network — Group Session May 9

[Jonathan Davidson]

This sounds great Jon. Thanks for putting this together!

Best,
Jon Davidson
KE2DYD


On Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 8:16 PM Jon Pearce via GCARC <gcarc at mailman.qth.net>
wrote:

> This spring the club is launching a group WSPR beacon project, and we'd
> like as many members as possible to participate. We'll be rolling this
> project out at the General Membership meeting tomorrow but here's an
> advance heads-up for members who may not be attending.
>
> WSPR ("whisper") is a weak-signal digital beacon mode that transmits your
> callsign, grid square, and power level at 200 milliwatts or less — then
> automatically reports which receiving stations around the world heard you,
> updated every two minutes. It runs unattended, 24 hours a day, from any HF
> antenna you already own or want to build. WSPR signals of less than 100
> milliwatts have routinely been heard from Australia, and WSPR is commonly
> used for antenna evaluation and band condition monitoring.
>
> When enough club members are on the air together, we can do something no
> single station can — crowdsource propagation data from across South Jersey,
> analyzed by our own AI-driven server, with individual station results
> available for every participant. You'll be able to see exactly how far your
> signal is reaching, which bands are open, and how your antenna compares to
> others in the club.
>
> In addition the clubhouse will host a permanent 5-band reference beacon
> running 40m through 10m simultaneously, giving the group a consistent
> comparison point across all the major HF bands.
>
> Technician licensees: 10m beacons are fully supported — Solar Cycle 25 is
> near its peak and 10m is producing some of the best conditions in a decade.
>
> Here's how to participate:
>
> 1. Order a TAPR Universal WSPR HAT — either directly from TAPR at
> tapr.org/product/wspr/<https://tapr.org/product/wspr/>, or through our
> club group order for a slight discount (see the registration link below).
> An optional Raspberry Pi 3 combo package (including the Pi, HAT, SD card,
> and power supply) is also available through the group order - the Pi is
> required. The HATS are band-specific so pick a band for which you have an
> antenna. If you don't have an HF antenna 30 meters is a good choice, and
> we'll have antenna building sessions later in the month.
>
> 2. Register at the link below by April 15 to join the group order or to
> sign up for the May 9 session.
>
> 3. Come to the May 9 Group Build Session at the clubhouse. We'll cover a
> short project overview, set up your Pi with a pre-built SD card (replacing
> the one with your Pi), walk through the brief soldering assembly on the
> TAPR board, and calibrate and verify everything before you leave.
>
> Group order deadline: April 15, 2026
> Group Build Session: Saturday, May 9 — clubhouse
> Pickup of group orders: Clubhouse only — no shipping
>
> Register and order here:
> https://registration.w2mmd.org/wpregp/wspr-build/
>
> Full project details, band selection guide, and technical reference are on
> the club's Skunkworks site under Technical Resources:
> https://skunkworks.w2mmd.org
>
> Questions? Reach out on Discord in #wspr-project or bring them to the next
> club meeting.
>
> 73 de Jon WB2MNF
>
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