2014 SARA Officers
May 14th Fox Hunt! What Fun!
2020 S.A.R.A. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
2018 WØTBC Memorial Award-NØDRX
New Radio Gear For Some SARA Members!
Kilo Parks Award
Split Rock 2013
OXB Special Install
SARA Does Skywarn
Release to Listen Award 2013

Membership Meeting Minutes – September 12, 2015

Stillwater Amateur Radio Association

1618 Pine Street West

Stillwater, Minnesota 55082

Vice President: Keith AGØH (presiding for President Joe KCØOIO)

The meeting was called to order at 9:01 AM.

Secretary’s Report: Steve KAØOBI

The general meeting minutes from the May 9, 2015 meeting are posted on the website. Please report any corrections to: Secretary@radioham.org

Treasurer’s Report: John N5JLZ

Beginning Balance:     5/1/2015         $3,097.61

Income:                                                  $318.95

Expenses:                                            $1,034.56

Ending Balance:          8/31/2015       $2,382.00

50/50 Drawing:

Boutwells Landing is charging SARA $25.00 per session for room rental. To help defray the room cost, we will have a 50/50 raffle every meeting and be selling tickets for $2 apiece. Half of the proceeds will go to the holder of the winning ticket and half will go to help cover the cost of the room. A drawing will be held at the end of each membership meeting and the winner must be present to win.

Education and Training: Bob WØGAF

Fall General Classes begin September 17, 2015 at the Stillwater Library. The VE session is scheduled for November 12, 2015 at Boutwells. Bob received a dozen calls about a beginner’s class. Hopefully those people will attend the General classes. There are updated slides available for the instructors with the new questions.

Activities & Events: Dave WØOXB

Thursday Night Eye Ball Sessions are held at Stillwater Public Library at 6:00 PM CT.

White Rock Tri-State Special Event September 18-19-20, 2015 – White Rock, SD. Eight club members are leaving on Friday 9/18 and will be on the air (probably 75 meters to start) from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. All the details are posted on the website and have been sent to QST and ARRL.

Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald Special Event Oct 30-31-Nov 1, 2015 – Split Rock State Park, Beaver Bay, MN. It’s not too early to make your reservations at the Mariner Motel in Silver Bay. Advance notice of details has been sent to QST & ARRL.

Summer Events Recap:

New Ham Night May 21st – This event was well attended and brought out new people to see the various types of equipment being used in the field.

Mobile & Portable Show-N-Tell June 13th – Although the event was rained out, the turnout was good and a new member was recruited.

Field Day – The weather and turnout was good. The band propagation was not great but we still made about 200 contacts and had a lot of fun in the process.

Radios in the Park August 27th – Another good weather night and a chance to experiment with a new antenna. Propagation was not very good but we still had a great time.

MAPDave WØOXB

Member Assistance Program – this will be winding down with the two special events approaching and because Dave will be gone from Nov 11th to Dec 11th.

SARA Mentor Project – we are looking for volunteers to mentor one or two new hams to get them on the air and involved in the hobby.

Handihams: Pat WAØTDA & Dave WØOXB

Pat is not sure when he will retire from Handihams but it will be by the end of 2015.

HEART (Handiham Equipment Assessment Repair & Tracking) – volunteers are still needed to help.

Radio Camp Recap – August 18th – 24th at Camp Courage, Maple Lake, MN. Joe and Dave helped get the rigs and antennas set up. They used three Kenwood TS-590’s on land and a fourth on a pontoon boat. Weather was good except for some storms at night. John brought his mobile van setup and did a demo. VE team came out on Sunday, Aug 23rd.

Currently there isn’t an operational remote station up north. There are plans to put a station at the Northern Lights Council scout camp later.

Washington County ARES: John KAØHYR (not present)

There will be a Fall Quarterly Meeting on Sept 17th, 6:30 PM at Lakeview Hospital. Check the web site www.mnwashcoares.org regularly for current events, net schedule, and other items of significance.

Digital Net: Joe KCØOIO

SARA DIGI Net will return October 5th at 7:00 PM CT.

Two meter ragchew is held every Wednesday night at 9:00 PM CT. You can find us at 147.060 MHz 114.8 Hz Tone.

160 meters SARA Top Band Ragchew has a new home at 1.966 MHz. They operate every night except Tuesday & Thursday at 8:00 PM CT.

Newsletter & Website: Pat WAØTDA & Dave WØOXB, Peter NØGRM & Keith AGØH

Thanks Pat and Dave for putting together the newsletter! Contributors are wanted. The deadline for submissions is the last Saturday of the month.

DX News: Mike NØODK (not present)

SARA outgoing DX QSL service – SARA will package and send outbound DX QSL cards to the ARRL Bureau for SARA members who are also ARRL members. Please include a copy of your QST mailing label showing your ARRL member number with your QSL package. Give your cards to Bob WØGAF.

Get the latest DX news by subscribing to the ARRL DX News. Also check out www.ng3k.com for DX & Contest Calendar.

Programs:

Sept:    Joe KCØOIO & Bob WØGAF – Smart Phones & Tablets in the Shack

Oct:     Mike Paskeuric NØODK – Fun with DXing

Nov:     John Dean KØJDD – APRS

Dec:     Amateur Radio Trivia Challenge

Jan:      S.W.E.E.P.

Feb:     Keith AGØH & Mike WAØKKE – SSTV + DSSTV

 Old Business:

Thanks to Keith AGØH, SARA coffee mugs are now on sale for $3 each.

Thanks to John N5JLZ, SARA Oval Sticker/Decals are on sale for $1 each or you get a free one when you renew your membership.

New Business:

None.

Good of Association:

There will be a SEMARC Meeting on Sept 29th at Zion Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove.

The ADA Step Out Walk will take place in Stillwater on Saturday October 3rd. Volunteers are needed! This is a great event to work. SARA has supported this event for many years. Please contact Joe KCØOIO for more info (KCØOIO@radioham.org)

The business part of the meeting adjourned at 9:51 AM.

Program: Smart Phones & Tablets in the Shack – Bob Jensen WØGAF and Joe Heitzinger KCØOIO(not present)

The smart phone and tablet can be a nice low cost tool for the shack. They are portable and have mostly free or low cost apps for ham radio that can update automatically. The app categories include: logging, digital modes, APRS, Ham tools, propagation tools, license test prep, cw training, echolink, and SDR radios. Bob went on to explain several of the more popular and useful apps for both Android and IOS devices. Several of the apps suggest some inexpensive accessories that can expand the capabilities of your portable device. Bob also demonstrated an IOS app by using one of those accessories.

The total presentation outline has been posted on the website

Meeting was adjourned at 10:50 AM.

Meeting attendance: 23