SARA This Week Oct 8 – Oct 14
General Class License Classes
Classes continue through Nov 9. It’s not too late to join! The ARRL General Class License Manual Tenth Edition, updated for the new question pool now valid through June 30, 2027, will be the study guide for the class. This week’s session is in the Rosalie Wahl Meeting Room at the Lake Elmo Public Library. For more information or to sign up for the class, contact Bob WØGAF at w0gaf at me dot com. A VE Session is scheduled for Thursday Nov 16 at Boutwells Landing
LAST CALL: 2023 ARRL MN State Convention Saturday October 14
The ARRL Minnesota State Convention will attract amateur radio operators from throughout the Upper Midwest for an all-day learning experience. It’s an important educational initiative that aims to develop a pool of radio operators ready to provide emergency communications in Minnesota communities. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the preeminent national organization supporting US Amateur Radio. It is through ARRL that ham radio partners with FEMA to support response recovery efforts in the wake of disasters.
The conference has been painstakingly designed to give you as much diversity of knowledge and subjects to enhance your ability to communicate effectively in whatever mode or operation you desire. Some of this you will already know, but maybe not completely. Even the most knowledgeable ham operator has some challenges of operations in their abilities.
The full schedule of seminars has been posted on the convention website >> Click Here << to view the schedule and >> Click Here << for the seminar curriculum and presenter list.
Registration remains open. Registrants from October 1 until the event will pay $40, lunch is included for those registering through October 8th.
There is limited availability – register early!
For more info, go to http://mnconvention.org
SARA is one of the sponsoring organizations of the 2023 ARRL MN State Convention. We will have a table for sharing information on the club as well as a gathering point for members.
Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald Special Event Nov 3-5
Plans are well underway for operating WØJH at this year’s big event.
We’ll be operating from the usual facility, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park Trail Center, per the following:
- Friday, Nov. 3 (half day, includes set-up; operating ~3:00 – ~5:00 pm)
- Saturday, Nov. 4 (all day; operating ~10 am – ~5:00 pm)
- Sunday, Nov. 5 (all day, includes take-down; operating ~10 am – ~5:30 pm)
Most of us stay at the Mariner Motel in Silver Bay. Call 218-226-4488 to reserve a room. Most have found it best to call around 5:00 PM. The Mariner Motel is SARA’s Official Networking/Critiquing Sessions HQ. (Manhattans, beer, wine/whines, and whatever you have will be tolerated/served as necessary!)
The Black Beach Inn Grandstay (formerly AmericInn) in Silver Bay is another popular choice. You can book a room online https://www.grandstayhospitality.com/find-a-hotel/locations/silver-bay/overview
Make your reservations now as it is also the MN Deer Firearms season opener on Nov 4th and rooms tend to book out for the weekend.
If you’re interested in attending, please contact Dave, WØOXB (W0OXB at arrl dot net) so we’ve got you on the official attendee list. Note: For insurance reasons, participants must be current SARA members.
If you’re unable to join us at the park, you can still participate. Operate as WØF for this year’s “Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald” from YOUR QTH! As WØF, those NOT able to attend, will be able to participate from YOUR OWN QTH this year. You can SCHEDULE your operating day, time, band & mode! And everyone will be able to schedule a slot on Nov 10th as we commemorate the Edmund Fitzgerald on the anniversary of the loss of the ship and crew. A SignupGenius page link will be provided in the coming weeks.
SARA POTA Challenge ‘23
The September numbers were shared at yesterday’s monthly meeting. W2SAD, KB9TBB, and KEØN attained Legend Hunter level in September, bring the Legend count to 9. We could see another handful reaching Legend by year’s end. KB9TBB, WØADL, and KEØN are all over 100 activations each as well as holding the top 3 spots in Activator QSOs. KB9TBB (75), WØADL (62) and KC0OIO (25) sit atop the Parks Activated tally. With the SARA POTA Challenge 2023 75% of the way through the year, 58 hunters have logged at total of 27,316 QSOs. 24 activators have completed 589 qualified activations, activated 285 parks, and logged 22,767 QSOs. The full results recap along with some interesting charts are available on radioham.org website. << CLICK HERE >> to view the update page.
If you are a SARA member AND have registered on the POTA website https://parksontheair.com/# (sign up is under the Help/Getting Started tab), you are included in the SARA Challenge 2023.
A thorough source of information for those that want to get started POTA hunting or activating is also found on the POTA website. The https://docs.pota.app/ page is a great resource of all info for POTA. Start with the Getting Started with POTA page and go from there.
This week’s SARA activities
SARA’s on-air, in-person, and virtual activities are a great way to stay connected with others.
- “Sunday Fusion” Digital Voice Hangout Oct 8
19:00 Central (00:00 UTC)
SARA Repeater 147.060+ MHz (DCS/DTCS 026 Normal)
or connect via WIRES-X to the W0JH-Room 63969
System Fusion digital voice hangout to expand use and familiarity with the digital voice capabilities available on the WØJH repeater. - SARA Top Band Ragchew
Nightly
20:00 Central (01:00 UTC)
Frequency: 3.813 LSB +/- QRM or 1.966 LSB +/- QRM
Alternates: 21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB) 50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB) - SARA Monday Morning 75-meter Ragchew Oct 9
08:15 Central (13:15 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - SARA Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew Oct 10
7:00 – ~8:00 pm Central (or until we finish!)
SARA Repeater 147.060+ MHz (DCS/DTCS 026 Normal)
1st Tuesday is Emergency Power Night – participants are encouraged to operate the stations on emergency power.
The Tuesday evening on-air round robin ragchew
Featuring the “Ask the Elmer” segment
The group leaders focus on encouraging any and everyone, especially those new to the airwaves, to join the session via the repeater. - General Class License Class Thursday Oct 12
6:00 PM to 7:50 PM
Rosalie Wahl Meeting Room, Lake Elmo Public Library 3537 Lake Elmo Ave N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042 - SARA’s Eyeball QSO Party Thursday Oct 12
6:00 PM to 7:50 PM
Meeting Room A/B, Lake Elmo Public Library 3537 Lake Elmo Ave N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042
- ARRL MN Section State Convention Oct 14
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Hennepin Technical College
9000 Brooklyn Blvd.
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
Registration open at 8AM