SARA This Week April 10 – April 16
Good morning!
The Stillwater Amateur Radio Association is one of the most active amateur radio clubs in Minnesota. SARA has on-air ragchews every day on 160m, Monday mornings on 75m, Tuesday evenings on the SARA repeater; an Eyeball QSO Party Thursday evenings; activities such as the current SARA POTA Challenge 2022; at least 2 special events each year; online sessions such as Tech Topic Thursday; monthly meetings (Sept thru May) are also livestreamed via Zoom. We maintain the Stillwater 147.060+ DCS 026N System Fusion dual mode repeater with WIRES-X link (W0JH-Room 63969).
Technician License Classes continue through April 21
SARA is conducting an 8-week in-person Technician License class on Thursday evenings. Classes are held at the Stillwater Public Library from 6:00 PM to 7:50 PM. The current Technician Class license exam question pool expires June 30, 2022. The textbook is the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 4th Edition, available online from arrl.org, ham radio retailers, and Amazon. If you know of someone interested in getting the amateur radio license – tell them about our class and have them contact SARA’s Training & Education Chair Bob Jensen WØGAF at w0gaf@me.com. This week’s session will be back at the Stillwater Public Library in the Rivers Room
SARA VE Session Thursday April 28
The SARA VE team led by Shel NØDRX will be conducting a VE Testing Session Thursday evening April 28th beginning at 6:00 PM. The session will be at Boutwells Landing in Auditorium B. Pre-registration will be required. For more info, contact Shel NØDRX at n0drx@hotmail.com.
If you are testing for the first time, be sure to register for a FCC Registration Number (FRN) before the test session. Go to https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/regEntityType.do to register.
FCC $35 Amateur Application Fee Effective Date will be April 19
The FCC released a Public Notice on March 23, 2022, stating that the amateur radio application fees, including those associated with Form 605 application filings, would become effective on April 19, 2022. The Federal Communications Commission’s authority to impose and collect fees is mandated by Congress.
The $35 application fee, when it becomes effective on April 19, will apply to new, renewal, and vanity call sign applications. The fee will be per application.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) staff has clarified in response to an ARRL request that the new $35 application fee will not apply to most license modifications, including those to upgrade a licensee’s operator class and changes to club station trustees and administrative updates, such as a change of name, mailing or email address.
As previously announced, the new fees take effect on April 19, 2022.
Volunteer Examiner (VE) teams will not have to collect the $35 fee at exam sessions.
Once the FCC application fee takes effect, new and upgrade applicants will pay the $15 exam session fee to the ARRL VE team as usual and pay the $35 application fee directly to the FCC by using the CORES FRN Registration system (CORES – Login). VEC and VE team licensing procedures will not change.
When the FCC receives the examination information from the VEC, it will email a link with payment instructions to each successful candidate. The candidate will have 10 calendar days, from the date of the application file number being issued, to pay. After the fee is paid, and the FCC has processed an application, examinees will receive a second email from the FCC with a link to their official license. The link will be good for 30 days.
“We are pleased that the FCC will not charge licensees the FCC application fee for license upgrade applications,” said ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) Manager, Maria Somma, AB1FM. “While applicants for a new license will need to pay the $35 FCC application fee, there will be no FCC charge for future upgrades and administrative updates such as a change of mailing or email address. Most current licensees therefore will not be charged the new FCC application fee until they renew their license or apply for a new vanity call sign.”
SARA POTA Challenge ’22
The Challenge is underway! Spring is here and warmer weather is ahead. Look for POTA activations by SARA members to increase. Activators: be sure to post planned activations on the POTA Scheduled Activations. Activators can also drop a note to the SARA groups.io page to give members advance notice. If you are not on the groups.io, sign up now at https://groups.io/g/StillwaterMNAmateurRadioAssoc
March stats on the radioham.org website. Be sure to check POTA spots regularly for activations.
The goal of this club activity is to encourage SARA members to get on the air; as a park activator, as a park hunter, or both. Awards are planned for both activators (most parks, activations, qsos & park to park) and hunters (most parks, most qsos). Contacts with all POTA stations count. And it doesn’t get any easier for hunter credits as only the activator needs to submit their activation log. Be sure to sign up for an account at parksontheair.com.
Technical Topic Thursdays
SARA members have exclusive access to the Technical Topic Thursday playlist on SARA’s YouTube Channel.
Coming May 5th: Tim Duffy K3LR of DXEngineering for a Tech Topic Thursday on Coax.
SARA’s Summer in the Parks
Starting May 12, the weekly Eyeball QSO Party moves outdoors for the summer months. We will visit different Stillwater-area parks throughout the summer with Eyeball QSOs, POTA activations, hands-on radio, POTA portable operating tips and tricks, Mobile Station Show-n-tell, and more possibilities plus a picnic or two. Valley View Park in Oak Park Heights will be a regular location, on the schedule for May 12 (New Ham Night), June 2, June 23, July 14, Aug 4, Aug 25 and Sept 15. Other weeks could see us at Lowell Park in downtown Stillwater along the St Croix National Wild & Scenic River, along Brown’s Creek State Trail or the Gateway State Trail, or nearby MN & WI State Parks for “Late Shift” POTA activations. Watch the SARA This Week bulletin for details each week.
SARA Connections
We offer multiple ways to stay connected with SARA. They include groups.io, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
SARA groups.io: https://groups.io/g/StillwaterMNAmateurRadioAssoc
SARA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/527705810939785
SARA on Instagram: sararadioham
SARA on Twitter: @saraW0JH
May Monthly Meeting Teaser
Ever wonder what it’s like to spend a year at the South Pole? Steve KAØOBI will share his yearlong experience as director of the US outpost at the next monthly meeting of the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association.
This week’s SARA activities
SARA’s on-air and virtual activities are a great way to stay connected with others. These activities provide healthy social contact while maintaining personal distancing.
- “Sunday Fusion” Digital Voice Hangout April 10
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: 1.966 LSB +/- QRM
Alternates: 21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB) 50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB) - SARA Monday Morning Ragchew Apr 11
08:15 Central (14:00 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - SARA Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew April 12
Time: 7:00 – ~8:00 pm Central (or until we finish!)
SARA Repeater 147.060+ MHz (DCS/DTCS 026 Normal)
The Tuesday evening on-air round robin ragchew
An HF Afterglow follows with the Top Band Ragchew on 160 meters - SARA Board of Directors Meeting Wednesday April 13
Time: 6:30 PM Central (23:30 UTC)
SARA Zoom RoomSARA Technician License Class Session 7 Thursday April 14
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:50 PM Central
Stillwater Public Library – Rivers Room
224 Third St E, Stillwater, MN 55082 - SARA Eyeball QSO Party Thursday April 14
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:50 PM Central
Stillwater Public Library Conference Room