SARA This Week April 23 – April 29
Here is your SARA update for this week!
VE Exam Session Thursday April 27
The SARA VE Team is holding an Amateur Radio Exam Session Thursday evening, April 27th. The session will be in the Town Hall at Boutwells Landing, 5600 Norwich Parkway, Oak Park Heights, MN 55082. (This is a room change from previously announced. Enter Boutwells Landing through the Norwich Parkway (south) entrance. Check-in starts at 5:30 PM. Exams will begin by 6:00 PM. We have pre-registered examinees in the teens for this session. Walk-ins are welcome, but pre-registration is encouraged. To pre-register, email the VE team leader Shel NØDRX at n0drx at hotmail dot com.
Thursday’s Eyeball QSO Party
This Thursday’s Eyeball QSO Party is at the Lake Elmo Public Library, 3537 Lake Elmo Ave N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042. There is off-street parking available in the public lot behind the library. We will gather in Meeting Room A&B. 6:00 PM – 7:50 PM.
Metro Skywarn Spotter Training May 6th
SARA is hosting a Metro Skywarn Storm Spotter training session on Saturday May 6th. The session will be at the Stillwater Public Library (224 E 3rd Street 55082) in the Margaret Rivers Room from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Pre-registration is preferred. Registration can be completed by clicking on this link: In-Person SARA Metro Skywarn Training Session. Walk-ins only if the max pre-registered has not been reached.
The session is for all interested in Skywarn storm spotting, new and renewing. Spotters need to renew their training every two years to keep current with Metro Skywarn. Metro Skywarn is offering a total of 6 in-person and 5 online training sessions. The full class schedule can be found at metroskywarn.org/calendar/.
SARA POTA Challenge ‘23
The full leaderboards through March 31st are available on the radioham.org website.
SARA’s 2023 POTA Activity Days are scheduled for 2 Saturdays this summer, plus the annual Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald weekend at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Saturday June 10 will be the multi-op, multi-park, roving day. Gather for the SARA 2nd Saturday breakfast at Perkins, then spend the day activating area parks. Activators groups can rove from park to park, or a few “veteran” activators are planning to set up at a park for the day and other activators can visit and work from the park with that activator. A list of parks with a primary activator will be published before the Activity Day.
Saturday August 12 will be the first ever SARA POTA Meetup Day. We will gather at Wild River State Park in Almelund, for a day of multi-op activations. A picnic lunch is planned. Watch for more details to come.
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 April 23
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 or 3.820 to 3.826 MHz (depending on QRM).
Alternates: 21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB) 50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB) - SARA Monday Morning 75-meter Ragchew April 24
08:15 Central (13:15 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - SARA Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew April 25
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. - VE Exam Session Thursday April 27
6:00 PM – check-in starts at 5:30 PM
Town Hall
Boutwells Landing
5600 Norwich Parkway, Oak Park Heights, MN 55082 - SARA Eyeball QSO Party Thursday April 27
6:00 PM to 7:50 PM
Meeting Room A&B
Lake Elmo Public Library
3537 Lake Elmo Ave N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042