SARA This Week Aug 20 – Aug 26
SARA’s Radio in the Parks Thursday
The Eyeball QSO Party is outdoors for SARA’s Radios in the Park summer season. We gather at various area parks on Thursday evenings through September 7. Only 3 sessions left in the outdoor schedule!
The schedule of park locations and dates is:
- August 24: Otto Berg Park, 90th and Norell, Stillwater Township
- August 31: Valley View Park, 5421 N Osgood Ave, Oak Park Heights
SARA Swap Shop – Tabletop & Tailgate Micro Hamfest
(Be advised, Osgood Ave/County 24 is closed at County Rd 14. The park remains accessible from Osgood Ave going south from Hwy 36) - Sept 7: Browns Creek State Trail (K-9386) at Browns Creek Park 8312 Neal Ave N, Stillwater
Folks begin arriving at the park around 5:30 PM and we’re there until about 8:00 PM.
In case of inclement weather, Collin KEØIYN has offered the “shed” and “The Diner” at his QTH on Osgood Ave south of Valley View Park as a covered location for those evenings.
The Eyeball QSO Party moves back indoors at the Stillwater Public Library beginning September 14.
Monthly Meetings resume September 9
The Stillwater Amateur Radio Association meets monthly on the 2nd Saturday of the month, September through May. Monthly meetings will resume September 9th in Auditorium B at Boutwells Landing.
There will be an alteration to the meeting schedule for the October meeting. The Board of Directors has moved this session to October 7 to allow members to attend the 2023 MN State ARRL Convention being held on October 14.
General Class License Classes begin September 21
Fall is approaching and that means the SARA education team is preparing for the General Class License class sessions. Classes will begin Thursday September 21 and will run 8 weeks, followed by a VE Session on Thursday Nov 16. 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. For more information or to sign up for the class, contact Bob WØGAF at w0gaf@me.com.
2023 ARRL MN Section State Convention Saturday October 14
SARA is a sponsor of the ARRL MN Section State Convention on Saturday October 14, 2023.
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.
Registration is now open. You may register until September 30th at the rate of $30.00 including lunch. Registrants from October 1 until the event will pay $40, lunch is included for those registering thru October 8th.
There is limited availability – register early!
For more info, go to http://mnconvention.org
SARA POTA Challenge ‘23
The July POTA Challenge standings were posted on a display board during the Meetup. They will be posted on the radioham.org website soon. There are a few new members on the list and some movement in the ranks.
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 Aug 20
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 3.813 LSB +/- QRM
Alternates: 21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB) 50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB) - SARA Monday Morning 75-meter Ragchew Aug 21
08:15 Central (13:15 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - SARA Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew Aug 22
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. - SARA’s Summer in the Parks Thursday Aug 24
~5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Otto Berg Park, 90th and Norell, Stillwater Township