SARA This Week August 7 – August 13
Good morning!
Here’s SARA’s happenings this week.
SARA’s Summer in the Parks
This Thursday we will be at Browns Creek Park / Browns Creek State Trail K-9386, 8312 Neal Ave N, Stillwater, MN 55082 ~6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This will be a POTA activation opportunity. We’ll be on the north side of the State Trail, adjacent to the trail parking lot. Bring a lawn chair with you.
The weekly Eyeball QSO Party is outdoors for the summer months. We will continue to visit different Stillwater-area parks throughout the summer. There will be 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, with the shelter reserved for 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 for “Late Shift” POTA activations.
Expect that we will gather at Lowell Park in downtown Stillwater on August 18.
Heads up: the August 25th session at Valley View Park will feature the Mobile and Portable Show-N-Tell. We’ll also have a picnic supper that night.
September 1st will be at the St. Croix Boom Site Historic Marker for a POTA activation of K-0637 St Croix National Wild and Scenic River.
New UHF Repeater in Bayport!
442.975, DCS of 612.
Mixed mode FM and P25 digital
P25 NAC = $145
SARA members, program this repeater in your radios and go ahead and use it.
SARA POTA Challenge ’22
The Challenge has proven to be a great activity for SARA. Hunters and activators alike are enjoying getting on the air and working POTA parks. New leaderboard will be posted on radioham.org later today.
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.
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.
SARA POTA 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.
The next SARA POTA Activity Day is Saturday August 13th. It all starts with the 2nd Saturday Breakfast. Activators will rally immediately after breakfast. Activators will spread out across the region to spend the day activating and then meet again for dinner and brag session. The last activity day was great fun.
An aspect of the Activity Day involves moving around from park to park or locations of a park entity. This may qualify the activator for the RaDAR (Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio) awards. Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio adds movement to portable operating. A RaDAR transition is moving the prescribed distance from your portable deployment after making five or more contacts.
More information on POTA’s RaDAR awards can be found at https://parksontheair.com/pota-awards/. Scroll down to Rapid Deployment (RaDAR) Awards.
Call for Monthly Meeting Program Suggestions
September is approaching quickly. SARA resumes our monthly 2nd Saturday meetings on September 10th. I am soliciting ideas/suggestions for the meeting programs for the coming 9 monthly meetings through May 2023. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! I am also looking for a volunteer to take up the yoke of arranging the monthly program. If you are willing to help me and SARA out with this position, please contact me kc0oio2002 at at gmail dot com.
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 August 7
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)
Due to poor local propagation, the SARA Top Band Crew will QSY (move) to 75m. Look for us AROUND 3.820 to 3.826 MHz (depending on QRM). This change is temporary until the 160m and 75m band conditions change.
Frequency: 1.966 LSB +/- QRM AROUND 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 Aug 8
08:15 Central (14:00 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - SARA Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew Aug 9
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 Virtual Board of Directors Meeting Wednesday August 10
6:30 PM CDT (23:30 UTC)
SARA ZOOM Meeting Room - SARA Summer in the Parks Outdoor Eyeball QSO Party Thursday Aug 11
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Browns Creek Park / Browns Creek State Trail K-9386
8312 Neal Ave N, Stillwater, MN 55082 - SARA 2nd Saturday Breakfast Saturday August 13
7:30 AM
Perkins Restaurant 2050 W Frontage Road, Stillwater, MN 55082 - SARA POTA Activity Day #2 Saturday August 13
9:00 AM – meet at south end of Harbor Freight Parking Lot across from Perkins.
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM – SARA POTA activations from POTA entities
5:30 PM – Dinner and Afterglow Brag Session: Acapulco Restaraunte Mexicano 1240 Frontage Road W, Stillwater (Open to all members)