SARA This Week Feb 13 – Feb 19

IMPORTANT NOTICE

In-person meetings of SARA are suspended through the end of February due to the current COVID surge. This includes the weekly Eyeball QSO Party at the Stillwater Public Library, 2nd Saturday Breakfast, and the February 12 Monthly Meeting.

Virtual Eyeball QSO Parties will be held on Thursday Feb 10, virtual Manhattan Project Fri Feb 25, Tech Topic Thursday Mar 3, and virtual board meeting Thursday Feb 17. Virtual meeting details can be found in the “This Week’s SARA Activities” section below.

SARA holds on-air ragchews every day of the week.

Ice-olation Station WØJH Feb 19 – 21

In the interest of the health and safety of our members, we are bringing back the Ice-olation Station WØJH for a return engagement for 2022. We will use a “Distributed Operating System” (DOS) format. Each operator will be scheduled to participate from their own QTH. Each Op will have selected agreed upon time(s) when and where they can operate. Each Op must operate in accordance with their license class and use the club’s call sign, WØJH. We will have multiple stations simultaneously using the same call sign, operating on different bands.

When, Where & What

Days: Feb. 19, 20, 21 (Saturday – Monday)
Times: 0800 – 1759 local; 1400 – 2359 UTC (some variations depending on mode & band)
Bands/Frequencies: Anywhere (Published: 80m (3.860), 40m (7.260), 20m (14.260), 15m (21.360))
Modes: SSB, CW & Digital
Scheduling

- Sign-up will be done online
- Signup Genius link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4ca4ac2ba0ffc43-iceolation1
- Signing up is simple
  - Review the available time/band-mode slots and determine when you can operate. All time slots listed are 1 hour. Additional band/mode slots have been for 17 and 10 Meters.
  - Select the open time/band/mode slot or slots you wish to operate (1 hour shift increments are commonly recommended)
  - click on the “SUBMIT AND SIGN UP” button at the bottom of the SignUpGenius screen
  - provide your callsign in the box or boxes
  - then click “SIGN ME UP”
  - confirmations and reminders are automatically sent from SignUpGenius.com
    MANY SLOTS REMAIN – SIGN UP NOW!

Logging

- We strongly encourage Ops to use computer-generated logging programs (especially N3FJP ACLog and others) with ADIF export capabilities
- For those without computer logging, talk with one of us about recommendations, details.

SARA POTA Challenge ’22

The Challenge is underway! We’ve already had activators out there. And hunting parks doesn’t get any easier than it is. I’ve heard one member has made it a personal goal to work at least one POTA activation as a hunter each day. Check POTA spots regularly for activations. January’s standings were shared during the monthly meeting Feb 12.

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.

Bob WØGAF and Brian KB9TBB are leading the team putting together the SARA POTA Challenge. If you are planning to participate, drop them an email to let them know you are taking the challenge. Bob’s email is w0gaf@radioham.org and Brian’s email is kb9tbb@arrl.net.

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

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 Feb 13
19:00 Central (01:00 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 (02:00 UTC)
Frequency: 1.966 LSB +/- QRM
Alternates: 21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB) 50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB)
SARA Monday Morning Ragchew Feb 14
09:00 Central (15:00 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM
The Lunch Room – Informal Ragchew
Daily (Monday thru Friday)
12:00 Central
SARA Repeater 147.060+ MHz (DCS/DTCS 026 Normal)
– anyone can open the Lunch Room
SARA Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew Feb 15
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 Virtual Eyeball QSO Party Thursday Feb 17 – Board Meeting / Ice-olation Station Warmup
Time: 6:30 PM Central (00:30 UTC)
SARA Webex Room
Webex meeting invites have been sent to all current SARA members.
Ice-olation Station WØJH Feb 19, 20, and 21
Time: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Central (14:00 to 00:00 UTC)
While the majority of our contacts are expected to be on SSB, where we intend to be ~3.860, 7.260, 14.260, and 21.360 + or – depending upon band conditions; we also hope to have significant digital activity primarily on FT8 and hopefully some on CW as well. Look for us on 17 and 10 meters if band conditions permit.
Ice-olation Station WØJH Virtual Warming House and Afterglow Feb 19, 20, 21
Time: 7:00 PM Central (01:00 UTC) each night
The evening wrap-up and afterglow from the day’s Special Event station operations.
Ice-olation Station WØJH Virtual Warming House