SARA This Week Jan 28 – Feb 3
Ice Station WØJH Feb 17 – 18 – 19, 2024
The Ice Station WØJH will be on the air once again in February, regardless of the condition of the ice on Lake Elmo. The weather forecasts do not bode well for any ice that is presently on the lake!
The 2024 planning crew is already coordinating logistics for the event on Lake Elmo, MN. TNX to our gracious hosts Dave (KØAIF) and Anne (KØVOB), their lake-front property and QTH on Lake Elmo Avenue is the location for the event. This is the ninth year for the event and occurs over President’s Day weekend.
We’ll be setting up and operating from a portable ice fishing, tent-type shelter and also from SARA’s self-contained communications trailer. The portable shelter will be on the east side of Lake Elmo; the trailer will be on land, across the road near the parking area. Both stations are kept cozy with portable heaters. The shelter and all gear will be taken down and stowed each evening.
The stations will be on the air each day from around 10:00 AM (16:00 UTC) to 4:00 PM (22:00 UTC).
We’re looking forward to having this year’s newly licensed hams and recently upgraded Generals and Extras participate. At least stop by to see our portable set-ups. We can almost guarantee you’ll come away learning a bit about portable HF operation!
Technician License Class starts Feb 29
SARA’s Technician License Prep Class begins Thursday February 29 and continues for 8 weeks through April 18. Classes convene at 6:00 PM. They will be held at the Stillwater Public Library, 224 3rd Street, Stillwater.
SARA’s instructors utilize the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 5th Edition as the study guide for the class. The book is available for order online from the ARRL, Ham Radio Outlet, DXEngineering, Gigaparts, and Amazon (print & Kindle eBook versions).
A license exam session by SARA’s Volunteer Examiner team will be held on April 25th.
To register for the class, email Bob WØGAF at bobajensen at me dot com
Interested in Amateur Extra Class License Study Group?
SARA facilitates an Amateur Extra Class License study group when there is sufficient interest. The current Amateur Extra Class license exam question pool expires at 11:59 PM June 30, 2024, so now is the perfect time to pursue that goal. SARA’s Extra Class license study group is a peer-led study program. Using the ARRL Extra Class License Manual, participants work through the license manual together, with a member of the group taking the lead each chapter/week. This has been a successful practice in the past. Mentors from SARA may join the sessions to add some real-life experience and technical knowledge to the session.
Are you interested in joining an Extra Class Study Group? SARA is considering facilitating a Study Group this spring starting Feb 29. If you are interested in joining fellow hams pursuing the top-level license, please email Bob WØGAF at bobajensen at me dot com. If we have enough interest, the study group will proceed!
The SARA POTA Challenge
The SARA POTA Challenge ‘24 has begun! The leader board reset to zero at 0:00 UTC Jan 1. It’s a fresh slate for everyone. Set some goals for yourself to achieve this year.
The results of the SARA POTA Challenge ’23 will be announced at the annual SARA POTA Challenge Awards Ceremony during the February 10, 2024 SARA meeting. All the prizes have been ordered and will be arriving at undisclosed, secure locations this week! If you participated in the Challenge in 2023, do plan to attend the Feb 10 extravaganza.
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 Challenges.
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.
SARA is sponsoring the MN Parks on the Air Day Saturday June 8, 2024, from 10:00 AM (15:00 UTC) to 6:00 PM CDT (22:00 UTC). The objective is to activate as many MN POTA entities as possible during that day. There will be no scoring. The brand new mnpota.com website is live!
Meeting Program Team
The team of Zack AAØU, Mike N9MA, and Dave N9JNQ plan and schedule the programs for our monthly meetings. Their efforts are intended to provide quality presenters and presentations for SARA! The team is working on the program line-up for meeting sessions beginning in September 2024 thru May 2025 and they welcome suggestions.
Programs for the February through May meetings have been scheduled. February’s is the 2nd Annual SARA POTA Challenge Awards Ceremony. March features a presentation on AREDN, the Amateur Radio Emergency Date Network, by Orv W6BI, who will be joining us via Zoom. In April, Minnesota’s leading POTA activator Pat WØYES joins us to share his POTA experiences. And May we will be joined via Zoom by Adrian KO8SCA, a CQ DX Hall of Famer, veteran of numerous DXpeditions including the 2022 3YØJ Bouvet Island team, and WRTC 2022 competitor!
This week’s SARA activities
SARA’s on-air, in-person, and virtual activities are a great way to stay connected with others.
- NO “Sunday Fusion” Digital Voice Hangout Jan 28
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)
160M on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays: 1.966 LSB +/- QRM
80M on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays: 3.813 LSB +/- QRM
Alternates: 21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB) 50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB) - SARA Monday Morning 75-meter Ragchew Jan 29
08:15 Central (14:15 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - SARA Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew Jan 30
7:00 – ~8:00 pm Central (or until we finish!)
SARA Repeater 147.060+ MHz (DCS/DTCS 026 Normal)
1stTuesday 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 Eyeball QSO Party Thursday Feb 1
6:00 PM – 7:50 PM Central
Conference Room
Stillwater Public Library, 224 3rd Street, Stillwater