2019 SARA Executive Officers
2023 Simonet Memorial Award
Split Rock Lighthouse 2012
SARA Work Party 3
AGØH 2013
OXB Special Install
SARA Does Skywarn
SARA Work Party 2
Split Rock 2013
Release to Listen Award 2013

SARA This Week: July 4 – July 10

Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe day honoring the United States of America on this, the 245th anniversary of the USA’s Declaration of Independence! And good luck if you are chasing the 13 Colonies Special Event. Don’t forget the 3rd special station from France (TM13COL) added this year.

SARA holds daily on-air nets and ragchews. We hold a mix of in-person outdoor Eyeball QSO Parties and virtual meetings via WEBEX including the Tech Topic Thursday session, the monthly member meeting, monthly Board meeting, and event planning meetings.

The SARA 2nd Saturday Breakfast at Perkins is back! A lot of the same friendly faces continue to provide great service at Perkins. They are happy to have us back and will be expecting us every month on the 2nd Saturday. Next breakfast date is July 10th at 7:30 AM.

Over the summer season, outdoor Eyeball QSO Parties will allow SARA to gather outdoors weekly. The weekly Thursday Eyeball QSO Party – Outdoors Sessions continues this week with Radios in the Park! The weekly outdoor Eyeball QSO Party will be held at a local Stillwater-area park beginning around 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM.

As we gradually resume our regular in-person meetings, our current on-air, virtual, and in person gathering plans continue to be the best choice for the participation as well as health and safety of all our members.


Field Day 2021

The SARA Field Day operation wrapped up last Sunday afternoon following a productive morning on the air and on site. The compiling of our club totals as a 1A MN station will be completed in the coming week. Watch for the numbers next week.

Those SARA members who worked from home stations this year, please reference SARA-MN when submitting your logs and points totals to the ARRL


Radios in the Park 2021

SARA’s Radios in the Park: Tailgate Swapmeet was a fun evening. Plenty to buy, sell or trade ham radio gear! The next session will be July 22. Let’s bring out the portable stations, spread out in the park, and have some fun making QSOs!

RITP is held at Valley View Park, 5421 Osgood Ave N in Oak Park Heights starting around 5:30 PM and going until around 8:00 PM.  Reservations for the pavilion have been secured with the City of Oak Park Heights. We are required to follow all State and CDC health and safety guidelines. Please help us comply with these guidelines. Attending the event is your choice.

Radios in the Park has scheduled dates of July 22, Aug 12, Sept 2, and Sept 23 booked at Valley View Park.


Thursday Eyeball QSO Party – Outdoor Sessions

The Eyeball QSO Party – Outdoor Sessions continue Thursday evening beginning around 6:00 PM until about 8:00 PM. This week we’ll gather at Autumn Hills Park 5697 Norwich Parkway in Oak Park Heights . Hope to see you there!


Ojibwe Forests Rally Needs Hams

The 2021 Ojibwe Forests Rally, August 27-28, is less than 2 months away.  It is part of the national championship for stage rallies.  It consists of a driver and co-driver (navigator) driving at high speeds through forest roads in the Park Rapids area.

Ham radio provides the safety net that coordinates the logistical, operational and emergency activities of the event.  Ham radio operators are needed to volunteer at “controls” (checkpoints) and marshal points in the forest.  For a description of how ham radio is used, visit Ham Radio & Stage Rallies (semarc.org).  

If you are interested, please contact Tom Nelson NØGQA, chief of communications for the rally, at 970-222-2125 or tnelsen at frii dot com


SARA Special Event Stations 2021

SARA is planning two Special Event operations for later this year: the Tri-State Special Event from White Rock, SD and the 17th consecutive “Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald” Special Event from Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.

There is still time to join the team for The Tri-State Special Event out in the ghost town of White Rock, SD August 27 – 29. The White Rock Special Event is as close as many of us will get to a “roughing it” DXpedition experience. The location has no electricity, no running water (unless it rains), and no toilets. That said, there are options for overnight accommodations: camping on-site (tent and RV) or a hotel room at the nearby Dakota Magic Casino. We set up at least one station in town and another part-time station about a mile north at the marker for the borders of North Dakota, SOuth Dakota, and Minnesota.

The 17th annual “Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald” Special Event is scheduled for Oct 29 – 31. The Trail Center at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park has been reserved for the weekend. More to come as we get closer to the dates.


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.

  • NO “Sunday Fusion” Digital Voice Hangout July 4 (Holiday pause)
    Time: 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
    or the YSF reflector US SARA-QRX-FCMG 64144. (temporarily offline)
    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
          Time: 20:00 Central (01:00 UTC)
          Frequency:  1.966 LSB +/- QRM
    Alternates:
    21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB)
    50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB)
  • SARA Monday Morning Ragchew July 5
    Time: 08:15 Central (14:00 UTC)
          Frequency:  3.856 LSB +/- QRM
  • The Lunch Room
    Daily (Monday thru Friday)
    Time: 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 July 6
    Time: 7:00 – ~8:00 pm (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 Two Meter Wednesday Round Robin Ragchew July 7
    Time: 9:00 PM 
          SARA Repeater 147.060+ MHz (DCS/DTCS 026 Normal)
    The Wednesday evening SARA Ragchew on the SARA repeater

  • SARA Eyeball QSO Party – Outdoor Session Thursday July 8
     Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
           Autumn Hills Park,  5697 Osgood Ave N, Oak Park Heights MN 55082
  • SARA 2nd Saturday Breakfast July 10
     Time 7:30 AM
    Perkins – 2050 West Frontage Road, Stillwater MN 55082