SARA This Week March 5 – March 11
Here is your SARA update for this week!
SARA Monthly Meeting March 11
The monthly meeting of the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association is Saturday March 11. The meeting time is scheduled for 9:15 AM (1515 UTC). Proceedings will begin by 9:30 AM CST (1530 UTC).
Our special quest presenter is Rob Sherwood, NCØB, curator of the famed Sherwood Engineering Receiver Test Data list. Rob will be joining us via ZOOM from his rural Colorado contest station and his presentation “Transceiver Performance and selection of a New Radio” is sure to be interesting! Rob will also share info on his contest station. This is a not-to-be-missed presenter!
Meetings are held in Auditorium A at The Gables at Boutwells Landing 13575 58th Street North, in Oak Park Heights, MN 55082
Boutwells Landing requires face masks in public spaces in the facility. Please bring your mask.
The meeting will be livestreamed via Zoom. To request an invitation to the Zoom Meeting, e-mail president at radioham dot org with your name, callsign and location.
Rob’s presentation is slated to begin by 9:30 AM CST (1530 UTC) and the business session will follow.
SARA Technician License Classes
Do you know of someone who wants to get into ham radio? One of the best paths into the hobby is through learning from others. And one of the best places to learn from others is through the Technician License Class offered by SARA.
SARA’s Spring Technician License Class continues this week through April 20. A VE Exam Session will be April 27. The classes will be at the Stillwater Public Library from 6:00 PM to 7:40 PM. SARA instructors will guide students through the material from the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, preparing them for the 35-question Technician Class license exam.
There is plenty of room and it’s not too late to start. Spread the word that the SARA Technician Class license class is happening now. For more info, or to register for the class, contact Bob WØGAF at w0gaf at me dot com
SARA POTA Challenge ‘23
The February data preview has been shared with participants by Bob WØGAF. We have 38 hunters and 11 activators in Challenge ’23 through the end of February. Although no one has reached Hunter Legend status (1000 QSOs) to date, we have one knocking on the door!
My POTA shoutout of the month goes to Dave KØAIF. Dave has embraced the SARA POTA Challenge this year both as a Hunter and as an activator. It’s safe to say that doing POTA has renewed Dave’s interest in ham radio. Dave did his first solo activation in January and now has multiple activations in the logs. He’s also become an avid hunter and is presently in 4th place for hunters. A tip of my SARA cap to Dave KØAIF!
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 great 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.
Metro Skywarn Spotter Training May 6th
SARA will host a Metro Skywarn Storm Spotter training session on Saturday May 6th at the Stillwater Public Library. Metro Skywarn is returning to a limited number of in-person training sessions this year, along with continuing to offer online sessions as well this spring. The session will be in the Margaret Rivers Room from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Pre-registration is preferred. Registration can be completed by clicking on this link: In-Person SARA Metro Skywarn Training Session. Walk-ins only if the max pre-registered has not been reached.
The session is for all interested in Skywarn storm spotting, new and renewing. Spotters need to renew their training every two years to keep current with Metro Skywarn. Metro Skywarn is offering a total of 6 in-person and 5 online training sessions. The full class schedule can be found at metroskywarn.org/calendar/.
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 March 5
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 or 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 March 6
08:15 Central (14:15 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - SARA Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew March 7
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
New Feature: the “Ask the Elmer” segment
The group leaders will have a renewed focus on encouraging any and everyone, especially those new to the airwaves, to join the session via the repeater. - Technician Class License Class Thursday Mar 9
6:00 PM to 7:50 PM
Rivers Room B
Stillwater Public Library
224 E 3rd Street, Stillwater, MN 55082 - SARA Eyeball QSO Party Thursday Mar 9
6:00 PM to 7:50 PM
Stillwater Public Library Conference Room
3537 Lake Elmo Ave N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042 - SARA 2nd Saturday Breakfast March 11
7:30 AM
Perkins Restaurant 2050 Frontage Rd, Stillwater, MN 55082 - SARA Monthly Meeting Saturday March 11
9:15 AM (1515 UTC)
Auditorium A
The Gables at Boutwells Landing
13575 58th Street North, in Oak Park Heights, MN 55082
Boutwells Landing requires face masks in public spaces in the facility. Please bring your mask.
Special Guest Presenter: Rob Sherwood NCØBThe meeting will be livestreamed via Zoom. To request an invitation to the Zoom Meeting, e-mail president at radioham dot org with your name, callsign and location.
Rob’s presentation is slated to begin by 9:30 AM CST (1530 UTC) and the business session will follow.