SARA Field Day 2011
Split Rock Lighthouse 2012
2023 Simonet Memorial Award
2018 WØTBC Memorial Award-NØDRX
2017 SARA Officers
Fitzgerald Crew 2011
AGØH 2013
New Radio Gear For Some SARA Members!
SARA Work Party 3
Split Rock 2013

SARA This Week: Sept 12 – Sept 18

Greetings, all!

SARA holds on-air ragchews every day of the week. Details can be found in the “This Week’s SARA Activities” section below.

Outdoor Eyeball QSO Parties continue to allow SARA to gather  weekly. The weekly outdoor Eyeball QSO Party will continue weekly through October 7th at Autumn Hills Park beginning around 6:00 PM until about 8:00 PM.

Monthly General Meeting Saturday September 11

Our first in-person meeting in 18 months was a success yesterday. 15 attended in person and we had 5 folks check in to the Webex livestream. I know we have some audio issues with the Webex stream that need to be resolved. We’ll be looking at adding microphones and an audio mixer to better capture the proceedings. I hope to have that done in time for the October meeting.

Eyeball QSO Party – Outdoor Sessions

The Thursday Eyeball QSO Party – Outdoor Sessions continue this week with a return to Autumn Hills Park 5697 Norwich Parkway, adjacent to Boutwells Landing. Outdoor sessions will continue through October 7. Beginning Oct 14th, we return to the Stillwater Public Library conference room for our Eyeball QSO Parties. The room has been secured for Oct 14, 21, 28; Nov 11, 18 and Dec 9. Reservations can only be made 90 days in advance per Library policy.

Radios in the Park 2021

The final SARA Radios in the Park is Thursday September 23. 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.

“Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald” Special Event Station 2021 

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. The Mariner Motel in Silver Bay is the primary lodging, and there is also the AmericInn in Silver Bay and with more lodging choices up and down Highway 61. And tent camping is available at the State Park for the more hardy. More to come as we get closer to the dates.

There is the possibility that we will offer opportunities for off-site operating time slots for SARA members who may wish to operate from home, particularly in the CW and digital (FT8, PSK) modes. Planning for the event will spin up in September after wrap-up work on the White Rock expedition.

Amateur Extra Class License Upgrade Study Group

SARA and the South East Metro Amateur Radio Club (SEMARC) are jointly offering an Amateur Extra Class license study group. The study group is at the “schedule and location determination” point, so there is still time to join the group. If interested, please let SARA Training & Education coordinator Bob WØGAF know via email at WØGAF@radioham.org.

Technical Topic Thursday

Tentative plans have Technical Topic Thursday return in November. These sessions would be the 1st Thursday of the month via Webex Teleconference as meeting space at the Library is not available on the 1st Thursdays. More details to come.

Thanks, Rick!

I must thank Rick KØBR for his longtime service as host of the Wednesday evening 2-meter Ragchew on our repeater. Rick started this on-air ragchew in the late 2000’s during his time as president of SARA, and has continued hosting ever since. Rick and his family are moving to a new home outside the coverage area of the SARA repeater soon. RIck’s final session as host was this past Wednesday.
The SARA Board has opted to retire the Wednesday Evening 2-meter Ragchew as a formal on-air gathering. I’ve heard that some of the regulars are planning to continue the tradition and meet informally Wednesday evening to keep contact with each other.

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 Sept 12
    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
    (the YSF reflector US SARA-QRX-FCMG 64144 remains offline due to technical issues)
    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)
    Frequency:  1.966 LSB +/- QRM
    Alternates: 21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB) 50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB)
  • SARA Monday Morning Ragchew Sept 13
    08:15 Central (14:00 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 Sept 14
    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 Eyeball QSO Party: Thursday Sept 16
    Time: ~5:30 PM to 8:00 PM Central
    Autumn Hills Park, 5697 Norwich Parkway, Stillwater, MN 55082