©2018 The Stillwater Amateur Radio Association An ARRL Affiliate & Special Service Club www.radioham.org WØJH Announcements MOVED & SECONDED Monthly Meeting: Dec. 8, 2018 Meeting: 09:00 Boutwells Landing Auditorium A Gables Wing Program: Electronic Keyers - John, W9LHG Pre-meeting: ~07:30 - 08:45 Breakfast & Coffee Perkins Restaurant 2050 Frontage Rd W Stillwater, MN # Proud affiliate of the Courage Kenny Handiham Program # On our website www.radioham.org Our full-service website is a resource for current information, last-minute changes in meeting times and events, web-only stories, and archived news. Review the latest meeting minutes and reports. Access archived newsletters using the menu in the left sidebar. December 2018 # # Signals from SARA Bandwidth from the President Greetings from my shack, de Joe KCØOIO. The Holiday Season is upon us. 2018 is nearly done; how did that happen? What’s on your Christmas wish list? I have a Leatherman Squirt ES4 multi-tool on mine. It’s a small multi-tool designed for electricians. Rather than the typical needle nose pliers, it has wire stripper jaws for 20-12 gauge. It’s a neat little tool to carry when you head out for field operations. Take a look at it online and consider adding it to your Christmas list. 2018 has been a good year for the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association. We’ve had great participation at any of our activities. Our monthly meetings consistently have attendance of 30-40 people. We’ve had some great presentations this year, including the entertaining session in September with Paul Bittner WØAIH (now SK). A late winter blizzard forced us to cancel our April 14 meeting, so we regrouped and held an on-air gathering that used both 160 meters and the SARA repeater for a fun morning activity from the safety of our homes. The Eyeball QSO Parties at the Stillwater Public Library always fill up the Conference Room. Speaking of the conference room at the library, they’ve added a large monitor and A/V capabilities to that room that give us the ability to expand our tech topic and skill night discussions, and really nice addition to the room. Radios in the Park continued to be a hit this year, and we added an antenna shootout to that activity a couple of times this past summer. Field Day was a fun event again this year, although we had to shut down 20 minutes early Sunday afternoon when a thunderstorm developed almost overhead. Ice Station WØJH from Lake Elmo and Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald special events continue to be big hits both on the air and on site participation. The Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald event last month had the largest turnout of members in memory, including a good group of “newbies” or first time attendees. Our Member Assistance Program continues to be a popular offering for SARA members. Although the high profile of antenna projects seems to garner the most interest, MAP is more than that. Think of MAP as SARA’s mentoring or “Elmering” project. MAP assistance has been provided for everything from choosing a radio, reprogramming radios for the DCS 026 on our new repeater, setting up a new station, mobile installations and troubleshooting, software installs and set-ups, and much more. The Spring Technician Class and Fall General Class are solid offerings as part of our Education and Training efforts. We’re expanding education and training with Tech Topic and Skill nights during our Eyeball QSO Party sessions. Our annual Metro Skywarn training session and Extra Class Study Group help round out the education and training that SARA supports. Back in June, we installed the new Yaesu System Fusion repeater at our repeater site thanks to the efforts of Doug N9TOW and Henry KØHAS, along with the generosity of several members. The new repeater has added digital voice capabilities while maintaining analog FM for our users. We continue to work towards resolving a couple of issues with noise, but in general the reports on the performance of the repeater have been very favorable. Our on-air activities: the 160-meter round robin, the 2-meter ragchew, the Monday morning 75-meter gathering, the HF Digital net all have great participation of members and others. Every one of them welcomes all participants. The Stillwater Amateur Radios Association is a strong and vibrant organization thanks to our members and leaders. Our level of activity and participation are indicative of that. SARA members are welcoming and genuine in their hospitality. There are reasons SARA has more than 100 members for 2018 and nearly 60% renewal for 2019. SARA is one of the most active general interest amateur radio clubs in the region, all built upon our members and our programs. I want to take a moment to thank the leadership, organizers, and driving forces that help make SARA successful. The officers of the club, VP Bob WØGAF, Secretary Collin KEØIYN, Treasurer Rich ADØSN, Directors Bill KDØOTB and Doug N9TOW, and Trustee Shel NØDRX are invaluable to me and this club’s operations. Where would we be without the organizing skills of Dave WØOXB for our special events. And there are many others who help make the club successful whom I should list out but won’t for fear of missing someone. To all of you, my sincerest thanks! With the 2019 election of officers coming in January, nominations for the elected positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and one 2-yr Director will be taken at our December meeting. The incumbents in the President, VP, Secretary, and Treasurer positions have indicated their willingness to continue. We are looking for a member (or 2 or 3) to run for the 2-yr (2019-2020) Director seat. Please consider volunteering to serve SARA in a leadership role. For our December 8, Saturday meeting, John Lyon W9LHG will present his program on electronic keyers. John’s passionate about CW and will share some good information on working CW and using electronic keyers. Don’t forget the pre-meeting Breakfast will be at Perkins Restaurant 2050 W Frontage Rd (Hwy 36 & Washington) in Stillwater at 7:30 AM. The breakfast gang hopes to see you there! 73 es CUL, de Joe (KCØOIO) SARA On the Air SARA Phone Roundtables: Daily @ 20:00 Local: (except Thursday) 1.966 MHz LSB +/- QRM (alternates: 21.316 MHz or 50.166 MHz USB +/- QRM) Monday @ 09:00 Local: 3.856 MHz LSB +/- QRM Tuesday @ 20:00 Local: 160m & 2m Simulcast - TBA (1.966 MHz & SARA Repeater) SARA Weekly Nets: Wednesday @ 21:00 Local: SARA 2m Repeater 147.060+ MHz (Positive offset) DCS/DTCS 026(Normal) Digital Net Sunday @ 19:00 Local: 3.58415 MHz (500-1,000 Hz) (mode announced via email) Can’t Find Us On the Air? ... Monitor SARA Repeater! QSL Contact Info On Hiatus Until Fall ARES Nets Please post this by your radio and/or kitchen table and try to check in once or twice per month and enjoy the topic. John (KAØHYR) has the schedule for NCS and topics laid out for the year; he has left several open for “any available NCS”, so contact John jeregan3@gmail.com and get some practice as a Net Control Station. This is the most valuable ham position at a real disaster activation, so get your skills up now while practice time is available; The script for the NCS is also available. You will be surprised at how quickly your skills rise to the top or are renewed and it becomes second nature. Washington County ARES (WASHCOARES) 3rd Wednesday of Each Month; 6:30 PM; 146.985- HF Nets in MN (some ARES, some Section nets, some Club nets): :: SARA FLDigi Digital Net: 7 PM Sunday; 3.584.15 MHz :: ARRL MN Phone Net; 12 noon, 5:30 PM Daily; 3.860 MHz :: ARRL MN Section (CW) Net; 6:30 PM, 9:50 PM Daily; 3.568 MHz :: MN ARES FLDigi Digital Net: Thursday, 8 PM, 3.583.5 MHz USB, Olivia 8-500 HF Nets with Neighboring States: :: North Dakota: 6:30 PM Daily; 3.937 MHz :: South Dakota: 6 PM Daily; 3.870 MHz :: Wisconsin: 5:30 PM Daily, 3.985 MHz :: Iowa: 12:30 PM, 5:30 PM Daily, 3.970 MHz :: Michigan Digital Traffic Net (MIDTN), Thur. 7 PM, 3.583.50 kHz, USB, Olivia 8-500 VHF Digital Nets: :: SEMARC FL Digi Net: Every Wed. Sept.-May; Voice check In 146.985; digital check-in 144.950 :: Scott County ARES Net, Monday, 7 PM; 147.165R; also 146.535 S TNX es 73, John (KAØHYR) Washington County EC SARA Needs YOU! Get involved ... Make a difference ... Have fun! www.radioham.org Facebook: SARA - Stillwater Amateur Radio Association On Hiatus Until Fall 2019 Program: John Lyon, W9LHG: Electronic CW Keyers for People Who Don’t Need CW Keyers John, who has been pounding the brass since 1954, will talk about Morse code generally, and Morse electronic keyers in particular. A little history, and a walk through of a typical CW contact is included for those not familiar with the mode. The rest will be about keyers in general, and specific characteristics of various models for demonstration. Come and see John demonstrate stupid keyer tricks, and find out what keyers can do that might help your operating. Several keyers will be on display for inspection. And… Please don’t be afraid to try this at home! Upcoming Meetings & Events Dec. 8: Monthly meeting; Boutwells Landing, Oak Park Heights Jan. 12: Monthly meeting; Boutwells Landing, Oak Park Heights Feb. 9: Monthly meeting; Boutwells Landing, Oak Park Heights Feb. 16-18: Ice Station WØJH Special Event, Lake Elmo Feb. 23: Skywarn Training; Stillwater Library, Stillwater Feb. 28: Technician Class - First Session; Stillwater Library, Stillwater 2018 Remote Base Update WØZSW, WØEQO, and WAØTDA are all up and running. No long-term outages were observed in November, aside from a two-day planned outage over Thanksgiving when only WØEQO was available. No outages are planned for December, but I was reminded about the possibility this morning when a station (not one of the remotes) I was talking with suddenly went off the air. “Power outage”, he said when he showed up again. At this time, none of our remotes are protected from power outages. Even a momentary outage will result in the station losing the USB connection to the host computer. This condition will not resolve without intervention from an administrator, even if the power returns. So why not protect everything with an uninterruptable power supply (UPS)? Actually, that would work - but there is one caveat. The typical UPS is designed to handle short outages - to bridge momentary power drops, mainly - so that a computer user can save working files and execute an orderly shutdown of the equipment. Some of them will even perform the shutdown for an absent user automatically. A UPS will typically protect a PC, modem, router, and perhaps an external drive or other vital accessory. While a multicore gaming PC with hefty graphics cards can consume quite a bit of power, none of these protected devices will come close to what it takes to run a 100 watt HF rig in transmit, especially with a high duty-cycle mode. Thus, the HF rig is generally not one of the protected devices on the battery backup side of the UPS. Running the HF rig as a protected device can greatly shorten the battery life of the UPS unless it is a really hefty (and expensive) model. At the WAØTDA shack, the remote base host PC and the computer network are protected from momentary outages, but the IC-7200 is not. That means in a short power outage the internet and host PC will remain in operation, but the rig will power off, instantly breaking the USB connection and placing the station in nonoperational status indefinitely. Of course when the power returns everything , including the IC-7200, will be running - but the station will not be available for users until an administrator logs into the host PC remotely, force-closes the RCForb host software with a three-fingered salute (CTRL-ALT-DEL), and restarts the RCForb host software. Why the three-fingered salute? Well, the host software invariably “hangs” when you try to close it manually after an unexpected radio disconnection of any kind, whether it be pulling out a USB cable from the back of the radio or any powering off of the radio while the host software is running. Fortunately, we can keep the stations running by using remote administration. Please email me if anything goes awry, and we’ll get it running again ASAP. Thanks to Bill Jones, NØCIC, and Eliot Ricciardelli, KEØN, for your admin help. 73, Pat wa0tda@arrl.net A reminder about the importance of training for ARES members: The Douglas County ARES EC (Superior, WI) and Northeast MN ARES DEC worked closely together with ARES members to provide communications support and shelter communications during the Superior Husky Refinery explosion and evacuation last week. There were ARES members in the EOC and at least two shelters. They worked with the Red Cross in the shelters, manned the EOC at some stations, passed communications with the evac sites, passed traffic and gathered information for the National Weather Service regarding the smoke plume. As the Douglas County EC Dave (W0NWO) said, there are times when it feels like we are meeting and training for something that will never happen. The explosion and fire at the Husky refinery brought everything that we have trained for and talked about into play." So, the let's keep up the training and work on the nets because we never know what may be coming our way. John Regan, KA0HYR, ARES EC, MN Section, Washington County VE Session Results The VE team of KØGW, NØUHR, N9JNQ, KCØOIO, WAØTDA, AD6QT, WØGAF, NØDXH & NØDRX conducted a successful exam session on November 8th. Congratulations to all five examinees, who successfully earned either a new license or an upgrade to their prior license. SARA members Mark Lindberg KEØQQN earned his Extra and Robb Jacobs KEØROJ earned his new General. David Hanson KCØWAS and Karl Tyrrell KDØYST both earned upgrades to General and Orion Tyrrell KEØTPZ earned a new Tech license. The new licenses were issued by the FCC on 11/15/2018. Karl and Orion also became SARA members at the exam session. 73, Shel NØDRX WØJH “Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald” Split Rock Lighthouse Special Event By the Numbers We wish to thank everyone who participated and helped in any number of ways to make our 14th consecutive “Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald from Split Rock Lighthouse” such a successful event. While my intent here is to discuss details regarding our contact and confirmation data, I expect someone else will provide more information regarding the event. We ended up with a total of 748 contacts in our log, with 704 being on SSB and 44 on FT8. This compared to a total of 848 for the event last year. As anticipated, the majority of our contacts were on 20m, where we made 68% of our contacts. Once we were established on 20m, it was a steady operation, with the number of contacts pretty much dependent upon how fast we worked and logged the contacts. Our 23% on 40m and 7% on 75m were respectable and likely would have been higher, had we sorted out a noise issue with that station sooner. Just under 1% of our contacts were on 17m & 30m with all of those being FT8 contacts. In addition to working stations all over the US, we had 31 log entries from our northern neighbors in Canada, in addition to contacts with Venezuela, Ecuador, Cayman Islands and Curacao. Within 7 days of the beginning of the event, we had received confirmation requests for 225 contacts. As we were nearing completion of the final design for the certificate the initial file for the initial 246 confirmed contacts was ready to incorporate with outgoing certificates. Additional confirmation requests will continue to trickle in, so there will be another smaller batch of certificates going out in December. There are any number of reasons why people may have chosen to work our special event. Some people make brief comments with their request for contact confirmations. While most of those are basic general comments, a few mention why they might have a somewhat specific reason for working the event and others may make a more personal comment relating to the operator on our end. There are also several that look forward to working us each year. I have copied a few of those comments to include in this newsletter if space permits. Please ignore any spelling or grammar errors in that list, as those comments were just copied as received. 73, Shel NØDRX What they said: AJ4M: My Father-in-Law was stationed in Sault Sainte Marie, MI during the Korean War.  He walked the locks many times on guard duty and saw the large oar boats (along with hundreds of others) going through the locks. Of course, that was well before the launch of the Fitz. 73's to everyone associated with the event (Brad was my contact) and thanks! WKM4AIJ: Thanks for doing this. It is always great to work an SES KR4HH: Thanks for confirmation of my contact to you Brad. Conditions were QSB here. I was running 100 watts into a half sloper only about 20 ft high on the raised side.  A temp. antenna as I am just getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus. I did not get a signal report from you. If you have a record of it I would be glad to know it. You were approx 5/5 when I made contact FYI.  You were fading in and out and I attempted to make contact a number of time. I finally did before you went QRT! W8KVK: Thanks for another enjoyable Edmund Fitzgerald memorial SES. Important to keep this event in our memory.  As your time permits, I would appreciate receiving one of your nice certificates. KN4OOH: Thank you for honoring the men of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Many of my relatives are commercial fishermen and know well the dangers and sacrifices. KC8YRK: Being a transplant from the Toledo area i was tickled pink to contact the special event. WX1M: Thanks Holly for contact and thanks to the group for remembering the Fitzgerald. I have done a lot of reading about the tragic sinking of the Fitz. a very sad time. WB9ICF: I saw an announcement about the special event station a while back, but totally forgot that it was happening. I was doing a little POTA hunting this morning and I am glad that I found you! Enjoyed the brief chat with Dave. Thanks for operating this special event. I'm wondering if you are so uploading the logs to Parks On The Air since Split Rock is a POTA entity? Hope you do as that will give me another entity, but no worries if weren't planning on doing that. NØARN: Hi spoke with Bob on 14.262 at 1738 sent 57 received 59. Saturday November 3 2018. We were on Upper sideband and Bob mentioned the lighthouse number which did not get buty would also like that qsl card.  73 Your web page is great, enjoyed looking. Thanks for the event W5ALX: Thanks for the opportunity to talk to the Edmund Fitzgerald event! I have always been interested in what happened to her. Thanks you for the memorial! KB2XD: contact with your station on Nov 3rd at 1400 EST on 14.262 MHz I was running 800 watts into a 4 square vertical array phased NW. Rig is Yaesu FTDX 3000 into Ameritron AL 811H Amp. Thanks for the contact. KJ4VZJ: Thanks to Holly and your organization for this event.  VA3FUZ: Thanks so much for doing the special event.  I mentioned to the op (I think it was Keith), first thing that came to mind was the song by Gordon Lightfoot. I'd kindly appreciate getting the certificate from our contact.  K5CQA: Thank you for the QSO for the Special Event. Very, very historic site. WA0ALH: Was nice talking with you Mary and thanks for the Special Event KN4HEW: Thanks for remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald.   Blessings to you all there at the Lighthouse.  KC9YTT: Just spoke with Keith. Thank you very much for doing this event! N1KNY: Thanks for the contact. Hope you had a great weekend KC1FTJ: Thank you for the Special Event Station for the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. Very nice photos on your QRZ page. KN4JTC: Contact at 5:00pm EST....talked with Dave.... copied 59.... using 99 watts, Icom 718, homemade dipole, oriented NE/SW....50NW of Charlotte, NC My late Grandfather was a Wireless operator on board the SS G.J. Grammer for several seasons. The stories of the storms on the lake were quite frightening.  I have a framed picture of the ship, as well as his diploma from National Radio Institute. A9NWW: TNX, guys for all the years you've done this W5HLG: I spoke with Dave at Split Rock Lighthouse (USA 783) with a short QSO as well, and a good signal at 5-9+.  My wife is a Lighthouse Assn. member and has been so for over 20 years.  We have visited many lighthouses over the years.  I would love to have a certificate from you to put on the wall in our home. N2USM: Thank you lights usa783 NØBGS: Great to talk into the Split Rock area.  Beautiful area of the country. KM4MWE: I enjoyed the QSO with Dave and Jerry on Sunday. I’m really looking forward to the QSL Certificate and I appreciate your operation from the lighthouse. KB9ZPK: Hello Shel…..Thanks again for you, and the Stillwater ARC for doing the Fitzgerald SE. I know that it is a lot of work……but people such as myself, and the families of the Fitz are so grateful to your club. Shel, it is a highlight every year to work you “guys” up there You, Dave and The crew…..( I would love some day SOON to be an operator for your Club, I have No experience, but a Big Heart, Thanks for asking me this past event during our contact…..I am honored). I was looking at my log, and have worked you in 2007,2009,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 and now 2018. I guess I am a Repeat customer hi,hi. Bummed that I missed a few years. N1ADX: Many thanks for the QSO with special event station W0JH. Sounds like you were having fun. Good job. NØTLW: Hi Keith, Great to make contact with you on your 14th year of commemorations. You demonstrated great patience working to pull in weak signals and acknowledge folks wanting to make contact with W0JH - Kudos! VA3EE: Very nice to work you again. Cheers and all the best. VE1JMB: I just got my FT-757GXII this weekend and it was fun to make my first contact with your special event. KI7OIY: It was really great working you this morning and the special event. Thank you in advance for the certificate. Really like working the historical special event stations. VE3KPP: Keep up the good work.  I have always been fascinated by the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald. KE8CVA: Thank you for all your club does!!! WB0YDF: Thanks for QSO in nasty conditions. Hope to work again. KØIUZ: Thanks Keith and all other hams for their dedication to this event. W9ZSJ: Thanks for the Q and for the PDF in advance. I was really tickled to get in with my old Butternut vertical after it lay on the ground for 10 or 15 years and was refurbed. And, it proved again that works great on 40m and 20m but needs work on the other bands.Ten Tec Argo V is a terrific rig - 20 watts tops. I first heard the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, not by Gordon Lightfoot, but by a Chicago folk singer on a paddle wheeler on the Mississippi somewhere near Galena, IL. KN4OOH: Thank you for commemorating the 29 men who gave their lives on the Edmund Fitzgerald. KC9ERJ: Thanks for doing this special event. Used a Heathkit SB-102 for the contact. Radio is about the same era as the sinking of the Fritz. -End- Who Are SARA Members? At the beginning of each monthly SARA regular monthly meeting we usually go around the room with brief introductions, but sometimes I wonder how well do we really know our fellow members. As we approach the end of 2018 it seemed an ideal time to share some general statistics and toss out a little trivia challenge. The challenge question is, “What are the three most common first names of SARA 2018 members?” The answer will be revealed at the December 8th monthly meeting. At the time I am writing this, SARA has a total of 111 members for 2018. We have two prepaid through 2021, 7 through 2020, and 51 currently through 2019. Thanks to all whom have gotten dues in early. This has helped spread the bookkeeping duties for our Treasurer, so he does not get totally buried with renewals at the end of December. Remember the current membership year ends on 12/31 and anyone whom is not current for 2019 will be dropped from the roster and email list by the end of January. Our current 2018 membership of 111 consists of 89 Regular members and 22 Associate or Family members (2 of which are not currently licensed hams). Of the 109 licensed hams, 97 are listed in MN, 11 in WI, 2 in Canada and 1 is SD. The breakdown by license class of 107 US hams is: 57 Extra, 4 Advanced, 34 General and 12 Technician. Certainly a long way from when we had only 3 Extras in the club. Shel NØDRX Editor’s note: Well, we’ve all been “Elmers” at one time or another, right? So Elmer is my guess. (TDA) 2019 Dues? The Enforcer was spotted recently training to be sure SARA dues are paid for the coming year. In fairness to Bill VE3XT, he had already paid his dues, but proved a willing subject for the training exercise and was able to return to Thunder Bay unscathed. Thanks to all whom have already paid for 2019 and beyond and as a reminder to those whom have not, be aware the Enforcer is looking for you! November Grid Chase update ? Home stretch, one more month, lets see what you have left! Charge! Buy, Sell, Trade Yaesu FT-840 ... $200 Editor’s note: A heck of a good deal! 160-10m, 100 watt HF Transceiver ... Basic & Easy to Use Includes Hand Mic, Power Cable, Mobile Mounting Bracket & Manual (on Flash Drive) Great Size: Portable or Back-up Operation Works Great & Excellent Shape! (previously owned by WØOXB; hardly ever used for QRP or digital modes) Dan (KC9GEJ) danandnolaw@gmail.com 651-335-1023 SARA Weekly Round-Robin Rag Chews & Nets Have you ever wondered where the heck SARA and others are meeting on the air? It’s pretty easy: Current info is in our newsletters. Look at the first page of each issue in the lower left corner of the page. Broadcasts are sent to alert you to changes. As a wise, ole Elmer once said, “The only thing that’s constant is CHANGE!” Propagation is one of the largest factors of ham change. And, the Digital Net takes a break (goes QRT) for summer months. Watch your email for broadcasts; refer to the newsletter. If you have ideas for on-air changes ... let us know. Tell any club officer or attend a Board Meeting. Shel Mann, NØDRX Honored With Joe Simonet WØTBC Memorial Award On Saturday, November 3, in the midst of the 2018 Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald special event, SARA announced the second recipient of the Joe Simonet WØTBC Memorial Award. Given to a SARA member who best exemplifies the passion, dedication and service to Amateur Radio and the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association of the “The Big Cheese” Joe WØTBC. The award was established by SARA in 2017, following Joe’s passing in October 2016. Shel Mann, NØDRX Presented Award ... The presentation was made by the inaugural recipient Dave Glas, WØOXB along with SARA VP Bob Jensen, WØGAF and SARA President Joe Heitzinger, KCØOIO at the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park Trail Center. Dave outlined award qualifications of involvement, commitment, passion, dedication and leadership; then expanded on Shel’s specific service to Amateur Radio and SARA. Shel’s service highlights included his long-time leadership as SARA trustee, his orchestration of SARA’s Volunteer Examiner program and his continuous, detailed work in verifying all WØJH logs. According to Dave, WØOXB, “Although not a prerequisite, the selection committee noted Shel had not yet earned the infamous “OXB Release to Listen” (RTL) award.” Dave went on to share examples of Shel’s tenacity and stubbornness which tipped the scales and led to Shel’s approval. Furthermore, the important support and vital role of Shel’s XYL and SARA member, Mary (NØDHX), was recognized and acknowledged. (Mary is an RTL recipient in good standing.) Shel was surprised and visibly moved by the award and was unable to say more than a few words of appreciation. WØJH “Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald” Split Rock Lighthouse Special Event 2018 QSL Certificate TNX to Keith (AGØH) for posting a variety of photos on Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmvJB46R Ice Station WØJH Special Event on Frozen Lake Elmo (Feb. 16-18) Event co-chairs Bob (WØGAF) and Dave (WØOXB) are coordinating the basic logistics (shelter, radio, logging computers antennas and scheduling operators). We’ll be setting up and operating from a portable ice fishing, tent-type shelter with a portable heater. The shelter will be located on the east side of the lake. A multi-band HF antenna (center-fed Zepp; surprise!) will be supported by trees on the shore. The shelter and all gear will be taken down and stowed each evening. The QTH of Dave (KEØAIF) begins at the lake shore and continues on the east side of Lake Elmo Ave. N. There will be free parking to the first ten cars. Very important after-hours critiquing/networking sessions will be held each evening. No word yet on brandy and/or mincemeat pie! Unfortunately this event is not for everyone. There is no public access to this portion of the lake; our station will not be handicap-accessible (terrain to the lake is very steep). Mobile/portable station operation is permitted from the parking area at AIF Dave’s QTH. John (N5JLZ) has first “dibs” on an end-fed antenna off a 50’ windmill tower. Dates / Times / Schedule: February 16, 17, 18, 2019 (President’s Day weekend) ? Saturday, 2/16: 10:00 am Setup, Operating until ~5:00 pm ? Sunday, 2/17: 10:00 am – ~5:00 pm ? Monday, 2/18: 10:00 am – ~5:00 pm ? Frequencies: 3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360 MHz :: Tune +/– 20 kHz if QRM :: SSB mode; digital operation may be used by those interested QSL certificates will be available when requested via email address: IceStationW0JH2019@radioham.org Event announcement is already posted on the ARRL web site (Special Events) and will be published in the February issue of QST. Sound like fun ... don’t wait. Contact Bob or Dave to reserve your spot! Visitors are welcome but for liability insurance reasons, all scheduled Ops must be SARA members. 2018 Ops SARA On the Air SARA Phone Roundtables: Daily @ 20:00 Local: (except Thursday) 1.966 MHz LSB +/- QRM (alternates: 21.316 MHz or 50.166 MHz USB +/- QRM) Monday @ 09:00 Local: 3.856 MHz LSB +/- QRM Tuesday @ 20:00 Local: 160m & 2m Simulcast - TBA (1.966 MHz & SARA Repeater) SARA Weekly Nets: Wednesday @ 21:00 Local: SARA 2m Repeater 147.060+ MHz (Positive offset) DCS/DTCS 026(Normal) Digital Net Sunday @ 19:00 Local: 3.58415 MHz (500-1,000 Hz) (mode announced via email) Can’t Find Us On the Air? ... Monitor SARA Repeater! Bob Shel Mary Joe Dave WØGAF NØDRX NØDXH KCØOIO WØOXB Anyone wishing a certificate but did NOT make contact with us, may request one. Send/or contact Dave or Shel. A special TNX to Connie (WØGAF-1) for organizing and preparing the Saturday evening meal. And, to Mary and Shel for hosting the very important after-hours critiquing/networking sessions. Two TS-590 HF transceivers and manual antenna tuners were used with center-fed Zepp antennas at the Trail Center. An IC-7300 was in our trailer and connected to a center-fed Zepp. As in the past, we had pretty good numbers (Qs) for operating ~17 hours total. And, speaking about numbers - take it away Shel OM ... end of file