Here is your SARA weekly update!
Technician License Prep Class Week 6
SARA’s Spring Technician License Classes continue with Session 6 Thursday evening, March 12, at the Stillwater Public Library, 224 3rd Street E, Stillwater, MN 55082, from 6:00 PM to 7:50 PM.
1st Thursday Technical Topic Nights “Let’s Talk About…”
RESCHEDULED from April 2
Apr 9, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s Talk About … Meshtastic” led by Collin KEØIYN
This session will be in the Stillwater Public Library Margaret Rivers Room B, 224 3rd Street E, Stillwater, MN 55082, from 6:00 PM to 7:50 PM.
Eyeball QSO Party
The weekly Eyeball QSO Party is at the Stillwater Public Library April 9th, and April 16th, and then again on April 30th. It will be at the Lake Elmo Public Library Meeting Rooms A & B on Thursday April 23rd. We move the Eyeball outdoors for the summer months with our Radios in the Park series.
Radios in the Parks will return May 14 as we move outdoors to various parks in the area. We’ll begin with the annual New Ham Night at Valley View Park on May 14 and continue through Sept 10. One session this summer will feature the 1st pico balloon launch for SARA. Full schedule will be shared as we get closer to May. I am looking for suggestions for parks to visit this summer.
1st Thursday Technical Topic Nights “Let’s Talk About…”
1st Thursday Technical Topic Night features a technical presentation and discussion based upon the level of interest in the club and the willingness of someone to prepare and lead the session. The sessions are livestreamed via Zoom for those who choose to join the session virtually; and are recorded and posted to the SARA YouTube channel for future viewing and reference.
The 1st Thursday Technical Topic Nights are held at the Baytown Township Hall, 4020 McDonald Dr N, Stillwater, MN 55082, beginning at 6:00 PM Central (23:00 UTC).
- May 7, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s Talk About … Antenna Analyzers” led by Joe KCØOIO - Aug 6, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s Talk About … Mobile and Portable Show-n-tell” - Sep 3, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s Talk About … Cloud-based logging with Wavelog led by Collin KEØIYN
SARA Monthly Meeting April 11
The monthly meeting of the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association is this Saturday April 18. We will be meeting in the Town Hall at Boutwells Landing. The Town Hall is accessible from the 5600 Norwich Parkway entrance to Boutwells (the south entrance).
Our monthly meetings are livestreamed via ZOOM. If you cannot attend in person, >> CLICK HERE << to join the ZOOM session. The meeting will begin by 9:30 AM.
Our program topic for this session is Back to the Basics: VHF/UHF Operating – a “Let’s Talk About…” special group discussion facilitated by Brian KØPU.
Join us before the meeting for the 2nd Saturday Breakfast at Perkins 2050 Frontage Road in Stillwater, at 7:30 AM.
Hands On Ham Radio on World Amateur Radio Day – A Ham Radio Open House April 18
SARA will be hosting a Ham Radio Open House in conjunction with World Amateur Radio Day April 18. The Stillwater Public Library has welcomed this event and will be promoting it on their event calendar for April.
“Celebrate World Amateur Radio Day with a hands-on, drop-in event for all ages on Saturday, April 18, from 11 AM–3 PM on the Library Terrace! Local amateur radio enthusiasts from Stillwater Amateur Radio Association will share how ham radios work, demonstrate different types of equipment, and scan the airwaves so you can actually “see” the radio signals all around us. Visitors will have the chance to listen in and even attempt live connections with people across the U.S. and around the world.
This free, family-friendly event is perfect for curious minds of all ages. SARA members enjoy making radio science accessible and fun, from educational sessions and classes, to operating outdoors in parks, trails, and landmarks, and combine electronics and computers in new, experimental radio research projects. They’ll also share details about their exciting upcoming club project: building and launching a radio balloon 80,000 feet into the atmosphere to travel the globe. Stop by anytime during this interactive afternoon of science and discovery!”
We will be looking for volunteers to help with day’s activities. Brian, KB9TBB has offered to spearhead this event. Planning and promotion will continue at upcoming Eyeball QSO sessions. Please consider joining us plan and execute this wonderful opportunity to promote amateur radio and SARA.
Pico Balloon Club Project Countdown To Launch has begun!
The “Let’s Talk About … Pico Balloons” session, led by Rich ADØSN, piqued interest in building and launching a PICO balloon as a club project. This project was approved by the membership during the March SARA meeting.
The project will focus on a launch during one of our Radios in the Park Thursday evening sessions. To achieve that 3 teams are being spun up: Lift team – will manage the balloon prep and gas equations; Electronics team – will assemble and program trackers; and Build Team – will assemble the antennas, power panels and supports for the balloons. Due to the generosity of a few members, components are on hand already for at least two ballons. Watch for more details on how to help get the pico ballons “off the ground” coming from the leaders of the project in the coming days. The project will begin in earnest after the April 18 open house event.
Won’t it be fun to track WØJH (“The Flying Ham”) via WSPR and APRS as it circumnavigates the globe, hopefully multiple times?
To learn more about Pico balloons and the concept of the project, check out the 1st Thursday Tech Topic from February. >> CLICK HERE << to view the recording of the session on our YouTube channel. The PDF document is available to download from the radioham.org website by >> clicking here <<
The SARA POTA Challenge
Results for February 2026 can now be viewed, >> CLICK HERE << to view those results. March numbers will be shared at the April meeting this coming Saturday.
POTA raised the minimum contacts returned in the Top Hunter search to 50 Hunter contacts. Therefore, the hunter threshold has changed to the minimum 50 for the 2026 Challenge because of what we can extract from POTA’s database.
SARA members who have registered on the POTA website https://parksontheair.com/# (sign up is under the Help/Getting Started tab) are automatically included in the SARA Challenges.
This week’s SARA activities
- NO “Sunday Fusion” Digital Voice Hangout Apr 5
19:00 Central (Daylight Time) (00:00 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 Evening HF Ragchew
Nightly
20:00 Central (01:00 UTC)
Frequency: 3.813LSB +/- QRM
Alternates: 1.966 MHz +/- QRM (LSB), 21.316 MHz +/- QRM (USB) 50.166 MHz +/- QRM (USB) - SARA Monday Morning 75-meter Ragchew Apr 6
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew April 7
7:00 – ~8:00 pm Central (or until we finish!)
SARA Repeater 147.060+ MHz (DCS/DTCS 026 Normal)1stTuesday of each month 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. - Technician License Prep Class Thursday Apr 9
6:00 PM
Conference Room
Stillwater Public Library
224 3rd Street E, Stillwater, MN 55082 - 1st Thursdays Technical Topic Night April 9 (rescheduled from April 2)
6:00 PM (23:00 UTC)
“Let’s Talk About … Meshtastic” led by Collin KEØIYN
Margaret Rivers Room B
Stillwater Public Library
224 3rd Street E, Stillwater, MN 55082 - 2nd Saturday Breakfast April 11
7:30 AM
Perkins Restaurant
2050 Frontage Road
Stillwater, MN 55082 - SARA Monthly Meeting April 11
9:15 AM (14:15 UTC)
Town Hall
Boutwells Landing – South Entrance
5600 Norwich Parkway
Oak Park Heights, MN 55082
>> CLICK HERE << to join the ZOOM session.
Program: Back to the Basics: VHF/UHF Operating – a “Let’s Talk About…” special group discussion facilitated by Brian KØPU.
