Happy 250th Birthday, United States of America!
ARRL Field Day “Amateur Radio: A National Resource” wraps up today June 28
The WØJH 2A MN Field Day operation is scheduled to be on the air until 1:00 PM (18:00 UTC) this afternoon! At press time, (12:55 UTC) a line of rain and thunderstorms was approaching the Twin Cities and expected to affect the operation this morning.
SARA’s Field Day site is at the Baytown Township Hall, located at 4020 McDonald Drive North.
We need some volunteers on Monday morning June 29 at 10:00 AM for the final thorough cleaning of the Township Hall and grounds. We will also be doing some weeding of the landscaping of the building as a thanks for the use of the facility.
Sunday, June 28
8:00AM – Setup crews on site to make any setup changes for daytime operations.
1:00PM – Tear down and full pack up. Possible afterglow once done!
Monday, June 29
10:00AM – Deep clean of the Baytown Township Hall building and grounds. We will clean up inside and out. And we will also be doing some weed removal around the building and grounds as a service for our gracious host community.
SARA Membership surpasses 2025 membership record!
Earlier this week, SARA matched our all-time membership level of 200. Then we blew past that mark! We’ve had at least 6 new members join our ranks since Thursday evening, two at Radios in the Park Thursday evening and four (possibly five with an online applicant pending) during Saturday’s Field Day activities! That brings our roster count to at least 206 members!
Congratulations and thanks to all our members for making the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association the premier radio club of the St. Croix River Valley!!
2026 SARA’s Radios in the Park
Radios in the Park, SARA’s outdoor eyeball QSO party, continue through September 10th. Folks start to gather around 5:30 PM and we wrap up by 8:00 PM every Thursday evening.
Here is the schedule through the end of July: (click on the Google Maps Plus link for the location)
July 2nd Baytown Township Hall 4020 McDonald Dr N, Stillwater
(Google Maps Plus code: 2554+4M Stillwater, Minnesota)
July 9th Valley View Park 5421 Osgood Avenue, Oak Park Heights
(Google Maps Plus code: 25JX+35V Oak Park Heights, Minnesota)
July 16th Birkmose Park 50 Coulee Road, Hudson, WI 54016
(Google Maps Plus code: X68W+XF Hudson, Wisconsin)
July 23rd St. Croix Boom Site State Wayside Highway 95 north of Stillwater
(Google Maps Plus code: 36P7+2R Stillwater, Minnesota)
(furthest north parking area along Hwy 95 from Stillwater)
POTA site for US-0673 Saint Croix National Wild and Scenic Riverway and US-12395 St. Croix Boom Site State Wayside
July 30th Sunfish Lake Park 3554 Kelvin Ave North, Lake Elmo
(Google Maps Plus code: 233W+2F Lake Elmo, Minnesota)
The full schedule has been posted on the SARA Discord server under Radios-in-the-Parks and in the June Signals From SARA newsletter.
SARA & MVARA POTA Meetup and Picnic July 18
SARA and the Mississippi Valley Amateur Radio Association of LaCrosse, WI are getting together for a meetup, picnic and POTA on Saturday July 18. We will gather at Frontenac State Park, 29223 County 28 Blvd in Frontenac, MN 55026, about 10 minutes southeast of Red Wing on Highway 61. The Google Maps Plus code for the park’s day use area is GMP7+69. We will be there from 11:00 AM to about 4:00 PM.
SARA is bringing the food for the picnic and the MVARA is bringing their Emergency Communication Bus! MVARA was the recipient of a generous grant of $116,399 from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) in October 2021. This grant allowed MVARA to refurbish and maintain a bus that had been previously used as a commercial emergency communication center. This includes equipment upgrades, such as matching HF/VHF/UHF stations and accessories and a fold-over tower attached to the bus for antennas. The equipment, plus two towable crank-up towers, allows the club to operate four stations simultaneously, using a variety of different modes, including CW, voice, and digital modes.
Come on out and meet some new friends from the Mississippi Valley Amateur Radio Association and you don’t want to miss the chance to view the bus!
1st Thursday Technical Topic Night “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. You can find all the 1st Thursday Topics in the 1st Thursdays Technical Topics playlist.
We are always looking for topic ideas and discussion leaders for future 1TTT nights. If you have a suggestion or are willing to lead a discussion, please let drop me an email at kc0oio2002@gmail.com.
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).
- July 2, 2026 NO 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
Radios in the Park outdoors at the Baytown Town Hall - Aug 6, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s Talk About … Fused Power Distribution Block Kit Build Night” - Sep 3, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s Talk About … Cloud-based logging with Wavelog led by Collin KEØIYN - Oct 1, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s Talk About … 3d Printing and ham radio” led by Leslie KD9ZMI
The ZOOM livestream will NOT be available the months of June, and August sessions. There is no 1TTT session scheduled for July due to the Independence Day holiday.
White Rock Tri-State Special Event set for Sept 25-27, 2026
The dates have been set for SARA’s return to the ghost town of White Rock, SD, located on MN/SD border and 1 mile south of the ND/SD/MN tri-state border. The last time we visited White Rock was in August of 2021. We establish camp near what was once the railroad depot in White Rock. We’ll operate a station from there all weekend. Weather permitting, we’ll venture out to the tri-state marker to set up and operate from there.
This is as close to a DXpedition as many of us will ever experience! Some folks will be roughing it by camping (RVs and tents) onsite for the weekend, while others opt for the motel at the Dakota Magic Casino about 12 miles away. More details will be provided as we firm up plans closer to the event.
Mark your calendar now for this rare Special Event Station!
This week’s SARA activities
- ARRL Field Day Sunday June 28
until 1:00 PM (17:59 UTC) Sunday – then the radios are off and teardown begins.
Baytown Township Hall 4020 McDonald Dr N, Stillwater
(Google Maps Plus code: 2554+4M Stillwater, Minnesota) - “Sunday Fusion” Digital Voice Hangout June 28
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 June 29
08:00 Central (13:00 UTC)
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - Field Day Site Final Cleanup Monday June 29
10:00 AM
Baytown Township Hall 4020 McDonald Dr N, Stillwater
(Google Maps Plus code: 2554+4M Stillwater, Minnesota) - Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew June 30
7:00 – ~8:00 pm Central (or until we finish!)
SARA Repeater 147.060+ MHz (DCS/DTCS 026 Normal)
1st Tuesday 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. - Radios in the Park Thursday July 2
6:00 PM
Baytown Township Hall 4020 McDonald Dr N, Stillwater
(Google Maps Plus code: 2554+4M Stillwater, Minnesota)
