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.
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
A discussion about antenna analyzers, using them, and various models. Bring your analyzer along if you have one! - June 4, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
Field Day Planning - 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 - Oct 1, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s Talk About … 3d Printing and ham radio” led by Leslie KD9ZMI
SARA Monthly Meeting Saturday May 9
The final SARA monthly meeting (until September) is this Saturday. The meeting will be held in Auditorium A at Boutwells Landing 13575 58th Street North in Oak Park Heights, MN 55082. The meeting will begin about 9:15 AM, as soon as the A/V for the Zoom livestream is ready.
Our featured presenter this evening is Clint Bradford K6LCS, who will be joining us via Zoom to talk about Amateur Satellites.
SARA 2nd Saturday Breakfast May 9
The breakfast is at Perkins Restaurant, 2050 Frontage Road in Stillwater. We gather at 7:30 AM.
A reminder, the 2nd Saturday Breakfast continues monthly throughout the year, whether or not there is a monthly meeting.
VE Session Thursday April 30
The SARA VE team conducted an exam session this past Thursday April 30. 6 candidates successfully completed their exams.
3 people from the recent Technician class passed the Tech exam with one of them also passing the General exam. Their new callsigns are pending from the FCC.
Tim KØPEP upgraded to General, Anthony KFØPNN upgraded to Extra and Glen WBØRBI upgraded Technician from Novice.
The session results were uploaded to the ARRL-VEC about 11 AM Friday. They state they process and upload the results to the FCC same day (for weekday sessions). I checked the Daily FCC Log on qrz.com and the upgrades for Tim, Anthony, Glen have already been processed by the FCC! No need for /AG, /AE or /AT for them.
Congratulations to all of our successful examinees!
New Ham Night May 14
New Ham Night is coming Thursday evening. This is an evening of introduction to those whom have recently become licensed amateur radio operators as they move from theory to practice and perhaps even make that first contact.
A team of dedicated SARA members are committed to presenting an engaging session covering a number of topics including Choosing a Radio, Getting on the Air, “My First Year” and Resources.
New Ham Night will be at Valley View Park 5421 Osgood Avenue, Oak Park Heights
(Google Maps Plus code: 25JX+35V Oak Park Heights, Minnesota) beginning at 6:00 PM
2026 SARA’s Radios in the Park
The Thursday Eyeball QSO sessions become outdoor Radios in the Park sessions starting May 14th and going 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 June:
May 14th Valley View Park 5421 Osgood Avenue, Oak Park Heights
(Google Maps Plus code: 25JX+35V Oak Park Heights, Minnesota)
“New Ham Night” welcoming new or recently licensed amateur radio operators
May 21st Otto Berg Memorial Park 90th St N & Norell Ave N, Stillwater
(Google Maps Plus code: 35H9+MWC Stillwater, Minnesota)
May 28th Brown’s Creek Park 8312 Neal Ave N, Stillwater – trail parking area
(Google Maps Plus code: 35C4+39V Stillwater, Minnesota)
POTA site for Brown’s Creek State Trail US-9386 and/or Brown’s Creek Aquatic Management Area US-10721
So you want to be an Activator? What’s holding you back? Expert guidance to putting your POTA station together and getting out in the park will be available this evening!
June 4th Baytown Township Hall 4020 McDonald Dr N, Stillwater
(Google Maps Plus code: 2554+4M Stillwater, Minnesota)
“Field Day Planning – Site and operations”
June 11th Valley View Park 5421 Osgood Avenue, Oak Park Heights
(Google Maps Plus code: 25JX+35V Oak Park Heights, Minnesota)
June 18th Lakeside Park 101 Lake Cir, Bayport, MN 55003
(Google Maps Plus code: 268G+9J Bayport, Minnesota)
June 26th Rotary Park 2290 2nd St N, North St Paul
(Google Maps Plus code: 2262+G5 North St Paul, Minnesota)
POTA site for US-9385 Gateway State Trail
The full schedule has been posted on the SARA Discord server under Radios-in-the-Parks and will be published in the May newsletter.
Pico Balloon Club Project Countdown to Launch has begun!
The project will focus on a launch this Fall (it’s recommended that you launch your balloons during a month ending in “R”), date, time, and location to be determined. 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 balloons. Watch for more details on how to help get the pico balloons “off the ground” coming from the leaders of the project in the coming days.
Won’t it be fun to track WØJH (“The Flying Ham”) via WSPR and APRS as it circumnavigates the globe, hopefully multiple times?
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 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.
Mark your calendar now for this rare Special Event Station!
The SARA POTA Challenge
Results for March 2026 can now be viewed, >> CLICK HERE << to view those results. We’re into the warmer seasons and activity definitely picked up in April. April’s statistics have been compiled, the graphics will be prepared, and we’ll share the latest numbers at Saturday’s meeting!
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
- “Sunday Fusion” Digital Voice Hangout ON HIATUS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY
THIS HANGOUT IS ON A SHORT BREAK UNTIL JUNE 7TH
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 May 4
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew May 5
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. - 1st Thursday Tech Topic May 7
6:00 PM
“Let’s Talk About … Antenna Analyzers”Baytown Township Hall
4020 McDonald Dr N, Stillwater, MN 55082 - 2nd Saturday Breakfast May 9
7:30 AM
Perkins Restaurant
2050 Frontage Road
Stillwater, MN 55082 - SARA Monthly Meeting May 9
9:15 AM
Auditorium A
Boutwells Landing
13575 58th
Oak Park Heights, MN
