Here is your weekly SARA update!
SARA VE Team Exam Session November 12
SARA’s VE Team will be conducting an in-person Amateur Radio Exam Session on Thursday November 12. The session will be in the Auditorium B at the Boutwells Landing 13575 58th Street North, Oak Park Heights, MN 55082. Test session begins at 6:00 PM, and check-in will be open 20-30 minutes before.
Pre-registration is required. Email ve-team@radioham.org to register for this session and indicate the license level exam (Tech, General, or Extra) you plan to take. The Exam session fee is $15.
SARA Eyeball QSO Party Nov 12
The Eyeball QSO Party Thursday Nov 12 returns to the Conference Room at the Stillwater Public Library, 224 3rd Street N, Stillwater, MN 55082. The Eyeball begins at 6:00 PM.
SARA Monthly Meeting Nov 14
The next monthly member meeting of the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association is Saturday November 14. Meeting time is 9:15 AM; in Auditorium A at Boutwells Landing, 13575 58th Street North, Oak Park Heights, MN 55082.
This month’s program features our friend John Dean KØJDD presenting “Allstar Link.” John will discuss Allstar, a VOIP linking protocol similar to Echolink, and devices you can use to connect to the Allstar network. The program will be followed by our business session.
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 (0:00 UTC).
- Dec 3, 2026 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s talk about … Building A Reverse Beacon Network Spotter” led by Keith ACØVW - January 7, 2027 1st Thursday Tech Topic Night
“Let’s talk about … Ham2K Power Logger” with Ham2K founder and lead developer Sebastion Delmont KI2D
“Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald” Special Event Station November 8, 2026
Today is the final day in 2026 that WØJH will be operating from the grounds of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, in Lake County Minnesota, Grid Square EN47, and will qualify for POTA US-2524 & US-8095, ARLHS USA-783.
For the 22nd consecutive year, a crew of nearly 40 SARA members have been operating to commemorate the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald with the loss of her entire 29-man crew. November 10th will be the 51st anniversary of the tragic loss. The Fitz passed Split Rock Lighthouse on her final voyage.
Suggested Frequencies: (with 20m & 40m being more active)
SSB: 3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360 MHz (+/– 10 kHz)
We anticipate WØJH from about ~16:00 – 22:30 UTC today. Due to limited internet access at the site, we would appreciate being posted on appropriate sites when you hear us. (SARA members: look for us on 75m and 40m as we start and end each day. We may have a station on the air as early as 15:00 UTC Sun)
No Digital or postal QSL cards please. Our logs will be uploaded to LOTW, QRZ, & POTA after conclusion of the event.
We will again offer a free confirmation certificate, sent as a pdf for valid contacts. To receive your confirmation, send an email request as soon as possible to W0JHFitz@outlook.com with the following information.
* Your Call Sign
* Date of QSO (UTC date)
* Time of QSO (UTC time)
* Band or Frequency
* Mode
Any email received without the above information may be returned for clarification or discarded.
Submit certificate requests promptly as late requests won’t be fulfilled.
Certificates will be sent out approximately 3 weeks after conclusion of the event.
The SARA POTA Challenge
Fall is full swing, but weather continues to be favorable for our POTA activators and hunters. October numbers are now available on the SARA website. >> CLICK HERE << to view the most recent posted results.
Great News! Our data scientist Brian – KB9TBB has come up with a method to have all SARA members who are participating in POTA hunting activities included in our monthly leader boards. The leader board now shows over 100 members that have at least one POTA contact in 2026!
As you may know, The POTA group changed the minimum number of hunter park contacts required to be included in the data feed we use to calculate our totals. You currently need a minimum of 100 hunter parks to be included in that particular data feed. Brian has figured out a way to overcome this limitation, with one caveat. For those with under 100 parks, the QSO totals are estimated, so you may see slight variations between our calculated estimate and your actual hunter QSO count. Please reach out to Bob – W0GAF or Brian – KB9TBB if you have questions.
The Parks on the Air resource page is a great place to get your POTA questions answered.
To participate in the POTA Challenge, there are two simple steps required.
– Register for an account at parksontheair.com
– Go out and work some parks
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 Nov 8
19:00 Central (Daylight Time) (01:00 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 (02:00 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 Nov 9
Frequency: 3.856 LSB +/- QRM - Two Meter Tuesday (TMT) Round Robin Ragchew Nov 10
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. - VE Exam Session Thursday Nov 12
6:00 PM
Auditorium B
Boutwells Landing, 13575 58th St E, Oak Park Heights, MN 55082
Pre-register via email to ve-team@radioham.org - Eyeball QSO Party Thursday Nov 12
6:00 PM
Conference Room
Stillwater Public Library, 224 3rd St N, Stillwater, MN 55082 - SARA Monthly Meeting Saturday Nov 14
9:15 AM Central (15:15 UTC)
Auditorium A
Boutwells Landing, 13575 58th St E, Oak Park Heights, MN 55082
Program: “Allstar Link” with John Dean KØJDD
