Signals from SARA The Stillwater Amateur Radio Association An ARRL Affiliate & Special Service Club Continued on page 9

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1 Signals from SARA WØJH 2016 The Stillwater Amateur Radio Association An ARRL Affiliate & Special Service Club April 2016 Program: FOXHUNTING Announcements Monthly Meeting April 9, 2016 Meeting: 09:00 Boutwells Landing Auditorium A (Gables Wing) Program: Foxhunting with Dan Franz WDØGUP. Pre-meeting: ~07:30 Breakfast & Coffee NEW LOCATION: Perkins, 2050 Frontage Rd. W., Can you spot the transmitter and the antenna protruding from the plastic bag? It s easy here, but not so much from a few steps away! Did you know that you don't need to be a licensed ham to fox hunt? Dan Franz, WDØGUP, will show you how easy it is to get into fox hunting. If you have a dual band 2m/440 handheld, he will show you how to hunt with nothing more than a simple antenna and your body. Foxhunting can take many Continued on page 9 SARA On the Air HF Phone Roundtables Daily except Tuesday & 20:00 Local: MHz +/- QRM 09:00 Local: MHz +/- QRM SARA Repeater Weekly Net 21:00 Local: WØJH Repeater MHz (Positive offset) Hz TX tone (required) Hz Receive tone BPSK31/BPSK63 Digital Net 19:00 Local: MHz USB (500-1,000 Hz) Monitor SARA Repeater for assistance S.A.R.A. is a proud affiliate of the Courage Kenny Handiham System

2 Technician License Class Continues For ~20 years, SARA has been conducting sessions for those interested in obtaining an Amateur Radio license. The annual spring Technician Class began Thursday, March 3 and runs weekly until the April 28 exam. It s NOT too late to join the class! If you know anyone interested, encourage them to attend. SARA s Education and Training Coordinator, Bob (WØGAF), had this to say, We started the first session off with 17 eager students, including some from the Stillwater Area High School physics class. Continued thanks to Physics Instructor Dennis (KBØOJY) for encouraging his students to explore the world of ham radio. Dennis gives extra credit to his students who attend our class. Bob continued, And a BIG THANKS to club members who volunteer to teach the SARA licensing classes and are on the VE testing team. Your ongoing commitment to support and grow ham radio contributes directly to the health of the hobby! Amateur Extra License Class Study Group Kicked-Off Joe (KCØOIO) sat with five General Class ops Thursday, March 3 to plan this excellent upgrade opportunity. If you ve ever wanted to get your Extra and be able to use all of the Amateur Radio spectrum, you can still join them. The group sessions are intended to be a self-taught format but there are quite a few SARA Extra Class ops available to answer questions and assist. 2

3 VE Session: April 28th To coincide with the conclusion of the SARA sponsored Technician Classes as well as the Extra Class Study Group, we will have a VE Session at Boutwells Landing. Exams will be given in Auditorium-A, with check-in beginning at 5:30pm and exams scheduled to start at 6pm. Pre-registration is encouraged and those whom pre-register will be guaranteed seating for the exam. To pre-register, or if you have any questions regarding the exam session, contact me directly. Walk-in examinees are welcome and will be seated on a space available basis. Shel NØDRX Trustee@radioham.org 3

4 Get them while they re hot! See our Treasurer at the meeting to get your exclusive S.A.R.A. mug. The cost is $3.00 and that s a bargain when you consider the ambiance it s going to add to your shack! Fill it full of high octane coffee and it will help warm the cockles of your heart as you work top band DX at 3:00 a.m. H.E.L.P. Morse Keys & Auto Keyer Sale Are you feeling lucky? Well, you just might be if you like CW and you attend the next meeting! We ll have the following available for sale: AEA Model MBA-RO Morse/ASCII Reader 1-Chrome straight key 1-Bencher chromed base Iambic paddle key 1-Nye SSK dual paddle key 1-Kent single paddle key 2-MFJ 422C Iambic Paddles 1- MFJ 498 Morse Keyboard Keyer 1-Daiwa Electronic Keyer 1-HeathKit Code Practice Osc w/key 1-Code Practice Oscillator Kit 1-TenTec Model 670 Keyer The AEA is questionable but all of the rest have been checked out and work fine. SARA members can buy these at 60% off used prices. There are 5-6 code practice oscillators that are not listed in the above. They all work fine and were used in code practice at the Handi-Ham camps for instruction. This will be the only meeting that our members have first crack to buy these items. We will be bringing the items that don t sell to the Brainerd Hamfest on April 16 th. If you can t make the Club meeting and have any questions or want an item reserved, let me know by a phone call or by (ag0h@radioham.org). 73, Keith Miller AGØH For Sale IC-751A Just aligned with back up radio and several accessories and cover. Mike NØODK with details. n0odk@arrl.net 4

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6 From the Shack Notes from the President Greetings from my shack de Joe KCØOIO April is upon us once again. A quarter of 2016 has flown by quickly! As mentioned last month, SARA has busy schedule of events in the coming months. License classes wrap up this month and the VE Session is April 28 th at Boutwells. We will be having the New Ham Night on May 19 th at Brekke Park. More info on that event can be found elsewhere in this issue. I can announce that a pair of Wouxun KG-UV3D Dual Band VHF/UHF hand-held transceivers will be awarded as door prizes. Newly licensed Technicians are eligible to win, and the winner must be in attendance to win. Radios in the Park will start a week earlier the previously announced due to room availability at the Library. The 1 st session will be June 9 th beginning around 6:00 PM and going until around 8 to 8:30 that evening. This first session will be at Valley View Park in Oak Park Heights. The address is 5575 Ozark Ave North. This park is located just north of the MN Correctional Facility on Osgood Ave North. Once in the park proper, there is plenty of space to set up and operate for the evening. The remaining dates will remain the same, July 7 th, July 28 th, and August 18 th. Locations for theses dates will announced as they get closer. The HELP project continues to progress. We have moved a lot of equipment through the Eau Claire auction and the SARA Mini-Hamfest. A contingent will be taking gear up to Brainerd for the Hamfest up there on April 18. We continue to empty the storage unit and not much remains on site. We will be clearing out completely this month. An updated SARA member offering sheet is being prepared and will be sent out shortly. Mark your calendars for Field Day 2016 June 25 th and 26 th. SARA will be at Autumn Hills Park, adjacent to Boutwells Landing, again this year. This 6 Continued on next page

7 location works well for us and permits have been secured for the pavilion and adult beverages that weekend. Planning is early at this point, but we will have be a 2A operation with a SSB and a CW station. A GOTA station is also being discussed. Planning shifts into high gear in early May at our Thursday Eyeball Sessions. SARA is hosting a Mobile, Portable & Go Kit Show-n-Tell and Picnic on behalf of Washington County ARES on Saturday June 11 th at Brekke Park. Come on out with your gear and share your experiences with SARA and ARES members from throughout the county. Hot dogs and pop will be provided. More details on this event are also found elsewhere in the issue. The HF Digital Net will be going on summer break this month. The final session of the season will be April 17 th. The mode that evening will be CW. You can use any method you have to transmit and decode CW that evening. FLDIGI does a fine job of decoding and sending CW. Net frequency for that evening will be announced via the reminder sent out the day of the net. Our April General Meeting is Saturday April 9th at 9:00 AM at Boutwells Landing, Auditorium A. The program this month is Foxhunting with Dan Franz WDØGUP. The pre-meeting Breakfast will be at Perkins Restaurant 2050 W Frontage Rd (Hwy 36 & Washington) in Stillwater at 7:30 AM. I hope to see you there! Now, back to work getting this new computer working with the ham gear 73 es CUL de Joe KCØOIO 7

8 SARA Roster SARA Memberships run on a calendar year from Jan. 31 st through Dec.31 st, and if you are not on the below list, we do not show you as a current member. Please check the list and let me know of any possible errors, so that they can be researched. Regular dues are $20 and Family or Associate dues are $10 per person. The difference between the membership classes is, that Regular Members have voting privileges and may hold a SARA office, while Family or Associate Members do not have those privileges. Checks for dues should be made out to SARA and sent to the Treasurer, John Zuercher N5JLZ, 935 Ferndale St N, #209, Maplewood, MN Do not mail cash, but checks or cash may be given in person to John. Be sure and let me know of any changes in your contact information, as well as license class and call sign changes, so that I can update the roster. While anyone is welcome to attend SARA meetings, only current members with valid contact information on file will be able to receive prompt information regarding SARA events and activities. We have a total of 76 members, of which 66 are Regular Members with voting privileges and 10 are Family or Associate Members. Current SARA Members AAØIJ, ABØXE, AD6QT, ADØCK, AEØSL, AGØH, KAØHYR, KAØNKU, KAØOBI, KB9WTB, KBØJER, KBØRGS, KC9GEJ, KCØMKS, KCØOIO, KDØDEO, KDØEJJ, KDØHRM, KDØHRN, KDØHTN, KDØIPI, KDØJTG, KDØLPY, KDØOOZ, KDØOPB, KDØOTB, KDØPKY, KDØSVO, KDØVKB, KDØWGH, KEØAIF, KEØCPC, KEØGOM, KEØN, KIØB, KØBR, KØGCP, KØGW, KØHAS, KØNHI, KØSON, KSØJ, N5JLZ, N9JNQ, ND9P, NNØK, NØCIC, NØDRX, NØDXH, NØGRM, NØMR, NØODK, NØUHR, NØZXE, VE3MXJ, VE3XT, W7HQQ, W9LHG, WAØKKE, WAØTDA, WB9OKQ, WB9RUK, WBØMOA, WBØPOQ, WD9DNQ, WDØAKZ, WN4GMT, WØDIK, WØELC, WØFL, WØGAF, WØMCQ, WØOXB, WØTBC, WØWTP & Mayor Rudy Shel NØDRX Trustee@radioham.org 8

9 forms. You can foxhunt on foot or in a vehicle. On HF, VHF, UHF. You can foxhunt multiple transmitters, moving transmitters (like high altitude balloons), or a single fixed transmitter that is shifting power and timing increasing the challenge. The April meeting program on Foxhunting will be presented by Dan Franz WDØGUP. Dan and his best friend Randy became interested in electronics when they were in seventh grade. By the time he was a senior in high school, Dan was working for a broadcast engineering firm, had earned his FCC First Class Radio Radiotelephone License and was a licensed Amateur radio operator with the call sign WDØGUP. The year was 1977/1978. Since that time, Dan moved down to the Twin Cities, worked in alarm and security systems, Two-way radio repair and installation, PBX and Phone system engineering, call center design and consulting, data network engineering, and internet/security engineering for CenturyLink. In all his career stops along the way Dan has always designed and built circuits to solve problems. No wonder his ham radio hobby is important to him! I love to build things, says Dan. Dan is an active Scouter in Cottage Grove, one of his sons recently earned Eagle Scout rank. He is a Radio and Electronics Merit Badge counselor, and enjoys sharing his knowledge radios and electronics with the Scouts. Dan is also VE Team Leader for the SEMARC VE Team that conducts test sessions every third Saturday of the month. SARA Needs YOU! Get involved... Make a difference... Have fun! 9

10 Hamfests in 2016 Winter is the quiet time for hamfests in and around Minnesota. There are only a few events that I read about until spring melts the snow and ice again. Here is the updated list of hamfests in or near Minnesota in the coming months. I've put in minimum data but given you a web link to search for more info. The hamfests on the bottom of the list have not been officially scheduled since their last date and will be updated as they draw near. Gas and travel is expensive these days. Get on the air and talk it up that you are going to a hamfest and try to get a group to ride along and share the gas expense. You'll save money on gas and avoid that long, lonely ride in the car! 73, Doug Reed, NØNAS 2016 Hamfest Calendar Brainerd Area Hamfest, Brainerd, MN April 16, Duluth-Superior ARAC Hamfest, Superior, WI May 7, Hamboree 2016 & ARRL Convention, Boone, IA May 14, RADIO DAZE 2016, St. Louis Park, MN Vintage radio auction and swap meet (not a general hamfest) May 20-21, MAGIC Tailgater, Roseville, MN July 9,

11 SARA Needs YOU! Get involved... Make a difference... Have fun! Up-coming SARA Meetings & Events April 9: SARA Monthly Meeting - Boutwells Landing April 23 (Tentative): Fox Hunt - Location TBA April 28: VE Testing Session - Boutwells Landing May 14: SARA Monthly Meeting - Boutwells Landing May 19: New Ham Night - Brekke Park, Oak Park Heights May Dayton Hamvention June 16: Radios in the Park - Location TBA June 25, 26: ARRL Field Day - Autumn Hills Park, Oak Park Heights