Next SARA Club Meeting on November 1st, 2023
“Fabulous Fakes in Radio History”
Phil Weingarten made forgeries of historic vacuum tubes, radios and telegraph keys and then sold them as originals by noted makers like Marconi, DeForest and Fleming. Phil had to master an amazing range of shills to pull this off, and for a long time his forgeries fooled many collectors and historians. Although his forgeries were eventually revealed for what they were, they are so good that today they can be worth more that the originals that they were designed to mimic. Join us on Zoom (the link is below).
Upcoming events:
November 26th at 4:30PM PST The Los Altos “Festival of Lights Parade”. A wonderful holiday tradition in which all ham radio operators can assist during this lively parade. Go to the ARES/RACES website for more details. * For more info see https://www.scc-ares-races.org/activities/events.php.
Recent and recurring events:
We successfully had a joint SARA/CERT/City of Saratoga drill on Monday October 16th at 6:30PM. It involved a simulated earthquake, activation, the EOC, Mike-Mike reports, etc. It was a great means of coordinating all of us. Peter Melhus did a great job handling the EOC.
Chuck Rader commanded the Cox CERT phase of the operation, assisting at the Kevin Moran Park facility. Davina Morgan-Witts handled the Argonaut division. Joe Kraus relayed all CERT report summaries into the SARA EOC. It was a great learning experience that we hope we do more of.
Ham Swap Meets (typically every month on the SECOND SUNDAY during Spring and Summer) are now OVER for the rest of 2023. They will restart in Spring 2024, hopefully at West Valley College, Lot 3, 14000 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070.
More SARA sessions at Kevin Moran Park such as RF Safety characterization.
Our Thursday evening “Ragchew” question & answer session on our same two repeaters at 9PM. Fun and informative. Typically a “round robin chat.” Come on…don’t be afraid to hit your PTT button to speak up and ask.
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Monthly in-person meeting venue: The Saratoga Firehouse should be available soon. However, impending threats of new Covid19 outbreaks have many folks worried. In the meantime, we will continue our meetings only via Zoom.
We still need more fully trained and certified Credentialed members. Classes are available through the county ARES/RACES website.
Note: Our 2-meter repeater S-meter signal strength report is now UP once again since March 24th, responding with a maximum of “S9 plus 30.” To utilize it, key up the 2- meter site, continue holding your PTT, and hit the “8” key for a second, then release the PTT. You should then receive a signal strength report response. The maximum strength report will be S9 plus 30. Try different power levels. Be curious. Voila!
*****Zoom Link*****
Join our monthly Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4086215853?pwd=N0ZXb09HRW9vS3VWNExvQWtKc21LZz09
Meeting ID: 408 621 5853
Passcode: K6SA
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,4086215853#,,,,776520# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,4086215853#,,,,776520# US (Houston)
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 408 621 5853
Passcode: 776520
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kccgF6zVUZ
******** Next Monthly Meeting will be held on Wednesday November 1st, 2023 at 7:30PM*********
Documents
Access to Saved Documents Procedure: NOTE: New methodology: Go to the RESOURCES Tab on the Home Page and click on it. Then drop down to PRESENTATIONS and click on it. Scroll down to see the long list of saved documents and presentations from years gone by. You can read and download any of them. There is a wealth of ham radio knowledge covered. Enjoy!
*** Annual Club Dues: ***
With inflation compounded with equipment replacement costs, Zoom, GoDaddy, and governmental fees rising substantially, we have found it necessary to collect annual dues once again. This will be twenty ($20) dollars for an individual or thirty ($30) dollars for a family membership. NOTE: If you paid in November or December of the prior year, you will be credited for the next year. Please help keep our club strong. As of August 14th, 34 members have paid. Thanks!
Current Member Payment
For current members, there is no need to reregister. All one must do is make a dues payment. You have two payment options:
Option#1; pay by submitting a check written out to SARA and mail it to our Saratoga mailbox; SARA, P.O. Box 2034, Saratoga, CA 95070. Be sure to write your callsign(s) on the check!
Option#2; Make a direct payment using our PayPal account at https://PayPal.me/saratogaamateurradio. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the PayPal form where you can enter your name and callsign(s).
New Member Payment and Registration
For new members, please scroll down to the “Read All About Us” section below and use the link to the Membership form. Please print, fill it out, then mail it in. Sorry, but online registration is not available at this time. Payment can be done by either by mailing a check written out to SARA, P.O. Box 2034, Saratoga, CA 95070 or via our PayPal link: https://PayPal.me/saratogaamateurradio . Your new membership will keep you as active on our email distribution list. Help keep our club strong. Thanks.
Nets
- Sundays – 2M Net at 9:00 pm on both K6SA repeaters. Stick around for Morris’s after net lectures. VERY informative.
- Tuesdays – SVECS 2M Net at 8:00 pm on AA6BT at 146.115 MHz + 100 Hz or on linked N6NAC 70cm at 444.625 MHz + 110.9 Hz
- Thursdays – Rag Chew/Question and Answer session at 9:00 pm on both K6SA repeaters
Saratoga Frequencies
Everyone should have the following frequencies programmed into their VHF/UHF radios. A complete list of all county frequencies and local jurisdictions can be found at the ARES-RACES website at this link.
| Channel Name | Resource Name | R/S | Frequency | Offset | PL | |
| Command | K6SA | Repeater | 146.655 | – (minus) | 114.8 | |
| Command | K6SA | Repeater | 443.150 | + (plus) | 100 | |
| Tactical Alt | Simplex | 146.505 | ||||
| Tactical Alt 2 | Simplex | 146.595 |
Read All About Us
- Our brochure contains an overview of our club’s history, member interests, net, meetings, activities, and how you might become a member. If you would like to become a member, please complete our membership form and mail it to: Saratoga Amateur Radio Association, P.O. Box 2034, Saratoga, CA 95070.
Mission
- Facilitate scientific education and knowledge of radio engineering and communication skills by providing training, reference materials for self-education and operating practice.
- Provide voluntary noncommercial communication, particularly providing emergency communication as a public service and without any remuneration.
- Promote amateur radio by facilitating the exchange of information, improve individual operating efficiency and strengthen the welfare of amateur radio in the community.
- Our current officers are Jack Griswold KM6ZWR; President, Steve Steps AJ6HM; Vice President, Michael Turner N6DXQ; Secretary, and Allison Cassidy N6ALI; Treasurer and our board members Peter Melhus AA6PM, Morris Jones AD6ZH, Don Steinbach AE6PM, Jeff Walker N6ADE, and Walter Spector W6WS.
Meeting Guidelines:
- Meetings are normally on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM. As of June 8th, 2022, they may be In-Person (depending on member requests) as well as available via Zoom. However, with Covid19 still lingering amongst us we will default to Zoom only.
- The In-Person location has often been at the Saratoga Fire Station, located on 14380 Saratoga Avenue at the corner of Saratoga-Sunnyvale and Los Gatos-Saratoga Roads, in Saratoga. Map A new venue may be necessary. Stay tuned!
- Prior to the meeting, we often have dinner at Jake’s; a Saratoga Restaurant located at 12175 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road (and Prospect Road). Map. We usually meet around 6:00 PM. Someone will be monitoring the K6SA repeaters while we are at dinner so check-in and say “Hi” if you are on your way.
- We strongly suggest you bring your 2M HT in case you have difficulty finding the meeting. If you have difficulty finding the meeting, please contact someone on the club repeater.