All posts by W6EK

Watts Up This Week

Last Chance to RSVP for Field Day

We’ll keep this short and sweet. LAST CHANCE TO RSVP FOR FIELD DAY!
Even if you’ve told someone you plan to come up OR maybe you’re just coming up for the day? We need to hear from you so we can have supplies to accommodate everyone. Please RSVP now @ https://www.w6ek.org/fieldday/rsvp

The ability to RSVP closes at 10PM, THIS Saturday (June 15th).

 
And a reminder for tonight’s meeting, we’ll be located in the lobby of the main Crossroads Church, not the gym.

 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

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Watts Up This Week

Watts Up This Week

A early release of Watts Up This Week and with good reason. We’ve got a lot in the coming days. Field Day 2024 is definitely on the front burner. If you plan to attend we ask that you take these quick and easy steps.
 
  1. RSVP NOW! RSVPs will close down on June 15th so don’t procrastinate. Link: https://www.w6ek.org/fieldday/rsvp 
  2. If you’re coming to Field Day (even for just the day), sign up for a shift to work the bands. There are a total of 6 stations setup. The pickin’s are good right now so grab a shift before your favorite time slot gets taken. Link: https://www.w6ek.org/fieldday/signups-schedule 
  3. All Things Field Day (Antenna Plans, What To Bring, Rules, Safety, etc…) can be found @ https://fieldday.w6ek.org 
 
In other news, the SFARC BOARD MEETING IS THIS THURDAY (JUNE 13TH) @ 6 PM PT in the club zoon room. And don’t forget about the SFARC CLUB MEETING THIS FRIDAY (JUNE 14) @ 7:30PM PT in person at the Crossroads Church South Campus Gymnasium in Auburn. More information can be found @ https://www.w6ek.org/activities/meetings

 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
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Watts Up This Week

Watts Up This Week

SFARC Members and Friends,
 
It was a BIG Memorial Day weekend for SFARC. This past weekends POTA party was a big hit. If you missed it, no worries. I’ve heard rumblings that “SFARC POTA parties” will likely become a new monthly event. Stay tuned here. 🙂

 
JOIN SFARC TONIGHT (5/29) FOR A SPECIAL WSJT PRESENTATION OF EXPEDIITION MODE @ 7:30 PM PT (https://meeting.w6ek.org)
Al (K7AR) will cover what “DXpedition Mode” is, why it was created, how to set up and operate as a hound, what to do, and most importantly what NOT to do as a hound. Real-world scenarios from the VK9LAA expedition will be presented, so viewers can see how a Fox operates. Please join us on Zoom at meeting.w6ek.org as we welcome Al and acquaint ourselves with what it takes to run a DXpedition and learn about good operating practices. A Q&A session will be held after his presentation too. Join us tonight, ALL ARE WELCOME!
 
FIELD DAY RSVPS ARE NO OPEN
Joining SFARC for Field Day 2024? RSVP now at https://fieldday.w6ek.org
Next planning meeting is THIS Thursday (5/30) @ 6PM PT @ https://meeting.w6ek.org

HOT RF NIGHTS IS SHAPING UP WITH NEW PRIZES ADDED WEEKLY
For those hearing about Hot RF Nights for the first time, it’s an event and a chance to show off mobile rig installs or go kits and build fellowship among Northern California amateur radio operators and groups. All attendees get a ticket for the drawing with waters available for all in attendees. For 2024 we plan to bring back ice cream floats for $5 and new for this year, food trucks.

** Please note the new earlier event start time – 4PM

We’ll be collecting food donations for the great Auburn community too so please bring nonperishable items.

Hope to see you there, all are welcome.

 
 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
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twitter.w6ek.org
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Watts Up This Week

W6EK 2M Repeater This Saturday

This Saturday (5/25) the Western States Endurance Run Team will be doing their primary training run. Contacts and OSOs on the W6EK 2M repeater should be limited providing priority access to the repeater to the Western States communications team. There will be no Coffee Break Net on Saturday.

 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
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twitter.w6ek.org
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Watts Up This Week

Watts Up This Week

SFARC Members and Friends,
 
Another great week ahead at SFARC! We’ve got a lot on our plate this week…
 
POTA POTA POTA PARTY! – THIS SUNDAY 10 AM
Join Thomas (KN6MJB), Christina (AK6DU), Chris (N6CTC), and the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club are having a Parks on the Air (POTA) this Sunday at Empire Mine State Park in Grass Valley. If you’ve never been to Empire Mine State Park, it’s AMAZING!!! We’ll kick things off @ 10AM and continue as long as we have willing operators (or we get kicked out). We will have two HF portable stations available for everyone to use (Yaesu FT-710 & Yaesu DX-10). You do not need prior POTA experience, or even a call sign. We promise to teach you everything you need to know for your first successful POTA activation.
 
More information @ https://www.w6ek.org/activities/pota 

MIKE “DJ LOOT” (AD6CQ) AND DJ SMITTY (WB1G) LIVE ON 89.5 KCZT FM

In case you missed it, Mike (AD6CQ) and Smitty (WB1G) were on air together talking about the joys of ham radio and some other fun stuff. MANY shout outs to SFARC and w6ek.org. You can check out the audio from the show on SFARC TV on our main website @ www.w6ek.org.

HOT RF NIGHTS PLANNING MEETING – THIS THURSDAY, MAY 23 @  https://meeting.w6ek.org/ 

SPECIAL 5TH WEDNESDAY PRESENTATION – MAY 29, 2024 @ 7:30 PM

On the 5th Wednesday evening this month (5/29 @ 7:30 PM), Al (K7AR) will cover what DXpedition Mode is, why it was created, how to set up and operate as a Hound, what to do and most importantly what NOT to do as a Hound. Real-world scenarios from the VK9LAA expedition will be presented, so viewers can see how a Fox operates. Please join us on Zoom at meeting.w6ek.org as we welcome Al and acquaint ourselves with what it takes to run a DXpedition and learn about good operating practices. A Q&A session will be held after his presentation.

 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
facebook.w6ek.org
twitter.w6ek.org
linkedIn.w6ek.org
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youtube.w6ek.org

Watts Up This Week

Watts Up This Week

Hello SFARC Members and Friends,
We’ve got a summer full of fun lined up and some updates for the week.

FIELD DAY
  • T-SHIRT CONTEST
    You final chance to vote for your favorite 2024 SFARC Field Day T-shirt design is today. Voting closes at 5PM PT so go out to w6ek.org now and select your favorite 3. The winner will be announced on social, on the website, and by email tomorrow.
  • PLANNING MEETING – MAY 16TH @ 6PM PT
 

 
BARKS ON THE AIR – POTA PARTY – MAY 26th @ 10AM PT
For those new to the hobby, what is a POTA?
Parks on the Air (POTA) is an international radiosport award program that encourages licensed amateur radio operators to visit, enjoy, and operate portable equipment in a variety of parks and public lands. POTA issues awards to participants based on a wide range of criteria including the total number of radio contacts made, number made on each amateur radio band, and for different modes of communication including voice, Morse code or FT8.

We’ve got our first POTA of the season coming up on May 26th @ 10AM. We will have two HF portable stations available for everyone to use (Yaesu FT-710 & Yaesu DX-10). You do not need prior POTA experience, or even a call sign. We promise to teach you everything you need to know for your first successful POTA activation.

More information about the event can be found @ https://www.w6ek.org/activities/pota 

SPECIAL PRESENTATION ONLINE -May 29th @ 7:30 PM PT
An Introduction to WSJT’s DXpedition Mode

On the 5th Wednesday evening this month, Al (K7AR – https://www.qrz.com/db/K7AR) will cover what DXpedition Mode is, why it was created, how to setup and operate as a Hound, what to do and most importantly what NOT to do as a Hound. Real world scenarios from the VK9LAA expedition will be presented, so viewers can see how a Fox operates. Please join us on Zoom at meeting.w6ek.org as we welcome Al and acquaint ourselves with what it takes to run a DXpedition and learn about good operating practices. A Q&A session will be held after his presentation.

 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
facebook.w6ek.org
twitter.w6ek.org
linkedIn.w6ek.org
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youtube.w6ek.org

Watts Up This Week

Watts Up This Week (Extra Helping)

MAY we have a POTA party?!?!?

Have you ever thought, “I kinda want to get into Parks On The Air” or “Portable set-ups sound fun” or “How does Christina put up with going to the parks with Thomas and Chris all the time?” Come join our POTA party and find out!

We are getting the summer fun started with a Sunday POTA party at Empire Mine State Historic Park in Grass Valley on May 26, 2024. We’ll kick things off @ 10AM and continue as long as we have willing operators (or we get kicked out).

 
We will have two HF portable stations available for everyone to use (Yaesu FT-710 & Yaesu DX-10). You do not need prior POTA experience, or even a call sign. We promise to teach you everything you need to know for your first successful POTA activation.

What we will have:
  • 2 radios with full set up
  • Shade
  • Way more energy than we should have
  • Computers for logging
What you will need to bring:
  • A chair to sit in
  • Some snacks
  • Something to drink
  • Your best CQ voice
 
If you are interested in joining us or have any questions please contact Thomas KN6MJB or Chris N6CTC. All are welcome, but we would like to get a head count.
 
If this is your first POTA please go to https://parksontheair.com/ and create an account (It’s free!)

 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
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twitter.w6ek.org
linkedIn.w6ek.org
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youtube.w6ek.org

Watts Up This Week

Watts Up This Week

It’s Time To Vote!
 
The entries for the 2024 Field Day T-Shirt Contest are in and we wanna hear from you. Visit https://www.w6ek.org/contest and select your top 3 favorites and then scroll to the bottom and click to vote.

Deadline to vote is May 15th
The winner will be announced on May 16th with further instructions about ordering a shirt.

 
BOARD MEETING, THIS THURSDAY (5/9) @ 6PM PT
Want to learn more about what’s going on behind the scenes at SFARC or help encourage the direction of the club, join us this Thursday @ 6PM ion the club Zoom room.

CLUB MEETING, THIS FRIDAY (5/10) @ 7:30PM PT
Join us in person this Friday night or by Zoom for the SFARC monthly club meeting.
https://www.w6ek.org/activities/meetings 

 
 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
facebook.w6ek.org
twitter.w6ek.org
linkedIn.w6ek.org
instagram.w6ek.org
youtube.w6ek.org

Watts Up This Week

Watts Up This Week

SFARC Members and Friends,
 
May is almost here and we’ve got some fun lined up.
 
FIELD DAY T-SHIRT CONTENT
Field Day isn’t until June but the SFARC Field Day T-Shirt Contest is underway. We’ve received some incredible designs. Show us your design skills, tap your creative juices, and channel your “inner radio geek”. It’s not to late to submit a design, just head over to w6ek.org

DEALINE TO SUBMIT: Monday, May 6th, 2024
A winner will be announce at the general club meeting on Friday, May 12th.

 
TRIVIA NIGHT – THIS FRIDAY NIGHT @ 7:30 PM
Every first and third Friday at 7:30 PM PT, Dawn (KG6FZZ) and Simon (K6DXN) host Friday Night Trivia Night. Dawn and Simon recently moved to Northern California and Simon joined SFARC in January. They previously hosted trivia night on a Southern California repeater system for 15 years.
 
 

SFARC CAMPOUT UPDATE
There’s still plenty of space available at Stampede Reservoir. We’ve updated the camp map so you can determine how close (or not) you want to be to others. 🙂
Learn more @ campout.w6ek.org

 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
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twitter.w6ek.org
linkedIn.w6ek.org
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youtube.w6ek.org

Watts Up This Week

Watts Up The Week

It’s hump day and we’re half way through another week.
 
Coming up this Saturday (4/27) is the club breakfast at Mel’s in Auburn. The fun “officially” starts at 0730 but we recommend arriving early or you may have to sit at “the kids table”. Following breakfast, those interested will be heading down to Roseville for our monthly Fox Hunt. This month’s tender is Chris (N6CTC). The Fox Hunt team will meet in the Dunkin Donuts parking lot at 0930 (Foothill Junction Shopping Center, 5010 Foothills Blvd, Roseville, CA 95747). More information can be found @ foxhunt.w6ek.org
 
REPEATER USE THIS WEEKEND (April 26-27):  Starting Friday (4/26 @ 0900), the 2M and 70cm (440) repeaters will be linked in analog to support the Canyons 100 Mile Endurance Run. Contacts and OSOs on the system should be limited giving the Canyons 100 Mile Endurance Run communications team priority. The repeaters should be back to normal operation by Saturday (4/27 @ 2100). There will be no Coffee Break Net on both days.

 
 _ ___ _ ___ _ ___

73,
The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club (W6EK)
(530) 492-0920

Website: www.w6ek.org
Group.io: groupsio.w6ek.org

Social:
facebook.w6ek.org
twitter.w6ek.org
linkedIn.w6ek.org
instagram.w6ek.org
youtube.w6ek.org