Our club had another very successful Field Day 2026, with a great turnout of members and a surprising number of visitors that joined in on the fun this year. Be sure to read the articles in this newsletter to learn how our Field Day was even bigger and better this year.  A group of members attended the NAUTICOS presentation with ties to ham radio on July 17th https://nauticos.com/ocean-discovery/amelia/  held at the Amelia Earhart Museum in Atchison, KS.   https://ameliaearharthangarmuseum.org/events/  Just around the corner is our Tech Night on July 30th, where Pat, KFØOUS will present on the foxhole crystal radio and perhaps other Military Radios.  

     I encourage all members to  stay up-to-date and informed on all club activities by attending our breakfasts (every Saturday morning), and meetings at Perkins in Gardner, as well as using our website,  https://sftarc.org/index.php . Most of the content does not require logging in. Our web calendar for instance, https://sftarc.org/index.php/calendar-jevent. Each listing provides an opportunity to sign up and join in or travel along, or simply use our contact list: https://sftarc.org/index.php/about-us-main-menu/contact-us-main-menu  

     Some upcoming travel events include a group of members headed to the Warrenburg, MO. Hamfest July 18th, and then they are off to the Huntsville, AL Hamfest Aug 22nd-23rd.  At the end of August are other club operating events: The Pony Express Festival at Hollensberg, KS, August 30th, includes a historical telegraph demonstration put together by member Jim, KØNK. To join in the celebration, contact Jim at: jandera@embarqmail.com, https://www.nps.gov/places/hollenberg-pony-express-station.htm. Members are already preparing for the on-the-air Kansas QSO Party held Saturday & Sunday, Aug 30th & 31st.  https://www.ksqsoparty.org/  To join in on this air-conditioned event, contact Jeff, KSØJD, darbyj16@gmail.com, who has volunteered to coordinate our club site operations, including individuals operating for the club at their QTH's .

SECRETARY-TREASURER REPORT:

      Marty provided a brief update on the club finances. Jason provided a Secretary's report. 

 AGENDA ITEMS:

FIELD DAY Review and Highlights [Trig-KCØRPY, Jim-KØNK]

      Field day was a success. This year there were a large number of visitors to the event. It ran from June 27th - June 28th for 24 hours from 1 pm CT on Saturday  to 1 pm CT Sunday.  This year our club operated as a 3A (CW, Digital and SSB) participant. We had a GOTA station, solar station, and a 6 meter station. 

Kansas QSO Party, Aug 29th - 30th [George WBØCNK]

      George was looking for someone to help coordinate the Kansas QSO party. Jeff (KSØJD) offered to help coordinate the event. The event will likely be out at Del's antenna farm in Edgerton KS. We will be operating both on Saturday and on Sunday. The exact times are to be determined. You can operate from home. 

Hollenberg Pony Express Festival, Aug 30th, Hanover, KS. KØASA [Jim-KØNK]  

     Jim provided details about the telegraph station he will set up with period dress on Sunday Aug 30th at the Festival, as a demonstration for the public. Other club members are invited to participate with the telegraph station

Update: Equipment from Dave Cochran, KBØVRA [Ben – KC9MBC Jim – KØNK]

     Ben provided an update on the equipment donated by Dave Cochran. Volunteers were requested to sort through the equipment.  A group of club members were going to move equipment to Rob, KØRAR's after the business meeting. The plan is for equipment to be distributed to interested club members. The hope is that club members would make a small donation for each piece of equipment they pick up. The suggested donation would be 5% or 10% of the ebay price or $10 to $25 per item. Detailed instructions and access to a list of the equipment (read only) are available on the club web site at : 

https://sftarc.org/index.php/about-us-main-menu/for-sale/771-available-equipment-kb0vra

REPEATER UPDATE [Jim – KØNK]

     Jim provided a repeater update. The Gardner primary repeater is still down for repairs. There is a back up repeater in place; however, the back up repeater is a lower power repeater, which may impact the range.  

Conventions / Hamfests – See Website Calendar [George - WBØCNK]

George reported on upcoming Hamfests and encouraged participation and carpooling or coordinating travel. Provide your name to George if you are interested in attending any of these events.  Upcoming events include the list below.  See the club's website calendar for more details.  

• NATICOS Presentation – Amelia Earhart Museum, Atchison, KS. July 17th
• Warrensburg Hamfest - July 18th Warrensburg MO. 
• Reno County Hamfest - Hutchinson, KS. Aug 8th
• Huntsville, Al Hamfest & ARRL National Convention - 2+day Convention Aug 22nd-23rd
• Kansas QSO Party, Aug 29th – Aug 30th 9AM-3PM ea. Day
• Hollenberg Pony Express Festival, Aug 30th, Hanover, KS KØASA
• Wichita Area Hamfest  & KS ARRL Convention Oct. 3rd, Wichita, KS.
• SPARKCON -  Oct. 9th &10th, Sedalia, MO
• Nixa, MO. Hamfest - Nov 14th 

TECH NIGHT [Pat- KFØOYS]

      The next Tech Night is on July 30 at 7:30 PM. The topic is on "Military Radios."

Reminder: Clothing and Badges: On-going Draft List [Jason, Marty, George]

      Feel free to reach out to Jason, Marty or George if you would like to order clothing or a badge. 

Members Who Would Enjoy a Card or a Visit:

• Mike Lane -KEØCIS At: Good Samaritan Olathe Medical Campus

ADJOURN:

      The meeting was adjourned. Jeff (KSØJD) made the motion to adjourn the meeting and Rob K0RAR seconded the motion. 

     Fortunately, the buzz in the air the middle of the day on Saturday, June 27 wasn't the sound of bloodthirsty mosquitoes but rather the collective enthusiasm of members of the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club and visitors to Ensor Park and Museum as Field Day 2026 was about to begin.

     "I was amazed at how quickly the entire parking lot filled up Saturday," George McCarville, WBØCNK, club president, told me the week following Field Day. "With the hot weather, I am thankful to everyone who joined in to make it (Field Day) a safe event, bringing numerous coolers of iced water and bottles of bug spray and sunscreen."

     George went on to report that the club saw "an amazing number of visitors, of all ages" show up for Field Day, which affords seasoned hams a great opportunity to help Elmer newer operators. Those visitors included a high school boy with his mother and simultaneously another young man who visited the event because he was curious about ham radio. This trio soon ended up at the Get On The Air Station on the east side of the Ensor home's front porch, which had been set up by club member Jeff Darby, KSØJD. 

     GOTA stations give new hams and curious potential hams a chance to hook up with hams halfway across the country or further under the watchful eye of an experienced operator. "It was great to see the young kids' excitement and energy at the GOTA station," George related, obviously pleased by the situation. A subsequent report indicated that the two boys and a new ham, club member Becky Hoover, KF0YJI, separately spent some quality time at the GOTA station and made a total of 6 contacts between them.

     The visitors also included not one but two members of the Olathe City Council, Mayor Pro-Tem Dean Vakas and Councilman Jeff Creighton. George said he helped club member Howard Cripe, NØAZ, give Dean a tour of the museum that lasted an hour or so and that the mayor pro-tem appeared to be "gratifyingly amazed at all the Ensor family Olathe history." George reported that club member Andrew Kaberline, AEØZL, introduced him to Jeff and that the two of them spent more than 10 minutes talking to each other. He noted that the councilman was "quite intrigued" with how the club is involved with the museum and said he also asked questions about the configuration for Field Day he had observed on the grounds.

     Yet another visitor was Brian Foltz with Overland Amateur Radio, WQØA, who interviewed the club's vice president, Trig Morley, KC0RPY, on camera and then shot more footage at the historic site before checking out the Johnson County Radio Amateurs Club's Field Day operation at Shawnee Mission Park.

     Brian's YouTube video can be viewed by visiting the Trail Bytes section elsewhere on the club website.

     George also praised the antenna crews for the "super job" they had done in advance of Field Day and noted that members of the club "really turned out to put the stations to work." As a result, he continued, the club came away from the event with "some record scores."

     Finally, George had a proverbial tip of the hat for both Jeff and Trig. It was Jeff who furnished the club with gourmet meats for lunch and dinner on the 27th and lunch on Sunday, June 28, and it was Trig, one of the club's two Field Day coordinators, who manned the grill on the back porch and used those gourmet meats to dish up three "extra delicious" meals. The other Field Day coordinator and the man responsible for breakfast on the 28th, Jim Andera, KØNK, also noticed all of the cars and trucks that were in the parking lot during the hours just ahead of the start of Field Day.

     "The nearly overflowing parking lot on Saturday morning for the final set-up of the equipment was a testimony to how well the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club works together," he told me the day after the Fourth of July. Jim went on to report that club members "tried to beat the heat by doing a little more up-front planning this year, allowing us to work at a slower pace." He said in some cases the club used an antenna that was simpler than the one it had used in previous years in order to minimize "the set-up and take-down efforts."  According to him, this approach "paid off" in the end, as the set-up process was "less hectic" than it has been in the past and most of the stations were up and running by 1 p.m. Saturday when Field Day officially commenced.

     Jim also mentioned the screened-in canopy club member Randy Ninness, KC4RMC, donated for use as a shelter for the CW station, which was positioned just to the southwest of the Ensor home. He described the canopy as being "quite a bit sturdier than the traditional fold-up canopies" and said it served the club well during the 24-hour period when hams were tapping on the key to send out messages.

     But he was obligated to report that the club encountered "some of the typical Field Day bugs," figurative or real, along the way, including a logging computer "that refused to keep (the) correct time," an antenna whose effectiveness was questioned, and "maybe even a few ticks and chiggers."

     Jim singled out his fellow Field Day coordinator, Trig, and the two Safety coordinators, George and club member Fred Warren, KFØIKQ, for recognition. He said Trig put forth "a great effort in leading the planning efforts," and that George and Fred deserved much of the thanks for ensuring that the overall operating environment was safe and that there was a plentiful supply of cold drinking water on hand.

     Summing up the entire experience from his perspective, Jim remarked, "In spite of the heat and the threat of rain in the forecast during set-up times, the club pulled off another enjoyable and successful Field Day." But he was quick to explain that the club "tends to measure success more in terms of camaraderie, working together and just plain social enjoyment than it does on seeing how high of a score we can get."

     Information gathered from the logs for the 3A stations (CW, Digital and SSB) and the six-meter station and then compiled by club member Mike Stewart, NØTU, revealed that operators made a total of 685 contacts between 1 p.m. on the 27th and 1 p.m. on the 28th. The digital mode led the way with 289 contacts and was followed by the CW station with 203 and, last but not least, the single-sideband station with 193.

     Club hams had the most success on the 15-meter band, racking up 173 contacts there altogether. The digital station was responsible for 71 of these contacts, the SSB station for 60 and the CW station for the remaining 42.

     The 40-meter band proved to be the club's second best friend during Field Day, as it accounted for 140 contacts all told. Those working the CW station chalked up an even 100 contacts, and the other 40 came from the SSB station.

     The six-meter band matched the 20-meter band in productivity, with each band generating a total of 134 contacts. All of the six-meter contacts were achieved through the digital mode, but this mode was responsible for only 12 of the contacts at 20 meters. Most of the rest of the contacts at 20 meters - 86 to be exact - were attributed to the SSB station, and the last 36 can be credited to the CW station.

     The 10-meter band delivered a total of 103 contacts, 77 at the digital station, 25 at the CW station, and 1 at the SSB station.

     The lone two-meter contact was a digital contact.

     Finally, Howard's solar-powered station situated in front of the Peg Barn chalked up 12 digital contacts.

     During the business meeting July 11 it was reported that the club's Field Day point total was 3,954, a figure that included 1,600 bonus points. It also was reported that 31 members of the club participated in the event in one way or another.

     The theme for this year's emergency preparedness exercise sponsored by the American Radio Relay League was "Amateur Radio - A National Resource."   

     Ten of the 12 individuals who signed up for the Deep Dive Tour of Ensor Park and Museum scheduled for Saturday, June 20 showed up at the historic site in Olathe at or before 2 p.m. and were raring to go when Howard Cripe, NØAZ, and I briefly met with the group in the kitchen of the two-story Ensor home.

     Howard had five of the visitors go with him and headed off in one direction while I took the other five visitors and went in a different direction. Howard's quintet included a man, Gary Richardson of Olathe, and a woman, Janice (Schlagel) Claerhout of Princeton, who had been students of Marshall Ensor, W9BSP, during the final years of his long career as the Manual Arts instructor at Olathe High School (now Olathe North High School). Gary graduated from OHS in 1957, Janice in 1965, the year Marshall retired.

     In the photograph accompanying this story, Howard is pictured on the far left as he, Janice, Gary, far right, and another man view the 1875 ox yoke (not pictured) in the north room of the Peg Barn.

     While there were no former Ensor students in my quintet, it did include two relatives of the late Don Bonar, who was a student of Marshall at OHS. Don is the one who made the lovely spinning wheel that can be seen in the master bedroom on the second floor of the Ensor home.

     Last month's Deep Dive Tour was organized by John Gray, KDØVRS, and gave the participants a chance to see both the basement of the Ensor home and the 1899 pole barn where members of the Ensor family milked the cows back in the day, these being two locations that are not part of a regular tour of Ensor Park and Museum.    

     I have been on hand for at least one Field Day that began on Marshall Ensor's birthday, June 22, but this year Field Day got going on the birthday of yours truly and my first one without my mother, Margaret "Peg" Nichols, KDØVQO, SK.

     I decided to mark the occasion by having Price Chopper make a cake I could contribute to the evening meal on Saturday, June 27. So I had the bakery at the grocery store produce a cake with the theme for Field Day 2026, "Amateur Radio - A National Resource," written across the face of the cake. But I also had it add the original call sign of my Grandmother Yancey, W6VQO, the call sign of my Grandfather Yancey, WAØSUE, and my mother's call sign to the top of the cake.

     I have Howard Cripe, NØAZ, to thank for locating my grandmother's first call sign and my grandfather's call sign in the ARRL archives. He was able to determine that my grandmother was known as W6VQO when she was on the air in Charter Oak, California in 1950. Five years later she was living near Mountain Home, Arkansas and was known as W5GZV. And 10 years after that she was a resident of Grandview, Missouri and went by K0SLI. This is the call sign she was using when she and Loretta Ensor, WØUA, were in the same women's net.

     According to Howard's research, my grandfather was licensed by 1970 and used the call sign of WAØSUE while he was living in Grandview. My Aunt Carolyn, my mother's younger sister, told me recently that my grandfather occasionally took some ribbing as a result of the suffix for his call sign, SUE. You've heard the old Johnny Cash song "A Boy Named Sue," right?