Welcome

arrlAn ARRL Affiliated Special Service Club

The Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club is a general-purpose club with the goal of promoting and supporting the educational and operational aspects of ham radio through ham radio classes, on-the-air events, and hands-on activity. THE SATURDAY BREAKFAST MEETINGS ARE HELD  AT PERKINS IN GARDNER EACH SATURDAY. YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US 6:30 AM TO ~8:30AMThe monthly business meeting is the 2nd Saturday of each month. This meeting is a hybrid meeting in which you can attend in person at Perkins in Gardner or you can attend via a Zoom connection. Additionally, the club holds a Tech Night presentation via Zoom the last Thursday evening of each month at 7:30 pm. Log in to the web site and select the "Links/Zoom Links" menu to find meeting links or contact a club officer.

HF Propagation

Upcoming Events

14 Dec 2024;
08:00AM -
SFTARC business meeting
21 Dec 2024;
06:00PM - 08:30PM
Club Christmas Party
26 Dec 2024;
07:30PM - 08:30PM
Tech Night

snoppy typing

MEETING TO ORDER:

      President George WBØCNK called the meeting to order at 8 AM CST on Nov 9, 2024. Attendees introduced themselves with name and callsign. There were a total of 28 members present, 22 attending in person and 6 joining via Zoom. There was one guest.

SECRETARY-TREASURER REPORT: 

      Marty gave a brief report of the club checking account balance and the receipts and expenditures since the October meeting.

AGENDA ITEMS:

 

Repeater Committee Report [Jim KØNK]

     Jim gave an update on the project to establish the SFTARC repeaters as well as the status of the Gardner repeater, which has been experiencing some interference.

Christmas Party [Jim KØNK]

     This annual pot-luck event will be held December 21, 2024, 6-8:30 PM, at the Gardner Senior Center, 128 E Park, Gardner. Set up will begin at 5 PM. Catering by Smokey Hill BBQ. Watch for the pot luck sign-up sheet that will be published soon. Jim asked members not to be shy about stepping up and contributing to the program and entertainment. Possibilities include sharing media (pictures or videos of club events or sharing details of interesting contacts made or awards earned. Marty will give a short presentation on a contact between W9BSP and W1AW.

Tech Night Schedule [George WBØCNK]

      As the last Thursday of November is Thanksgiving, Tech Night this month is cancelled. The last Thursday of December is the day after Christmas. The December program will be 1) a show-and-tell of any new equipment purchased, built, or received as gifts and 2) discussion about this year and planning for next year.

SFTARC Ham Class 2025 (General License) [Jim KØNK]

      Jim is still waiting to confirm that the Salvation Army can provide a room for the class. The announcement for the 8-week class is published on the club website. We have not yet received permission to use the meeting room at the Salvation Army. Howard is going to follow up to see the status of the request. We might start advertising the class but need to advertise it as tentative. Larry will work on a flyer.

Antenna Take-down Party in Gardner [Jim KØNK]

     Three people volunteered to assist in removing antennas from Del's former office in Gardner. Jim will coordinate the work party, which will take place soon.

Elroy "Pete" Christensen, KEØSHD, SK [Jim KØNK]

     Four SFTARC club members attended Pete's funeral and expressed condolences to the family. The club will arrange a take-down of Pete's antenna at a later date. As a club, it was positive how members had helped to get him back on the air in recent years. We will miss Pete.

SFTARC Annual Report for 2024 [Officers]

     Marty gave a summary report covering the repeater project, the website, the membership, the quorum for the coming year, the 2024 ham class, the major donation of a trailer-tower, and the club financial picture. The club continues to be dynamic, healthy, and moving forward.

Election of Officers and At-large Board Members [George WBØCNK]

     President George presided over the election of officers and At-Large Directors. In-person attendees cast ballots, and Zoom attendees indicated their votes to Zoom-host Jeff KSØJD. The balloting confirmed George as President, Larry KDØRIU as Vice-President, Jason KFØISL as Secretary, Marty as Treasurer, and Greg KØGCS and Woody KEØNTU as At-Large Directors. For this coming year there is a goal to have the At-Large Directors to identify opportunities for events/ activities for our club

 

OTHER BUSINESS:

Club Member's Equipment for Sale

     The website listing of member equipment for sale must be updated.

Raffle for Ensor Volunteers

     Howard carried out a random drawing of those who had volunteered at Ensor in June and September of 2024. The winner was President George, who graciously donated his $100 prize to the Olathe Ensor Foundation. 

Support Club Nembers in Need

     Several of our SFTARC members have had extended stays at rehab facilities. When you have a chance, please visit them.

ADJOURN:

     Rex KFØJIR moved to adjourn. The motion passed at 9:20 AM

Trail Bytes

Tech Night - Cybersecurity Safety
01 Nov 2024

The featured presenter for the October 2024 Tech Night was Tom Brittain - KFØNPE. Tom's presentation was on Information Security. October is Cyber Security Month. The...

Tech Night (Sept 2024) - Propagation Changes
27 Sep 2024

     Larry Hall - KD0RIU gave a presentation about: Propagation Changes for the Ham Bands During the 24-hour Sun Cycle. The propagation presentation uses...

Half Wave Antennas
06 Sep 2024

( YouTube Video) Larry Hall KDØRIU discussed the theory and use of Half Wave Dipoles at the SFTARC August 2024 Tech Night.

10 Best Portable HF Antennas
05 Sep 2024

Walt, K4OGO, does a nice job of comparing ten different HF antennas he has used in portable setups.  It is certainly worth the 16 minutes it takes to view it.  The...

GMKtec Mini PC N97 Review
14 Aug 2024

I purchased one of the new GTKtec Mini PCs about two weeks ago to replace the laptop I have been using in my ham shack. I was impressed by its capabilities and small...

Yaesu APRS MSG Goups
30 Jul 2024

YouTube by - KM4ACK... This video provides instructions on how to setup and use APRS Group messaging on Yaesu FT5, FTM500 and FTM400 radios. My FT2D has the function menu....

Santa Fe Trail ARC Field Day - 2024
13 Jul 2024

Tom, WA2IVD published on his YouTube channel, Ham Radio A2Z, video clips of the Santa Fe Trail ARC (SFTARC) Field Day event. Also included are clips about the new crank up...

HamClock as an Operating Aid
17 Mar 2024

HamClock is a Linux based application that provides more than a clock for you Ham station. HamClock also provides several operating aids that can be selected by the...