Wow. It’s already July. With half of 2025 behind us, it’s time to take a look at what the latter part of the year has for us. After two VE sessions last month, the SFARC VE team will be taking a break this month, scheduling the next club examination session for August 4th. Our July club meeting is on the 11th, and we’ve got two great speakers with topics that are sure to generate some excellent conversations. Jeff (AK6OK) will show the club how to make use of lab-grade test instrumentation to help with antenna design, complete with live demonstrations and hands-on experimentation. Scott (KM6RFB) has made some major upgrades to the Placer County ARES website, and he’ll present to us all the new features and information that can be found there.

As many club members know, the 2-meter repeater comes alive with the Elmer Net on the first and third Wednesdays, and we gather together on Zoom for In the Shack on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. Once in a while we have a month where there’s a fifth Wednesday, so rather than break up the energy we do something special. Sometimes we’ll meet up to have a dinner social, other times we’ll host a guest speaker. July’s fifth Wednesday will feature Dr. Ed Fong (WB6IQN), with a presentation on how you can build a tri-band 144/220/430 MHz antenna for your VHF and UHF operations. Come join us on Zoom at 7:30 PM on the 30th with plenty of questions and get inspired!

SFARC will resume its monthly fox hunt right after breakfast on the morning of the 27th. Come join us at 7:30 AM for breakfast at Wings by the Auburn Airport, and stick around once you’re all filled up and ready for a walk around town looking for the hidden transmitter. Remember, you don’t need to have an amateur radio license to participate in radio direction finding, all you need is a receiver, antenna, and your competitive spirit!

I’m really looking forward to the fall campout in September. Though it might seem far away, I’m already preparing for it and considering what I need to pack. I’m sure many of you are doing the same, so get a head start on it and have a wonderful time up there!

73 and stay cool as the weather warms up,

Jim W6JCZ

Hello, and welcome to the month of June! After a record-breaking Field Day last year, I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do this year to make things even better. To start things off, we have an excellent T-shirt to show off this time around, and I can say with certainty that the logging technology we will be deploying this year is the most up to date it’s ever been, with new PCs that bring stability and ease of operation to each station that will be on the air and put to the test in the year’s biggest event for amateur radio in the US. That aside, I’m eager to meet everyone, whether they’re a club member, a visiting ham, or even a curious passerby wondering what’s up with all the antennas, radios, and tents.

We begin the month with a VE session on the 2nd, which I hear will be quite well attended. It’s always great to see and talk about what’s getting people into ham radio, whether it’s for emergency communications, technical knowledge, meeting new people, or just getting started in a new hobby. Being an Elmer and mentoring new hams is one of the best ways to contribute to the amateur radio hobby, so I encourage everyone to share a little bit of how they got into it and what they’re doing because it really opens new possibilities to those wondering what to do with their radio privileges.

Our club meeting will take place at 7:30 PM on the 13th, where the Field Day team will show us what they’ve been working on to make 2025’s event the best one yet. RSVPs for Field Day are being taken until noon (12 PM) on the 21st. We use this information to determine many things from how much food to prepare to what kinds of amenities to bring. Even if you’re unsure about whether or not you’re coming, leave us a note so we can plan accordingly. If you’re going to attend, please consider helping us out and taking a bit of the load off of those that are already planning on providing their assistance. It all adds up, no matter how big or small of a contribution you make.

For those that aren’t going to attend our Field Day on the 28th, we do have our regularly scheduled club breakfast at Mel’s Diner in Auburn at 7:30 AM. The crowd might be lighter than usual, but that in no way affects the excellent taste of the food they’ll serve you. Whether you plan on heading home afterward to make contacts from your radio shack, making an excursion to the wild outdoors to tune in fellow hams, or have errands that prevent you from participating in this year’s event, consider coming for breakfast because it’s always a great social time!

73, and I hope to see you in Georgetown!

Jim W6JCZ

It’s May already! That means Hot RF Nights is happening! This time we’re doing it earlier than we’ve ever done so we can enjoy some nicer weather and a new larger venue. On the 17th, amateur radio operators and emergency communications personnel from all over the area will spend an afternoon checking out each others’ setups, exchanging ideas, learning a thing or two, all while enjoying great food and social time. Whether it’s you car, truck, van, or RV, bring it by so we can all admire your work and get inspired to take radio out into the field. No mobile install? No problem, because go kits big or small have stories to tell! Whatever it is you’ve got, come show it off and be a part of the action.

The first full week of the month is its busiest, with a club VE session on the evening of the 5th. Come join us and help out with showing new and upgraded licensees what ham radio is all about! Our club board meeting is on the 8th, and following that is the general meeting on the 9th. With so much of our lives happening on digital devices, it’s important to safeguard our data. Smitty (WB1G) has an excellent presentation on how to store, preserve, and ultimately retrieve important data so you’re left with peace of mind in case emergencies arise. Come join us and learn all about how you can take control of your digital assets and make sure it’s all there when you need it!

Field Day is in June, and we’ve got a T-shirt design contest going on this month! We’re accepting submissions starting on the 2nd and we’ll take designs until the end of the 16th. For more information on the contest, head on over to http://w6ek.org/contest. The winner will be announced on the 19th, and I look forward to what you all come up with for this year’s Field Day T-shirt!

73,

Jim Zheng (W6JCZ)
SFARC Vice President

Welcome to April! What’s coming up next is no joke, because Hot RF Nights, our annual ham radio themed car show, will take place in May! That’s right, on May 17 amateur radio operators and emergency communications personnel from all over the area will spend an afternoon checking out each others’ setups, exchanging ideas, learning a thing or two, all while enjoying great food and social time. Whether it’s you car, truck, van, or RV, bring it by so we can all admire your work and get inspired to take radio out into the field. No mobile install? No problem, because go kits big or small have stories to tell! Whatever it is you’ve got, come show it off and be a part of the action. Need something to get you in gear? SFARC will be there to strut our newest rigs, just in time for Field Day in June!

Closer than all that is the club VE session on the 7th, a club meeting on the 11th, and our monthly breakfast and radio direction finding exercise on the 26th. We’re not quite through with events after that, because this month we’ve got a special special session on the evening of the 30th with Craig (KM6LYW), developer of the DigiPi, a complete ham radio digital interface built around the Raspberry Pi. Operate APRS, WinLink, FT8, RTTY, and a whole lot more with one ultraportable device that integrates neatly into your existing station. This is one event you won’t want to miss, and even if you’re a seasoned DigiPi user there’s always an opportunity to learn about how others are using theirs and show all the cool things you’ve done with yours!

Hope to see you around, whether it’s in person on online!

Jim Zheng (W6JCZ)
SFARC Vice President