Welcome to September! As the Labor Day weekend comes to an end we begin a month of exciting club activities, starting with a VE session on the 8th. We normally conduct our testing and mentoring session on the first Monday of the month, but this time it lands on a holiday so we’ve rescheduled it to next week. Unlike most ham exam sessions where people walk in and leave, SFARC members volunteer their time to act as Elmers (mentors) who help explain all that can be done in the amateur radio hobby, share ideas, and answer the crucial “What’s next” question.

Our club meeting will be held at 7:30 PM on the 12th, and this month we are focusing on outdoor operation with John (KO6COW), Jayden (W6EFM), and Jimmy (N6FMD) collaborating for a talk all about POTA and SOTA operation. Many already have the mental image of ham radio being in an elaborate and sometimes messy radio shack with antennas and towers close by, but for many others radio plays very well with the great outdoors. Whether you’re heading out to a park or scaling a mountain, there’s unique fun and stunning experiences that just can’t be had operating from home. Come join us as some of SFARC’s most experienced outdoor operators discuss what goes into a successful activation, how to prepare for an outing, and what to look out for when operating in the field. We’ll also get a glimpse of portable stations in the field, with plenty of pictures that show great examples of outdoor setups. Along the way we’ll take questions and comments from others, whether they’re seasoned outdoor operators or newly-licensed hams interested in radio beyond the shack!

As always, we’ll meet for breakfast on the last Saturday of the month. It’s quite a popular event, filling up the entire restaurant and great social time for those that might not otherwise see each other. We also hold a radio direction finding exercise following the breakfast, and it’s interesting to see others’ setups improve as they learn what works well and what others have built that help them catch the fox.

I’m really looking forward to the annual club campout, starting on the 18th and running through the 21st. Though I’ve heard many wonderful stories about the amazing time people have up there, I haven’t been able to attend until this year. More than great food, fresh air, and excellent views, it’s being able to relax with other club members that make events like this so exciting. I’ve already started preparing for the trip, and I hope to see you there, even if for a few hours!

73 de W6JCZ

Earlier in the year, Bob (KD6QVD) approached me to discuss something he’s been working on for quite some time. Interested in what he had to show, I arranged to visit his workshop and was amazed at the grab-and-go boxes he engineered. Best described as no-nonsense to-the-point, these were professionally designed communications kits made for demanding situations. That’s why I’m really looking forward to August’s club presentation where he’ll show us several of his tactical radio setups, focusing on goal-oriented approaches to engineering and design. Many of us (me included) aspire to put together go-boxes and easy to deploy communications systems, but along the way things often end up more complex than they need to be. Something that makes sense to you or me might be fine, but that’s only if we’re the one using it. Can one ensure ease of us not just for themselves but any potential operator? Come join us as Bob explains what goes into his builds and how easy they are to operate, both as an individual and a team. If you’ve ever been interested in top-spec portable operations, this is one presentation you won’t want to miss out on! Ask questions, get inspired, and find out about good design practices!

We’ll have our club breakfast at Wings again this month, and if it’s anything like July’s it’ll be very well attended. A change of venue brings with it great food and amazing views of the runway. Join us afterward for a radio direction finding event and walk off all those calories!

With that, we’re only a little more than a month away from the club campout! We have a section of our website dedicated to the event, with an RSVP form, campsite map, directions on how to get there, and even a merchandise shop with T-shirts, hats, mugs, bags, and more! It’s shaping up to be an awesome time, and I’m real excited to see you all there!

See you around,

Jim W6JCZ

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

The month of March is filled with fun and excitement, starting off with the ARRL’s SSB International DX Contest. It’s an excellent opportunity to fill your log with international (DX) stations and put your equipment and skills to the test. Our first club event of the month is the VE session on the 3rd, where I’ll be Elmering the candidates. It’s always a great experience to mentor someone as they explore the amateur radio hobby, and often times I learn about things I hadn’t thought of before.

I’m really looking forward to Hamtrak, a trip to Reno and back by train. I hear the scenery is beautiful, and I’m always down for some relaxed sightseeing. A big thanks goes out to Gerry (WA6E) for organizing and promoting the event!

This month’s club meeting on the 14th features Aaron (K6ABJ) and the SFARC Hamfest crew, who will be showing us all the activities and festivities that will take place during the area’s first hamfest of the year. Local communications team leads will also discuss all the upcoming opportunities to volunteer in community events as on-location radio operators. Whether you’ve volunteered in these events in the past or are interested in exploring ways ham radio can serve your community, consider helping out and making a difference.

Our club-sponsored hamfest will take place on the morning of the 22nd at the Loomis Train Depot, and I’m really excited to meet up with everyone and help set up the venue. The swap meet always attracts hams from all over, and what’s more important that the awesome variety of equipment and parts to peruse are the people you’ll be able to talk to and catch up with.

We finish out the month with our club breakfast on the morning of the 29th, followed by a radio direction finding exercise. I haven’t had the opportunity to participate in the past two months, so I’m planning on getting back in the game this time and dusting off the fox hunting equipment.

There are plenty of excellent talks lined up for the coming months, so stop by and get your fill of interesting and insightful ideas!

It’s hard to believe we’ve already made it a month into the new year! The shortest month brings with it a few events of note, starting off with our club VE session at 7 PM on the 3rd. We’re always looking for volunteers to help with mentorship of test candidates both before and after their exams, so come on by and give a little back to the ham radio community. Our meeting will take place at 7:30 PM on the 14th, and the monthly breakfast at 7:30 AM on the 22nd. Keep an eye out for information on our website about the radio direction finding exercise right after breakfast.

I’m really looking forward to several major activities coming up, especially Hamtrak II. A big thank-you to Gerry (WA6E) for organizing the event once again, and I hope to meet up with you all for a memorable trip.

At last but not least, our annual hamfest in March is always a huge event, and this year’s will be no different. Long before the sun comes up, I’ll be out helping set up and enjoying great chats with hams all around the area (and perhaps beyond).

73, and I hope to see you at our many club activities in the near future!

Jim Zheng
W6JCZ

Welcome to 2025! May the new year bring you good times and lasting memories! Here at SFARC, the new year means more opportunities to engage with the community and demonstrate the many uses of amateur radio.

One of the best ways to do just that is through our monthly VE sessions, the first of which will take place on the 6th. I love meeting up with everyone for the pre-session dinners, and getting together with the candidates to discuss what interests them in ham radio always opens up new perspectives into the hobby. I highly encourage you to help out by Elmering candidates at the VE sessions because everyone has something to share. Help someone out, and perhaps even learn a thing or two yourself.

Our next club meeting will take place on January 10th at 7:30 PM at the Confluence Church Gym in Auburn, California and on Zoom at zoom.w6ek.org. Please welcome Scott (KM6RFB), who put together a comprehensive portable communications backpack inspired by medic bags. We all have plenty of radio gear, and sometimes it can be difficult to pack it all together for field use and transport. Come join us as Scott tells us about the items he used to get everything organized, where you can obtain them, and how easy it can be to tidy up your equipment for that next casual outing or an emergency event that requires rapid response and deployment. After hearing about what he’s done, I’m excited to build something like that myself so I can make better use of what I have and hopefully reduce the time it takes to set things up for outdoor operations.

For the contesters out there, January comes with two major events, the North American QSO Party. The CW contest starts at 10 AM on the 11th, and the SSB contest starts at 10 AM on the 18th. Both run for 12 hours, and the playing field is leveled by limiting the maximum transmitter power to 100 W. If you’ve never participated in a contest before or are interested in making contacts with hams all over the world, give the rules a read and get your station set up. It’s also a great way to learn about and experience for yourself how HF propagation is affected by the time of day as the different bands come alive and go quiet.

We finish up the month with our club breakfast at 7:30 AM on the 25th. This month’s breakfast will be at Mel’s Diner in Auburn, and following the breakfast we’ll go on a fox hunt. After a rainy December breakfast, I’m looking forward to better weather and a well-attended radio direction finding event this time around.

Can you believe 2024 is nearing its end? We’ve had a year full of fun and we’ll be wrapping it up with the club Christmas party on Saturday, December 7. I’m really looking forward to seeing all of you at the Confluence Church gym for a night of festivities, a perfect way to celebrate all we’ve accomplished this year.

Don’t forget, we’ll be meeting at Mel’s in Auburn at 7:30 AM on the 28th for breakfast, followed by a fox hunt at 9:00 AM. Hopefully you’ve kept your appetite after all the parties and gatherings and can join us for great food and social time.

It’s been an honor serving as the club vice president, and I look forward to an awesome 2025.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season,

Jim Zheng
W6JCZ