July 20, 2026 W6EK

SFARC Members and Friends,

We have another fantastic summer week ahead closing the loop on Field Day, a reminder about this weekend’s club breakfast and fox hunt, and a teaser for next week’s special 5th Wednesday activity.

FIELD DAY DEBRIEF, THIS TUESDAY (7/21) @ 6PM
If you attended Field Day, we want your feedback. We’ll be covering what worked this year and what didn’t work. Whether you can make it or not, please visit the link and share your feedback -> https://www.w6ek.org/fieldday/survey

CLUB BREAKFAST/FOX HUNT – THIS SATURDAY (7/25)
FOX A reminder the club breakfast is at Wings Grill & Espresso. at the Auburn airport. Located at Auburn Municipal Airport, 13595 New Airport Rd, Auburn, CA 95602

We also have a Fox Hunt following the monthly club breakfast at Wings. Our Fox Tenders for July will be John (KO6COW) and his son Jayden (W6EFM). The pre-meeting for the Fox Hunt will be in the Wings parking lot starting at 9:00 AM. The Fox Hunt itself usually starts at 9:30 AM and ends at 11:30 AM. Other details such as frequencies for the event, transmitter power, general Hunt boundaries, post-meeting locations, etc. will be given out at the pre-meeting.

HAMS AND HOPS IS COMING, JULY 29TH @ 6PM
Dust off your favorite QSL stories and join your fellow operators for an evening of cold brews and good company at:

MOONRAKER BREWING COMPANY
12970 EARHART AVE #100 IN AUBURN
JULY 29TH FROM 6–8 PM

Hams and Hops Banner

Whether you’re a seasoned Elmer or a fresh Technician still grinning over your first contact, this is your chance to ragchew in person, no antenna required! Great beer, great people, and zero band conditions to worry about. Come for the hops, stay for the hams—we’ll be listening for your call! 73 and see you there!

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

Fox Hunt Page (Upcoming Fox Hunt), Uncategorized

SFARC Saturday July 25, 2026 FOX Hunt

July 13, 2026 Greydon (KC6SLE)

The next SFARC Fox Hunt will be on Saturday July 25. The Fox Hunt will be following the monthly Club breakfast at Wings Restaurant Auburn Airport.

Our Fox Tenders for July will be John KO6COW and his son Jayden W6EFM. Thanks to both John and Jayden.

The pre-meeting for the Fox Hunt will be in the Wings parking lot starting at 9:00 AM. The Fox Hunt itself usually starts at 9:30 AM and ends at 11:30 AM.

Other details such as frequencies for the event, transmitter power, general Hunt boundaries, post-meeting locations, etc. will be given out at the pre-meeting.

We have not had a Fox Hunt for a few months, looking forward for a good turn out and as always, a lot of fun.

See you there and 73.

Greydon KC6SLE

Watts Up This Week

July 13, 2026 W6EK

SFARC Members and Friends,

A quiet week for the most part with a few standouts so we’ll keep this weeks message lean and mean.

FIELD DAY FOOTNOTES
We have a debrief scheduled for Tuesday, July 21st @ 6PM in the club zoom room.
Whether you can attend or not, we would love your Field Day Feedback — it takes a minute — https://www.w6ek.org/fieldday/survey

CAMPOUT COUNTDOWN
We’re down to 66 days until the infamous SFARC Fall Campout. Do you have your campsite? Have you RSVP’ed yet? Final deadline to RSVP is September 10th, 2026.
We’ve got a fun survey going too for the two movie nights. If you plan to attend, jump in and share your vote for movie night — https://www.w6ek.org/activities/campout/survey

LATER THIS MONTH — CLUB BREAKFAST
A reminder that the club breakfast scheduled for 7/25 will be at Wings at the Auburn Airport, NOT Mel’s in Auburn.

HAM RADIO AND THE CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR
Get ready – the ARRL is bringing Amateur Radio to the California State Fair this year, and we need YOU to help make it a success! For two weeks, from July 17 to August 2, 2026, The ARRL Sacramento Valley Section will have a booth and Special Event Station (K6C) at the California State Fair in Sacramento where we’ll introduce thousands of fair-goers to the world of amateur radio. This is one of the best opportunities all year to show the public what our hobby is all about from emergency communications to making contacts around the globe, and from technical experimentation to just plain having fun.

For more information, go to arrlsacvalley.org, or to sign up and help staff the booth and special event station, go to LINK

Contact Jay Ballinger (N6SAC) @ 916-622-2746 for more details.

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, Early Edition

July 5, 2026 W6EK

Hey Members and Friends,

An early release of “Watts Up This Week”, Happy Independence Day Weekend SFARC!

NEWSLETTER CORRECTION
There was an accidental omission from the Sierra Signals newsletter sent out last week. We DO have new members to vote in. They will be shared at the club’s July General Club Meeting with a ballot to follow sent by email.

CLUB MEETING, THIS FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2026 @ 7:30 PM
Placer County Health and Human Services Conference Center
11434 B Ave, Auburn, CA 9560
OR online at www.w6ek.org

NEW FOR THE SUMMER OF 2026, HAMS AND HOPS
Dust off your favorite QSL stories and join your fellow operators for an evening of cold brews and good company at:

MOONRAKER BREWING COMPANY
12970 EARHART AVE #100 IN AUBURN
JULY 29TH FROM 6–8 PM

RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY FOR THE SFARC FALL CAMPOUT
Each year, SFARC members gather for a fun-filled weekend in the Sierra Nevada mountains. For 2026, we’re back at Stampede Reservoir’s Logger Campground. All members and guests are welcome to attend for the entire weekend or for a day trip.

The weekend includes fox hunts, movie nights, great food, games, and if you look hard enough, you’ll likely find someone with a radio doing POTA activities. This is a family-friendly event for all ages, so bring your family, kids, and/or grandkids.

Visit https://www.w6ek.org/activities/campout for more information.

This is a BYO campsite event so please check the W6EK website TODAY and reserve your campsite too.

Camp Bag

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

June 29, 2026 W6EK

Members and Friends,

As we exhale from FIeld Day, Mark (W2MWK) and I wanted to take a minute in this week’s update to send out a big thank you to all the participants and volunteers at Field Day 2026. We’re still compiling our numbers but early results look encouraging. At 10 AM on Sunday, Dennis showed us a quick snapshot and we had accumulated over 1660 contacts!!! While we don’t know the GOTA numbers yet, the station was very active and looking at the faces of the younger operators as they made contacts gives me hope for our hobby’s future.

This event does not come together in a vacuum. This year’s dedicated volunteers had the antennas and stations setup in record time. And the tear-down was a record-breaker event to see. We cannot give enough praise to those volunteers that showed up Friday morning at 8 AM and those that stayed after the 11 AM to finish up on Sunday.

We’ve got a ton of photos on the website already but would love your snaps from the weekend. Click the link below and upload them before you forget.
And of course, one lucky club member has a chance at a $100 HRO gift card at the end of year Christmas Party for BEST PHOTO OF 2026!!!

73,
Mark (W2MWK) and Smitty (WB1G) | Field Day 2026 Chairs
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

Expired

SAVE THE DATE: July 29th. 6-8 PM at Moonraker Brewery

June 28, 2026 Smitty (WB1G)

NEW FOR THE SUMMER OF 2026!

Dust off your favorite QSL stories and join your fellow operators for an evening of cold brews and good company at:

MOONRAKER BREWING COMPANY
12970 EARHART AVE #100 IN AUBURN
JULY 29TH FROM 6–8 PM

- Front Page, Main Page 03

Amateur Radio Exams / VE Testing: August 3, 2026

June 28, 2026 Smitty (WB1G)

Looking for a local, comfortable, friendly, and inviting atmosphere to help you successfully pass your ham radio exam? Sierra Foothills Volunteer Examiner Team provides monthly in-person exam sessions with mentors on hand to answer your questions about equipment, local resources, clubs, and events. You’ve successfully passed your ham radio exam, now what?

SFARC Elmers are here to help and guide you!

The Sierra Foothills VE team offers many scholarships. Free exams and Free FCC licenses for all students, youth, and young adults ages 25 and under! Military and First Responders receive a 50% discount on exams!