November 2008 Letter from the Prez

The leaves have fallen, the days are getting shorter, the temperature is dropping, and there is a lot going on in SARA. Many of our members are going to Split Rock Lighthouse for the “Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald”. This is always a good time and from what I hear is that you can even sweat off a few pounds (or Manhattans) from those that over stoke the wood stove.

The repeater committee is looking at making some major changes with the repeater based on the responses of the email I sent to all the members. We’ll let you know what’s up as soon as we know what we can do.

The website is busy as always with new articles going up every few days. Be sure and check it out often.

The SARA Ballooning Team is trying to work out the financials of launching a high altitude balloon. We even have members of other clubs wanting to join in. If the Ballooning Team cannot raise the funds for our own balloon launch, we have been offered the chance to provide a capsule to fly on the U of M balloon.

We are looking for possible new locations for Field Day. If you have any suggestion or wish to help, please let me know.

We have some great presentations lined up for you at our Saturday meetings. This month we will have Skip Jackson KSØJ talking about batteries, charging, and power pole connectors. This information can help you save $$$ by helping you properly maintaining your batteries. After that we have Jim KIØB presenting on his homebuilt electric car. I bet Jim really wants to see Skip’s presentation to make all those batteries last. I wonder if he measures it in Miles per Kilowatt. In January we have John W9LHG (the Left Handed Gorilla) presenting on the Elecraft K3 HF radio. This is an affordable high end contesting radio you’ll want to see.

It's that time again to renew your SARA membership. Regular and family membership is just $20. You can renew your membership by giving or sending your payment to Chuckie our Treasurer or with any SARA Officer. If you wish to join SARA, the membership form can be found on our main website www.radioham.org. That’s about it for now. We’re always open for suggestion so just let us know what you want to see from your club and we will try to accommodate you.

73.
RicKØBRennan
SARA President