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. 

Ensor Museum Signup

Please click the link below to signup as a volunteer for the Ensor Museum tours for September 2026.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C45A5AA2CA3FD0-65549829-ensor

Upcoming Events

12 Sep 2026;
08:00AM -
SFTARC business meeting
15 Sep 2026;
08:00PM -
SFTARC Net
22 Sep 2026;
08:00PM -
SFTARC Net
24 Sep 2026;
07:30PM - 08:30PM
Tech Night - Dual-band Antenna Designs and Techniques
29 Sep 2026;
08:00PM -
SFTARC Net
03 Oct 2026;
08:00AM - 05:00PM
Wichita Area Hamfest & KS ARRL Convention Oct. 3rd, Wichita, KS.
06 Oct 2026;
08:00PM -
SFTARC Net

sft-logo

Executive Summary:

      During the June 13, 2026, meeting there were no motions. During the meeting there was a report on ENSORFEST. There are multiple volunteer opportunities coming up including: Field Day, FIFA WORLD CUP volunteers, KCHEART, and volunteers to help out at ENSOR for tours. Also, there was an update that for the FIFA WORLD CUP all that is needed is for a ham radio net to be maintained for communication.   

 

MEETING TO ORDER:

       President George, WBØCNK, called the meeting to order at 8:00 AM CST on June 13, 2026. A total of 30 members attended the meeting and 1 guest. There were 21 members in person and 9 attended via zoom.

SECRETARY-TREASURER REPORT:

      Marty provided a brief update on the club finances. Jason provided a Secretary's report. 

 AGENDA ITEMS:

ENSORFEST 26' [Jeff, KSØJD, Marty - KEØPEZ, Tom- WA2IVD]

      MEMO provided a report on Ensorfest 26 on May 9th. Overall the event was a success. This year there were new groups that attended. 

FIELD DAY PLANNING [Trig-KCØRPY, Jim-KØNK]

      Field day is June 27th - June 28th running for 24 hours from 1 pm CT on Saturday  to 1 pm CT Sunday.  The field day planning committee talked about the logistics.  All members are invited to attend field day and are requested to sign up in order to have a head count of the number of people that will be there.

Update: Equipment from Dave Cochran, KBØVRA [Ben – KC9MBC Jim – KØNK]

     Ben provided an update on the equipment from Dave Cochran. KØRAR has picked up a few truck loads of equipment. The plan is to try and pick up the equipment that is likely to be easiest to sell first. Then the remaining equipment will be reviewed to find a  home for it. 

FIFA WORLD CUP KANSAS CITY [Jim – KØNK]

     Jim provided an update about FIFA World Cup. The request is that there will be a net set up during the World Cup. Club members will check into the net and be on stand by in case there is a need for assisting with communication or activating other volunteers to assist with emergencies.  

REPEATER UPDATE [Jim – KØNK]

     Jim provided a repeater update. A WACOM 2M Duplexer was purchase at the recent Hamvention.  It sounds like Jim will or has taken down the Gardner repeater for repairs. A back up repeater will be in place while it is down. The back up repeater is a lower power repeater. So this may alter the range of the Gardner repeater during the repairs. 

Thank You to Club Members Providing Public Service 

     George - WB0CNK wanted to thank all members that have been involved in public service. The list includes: ECS County Storm Spotters, ARES / SATERN, KCHEART, CERT, public service events including marathons and bike events, Rotory Club, Masonic Lodge, VFW, American Legion, and other organizations.

Conventions / Hamfests – See Website Calendar [George - WBØCNK]

Reports on: Hamvention - Dayton, OH, May 15th-17th 3+ day Convention & SMARC Southwest MO. Pre-Field Day Hamfest June 6th. Springfield, MO
Approaching:

- NATICOS Presentation – Amelia Earhart Museum, Atchison, KS. July 17th
- Warrensburg Hamfest July, 18th Warrensburg MO. 
- Reno County Hamfest: Hutchinson, KS. Aug 8th
- Huntsville,Al Hamfest & ARRL National Convention:2+day Convention Aug 22nd-23rd
- Wichita Area Hamfest  & KS ARRL Convention Oct. 3rd, Wichita, KS.
- SPARKCON, Oct. 10th, Sedalia, MO
- Nixa, MO. Hamfest: Nov 14th 

2026 CLUB TRAVEL PLANS: Trips to Conventions/Hamfests – See Website Calendar [George - WBØCNK]

     George would like us as a club to organize transportation to conventions/ Hamfests. If you have interest in attending one of these events, That way we can
     carpool to the event as a club. The club website has a list of upcoming events.  Add your name to the circulating list at meetings & breakfasts, or on the Club
     Website list (each Calendar Listing), if you are interested in attending these events for coordination of hotels, motels, travel etc.

TECH NIGHT [Trig-KCØRPY, Jim-KØNK]

      The next Tech Night is on June 25th at 7:30 PM. The topic is on "Field Day Planning". 

Reminder: Clothing and Badges: On-going draft List [Jason, Marty, George]

      Feel free to reach out to Jason, Marty or George if you would like to order clothing or a badge. 

Recent Surgeries / Hospital Stays:

  • Eric, KFØQIS
  • Bob, KFØAUI
  • Randy, KSØVET

Members Who Would Enjoy a Card or a Visit:

  • Mike Lane -KEØCIS At: Good Samaritan Olathe Medical Campus

ADJOURN:

      The meeting was adjourned. Jeff (KSØJD) made the motion to adjourn the meeting and Larry seconded the motion. 

Trail Bytes

B-25 Project and Miltary Radios
29 Aug 2026

Mike Laney (KEØGHU) presented a talk on the B-25 Project and the radios used in the WW II bomber. Mike included several stories about the B-25 in WW II and the airmen who...

Field Day at Lake Olathe (Mid 1990s)
26 Aug 2026

This newspaper article about Field Day at Lake Olathe is from the mid 1990's. I found it in some of my old storage boxes. Some interesting old...

Military Radio - Pat, KFØOYS
13 Aug 2026

Pat, KFØOYS presented a talk on Military Radios for the SFTARC July 2026 Tech Night.He presented details for a simple radio made from readily available parts.

Kansas QSO Party Signup
08 Aug 2026

      Good Day to the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club.  It is that time of year again for the Kansas QSO party.  I am Jeff Darby,...

FD in Clolorado - Ex Honeywell-Olathe Hams
12 Jul 2026

Several retired Honeywell-Olathe employees now live in Colorado and belong to their local Chaffee Lake Amateur Radio Association.  The local paper wrote up this very...

Field Day at a Ham Radio Landmark
03 Jul 2026

Brian, WQØA, presented a video on his YouTube channel titled "Field Day at a Ham Radio Landmark | Ensor Museum, Santa Fe Trail ARC & More". The video started with an...

Introduction to Grounding for Ham Radio
02 May 2026

At our April 30th, 2026, tech night, George McCarville, WB0CNK, covered essential grounding techniques for ham radio, focusing on safety, lightning, and RF grounding. Key...

Understanding 12V DC Power for Radio Amateurs
30 Apr 2026

     In the March 2026 tech night discussion, Tom Apalenek WA2IVD, highlighted that the commonly referenced "12V" is actually 13.8V, accounting for a ±15%...