See Current Outings
Click on the photos for more details about the event!
Attendance was great this year! There was the perfect mix of experienced hams and new hams. Over all 15 people participated. Aaron (KC8AVA), Gordon (KC8YVD), and Joe (KD8AFM) all made their very first HF Contacts plus a whole lot more! Jennie (KC0RBV) and Robert (N8YXR) Tuttle made a fantastic husband and wife team. Together they made a great number of international contacts. Brad (W8QPO) and Rick (KC8VOA) did a great job of keeping the antennas working. We all had a lot of fun! (Photos) (Story by Aaron, KD8AVA)
SVARA regularly participates in the Frankenmuth Multiple Sclerosis Walk. Amateur radio operators provide the communications between the race officials, aid stations, and vehicles. Visit our MS-Walk page for more information, or contact Rick Schattilly (KC8VOA).
The spring Saginaw County emergency training activity brings together all the emergency services of the county. Amateur radio operators get to participate in this event too. For more details see our SET page, or contact Carl DeMeritt, KC8YVI directly at kc8yvi@arrl.net.
On Field Day, amateur radio operators from all over the country take their portable radio equipment out to parks, fields, and served agencies like the Red Cross. We try to make contact with as many stations as we can. Planning for Field Day 2005 has just started so please contact Rick (KC8VOA) to help out or for more information. 2005 Field Day Photos, 2004 Field Day Photos
This is a well attended amateur radio camping adventure in Lupton, Michigan at the Woodlands Conference Center and Campgrounds. You are sure to see some familiar faces. The schedule has good information about all of the fun events and will be updated as the time nears. The registration form tells you how to get signed up. And the map tells you how to get there. The ARPSC is the Amateur Radio Public Service Corps.
We will be taking the club trailer down to Belle Isle early Wednesday morning. This will be a great chance to interact with children between 8 and 15 years old; introducing them to amateur radio. For detail's see our Metro Youth Day webpage.
We will be trying a couple of fox hunts this year. The goal is to find the hidden transmitters. Our first hunt will be to track down a couple of old ham's talking to each other. They will sit in different parts of a park talking to each other and daring you to find them! We also will be having a class in making a direction finding antenna. If you would like to participate, please express your interest to Keith DeLong (N8XD). You can also see more details on the fox hunt webpage.
These breaks are our biggest chance to help out travelers, make friends, and give out coffee. The donation's we receive are the biggest part of our annual revenue. We are usually stationed at the rest stop on South Bound I-75 just south the M-84 interchange. Please contact our care break co-coordinators Jeff (KC8BDQ) and Judy (KC8BYI) if you would like to help out this year. All most all of the club members participate in these events. Don't miss them, we definitely have a lot of fun!
We have been invited to participate at several lighthouses this year for the International Lighthouse on the air!
The annual ARRL sponsored practice SET
This is an opportunity for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts (and their parents) to experience Amateur Radio Communications. Scouts all over the world will be operating radios over the weekend. This will be a chance to talk to scouts in other parts of the world!
At Christmas time we support the Saginaw County Parade and Children's zoo by offering to send SantaGrams to Santa for young kids. These messages are sent to the North Pole via the Amateur Radio National Traffic System. If you would like to participate please contact Joe Turner (K8CQF), Jeff (KC8BDQ) or Judy (KC8BYI).
This event was hosted at the Genesee ISD by ARISS (Amature Radio International Space Station) who's members include NASA, the ARRL and Amsat.