[CTSARA] SARA: An Overview

[Larry Stoler]

SARA: An Overview
By Larry Stoler
 WA1PDK
June 28, 2010.

The Stamford Amateur Radio Association (SARA) is a volunteer organization which has been in existence since the '1970s.  The following are recollections of the early days of the club along with some thoughts about my years of involvement and where I feel the group is now.

As I mentioned, the club began in the early '70s.  Originally the purpose was to put a repeater on two meter FM, keep it going and encourage licensed hams in the area to use it.  Joe, W1LUH who recently passed away, was the founder of the club and the first repeater trustee.  

In those days, the repeater signed on at 6:30 AM and automatically went off at midnight.  I remember this as I was coming back one night from a meeting of a repeater group I belonged to in new York.  I got into a qso and during the conversation, the machine went off as it had reached midnight.  Needless to say, that surprised me even though I knew that was the case with the repeater at the time.

A couple of years later, SARA's purpose began to broaden and they offered classes for anyone who wanted to obtain the novice license.  That was the entry level ticket or the way to get involved in amateur radio.  Back then, it lasted for one year and you could not renew it.

In the early days, monthly meetings were held at Joe Leferson's house.  Joe as I mentioned earlier started the organization.
Later the meetings would move to the Springdale Fire House and eventually the Stamford Government Center where they are held today.

Throughout its history, SARA has managed to have a program about a specific aspect of amateur radio at the majority of its meetings. Some of the speakers lived in the area while others came from places like Newington, CT. where the ARRL is located and from outside of the state too.

At one time, the club boasted a membership of over 100 in total with anywhere between 30 to 90 attending some of the meetings.  A good percentage of the regulars who came to the monthly gatherings were very active in different aspects of the hobby.

One of the club's most important reasons for its existence was public service.  The members participated in a variety of events over the years.  Everything from bikeathons to road races and other important causes.  We even provided communication during Hurricane Gloria in 1985.  We have also been there providing assistance for the city during emergency situations.

Field Day is another activity that we have made an important part of the organization.  For a number of years, the event took place at Cove Island Park in Stamford.

In the early '80s, we did field day at a school in the back country of Greenwich.  Eventually we would operate from the Stamford Museum and Nature Center where this annual activity takes place today.

I mentioned the novice classes.  Although the license no longer exists, the Stamford Amateur Radio Association continues to offer exams to those who are interested in entering the hobby or upgrading their license.

We have been a regular participant in the volunteer examiner (VE) program since its inception.  We are the only organization in lower Fairfield county that gives exams to all interested applicants on a regular basis.

I joined the club in 1978.  At that time, Bruce, WA1FVZ, I and a number of hams got together and made it our business to continue to make SARA a great organization and bring more activity to the repeater.

I was a control station on the machine.  I also handled getting programs for a year and I also was a Vice President for a year.

In 1979, the idea of a Sunday night net on two meters came up during an off air conversation.  The thought was to provide a specific time of the week where if you went to 146.655, there would be people on the air and you could rag chew for as long as you wanted to.  It was also a nice way to end the week.

   Sometimes the group would be on for over two hours.  Whether the conversation lasted for 30 minutes or over two hours, didn't matter.  It was fun.
  
The net didn't have any specific purpose i.e. traffic handling or anything else.  It was designed as an informal on the air gathering.  The club decided to try this as an experiment.  It's over 30 years later and the net still exists.

In 1980, I played Newsline at a meeting.  In those days, it was known as the Westlink Amateur Radio Network.  I proposed the thought of adding this service to the Sunday night net.  Again the club decided to try it on an experimental basis and see how it would go.  It's over 30 years since that idea came up and it's still there.  I can't believe its been there for so long but I'm glad it is.

   In addition to the repeater in Stamford on 146.655, there were two machines in New Jersey.  One was in Murray Hill.  The other was located in Vineland.

In the early '80s, I was on the board of the Tri State Amateur Repeater Counsel.  TSARC was the group that handled repeater coordination in the Tri state area and took care of any disputes when it came to machines coexisting on the same frequency and other problems.

We had problems with Murray Hill at the time.  A few of us from SARA and the Murray Hill group met at a diner in New Jersey after one of the TSARC meetings and negotiated an agreement where both repeaters would run an anti-PL system.  This meant that if the receiver on the machine in Stamford saw a signal with the tone the system was using in Murray Hill attempting to get in, it wouldn't work.  If the system in New Jersey detected one of our users trying to access their system with the PL tone they were using, it wouldn't work.  All who participated in the meeting agreed and this worked for years.   In other words, both CT. and NJ. could exist together on 146.655 mhz.

The repeater went through a number of different locations and models.  When i first became involved, we operated the two meter system from the top of the Landmark building.  Some of us spent many nights at the site trying to get the system to work better.

In 1983, we moved the repeater to St. Joseph's hospital.  We had emergency power up there too.

Later on, we would go to our current site: Sterling Farms.  We also have backup facilities for both our two meter and 440 repeaters at the local hospital.

As the years rolled on, SARA became a model for other amateur radio clubs.  The attitude at the meetings and on the air began to be noticed by clubs outside the area.  

Sometimes people would come to the meetings from as far away as New Jersey and people would check in from there too.

I have been a volunteer for many organizations and causes since 1974.  Most of my volunteer activities have centered around amateur radio.

One of the things I have come to realize and accept is the fact that every volunteer organization will go through good and bad times.  Unfortunately this happened to SARA.  

A few years ago,  the organization was losing members and as a result participation in activities and meetings.   began to diminish.  Needless to say, this was a sad time for the group.

Fortunately, people like Fred, K1FC, Jon, WB2RYV and a number of others rescued the club from obscurity.  

On a personal note: I was one of the people who predicted that SARA would not survive.  This was during the time I referred to earlier.

  Unlike many people, I admit when I'm wrong and in this case, I definitely was.  Frankly, I'm glad I was.

SARA'S Current State as I see it:

This past weekend, I attended and participated in field day at the museum.  I have worked during a number of field days over the years mostly with the club.

In my opinion, this was the best field day I ever attended.  It was due to the way people were treated whether it be some of the new members, people like myself who had not been active in the hobby for a long time other than attending the annual hamvention in Dayton, Ohio, the kids who operated at the Gota tent and other places and those who stopped by wondering what was going on.

The atmosphere was fantastic.  It made me proud to be there and see the club rise up from a bad time which as I said before all volunteer organizations experience.  Everything about the weekend was great.

I have also noticed a great feeling about the organization on the air.  This also helps people's perception of the club.

I believe that with the continued help and encouragement of so many in the club who have and continue to contribute their ideas that the Stamford Amateur Radio Association will be around for a long time and in the end will be better than ever.

A Final Thought:

There are many who did so much to make SARA a viable organization.  Some of the great contributors to the success of the club are no longer with us.  I will list as many as I can think of.  If I leave anyone out, I apologize in advance of posting this list.

The following are some of the hams who are no longer with us.
Marv, N1AWJ.
Bruce, WA1FVZ.
Joe, W1LUH.
Jim, W1GOZ.
Ben, WB1BSJ.
 Sky, K1GF.
Diran, AB1K.
Here are some of the people who have made SARA work who are still with us.
Dick, WA1VUU.
Stan, WA2NRV.
John, K1VMI.
John, KG1M (now W1PC).
Jeanine, KY1Q.
Jim, WA1CMF.
Ernest, KA1NGG.
Fred, K1FC.
Jon, WB2RYV.
John, WB1GRB.

This article is a tribute to those past and present who have done their part to make SARA a successful organization and be able to continue for over 35 years.
Larry Stoler
WA1PDK
 
     
Larry Stoler
lstoler99 at optonline.net