W6SFM – Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club

SFM ARC On-Air Net Meetings

Please join us for our club’s 8:00 PM Tuesday Night on-air Net Meetings held at 3.545 MHz
Or you can listen and watch the CW to text translation HERE using our Live Feed!

W6SFM CW Beginners Course (April 8th – June 10th, 2020)

The SFM ARC is proud to announce our next W6SFM CW Beginners Course. In an effort to preserve Morse Code on-the-air, and enhance the skills of the Amateur Radio Operator, the SFM ARC offers an instructional course in the art of sending and receiving Morse Code. We also offer this course to the general public, and those who would like the benefits of improved cognitive memory skills. You do not need to be a licensed Amateur Radio Operator to take this course.

The W6SFM CW course consists of 10 classes held once per week, Wednesday evenings from 7 – 9 PM. In this class students will learn the International Morse Code, the art of sending on a straight key, radio Pro-Signs, and the proper etiquette of an on-air CW QSO, plus MUCH MUCH more. Both Theory and Practical use of HF radio and Morse Code are discussed in this class. Students are provided with a professionally built Morse Key and Oscillator to be used both in-class and at home. This Key and Oscillator are worth more than the price of the course by itself and are for the students to keep at the completion of the course! In addition to the in-person class instruction, an Online practice video and weekly email are also provided.

New and returning students can purchase a seat in our upcoming course by simply clicking on the “Merchandise” link at the top of the Homepage and selecting the “W6SFM CW Beginners Course” icon. Purchases can be made using PayPal, Credit and Debit cards.
Returning Students who sign up at our discount rate must bring their equipment with them from their previous class. All Students are encouraged to bring any Straight keys that they currently own in an effort to practice good sending methods on them. Please note that Our CW Beginners classes tend to fill up quickly and seating is limited. We recommend enrolling as soon as possible to be guarantied a seat in the class. We hope to see anyone who is interested in learning the Morse Code, or brushing up their skills at our next class! Please use the contact us link at the top of this page to ask any questions you may have.

New Slow Code Net Hits The Airwaves!

Former W6SFM CW Beginners course student has put his skills to work creating an all new Sacramento area Slow Code CW Net. The group will be working speeds as slow as 5 WPM for all those interested in getting in some practice and on-air experience!

The net will be held on an easy to get to 28.055 MHz every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10 AM Pacific time. Be sure to join them and work some slow code!

W6SFM Bug Roundup Event

Please be sure to join us for the W6SFM’s twice yearly Bug Roundup event. This on-air event is held each May and November on the third weekend of the month. Please be sure to click HERE to visit our “CQ BR” webpage. Participants can register their station for the event, and to also receive a reminder email twice per year just before the event begins. Find more information, including times, frequencies and Bug Roundup Event rules by using the “Club Activities” link at the top of this website. We hope to hear you on the air!

N6MQL Presents the RigExpert Antenna Analyzer
This month Mike, N6MQL presented the new features of the RigExpert Antenna analyzers to members of both N6NA (River City ARC) and our own group at W6SFM. Below is the entire presentation.

Next Month’s In-Person Meeting

Our next SFM ARC in-person meeting will be held at its normal time (7:00 PM) and location Feb. 6th followed by our March. 5th meeting. Meetings are held in the Howard Crowley room upstairs at the Carmichael Presbyterian Church. Directions, including a Google Map, are always available at the bottom of this website.

At our February meeting, we will be discussing ARRL news and events. We will also have a presentation on basic understanding of how to read a Smith Chart. Mike (N6MQL) will explain what the lines and information being displayed mean, and how to better understand them. We will also recap our Jan 11th North American QSO Party contest results. So, Please be sure to join us. As always, we will have our “show and tell” portion. Please bring your interesting finds with you for everyone to see. Also, be sure to bring a guest with you. Or, if you’re not a member of the W6SFM, and your reading this, feel free to join us for our meeting.

An ABC News video on RD at KPH Bolenis, CA.

Solar Report by Tamitha Skov (A real report everyone can understand)