Located on the historic Santa Fe, California, and Oregon wagon-train trails of the 1800s, our Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club (SFTARC) engages in a number of activities that are educational and enjoyable.  With about 30 active members and a somewhat greater number of not-so active members, we maintain an informal easy-going atmosphere, supporting and promoting amateur radio in the Olathe, Kansas, area.

Our club’s on-the-air activities include operating special event stations, including one at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, a Kansas-Day Special Event (the anniversary of Kansas Statehood), the Kansas QSO Party, a weekly 2m net, and of course Field Day. Club members have a variety of interests, ranging from HF through UHF and are active on voice, CW, and digital modes.

SFTARC members serve as docents for the ham-radio-rich Ensor Park and Museum on the southern edge of Olathe. Among the many interesting items on display, the home-brew 1 KW transmitter stands out. This transmitter, housed in a handsome hand-crafted wooden cabinet, was used by Marshall H. Ensor and his sister Loretta Ensor to teach CW and the principles of electronics "on the air" to an estimated 10,000 people between 1929 and 1941. Ensor was awarded the CBS William S Paley Award in 1940 for his service to the country.

Continuing this tradition of teaching ham radio, the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club offers classes to those seeking a Technician, General, or Extra class license on a three-year rotating basis, with a Morse code class thrown in every few years.  SFTARC classes are structured to help the students understand the subject matter, rather than to just memorize the answers to questions.

Before the Covid pandemic spread over the land, our club met every Saturday morning in the restaurant affiliated with the local Hy-Vee grocery store. Our members happily rag-chewed about our three repeaters (2m, 1.25m and 70 cm), the SFTARC website, articles in the newsletter and in editions of LarrysList, and many other topics. However, in March of 2020 we ended the in-person gatherings and have, instead, met virtually via Zoom. We are still able to carry on lively, boisterous, and rollicking discussions of current events and news from the world of technology.  

If you hear KS0KS on the air, please give us a shout. We would be glad to hear from you.