date

2018-03-17

convened

09:36

adjourned

10:00-ish

Officers

• President: Mark Hnatiuk (KG5EYV) present
• Vice President: Phil Gates (N5ZKF) present
• Secretary: Matthew Barry (KG5LYE) present
• Treasurer: Sly Kapchinski (N5GQB) present

Attendees (15)

• Sly Kapchinski (N5GQB)
• Mark Hnatiuk (KG5EYV)
• Mike Wisby (KA5HIA)
• Gerald Golub (W5VUI)
• Harold Turbyfill (KG5SDG)
• Marvin Lowman (KG5MCN)
• Ralph Cobb (W5RYC)
• Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)
• Dick Zimmer (W5DZ)
• Joe Napoli (KG5SDF)
• Bob Henglein (W5GC)
• Dwayne Walters (KG5LYG)
• Jim Laird (KF5YY)
• Phil Gates (N5ZKF)
• Scott Rodkey (N5WKY)

Officer Reports

President KG5EYV

Antenna Upgrade Status

W5DZ

• new repeater antenna is on the air!
• 72 ft of coax and 2 male connectors left over for the club
• 3rd-order intermod.
  • only at night
  • removed 88.5 output tone for now: helped, but didn’t go away entirely
• old tower will be disassembled next week

Repeater Upgrade

N5GQB

• new repeater upgrade is on the way
  • significant power output upgrade: 20 W to 50 W
  • funding has been met

Taxes and Insurance

KG5EYV

• IRS profile created, and tax form filed
  • 501(c)(3) forms should be publicly available
• insurance (due 2018-04-01) has been paid already

Social events

• 2018-03-24 08:00 IHOP at Intersection of Hwy 6 and Boonville Rd
• Sometime before Field Day: Barbecue out at KD5DLW’s place
  • Plaque presenntation
  • Ribbon-cutting

Field Day

• 90 days until
• Equipment
  • Antenna Trailer
  • HF rig from W5GC
  • Laptop with Internet
• Advertising
  • ARRL package not available yet
• Prizes and Raffles
  • Starting to ask for donations
• Roles (to be made more official later)
  • radio operators: at least 15-20 mins on the radio
  • greeters
  • signage
  • cleanup
  • …Spreadsheet available somewhere

QSL Cards

• We now have QSL cards!

Skywarn Classes

• Well-attended
• Tour the Houston-Galveston facility

Vice President N5ZKF

• April presentation from Geosciences:
  • WSPR location reporting for weather observation

Secretary KG5LYE

[Not enough for quorum]

Treasurer N5GQB

• Bank Balances:
  • $4,482.64
  • check written for Brian Bachmann Park (refundable): $200
  • $250 from membership
  • $4,532.64
• Belton Hamfest 2018-04-07
• Houston-Rosenberg Hamfest

Radio in the Park

• 2018-04-14 10:00 (week before meeting)
• 2018-04-21 09:30 Next meeting
  • VE Test session 08:00

Closing

[Not enough for quorum]

Presentation by KA5HIA on National Traffic System

• Look up “National Traffic System” or “NTS” on ARRL website
• the “relay” in ARRL
• standardized message format
• daily nets
  • 40m 7.290 LSB 12:00
  • 40m 7.285 LSB 08:30
  • 80m 3.873 LSB 18:30
• fun, good practice, and helpful
• https://7290trafficnet.org