date

2021-08-21

convened

09:43

adjourned

10:37

Officers

• President: Phil Gates (N5ZKF) present
• Vice President: Rick Pfeil (W4RDP) absent
• Secretary: Matthew Barry (KG5LYE) present
• Treasurer: Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ) present

Attendees (26)

• Marty Nau (W5MHN)
• Lee Lance (KK5QO)
• Ron Hambric (N5SBN)
• Garrett Martin (W5HVS)
• Leslie Lutz
• Harold Turbyfill (KG5SDG)
• Jim Laird (KF5YY)
• Jim Hanks Jr. (W5CYN)
• Jace Nelson (KE0MXN)
• Alex Olah (KI5BVJ)
• Bill Preston (KZ3G)
• Dick Zimmer (W5DZ)
• Joe Napoli (KG5SDF)
• Murl Webster (K0GPJ)
• Lalana Webster (KE0AKL)
• Adam Keller
• Ginger Mikeska
• Lauren Mikeska
• Vic Pears (KX8V)
• Gerald Golub (W5VUI)
• Connor Farrell (WG1GEM)
• Wayne Pecena (N1WP)
• Don Hutchcraft (KE5ADX)
• Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)
• Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)
• Phil Gates (N5ZKF)

Officer Reports

President Phil Gates (N5ZKF)

• FCC has removed Amateur Radio service exemption for RF safety
• ARRL has made an online calculator to help with this

New Repeater Antenna

• New antenna has resolved the noise issue we were having
• Thanks to the very generous donations by WA5JOT and Dick Zimmer (W5DZ) to cover the new antenna, transportation, and installation
• CTCSS code has been enabled on output, but not currently not transmitting with CW ID on repeater
• IF you have tone squelch enabled on your receiver, then you won’t hear the CW ID

Club Build Kit

• ID timer “kit build” project demoed by Dick Zimmer (W5DZ)
• Doodle poll sent out; reply if you’re interested

Club History

• Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ) has been doing some historical research
• 1954-09-09 was original founding date of the club

Bryan 150th Celebration

• City is collecting stories and memorabilia
• Will be burying a time capsule
• Celebration in November at Bryan High School
• Could the Bryan Amateur Radio Club be a part?
  • we’d like to put up a special event station
    • special 1x1 callsign or use club callsign?
      • club callsign seems more appropriate for affiliation with Bryan
    • basically a lot like Field Day
    • We can do multiple events (since this celebration will be an ongoing thing)
      • maybe some local simplex HT or D-STAR operations; not full-blown HF
    • Note: there will also be 9/11 special event stations
  • organizer is interested, but are unfamiliar with Amateur Radio
  • wants to list us as a “partner” on the website
  • stay tuned for more details for events in the fall
    • plans are still evolving

Field Day Committee

• Please consider serving to help coordinate next Field Day
• If interested, please get in touch with us by November
• We want to establish the committee by December to give plenty of time for planning

Club Branding / Logos

• Thanks to all who submitted proposals
• Please put your callsign next to the ones you like (can have more than one)

Ham Club Online

• Officers have been evaluating this service
• Club membership administration tool
  • allow members to manage profiles, dues payment, etc.
• Not a replacement for club website
  • currently managed by Gerald Golub (W5VUI)

Club Website Capabilities

Gerald Golub (W5VUI)

• club WordPress website already has much of this functionality
  • members are already able to log in and manage their own profile and contact info
  • online dues payment through PayPal can also be added
• was planning to give presentation to demonstrate the site’s abilities prior to COVID lockdown
  • schedule for after future meeting

Side-Note: Cybersecurity

Gerald Golub (W5VUI)

• Club logins have been targeted in the past and continue to be targeted
  • additional security measures added after 2017-05-06 incident to report logins
  • there were a record number of failed login attempts from Russia last month: >24,000
  • successful logins actively monitored to make sure they come from TX
    • any suspicious activity would be intercepted
• There have been some phishing attacks (emails) sent directly to club members
• The club will never ask you directly (through email) for money, credentials, or personal info!

Vice-President Rick Pfeil (W4RDP)

on the road today

Treasurer Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)

Bank Account

• Starting balance $6,602.30
• Total income: $1,911.75
  • membership dues
  • Field Day refund from College Station
  • donations for antenna replacement
• Disbursements: $1,696.75
  • tower jack
  • skyline communications
• Ending balance: $6,817.30

Reminders

• ARRL membership can be renewed through the club
  • we make $2 per membership

Historical Research

• Lots of fascinating research
• All the way through 1965; some highlights:
  • Field Day at Coulter Field
  • Emergency Communications between Bryan and College Station
  • 1961 OSCAR satellite launch
  • Soliciting for paid operator help
    • Note: paid use of amateur radio is very rare, usually not legal
• Written notes from Henry Menefee (W5RAS)

Secretary Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)

• Short on time; will forego reading minutes
• Last month’s minutes will be sent out with current month’s minutes
  • if you have any corrections, please let me know

Other Business

VE Session This Morning

• 5 candidates
  • all received Technician
  • attempted General
• Next test session will be before October meeting

EMCOMM

• There are almost 700 amateur radio operators in the Brazos valley
• Pete Sessions would like

Health and Welfare / Good of the Order

• If anyone needs help with anything please reach out to the club. You can contact any of the officers at:
  • officers@bryanarc.org
  • Phil Gates directly: n5zkf@arrl.net

Closing

• Motion to adjourn by Gerald Golub (W5VUI)
  • Seconded by Vic Pears (KX8V)
  • passes unanimously

Presentation

Ron Hambric (N5SBN) on Winlink

August Meeting

Next Meeting: 2021-09-18 09:30, location TBD