2025-08-26 Net Minutes
- opened
- 20:00
- closed
- 20:39
Check-ins (34)
- Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)
- Don Ling (WB5CKO)
- Avery McIntosh (N7ALM)
- Ron Hambric (N5SBN)
- Ken Wilson (KE5DFR)
- James Warmuth (KJ5HMQ)
- Brad Snyder (W5BLS)
- Jason Shutt (KI5LGO)
- Elizabeth Shutt (KJ5IDP)
- Rich Rychetsky (W5SON)
- Vic Pears (KX8V)
- Robert Grigsby (KB5RAG)
- Larry Shiver (KJ5KFU)
- Brandon Roberrson (KJ5JWV)
- Curtis Pool (KD5HEY)
- Joe Napoli (KG5SDF)
- Paul Bilke (KF5WGJ)
- Bill Rose (K5WTR)
- Kevin Walton (N4RMF)
- Dick Zimmer (W5DZ)
- Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)
- Mike Streiff (KJ5EEV)
- Mike Wisby (KA5HIA)
- Ron Estes (KJ5EFO)
- David Bailey (K5DKB)
- Bill Preston (KZ3G)
- Harold Turbyfill (KG5SDG)
- Rick Pfeil (W4RDP)
- Matt Robinson (W5XMR)
- Phil Gates (N5ZKF)
- Tom Johnson (KI5ZPG)
- Brandon Bartlett (KG5LYN)
- Jonathan Graham (KD5GG)
- David Hyden (KJ5MDC)
Opening Remarks
- Welcome, James Warmuth (KJ5HMQ)
- Visiting from Victoria to take some classes this week at TEEX
- Heard about the net from some folks
- Will be in the area until Thursday and hope to be on the repeaters in the afternoon/evening each day I’m here
Officer Reports
President
David Bailey (K5DKB)
- Meshtastic update
- The mesh grows!
- We now have nodes on the west, east, and north sides of town!
- All labeled “W5BCS”
- Thanks to those who have donated!
Vice-President
Tom Johnson (KI5ZPG)
- Will be starting prep for Winter Field Day 2026
- 2026-01-24/25
- Looking for volunteers and ideas to make it a success
Secretary
Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)
- Minutes will be sent out after the net.
Treasurer
Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)
- Bank balance: $12,350.32
- 78 members
- Next Ham license exam
- 2025-09-20 11:00
- American Legion Post 159, 101 Waco St, Bryan [Google Maps]
- Be sure to have your FCC Registration Number (FRN)
Announcements / Comments
Question #238 for conversation: Ham Radio DIY: what would you most like to build from a kit or learn to build from scratch?
(If interested in submitting a weekly question, email n5zkf@arrl.net)
Ron Hambric (N5SBN)
- CEOC visit this Friday, 09:00
- Arrive about 10 mins early on sidewalk
- If you’re late, give us a shout on the W5BCS repeater or (979) 821-1012
Ron Estes (KJ5EFO)
- Labor day coming up: might have some rain in the forecast
Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)
- DIY: fused Anderson PowerPole distributor ;-)
- (we’ll be doing this as a club… more info later)
- digital encoders and decoders
- can be done with SDR or, more interestingly, physical hardware
- How did they do that with analog circuits back in the day?
- RTTY, PSK, etc.
- N5ZKF: GNU Radio might be a tool to look into
- can be done with SDR or, more interestingly, physical hardware
Mike Streiff (KJ5EEV)
- DIY is one of my favorite things to do: putting parts together and seeing everything work
- Learning to build antennas
- Want to get into baluns and band-pass filters
Paul Bilke (KF5WGJ)
- It’s amazing what you can build yourself or with some help from JLCPCB
- If you can think of it, I’m always game to do it (even if I’m a bit further away now)
- GNU Radio Companion - doing SDR while avoiding the math and code
- N5ZKF: note, their conferenece is coming up
Phil Gates (N5ZKF)
- I like building things, but it’s been a while since I did anything from scratch
- Really satisfying!
- I do also enjoy soldering and putting kits together
- Wire antennas, J-pole antennas, etc.
Buy / Sell
Matt Robinson (W5XMR)
- Been making antennas (modifying commercial antennas)
- Work well on a Baofeng
- SMA Male connector
- If interested, let me know! I’m good on QRZ
Closing Remarks
- Visit us online at w5bcs.radio.