BOARD MEETING MINUTES – April 20, 2017
Stillwater Amateur Radio Association
1618 Pine Street West
Stillwater, Minnesota 55082
Roll Call of Officers – All officers were in attendance except Shel NØDRX.
President: Joe KCØOIO
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 PM.
Secretary’s Report – Steve KAØOBI
Minutes from the Board Meeting on March 16th, 2017 have been posted on the website. No additional comments from the group.
Treasurers Report – John N5JLZ
Beginning Balance 3/1/2017 $3,376.26
Income $220.00
Expenses $396.31
Ending Balance 3/31/2017 $3,199.95 (Not including RBP income/expenses)
$17,363.30 (Including RBP income/expenses)
Reports of Committees:
Activities & Events: Dave WØOXB (Not present)
Radios in the Park – scheduled for June 8th & 29th, July 20th, and August 10th & 31st. The location has been reserved at the Valley View Park in Oak Park Heights.
MAP: Dave WØOXB (Not present)
Dave will be in Washington State for at least a month. Be sure to get your requests for assistance in so they can be added to the MAP scheduling spreadsheet.
Meetings & Programs – Joe KCØOIO
May – SDR: Icom IC-7300 and Flex 1500 – Doug N9TOW has agreed to lead the discussion group for this program. Joe will email Doug the program outline.
Additional ideas for future programs: Arduinos & Raspberry PIs, Microcomputers for Ham Radio; Special Interest Clubs: SKCC, County Hunters, QCWA, 070, OMISS, YLRL; Operating Portable Roundtable, Diagnostic Tools: Analyzers, DMMs and Diagnostic Gizmos; Tuners: Manual vs. Automatic + Care & Feeding; Setting up your Shack; New Technicians: Here’s what you can do now; Show us your Shack-Supersize.
Eyeball Sessions – Skills Night
April or May – BBHN Mesh Network – we want to get the network setup perfected so it will run smoothly on Field Day.
Other projects being considered include: baluns, SWR Bridge Calibration (KØGW), building coax cables, exploring JT modes and software, programming HTs, DX Labs Suite, Logger32 & N1MM (NØODK).
Education & Training Report – Bob WØGAF
Tonight is the last class for the 2017 Technician Class
The VE Session is scheduled for April 27th at Boutwells Landing at 6 PM in the Auditorium B.
New Ham Night will take place on May 18th at the Stillwater Library out on the roof deck area. We will also try to reserve the B room if it’s available just in case of inclement weather. If the B room is not available we will retain the conference room reservation for that evening. We have some handhelds still available that can be used for possible door prizes. More detailed planning will be finalized on May 4th.
Newsletter & Websites – Pat Tice WAØTDA (Not present) & Dave WØOXB (Not present)
The May issue deadline is April 29th with a publishing date by May 6th.
Repeater – Henry KØHAS & Shel NØDRX (Not present)
Shel thinks the May 6th Spring Repeater Council meeting will be in Duluth and he may be able to attend. We are still looking for a 2nd qualified person that could have access to the stack in the event Henry is not available.
Remote Bases Committee – Pat WAØTDA, Keith AGØH, Eliot KEØN, Bill NØCIC, and Henry KØHAS.
The remote stations are both functioning, however, they do not currently tune up on the CW portion of the bands.
Field Day – June 24th & 25th – Autumn Hills Park is already booked and an alcoholic beverage permit has been obtained. The (2) Kenwood 570’s and (2) 590’s are ready to go. Preliminary planning for the event will take place on May 11th to get volunteers for food & beverage leads. This will be the first year to use the new screened tents. All participants are reminded to bring chairs for the event.
Unfinished Business
Remote Base Project – All of the items that were consigned to Radio City have been sold. The Yaesu FT 847 sold for $699 netting $524.25, Ten Tec Paragon sold for $350 netting $262.50 and the Ten Tec Omni sold for $275 netting $206.25.
The testing of the repaired Kenwood TS480 requires a 41 amp power supply. Henry KØHAS agreed to test this unit.
Equipment Trailer – the planning for outfitting the trailer will take place at a future date.
SARA’s 25th Year in 2017 – Depending on interest shown a White Rock event may be scheduled. Instead of the usual Saturday night Field Day dinner, a spaghetti dinner may be planned.
The General Membership Meeting will remain scheduled for November 11th (Veterans Day) after an email survey of the Board members.
Coax Crimping Tool Kit – a motion was made, seconded and passed to purchase the tool kit for $155 and to purchase a supply of commonly used connectors for different coax sizes. The money for this purchase will come from the Remote Base funds. Members utilizing connectors for MAP on their own stations will reimburse the fund for any connectors used.
New Business:
There is currently a Board meeting scheduled for May 18th but the general feeling is that a May Board meeting may not be needed.
Elecraft K3 (10W version) – a discussion was held regarding the value in purchasing a 100W amplifier upgrade for this transceiver and adding it to the equipment cache or selling it and purchasing the SDR radio Icom 7300. A motion was made, seconded and passed to sell the Elecraft K3 as is, the repaired Kenwood TS 480 and a Kenwood TS 570. The resulting funds would be put toward the purchase of the Icom 7300.
Second Saturday Breakfast – It was generally agreed to continue the 7:30 AM breakfasts at Perkins on the second Saturday during the summer months when there is no General Membership Meeting scheduled.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:46 PM.