BOARD MEETING MINUTES – August 10, 2022
BOARD MEETING MINUTES – August 10, 2022
Stillwater Amateur Radio Association
This was a Zoom online meeting.
Roll Call of Officers – Present: Joe KCØOIO, Bob WØGAF, Rich ADØSN, Zack AAØU, Shel NØDRX, Dave N9JNQ, Brad VE3MXJ
President: Joe KCØOIO
The meeting was called to order at 6:34 pm.
Secretary’s Report – Dave N9JNQ
The May 2022 Membership and Board Meeting minutes can be found posted to the club website.
Treasurer’s Report – Rich ADØSN
Beginning Total Balance: 07/01/2022 $18,141.96
- SARA
Balance: $6,044.62
Income:
Expenses:
Ending Balance: 07/31/2022 $5,994.82
- RBF
Balance: $12,097.34
Income: $0.00
Expenses: $0.00
Ending Balance: 07/31/2022 $12,097.34
Ending Total Balance: 07/31/2022 $18,092.16
Rich ADØSN reports that the SARA income of $20.00 represents a dues payment. The expense represents Field Day expenses that were reimbursed to Dave WØOXB. Shel NØDRX recently wrote a check to Boutwells Landing for membership meeting room rental through May 2023, but it has yet to clear the bank so is not represented in this month’s treasurer’s report. Joe KCØOIO noted that he has $100 in cash from the sale of a Icom IC-718 that had been donated by Dick WØDIK to a new ham member. He will get the cash to Rich when they have an eyeball.
Trustee’s Report – Shel NØDRX
Shel NØDRX notes that things are quiet at the moment. He did contact Boutwells Landing regarding credits coming to the club for prepaid room rental for meetings that were canceled in the past year. Boutwells recognized the credits owed.
Reports of Committees/Work Groups:
Website: Collin KEØIYN & Bob WØGAF
Bob WØGAF noted that the website is up and running just fine. Rich ADØSN noted that he has been receiving a lot of spam through the new email system. Bob noted that the trollers are probably going after the new email addresses.
Activities & Events: Dave WØOXB & Bob WØGAF
Joe KCØOIO notes that Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald SES is next on the calendar, November 4-6, 2022. Bob WØGAF Dave WØOXB, Shel NØDRX, and Joe KCØOIO (the “Planning and Tactical Team”) have been in preliminary discussions. Shel has secured the special event call sign WØF to for October 30 though November 13, 2022, to be used by off-site stations running CW and digital modes. Joe asked Brian NØBJE whether he would be willing to participate in the planning; the latter graciously accepted the nomination. Dave will be submitting the notice of the event to QST for publication prior to the September 1 publishing deadline.
Joe noted that John NØNKL of Two Harbors, MN, has reported that the Mariner Motel is still in business and has appeared busy this summer.
M.A.P and NHRG: Dave WØOXB & Brian NØBJE
M.A.P. – Dave WØOXB informed Joe KCØOIO that several antennas have been installed this summer, and a couple more are planned. One member needs a stealthy antenna installed as well. The site has been surveyed and ideas are being hatched. Ray KØZZT also needs a center-fed Zepp replacement.
Dave reports that former member John NØYW has a tower, rotator, and SteppIR antenna that is in need of disposal. In addition, the family of former member Jerry KBØJER, who is now a resident of a senior care center, has contacted Dave regarding the removal of a tower from his QTH, as well as the disposal of radio equipment.
NHRG – Brian NØBJE reports that equipment is still going in and out. He currently has both of the HTs available. One of the HF stations is loaned out. Brian noted that the Icom IC-718 has been sold, but we still have the Yaesu FT-100 (donated by Brian NØMR) and two Icom IC-746 rigs. Brian noted that he could use some help running the loan program as he is often out of town due to work (Brian was attending the Board meeting from his hotel room in Chicago).
Joe KCØOIO reports that Dick WØDIK donated four HF rigs to the club, including an Icom IC-718 (was sold), a Kenwood TS-430S (Brian is testing it out), an Icom IC-751A, an Icom IC-7200 (which Joe is interested in purchasing), and an Alinco DX70 (Joe KFØDQU is testing it out). Brian noted that the Kenwood is certainly old, although in good shape, and perhaps could be donated to a new ham. Joe KCØOIO has the IC-751, and reports that it has the internal power supply.
Meetings & Programs – Joe KCØOIO
Monthly Meeting at Boutwells -As noted above, Shel NØDRX has secured the meeting room at Boutwells Landing through may 2023.
Tech Topic Thursday – Nothing has been planned as yet, although there is discussion regarding CW/Morse training.
Thursday Eyeball QSO Party – SARA’s “Summer in the Parks” outdoor sessions have been a success, and the weather has cooperated. Tomorrow’s eyeball is going to be in Brown’s Creek, and next week at Lowell Park. The August 25 eyeball will be at Valley View Park and will be a mobile and portable show-n-tell.
Room Reservations – Dan KFØIYF
Dan KEØIYF has secured the Stillwater Library meeting room for future eyeballs beginning September 22, 2022, through November 2022.
Education and Training – Bob WØGAF
Bob WØGAF reported that there are still plans to proceed with General classes this fall, although there are no dates set as yet. He will touch base with Dave KEØIYN regarding acquiring meeting locations. Many of the Techs who took the Tech class his past year have already upgraded to General, so there is some question as to whether there will be interest in a General class.
Bob noted that there was some initial discussion about formulating a CW/Morse class if there is interest. Rather that actually teach the code, the thought is to begin with a simple lecture/discussion about the dos and don’ts of learning CW, perhaps as part of a Tech Topic Thursday. If it appears there is interest in continuing, then perhaps code classes would be undertaken.
VE Team – Shel NØDRX
Shel NØDRX has mentioned to Boutwells Landing that we may be interested in securing a room for Fall 2022 testing, dependent upon the General class.
Newsletter – Pat WAØTDA, Dave WØOXB
The Newsletter begins again with the September issue, so get any content to Pat WAØTDA before the end of August/first week of September.
Repeater – Henry KØHAS, Shel NØDRX, Doug N9TOW
The repeater had a bit of a problem this summer, and Doug N9TOW was unable to successfully reboot it remotely after a number of attempts, but a final attempt was successful. The repeater seems to be operating well now.
Shel NØDRX noted that the annual report to the Repeater Council is due in September. He also reminded the Board that the Council will need to be notified before the club relocates the repeater off of the King Power Plant stack (planned decommissioning in 2028). The Council frowns upon after-the-fact notification.
Remote Bases Technical Committee – Pat WAØTDA
Pat WAØTDA reported to Joe KCØOIO that recent network changes, including a new router and an Ethernet-wired connection to the internet, as opposed to the former use of WiFi, has improved reliability of the WØEQO remote station and may have solved the 40-meter RF issue. Apparently 40-meters has been running at full power recently with no troubles.
Unfinished Business
SARA Club Equipment Inventory – The inventory, which was previously scheduled, was canceled due to weather and family illness. It will be rescheduled for later this fall in the cooler weather, perhaps in September.
June 11 and August 13 POTA Activity Days – The Saturday June 11 POTA activity day was a huge success, especially with the visit from and participation of our northern Board member Brad VE3MXJ. Due to the success, an additional POTA activity day has been scheduled for this Saturday, August 13.
There was general agreement that the club POTA Challenge has been a great success, and that it is a great tool to generate interest in hamming as well as interest in the club. Brad VE3MXJ thanked Bob WØGAF and Brian KB9TTB for their management of the Challenge. Bob noted in the ‘”lessons learned” category that perhaps the next time the club will develop some monthly or shorter-termed contests on top of the 12-month contest to encourage members who may want to begin participation later in the year. Currently, members may be discouraged from joining the fray later in the year due to being so far behind the leaders who have been participating since the beginning of the year.
New Business
Availability of a Yaesu DR-1A Fusion Repeater – Joe KCØOIO reported that a work colleague of Brian NØBJE has a spare refurbished Yaesu DR-1A Fusion repeater that he is willing to sell for $400.00. The club may wish to purchase it as a backup to the club’s current repeater, which is a DR-1A as well. Discussion was had on whether the club had interest in purchasing a backup. It was noted that Yaesu now has a DR-2 available, and perhaps if the club needed a new repeater that purchasing the most current model would be more advantageous. The DR-2 sells for around $1,200-$1,600. It was also noted that, with the short lifespan of current technology, the backup may be obsolete by the time it is needed. Debate was had as to whether the repeater’s current use, or lack thereof in the opinion of some, warrants such an investment. No action was taken by the Board.
ARRL Grant Program – Joe KCØOIO reported that the ARRL has a grant program in the works that may be a possible source of funding for upgrading the SARA repeater to the latest DR-2 system. The League is currently looking for a person to run its grant program, so more may be known once that position is filled. Securing a DR-2 system would be of interest to Skywarn’s possible use of the SARA repeater as a backup as it has the remote control options needed for Skywarn’s operation. In addition, grant funds may be available to the club when we proceed with moving the repeater from the stack.
Meeting Program Coordinator – Joe KCØOIO reiterated that he needs someone to take the Membership Meeting Program task off of is plate. He has made the request in the weekly SARA Broadcast and the silence has been deafening. There was discussion about possible candidates to approach, and ideas were discussed for future programs. Joe will approach Matt KØLWC of MinnesotaHamRadio.com (a “resource guide for Minnesota amateur radio operators and those interested in getting their ham radio license … dedicated to giving you up-to-date information on local ham radio events, repeaters, nets, licensing and more”) about possibly discussing the startup of the website and its mission. It was also suggested that a program on the use and coordination with Canada of radio frequencies below 470 MHz within the A and B lines along the Canada/USA border may be of some interest.
Rich ADØSN made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Brad VE3MXJ ; the motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 PM.