BOARD MEETING MINUTES – May 19, 2021
BOARD MEETING MINUTES – May 19, 2021
Stillwater Amateur Radio Association
Cisco Webex online meeting due to COVID-19 social distancing
Roll Call of Officers – Present: Joe KCØOIO, Bob WØGAF, Dave N9JNQ, Zack AAØU, Doug N9TOW, Shel NØDRX, Rich ADØSN.
President: Joe KCØOIO
The meeting was called to order at 6:34 pm.
Secretary’s Report – Dave N9JNQ
April 15, 2021, Board Meeting minutes have been posted to the club website by Dave N9JNQ.
Treasurer’s Report – Rich ADØSN
Beginning Total Balance: 05/01/2021 $18,724.05
- SARA
Balance: $5,918.97
Income:
Expenses:
Ending Balance: 05/19/2021 $5,700.37
- RBF
Balance: $12,805.05
Income: $0.00
Expenses: $119.57
Ending Balance: 05/19/2021 $12,685.48
Ending Total Balance: 05/19/2021 $18,385.85
Rich ADØSN reports that the $40.00 income in the club account represents dues payments, with a debit for renewal of the club annual Webex subscription. The expenses for the RBP represent the shipping cost for the repair to the Icom IC-7300 in the amount of $59.57, and the subscription to the remote station control software Splashtop in the amount of $60.00.
Trustee’s Report – Shel NØDRX
Shel NØDRX reports that we have a few new members, with a total membership now standing at 123.
Reports of Committees/Work Groups:
Website: Joe KCØOIO & Bob WØGAF
For Sale Page – Bob WØGAF reported on the progress of setting up a members “for sale” page for the SARA website. He has mocked up a page using a few sample listings provided by members. Bob inquired as to whether we still want a for sale page on the website now that we have the Groups.io presence where members have been posting items for sale. It was agreed that the website has a broader audience as it is not limited to members only, as is the Groups.io page, and therefore has value. In addition, the website page can be picked up by web-crawlers (the Groups.io listing is not picked up by web-crawlers), increasing the audience for a possible sale. It was agreed to move ahead with the page.
Website News Articles – Bob asked for any suggestions on articles that would be, or would not be, good for posting. Bob will be taking a look at past articles to find those that are not “time sensitive” and would have current relevance. Bob proposes to post them periodically, perhaps rotating a new one every week or two, during the summer months when the Newsletter is on hiatus.
Email issue – Joe KCØOIO asked whether anyone else is experiencing the @radioham.org email unable-to-confirm-identity issue he sees when sending/receiving emails through radioham.org. No one reported seeing it recently. Joe may have an internal issue, but will explore it further.
Activities & Events: Dave WØOXB
White Rock Special Event – Dave WØOXB spoke to Mayor Rudy and he is available anytime this summer. Weekends that may be a possibility include August 27-29, and September 17-19. It was noted that the August QST submittal deadline is June 1. Dave will draft a note for membership gauging their interest and asking if any would like to be involved in the planning. Dave will send the note to Joe KCØOIO, Brian NØBJE, Bob WØGAF, and Shel NØDRX for comment. It was suggested that 8 to 10 folks is the minimum attendance to make it a go. A show of hands indicated that there was enough interest in folks attending the Board Meeting to move ahead with the event.
Split Rock Lighthouse Special Event – Joe KCØOIO stated that we should move ahead with planning the event as if we are going, and if for COVID reasons we can not follow through, we can just cancel it. It appears that the weekend of October 29-31, 2021, would be the date. The Board directed Shel to move ahead with contacting the MNDNR to secure the Trail Center for that weekend. It was noted that a limit on folks allowed into the Trail Center at one time, such as 15, would not be a problem, operators could be scheduled and the others could loiter around outside of the Center.
Field Day 2021 – Joe KCØOIO reports that the club had already reserved Autumn Hills Park for the event, so we are on for that location. Rich ADØSN noted that he looked back at the books and does not see a payment for the permit, but it appears we have the facility nonetheless. It was agreed we would forgo the liquor permit. As the COVID-19 protocols are changing quickly, we may expand and have a second station at the event.
M.A.P: Dave WØOXB
Dave WØOXB noted that they have been busy with antenna installations.
New Ham Resource Group – Brian NØBJE & Mark KEØQQN
Nothing new to report.
SARA Groups.io Forum
Joe KCØOIO reported that he recently had to reject someone who was not a club member from the forum.
Meetings & Programs – Joe KCØOIO
Tech Topic Thursday – With the summer hiatus, TTT programs are on hold.
Thursday Eyeball QSO Party – Having received positive feedback from his inquiry to membership at the May meeting, Joe KCØOIO reported that the club will begin outside Thursday Eyeballs in Pioneer Park, Stillwater, MN, starting the next open Thursday, May 27. Bring your folding chairs and enjoy a night in the fresh air.
Radios in the Park – The next Radios in the Park event, to be held at Valley View Park in Oak Park Heights, MN, will also be a Tech Topic Thursday Live, with the topic (as suggested by Collin KEØIYN) “What are your Summer Operating Plans.” It was suggested that another topic for TTT could be a primer/tips-and-tricks on the use of the Icom IC-7300.
Room Reservations – Dan KEØIYF & Shel NØDRX
Dan KEØIYF reported to Joe KCØOIO that the library is expanding its hours on June 1, but only one room, that can accommodate two people, will be available. Thus, the Stillwater Library still is not an option for eyeballs.
Shel NØDRX noted that he has not checked in with Boutwell’s for a few months, so will do so shortly, and will secure the room for membership meetings starting in September if it is/will be available.
Education and Training – Bob WØGAF
Nothing new to report.
Newsletter – Pat WAØTDA, Dave WØOXB
With the summer hiatus, there is nothing new to report.
Repeater – Henry KØHAS, Shel NØDRX, Doug N9TOW
Doug N9TOW reported on his repairs to the YSF reflector. There is an issue with its transmission back to the repeater, there is insufficient power. Doug is looking at amplifier builds to address the problem.
Remote Bases Technical Committee – Pat WAØTDA
Nothing to report
Unfinished Business
KBØOHI equipment donation – Dave N9JNQ reported that he has sold a number the items online, for a total of $267.20. He plans to bring what is left to the May 20 Radios in the Park Tailgate Swapmeet. There are three items that are worth something; the remaining items will be made available for free. After the Swapmeet, Dave will send Rich ADØSN a check for deposit into the club account and provide the Board an accounting of the sales.
Metro Skywarn WØJH Repeater Use – Greg KØGW has heard from Tim Arimond NØBYH of Metro Skywarn on its interest in using the WØJH repeater for Skywarn activities in order to cover the east side of the Twin Cities area and western Wisconsin. Tim apparently did some monitoring of the repeater from his location in North Branch, MN, and determined that is has good coverage for use by Metro Skywarn. Unfortunately, the service has already advertised its alternative repeater frequency for the year (147.21 MHz). The alternative at this point is to designate the SARA machine as a backup. Tim had some remaining questions about the repeater’s capabilities, and Greg said that he now has exhausted his knowledge about the machine and would like to hand it off to one of the technical repeater folks. Doug N9TOW agreed to give Tim a call to answer further questions and to determine whether the repeater is suited for use by Metro Skywarn. Henry KØHAS noted that, if Metro Skywarn needs a dual band antenna on the stack, the club does not have one, and in any case installation would have to be done by professionals at, it is assumed, a significant cost. It was discussed that if that is necessary, it would appear that such cost should be absorbed by Metro Skywarn.
Uploading WØJH Logs to LOTW – Shel NØDRX reports that he has uploaded some of the old logs, including a couple of years of the White Rock Special Event, as well as the 2020 Ice Station logs, to LOTW. More to come.
Washington County ARES EC recruitment – Washington County is still in the need of a new EC; let Joe KCØOIO know of any possible recruits.
SARA Club Equipment Inventory – Joe KCØOIO reported that he will need one or two volunteers to help him do an inventory of the trailer, it is not a job that can be done alone or an evening of Radios in the Park. A day needs to be dedicated for the project. He did not undertake an inventory during is thorough cleaning of the trailer and equipment. Joe will forward the spreadsheet to the individuals who are holding club equipment for updating. The updating spreadsheets should be returned to Dave N9JNQ as the Secretary maintains the inventory list per the club Bylaws. Dave will be cracking the whip as needed.
New Business
Release of Membership List – Further discussion was had on releasing the membership list contact information to members. It was noted that only about one half of the members have given permission to release their information, and in some cases only phone numbers or email addresses were authorized to be released. Joe KCØOIO stated that we should release what we can. Bob WØGAF said he will look at the membership renewal form on the SARA website and determine a good method to ask for and get permission to release such information. Shel NØDRX will forward some ideas to Bob.
Metro Skywarn NCS Team from East Metro – Joe KCØOIO followed up on his announcement at the May Membership Meeting that Metro Skywarn was looking for a third Net Control team from the East side of the Cities. Joe did not hear from anyone interested after the announcement. He will approach SEMARC to determine whether there is interest there. It was reported that the nets are now being operated remotely from member’s homes rather than from a designated location.
Trailer Clean-out Report – Joe KCØOIO reported on his extensive clean-up of the trailer. He did find how mice had gotten into the trailer (cable access hole) and came up with a successful solution (a bulkhead coupler). He also reported that he had to toss out a plastic container containing eating supplies (cups, napkins, etc.), the handicap access ramp (primary mouse nesting site), and the solar controller (a mouse favorite), which had already been replaced with an Epic Power Gate. The two cloth bags for the two buddy heaters used for the ice shelters were chewed; Joe was able to replace them with new bags from the local hardware store at $12.95 apiece. The replacement of the ramp will wait until the lumber prices drop. Ray KØZZT offered a metal wheelchair ramp that he has and no longer needs.
Second Saturday Breakfast – Joe KCØOIO noted that there was positive feedback from his suggestion at the May Membership Meeting to restarting the Second Saturday Breakfast. With the Board’s approval, Joe will reach out to Perkins in Stillwater to see if they can accommodate a large group. It is assumed we will probably not be able to use one long table as in the past at the moment.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:04 pm on the motion of Bob WØGAF, seconded by Shel NØDRX, passed unanimously.