MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES – April 9, 2022
MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES – April 9, 2022
Stillwater Amateur Radio Association
The Membership Meeting took place at Boutwells Landing, Stillwater, MN, and was streamed for virtual attendees.
President: Joe KCØOIO
The meeting was called to order at 9:41 AM by Joe KCØOIO.
Program:
POTA Activation Prep, Stuff to Know for your First POTA Activation – Bob WØGAF
Bob WØGAF, with input from Brian KB9TBB, Dave WØOXB, and Brad VE3MXJ, provided a well-received how-to discussion on how to set up a POTA activation. The presentation was timely as SARA is sponsoring a POTA contest for members for the entire year of 2022. The slide deck used by Bob can be found posted at the SARA radioham.org website.
Bob addressed:
´ POTA Rules
´ Prepping for your activation
´ Logging
´ Operating Tips
´ Resources
Brian brought along his portable POTA station for show and tell, discussing how he sets up and operates. Dave discussed his recent activation at Frontenac State Park. Brad added his experiences, and then had to go QRT as he was heading out to activate a POTA station at Pigeon River Provincial Park!
Bob emphasized that the club has at a minimum three members who are familiar with how to prepare your log for uploading (Bob, Brian, and Brad), and if you have any questions or problems, please contact them.
A few tips are, when activating, know your county and your grid square as some of the POTA hunters are also county and grid square hunters. If you activate but do not get a total of 10 QSOs in order to qualify as an official activation, still upload your Qs as the hunters will get credit for them. Bob suggested taking a photo of your paper log just in case it is somehow lost or destroyed. Brad suggested researching the location of your park before heading out as the markings on the POTA website are not real accurate at times.
Join the fun, there is nothing to be a hunter, all you have to do is register on the POTA website, and POTA and the activators take care of the rest.
The program concluded at 11:13 AM.
Business Session:
Joe KCØOIO then called the Business Session to order at 11:17 AM. Joe noted that this will be the last Membership Meeting streamed via Webex; the club will be moving to Zoom when the club subscription expires this month as Zoom will be cheaper.
Secretary’s Report: Dave N9JNQ
The general minutes from the Membership and Board meetings are posted on the SARA website. Please report any corrections or additions to: Secretary@radioham.org.
Treasurer’s Report: Rich ADØSN
Beginning Total Balance: 03/01/2022 $18,259.79
- SARA
Balance: $6,502.45
Income:
Expenses:
Ending Balance: 3/31/2022 $6,708.45
- RBF
Balance: $11,757.34
Income: $0.00
Expenses: $0.00
Ending Balance: 3/31/2022 $11,757.34
Ending Total Balance: 3/31/2022 $18,465.79
Activities & Events
Thursday Eyeball Sessions
Thursday eyeball sessions have resumed at the Stillwater, MN, library, and will continue at the library through April. The Eyeballs will take place in the commons area when the meeting room is booked for the Tech Class. Look for the SARA This Week Bulletin for details on upcoming Eyeballs.
SARA Summer in the Park
Beginning May 12, 2022, Thursday Eyeballs will take place outdoors in local parks throughout the summer. May 12, 2022, will be New Hams Night, celebrating our recent graduates and other new hams. The Eyeball will take place in Valley View Park, Oak Park Heights, MN, on every third week (May 12; June 2 & 23; July 14; August 4 & 25; and September 15); locations will be announced for the other Eyeballs as the summer progresses. We plan to incorporate some Parks on the Air (“POTA”) activations into the eyeballs at different sites, as well as some cookouts.
Tech Topic Thursdays
Tech Topic Thursdays currently take place virtually on the first Thursdays of the month using Zoom. The topic for the May, 2022, session will be a presentation on coax presented by Tim Duffy K3LR of DX Engineering.
Board Meetings
The Board meeting will take place this coming Wednesday April 13, 2022, at 6:30 PM via Zoom.
Manhattan Project
A Zoom virtual Manhattan Project get-together is scheduled for Friday evening April 29, 2022, beginning at 7:00 PM.
Special Events
SARA POTA Challenge – Bob WØGAF reports that the year-long SARA POTA (Parks On The Air) Challenge is well underway, and provided an update on standings via the SARA POTA Challenge leader board. Stats are available throughout the challenge on the SARA club website. Bob displayed a list of the current 23 participants; Brian provided an interesting QSO map showing his QSO pattern for six of his activations for March 2022.
Bob and Brian KB9TBB are the primary data sources for the event. It will run though December 31, 2022. You should let Bob and/or Brian know by email if you are interested in participating, you will be added to the list. The list will be used by Brian to pull data off the POTA.org website: https://parksontheair.com, so hunters will not have to do anything but hunt. To participate you must set up an account on the POTA website.
Field Day 2022 – A permit has been obtained for the Autumn Hills Park Shelter in Oak Park Heights, MN, for this year’s Field Day scheduled for June 25-26, 2022 (“Always last full weekend of June”). A beverage permit has also been obtained. Thanks to Zack AAØU for acquiring those permits. More on Field Day as the date approaches.
Member Support/Assistance Initiatives: M.A.P. & New Ham Resource Group (NHRG) & More
•M.A.P is readily available for antenna projects and member-to-member assistance via non-contact or in person methods. Nothing is on the calendar at the moment, but with the warming weather antenna projects are being eyed.
•New Ham Resource Group, found at newhamhelp@radioham.org, is SARA’s outreach & mentoring program providing technical support and loaner equipment.
Groups.io – Remember that the SARA email reflector group is now online at https://groups.io/g/StillwaterMNAmateurRadioAssoc. This reflector is available to SARA members only, so you should apply at the groups.io site and you will be given access by the site moderator.
DX News: Mike NØODK
Get the latest DX news by subscribing to the ARRL DX News www.arrl.org/contest. Also check out www.ng3k.com for DX. For contests try the WA7BNM Contest Calendar contestcalendar.com, it always current.
Remote Stations: Pat WAØTDA
Joe KCØOIO reports that the remote bases are up and running; however, the WØEQO station is still experiencing problems on 40 meters due to high SWR. There is talk of replacing the antenna to address the issue.
Newsletter: Pat WAØTDA & Dave WØOXB
The April issue of the SARA Signals Newsletter is available, and the deadline for the May edition is April 30, 2022. Please consider submitting an article, or even just photos, for publication.
ARES and Public Service:
While Washington County is without an EC, John KAØHYR has kept the position running until a new EC can be found.
The Washington County – Prairie Island Radiological Emergency Preparedness (“REP”) drill will take place May 25, 2022, at the Park High School in Cottage Grove, MN
Club Business:
@radioham.org and Server Update: Due to the loss of the Gmail services, you may get a bounce back when sending an email to a member using an @radioham.org email address. The Board will be discussing the issue at the upcoming April Board Meeting scheduled for April 13, 2022.
Local Activities: The South East Metro Amateur Radio Club (SEMARC), our fellow amateur radio club in Washington County, MN, has a Fresh Air Operating Event scheduled for April 30, 2022, from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM at the Cottage Grove Fire Station No. 3. Go to the SEMARC website for more information on this event.
Wearables: Do not forget that SARA-labeled hats, shirts, jackets, and other wearables are available from www.hamthreads.com. SARA members will receive a discount on all orders.
50/50 Raffle:
The sale of raffle tickets brought in $42.00. The winner of the resulting $21.00 was Tom, who generously donated his winnings back to the club. Thank you Tom!
The business meeting was adjourned in record time at 11:39 AM.
Meeting attendance: 18; Virtual Meeting attendance: 8