MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES – October 14, 2017
Stillwater Amateur Radio Association
1618 Pine Street West
Stillwater, Minnesota 55082
President: KCØOIO (not present, meeting conducted by VP Keith AGØH)
The meeting was called to order at 9:03 AM.
Secretary’s Report: Steve KAØOBI
The general meeting minutes from the September 9, 2017 meeting are posted on the website. Please report any corrections to: Secretary@radioham.org
Treasurer’s Report: John N5JLZ
Beginning Balance: 9/1/2017 $2,401.72
Income: $275.00
Expenses: Zero
Ending Balance: 9/30/2017 $2,676.72 (Not including RBP income/expenses)
$17,272.95 (Including RBP income/expenses)
Education and Training: Bob WØGAF
The fall classes for the General license have begun with four students.
Activities & Events: Dave WØOXB (not present)
Thursday Night Eyeball Sessions – held every Thursday at 6 PM at the Stillwater Public Library.
Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald – Coming soon on Nov 3, 4, & 5 at the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. This will be our 13th consecutive year of operating to commemorate the event. There is not much time left to call the Mariner’s Motel in Silver Bay to make your reservation – (218) 226-4488.
M.A.P. (Membership Assistance Program) – Several antennas were raised in the weeks prior to Dave’s departure for WA.
Collin KEØIYN has taken the lead in helping club members program their new HT’s so they can get on the air.
The club now has coax crimping tools to assist anyone who needs new coax connections for their shack. Let Joe or Dave know in advance of an eyeball session so they can bring the tools to the library.
Remote Base Project (RBP): Pat WAØTDA
Both of the remote stations are currently operating OK. The station up north may need to have the computer software updated and checked out prior to the onset of winter weather.
Newsletter & Website: Pat WAØTDA
The October 2017 issue of the newsletter is now available on the SARA website.
Washington County ARES: John KAØHYR (not present)
The ARES net will be October 15th at 7PM on the SEMARC repeater 146.985.
SARA Nets & Ragchews:
SARA Tuesday Round Robin Ragchew – on 12 meters at 24.955 MHz at 7PM.
SARA Monday morning Round Robin Ragchew – will be meeting on 75 meters at 3.856 MHz at a new time of 0900 due to the changing propagation.
SARA Digi Net – will be starting on Oct 15 at 7PM on 3.581.15 MHz centered on 500-1000 Hz.
SARA 160 meter Top Band Ragchew – is on 1.966 MHz every night at 8PM except Tuesday & Thursday.
DX News: Mike NØODK
Bouvet Island 3YØZ DXpedition will begin in January 2018. Be sure to grab this rare one because it was voted the 3rd most wanted DX entity.
Check out www.ng3k.com and DXnews.com for DX & Contest Calendar information.
Program Schedule:
Oct – Micro/Single Board Computers in the Shack – Collin KEØIYN
Nov – ARISS School Contact – Story Behind John Glenn Middle School – John Dean KØIDD
Dec – Ask/Stump the Elmer – Round 2
Jan – SARA White Elephant Exchange Party
Wearables:
Be sure to contact www.hamthreads.com for all your club clothing needs. They do a great job of personalizing hats, shirts, and jackets.
Old Business:
The SARA Oval Sticker/Decals are on sale for $1 each from John N5JLZ.
The SARA Coffee Mugs are on sale for $3 each from Keith AGØH.
New Business:
The ARRL ballots were recently sent to all their members. Please be sure to return them in a timely manner before the deadline.
Good of Association:
SEMARC meeting will be held Oct 31st at 7PM at the Zion Lutheran Church, 8500 Hillside Trail, Cottage Grove.
Program: Microcomputers in the Shack – Collin O’Connor KEØIYN
Collin gave an excellent overview of the latest developments in the miniaturized computers that are available almost everywhere at a very affordable price. These ‘systems on a chip’ can measure only 3mm x 3mm – they include a single integrated circuit with a CPU, memory storage, and input/output. These come in four different categories: Running an operating system (Raspberry Pi), embedded platform – no operating system with some assembly required (Arduino), Operating system with a lot of assembly required (Beaglebone Black), and no operating system that you can use out of the box (Lego Mindstorms Kits).
The advantages of these microcomputers are many – small size, small power draw, low cost, I/O ports so they are easy to work with, high efficiency, great for prototyping, can be dedicated for a single purpose, and just plain fun.
These microcomputers are easy to program and to set up. Since they utilize Linux, You Tube is an excellent resource for how to videos on different ways to program and set up an inexpensive system to do almost anything.
The program and meeting concluded at 10:36 AM.
Meeting attendance: 26