[AReU] Recap of May AReU meeting

[Terry Petrash]

Hello all and welcome to the recap of this months past AREU
meeting. But first, let us cover a little administrative update.
 

In the past we had been taking attendance at each meeting and
posting it via this newsletter.  I tried to figure out what the
benefit that this chore was accomplishing and couldn’t find any.
 So, in the spirit of efficiency and economy, we are no longer
going to ask anyone to sign in at the meetings.  We run an open
group so there’s no need for this.  However, we will have a sign
up sheet available for any attendees who want to be added to
this e-mail distribution list.  If you are getting this
information as a second hand/forward method, be sure to put your
name on the list or drop me an email at terrypetrash at yahoo.com
and I will see you are added to the distribution list.    

Also, I am proposing that we adopt a little structure to our
gatherings in order to better meet the needs of all attendees. 
The past has consisted of major show and tell demonstrations
then unorganized discussions between group members.  I would
like to propose that we structure our meeting to the following
agenda:

1. 7:00 we start to gather and ragchew with each other until
7:30 as usual.

2. 7:30 we formally start our meeting by having everyone
introduce them selves.  This helps a lot for those who don’t
know everyone, or as in my case has old-timers memory problems
and can’t remember who’s who from the last meeting.

3. The show and tell demonstrations are then presented in a
serial order rather than parallel.  This way everyone gets the
benefits of the information we have to share.

4. After presentations we then open the floor to any questions
of any nature that anyone might be needing information or
answers to.  (In the past members have come with question and
left empty handed because the opportunity was never available to
present the question.  I am hoping that this will alleviate this
problem.)

5. We then conclude the formal agenda and go back to ragchewing
until finally leaving.

If no one has any objections I will try to facilitate this
procedure during our next meeting but baring my presence any one
is free to call the meeting to order and follow the above
agenda.   I hope that this will add to the overall satisfaction
and beneficial experience that has come to be a great benefit of
this group. 


Now to the recap of the previous meeting:

We had one of our biggest turnouts in over a year.  There were
over 23 attendees present.   The word must be getting around!

Professor Ron, KA4INM, gave a great yearly presentation once
again on lightning in our area.  Ron being a broadcast engineer
at channel 44 gave us some benefits from his wealth of
experiences and insights on the effects and mechanics of
lightning.  We all will benefit when applying this information
to our own station setups.  Good lightning prevention not only
protects our equipment but also our personal safety and
enjoyment of the ham radio experience.  As usual Ron did an
excellent job considering the fact that he was handicapped by
his overhead projector being locked in a closet and unavailable
for the presentation.   Previously Ron posted a summary of his
presentation on this reflector.  If anyone missed that and would
like another copy of Ron’s notes you can contact him at
ka4inm at tampabay.rr.com and I’m sure he would be happy to e-mail
you a copy.

I may be wrong, but I think that Tom, K4PQD, was going to do a
follow up after Ron on proper grounding techniques but time ran
out.  Possibly we can expect Tom to return in the future and
share his information with us.

Tony, W4TAS, as usual was there with another one of his
microwave goodies for all to see.  However, he was a little bit
particular about anyone touching this one.  This one must have
been way up in the frequency spectrum or dollars or both!

Next meeting is coming up in about 2 weeks on Tuesday, June 6th.
 No main topic has been announced as of yet but maybe we can
share some past Field Day insights and accommodations in
preparation for this years Field Day event.  

I will be bringing in an old IBM low voltage power supply with
some questions to anyone who can explain to me how the thing
works utilizing 120V AC in and +5 –5 and +9 VDC out with a 550V
AC transformer in-between.

If anyone would like to propose questions for the group to
consider before the meeting please post them as a response to
this message.  That way those attending might be able to do some
background research on questions of interest and come up with
more through answers.

Hope to see you all at the next meeting!

73
Terry Petrash
WA4BYK, 




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