[CTSARA] Meeting Minutes November 4, 2010

[John Sabini Jr.]

http://www.ctsara.org/20101104_Minutes.doc
 
Stamford Amateur Radio Association
Meeting Minutes
November 4, 2010

 
Call to Order
 
The monthly meeting of the Stamford Amateur Radio Association was called to order at 8:05pm on Thursday, November 4, 2010 at the Stamford Government Center.
Announcements

Jon P (KB1QBZ) noticed there were a number of new faces at the meeting. Thus, he began the meeting with all attendees announcing their name and call sign.
 
The W1FSM 2 meter repeater had been having someone inference from a rogue station. Thanks to Louis, and Jon P, it was discovered as an RF EchoLink node from a station on central Long Island operating at 146.180 with PL100. Jon P, with the help of Curt, composed a polite letter to the operator. The operator quickly called Curt and apologized; he was unaware of the coordination. Curt offered to work with him to find a good frequency. Special thanks to Louis for translating the QSO.
 
A quick discussion regarding the December meeting and the possibility of a PotLuck dinner took place. There was minimal interest from the group, so December will be a normal meeting with extra special deserts!
Fred, K1FC, has recently been listening to the International Space Station. He has discovered the secret is the “issfanclub.com” website. The website has frequency listings and instructions on how to best operate and make contact.
 
There will be a VE session on November 20.
Treasurers Report: There is about $3,100 in the account; however, we have not received the bank statement yet.
 
Reminder, the CT SET will be November 6. Please check in at any time between 9 and 11am on the Stamford 2meter repeater. 
 
Jon P. will be taking over for Frank (KB1IFX) as the ARES Region 1 West coordinator, as Frank is very involved with the Red Cross right now.
 
Jon S. (W3EIC) has begun creating a board on the forum for the exchange of media among club members. The “library” can be found at http://bit.ly/96KWC7. Please check it out and list some materials that you are willing to loan to other members.
 
Sterling Farms 2 meter repeater: The board is discussing purchasing a Millennium repeater from GNARC for $600. However the repeater does not come setup and programmed. There is some concern that the club does not have the experience to setup the repeater. 

Jon P has the amp that was at Sterling Farms that had problems. He has received it back from Curt who has corrected the tuned frequency. Jon P has been testing it and Jon S will use it for CT SET this weekend to give it an actual use test. The outcome of the tests will determine if the amp is ready to be used at Sterling Farms. Prior to that installation, Jon P will attach a fan to the underside of the heat sink to prevent future over heating.
 
Stan reminded the group of the NYC Marathon on November 7. There is still room to participate.
He also offered a free suction cup mount (for an antenna); all it needs is new rubber pads. (The two announcements are unrelated.)
 
Presentation

There are two presentations tonight: “Work CW Next Field Day” by Andy, N2CN and “Emergency Generators” by Jon P, KB1QBZ.
 
“Work CW Next Field Day” included a demonstration of the custom software, “The Mill”, that Andy wrote. The software is designed for Field Day operation and only requires an operator to hear and understand CW; the software is written to provide assisted response to the data entry and automatically log the QSO. It makes it very simple, and easy to achieve quick QSOs during field day. With the ease of the software, Andy’s goal is to recruit more CW operators for Field Day!
 
“Emergency Generators” covered smaller, portable systems, not larger whole house units. These units are designed for 3 to 7 days of use. Jon covered proper use and maintenance of these systems, as well as how to most efficiently use the limited power available. He also reviewed power requirements of common household appliances.
 
50/50 Raffle

Jon P drew for the 50/50 raffle and initially drew himself! Tony, KB1SUN, won the second drawing.
 
Other Announcements

Leonard brought in a Russian Army / KGB keyer to pass around for people to see. 
 
Minutes respectfully submitted by: Jonathan Solomon, W3EIC
 
 
PHOTOS: 
http://www.ctsara.org/Meeting11.4.2010.html


J/S WB1GRB



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Stamford Amateur Radio Association

John Sabin Jr. WB1GRB
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John Sabini, WB1GRB: wb1grb at hotmail.com
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