[FARC] August Minutes

[Scott Galbraith]

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Following are the minutes for the August meeting of the FARC.

FREDERICK AMATEUR RADIO CLUB MINUTES
August 20, 2003

The August meeting of the Frederick Amateur Radio Club was called to order
by FARC President, Scott, N3OK.  After introductions, Scott asked if there
were any upgrades or new hams in the group and none were reported.

The minutes from the June meeting were approved and Ken - N3ZXM presented
the current standing of the Treasury and the financial results of the
Hamfest.

Robert Cramer, N3ORL, and Richard Porter, KB3HUX, were presented for
membership acceptance to FARC and were voted in unanimously.

ARES/Races Update
Eric - N8AAY discussed the Maryland/DC Section Level emergency operations
plan emphasizing local net activities. An Emergency Response Plan ("ERP")
is required at local levels and the various plans are bridged together
across the state and region.  Eric announced that Jeff Fishman - KB3FIO was
stepping up as the new Assistant EC for Frederick County.  Eric expressed
his appreciation for the years of support from Jim - N3HTA, who is stepping
down due to excessive work related obligations.  There was discussion of
the impact seen in the recent northeast power blackouts, steps that
individuals could take to prepare for a similar incident and a need for
battery/generator back-up capabilities on the FARC repeaters.

FIELD DAY
A brief report was made on the club's Field Day activities and there was
discussion of what we might do to increase participation at next year's
activities. Also a discussion of a need to record the participant names for
all persons, members and non-members, who take part in the various FARC
related or sponsored events so that we can appropriately recognize their
contributions.

FARC Repeater News
Eric - N8AAY reported that the VHF repeater always transmits the PL, so
mobile users can enable PL encoding to block out unwanted co-channel
repeater interference. It was reported that our current PL (156.7) could be
changed to 123.0 to match the common PL in this area. The UHF repeater is
only capable of decoding the present PL and it is not capable of
transmitting PL at all.  The .06 repeater antenna was repaired and
straightened at the same time that a County antenna was corrected on the
tower.

HAMFEST Report
Carolyn - N3VOK reported that the FARC annual Hamfest was a resounding
success, especially in light of recent economic conditions.  Carolyn
expressed sincere appreciation for the assistance of all of the volunteers
who helped this year and made the event so successful. The members gave
Carolyn an ovation for her contributions and efforts in making this event
successful and fun to work with.


Old Business
Eric - N8AAY and Jackie - WB3KDS motioned that the FARC dispose of two
generators which were reported as being useful for only parts.  The service
shop which had examined the units offered the club $50 for both units.  The
motion was amended to allow disposal of the units to the mechanic and/or to
an interested club member as long as the amount received by the club was at
least $50. The amended motion was approved unanimously.  Doc Brown - KA3KZH
was volunteered to head an investigation into recommending new alternatives
for replacing the old generators.

There was a general discussion of FARC club jackets, shirts, name
placement, club logo, etc. and no specific actions were taken or made.

Club Station
It was reported by Jeff - KB3FIO that a new Carolina Windom antenna had
been installed for the club station and it was working very well on all
bands except 80M.  He is working to resolve that issue and is looking into
putting a UPS battery system up with the equipment.  There was discussion
of the club's need for more modern 2 meter and 440 MHz equipment since our
current equipment can not access our own repeaters when PL is enabled.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted
Scott, N3OK, President

Attendance:
Ken Hanes		N3ZXM
Eric Gammeter		N8AAY
Bill Reinhardt		N3TCR
Jackie Fries		WB3KDS
Bill Laughlin		N3JXD
Jeff Fishman		KB3FIO
David Lee		KB3FRY
Carolyn Moroney		N3VOK
Steve Hershberger		KG4TJV
Bob Hershberger		N3QHS

-- 
73 de Scott Galbraith
N3OK, Frederick County, MD
FM19ji
ARRL, QCWA 30013, GERATOL 2198, PVRC
NAVMARCORMARS - NNN0OPY, NNN0GAW
National Communications System SHARES
mailto:scottg@n3ok.com