[FARC] T-MARC Status Report, Meeting

[Bob Moroney]

Here is the promised status update from T-MARC. Note that there is to be 
a meeting on Sunday Feb. 17th down in Linthicum. I'll plan on attending, 
but it would be good if another FARC member could take on or share 
responsibility for interfacing with T-MARC in the longer term. Any 
volunteers? Please call or contact me by email. Thanks.

73, Bob K9CMR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T-MARC Information for January, 2008:

This is the first in what is planned to be a regular series of emails 
intended to keep you informed on activities at T-MARC.

The T-MARC board that you elected in November, 2007 has met twice and 
will meet once more before the general membership meeting on February 
17. At the first meeting, the board elected the following officers:

    President: Dave Prestel, W8AJR
    Vice President, Technical Operations: Bill Conaway, W8HNT
    VP Public Affairs: Al Brown, KZ3AB
    Secretary/Treasurer: John Elgin, WA3MNN

The following is a brief list of the actions taken by the board to date:

    * As part of his duties as our Public Affairs Officer, Al Brown has
      taken over care and feeding of the T-MARC web site. The databases
      on the web site have been updated and are being maintained
      regularly. The link to send mail to the board is operational.
    * The membership database has been updated with information received
      at the November general meeting and is posted on the web site.
    * The list of coordinated repeaters is being updated and will be
      made available on the web site.
    * We divided up the list of questionable repeaters, that is the ones
      for which we have not received any communication from coordination
      holders, among the members of the board and are in the process of
      verifying their status. As a result a number of frequency pairs
      have been de-coordinated. Details of the de-coordinations will be
      posted shortly. There is a large number of repeaters on this list.
      We are giving first priority to two meter and UHF repeaters as
      this is where the greatest demand for new coordinations exists. If
      you know the owners of any of the machines listed and can assist
      in having them contact us, that would be appreciated.
    * Board Member Bryan Dorbert, N3ST, has agreed to be a full time
      assistant to Bill, W8HNT, in resolving coordination issues. They
      have been working diligently on all of our open issues and have
      been responding promptly to new requests as they come in.
    * Board Member Larry D’Anna, WA3KOK, has taken on the responsibility
      to get our incorporation status renewed. He has been in contact
      with the government of the District of Columbia and is contacting
      other jurisdictions to compare the relative costs and benefits. We
      expect to have a final report on our incorporation at the
      membership meeting.
    * The board is still considering the issue of holding regular
      coordination meetings. These would be held to benefit those who
      have requested new co-ordinations or who have raised co-ordination
      issues to be resolved and would be held in locations convenient to
      the folks whose issues are being discussed. Our final
      recommendation will be reported at the general meeting.
    * We have begun coordination of D-STAR repeaters.


That may look like a short list, but it represents a lot of work by the 
members of the board. They’re volunteering their time, just as you 
volunteer your time to the repeaters that you operate and use. Your 
support and patience are truly appreciated.

The next general membership meeting will be held on at 1:00 pm, Sunday, 
February 17, at the Historical Electronics Museum. This is a date change 
from the February 10 date originally selected at the November membership 
meeting. The agenda for this meeting will include the following:

    * Report on our incorporation status
    * Report on the status of the questionable repeater list
    * Creation of band plan recommendation committees for 6 meters and
      900 MHz, and other bands if necessary. Chairpersons and membership
      for these committees will be sought from the general membership.
    * Creation of a D-STAR coordination plan recommendation committee. A
      chairperson and membership for this committee will be sought from
      the general membership.

That’s it for now. If you wish, you may reply to this message. Your 
reply will go to the T-MARC Board, but will not be retransmitted to the 
membership at this time. We’re looking into the possibility of setting 
up a discussion forum which would allow any member to post messages to 
the membership.

73,

Dave Prestel, W8AJR
*T-MARC
*