[FCARC] May Meeting Notes

[Craig Szczublewski]

Some notes from the May 2011 club meeting to pass along:

We had 22 people in attendance, 19 club members and 3 guests.  We heard
the minutes from the previous meeting and the club financial report. 
Committee reports follow:

Education/VE Committee Report:

Dave Nelson reported we had three people attend our April VE Testing
session in Archbold.  We had two new technicians pass and one new
general class issued as well.   We have one potential candidate for May
testing, but do not have a solid commitment yet.  People interested in
taking advantage of the May testing session should contact Dave Nelson
so he can arrange the VE team for May 28.  Dave also indicated we will
offer testing at the Hamfest on June 4th, and on Field Day, June 25th. 
Further details and contact information can be found at the Fulton
County website http://www.k8bxq.org/node/5

Bryan Patterson was given the green light by the Delta Public Library to
hold a two weekend Technician Level class at their facilities.  They
have multimedia capabilities which will allow us to use the ARRL
training material on DVD.  We are tentatively reserving a date of
September 10th and 17th, the week after the Fulton County Fair.   This
will allow us to advertise the class during the Fair, as well as the
Delta Chicken Festival.  Further information will be posted as it
becomes available.

Repeater Committee Report:

The newly acquired 60 amp rack mount supply has been installed at the
primary repeater site.  K8LI's 50 amp supply has been returned to him
after a but of refurbishment from a lighting strike we took in late
April.  KB8ELG was able to repair the supply and we thank Lindsay for
the use of it.   The new Andrews 4 bay antenna has been delivered to
KB8ELG and we have arranged for installation on the county tower at the
primary site.  We are now just waiting for a good weather day with low
wind for installation.  With the weather turning warmer, we also expect
to move into the new repeater building within the next month.

Hamfest Committee Report:

The Hamfest is a go for June 4th.  We have three gift certificates from
the ARRL available for drawings.  We were also informed Tom (KC8UOM) has
created the signs for the Hamfest and Field Day and will handle posting
them around Tedrow to assist with directions.  More information on the
Hamfest can be found here http://www.k8bxq.org/node/16

Field Day Committee Report:

We have secured the use of a pneumatic mast for the weekend, as well as
an emergency power generator.  We had further discussion on setting up
the club station and whether we would want to set it up as a GOTA class
station.  We are also trying to get a running list of who will be
setting up stations, the types of antennas they plan on deploying and
what their rig capabilities are.  Bryan (KB8ELG) noted that he will take
care of providing the ham for the potluck dinner on Saturday.  Craig
(KD8KBU) has put together an invitation postcard which will be sent out
to area amateur operators before the end of May.  Our hope is to
increase interest and attendance for Field Day.  Our goal this year is
to be a bit better organized and allow other club members, who may not
setup a rig, to operate.  While we don't like to use the phrase
"schedule", there are many times throughout the course of the day where
primary operators will want a break, so relief operators would be great
to keep the stations going.

Other Miscellaneous Notes (in no particular order):

We have 44 paid members
We have received fair booth reservation forms and have agreed to
purchase the space again this year.  Look for us in the same location.

There are probably some other items that came up, but that's all I can
remember for now!

73,
Craig Szczublewski (KD8KBU)