[FCARC] Meeting notes for April 2013

[Craig Szczublewski]

Hello everyone, here are some notes from the last Monday nights Club meeting:

The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm with 22 members and guests in 
attendance. Minutes from the previous meeting and the treasurer's report were 
read and accepted.

Committee reports follow:

Members in Distress: nothing to report

Education: Bryan is planning an Autumn Tech Class this September on the 14th, 
21st, and 28th.  This will allow us to promote the class well ahead of time at 
several of the bigger events like the Delta Chicken Festival and the Fulton 
County Fair.  The VE Team held a testing session at the end March, issuing 2 new 
technician licenses.  The VE Team had one person scheduled for the end of April, 
but that person has taken an earlier test in Toledo and will not need VW testing 
services.  As for now, we have no one scheduled for April.

Repeater Committee:  The main repeater is still operating normally.  We should 
have an answer on the backup repeater insurance claim soon.  There was 
discussion about putting PL tone on the main repeater on a scheduled basis, 
mostly late night and early morning.  The repeater scheduler should be able to 
handle this function and the repeater committee is investigating implementing 
this option.  With the warmer weather approaching, we will be making some 
additional changes to the repeater building so we can install A/C.  This should 
be complete before the end of May.  We also discussed removal of the old 
building, which while in need of maintenance, is still in good shape.  We voted 
unanimously to let KB8GOM have the old building, who will arrange to haul it away.

Memorial Committee/Silent Key: Nothing to report.

Membership: we have 50 paid members.  Thank you to all who continue to support 
the club.

Hamfest Committee: The Hamfest will be June 1st at the Tedrow Woodlot.  There 
are flyers available on the website (under the Hamfest section) for posting at 
regional Hamfests.  As in the past, we'll be having a special VE testing session 
during the Hamfest.

Special Events:

1. Field Day will be June 22-23 this year.  We are back at the Woodlot in Tedrow 
and expect a great turnout with the event being the week before the Threshers event.

2. Event organizers at the Village of Delta have asked for our services in 
traffic monitoring and communications at several other events beyond the Chicken 
Festival.  Details will be coming.

3. I am going to be conducting a two part digital mode workshop at the Delta 
Masonic Lodge (400 Main St, Delta, OH) the first couple of Saturdays in May from 
10:00am to 2:00pm.  The goal is to provide an introduction to sound card digital 
modes in the HF bands.  The first Saturday will consist of computer to rig 
interfacing concepts, installation of software, and basic computer setup.  The 
end goal of the first Saturday is to give you the tools to interface your rig to 
your PC for receiving so you can listen to and view various digital modes on the 
HF bands.  The second Saturday will get more in depth with popular digital 
modes, conducting QSO's, contesting, advanced software setup and utilities like 
logging and spotting.  The goal at the end of the second Saturday is to give you 
the information to go out and make your first contact.  I will be setting up a 
working digital configuration on HF, so we can make some live contacts and have 
some fun with it.  There is no cost for class, and no need to bring any 
equipment with you.

Good of Amateur Radio:

1. We had a special guest at the meeting, Heather Kost (the Fulton County EMA) 
stopped in to meet some of the club members after talking with KB8ELG at the 
Skywarn class.  She made mention that with the popularity of the Skywarn class, 
they are considering holding a second session.

2. I was speaking with Charles Keller (N8UBX) at the club meeting who needed to 
renew his license and was inquiring to me how to accomplish this without 
internet access.  I have the FCC 605 forms he needs but do no know how to get a 
hold of him.  If anyone knows how to contact him, please forward that on to me.

Upcoming Hamfests:

05/17/2013 Dayton, OH (5/17 to 5/19)
06/01/2013 Tedrow, OH (FCARC)

Next Meeting:  The next regular club meeting will be May 20th at the County 
Administration Building (same as the Drivers License Bureau), 152 S. Fulton St, 
Wauseon.  The club meeting will be at 7:30pm.

Club Nets:

Weeknights at 10:30pm Bud's Midnight Madness Net -- 147.195+
Wed at 8pm Informal Two Meter & ARES Net -- 147.195+
Wed at 9pm 6M Net -- 50.400 AM on the first Wednesday of the month
Wed at 9pm 6M Net -- 52.525 FM Simplex

That's all I have for now.  Please reply back to me with corrections as I am 
quite sure I missed or misquoted something...

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Craig Szczublewski - KD8KBU