[FCARC] Meeting notes for September 2013

[Craig Szczublewski]

Hello everyone, here are some notes from the September 16th Club meeting:

The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm with 15 members in attendance. Minutes 
from the previous meeting and the treasurer's report were read and accepted.

Committee reports follow:

Members in Distress: KB8ELG was unable to attend due to a minor back injury from 
over he weekend.  It was also reported that KC2RCU was recently in the hospital 
but is believed to be out.

Education: The Autumn Tech Class will not happen at this point.  We thought we 
had fairly good interest, but did not have anyone follow up.  At this point we 
are considering a Spring class.  K8LI suggested instead a Winter class, perhaps 
in January when there is little to do outside.

Repeater Committee:  The replacement packs for the amp have been received. 
KB8ELG has the unit benched and will be working on it when time permits.  We 
have had a number of concerns regarding the performance on the primary 147.195 
repeater.  It seems to be inconsistent in receive quality since the new 4 bay 
antenna was installed.  Questions were also raised on the plans to integrate 
IRLP and Echolink using the K8LI repeater as a gateway.  We have all parts 
required to integrate the two repeaters, however the radios need to be 
programmed and the logistics of how the repeaters are linked needs to be worked 
out as well.  Last, some building tasks need to be completed before winter, 
namely a fresh coat of paint on the new building and removal of the old 
building.  K8LI indicated he has a trailer to pull the old building out for KB8GOM.

Memorial Committee/Silent Key: KA8OLT (Dick Schlueter) passed away at the end of 
July.  Obituary information can be found here:

http://www.grisierfh.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=2183873&fh_id=13150

Membership: we have 55 paid members.  Thank you to all who continue to support 
the club.

Hamfest Committee: We are still planning on a Winter Hamfest on December 6th of 
2014.  The location is tentatively Memorial Hall in Delta.  More info will be 
made available as we have it.

Old Business:

1. Thanks to everyone who helped at the Fulton County Fair earlier this month. 
The booth help with club visibility and amateur radio advocacy.

2. We had a great time during the OSPOTA event at Harrison Lake.  Look for a 
cookout next year!  More details and photos at http://k8bxq.org/

Special Events:

1. Lockport 5k Run/Walk: The Fulton County Health Department has requested our 
assistance for this years Lockport 5k/10k Run & Walk at Goll Woods on October 
5th.  Plan on being at the church by 8:00am for assignments.  More info soon on 
this.

2. Kellen Kaiser Memorial Half Marathon:  This race is November 9th, starting at 
Fayette schools and circling back around Harrison Lake.  More info on this soon 
as well.

Upcoming Hamfests:

09/21/2013 Utica, MI (GMARC)
10/06/2013 Madison Heights, MI
10/20/2013 Kalamazoo, MI
11/16/2013 Ft. Wayne
12/08/2013 Harrison Township, MI (LCARC)

Next Meeting:  The next regular club meeting will be at 7:30pm on October 21st 
at the County Administration Building (same as the Drivers License Bureau), 152 
S. Fulton St, Wauseon.

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 for now...

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Craig Szczublewski - KD8KBU