[NLRS] Notes from Aurora 2008

[W0ZQ at aol.com]

Hello NLRS land.   Here are some short  notes from yesterday's Aurora 2008 
gathering.

*  The weather failed  to cooperate so the morning part of Aurora was a 
washout (snow-out).  We  had about an inch of snow but the temperatures were cold 
and the wind was  cranking most of the day.   The club was able to use the 
church's  front meeting area for socializing and to review the poster boards 
brought  to the conference by W9FZ, K0MHC, and K0KFC.  
*  In the afternoon  we had five presentations and our NLRS business meeting. 
 N9TTX shared with  us his recent roving experiences over the last few years 
and passed along some  great tips on what to do, and what not to do, when 
roving.  W0TLE shared  with us some safety tips for the modern shack.  Dick 
indicated that in  addition to hazards associated with high voltage AC such as 
common 120 VAC, Dick  discussed other hazards associated with low voltage high 
current DC, and the  hazard potential of batteries.  K0AWU was snowed in at his 
Grand Rapids  QTH, but was able to send his Power Point presentation to us (tnx 
GHZ) and  present via cell phone.  Although we missed seeing his face, we were 
all  thankful that we were able to see Bill's presentation about his work 
with the  new 10m Softrock SDR.   K0KFCs presentation, Grounding and Lightning  
Protection, was based on his recent work at installing a tower and 
corresponding  grounding system at his new location in Wisc.   W0ZQ closed out the  
afternoon sessions with a talk on his efforts to obtain reverse  VUCC (VUCC/r) on 
the microwave bands.  The VUCC/r program is sponsored  by Central States.    
*  The club's business meeting will be  covered in full details by the 
meeting minutes that Glen and I will be working  on.  Until then, here are some 
highlights.  We recognized several club  members for assisting with the Sunday 
night nets, our clubs reflector and  website, assistance with Silent Keys, and 
club tables and presentations.   W0ZQ presented a brief overview of the ARRL 
VUAC work, past and  future.   WA2VOI/0 spoke briefly on MUD'08 that will be held 
in  Bloomington in October and W9FZ put in a plug for the CSVHFS conference 
in  Wichita in July.  The club made a motion to donate $100 to the ARRL's  
Education & Technology fund, to their Spectrum defense fund, and to QTH.com  for a 
total of $300.  The club also made a motion for the club officers to  explore 
moving Aurora deeper into Summer with the goal of moving it out of snow  
season.  N0UK presented awards, the first being the NLRS Limited Rover  Awards 
with first place going to WB8BZK, second place to K9JK, and an honorable  mention 
to WA0VPJ for third place, all three being present to accept.  I  will 
forward the award artwork to W0JT to be place on the NLRS  website.   N0UK also 
presented the Wesslund Award to this years  winner, Rich Westerbrg, N0HJZ.  Rich 
was unable to attend due to work  commitments but did provide the following 
written response that I read at this  meeting.  "I am sorry that I could not 
attend AURORA today due to a work  commitment.  I have been absent from the VHF 
bands and the NLRS for a while  due to starting a business and not having 
antennas at a new home.  I hope  this will change in the near future!  I am honored 
to receive the Wesslund  Award.  I am very honored to be associated with a 
great club and a great  group of past award winners.  The past winners have all 
been great mentors  and great builders.  They always have had time to help with 
a project or to  help tinker with an antenna or preamp. My claim to fame is 
that I'm a  cheerleader and an operator.  My cheerleading through the Upper 
Midwest  VHF/UHF Newsletter was a labor of love.  It was fun to hear all the VHF  
news of the day and the newsletter helped spread the fun of VHF/UHF operating 
 and contesting.  The NLRS is a great group.  We're located in a great  part 
of the country and we can enjoy almost all forms of propagation.   We've got 
an enthusiastic group of operators and we've got grid squares on all  sides of 
us just begging to be activated!  I look forward to being more  involved with 
the NLRS again soon and getting some antennas back in the  air.  I look 
forward to the buzz of aurora, the sound of 2M E-skip, the fun  of pulling out a 
long-haul QSO on the high bands from Buck Hill, and feeling my  heartrate go up 
as I hear Europe on six meters!  Thanks again to the NLRS  for this great 
award.  I am honored to be associated with such a great club  and a great group of 
past award winners!"   Lastly the current club  officers, N0UK, KC0IYT, and 
W0ZQ, were re-elected for a two year  term.   
*  At the close of Aurora'08, K0SHF and KD0JI were  acknowledge for their 
work and support for the Wesslund Award.   W0UC,  WA2VOI/0 and W0JT were 
acknowledge for their work and support of  Aurora'08.

Hope these brief notes help fill in any gaps for those may not  have been to 
attend.   

73, Jon
W0ZQ  




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