[PVRCNC] PVRCNC-EAST December Meeting Summary and New Contest Announcement

[NX9T at aol.com]

The PVRCNC-East crew enjoyed another fine gathering in December.  This months 
meeting included a challenging Paper Contest,  the sharing of plans for 2007, 
and elections for our 2007 officers.  We had a lot of fun...part of which was 
hearing about a NEW contest that is brewing .  Please see the announcement at 
the end of this report to learn about the NC Road Kill Roundup!  Those in 
attendance were: K4QPL, Jim; K3KO, Brian; N4XD, Ron; NT4D, Jay; W4KAZ, Keith; 
NT4Q, Jerry; KI4GMW, Jolene; K1ZW, Larry; N4TL, Tom; NX9T, Jeff; K4CIA, Bill; 
K9EZ, Kent; W0UCE, Jack; N1LN, Bruce; N1YXU, Laurie; and K2AV, Guy.

K4QPL extended a hearty thank you to all members of the chapter who 
participated in Sweepstakes.  Jim indicated that the Chairman's Challenge awards are 
forthcoming to the deserving.    

Nominations were accepted for the positions of Chairman, Deputy Chairman, 
Secretary, Program Director, and Deputy Program Director.  The reasoning behind 
the "deputy" positions is to enhance continuity through having a "Chairman 
elect" who can "train" under a current chairman, fill in when needed, and then 
take the helm the following year.  Same thing with the Program position.  
Following discussion and nominations, K4QPL was re-elected as Chairman, W4KAZ voted 
in as Secretary, and NT4D ushered in as Program Director. Thanks to each of you 
for your willingness to serve. The Deputy positions will remain open until 
our January meeting.  Appreciation was expressed to outgoing secretary NX9T and 
Program Director W0UCE.  

In further business, the consensus of the group is that our meeting place is 
working out quite well and that no change is needed.  The private room has 
been wonderful, service is good, and the chow is reasonably priced.  So far 2007, 
we expect to stay put.

It was noted that this meeting was the second for KI4GMW (Jolene).  She was 
quickly voted in.  Welcome Jolene!


Paper Contest:

W4KAZ had the winning answers to take home the prize again this month 
("helping hand" magnifying glass/alligator clip/soldering station).  The contest 
involved seaon appropriate DX related questions..."Know your Target DX Location."

This months program consisted of members expressing how they plan to improve 
their scores in 2007 and sharing any station upgrades which are in the works.


Member Reports:

K3KO: Brian joked that he has been avoiding meetings lately but was 
unsuccessful this month.  He has jumped in most contests lately and recently worked the 
VU7 which was his last needed DXCC country.  Congrats Brian!

N4XD: Ron played hard in the ARRL 160 test and had a personal best for number 
of QSO's.  He was thrilled to have a SV3 call in during a run.

NT4D: Jay operated in both SS as well as ARRL 160.  He reports that his 
antennas are working well but that he really misses his 40m yagi.

W4KAZ: Keith had a new personal best in CW SS, all time personal best (number 
of QSO's-500+) in SSB SS, and played around in the ARRL 160.  The added 
radials seem to have really helped out.

NT4Q: Jerry is still recovering from a serious knee injury which has 
understandably slowed down his radio operating, tower work, etc...  He did get on for 
SSB SS.  

KI4GMW: Jolene (XYL of NT4Q) reported that her primary job during SSN was to 
keep Jerry "in the chair."

K9EZ: Kent has recently moved into the area.  As this was his first meeting, 
he introduced himself, reviewed some of his past contesting efforts, described 
his operating interests (everything from 160m to 432 mhz), and told us of how 
his coax cable was not long enough to make it in the house so he operated 
CQWW CW from out on the deck.  Fortunately for him it wasn't 15 degrees like it 
is as I'm typing this!  Kent is excited about getting back on the air and into 
contesting.  He's looking to buy some property and then the antenna farm will b
e planted.  Welcome Kent!  We're glad to have you with us.

W0UCE: Jack, or "Rod" as he is more commonly referred to these days, dabbled 
in the SSCW and CQWW CW.  N1LN, N3ND, and N4CW joined him for ARRL 160 last 
weekend.  "Rod" continues to desire to add more ground rods in his lightening 
protection plan due to continued lightening damage/strikes.

K1ZW: Larry was on some for SS and continues to work on his ever-growing 
antenna farm.  Thus far, antennas which are in play are working FB.

N1YXU: Laurie operated with OM N1LN during the SSB SS.  This was her first 
contest since moving to North Carolina.  She had a lot of fun and did a super 
job.  She also assisted her OM by serving as the ground crew while he put up a 
tower/antenna.

N1LN: Bruce had a good time operating as a multi in the SSB SS with his XYL.  
He has grown impatient with the delays of a contractor how is supposed to 
come out and do some dozer work before the towers start going up...so he put a 
small (43') tower with an A3 on top.  It's working well but he remains eager to 
get the bigg'ns up. Bruce enjoyed operating the ARRL 160 at W0UCE.

K2AV: Guy provided a report about another big effort out at NY4A (N4AF) 
during CQWW CW.  Although the gang had to deal with some wire antenna repairs right 
up to the start of the contest (recent Nor'easter caused damage), they still 
managed over 5,000 Q's and appear to be sitting in first place in M2.  Guy 
advised that he had a personal best score in  SS CW but was unable to participate 
in SSB SS due to his inability to locate a microphone for his rig.  In an 
effort to reduce his guilt, he did make a point of listening for a while and 
spotting PVRC folks on the cluster.

N4TL: Tom was on for both modes in SS and played around in the ARRL 160.  He 
is getting settled in to a new job (back at IBM as a contractor) and enjoying 
his IC756PIII.  As a testament to his operating skills and station 
capabilities, he brought yet another load of QSL cards for K4CIA to "check" for DXCC 
purposes.

NX9T: Jeff was also on for both modes in SS.  He was able to muster a couple 
hours during the ARRL 160 as well.  Jeff is chasing the VU7 (one Q thus far) 
as it is one of his last needed DXCC entities.

K4CIA: Bill was on the air during the SS CW and made "a few" QSO's during the 
ARRL 160.  He has cornered the VU7 now on 3 bands and is in hot pursuit of 
more!

K4QPL: Jim as on for both SS CW and SS SSB.  He was only able to make a 
limited appearance in the CQWW CW due to the holiday and family obligations.  Jim 
laughingly reported that he was in the ARRL 160 in S/P mode...only problem was 
that there was no "P" involved.  He is eagerly anticipating ARRLDX CW at NY4A.

Via Email:

K4HA: Bob sent Seasons Greetings from the frigid north.  He was visiting 
relatives in Chicago.

K4TMC: Henry was out of town this month but passed along greetings as well.

K4CZ: Barry thanked chapter members for expressing the condolences upon the 
passing of his father.  He appreciated that thoughts and concern.  Barry did 
get on the air duringCQWW SSB, SS CW and SS SSB.  He earned his first sweep in 
the SSB test!  Congrats Barry!!!  Maybe a Chairman's Challenge award winner 
here???  Murphy did strike recently, Barry's LDG AT-1000 auto tuner was "fried" 
for the second time.  He is now looking for a high power tuner such as TT 238, 
Heathkit, or Dentron. If you have something like that, please contact Barry.

KA1ARB: Rob was unable to escape work but indicated that he had a great time 
during SS SSB.  Murphy visited Rob as well, something "fried" in his audio 
circuit for his microphone so he ended up the contest with what he described as 
"horrible audio."  He plans to poke around some during the 10m test but is 
planning on putting up his 72' tower next spring.

NEW CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT !!!  NEW CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT !!!

N1LN and W0UCE have teamed up to bring new excitement to the contesting 
community.  In the tradition of the Pesky Texan Armadillo Chase, please welcome the 
North Carolina Road Kill Round Up!  This will be a lot of fun.  Please check 
out the website which provides all the details.  The webpage is a lot of fun 
too...don't miss it!    Please go to: 
ncroadkillroundup.homestead.com/index.html  (sorry, but I couldn't get the reflector to accept the link...please add 
the normal http syntax prior to the address)

As this is my last meeting summary (at least for a while), I want to thank 
the NCE Chapter for allowing me the privilege of serving them in the capacity of 
Secretary.  I have enjoyed the almost 18 months.  I am thrilled that W4KAZ 
has accepted the nomination/election to be our next Secretary.  Keith is a very 
dedicated, enthusiastic, and dependable individual.  Any who read his "micro 
fone" ramblings also know that he is very talented with the written word!  

Our next meeting will be on January 4, 2007.  Members, please be thinking 
about the two open positions as we will be looking to fill them in January.  If 
you have any questions, nominations, etc...let W4KAZ/NX9T know and we will try 
to assist you.

73, 
Jeff NX9T