[RVRC] Whoa..before this gets out of hand.

[drew Moore]

Members,

 

Regarding my initial email sparked by sharing the situation with the
Cherryville Club (W2CRA) I'd like to clarify my reason for sending it out. I
don't want to start a barrage of emails but to spark some club thinking out
of the box to improve our approach to a problem many ham radio clubs are
experiencing due to declining membership and club participation. This
problem has been in the making for at least a decade. The clubs that address
the problem will be the clubs that remain active. It's not all about having
the best repeater on the air. Experience has clearly shown the best approach
is not to throw money at the problem. The end result is we rapidly exhaust
our funds and never have any reserve monies available.

 

We don't need a generator for obvious reasons that have already been stated.
A contractor's grade generator is not the best choice for sensitive computer
and radio equipment. Installation of the transfer switch is an additional
expense and the daily supply and storage is manually intensive. In our
repeater's area with servicing by JCP&L or even PSE&G we can expect to have
extended periods of outages. The current 8 hour battery backup in light of
that is also  a now realized bad investment. These are expensive features we
can't afford at this time.

 

I don't see us marching in Parades or participating in Coin toss activities
to raise funds. Additional I don't see us doing any public service work with
the intent to raise funds. However, fund raising is what we need to focus on
immediately to restore our repeater(s) to full operations. At meetings
several months ago members ;loaned/donated money to the club and WA2AM gave
a detail accounting of the donations in his reports. We need to raise funds
WITHIN the ham community much as we have done through our yearly hamfest.
The Bergenfield Amateur club funds their Troop 139 Flea market twice a year,
BARA runs a spring hamfest and a fall auction, OMARC runs a Spring and Fall
hamfest. When we held our meetings in Bridgewater and on First Avenue in
Raritan. RVRC ran a fall Auction and all these activities help to boost our
operating and repair project needs. Additionally the club was more active,
better publicized as a result of these types of events.

 

I think we should get the 2m system operational by putting up the temporary
antenna while we trouble shoot the problem with the new antenna. If we have
to replace it we'll do it by working with our insurance company. Our
responsibility is to do due diligence in determine where the fault is with
the antenna through a physical exam of the antenna and VSWR test. The
problem may be elsewhere. Already we are talking about buying a new antenna,
a tower climb and other activities that are already potentially approaching
$2,000. Last time I looked Daddy Warbuck wasn't a member of our club.

 

So, let's save the email chatter for the club meeting, attend the club
meeting if you can and we can hash it out there.

 

73,

Drew

W2OU