RARC Meeting Minutes - April 2002
The April meeting of the Rochester Amateur Radio Club was called to order at 7:00pm, Tuesday 4/9/02, by President Dave Peterson (K7CJO), with 28 members and 1 guest present.
Reports
- Minutes from the March meeting were approved as posted on the web site.
- Treasurer's Report by Bob (KCØGND): Tuesday, January 8, 2002
Major transactions this period:Checking: $ 2591.30 Savings: $ 2426.33 Cash: $ 31.00 Checks in hand: $ 120.00 Total: $ 5168.63 - 2002 dues - $285.00
- Library Fund income - $175.00
- United Way income - $69.54
- Telephones - $46.44
- RPU - $42.00
Committee Reports
- Technical Committee - Stew (WØSHL)
- The Simpson site is having some kind of problem with the amplifier. At high power, the amplifier drops out as if there is a high SWR, but at low power everything checks out ok. Steve and Stew will continue working on it.
- A grant for $1000 from IBM will be coming, to be applied towards replacement of the .625 repeater.
- There is some noise on the .82 repeater which seems to be intermod. Users should note any noise they hear, recording times and other details, and send reports to the Tech Committee so the problems can be investigated.
- The Tech Committee is collecting ideas for priorities and future directions for the committee.
- Membership Committee - John (KØKTY)
- 3 former members renewed last month. We now have 103 members.
- The club had a table at the Skywarn class last month, and handed out lots of pamphlets.
- Web site activity: there were 27 updates to the club member database last month, which is typical. The web page on club repeaters has been updated with information from last month's program, and the ilink page has been updated with information from the month before.
- Public Service Committee - John (NØHZN)
- 6 events are scheduled: the Med City Marathon (May); the Tour de Cure, the Rochesterfest Parade, and the Touchstone bike fest (June); the Rochester Centurion (July); and the half marathon (August). Dates and contacts are on the web site.
- Scouts Committee - Bob (ABØBW)
- Contact with the Gamehaven Scout Council continues.
- Library Committee - Peter (N8MHD)
- The Library Package has been ordered from ARRL, for donation to the Rochester Public Library. This completes the second phase of the project (the first phase was the donation from Radio Shack). Thanks go to Stew for persuading members to donate to the project.
- The next phase of the project will target High School libraries. Members who have kids in one of the High Schools may want to suggest which High School should be first. Donations are needed.
- ARES - Steve (WØSTV)
- A group has been selected to act as an EOC core. They will be pre-checked for security, and will train on the EOC equipment and procedures.
- EOC has donated some laptops to ARES. The EOCPac program is still being worked on.
- Mayo ARES is trying to coordinate with hospitals in the Cities.
- There is a Prairie Island drill coming up, on the two Tuesday evenings of April 23 and May 13. Anyone who can go to either please contact Steve.
Old Business:
- The motion to allow discounted partial-year dues was read for the second time, and passed on a voice vote.
New Business:
- The secretary needs to contact Assisi to make sure Field Day can take place there again this year.
Announcements:
- There is a new Saudi satellite for amateur radio.
- The Mid-Winter Madness Hamfest in St Paul is coming up Saturday April 13. See www.visi.com/~k0ltc for info.
- Stew (WØSHL) prepared a talk on amateur radio for Kiwanis. The presentation is available for other similar organizations; let him know if you have a group that might like to see it.
Program
Following the meeting, Steve (WØSTV), Bob (KCØGND), and Bob (ABØBW) presented a program on Transmitter Hunting. There is now an active group of members doing this. There is a practice gator hunt each month, on the Sunday after the club meeting, at 7:00pm on the .82 repeater. A web site with background info and references is www.homingin.com.
Submitted by Peter N8MHD.