Tri-County Amateur Radio Club Minutes of Meeting: 08 Feb. 2020
A regular monthly meeting of the Tri-County Amateur Radio Club was held on Saturday, 08 February 2020, at 8:30 am EST at Loflin's Restaurant, 108 Randolph Street, in Thomasville, NC, the president, W4DAE-David, being in the chair. The meeting was called to order at 8:32 am.
A draft agenda, distributed prior to commencement of the meeting, was adopted without objection.
Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting
Reading of the minutes of the January 2020 meeting was waived and they were adopted without change or objection.
Reports of Officers and Committees
Report of the Treasurer. -- A monthly report for January 2020, circulated to all members via e-mail prior to the meeting, was briefly summarized at the meeting by W8LWX, Secretary-Treasurer. The club now has an EIN, a bank account in its own name, and a working PayPal button on NC4AR.org which is linked to that account and is being used for dues payments and donations. As of 31 January 2020, the club still had $234.88 remaining in its $298 operating budget for the year. Cash on hand stood at $1,249.22, leaving $1,014.34 in uncommitted resources (i.e., cash on hand net of the operating fund balance).
Report of the Secretary. -- The secretary's report was also provided by W8LWX. Since the previous meeting, one new member has joined (NB8Z, Lawrence Ferrone, of Brunswick, OH). As of 07 February 2020, we had 41 members, of whom 21 were in good standing (including one life member) and 20 owed dues for 2020.
Report of the President. -- The president, W4DAE, reported as follows:
a. He is still seeking members for the Membership Expansion and Financial Expansion committees.
b. Dues for 2020 are now payable and must be paid on or before April 10, 2020 (Good Friday) to prevent automatic removal from the roster.
c. Anyone who is unable to pay dues by reason of hardship should immediately contact any member of the Executive Board to seek a dues waiver.
d. The club's annual premium for equipment insurance via ARRL will come due in the spring. The premium is currently $1.40 per $100 of equipment covered. The club is evaluating its inventory to ensure that coverage is optimal. Funds have already been set aside for this in the 2020 operating budget.
Report of the Repeater Committee. -- The president placed the meeting into executive session for a report by KK4RR, chairman of the repeater committee. [N.B.: Matters discussed in executive session are recorded in the secretary's official minutes for viewing by any member upon request but are not made public. In these minutes, such discussion is surrounded by double square brackets. All members have an obligation to hold such information in strict confidence.]
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Open Motions from January 2020 Meeting
There were no unresolved motions from the previous meeting.
New Business
There were no motions for new business.
Program and Announcements
Club shack. -- KK4RR reported on the continuing success of the Tech training courses that he and KK4ZIU-Bill have conducted at the club shack, now fondly dubbed "NC4AR University." As a result of these classes, seven people have become Techs. One has gone on to earn a General ticket. An expansion plan is brewing so that classes can be offered to those who wish to move up to General from Tech.
ARRL Winter Field Day at the club shack was also a success, with participation by KK4RR, KJ4NUS, KJ4NUU, KN4VVQ, and W4DAE and lots of food, drink, and QSOs.
And at long last, KK4RR was able to bring the finished version of the pneumatic antenna launcher project for show and tell. A demonstration inside the restaurant was deemed inadvisable, but the device was deployed at the club shack by N4AGL to launch about 100 feet of bright orange builder's plumb line (rather heavy, but the only thing then at hand) into a tree. The bright orange line is now stuck in the tree for all to see. There are plans by N4AGL to use a bucket lift to rescue it.
"I'll be back!"
Live net (in-person roundtable). -- We conducted a quick "live net" roundtable. All were asked to talk about anything in their shack that might be interesting to bring in for show-and-tell or product review at a future meeting.
It turns out that just about everyone has something of interest. Members' show-and-tell candidates included, in no particular order: a Yaesu HT; a homebrewed ten-minute timer; a 40-meter wire antenna; an LED light strip to eliminate fluorescent ballast RFI; an 80-meter center-fed dipole on a kite, just waiting for a good stiff wind; Baofeng and Kenwood UHF/VHF mobile rigs; and an ancient single-tube homebrewed receiver for 160 meters. In terms of sharing technical knowledge, there were suggestions about: the value of hamfests as technical learning opportunities, due to the pooling of all kinds of problem-solving experience in one place; the relative merits of different brands of mobile quad-band VHF/UHF antennas; and implementation of cross-band and analog-digital repeater modes on Anytone HTs.
NC QSO Party, Mar. 1. -- The club shack will be open! Anyone interested in participating, or even just watching the spectacle unfold, is encouraged to drop by. Food will be on a "bring-your-own" basis or funded by on-the-spot collections from participants. Contact KK4RR for more information.
Hamfests. -- The Charlotte hamfest will be March 13 - 14. Our hamfest veteran, KG4YVA, won't be at that one (he'll be at a different one, farther away) but recommends it to any member who's tempted to go.
Tri-Star 2020 (Triad Starfest). -- Since a fair number of hams also have an interest in astronomy, KJ4NUS brought attention of the group to this event, to be held in the Koury Hospitality Careers Center on the Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) campus in Jamestown, NC, 601 Main Street in Jamestown, on Saturday, 07 March 2020, from 08:30 to 15:30. It is described as "a conference of astronomers of all types, from novice to professional, for a full day of presentations, displays, and observing." KJ4NUS will participate in this event and would welcome any other club member having an interest.
* Family rate covers all members who, as of 18 Jan. 2025, live in same household; or any member and his or her spouse.
** Senior rate covers any member whose birthday is on or before 18 Jan. 1955.
Membership confers full voting rights only on licensed amateur radio operators. Unlicensed members cannot vote or serve as officers but have all other club privileges.
Saturday Apr. 19 at 11:30