The meeting was called to order with 13 members and guests present.

MOTION to accept the February minutes by Kurt (KC8SBX), seconded by Victor (WD8DWR), accepted.

TREASURES REPORT:

Suzanne was not present at the meeting. The last reported balance still stood at $402.13.

MOTION to accept the Treasures Report: NO MOTION REQUIRED.

SPECIAL EVENTS: Victor reported that the Hazel Park swap was very good. There were a lot of tables, vendors and it was well attended.

DISASTER REPORT: There were no large problems reported. There was a reported single family fire. This event did not require the call out of ARCARS.

NET REPORT: Roger (KI8CL) reported that there were between 10 to 15 local amateurs checking in on a regular basis.

CLUB STATION: All the equipment is working well. Mark (N8EGJ) mentioned that the EPROM chip should be installed on the TNC for the 220 MHz system. Gene said that there was some concern about the repeater not being as sensitive to weaker signals coming in at some distance. The repeater basically needs a going over to restore it to peak performance. During the time of improvements we are to expect an interruption of service from the repeater.

NEWSLETTER: The pop up window should be changed to reflect the proper field day site as soon as it is determined. If the location does not change the verbiage should be changed to better describe the geographic location.

CLUB PROJECT: There was no discussion on this subject.

OLD BUSINESS: The lock for the radio in the Command Center has been installed by Andrew (KC8SPD). On the back of the cabinet the serial number is displayed. It is recommended that volunteers familiarize themselves with that equipment. The radio is only to be used by licensed amateurs assisting disaster services to coordinate relief efforts in the community. Edgar requested that an updated.

NEW BUSINESS: Edgar Spore has made a recommendation that some of the 440 MHz radios that we secured as a club project should be used to assist local R.E.A.C.T. efforts. He reported that an agreement with the FCC was signed that allows unlicensed citizens to assist with emergency communication efforts using a multiple of frequencies previously reserved for other purposed. Paul (KG8OU) invited Edgar to pick up a couple of units. If the clubs radios can be made useful for this purpose, it was recommended that one of those units be installed at the Red Cross or in the Communication Trailer to allow coordinated efforts between ARCARS and REACT.

FIELD DAY: The vote for the Field Day site was postponed for an evaluation of the County Park location. Slated for Sunday, March 10^th at 2pm. The idea is to test the area for hand held radio performance and to look over the area. There will be a final determination of sites at or by the April meeting.

DX SPOTS/ SPECIAL EVENTS Mark (N8EGJ) announced that he worked the Johnson Space Center station recently on 15 meters and is awaiting his qsl card confirming the contact. He also reported that he has heard the International Space Station (ISS) on packet and voice in the 2 meter band. Paul (KG8OU) reported that there have been some dxpeditions on the air from remote locations like Easter Island and islands off South America on the HF bands. Paul went on to recommend that the use of the K8NA Packet Cluster on 145.950 MHz is helpful with locating rare stations and band openings.

MOTION TO ADJOURN by Kip (KB8WWH) seconded by Andrew.

ANNOUNCMENTS:

Chip (KC8SHP) reported that the I Link frequency had also changed locally to 145.700 simplex due to its experimental nature. He went on to inform the group that there is a new local I Link station located on 446.000 MHz.

Kurt (KC8SBX) did an I Link demonstration after the meeting making connections to Australia and New York.

NEXT MEETING: Field Day site approval and more discussion about holding an amateur tech class with Morse code training.