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President's Message If you're reading this, I guess we made it through the most over-hyped event in the millennium. If not, well, then I hope ham radio made a difference. I'm probably still skiing, so I'll only find out when the toll booths on the NH turnpike won't take my tokens. Speaking of tokens, the board has been discussing the club finances, and we have come to the conclusion that the "token" $10 FARA dues is not paying for all our activities. The picnic, pizza nights, newsletter and Field Day, all cost a tremendous amount of money. We also have equipment expenses. Flea market revenues have been falling, and postage and telephone costs have been rising. Sumner will be giving a rundown of where all the money goes, and what we need to do. In spite of the challenging financial issues, FARA's members have been rising to support the club. Yes, folks, we have noticed those extra dollars in the can at the shack, and the donations at pizza night. They are much appreciated, and have actually kept us afloat when we would otherwise have been "under water". The board feels that, in addition to making our operation more efficient, we need to ask you all to shoulder a bit of the load. If you look at the dues being charged by other ham clubs, you will see numbers in the $20 to $35 range. Some of these organizations run several repeaters, and charge even more for a family membership. FARA is certainly a bargain, and we intend that it should remain that way. We will be discussing and voting on changes to the dues structure at the January meeting, so I encourage you all to attend, and consider what changes we could make. 73 and Happy New Year,
Peter, KA1AXY The VP's Report By Bob, W1RH
Actually, I don't see this as a regular column in the Circuit.....The newsletter editor called with a request for material and I answered! The Club has sold it's two basket case linear amplifiers. Both were up for bid during the month of December. Martin (AA1ON) was high bidder for the Heathkit Warrior. Martin hopes the amp, which uses four 811A's will be capable of supplying 600-700 watts as a backup amplifier for his contest station. He may also use it as an amplifier for a second station and also plans to modify the amp for 160 meters. I was the successful bidder for the Club's SB-201 which currently puts out zero watts. I vow, however, to have this amp, which uses a pair of 572's, putting out 700 watts in the year 2000. I plan to use the amp as a backup for the ham shack and as a dxpedition amplifier for future trips I may take or club members may take. Proceeds from the sale of the amplifiers will go towards a new, higher power, WORKING amplifier for the Club shack. Speaking of the Shack, we encourage everyone to drop by on Saturday mornings or Wednesday evenings. Saturday mornings should offer hot 10 meter DX for several months. The Europeans love to rag chew and are always looking for Stateside QSO's. The 3 element beam has been rebuilt and works better than ever. Technician's don't shy away because your license privileges prevent you from using the HF bands. As long as there is a qualified Ham in the shack, you can feel free to operate the Club station and get a taste of the HF bands.
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