MINUTES OF LIDXA INC.
MEETING—September 21, 2001
Location:
Polytechnic University, Farmingdale, N.Y.
The LIDXA President, Marty, NN2C, called the meeting of September 21 to order at 8:15 PM. Marty welcomed all members and guests back after the summer break and expressed delight at the large turnout for tonight’s meeting. Members present (per sign-in on the blackboard) included K2ENT (and XYL), K2MFY, KB2CB (and XYL), KB2HK, KE2LJ, N2DXJ (and XYL), N2FF, N2KA, N2QW, N2TU, NN2C, NP4L, W2NJC, W2FGD, W2RL, W2SF, and W2TE. Marty also welcomed guest George, WB2TZH to this meeting.
At the outset, Marty welcomed back Al, W2NJC, after his heart surgery; Lenny, KB2HK, after his bout with pneumonia, and Art, K2ENT, and Roz (Art’s XYL) after their eye problems. All club members wished these individuals the best of health.
In terms of DX, specific activities mentioned:
·
All stations in Kuwait
are authorized to use the special callsign, 9K2USA, for the duration of
September, to express their country’s sympathy and support for the people of
the USA for the recent World Trade Center tragedy.
·
Two stations from
Pakistan, AP2ARS and AP2IA are very active on the HF bands.
·
A DXpedition is
currently operational from Guatemala City with the callsign TGØR.
·
It was commented that
the DXpedition to the Chatham Islands from ZL7/G3TXF and ZL7/G3SXW have been
very active on all the CW bands. These
are super operators and are easily able to handle the pileups.
·
The long awaited
DXpedition to Conway Reef is expected to start up in early October. Veteran DXpeditioner, YT1AD, is heading up
the team.
·
Several LIDXA members
reported that there have been good openings in the evenings to Asia on 20 and
15 meters. In addition, now with the
Fall season approaching, signals have been heard on 10 and 12 meters.
Starting the business portion of tonight’s meeting was the approval of the June 15 meeting minutes. These minutes were prepared in advance by the club’s secretary, Ed, K2MFY, and sent out to the membership with the club’s September meeting notice. In addition, thanks to the efforts of KE2LJ, Pat, these minutes also appear in the LIDXA web site: http://www.qsl.net/lidxa. Also club treasurer, Russ, W2RL reported that the club currently has $1883.00 in the treasury.
Marty recently met with representatives from the Melville Fire Department concerning our present repeater site at Jane’s Hill in Huntington. A professional pole climber recently went up the tower mast and discovered that the antenna and/or mast, and possibly the adjacent hardline, was defective. The club is looking into arranging a deal with the climber to replace the mast, etc. Since the climber’s fee is around $4000, and the club could afford to pay only about $200 for the repair, it was uncertain what would now develop.
Along similar lines, Marty commented on the status of
Millennium Tower Corporation’s
application for a tower construction permit with the Town of Babylon. The company had filed some necessary papers
with the Town and it was expected that a permit would be issued since there are
other towers in the area. Millennium
expects to start pouring cement for the 420-foot tower base sometime in
mid-October. It is expected that the
new site for the club’s repeater might be available in early 2002. In the meantime, the club may be able to get
a “Station Master” repeater antenna from Grumman. In addition, Bill, N2NFI, might be able to supply an
antenna. Additional work may be
necessary for the hardline. Marty also
said that Millennium would be absorbing
the cost for repeater electricity use.
In the meantime, the LIDXA has use of the Grumman repeater, on 146.745
MHz.
Marty
spoke about his attendance on Sunday, September 16 at a NLI Club President’s
Meeting. One of the main issues discussed
was hamfests and the new laws in NY State with respect to sales tax. Some of the comments raised may require
sales taxes to be collected at these hamfests.
Also discussed was the issue of club liability insurance. It appears that the ARRL-sponsored insurance
company may not cover injuries to club members. The ARRL will be looking into this matter.
At
this point in the meeting, Marty turned over the floor to LIDXA member, Frank,
N2FF, our Hudson Divison Director.
Frank spoke on a number of issues concerning ham radio, including:
·
NLI Hams respond to
World Trade Center Disaster
·
ARRL “Logbook of the
World”
·
Status of “Amateur
Radio Preemption,” Assembly Bill A-1565
Frank
started his overview of the Tuesday, September 11, 2001 tragedy, by requesting
that members give a minute of silence for all the people killed/missing in the
recent events at the World Trade Center (WTC).
Frank knew personally of several amateurs who were employed at the site
and are still reported missing. Frank
indicated that over 500 amateur radio operators responded to the emergency call
to provide communications support in the aftermath of the horrific events of
September 11. Hams supported the New
York City Office of Emergency Management, the American Red Cross, the Salvation
Army and other volunteer organizations active in disaster. It has been called “Amateur Radio's finest
hour”. Amateurs from the New York City,
Nassau and Suffolk Counties, NNJ, ENY, CT and beyond responded to the WTC
tragedy.
Frank
then explained the “Logbook of the World” (LOTW) concept that the ARRL is
looking into. This database will
represent a huge repository of log data provided by operators—from individual
DXers and contesters to major DXpeditions—and maintained by ARRL. The League says the system will benefit all
amateurs by providing quick QSO credit for awards offered by ARRL, and for
awards offered by other organizations as well.
Once
the LOTW becomes available—which could be as early as the middle of next
year—the Logbook of the World would accept authenticated data directly from
computerized logs via the Internet. The
League said the program envisions user access to the LOTW confirmed database,
so an operator can see what matches turn up; such as, confirmation of new DXCC
entities, states or grid squares.
Presently the ARRL is discussing some issues with a number of developers
of software logging programs.
Frank
discussed the status regarding NY State Senate Assembly Bill A-1565, entitled
“Amateur Radio Preemption.” This bill
will help radio amateurs erect legal antennas and antenna support structures in
New York, help their neighbors in time of communications emergencies, and will
enable amateur radio operators to put up effective antennas without long,
costly battles with their local governments to get a building permit. Presently it looks like the NY State Senate
would not consider this bill until next year’s session. Recently there has been much pressure on the
Senate to approve this bill, especially with all the efforts of amateurs at the
WTC.
In
conclusion, Frank spoke briefly about “CC&R,” or “Convents, Codicils and
Restitution” regulations in certain communities and condominiums. These local regulations directly affect
amateur radio and the placing of outside antennas and tower structures.
On
a side issue, Frank reminded the membership to get their annual updates for
DXCC into the ARRL before the end of September. Ed, K2MFY, mentioned that it is possible to go on the ARRL Web
site and check if your DXCC inputs to the League had arrived. Expected turn-around-time for DXCC returns
are about 6 to 8 weeks.
This meeting then
concluded at around 9:30 PM after all the scheduled business had finished.
______________________________________
Ed Whitman, K2MFY
LIDXA Secretary