Historical
The meeting was called to order by President Jim Nowotarski N6GOO at 6:00 PM.
The attendance from the sign in sheet or observation was:
Don Ruokonen K3PRN
Jim Nowotarski N3GOO
Heru Walmsley W3WVV
Tom Dalton KB3NHQ
Bill Thompson WT3B
Chas Angel AA3FB
Steve Stitzer WA3ZWC
Alvin Glusick K0IQE
Bob Gardenghi K3FQP
Christopher Ayre KC2HBW
Rol Anders K3RA
Chip Weems W4PBG
Bill Ferguson KB3JJS
Joined at the end of the meeting:
Thomas J Dalton KB3NHQ
Christopher Ayre KC2HBW
The minutes of the March meeting had been emailed to members and hard copies were available at the meeting. The minutes were approved as written.
The treasurer, Fred Heath AI3Z emailed that he is out of town with his job and indicated that he will not be at the May meeting either. Jim N3GOO noted that we need an acting treasurer and requested that a volunteer step forward. The position remained open and someone living in the area would be a big help.
Training
Rol Anders K3RA reported that we have 8/10 students in the class and they are doing well.
Station
The station status was reported by Rol as Les Jamison WR3X was not at the meeting.
There is a problem with the rotator and it will intermittently fail to move to the indicted position. It look as though it will be necessary to go up
and troubleshoot the problem. Jim noted that this can be added to the work party we hope to assemble before the W2W Special Event.
Bob Gardenghi K3FQP reported that the Northrop Grumman net is doing well despite the lack of sunspots.
Riley Hollinsworth has offered us a SB-230 Linear Amplifier and it's possible use was discussed. It was agreed that it would be very useful as a
backup and when two high powered stations were desired.
The Foundation for Amateur Radio Report The FAR and the FARFest web page are making slow but solid progress. HEMARC is still signed up to do the equipment test table at the FARFest pending being given adequate and safe accommodations. The FARFest will be September 9th and 10th.
Scholarship applications are not as heavy as desired. More publicity is needed. Any licensed ham in a degree problem is eligible.
Smith Chart Presentation
The meeting broke for an excellent presentation by Rol Anders on Smith Charts.
They look formidable but are very useful. Rol's presentation went a long way to making is clear just how valuable a tool this can be in antenna and
transmission line work.
Field Day is June 24th & 25th.
Following the presentation a discussion of Field Day ensued. We think we have 8 good deep cycle batteries being charged by Sam Dunkle KB3CYL.
There are several generators available which may be useful. It appears that we have the essential stations for 2A covered but really need more operators. The tri-band beam is in storage. Rol suggested that the beam will be effective if we simply point it west and go. The beam does have a gain advantage even with low front to back ratio. It looks like 20, 40 and 80 are covered. Not much is expected of 15 and 10 due to conditions. Sam Dunkle KB3CYL is expected to cover 6m, 2m and 70cm as usual. Jim has a set of band pass filters that will provide more flexibility for multi-station operation. Rol pointed out that two antennas arranged end to end have very little coupling. The off main highway location will require publicity to gain foot traffic. Signs on the road are also desired. Tents and Pavilions were discussed. Satellites are questionable. We may be able to use the ARROW hand held antenna and the 736R on VHF in between passes. Jim N3GOO would like to operate 3A this year with the following configuration:
1) Low band CW station Nick K3NY and Bill N3GO
2) Low band
3) High band multi mode Fred Heath AI3Z, Jean Paul Howell, Steve Stitzer WA3ZWC
4) V/UHF Sam Dunkle KB3CYL
5) GOTA Nicks equipment, Chip Weems as coach need operator.
6) Sat station Chip Weems.
Of course the above is tentative, and any and all comers are welcome to operate.
The meeting ended at 8:10PM
Submitted by: Chip W4PBG
19 April 2006