HEMARC May 8, 2003 Meeting eMinutes
Historical Electronics Museum Amateur Radio Club Minutes of the meeting of
May 8, 2003
The meeting was called to order by President Ed Myerson AA3XY at 6:00 PM.
Present on the sign in sheet were (35): Les WR3X, Gene W3BAB, Tom KB3GHC, Bruce
WB3BMI, Fred AI3Z, Nick K3NY, George KB3IVE, Ed AA3XY, Mike KB3CPV, Gary W3GMY,
John Paul AA3WI, Bill NG3O, Marc KB3JJR, Jules K0ZMA, Jim N3GOO, Bill KB3JJS,
Charles AA3FB, Alan N3IKI, Bill WT3B, Tony N3HYR, Rusty N3WKE, Paul KD3JF,
Carroll W3HHS, George W3MPN, Chip W4PBG, Heru W3WVV, Gary W3DTN, Russ N3GT,
Norman WA6ABD, Sam KB3CYL, Mike KB3HKX, Steve WA3ZWC, Bob KB3JJN, Jason KB2SDR,
Jim N3ZPS, Rol W3RA
Ed AA3XY welcomed new member George KB3IVE to the Club.
Minutes
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the April 2003 meeting
as published. The motion was approved by voice vote.
Treasurer's Report
Fred AI3Z reported that the Club has Assets of $896.50 and Debts of $134.95
giving a Total Funds Available of $761.55. A motion was made and seconded
to accept the Treasurer's Report as read. The motion was approved by voice
vote.
Training
Les WR3X reported that 10 students were present for the previous Tuesday night
class. Several of them plan to test at the Anne Arundel Club testing
session on Saturday.
Operations
Gene W3BAB said that the 70 cm antenna is functioning better than in the past,
but we have not assembled a crew to do the needed work. He needs at least
3 people for an antenna crew including two tower climbers. Weather and equipment
availability have also been a factor. If you can
help, let Gene W3BAB or Fred AI3Z know.
Jackets
Sam KB3CYL has 4 orders for jackets. . If you ordered a jacket
previously or would like to order one now, please send your name, call, size and
number of jackets to Sam at KB3CYL@highstream.net.
FAR
Chip W4PBG said that the FAR meeting is scheduled for next week.
FISTS
Nick K3NY called all former teachers on the West Coast and recruited two.
He was hoping for more since he has seven hams waiting for Elmers on the coast.
He has other students waiting for Elmer's, including an 11 and a 14 year old.
He has paired Elmers and students in Hawaii/Japan,
France/Finland and two in the UK among others.
QSLs
Nick K3NY delivered 5.5 pounds of QSLs (about 750 cards) for mailing. The
postage was only $5.59 and the fee for sending the cards to the Outgoing Bureau
was $44 ($4 per half pound). The members present applauded when Nick
announced that there were no more outstanding QSL cards. Nick said that
there were 1,500-1,800 QSL cards left imprinted with W3GR and a similar number
of W2W cards.
Handbook for Operations
Nick K3NY has updated the operating instructions using comments received at the
April meeting. He needs a section on fixing DX for Win. The
Handbook now has tabs for the linear amplifier, wattmeter, BC-610, station
monitor, etc.
Events
Nick K3NY thanked Mike KB3CPV for supporting Submarines on the Air.
Ed AA3XY reminded the members that Robotics Day at the Museum is Saturday, May
10th. Members were encouraged to come in to man the station from 10AM
until 4-5 PM. A copy of your license must be on file. Les will be at
the Museum early Saturday until about 2 PM. Please call Les WR3X if you
can make it.
Nick K3NY had no additional information for Field Day. Nick passed around a
sign-up sheet for the D-Day Special Event. The hours for the event will
be: Friday, June 6, until supper time; Saturday, June 7, 9 AM to 4 or 5
PM; Sunday, June 8, 9 AM to 4 or 5 PM. Nick also needs
members with keys to the Museum to open and close each day. Please contact
him if you can make it as an operator or as an opener/closer.
Website
Nick has added a lot to the Club's Website (http://www.qsl.net/w3gr).
Among the additions is a link to the Redondo
Beach W6TRW Website. Nick has a copy of the W6TRW Newsletter that will be
forwarded to Jim for excerpting for our Newsletter.
Old Business
New Call
Rol W3RA said that we have the new license, W3HEM, in hand. Before the
next Club meeting he plans to call a meeting of the subcommittee
appointed to make recommendations to the Club on the use of W3GR and W3HEM. The
recommendations may include a provision for honoring W3GR if the call is to be
used less often.
Noise from Power Mains
Gene W3BAB reported that we are experiencing a high level of noise on 15 and 20
meters from the A/C power mains. Chip W4PBG experienced S7 noise levels
during the Wednesday net. Rol will call BGE and ask them to come out.
He has been satisfied with their efforts in the past. He would like
additional information, for example, is the noise coming from a particular
direction. Les suggested that there may a source of noise inside the
Museum.
T-Shirts
Chip W4PBG asked if the Club would be coordinating the purchase of Field
Day T-Shirts this year. Nick volunteered to coordinate the purchase and
passed around a sign-up sheet.
New Business
Meeting Room
A suggestion was made to separate the tables in the conference room and
rearrange them so that more members could be seated in the room instead of
siting in the hall. A question was asked about using Pioneer Hall. For
future meetings Les will select the meeting site based on the availability of
Pioneer Hall. Chip volunteered to help with the arrangements.
Collections Committee
Heru W3WVV asked if anyone wanted a 100 foot length of 1-1/4 inch, 50 ohm
hardline. It is on a spool 4 feet in diameter. The Museum wants to
get rid of it. If no one wants it, Heru will take it back home.
Heru also has the top chassis, RF section and audio chassis for a BC-610.
He wanted to know if anyone wanted it for spare parts. Tubes are included.
Chip asked Les to mention the availability of the parts on the NGC Family Net
since some participants are interested in the BC-610.
CERT Training
Jim N3ZPS mentioned that he had just completed Citizens Emergency Response Team
(CERT) training by Howard County Fire and Rescue. He said that the course,
developed by FEMA, included light search and rescue, medical triage, first aid,
psychology of disaster response and other topics. He recommended taking the
course if you had the opportunity.
Compliment
A member spoke highly of Rol and Les and how they helped six students earn their
licenses in the Technician's Class.
Applications for Membership
Several people requested applications for membership.
Cell Phone Headsets with Boom Mics
A member gave away a number of new headsets that had been discarded.
Guest Speaker
Nick introduced Russ N3GT, guest speaker for the technical presentation.
W3GR Station Computers
Les WR3X said that the station now has two computers. Gene fixed a problem
with the new computer by installing a new floppy drive. Les
will place signs on the computers indicating their uses. He is looking for
a 19" LCD flat screen for the main computer.
Maryland State Surplus Property Facility
Gene W3BAB said that the Maryland State Surplus Property facility in Laurel will
donate equipment such as computers and telephone equipment to the Museum.
The Museum has an application pending.
Adjournment
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The motion was approved by
voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 6:49 PM.
Technical Program
Russ Slye N3GT gave a very interesting talk on Spectrum Management. Russ, an
employee the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA),
said that he was expressing his personal views and was not representing the NTIA.
He explained how the NTIA managed all the Federal spectrum requirements for
national defense, law enforcement and security, transportation, resource
management control, emergencies, and other services. He also discussed how
the NTIA coordinated activities with the FCC which is charged with managing the
spectrum for business, state and local government, entertainment, commercial and
private uses. He presented the administrative structure and mission of
each agency and how they interfaced with the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU). He showed the Website for each agency and pointed out
important features. He discussed some of the issues being considered by
the FCC and completed his presentation by showing how to file effective
electronic comments with the FCC. He received a round of applause at the
conclusion of his talk. Copies of his presentation were available.
Respectfully submitted by Jim Smith N3ZPS, Secretary
5/18/2003