Historical Electronics Museum Amateur Radio Club
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Minutes of the Meeting of October 9, 2003

The meeting was called to order by President Ed Myerson AA3XY at 6:00 PM.

Present on the sign-in sheet were (28): Andrew KB3JUH, Ed AA3XY, Jim
N3ZPS, Chip W4PBG, Heru W3WVV, George W3MPN, Charles K3JJD, Bill NG3O,
Bruce WB3BMI, Joe K3JIS, Jules K0ZMA, Norm WA6ABD, Les WR3X, Gary W3DTN,
Jim KB3GSA, Bruce W3YVV, Vaughn K3VQ, Nick K3NY, Bill WT3B, Alvin K0IQE,
Charles AA3FB, Gary W3GMY, Sparky KD4KL, Paul KD3JF, Bob K3FQP, Steve
WA3ZWC, Tim W1TRT, Jules K0ZMA

Minutes
Joe K3JIS asked that the minutes be corrected to show his current call
sign in the Training paragraph.  A motion was made and seconded to approve
the minutes of the September 11, 2003 meeting as corrected.  The motion
was approved by voice vote.

Treasurer's Report
No Treasurer's Report was available.

Operations
Les WR3X reported that the weekly nets were going pretty well, with
communications somewhat better on 15m than on 20m.  The
First-Saturday-of-the-Month Net did not go too well.  No one returned Les'
calls during the first hour and then the California QSO Party
started.  More operators are needed for the station.  Les is available
during the day (and possibly during the evening) to review the procedures
for turning the station on and off.  Ed AA3XY said that the Club has a
great station and invited members to come in and use it.

Operations -- Antenna
Les said that the GAP antenna has lost a guy wire.  He suggests moving the
GAP antenna away from the air conditioner and into the open area.  We made
out well during the hurricane.  The noise level has been down lately with
15m not as noisey as 20m.

Training
Les WR3X said that there are 5 students in the Extra Class.  Joe K3JIS
will teach this week.  Gary volunteered open and close the Museum for the
class on Tuesday.

FAR Report
Chip W4PBG circulated a copy of the FAR Scholarship Book.  He said that
approximately $70,000 in FAR scholarships have been issued.  In the future
some of the scholarships may be given every two years instead of every
year due to the low interest rates.  Fall-Fest was a big success leaving
$2,000 for FAR and for CARA after expenses were paid.  HEMARC was
complimented for the equipment test table and is requested to provide the
same service for 2004.  The 2004 Fall-Fest will be September 11-12,
2004.  Tom W3TOM, the ARRL Section Manager, asked all clubs to support the
ARRL in its fight to stop Broadband over Power Lines.  Chip commented that
BPL could be a major disaster; it is a terrible threat.  Tom commended HAM
activity in the MD/DC area during the hurricane.  Mike Carr played a
prominent role.  AutoCall is slowly losing subscribers.  It may go to
quarterly publication or electronic distribution.  FAR would like to have
its meetings at the Museum every other month.  Kate has the request.  Les
said that he has a CD of the noise generated by BPL.

Thank You Letter
Ed AA3XY received a thank you letter from the Museum for the $100 donation
made by the Club.

Jackets
There was no report on the Jacket order.

QSLs
Nick K3NY has received a number of cards for N1S, W2W (2001-2002) and
W3GR.  Once these are answered, Nick will go back to 2002 and send out
cards to any contacts serviced by the bureau.  This will help lower the
count of W3GR and W2W cards.

Call Sign Committee
Les WR3X said that Gene W3BAB has been in touch with the retirement group
at Westinghouse.  It appears that 'Charlie' was not Charlie Hartman's
first name.  This is being researched.

FISTS
Nick W3NY says that things have slowed down somewhat with only four
applications in the last two weeks and four pairings since the last
meeting.  He said that HEMARC seems to be the 'go to place' for weird
questions such as, "What does ARRL 65 FISTS mean?" and, "What is the
difference between radio code and telegraph sounder code?"  Nick pointed
out that the FISTS Sprint is coming up on Saturday.

Programs
Nick W3NY said he is running out of ideas after five years.  What would
you like to hear in November or December?  Let Nick know.  Bill Rynone,
PhD, PE will speak on standby electrical systems at today's Technical
Program.

Old Business

Maryland QSO Party Results
Nick displayed the Third Place Club Certificate earned by HEMARC in the
Maryland QSO Party.  HEMARC, one of 13 clubs participating, accumulated
44,895 points.  The first place club, Hanover Area Hamming Association
KF3M, scored 147,639 points and the second place club KI3DS (AARC) had
89,765.  Nick will post information about our accomplishment on the
Website.


New Business

Election of Officers for 2004
We are now open for nominations for Club President, Executive Vice
President, Secretary and Treasurer.  Please get the permission of the
person you plan to nominate and send the nomination to one of the current
officers or to Les or Nick.  The election of officers will take place at
the November meeting.

Offer to Sell Items
Nick said that he had been contacted by a company offering to sell custom
emblems and patches for jackets and hats.  He had a sample Skywarn patch.

Webelos Woodsmoke
Gary W3DTN said that 500-600 Webelos Scouts would be participating in
their Woodsmoke activity on Saturday October 18 and Sunday October
19.  Three HAM stations are being set up at the location 1 mile north of
the AA County landfill on Burns Crossing Road.  They need about 15
operators to staff the stations.

Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded.  The motion was passed by voice
vote at 6:31 PM.

Technical Program
Dr. Bill Rynone of Rynone Associates and a member of the Anne Arundel
Radio Club made a very interesting presentation on emergency generators
and related topics.  The session was well attended and the members asked a
number of good questions.  An informative handout was available.

Respectfully submitted by Jim N3ZPS, Secretary
November 5, 2003