Historical Electronics Museum Amateur Radio Club

Minutes of the Meeting of
October 14, 2004

The meeting was called to order by President Jim Nowotarski N3GOO at 6:00
PM.

Present on the sign-in sheet were (22):
Jim N3GOO, Jim AB3CA, Chip W4PBG, Heru W3WVV, Bill WT3B, Bill N3GO, Les
WR3X, Steve WA3ZWC, Gary W3DTN, John Paul AA3WI, Jim KB3GSA, Charles
AA3FB, Fred AI3Z, Nick K3NY, Tom KB3GHC, Joe K3JIS, Jules K0ZMA, Bruce
W3YVV, Alan N3IKI, Rusty N3WKE, Tim W1TRT, Gene W3BAB. Norman WA6ABD was
present but not on the sign-in sheet.

Jim reminded members that 50-50 raffle tickets were available.

Nick announced that he was donating an FM tuning capacitor as a prize for
the 50-50 drawing.

Minutes
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the September
meeting as published. The motion was approved by voice vote.

Treasurer's Report
Fred AI3Z said that there were 50 Club members and that 5 had paid their
dues for next year. There was income of $103 last month from snacks,
dues, 50-50 raffle and QSL card sales. $34.35 was spent. There was
$656.48 in the bank with $107.70 cash on hand for a total of $764.18. A
motion was made and seconded to accept the Treasurer's Report. The motion
was approved by voice vote.

QSL Cards
Nick reported that he had just received a new pack of QSLs from the Bureau
with two rare QSLs. He normally receives 6-8 cards per week and 8 QSLs
had just arrived.

FISTS
Nick said that there was no news on FISTS but that he received a
certificate for the MDC QSO Party certifying that HEMARC is the 5th place
winner in the MDC Club category in the 2004 contest. About 10 Clubs
participated and KI3DS had placed first.

Station Operations
Les WR3X said that the station was upgraded again and that packet cluster
is working. The PK232 needs a new battery. Rol worked 3-4 new stations.
There is a hole through the wall ready for new input to the station. Les
had a quote on coax for the station: LMR400 for $250 per 500 feet; 3810
for $200; and 9913 F7 for $312.50; LMR400UF for $385. Joel at RF
Connection recommends 3810 (equivalent to LMR400). The prices are
changing rapidly due to the fluctuating prices of copper and plastic. 4
runs of 125 feet are needed with 8 connectors and ground rod (to be
installed at the NW corner) to make house ground and tower ground common.
This is for the Gap, 2m and 10m dipole. #2 ground cable and ground
connectors were donated by Gene. Fred will call his contact for coax
pricing and availability of LMR600 foam core. A motion was made and
seconded to allow Les to accept donated coax or to buy it for minimum
cost. The motion was approved by voice vote. Les pointed out the need
for a 6m antenna and there was a discussion on where to install it. Rol
suggested a log periodic antenna from Cushcraft for about $400. There was
a discussion of 6m and 2m antennas. Rolcon (Rick) could make one. Heru
suggested we could make one. Les recommended that we should finish the
antennas on the roof before the ice sets in. Jim said they should be in
place for the Pearl Harbor Special Event. Fred said that we should be
able to get 500 feet of LMR600 for little cost. Joel has 259s for $22.
Jim said that if anyone wanted to build and antenna with 3 or more
elements for 6m/2m to contact him or Les. The discussion of antennas,
towers and coax continued. Jim said that we will get the antennas up then
address the 6m/2m horizontally polarized antenna issue.

Training
Les said that 11 students were in the course and that the fifth week was
coming up. The students seem to be holding in.

FAR Report
Tim W1TRT reported that the FAR Scholarships are out and the list of
recipients will be in AutoCall. The Committee is working on the
solicitations for next year. The FallFest was a financial success and
made several $1,000. There were about 400 tailgaters and 70 tables. The
attendance was 1400 on Saturday and 400 on Sunday. They plan to have
another one on September 10-11, 2005. They asked HEMARC to sponsor the
test table. They always need more volunteers.
The Mason Dixon Hamfest will be on 9/31 and the Marine Marathon will be on
9/31 and volunteers are needed. JOTA is coming up.

Old Business
Sam was not available to discuss jackets. There has been no decision on
the towers.

New Business
Rusty N3WKE reported that Chuck Reville K3FT is a SK. He had been an
active member of PVRC. He also reported that Bob Bruninga WB4APR will
speak on APRS and give a demonstration at Wednesday's BARC club meeting.

Joe K3JIS attended the CARA Hamfest and talked to Dave Anderson. They
talked about setting up a radio club at Centennial HS. Joe talked to the
school counselor who will talk to some of the teachers and get back. Joe
asked about support from members and lending the school equipment from
storage. He said that it is still in the early stages. man1grov
man1grovCentennial is a magnet high school for math, engineering and
physics.

Norman discussed a field trip for a home schooling class on November 20,
2004 at about 1:00 PM. Chip will be at the Museum that Saturday.

Gary W3DTN said that the Scouts Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) will be
Saturday. About 450 scouts and 300 parents were expected at Fort
Smallwood Park. Operators are needed on Saturday from 8-5 PM.
Gene said he had talked with Gary Muller about he same subject and that
help was needed mostly in the afternoon.

Jim said that after the meeting we would have a planning session on the
Pearl Harbor Special Event and a run through on station reconfiguration.

Gary Muller visited and described the JOTA event and asked for volunteers.

Chip is working on a history of the club for the Website and asked if
anyone has information before 1966.

Jim reminded the members that 50-50 raffle tickets were available and that
he had a sign-up sheet for people who wished to participate in the Pearl
Harbor Special Event.

Members asked about getting an updated membership list.

Heru suggested using WW2I instead of W2W for the special event. Others
pointed out that only 1x1 calls can be use as special event calls.

428 was the first winning number for the 50-50 drawing and 430 was the
second.

Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The motion was approved by
voice vote.

Respectfully Submitted by
Jim Smith AB3CA
Secretary