Minutes of the January 8, 2008 Meeting of OCARS

Meeting called to order by President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, at 7:32 PM.  Meeting had been changed to the second Tuesday because New Years Day fell on the first Tuesday.

President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, welcomed everyone to the meeting.  He said the info being put in the Oakland Press by PR Chairman Darryl Wood, K8IY, was doing a good job.  He also said he was pleased to see that it was on page 3 of the first section.

President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, then asked everyone to introduce themselves and give their names, call signs, and job titles.  The following people were present:

Dennis Smith                   KD8FUJ                Rayfus Jones                  NU8C

Lloyd Crutchfield            WA8CVL             John Eldred                     N8FNN

Joe Galiati                       No Call                 Al Bailey                         K8SIX

Nancy Fenee                   NJ8B                     Tom Feene                     W8KOX

Kim Wu                          N8FY                    Del Brown                      KC8IJF

Charles Kamachos          KD8HNL              Darryl Wood                   K8IY

Mark Smith                     N8FTX                 Bob James                      No Call

Jim Decker                      W8YFI                 George Smith                  WD8INW

Dion T. Jordan                KD8HNM             Bob Patton                     KB8CU

Brad Nowak                    N8SNM                Jim Sanford                    K8ZZU

Tim Pepper                     K8NWD                Jim Vigne                        KB8TXZ

Michael W Smith             N8GUZ                 Gary Sklar                      K8IKW

Leo Voelkle                    K2EIA                  Larry Hornsby                KB8POD

Rick Gilbert                    N8LOD

Secretary’s Report – Secretary Larry Hornsby, KB8POD, stated that everyone on the Club’s mailing list had been sent a copy of the December Meeting’s minutes for review.  He made a motion, seconded by member John Eldred, N8FNN, that the minutes be approved as received.  Passed.

Treasurer’s Report – Treasurer Jim Sanford, K8ZZU, presented the monthly report and passed a copy around for review.  He reminded everyone that as of January 1^st, 2008 dues are again due.  He made a motion, seconded by Director Al Bailey, K8SIX, that the report be approved as submitted.  Passed. 

Tech Class – Webmaster Michael Smith, N8GUZ, reported that he and George Smith, WD8INW had 5 people in their class. 4 were new and 1 requested that he be allowed to monitor the class since it had been a long time since he had operated.  The 4 new people took the test on Dec. 18 and they all passed. They now have their new call signs and are members of our club.  Michael suggested that if we hear any of the new people on the air it might be a good idea to talk to them and make them feel welcome to our hobby.

Michael presented OCARS membership cards to the Hams and to any member that had paid their dues that night.  He also announced that the West Bloomfield Cert’s group is hosting a Tech Class.  Cost would be only for the book used for the class.  He said that if anyone knew of someone that would prefer to do a self-study he could provide them with the CD he used for his class.  He reminded everyone of the OCARS website that he maintains.  It is located at “www.qsl.net/w8tno” .

Old Business:

OCARS Incorporating – President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, stated that there is nothing new on getting this done.  It was discussed as to what were the reasons for the club to be incorporated.  People were asked if they could assist, in any way, to contact Tim.

New Business:

President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, said the club is looking for someone to be in charge of bringing the coffee pot and making coffee at our meetings.  It was also suggested that donuts would be nice at the meetings and it was usually the person in charge of the coffee pot that takes care of doing this.  The coffee would be free and the donuts would be available for a donation.

Calendar and Events:

Gary Sklar, K8IKW, reviewed coming events.  He stated that the date of the Lighthouse Special Event that is held in Cheboygan would be August 6 and 7.  The new date was selected so that it doesn’t conflict with the Woodward Dream Cruise (as has happened in the past).

Repeaters:

President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, reminded everyone, especially the new members, that there are 2 local repeaters that are good to use.  One of the repeaters is the Oakland County ARPSC on 146.900 MHz with a 100 Hz Pl tone.  It has good coverage over most of Oakland County on as little as 1 Watt.  The other repeater is the CRA on 146.840 MHz with a 100 Hz Pl tone. This repeater is owned and operated by the Clarkston Repeater Association.  People willing to donate $12.00 a year to help cover cost will be supporting the CRA repeater.  Additional info can be found on the web at www.qsl.net/Clarkston.

At 8:02 PM President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, announced that it was time for a coffee and donut break.

President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, called meeting back to order at 8:28 PM.

It was announced that Member Rick Gilbert, N8LOD, would be doing a presentation of radios, communications, and electronics that is done by a major airline.  He then gave a very fine presentation on a lot of things that most of the guest or members would never have an opportunity to see.

President Tim Pepper, K8NWD, adjourned meeting at 9:25 PM.

Submitted by: Secretary Larry Hornsby, KB8POD 01/2008