Author: Ralph

McHenry County Wireless Association Meeting Minutes

Subject: Meeting Minutes of July 7, 2015

The July meeting was called to order by President Kent, K9KMD, at 7:00 pm on July 7, 2015 in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room.

The Pledge of Allegiance kicked off the meeting, led by Dave, N9ITE.
Introductions around the room followed.  Twenty-four people were in attendance for the meeting, including visitor Dan, KD9AHQ.

Minutes from the June meeting were published for review on the club website by Secretary Roger, KF9D.  Tom, KD6KHK moved to accept the minutes as published, seconded by Scott, KB9VRW. The motion passed by voice vote.

Treasurer Dave, N9ITE reported a balance of $5225.70 in the treasury before field day expenses. Dave, NT9E made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, seconded by Jim, N7US. The motion passed by voice vote.

President Kent, K9KMD commented that he had previous commitments on Saturday of Field Day, but was back on Sunday to operate and help with tear-down.

VP Dave, KA9OZP expressed thanks to the FD chairman and all those who helped with set-up and tear-down.

Dave, NT9E announced plans to revamp the website over the coming months. Plan is to have new website in place by Jan 1, 2016.

Jerry, N9AVY, newsletter editor, was not present for a report.

Jack, W9MU, was not present to comment on future programs.

The VE test sessions are taking a summer break, but will resume in September.

Under new business, it was noted that Bob, N9NIX has loaned the club a tower for the past 2 years for field day use. It was suggested that the club secretary send Bob a note expressing the gratitude of the club. Additionally, a motion was made by KA9CAR and seconded by N9ITE to offer club membership for the year to Bob as a token of our appreciation.  The motion was approved by voice vote.

It was noted that following the field day activity, the club 2 element beam, mast, and A-frame tower support are located in John’s garage, KA9CAR.

Several area hamfests, upcoming contest activities, and special events stations were highlighted.  See QST for details.

W9DXCC will be held on September 12, 2015 at the Hyatt Woodfield. It is preceded on Sept. 11 by Contest-U and DX-U at the same location.

John, KA9CAR moved to adjourn the business meeting, seconded by John, K9JK. Following voice vote approval, the meeting was adjourned.

After a short break, Roger KF9D presented a wrap-up on the club field day activity, including photos and totals.

Jim, N7US gave the club an overview of a feature in the DX Lab software package called Spot Collector. This is a very valuable tool to see highlighted spots of just the stations needed to help meet your personalized award goals.

Respectfully Submitted,
Roger Scott, KF9D, MCWA Secretary

MCWA June 2015 Minutes

Subject: Meeting Minutes of June 2, 2015

The May meeting was called to order by President Kent, K9KMD, at 7:00 pm on June 2, 2015 in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room.

The Pledge of Allegiance kicked off the meeting, led by Ray, N9RWC.

Introductions around the room followed. Thirty people were in attendance for the meeting.

It was announced that club member JP, KD9JPC had successfully upgraded to General Class.

Minutes from the May meeting were published for review on the club website by Secretary Roger, KF9D. Randy, KC9UTM moved to accept the minutes as published, seconded by Mike, KC9Q. The motion passed by voice vote.

Treasurer Dave, N9ITE reported a balance of $5095.70 in the treasury. John, K9JK, made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, seconded by Cornel, KK9DX. The motion passed by voice vote.

Dave, KA9OZP had nothing new to report from the VP standpoint.

Dave, NT9E had nothing new to report on the website.

Jerry, N9AVY, newsletter editor, noted that 2 editions of the newsletter were published as the first edition was missing a page.

Jack, W9MU reported nothing planned yet for next month’s program. A suggestion was made to do a field day recap, including what went right and wrong.

A discussion among the membership concluded that we will hold a meeting in July, even though it has been skipped at times in the past.

Ray, N9RWC, gave an update on the May VE testing session. Three applicants successfully passed their exams. The next session will occur in September after taking the summer off.

A discussion ensued concerning the possibility of the club offering upgrade classes. The general consensus was that so much information is available on line that it might not be worthwhile.

Band activity was reported to be good at times, although several recent solar flares have caused temporary disruptions. The CW WPX contest the previous weekend attracted big activity on the bands.

Sporadic E season is upon us for improved VHF propagation. The June VHF contest in 2 weekends from now should show enhanced activity.

Upcoming public service communications events include the June 7^th Udder Century Ride and the June 14^th Woodstock Road Challenge. Contact Wendell, N9REP via n9rep@arrl.net for further information.

Several area hamfests, upcoming contest activities, and special events stations were highlighted. See QST for details.

Following the adjournment of the business meeting Jack, W9MU gave a presentation on what to expect when operating during the upcoming Field Day event. This was followed by Roger, KF9D giving an introduction and demonstration on the N1MM+ logger program which will be used.

Respectfully Submitted,

Roger Scott, KF9D, MCWA Secretary

Subject: McHenry County Wireless Association
Regular Meeting minutes – May 5th, 2015

The May meeting was called to order by President Kent, K9KMD, at 7:00 pm on May 5, 2015 in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room.

The Pledge of Allegiance kicked off the meeting, led by John, K9JK.

Introductions around the room followed. Thirty-nine people were in attendance for the meeting.

Minutes from the April meeting were published for review on the club website by Secretary Roger, KF9D. Mike, KC9Q, moved to accept the minutes as published, seconded by Larry, KB9DIP. The motion passed by voice vote.

Treasurer Dave, N9ITE, passed around a monthly treasurer’s report showing $130 deposits for the month and a balance of $5095.29. John, K9JK, made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, seconded by Dave, NT9E. The motion passed by voice vote.

Dave, NT9E had nothing new to report on the website.

Jerry, N9AVY was not present for a newsletter report.

Under old business, it was reported that a VE testing session would be held in 2 weeks, May 19^th at the Free Methodist Church in Woodstock. Following the summer, the testing sessions will resume in the month of September.

John, K9JK had tickets for sale for the 6 Meter Club hamfest to be held at the DuPage Co. Fairgrounds on June 21.

Dave, N9ITE, will be participating in a ham radio demonstration at the Westwood grade school on the morning of May 8, and hopes members will be available on 2 meter simplex and the local repeater for contacts.

Several members are reported to be planning to attend the Dayton Hamvention on May 15-17.

VP Dave, KA9OZP indicated that propagation had been down a bit hampering DX availability, but conditions seem to be improving.

A brief Field Day update was given by Chairman Roger, KF9D, along with the station chairmen, KA9CAR, N7US, W9MU, and WB8BZK.

Wendell N9REP is looking for volunteers to provide communications and SAG support for the Udder Century Bike Ride on June 7^th beginning at Donley’s Wild West Museum. Contact him at N9REP@arrl.net if available to help. Additionally, the Woodstock Road Challenge is June 14 and volunteers are sought for this event also.

Jack, W9MU informs the group that the program for the June meeting will be on the topic of “How to” at Field Day.

Jack, W9MU lead a discussion centering on whether the club should consider repeating the MCC class on Introduction to Amateur Radio next February. The main discussion centered on how to better advertise the class to increase attendance. Consensus of the group seemed to be that the class was worthwhile repeating.

John, KA9TCX, stated that he writes a column for the Woodstock Independent and could aid in getting a field day article published.

The business meeting was adjourned at 7:93 pm. Following a break, Mike WB8BZK provided the club with an excellent program on amateur operation on the VHF/UHF and Microwave bands.

Respectfully Submitted,

Roger Scott, KF9D, MCWA Secretary