McHenry County Wireless Association
MCWA Meeting Minutes of April 2nd 2024
DRAFT
President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the April 2024 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT).
Board members present were: Director – Glenn Otto (K9OK), Director – Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Secretary – Andrew White (K9AJW), Treasurer – Bob Temes (KD9IDD), Vice President – Wendell Smith (N9REP), President – Dan Larson (KD9M), Past President – Ralph Iden (WB9ICF)
A total of 45 members were in attendance and 3 guests:
Rich Merle No Call (New Associate Member)
Ron Pieroni KE9AFU (New Member)
Nick Marocchi KD9ZLT (New Member)
Awards and license upgrades
None.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting minutes from the March 2024 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the minutes and Ken Farver (KB9I) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.
Membership and Financial Reports
Bob Temes (KD9IDD) presented the membership and financial reports for September. MCWA has a membership of 140 members including 12 family members and 1 associate member.
| Opening Balance | $11,627.11 | 2024-3-29 |
| Deposits/Interest/Credits | $99.79 | (Dues, Credits and Interest) |
| Expenditures | $387.23 | (Digital Ocean, Coffee, Pizza) |
| Final Balance | $11,339.67 | 2024-3-29 |
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Dave Whaley (NT9E) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.
Old Business
Volunteers went over the books for our Treasurer’s Audit before tonight’s meeting.
ARRL Library book set was donated last month. A big thank you to John Dewey (KA9CAR) for driving the efforts!
New Business
Ken Farver (K9BI) is no longer able to be the Trustee over our club call (K9RN). We need a new volunteer to take over this duty.
We are planning to have a board meeting the week of April 22nd. This will be a mid-year review and we will look at any adjustments needed to our Constitution as a result of our 501(c)(7). A formal announcement will be sent out through the reflector.
New Updates from Membership
Dan Larson (KD9M) mentioned that the special event station W2A for World Autism Awareness Week.
We are looking to do a club POTA activation sometime this summer. Details TBD.
Hamfests
| Madison Hamfest Stoughton, WI |
4/13/2024 |
| Hannibal Amateur Radio Club Palmyra, MO |
5/4/2024 |
| Kishwaukee ARC Sandwich, IL |
5/5/2024 |
| Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest Mendoda, IL |
6/2/2024 |
Contests and Activities
| 144 MHz Spring Sprint | April 1 |
| 222 MHz Spring Sprint | April 16 |
| 432 MHz Spring Sprint | April 24 |
| 10-10 Int. Spring Contest, Digital | April 27 |
| Microwave Spring Sprint | May 4 |
| ARI International DX Contest | May 5 |
| Indiana QSO Party | May 5 |
| Field Day | June 22-23 |
Wrap up
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 at the Algonquin Township meeting room. Open “eyeball” QSOs start at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM. Formal program is TBD.
Tonight’s presentation will be done by Mike Metroka (WB8BZK) where he will talk about his visit to Orlando HamCation 2024.
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) motioned to adjourn, and Erich Kraemer (KC9CUK) seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:28 PM.
Prepared by Andrew White (K9AJW), MCWA Secretary.
MCWA Meeting Minutes of March 5th 2024
President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the March 2024 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 6:59 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT).
Board members present were: Director – Glenn Otto (K9OK), Secretary – Andrew White (K9AJW), Treasurer – Bob Temes (KD9IDD), Vice President – Wendell Smith (N9REP), President – Dan Larson (KD9M), and Past President – Ralph Iden (WB9ICF).
A total of 42 members (8 on Zoom) were in attendance and 6 guests:
Sue Sayles No Call
Becky Fanzone No Call
Rich Merle No Call
Mark Thomas N9UM
Joe Bappert KD9ZVZ
Matthew Zavaleta KZ4EH
Awards and license upgrades
None.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting minutes from the February 2024 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the minutes and Bob Temes (KD9IDD) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.
Membership and Financial Reports
Bob Temes (KD9IDD) presented the membership and financial reports for September. MCWA has a membership of 147 members including 11 family members and 1 associate member.
| Opening Balance | $11,436.04 | 2024-2-1 |
| Deposits/Interest/Credits | $270.10 | (Dues) |
| Expenditures | $79.03 | (Digital Ocean, Coffee) |
| Final Balance | $11,627.11 | 2024-2-29 |
John Kalenowsky (K9JK) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.
Old Business
We still need volunteers to look over our books in April for the Treasurer’s Audit. We need 3 members to see Bob Temes (KD9IDD) to help out.
New Business
The club is looking to donate several of ARRL’s Library Book Sets to local libraries. The cost is $250/set and includes the ARRL’s most popular publications. John Dewey (KA9CAR) is leading the communication efforts with the local libraries to make sure the books will be used and not donated or scrapped. John (KA9CAR) made the motion to approve the expense if the library accepts. Keith Schreiter (N9QDS) seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed.
John Cankar (W9JM) is asking for help from local amateurs with this year’s Trek 100. He is looking for 33 ham radio operators to provide communications for the event. The event is held Saturday, June 8th, 2024, at the Trek Bicycle corporate headquarters in Waterloo, WI. Please see John if you would like to learn more about this wonderful opportunity.
New Updates from Membership
Erich Kraemer (KC9CUK) started a Discord server for Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. It’s open to everyone and the idea is to bring the community together as a whole. If anyone has any questions, please reach out directly to Erich.
Lyle Giese (W9LRG) was talking about station grounding. He looked at the grounds at the basement on his water meter and found his ground clamp was broken and the pipe was very corroded. He replaced both clamps and cleaned up the braid on his ground wire. He suggests everyone check their ground connections at their home.
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) reminds everyone that June 22nd and 23rd is Field Day. Please put it on your calendar and plan on joining The 415 at Gary’s farm.
Hamfests
| Sterling Rock Falls AR Society Hamfest Dixon, IL |
3/17/2024 |
| Tri-county WI Hamfest Jefferson, WI |
3/17/2024 |
| Madison Hamfest Stoughton, WI |
3/11/2024 |
| Hannibal Amateur Radio Club Palmyra, MO |
5/4/2024 |
| Kishwaukee ARC Sandwich, IL |
5/5/2024 |
Contests and Activities
| ARRL International DX Contest, SSB | March 2 – 3 |
| Stew Perry Topband Challenge | March 9 – 10 |
| Wisconsin QSO Party | March 10 – 11 |
| CQ WW WPX Contest, SSB | March 30 – 31 |
| 144 MHz Spring Sprint | April 1 |
Wrap up
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024 at the Algonquin Township meeting room. Open “eyeball” QSOs start at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM. Formal program is TBD.
Tonight’s presentation will be done by Seth McCallister(KD9TAW) where he will talk about his DXpedition to the British Virgin Islands.
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) motioned to adjourn, and Dave Whaley (N9TE) seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:46 PM.
Prepared by Andrew White (K9AJW), MCWA Secretary.
MCWA Meeting Minutes of February 6th 2024
President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the February 2024 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:01 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT).
Board members present were: Director – Glenn Otto (K9OK), Director – Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Secretary – Andrew White (K9AJW), Treasurer – Bob Temes (KD9IDD), Vice President – Wendell Smith (N9REP), President – Dan Larson (KD9M), and Past President – Ralph Iden (WB9ICF).
A total of 51 members were in attendance and 2 guests: Marcin (No Call) and Nick Marocchi (KD9ZLT).
Awards and license upgrades
None.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting minutes from the January 2024 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. John Kalenowsky (K9JK) moved to accept the minutes and Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.
Membership and Financial Reports
Bob Temes (KD9IDD) presented the membership and financial reports for September. MCWA has a membership of 145 full members including 11 family members and 1 associate member.
| Opening Balance | $10,910.57 | 2024-1-1 |
| Deposits | $539.50 | (Dues) |
| Expenditures | $14.03 | (DigitalOcean, Wintrust) |
| Interest | $0.10 | 2024-1-31 |
| Final Balance | $11,436.04 | 2024-1-31 |
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Kent Dulaney (K9KMD) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.
Old Business
Appointment being setup with Accountant. Filing with the IRS will happen in September of this year.
New Business
Gathering numbers for the March 5th Pizza Social.
Northern Illinois Winter Field Day was hosted by The 415. Dan Larson (KD9M) shared pictures from the event.
New Updates from Membership
John Kalenowsky (K9JK) worked some stations during Winter Field Day mobile from his car in his drive way. He made 34 contacts.
Kent Dulaney (K9KMD) participated in the 160m CW contest. Roger (KF9D) also participated and said conditions were “okay”. Roger also completed 3 SOTAs in the warm weather last month.
Dave Whaley (NT9E) participated in the VHF contest and said a lot of people were on.
Dave Holmgren (K9AT) setup a YSF room on his repeater.
Hamfests
| Madison Hamfest Stoughton, WI |
3/11/2024 |
| Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest Mendota, IL |
6/2/2024 |
| Midwest Superfest Milwaukee, WI |
9/22-9/23/2024 |
| Radio Expo Chillicothe, IL |
9/21-9/22/2024 |
Contests and Activities
| CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest | Feb 10-Feb 11 |
| ARRL School Club Roundup | Feb 12-Feb 16 |
| ARRL International DX Contest, CW | Feb 17-Feb 18 |
| CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSB | Feb 23-Feb 25 |
| North American QSO Party, RTTY | Feb 24-Feb 25 |
Wrap up
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, March 5th, 2024 at the Algonquin Township meeting room. Open “eyeball” QSOs start at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM. Instead of a formal program, we will be hosting a Pizza Social for members to mix and get to know each other.
Tonight’s presentation is SOTA and his European trip by Sevim (WB8BHM)
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) motioned to adjourn, and Dave Whaley (NT9E) seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:24 PM.
Prepared by Andrew White (K9AJW), MCWA Secretary.
MCWA Meeting Minutes of January 2nd 2024
President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the January 2024 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 6:59 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT).
Board members present were: Secretary – Andrew White (K9AJW), Treasurer – Bob Temes (KD9IDD), President – Dan Larson (KD9M), Past President – Ralph Iden (WB9ICF).
A total of 42 members were in attendance and 4 guests:
Guests in attendance: Josh (No Call), Steve Jordan(No Call), and Gay Stomberg (No Call) and Ted London(No Call), Neil (New Member, No Call)
Awards and license upgrades
None.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting minutes from the December 2023 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. John Kalenowsky (K9JK) moved to accept the minutes and Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.
Membership and Financial Reports
Bob Temes (KD9IDD) presented the membership and financial reports for September. MCWA has a membership of 142 full members including 11 family members and no Associate members.
| Opening Balance | $10,890.82 | 2023-12-1 |
| Deposits | $219.70 | (Dues) |
| Expenditures | $200.03 | (DigitalOcean, Social) |
| Interest | $0.08 | 2023-12-30 |
| Final Balance | $10,910.57 | 2023-12-31 |
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Ken Lundgreen (KD9PPX) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.
Old Business
The Board is setting a meeting with an accountant for advice and help on our investment options. Meeting date TBD.
New Updates from Membership
Dan Larson (KD9M) has been playing with a new screwdriver antenna and is looing at ways to automate the screwdriver tuner.
Congrats to Bob Temes (KD9IDD) for his 3rd place finish in Illinois for the yearlong VOTA contest. He missed a clean sweep of the US by 4 entities. His overall rank was 112 out of about 69,000 people. He was 65th in the US.
John Kalenowsky (K9JK) mentioned that he saw several club member calls among the VOTA leaderboard this year and wanted to thank the club for the high level of participation. John also mentioned that we ranked 3rd in the Illinois QSO party and that we hope to do better as a club next year.
Please reach out to John Cankar (W9JM) to schedule a time to operate on Winter Field Day. His e-mail is pinned to the top of both The 415 and The MCWA reflectors.
Hamfests
| WCRA 2024 Mid-Winter Hamfest Kane County Fair Grounds, St. Charles, IL |
1/14/2024 |
| Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest Mendota, IL |
6/2/2024 |
| Midwest Superfest Milwaukee, WI |
9/22-9/23/2024 |
| Radio Expo Chillicothe, IL |
9/21-9/22/2024 |
Contests and Activities
| Kids Day | Jan 7 |
| RTTY Roundup | Jan 7-8 |
| North American QSO Party, CW | Jan 13-14 |
| North American QSO Party, SSB | Jan 20-21 |
| January VHF | Jan 21-23 |
| CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW | Jan 26-28 |
| BARTG RTTY Sprint | Jan 27-28 |
| Winter Field Day | Jan 27-28 |
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) spoke up inviting everyone to Gary’s Farm on Jan 27th and 28th 1pm to 1pm for Winter Field Day. Setup will be on Friday for anyone interested. Everyone is invited whether you have a license or not. They will have a CW and a Phone station in operation. There will be lots of good food (Sloppy Joes and Chili). Glenn and Angelo will be there working satellites. Gary Dembski (W9GD) seconded Sam’s comments and invited everyone over to his farm to operate on Winter Field Day.
New Business
The Board proposes a Pizza Social on March 5th, 2024, instead of a club program. The Board estimates the cost up to $500 and asks the membership to approve a motion to set aside $500 for the Pizza Social.
John Kalenowsky (K9JK) made the motion and Sam Haldiman(KC9GPY) seconded. Upon hearing no objections, the motion was approved.
Wrap up
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at the Algonquin Township meeting room. Open “eyeball” QSOs start at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM. The program is Sevim Ablay (WB8BHN) will be presenting on SOTA and his European Trip.
Tonight’s presentation is An Introduction to Modulation by Mike Dusa (W9MJD)
Gary Kaatz (W9TD) motioned to adjourn, and Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:28 PM.
Prepared by Andrew White (K9AJW), MCWA Secretary.
MCWA Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2023
President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the December 2023 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:01 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT).
Board members present were: Director – Glenn Otto (K9OK), Director – Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Secretary – Andrew White (K9AJW), Treasurer – Bob Temes (KD9IDD), Vice President – Wendell Smith (N9REP), President – Dan Larson (KD9M), Past-President – Ralph Iden (WB9ICF)
A total of 46 members were in attendance and 4 guests:
Jon Cook (WB9MEB), John Dendor (K9OPE), Neil Joslun (No Call) and Dave Yelk (KD9ZER)
Awards and license upgrades
Ryan Broussard (KD9WPY) upgraded to his General
Doug Tucker (KD9PQI) upgraded to his Extra
Jeff (KD9LNH) upgraded to his Extra
Kevin Potter (KD9YYO) upgraded to his General
Approval of Minutes
The meeting minutes from the November 2023 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Dave Whaley (NT9E) moved to accept the minutes and Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.
Membership and Financial Reports
Bob Temes (KD9IDD) presented the membership and financial reports for September. MCWA has a membership of 141 full members including 11 family members and no Associate members.
| Opening Balance | $10,837.26 | 2023-11-01 |
| Deposits | $60 | ($40 Dues, $20 donations) |
| Expenditures | $6.53 | (DigitalOcean, PO Box) |
| Interest | $0.09 | 2023-11-2 |
| Final Balance | $10,890.82 | 2023-11-30 |
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Ron Rogers (KC0ZN) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.
Old Business
Board Discussion on EIN, Tax Status, and Investment
The board met to discuss the motion from the previous meeting. The board decided that we need a committee to take this on. If interested, please contact the board to lead this effort. The committee will need to hire a CPA/Accountant to research the details of club investments.
New Updates from Membership
Wendell Smith (N9REP) spoke about November Sweepstakes. He had 3 special event callsigns to honor former MCWA club member and former President Terry Garrett SK (K9HA).
Gary Kaatz (W9TD) operated the FT Roundup this past weekend and did quite well with an antenna in his attic.
Keith Schreiter (N9QDS) says starting tomorrow the Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio association will be operating. All information is on the ARRL Website. His grandfather served as a radioman on the Iowa.
Andrew (N7IDE) has been playing with the VarAC modem from the Winlink days.
Future Events
None
Hamfests
Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest – Mendota, IL – 6/2/2024
Midwest Superfest – Milwaukee – 9/22/2024-9/23/2024
Radio Expo – Chillicothe, IL – 9/20/2024-9/22/2024
Contests and Activities
| Pearl Harbor Day Commemoration | Dec 1-11 |
| ARRL 10M | Dec 9-10 |
| Rookie Roundup CW | Dec 17 |
| Olivia Digital Winter 2024 QSO Party | Dec 24 |
| Straight Key Night | Jan 1 |
| Kids Day | Jan 7 |
| RTTY Roundup | Jan 7-8 |
| Jan VHF | Jan 21-23 |
| Winter Field Day | Jan 27-28 |
| 160M Contest | Jan 27-28 |
Glenn Otto (K9OK) mentioned that you can sign up on line for a Santa Net on 3.916. Several members mentioned that they’ve done this with their kids/grandkids.
New Business
Ralph Iden (WB9ICF) mentioned that work is underway to schedule our future programs. There is a sheet in the back that members can identify types of programs that they would be interested in. He’s also going to send out a Google Survey to the membership to gauge interest on different types of programs.
Dan Larson (KD9M) asked the membership to consider volunteering for the program chair position so that we can take a little bit of work off of the President.
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) invited everyone over to Gary’s farm for Winter Field Day. All are encouraged to attend.
Wrap up
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at the Algonquin Township meeting room. Open “eyeball” QSOs start at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM. The program is to be determined.
Tonight we will have a social event instead of a formal program. Enjoy socializing with your fellow MCWA members!
Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) motioned to adjourn and Roger Scott (KF9D) seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:32 PM.
Prepared by Andrew White (K9AJW), MCWA Secretary.