Category: Minutes

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the April meeting was canceled.

Meeting Minutes of March 3, 2020

The March 2020 meeting was called to order by President Mike Metroka WB8BZK  at 7:00 PM in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Dave Holmgren K9AT.

Board members present were John Dewey KA9CAR, Gary Dembski W9GD, Dean Hettel WD9FOO, Ralph Iden WB9ICF, Dan Larson KD9M, and Mike Metroka WB8BZK.

A total of 45 people were in attendance including two guests, Joel Nelson W9NXM of Lake Zurich and Ron Smith KD9IPO of Villa Park.

Welcome to our new members Kermit Carlson W9XA and Paul Philip AC9O!

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the February 2020 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Ed Finnegan K9ECF and seconded by Kent Dulaney K9KMD. The motion was passed by voice vote.

Membership and Financial Reports

Treasurer Dean Hettel WD9FOO presented the membership and financial reports. As of February 29, 2020. MCWA has a membership of 120 full members, 2 associate members, and 9 family members for a total of 131.

Opening Balance	7,153.98
Deposits	138.82	Dues (less PayPal fees)
Expenditures	237.04	Microsoft Office for club laptop
Interest	0.05
Final Balance	7,055.81

John Kalenowsky K9JK motioned to approve the financial report and was seconded by Mike Ricketts ND9G. The motion was carried by voice vote.

Annual Membership Dues

Membership dues for the upcoming year are $10 and are now payable. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, please contact our treasurer Dean Hettel WD9FOO to remit $10 using cash, check, or PayPal (as Friend).

Please note that any member who has not paid their 2020 dues will be removed from the roster in March.

Awards

Paul Philip AC9O earned DXCC (digital). Congratulations, Paul!

Announcements

Dale Szymkowski KU9G is now a recognized ARRL Volunteer Examiner and is enjoying his new role.

Harold Burt W9HB offered an Icom IC-2AT 2m handheld free of charge to anyone who could use it. The IC-2AT was a no-frills and rugged little radio.

ARRL Member Spotlight: Ed Finnegan K9ECF

Our very own Ed Finnegan K9ECF was featured in the ARRL Member Spotlight in the March 2020 edition of QST.  The article contains a photograph of Ed and tells of his career as a military and commercial airplane pilot and his love of aviation and amateur radio.

QST — March 2020

Be sure to read about Ed if you haven’t already done so. Congratulations, Ed!

Boy Scout Update

One of the club’s objectives was to continue community outreach and our relationship with Scouting.  There will be no Blackhawk Camporee this year as it is a bi-annual event, with the next one occurring in 2021. At this point, there are no plans for a STEM Day like the one held at McHenry County College.

However, the club is in talks with the scout leaders about having a Radio or Electronics merit badge program.  

Radio Merit Badge

Speaking of Scouting merit badges, on February 17th,  Eagle Scout Tristan Sordelet from Troupe 657 in Cary, IL visited the shack of Mike Metroka WB8BZK to help complete the requirements of Tristan’s Radio merit badge.

Besides reviewing Mike’s station and going over the merit badge technical requirements, Tristan needed to spend at least ten minutes of on-the-air time making contacts. He had QSOs with amateurs from Cuba, Australia, Arizona, New Mexico, and Virginia.

Congratulations, Tristan. We hope that you will get you ticket and join us on the air.

Hamfest/Conference Reports

No members attended the recent La Porte County hamfest.

Upcoming hamfests:

Sterling Rock Falls 60th Annual Hamfest sponsored by the Sterling Rock Falls Amateur Radio Society, March 8th at the Rock Falls Community Center.

JEFCARES Hamfest 2020 sponsored by the Tri-County ARC, March 15th at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Jefferson, WI.

MRAC/MAARS Swapfest presented by the Milwaukee Radio Amateurs’ Club, April 4th at the Elk’s Lodge, 5555 W. Good Hope Road (across from HRO).

Maker Faire opportunity

Mike Pecorini KD2RPE reminded the club of the upcoming Lake County Maker Faire on Saturday, April 25, 2020 at the College of Lake County in Grayslake.

This could be a good opportunity for community outreach and to showcase amateur radio. The club could set up demonstrations and activities like those at the previous Scouting Camporees. 

A motion was made by John Kalenowsky K9JK to investigate participating at the Faire and for approving expenses up to $200 for the club to participate in the event. The motion was seconded by John Canker W9JM. The motion was passed by voice vote.

Mike KD9RPE will check into the possibility of the club’s participation and Mike WB8BZK asked if there were other people interested in helping.  Several members indicated interest in participating and Dennis Ryan KA9PUC and Ralph Iden WB9ICF definitely said they would help.

Upcoming MCWA Presentations

We have enjoyed some great programs already and more are coming up later over the next few months. Would you consider sharing your knowledge and present a talk at an upcoming meeting later this year? 

Old Business

Website News

After a final review by the Board and testing,  Ralph Iden WB9ICF and Mike Pecorini KD2RPE report that the new MCWA website is live and ready to use at https://mcwa.org.  A special thanks goes out to Dave Whaley NT9E for providing captions for the 200+ photos in the gallery.  Ralph and Mike will be updating the descriptive text as time permits. 

Field Day 2020 Update

Field Day chairperson Ken Field KO9H reports that the Field Day site has been obtained. The Rush Creek Conservation Area, the location of the past two MCWA Field Day events, has been secured. The site is located on the southeast side of Harvard offers a shelter house,  a clean outhouse, and plenty of room for antennas. The club will be operating two HF stations and a VHF station using SSB, CW, and Digital modes.

The planning team consists of the following members:

• • • Ken Field KO9H, Chairperson
    • Roger Scott KF9D, CW Station Captain
    • Dan Larson KD9M, SSB & Digital Station Captain
    • Mike Metroka WB8BZK, VHF Station Captain
    • Mike Ophus KD9DLL, Food and Refreshment Captain
    • Dean Hettel WD9FOO
    • Jack Hudson W9MU
    • Joe Szczubelek K9DMV

Planning meetings will continue on the 4th Tuesday of the month at Panera, 6000 Northwest Highway, Crystal Lake, IL.  Gather at  6 PM with planning beginning at 6:30 PM.

Ken asked that any interested parties see him during the break to sign up to participate in Field Day.

New Business

A suggestion to record some or all of the presentations was made by Mike Pecorini KD2RPE. By recording the presentations, members who were unable to attend would have an opportunity to experience the presentation. The recordings could also showcase the club, potentially drawing in new members.

There was a discussion of the suggestion. Some thought that the recordings would give members who couldn’t be there access to the program and help remote members feel more connected. It might even attract more members to the meetings.  Others shared concerns about people not attending if they could view the recordings online.

Some presenters were reluctant or would refuse to be recorded for a number of reasons.  They explained that sometimes the same or similar program would be given for another organization and by having a recording online, it could taking away value from the other organizations.

It was mentioned that other organizations record their presentations, but offer the presenters an option not to be recorded if that was their wish.

Another concern was the poor quality of the videos on the Internet and that presenters wouldn’t want badly produced videos of their work available on the Internet. Producing high quality video would be costly and time consuming.

The Board had discussed recording the presentations previously and a concern about copyright infringement if a slide contained copyrighted material that wasn’t cleared with the holder and the liability to the club if that occurred. 

The matter will be taken up by the Board with Mike KD2RPE gathering information with Ralph’s assistance. 

Wrap up

An invitation to interested parties to gather later at The Cottage to enjoy eyeball QSOs and 1/2 price pizza was offered.

The evening’s program, “ARRL Update” presented by Kermit Carlson W9XA will follow meeting adjournment.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. Doors open at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM.

A motion to adjourn was made by Mike Pecorini KD2RPE and seconded by Harold Burt W9HB. The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 PM.

A detailed and informative ARRL update by Kermit commenced at 7:55 PM and was followed by a short Q&A session. The program ended at 9:33 PM.

Prepared by Ralph Iden WB9ICF, MCWA Secretary

Meeting Minutes of February 4, 2020

President Mike Metroka WB8BZK called the February 2020 meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. The Pledge of Allegiance was led once again by Dave Holmgren K9AT.

Board members present were John Dewey KA9CAR, Gary Dembski W9GD, Dean Hettel WD9FOO, Ralph Iden WB9ICF, Dan Larson KD9M, Mike Metroka WB8BZK, and Mike Salak KC9Q.

A total of 44 people were in attendance including five guests, David Bryne KC9ZVD – Aurora, Michele Heaver KC8NAI – Arlington Heights, Robert Langsfeld WB9TZC – Hoffman Estates, Richard Quaas NQ9R – Sharon, WI and Robert Yeoman – Crystal Lake.

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the January 2020 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Mike Pecorini KD2RPE with a second by Dennis Ryan KA9PUC. The motion was approved by voice vote.

Membership and Financial Reports

Treasurer Dean Hettel WD9FOO presented the membership and financial reports. As of January 31, 2020. MCWA has a membership of 121 full members, 2 associate members, and 8 family members for a total of 131.

Opening Balance	6,973.98
Deposits	179.53	Dues (less PayPal fees)
	10.00	New memberships
Expenditures	9.60	mcwa.org 1 yr. domain renewal
Interest	0.07
Final Balance	7,153.98

Kent Dulaney K9KMD motioned to approve the financial report and was seconded by John Kalenowsky K9JK. The motion was carried by voice vote.

Annual Membership Dues

Membership dues for the upcoming year are $10 and are now payable. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, please contact our treasurer Dean Hettel WD9FOO to remit $10 using cash, check, or PayPal (as Friend).

Awards

John Kalenowsky K9JK finished first in the Central Division Limited Rover category in the June 2019 VHF contest and displayed the beautifully designed plaque that he received for his accomplishment.

Olaf Nurmepuu W9FY was in attendance and the club congratulated him for his recent Five Band DXCC and ARRL Triple Play WAS awards.

Congratulations to John and Olaf!

Announcements

Mike WB8BZK thanked Mike KD2RPE and Ralph WB9ICF for the 3D printed desk plates that reserve places at the head of the table for the club officers.

The members were reminded that if membership dues for this year are not paid on or before the March 3, 2020 meeting, you will be removed from the roster and will lose access to the Groups.io reflector and Facebook member page.

Hamfest/Conference Reports

A number of members went to the WCRA Mid-Winter Hamfest in St. Charles. It was reported that there were more pieces of equipment for sale including items from an estate. The attendence seemed larger than last year.

A few also attended the Winterfest 2020 in Collinsville, IL (near St. Louis). It was a great hamfest, about the size of Wheaton (WCRA). Lots of “good stuff” on tables along with dealers and vendors including Flex Radio. The ARRL Midwest Conference was held there along with many activities and presentations the day before and day of. Well worth the drive.

Upcoming hamfests:

Cabin Fever Hamfest 2020 sponsored by the La Porte County Amateur Radio Club, February 22nd at the La Porte Civic Auditorium, La Porte, IN.

Sterling Rock Falls 60th Annual Hamfest sponsored by the Sterling Rock Falls Amateur Radio Society, March 8th at the Rock Falls Community Center.

Winter Field Day 2020

Pierre Berube K9EYE and Ken Field KO9H participated in this year’s Winter Field Day with the Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club (SARC). It was estimated that between thirty and forty people participated at that event, which did not run overnight. 

Pierre then continued to operated from his home.

Upcoming MCWA Presentations

Our members have a wealth of knowledge and experience that other members are eager to receive. There are some great programs coming up the first part of the year. Would you consider sharing your knowledge and present a talk at an upcoming meeting later this year? 

Old Business

Website News

Ralph Iden WB9ICF and Mike Pecorini KD2RPE gave a status report regarding the update to the MCWA website. All outstanding technical tasks have been completed and the site is very close to being launched.

The prototype was shown to those present along with a timeline for the remaining work. The new website is planned for release in the first quarter of this year and is substantially ahead of schedule.

A final review will be made by the Board in the next couple of weeks and site maintenance procedures will be documented. Mike will be out of town for a period of time in February, but he and Ralph will be bringing Ken Farver KB9I up to speed with the new site.

Field Day 2020

Field Day chairperson Ken Field KO9H said that planning for the event has already started and some site scouting is occurring. He wants planning to be a group activity rather than one where everything is laid out for the participants. He is open to new ideas and suggestions for experimental station setups.

Ken asked if the people who would be participating in the MCWA Field Day activity to provide their call while he wrote them down. The exact count wasn’t immediately made available to the Secretary, but a substantial number of people in the room responded.

Planning meetings to discuss FD site, equipment, antennas, modes, classification, number of stations, etc. are going to be held from 6:00-7:30 PM on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Panera in Crystal Lake and the 4th Tuesday of the month at the Panera in Fox River Grove.

Watch the Groups.io reflector for more information.

New Business

There was no new business.

Wrap up

An invitation to interested parties to gather later at The Cottage to enjoy eyeball QSOs and 1/2 price pizza was offered.

The evening’s program, “Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network” presented by David Byrne KC9ZVD, Major Michele Heaver KC8NAI, and Robert Langsfeld WB9TZC will follow meeting adjournment.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020 in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. Doors open at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM.

A motion to adjourn was made by Dan Larson KD9M and seconded by Dean Hettel WD9FOO. The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 PM.

Prepared by Ralph Iden WB9ICF, MCWA Secretary

Meeting Minutes of January 7, 2020

President Mike Metroka WB8BZK called the January 2020 meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Dave Holmgren K9AT.

Board members present were John Dewey KA9CAR, Gary Dembski W9GD, Dean Hettel WD9FOO, Ralph Iden WB9ICF, Dan Larson KD9M, Mike Metroka WB8BZK, and Mike Salak KC9Q.

A total of 51 people were in attendance including four guests, Laura Dendor – McHenry, Mark Jordan K9MS – Twin Lakes, WI.,  Paul Philip AC9O – LITH, and Richard Quaas NQ9R – Sharon, WI.

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the December 2019 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Mike Pecorini KD2RPE with a second by Dave Whaley NT9E. The motion was approved by unanimous vote.

Membership and Financial Reports

Treasurer Dean Hettel WD9FOO presented the membership and financial reports as of December 31, 2019. MCWA has a membership of 120 full members and 10 family members for a total of 130.

Opening Balance	6,523.52
Deposits	289.41	Dues
	10.00	New memberships
	150.00	Motorola Solutions donation (N9OK)
	1.00	PayPal fee reimbursement
Expenditures	0.00
Interest	0.05
Final Balance	6,973.98

Doug Mather KD9PK motioned to approve the financial report and was seconded by Joe Robin N9OK. The motion was approved by voice vote.

Annual Membership Dues

Membership dues for the upcoming year are $10 and are now payable. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, please contact our treasurer Dean Hettel WD9FOO to remit the $10 or send the $10 via PayPal. If you would like to pay via PayPal, contact Dean for the details.

KB9ASC – SK

MCWA is sad to report the passing of Henry “Hank” Schumacher KB9ASC on January 2, 2020. Hank was a decorated Vietnam veteran, devoted family man, and long-time member. A moment of silence was offered in remembrance.

Donations

Mike Seedman AA6DY donated an Icom IC-R8500 receiver with power supply and an Icom IC-718 100 watt, all mode, 160m – 10m transceiver to the club. Thank you, Mike, for your generosity.

The Motorola Solutions Foundation, in recognition of the volunteer work performed by Joe Robin N9OK on behalf of the foundation, made a $150 donation to an organization of Joe’s choosing.

Harold Burt W9HB brought several CW keys and offered them free for the taking for anyone attending the meeting that night.

Awards

Congratulations to the following for receiving these recent awards:

• • • Mike Metroka WB8BZK, DXCC Challenge award – 1000 band-points 
    • Olaf Nurmepuu W9FY, ARRL Triple Play WAS
    • Olaf Nurmepuu W9FY, Five Band DXCC
    • Joe Robin N9OK, 200th DXCC country

Announcements

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in December has formally adopted its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would remove the existing non-federal allocations in the 3.3-3.55 GHz band, which includes the entire amateur radio allocation. The FCC cited the need to make this spectrum available to support the next generation of wireless networks (5G). The loss of this allocation will be most felt by amateurs who have invested a great deal of money in equipment and antennas and wide-area mesh networks.

Youth Project

Building upon the success of the recent scouting activities, especially the Morse sending stations at last fall’s scout camporee, JoAnne Maenpaa K9JKM presented her thoughts on attracting youth to amateur radio. Amateur radio is competing for attention with other activities. Ways to present the hobby in an exciting and engaging manner will be required for success.

Observing the scouts engaged with the Morse CW sending station shows that presenting our hobby in a novel way will engage and hold their interest. Taking elements of technology already familiar (e.g., computer games, color graphics, mouse, etc.) and applying them in a low cost Amateur radio context could appeal to them.

JoAnne and other interested members will continue to explore and discuss this idea with the goal to developing follow-up activities for future scouting events.

Hamfest/Conference Reports

The WARAC Midwinter Swapfest was held on Saturday, January 4, 2020 in Waukesha, WI. Several members attended and reported that it was well attended but crowded and too many stairs. There was a nice selection of equipment for sale or trade.

WCRA will host their Mid-Winter Hamfest in St. Charles at the Kane County Fairgrounds Expo Center on Sunday, January 19, 2020.

Winterfest 2020 will be held on January 25, 2020 from 8 AM – 4 PM at the Gateway Convention Center, Collinsville, IL (near St. Louis). Reports are that this is a good hamfest and a few members may carpool or caravan to attend.

Upcoming MCWA Presentations

Our members have a wealth of knowledge and experience that other members are eager to receive. There are some great programs coming up the first part of the year. Would you consider sharing your knowledge and present a talk at an upcoming meeting later this year? 

Old Business

Website News

Ralph Iden WB9ICF gave a brief report on the status of the MCWA website.

Ken Farver KB9I and Mike Ricketts ND9G have been serving as webmasters. Mike has been performing most of the day-to-day updates (announcements, posting of minutes, etc.) and he contacted the Board and said that he will be stepping down from that role due to other commitments.

Ralph expressed his thanks to Mike, explaining that maintaining a website is not easy and all present extended their appreciation by giving Mike a round of applause. For the interim, Ralph will be assuming the day-to-day updating of the website. Ken will remain in his role as webmaster.

Last month, Mike Pecorini KD2RPE raised the point that the website really could use an update. During the holiday break, Mike (KD2RPE) and Ralph developed a prototype of a new website that could replace the existing one. The new site, based on WordPress, would incorporate many elements that would be difficult and time-consuming to implement on the existing static HTML website.

Mike and Ralph presented the prototype to the Board for review on January 6th. It was favorabily received and a green light was given to continue work on the project. Several good suggestions were offered during the meeting and Mike is giving consideration to them during the development phase. The new website is planned for release in the first quarter of this year. More detailed information will be shared with the club at the February meeting.

New Business

Ken Field KO9H raised his concerns about the low number of people responding to last year’s call for Field Day participation and having two Field Day operations the past two years. When he asked where everyone was, someone said that they were “with the other group.”

He apologized for the tone of his remarks on the reflector explaining that he doesn’t like divisions in the club and would like to see everyone get along with each other. If someone is rubbing people the wrong way, life is too short for it to be the cause for a rift in the organization. Coming together will provide a fair chance for everyone.

In the discussion that followed, a member thought that this might be some type of misunderstanding and another thought it was more of a timing issue as the club started its FD preparations late. It was noted that in the Field Day recap, there were six (?) groups reporting, and all had a good experience. MCWA has performed very well the past two years finishing near the top even with a shorter operating window due to the bad weather last year.

It is generally agreed that the “other group” is not an exclusive secret society at odds with MCWA and everyone, regardless of where they operate FD (or not operate at all) is committed to the continued success of MCWA as an organization. A member who joined MCWA last year confirmed that this has been his experience.

The Board of Directors approved the formation of a Field Day committee with a budget contingent upon a chairperson stepping up. As of this meeting, no one has stepped up, but the request for a chairperson and volunteers for the other approved committees will be repeated at the February meeting.

Ken said that he would volunteer to be the Field Day chairperson if there was enough interest to form a committee. He asked for a showing of hands of those who would be interested in a MCWA Field Day and it was estimated that a third of those in room raised their hands. With a FD chairperson and a good showing of hands, Ken will be following up with planning.

The discussion concluded with President Mike Metroka WB8BZK saying that if there a disagreement or conflict between a member or members, reach out directly to them to discuss the issue. Often the conflict can be resolved by clearing up any misunderstandings and intent.

Wrap up

An invitation to interested parties to gather later at The Cottage to enjoy eyeball QSOs and 1/2 price pizza was offered.

Jack Hudson W9MU will be presenting “History of Electricity and Electrical Technology” following the adjournment of tonight’s meeting.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, February 4th. 2020 in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. Doors open at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM.

A motion to adjourn was made by Doug Mather KD9PK and seconded by Joe Szczubelek K9DMV. The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 8:03 PM.

Prepared by Ralph Iden WB9ICF, MCWA Secretary

Meeting Minutes of December 3, 2019

President Mike Metroka WB8BZK called the December 2019 meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. The Pledge of Allegiance followed led by Dave Holmgren K9AT.

Board members present were John Dewey KA9CAR, Gary Dembski W9GD, Dean Hettel WD9FOO, Ralph Iden WB9ICF, Mike Metroka WB8BZK, and Mike Salak KC9Q.

A total of 42 people were in attendance including one guest, Joel Nelson W9NXM from Lake Zurich.

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the October 2019 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Joe Jaxx W9JCS motioned to approve the minutes with Joe Szczubelek K9DMV seconding the motion. The motion was approved by unanimous vote.

Membership and Financial Reports

Dean Hettel WD9FOO presented the membership and financial reports as of November 30, 2019. MCWA has a membership of 118 full members and 10 family members for a total of 128.

Opening Balance	7,986.28
Deposits	290.00	Dues
	9.41	Dues (less Paypal service charge)
Expenditures	1,358.00	2019 Dinner
	241.31	2019 Dinner Raffle Prizes
	162.92	2019 Dinner Appetizers
Interest	0.06
Final Balance	6,523.52

A motion to approve the financial report was made by Dave Whaley NT9E with a second by Joe Robin N9OK. The motion was approved by voice vote.

Announcements

The ARRL has pubished the results of the 2019 Field Day and our club station turned in a very respectable score despite having to teardown early in anticipation of severe weather. K9RN and the seventeen operators and support crew operated 2A and finished 2nd in Illinois (out of 15), 7th in the Central Division (out of 36), and 43rd overall (out of 360).

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to remove the existing non-federal allocations in the 3.3-3.55 GHz band, which includes the entire amateur radio allocation. The FCC cites the need to make this spectrum potentially available to support the next generation of wireless networks (5G). John Kalenowsky K9JK may be the only MCWA member that currently uses this band, but the loss of this allocation will be felt by the whole amateur radio community especially those who have invested a great deal of money in equipment and antennas. Proponents of 5G technology are activity seeking out bands where there is little or no activity and amateurs are encouranged to use our bands or lose them.

Dave MacLennan W9DAV announced that he recently upgraded his license to General.

John Canker reported that he was issued a new vanity call sign, W9JM, to replace his old call, N9GUU.

Joe Robin N9OK was awarded the ARRL Triple Play WAS (Worked All States on Voice, CW, and Digital) award.

Mike Metroka WB8BZK has earned FT4 WAS.

Joe Witkins KD9KTA brought in several back issues of QST magazine that were given to him by Joel Nelson W9NXM. He invited those in attendance to take one or more of the issues and to read them and/or give them to a new or prospective ham.

It was reported by Fred Soop AC9RQ that Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) is now charging sales tax on orders shipped to Illinois.

Ken Field KO9H announced that his 220 MHz repeater (KO9H 224.96, -1.6, 110.0 CTCSS) is operational from Cary and he invites people to stop by and use the machine. The EN52 net uses Ken’s repeater for its monthly 220 net on the second Tuesday of each month unless otherwise noted.

Hamfest/Conference Reports

There were a few hamfests held in November, but none were attended by anyone in the room. There are no local hamfests scheduled in December.

The WARAC Midwinter Swapfest will be held Saturday, January 4, 2020 at the Waukesha County Expo Center Area in Waukesha, WI.

WCRA will host their Mid-Winter Hamfest in St. Charles at the Kane County Fairgrounds Expo Center on Sunday, January 19, 2020.

Upcoming MCWA Presentations

Our members have a wealth of knowledge and experience that other members are eager to receive. Everyone has something to share that will benefit others. Would you consider sharing your knowledge and present a talk at an upcoming meeting?

January 7th, 2020 – History of Electricity and Electrical Technology by Jack Hudson W9MU
February 4th, 2020 – TBD
March 3rd, 2020 – ARRL Update by Kermit Carlson W9XA

Old Business

Board of Directors Meeting

The MCWA Board of Directors met on October 22, 2019 at 6:30 PM in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room.

President Mike Metroka WB8BZK began the meeting welcoming the incoming BOD members and thanking the outgoing ones. This was followed by a review of the roles and responsibilities of each Board member as specified by the MCWA Constitution and Bylaws.

A detailed presentation of the organization’s metrics over time (e.g., membership, meeting attendance, finances, project participation, etc.) indicate a consistent positive upward trend. The BOD discussed the organization’s growth and challenges such as meeting room capacity and maintaining a comfortable temperature in the meeting room with so many attendees. The Board will be exploring ideas to address these issues.

The Board agreed that the organization’s interest and participation at the three scouting events over the past two years was overwhelmingly positive.

The club is encouraged to continue these activities in the future if opportunities are presented. The organization should consider strengthening its outreach by reaching out to other youth organizations such as 4H, Girl Scouts, etc., and exploring follow-up activities such as “get on the air nights”, licensing classes, and other activities to keep the excitement alive.
Approved a 2020 MCWA budget which is in line with the last two year’s income and expenses. The amount of the 2020 budget is $1,349.00.
Approved the formation of a committee to explore future activities with the scouts and funding such activities at last year’s level.
Approved the formation of a committee to explore follow-up activities and funding requirements for those who may have an interest in amateur radio to encourage them in becoming active, licensed amateurs.
Approved the formation of a committee to organize a 2020 club social event and funding at last year’s levels.
Approved the formation of a 2020 Field Day committee and the selection of a chairperson with funding at last year’s level.
Approved looking into obtaining a copy of OpenOffice or LibreOffice tools for the donated Windows 10 laptop and if those tools would not work out well, approved the purchase of a copy of Microsoft Office Home and Business so that the laptop could be used at MCWA meetings. The Office purchase would be a one-time purchase and not a yearly subscription.

After receiving comments from the membership about the lack of time to consider the Nominating Committee’s candidates before voting for new Officers and Directors, the Board unanimously approved directing the Nominating Committee to present its list of candidates at the August membership meeting. At the September membership meeting, the Nominating Committee will formally present its candidates and additional nominations from the floor will be accepted. The election of new Officers and Directors will then occur at the September meeting in accordance with the Constitution.

The Board is still seeking a Program Chairperson.

The next scheduled Board of Directors meeting is set for October 20th, 2020 with interim meetings called as needed.

MCWA Dinner Social

The dinner social held on November 5th at the Village Squire in Crystal Lake was a great success. The fifty-four participants filling the private room reserved for the event enjoyed good food and conversation. MCWA President Mike Metroka WB8BZK extended a warm welcome to all and presented a program showcasing the club’s recent Scout Camporee project. A prize raffle of ARRL books and chocolates was held following the program.

There were more attendees than the year before and the room was full. If the event gets any larger, a bigger venue may be required. Although things generally went well, there was a mix-up with the chicken dinner not being as described on the menu that the Village Squire had provided MCWA and the wait staff was unable to rectify the situation.

The dinner would not have been possible without the support of the Board of Directors and the dedication of the dinner committee and greeters. Thank you!

• • • Dean Hettel WD9FOO
    • Jim McDonald N7US
    • Mike Metroka WB8BZK
    • Joe Robin N9OK
    • Fred Soop AC9RQ (personal name badges)

Scout Camporee Project

MCWA once again participated in the Sycamore District’s Scout Camporee (Jurassic Luau) which was held on October 5th, 2019 at Veteran Acres in Crystal Lake. The club goal was to expose youth to Amateur Radio and to provide a fun experience on the air or sending Morse code. The Sycamore District covers all of the greater McHenry County area and hundreds of scouts attended the Camporee, which offered many activities that the scouts could choose from including Amateur Radio.

The club operated out of the Nature Center which kept the scouts and equipment safe and dry. Two stations were in operation one on 6 meter SSB and one on 2 meter FM. In addition, another table containing two Morse code practice “transmitters” were available. After watching an excellent video, “Amateur Radio: A hobby for the 21st Century”, produced by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), the scouts were given the choice of making an on-the-air contact or learning to send a message using Morse code.

It was expected that the Amateur Radio activity would appeal to the older scouts, but most of the scouts visiting our activity were in their early teens or younger. Several participants attended last year’s Scout STEM Day at McHenry County College. Some of them took another turn at the microphone while others chose to visit the CW table to give others a chance to make a QSO.

There were many more female scouts or young ladies interested in becoming scouts than have been seen in the past. They seemed to really enjoy getting on the air and having QSO’s, especially if another YL was on the other end. Thank you to Sue Iden KA9EUW for being that YL.

A Leader/Parent follow up brochure was provided that contained information on how to become an Amateur Radio operator, MCWA contact and meeting information, and license exam dates and times. There was interest by some in taking the next steps towards getting a ticket including a series of classes.

Over twenty people were involved (on air and off) in making this event a success. Thank you! Your contributions are appreciated, and you have made a difference in many scout’s lives.

MCWA On-Site Volunteers

Gary Dembski W9GD
Dave Holmgren K9AT
Ralph Iden WB9ICF
Dan Larson KD9M
Sean McKinney KD9HVX
Mike Metroka WB8BZK
Mike Murtz KC9LDU
Desmond Sharpe KB3LKM
Wendell Smith N9REP
David Whiteside N9BSA
Laura Whiteside N6JLT

Field Radio Support Team

Pierre Berube K9EYE
Loren Burkett K3RFC
John Dewey KA9CAR
Dean Hettel WD9FOO
Sue Iden KA9EUW
Dennis Ryan KA9PUC (was also on-site)
Mike Salak KC9Q
Dale Szymkowski KU9G
Dave Whaley NT9E
Others…

New Business

Mike Pecorini KD2RPE brought up that the current MCWA website could benefit from a little updating to provide an improved user experience, especially to those with tablets and cell phones. Although it was agreed that this would be a worthwhile project and one that has been in the works for a period of time, it is not an easy task and could be potentially expensive if outside resources were required. Ralph Iden WB9ICF said that he was already in contact with Mike Ricketts ND9G to discuss ways of streamlining the updating of information such as the meeting minutes. Ralph will be coordinating a discussion about how the website could be improved and will report back to the Board of Directors and the membership.

Wrap up

An invitation to interested parties to gather later at The Cottage to enjoy eyeball QSOs and 1/2 price pizza was offered.

Tom Pusateri W9NBG will be presenting “Ham Radio in the mid-1950’s” following the adjournment of tonight’s meeting.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, January 7th. 2020 in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. Doors open at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM.

A motion to adjourn was made by John Cankar W9JM and seconded by Gary Dembski W9GD. The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.

Prepared by Ralph Iden WB9ICF, MCWA Secretary