Category: Minutes

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

Subject: McHenry County Wireless Association
Regular Meeting minutes – April 8, 2015

The April meeting was called to order by President Kent, K9KMD, at 7:00 pm on April 8, 2015 in the Crystal Lake Colonial Café Restaurant. The regular meeting room was unavailable.

The Pledge of Allegiance kicked off the meeting, led by Dave, KA9OZP.

Introductions around the room followed. Twenty-eight people were in attendance for the meeting, including 2 new hams.

Minutes from the March meeting were published for review on the club website by Secretary Roger, KF9D. Jerry, N9AVY, moved to accept the minutes as published, seconded by Mike, KC9Q. The motion passed by voice vote.

Treasurer Dave, N9ITE, reported an account balance was published in the monthly newsletter. John, KA9CAR, made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, seconded by Steve, KB9OLD. The motion passed by voice vote. There are currently around 50 paid members for the year, so those outstanding need to see Dave to pay dues.

VP Dave, KA9OZP reports great DX band conditions and many good stations available to contact.

Webmaster Dave, NT9E, is having health issues and was not present for a report.

Jerry, N9AVY, newsletter editor had nothing new to report but thanks those contributing.

Under old business, Jack, W9MU reports the MCC Introduction to Amateur Radio classes have concluded with good success. For future classes, we need to do more active recruiting to achieve higher enrollment.

Dave, N9ITE, had previously update a club brochure and passed around copies.

A brief Field Day update was given by Chairman Roger, KF9D.

Under new business, Mike, KC9Q, gave a show and tell on a small, inexpensive software defined receiver USB port dongle. This particular unit covered 24 Mhz – 1.7Ghz. Several others are on the market and have various applications.

Dave, KA9RUF, mentioned that new episodes of Hamnation are available on Wednesday nights for downloading or viewing.

Paul, W9DWP, reminded the club members of the Stoughton, Wi hamfest, along with the DeKalb hamfest at Sycamore on May 3.

Subject: McHenry County Wireless Association
Regular Meeting minutes – March 3, 2015

The March meeting was called to order by Vice-President Dave, KA9OZP, at 7:05 pm on March 3, 2015 in the Crystal Lake Bank building meeting room.

The Pledge of Allegiance kicked off the meeting, led by VP Dave.

Introductions around the room followed. Twenty-eight people were in attendance for the meeting.

Minutes from the February meeting were published for review on the club website by Secretary Roger, KF9D. Randy, KC9UTM, moved to accept the minutes as published, seconded by John, KA9CAR. The motion passed by voice vote.

Treasurer Dave, N9ITE, reported an account balance of $4844.07. John, K9JK, made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, seconded by J-P, KD9JPC. The motion passed by voice vote.

A proposed change to the club constitution was prepared by Larry, KB9DIP, following the February meeting. A copy of the changes was distributed to the officers and the matter was referred to a board meeting for tweaking.

The subject of Field Day was raised, but will be covered in the program segment for the evening.

Dave, N9ITE, has prepared a revised MCWA club brochure, and several copies were distributed to the members.

Jerry, N9AVY had nothing new to report on the club newsletter.

Jack, W9MU gave an update on the MCC class “Introduction to Amateur Radio” being presented by club members. Nine people enrolled and eight remain in attendance with 3 sessions remaining. Classes conclude on March 19.

John, K9JK, announced the June 21st Hamfest sponsored by the Six Meter Club of Chicago, held at the DuPage County Fair Grounds in Wheaton. John has advanced tickets available to sell.

VP Dave reported fantastic band conditions with several good Dxpeditions currently in operation.

Other announcements included the AES Superfest in Milwaukee on March 21st and the Algonquin Ham Breakfast at the Golden Corral on Randall Road at 8 am on March 28th.

A VEC testing session will be held on March 17th a 7:00 pm at the Free Methodist Church in Woodstock.

Under New Business, our regular meeting room will not be available for the April meeting, and we need to find an alternate site for next month only. W9RAK suggested that the Senior Center in McHenry might be a suitable site. Watch the reflector and newsletter for an announcement on the April meeting location.

VP Dave suggested that the club might hold a “junk night” at a future meeting where members bring in items to sell cheap or give away.

The business meeting was adjourned at 7:25 pm.

Following a break, Jack, W9MU, and Roger, KF9D, presented a short program on emergency operations. This led into a discussion on Field Day. A show of hands indicated significant interest in an MCWA 2015 Field Day. The club will investigate securing the Harvard Moose Lodge site again, as was used in 2014.

Respectfully Submitted,
Roger Scott KF9D, MCWA Secretary

No minutes are available for this month.