Category: Minutes

MCWA Meeting Minutes of June 4th, 2024

 

President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the June 2024 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:01 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY)

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 46 members were in attendance and 3 guests:

PJ Delpalazzo (No Call)
Sonda Delpalazzo (No Call)
Lih Hwang (No Call)

 

Awards and license upgrades

None.

 

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the May 2024 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Bill Wacaser (AF9I) moved to accept the minutes and John Cankar (W9JM) 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 members including 12 family members and 2 associate members.

Opening Balance	$11,110.54	2024-5-1
Deposits/Interest/Credits	$34.10	(Dues, Credits and Interest)
Expenditures	$14.03	(Digital Ocean, Coffee)
Final Balance	$11,130.61	2024-5-31

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

POTA at Moraine Hills State Park went well.  A special “Thank You” goes out to Angelo Fanzone (KD9QVW) and Glenn Otto (K9OK) for putting the event together.  At the peak, about 23 people were at the event.

John Dewey (KA9CAR) is going to create a LotW account for K9RN once the ARRL website is back up to accept registrations.  That way we can upload logs from the previous and any future POTA events.

 

New Business

None.

 

New Updates from Membership

Ralph Iden (WB9ICF) has been playing with a new type of voice encoding called FreeDV.  He built a hardware encoder that works with Flex radios for this new type of voice encoding.

Ralph also addressed the club program and survey that we conducted to rank the most desired program topics.  He posted a listing of programs in the back of the room in order of ranking.  He wants people to consider signing up for a program.  No one has to do it alone and there will be support provided by the club.  It’s a good opportunity for those with knowledge in a particular subject to Elmer others that may be interested in the subject.

Roger (K9FD) plans on doing several activations this Friday so look for him on CW.

Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) took down a 40 year old, 80’ freestanding tower with some help from several other members.  Everything went flawlessly and the tower is now at Gary’s farm.

Ralph posted on the reflector about the e-mail he received from the NY Amateur Radio Club that is looking to participate in a 40m direct conversion receiver build-a-thon in an anchovy can.  Please reach out to him if you’re looking to get in on the build.

 

Future Events

 MCWA will be doing Field Day June 22-23 at Rush Creek Conservation Area.  Contact Dan Larson (KD9M) for more information.

415 is also doing Field Day in June at Gary’s farm.  Contact Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) for more info.  The 415 will be doing VE Testing in the morning during Field Day at the farm from 10am to 12pm.  Please e-mail JoAnne Maenpaa (K9JKM) if you’re interested in testing.

 

Hamfests

Monroe county (IN) Hamfest                 6/8/2024
Bloomington, IN

EgyptianFest                                                6/9/2024
Granite City, IL

Sunshine Swapfest                                  6/15/2024
Appleton, WI

 

Contests and Activities

JUNE

ARRL Inter. Digital Contest              1800Z, Jun 1 to 2400Z, Jun 2
ARRL June VHF Contest                   1800Z, Jun 8 to 0300Z, Jun 10
Stew Perry Topband Challenge     1500Z, Jun 15 to 1500Z, Jun 16
ARRL Kids Day                                      1800Z-2359Z, Jun 15
ARRL Field Day                                     1800Z, Jun 22 to 2100Z, Jun 23

JULY

13 Colonies                                                   1300Z, Jul 1 to 0400z Jul 8
RAC Canada Day Contest                     0000Z-2359Z, Jul 1
North American QSO Party, RTTY   1800Z, Jul 20 to 0559Z, Jul 21
CQ Worldwide VHF Contest               1800Z, Jul 20 to 2100Z, Jul 21

 

Wrap up

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, July 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 by Dan Larson (KD9M) on Log Books and Yet Another Way to Log.

Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) motioned to adjourn, and Bill Wacaser (AF9I) seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:46 PM.

 

Prepared by Andrew White (K9AJW), MCWA Secretary.

MCWA Meeting Minutes of May 7th, 2024

 

President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the May 2024 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Andy Dyckman (N7IDE)

Board members present were:  Director – Glenn Otto (K9OK), Director – Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Secretary – Andrew White (K9AJW, Vice President – Wendell Smith (N9REP), President – Dan Larson (KD9M), Past President – Ralph Iden (WB9ICF)

A total of 48 members were in attendance and 2 guests:

Rudy Rios (N9DME)
Steve Gilbert (KE4AM)

 

Awards and license upgrades

None.

 

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the April 2024 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Keith Schreiter (N9QDS) moved to accept the minutes and Roger Scott (KF9D) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.

 

Membership and Financial Reports

Dan Larson (KD9M) presented the membership and financial reports for September. MCWA has a membership of 144 members including 12 family members and 2 associate members.

 

Opening Balance	$11,339.67	2024-4-29
Deposits/Interest/Credits	$50.09	(Dues, Credits and Interest)
Expenditures	$279.22	(Digital Ocean, Coffee, ARRL Book Donation)
Final Balance	$11,110.54	2024-4-30

John Cankar(W9JM) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and John Kalenowsky (K9JK) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.

 

Old Business

The board had a meeting last month.  Highlights included:

• Keeping business meetings focused and brief
• Attendings is going well
• Gained 17 new members since October

Suggestions:

• Still need a Presentation Chair
• POTA Group
• Fox Hunting Group

IRS 503C7 Social Club Filing:

• Make a resolution to file taxes with the IRS so that it’s documented in our club bylaws moving forward
• Playbook will add details of “be custodian for all Association Funds” to include yearly filing

Club call (K9RN) Trustee to be transferred to John Dewey (KA9CAR).

Ralph Iden (WB9ICF) gave a recap on the Maker Faire at the College of Lake County.  This was MCWA’s 4^th appearance at the fair.  There were well over 900 attendees at the Faire.  There were lots more hands on exhibits this year and the event was an overall success.  The theme for the MCWA booth was “The Invisible World of Radio Waves”.  The goal was to make the introduction to amateur radio more of a 1:1 setting.  The highest interest was in the satellite communications setup.  Educators wanted to know how they could get a program like this going at their school.

Wendell Smith (N9REP) discussed the McHenry County Century Ride and how we always need more volunteers to help the SAG team.  It’s a fun way to play radio and to help a good cause.  It is the Sunday before Memorial Day.  See Wendell for more info.

 

New Business

None.

 

New Updates from Membership

John Kalenowsky (K9JK) played in a lot of state QSO parties in April.  He mentions it as another way to get involved and active on the radio.

Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) mentioned that it is DXpedition season.  He worked several all time new countries.

Ralph Iden (WB9ICF) developed a new bat signal for Comcast.  He participated in the HamSci science experiment during the eclipse using WISPR at 1 Watt.  About 2-3 hours into the event a Comcast truck pulled up to his house as Ralph had set off an alarm due to a tremendous reduction in upload speed from their customers.

 

Hamfests

Dayton Hamvention
Green Bay Hamfest
Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest
Monroe County (IN) Hamfest

 

Contests and Activities

May:

Microwave Spring Sprint                         May 4
ARI International DX Contest               May 4
Indiana QSO Party                                      May 4
VOLTA WW RTTY Contest                    May 11
50 MHz Spring Sprint                              May 11
CQ WW WPX Contest, CW                   May 25

 

June:

ARRL International Digital Contest      June 1
ARRL June VHF Contest                            June 8
Stew Perry Topband Challenge              June 15
ARRL Kids Day                                               June 15
ARRL Field Day                                              June 22

 

Wrap up

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, June 4th, 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 by Tom Pusateri (W9NBG) and will cover “Your Ham Call Sign: Why did the FCC assign me this call sign?”

Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) motioned to adjourn, and Andy Dyckman (N7IDE) seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:46 PM.

 

Prepared by Andrew White (K9AJW), MCWA Secretary.

MCWA Meeting Minutes of April 2nd 2024

 

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 22^nd.  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 5^th 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 8^th, 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 22^nd and 23^rd 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 6^th 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 5^th 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.