Category: Minutes

MCWA Meeting Minutes of March 7, 2023

President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the March 2023 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT). Dan asked for a minute of silence for two silent keys; Kent Berglund (KC9LIF) and Brian Wadsworth (WB9MCW). He then welcomed new members Ron Rogers (KC0ZN), Kris Rogers (N0EJK) and Ryan Broussard (KD9WPY). Dan then asked everyone to introduce themselves.

Board members present were Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Dean Hettel (WC9C), Ralph Iden (WB9ICF), Gary Kaatz (W9TD), Dan Larson (KD9M) and Mike Metroka (WB8BZK).

A total of 37 members were in attendance and three guests, our presenters for tonight’s meeting, Carl Luetzelschwab (K9LA), Brent Walls (N9BA) and Tom Beebe (W9RY).

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the February 2023 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. John Cankar (W9JM) moved to accept the minutes and Kent Dulaney (K9KMD) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.

Membership and Financial Reports

Treasurer Dean Hettel (WC9C) presented the membership and financial reports for December. MCWA has a membership of 141 full members including 12 family members and no Associate members.

Opening Balance	$10,966.15
Deposits	$109.70	(Dues)
Expenditures	$6.53-	(Digital Ocean)
Interest	$0.08
Final Balance	$11,069.40

Dean reminded the membership to pay their 2023 dues by PayPal, check or cash tonight at the meeting. Dave Holmgren (K9AT) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Ron Delpiere-Smith (KD9IPO) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.

 Announcements

Joe Witkens (KD9KTA) announced that Dave Whaley (NT9E) has been in the McHenry hospital for some time with several ailments. He has been moved to the Alden Recovery Center.

The monthly McHenry Ham Breakfast is held the first Saturday of every month at Buddyz in McHenry at 8:00 AM, in a private room. Contact Dave (K9AT) for more information.

The Bouvet Island (3Y0J) DXpedition is over. Of our members, only Roger Scott (KF9D) managed to snag a CW contact.

Seth McCallister (KD9TAW) will be operating from the British Virgin Islands as VP2V/KD9TAW from April 7-16.

There have been rule changes for the upcoming 2023 Field Day. There is no limit to the number of contacts made by the GOTA station and they all count 5 points. If the operator is under 18 years old, there is a 20 point bonus. There is a 100 point bonus for every 10 assisted QSO’s. There will be three power levels, classes A, B and C have a maximum of 500 Watts (PEP), classes D, E and F have a maximum of 100 Watts (PEP) and QRP at 5 Watts CW and 10 Watts SSB (PEP).

Ralph Iden (WB9ICF) spoke about participation in the upcoming Lake County Maker Faire on April 15th. He will be offering a 40-meter direct conversion kit for purchase by the attendees.

John Cankar (W9JM) will be presenting information and a request for volunteers for the Trek 100 being held June 10, 2023, after tonight’s presentation. Rob Orr (K9RST) will also be presenting another volunteer opportunity for the Chicago Marathon.

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Hamfest and Event Update

 Past:

No recent Hamfests.

Upcoming:

Jefferson Hamfest 2023, March 19, Jefferson, WI

Sterling Rock Falls ARS Hamfest, March 19, Dixon, IL

Madison Area Repeater Assn Hamfest, April 15, Stoughton, WI

ORC 43^rd Annual Spring Indoor Swapfest, May 6, Cedarburg, WI

DeKalb Hamfest, May 7, Sandwich, IL

Hamvention 2023, May 19-21, Greene County Fair & Expo Center, Xenia, OH

Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest, June 4, Mendota Tri-County Fairgrounds

Six Meter Club of Chicago Hamfest, June 11, DuPage County Fairgrounds
Ron (KD9IPO) and John (K9JK) have advance tickets

Midwest Superfest, September 16-17, Chillicothe, IL

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Contest Reports

 CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest: WB8BZK and W9TD participated

 ARRL School Club Roundup: no reports

 ARRL International DX Contest (CW): WB8BZK and W9TD participated

 CQ 160-Meter Contest (SSB): WB8BZK participated

 North American QSO Party (RTTY): WB8BZK and W9TD participated

 ARRL International DX Contest (SSB): WB8BZK, K9JK and W9TD participated

Upcoming:

QRP Fox Hunts (CW), Wednesdays and Fridays

NCCC RTTY Sprints, Fridays

North American RTTY Sprint, March 11-12

Stew Perry Topband Challenge, March 11-12

Idaho and Oklahoma QSO Parties, March 11-12

Wisconsin QSO Party, March 12-13

CQ Worldwide WPX Contest (SSB), March 25-26

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Upcoming MCWA Presentations

April 4, Vertical antennas or W9LRG Remote Shack

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Awards and license upgrades

Bob Temes (KD9IDD) upgraded to General. Andrew White got a new call sign, K9AJW.

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Old Business

Dan reminded everyone that Field Day will be June 24-25 at Rush Creek and planning has started. The next planning meeting will be held with Zoom on March 21 at 8 PM. Everyone with ideas should email them to Dan at KD9M@Yahoo.com

New Business

None

Wrap up

Following the adjournment of tonight’s meeting, Carl Luetzelschwab (K9LA), Brent Walls (N9BA) and Tom Beebe (W9RY) will be presenting the “ARRL Update”. Dan solicited more presentations from the membership.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at the Algonquin Township meeting room. Open “eyeball” QSOs start at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM. The program will be either Vertical Antennas or W9LRG Remote Shack. A motion to adjourn was made by Dean Hettel (WC9C) and seconded by John Kalenowsky (K9JK). The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:35 PM.

Prepared by Gary Kaatz (W9TD), MCWA Secretary.

MCWA Meeting Minutes of February 7, 2023

President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the February 2023 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:01 PM. Dan noted that the program would not be recorded due to technical difficulties with the Zoom audio. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT).

Board members present were Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Dean Hettel (WC9C), Ralph Iden (WB9ICF), Gary Kaatz (W9TD), Dan Larson (KD9M) and David Whiteside (N9BSA).

A total of 43 members were in attendance and 1 guest: Ron Rogers (KC0ZN).

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the January 2023 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Loren Burkett (K3RFC) moved to accept the minutes and Dave Holmgren (K9AT) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.

Membership and Financial Reports

Treasurer Dean Hettel (WC9C) presented the membership and financial reports for December. MCWA has a membership of 139 full members including 10 family members and no Associate members.

Opening Balance	$11,121.58
Deposits	$70.00	(Dues)
Expenditures	$219.00-	(Field Day rental)
	$6.53-	(Digital Ocean)
Interest	$0.10
Final Balance	$10,966.15

Dean reminded the membership to pay their 2023 dues by PayPal, check or cash tonight at the meeting. Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Roger Scott (KF9D) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.

 Announcements

The monthly McHenry Ham Breakfast is held the first Saturday of every month at Buddyz in McHenry at 8:00 AM, in a private room. Contact Dave (NT9E) for more information.

Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) showed pictures and the results of Winter Field Day by the 415 group. Gary Dembski (W9GD) thanked those that attended. Glenn Otto (K9OK) and Angelo Franzone (KD9QVW) spoke about their satellite contacts during Winter Field Day and received a pair of egg-beater antennas from Gary Dembski (W9GD) for next time.

The Bouvet Island DXpedition is on the air as 3Y0J. There is a lot of deliberate QRM and operators calling on his frequency instead of using split and the “police” telling them up, up also on the DX’s frequency.

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Hamfest and Event Update

PAST

WCRA Mid-Winter Hamfest:

UPCOMING

Jefferson Hamfest 2023, March 19, Jefferson, WI

Sterling Rock Falls ARS Hamfest, March 19, Dixon, IL

Madison Area Repeater Assn Hamfest, April 15, Stoughton, WI

ORC 43^rd Annual Spring Indoor Swapfest, May 6, Cedarburg, WI

DeKalb Hamfest, May 7, Sandwich, IL

Hamvention 2023, May 19-21, Greene County Fair & Expo Center, Xenia, OH

Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest, June 4, Mendota Tri-County Fairgrounds

Midwest Superfest, September 16-17, Chillicothe, IL

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Contest Reports

ARRL Kid’s Day: no reports

 ARRL RTTY Roundup: W9TD participated and improved on last year’s score

 North American QSO Party (CW): W9TD participated and improved on last year’s score

 North American QSO Party (SSB): no reports

 ARRL January VHF Contest: K9JK participated

 CQ 160-Meter Contest (CW): KF9D participated

 BARTG RTTY Sprint: no reports

 Winter Field Day: See Announcements

UPCOMING

CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest, February 11-12

ARRL School Club Roundup, February 13-17

ARRL International DX Contest (CW), February 18-19

CQ 160-Meter Contest (SSB), February 24-26

North American QSO Party (RTTY), February 25-26

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Upcoming MCWA Presentations

March 7 ARRL Update by Carl Luetzelschwab (K9LA)

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Awards and license upgrades

Andrew White (KD9VUT) upgraded to General and chose K9AJW as his new call.

Old Business

 Dan explained that charges for currently free groups.io accounts will be grandfathered unless doing an upgrade.

Dan reminded everyone that Field Day will be June 24-25 at Rush Creek and planning will start this month. Everyone with ideas should email them to Dan at KD9M@Yahoo.com

New Business

Ralph Iden (WB9ICF) spoke about participation in the upcoming Lake County Maker Faire on April 15th. He has registered to participate with the same number of tables as last year. He asked for ideas but said that he thought he would call it “Mystique of Shortwave Radio”, which would include Amateur, broadcasts, military, government and high-speed trading in the shortwave spectrum. He also thought that the project would be simple receiver that would have a small price to the interested parties.

David Whiteside (N9BSA) handed out appreciation certificates to those that helped out at the Jamboree on the Air event.

Wrap up

Following the adjournment of tonight’s meeting, David Whiteside (N9BSA) will be presenting “Youth Safety BSA”. Dan solicited more presentations from the membership.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, March 7, 2023 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 “ARRL Update” by Carl Luetzelschwab (K9LA). A motion to adjourn was made by Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) and seconded by Kent Dulaney (K9KMD). The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:43 PM.

Prepared by Gary Kaatz (W9TD), MCWA Secretary.

MCWA Meeting Minutes of January 3, 2023

President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the January 2023 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:01 PM. Dan noted that the program would be recorded. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT). Dan then asked everyone to introduce themselves.

Board members present were Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Dean Hettel (WC9C), Ralph Iden (WB9ICF) (online), Gary Kaatz (W9TD), Dan Larson (KD9M), Mike Metroka (WB8BZK) and David Whiteside (N9BSA).

A total of 44 members were in attendance and 3 guests: Ron Rogers (KC0ZN), Mark McCormick (N4RK) and Erich Kramer (KC9CUK).

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the December 2022 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the minutes and John Kalenowsky (K9JK) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.

Membership and Financial Reports

Treasurer Dean Hettel (WC9C) presented the membership and financial reports for December. MCWA has a membership of 136 full members including 10 family members and no Associate members.

Opening Balance	$10,918.62
Deposits	$509.40	($409.40 dues and $100 donation)
Expenditures	$300.00-	(Pizza – Mike Metroka (WB8BZK))
	$6.53-	(Digital Ocean)
Interest	$0.09
Final Balance	$11,121.58

Dean reminded the membership to pay their 2023 dues by PayPal, check or cash tonight at the meeting. John Cankar (W9JM) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Kent Dulaney (K9KMD) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved. John Cankar (W9JM) inquired as to why the deposits are what they are.

Announcements

The monthly McHenry Ham Breakfast is held the first Saturday of every month at Buddyz in McHenry at 8:00 AM. The next will be January 7th. Contact Dave (NT9E) for more information. Dave Holmgren (K9AT) noted that it is held in a private room.

Two Silent Keys, Bob Swoger (K9WVY) and Alfred Laun (K3ZO) were acknowledged by a moment of silence.

Hamfest and Event Update

 Past:

None

Upcoming:

WCRA Mid-Winter Hamfest, January 15, 2023, St. Charles, IL

ORC 43^rd Annual Spring Indoor Swapfest, May 6, Cedarburg, WI

DeKalb Hamfest, May 7, Sandwich, IL

Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest, June 4, Mendota Tri-County Fairgrounds

Midwest Superfest, September 16-17, Chillicothe, IL

Contest Reports

ARRL 160-Meter Contest: KF9D and WB8BZK participated. Mike reported 475 QSO’s

 FT Roundup: KC9GPY participated resulting in a second place for Illinois.

 ARRL 10-Meter Contest: K9JK reported53 QSOs in 3 ½ hours of QRP SSB.
KD9VUT had 64 QSOs in his first contest ever

 OK DX RTTY Contest: No reports

 RAC Winter Contest: No reports

 Stew Perry Topband Challenge: No reports

 ARRL Rookie Roundup (CW): No reports

 Straight Key Night, January 1: No reports

Upcoming:

ARRL Kid’s Day, January 7-8

ARRL RTTY Roundup, January 7-8

North American QSO Party (CW), January 14-15

North American QSO Party (SSB), January 21-22

ARRL January VHF Contest, January 21-23

CQ 160-Meter Contest (CW), January 27-28

BARTG RTTY Sprint, January 28-29

Winter Field Day, January 28-29

Upcoming MCWA Presentations

February 7 Youth Safety by David Whiteside (N9BSA)

March 7 ARRL Update by Carl Luetzelschwab (K9LA)

Awards and license upgrades

John Cankar (W9JM) reported that he received the Worked All Brazil award. Mike Metroka (WB8BZK) reported that he achieved the CQ WPX Award of Excellence. Dave Whaley (NT9E) reported receiving the WAZ award. Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) reported that in the recent FT Roundup he was 2^nd in Illinois and 88^th in the world.

Old Business

 None

New Business

Dan noted that Rep. Bill Johnson introduced H.R.9670, the “Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act”. It would eliminate Private Land Use Restrictions on Amateur Radio.

Field Day 2023 will be June 24 and 25. MCWA will be at Rush Creek again. The budget was set by the Board at $750, an amount which will require approval by the membership. A motion to approve the expenditure was made by John Cankar (W9JM) and seconded by Ken Farver (KB9I) and was approved by a unanimous voice vote. Dan volunteered to be the Field Day coordinator again. Everyone with ideas should email them to Dan at KD9M@Yahoo.com.

Dan informed the membership that groups.io is planning on levying charges on the administrators of new or upgraded groups that exceed 100 members. The charge would be $0.04 per member, per month with a minimum charge of $20. The new pricing model removes features like multiple sub-groups, calendars, wiki and other things that we don’t fully use, although the sub-group “projects” will probably go away. We may be grandfathered in until we upgrade to the Premium plan.

Wrap up

Following the adjournment of tonight’s meeting, John Cankar (W9JM) will be presenting “An Introduction to Successful QSL’ing”. Dan solicited more presentations from the membership.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, February 7, 2023 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 Youth Safety by David Whiteside (N9BSA). A motion to adjourn was made by Dave Holmgren (K9AT) and seconded by JoAnne Maenpaa (K9JKM). The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:34 PM.

Prepared by Gary Kaatz (W9TD), MCWA Secretary.

MCWA Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2022

Prior to tonight’s meeting, a pizza party was held in the Algonquin Township meeting room.

President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the December 2022 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:02 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT). Dan then asked everyone to introduce themselves.

Board members present were Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Ralph Iden (WB9ICF), Gary Kaatz (W9TD),  Dan Larson (KD9M), Mike Metroka (WB8BZK) and David Whiteside (N9BSA).

A total of 44 members were in attendance and 4 guests: Keith Schreiter (N9QDS), Warren Pugh (KC9IL), Bob Kieffer (K9FS) and Sue Sayles.

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the November 2022 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

Treasurer Dean Hettel (WC9C) presented the membership and financial reports for October and November. MCWA has a membership of 127 full members including 8 family members and no Associate members.

October

Opening Balance	$10,712.37
Deposits	$80.00	($40 dues and $40 donation)
Expenditures	$164.31-	(Flag – Mike Metroka (WB8BZK))
	$5.00-	(Digital Ocean)
	$35.00-	(POBox subscription)
Interest	$0.10
Final Balance	$10,588.16

November

Opening Balance	$10,588.16
Deposits	$331.90	(Dues)
Expenditures	$1.53-	(Digital Ocean)
Interest	$0.09
Final Balance	$10,918.62

Dean reminded the membership to pay their 2023 dues by PayPal, check or cash tonight at the meeting. Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Ken Farver (KB9I) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.

Announcements

The monthly McHenry Ham Breakfast is held the first Saturday of every month at Buddyz in McHenry at 8:00 AM. The latest was this past Sauruday, December 3. Contact Dave (NT9E) for more information.

Hamfest and Event Update

 Past:

Friendly Fest: no reports

Fort Wayne Hamfest & Computer Expo: no reports

Upcoming:

WCRA Mid-Winter Hamfest, January 15, 2023, St. Charles, IL

ORC 43^rd Annual Spring Indoor Swapfest, May 6, Cedarburg, WI

DeKalb Hamfest, May 7, Sandwich, IL

Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest, June 4, Mendota Tri-County Fairgrounds

Midwest Superfest, September 16-17, Chillicothe, IL

Contest Reports

ARRL Sweepstakes (CW): W9TD participated with 83 of 84 sections

 WAE DX Contest (RTTY): NT9E and WB8BZK participated

 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint: no reports

 10-10 Intl Fall Contest (Digital): no reports

 ARRL Sweepstakes (SSB): no reports

 Run for the Bacon QRP Contest: no reports

 SKCC Sprint: no reports

 CQ WW DX Contest (CW): W9TD participated

 160 Meter Contest (CW) December 2-4: KF9D and WB8BZK participated. Mike reported 475 QSO’s

FT Roundup December 3-4: KC9GPY participated

MCWA Field Day Report

5^th place overall 2A
1^st place 2A Central Division
Highest score ever: 9278 for 2118 QSOs

A special thank you went out to the Station Captains, Cook, Site Manager, Greeter & Trainer, setup & teardown team, all operators and visitors and everyone who operated as a Delta station. We also thanked Dan for being the Field Day Chairman.

Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) reported on the 415’s Field Day, highlighting Fun and Food. He also noted that Winter Field Day is coming up on January 28-29.

Upcoming MCWA Presentations

January 3, 2023 QSL’ing, by John Cankar (W9JM)

Awards and license upgrades

Sean Park (KD9VWL) reported that he upgraded to General.

Old Business

 None

New Business

None, but Kent Dulaney (K9KMD) mentioned that he saw several members not wearing name badges tonight and noted that Ken Farver (KB9I) was taking orders for them tonight and on the MCWA website.

Wrap up

Following the adjournment of tonight’s meeting, we will be having a QRP Showcase and Show & Tell by MCWA members. Dan solicited more presentations from the membership.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, January 3, 2023 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 “QSL’ing” by John Cankar (W9JM). A motion to adjourn was made by John Kalenowsky (K9JK) and seconded by Dean Hettel (WC9C). The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:36 PM.

Prepared by Gary Kaatz (W9TD), MCWA Secretary.

MCWA Meeting Minutes of November 1, 2022

DRAFT

President Dan Larson (KD9M) called the November 2022 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:01 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed. Dan announced that Jerry Heinen (N9AVY) passed away on October 2, 2022. Dan recalled that Jerry was one of Dan’s first contacts and a new ham. Jerry was a founding member of MCWA and its newsletter editor for many years. An avid DX-er, he loved contesting and was a member of the Northern Illinois DX Association (NIDXA). Dan asked for a moment of silence in remembrance of Jerry. Dan welcomed new member Sean Park (KD9VWL). Dan then asked everyone to introduce themselves.

Board members present were Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Ralph Iden (WB9ICF), Dan Larson (KD9M), Mike Metroka (WB8BZK) and David Whiteside (N9BSA).

A total of 35 members were in attendance and no guests.

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the October 2022 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) moved to accept the minutes and Kent Dulaney (K9KMD) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.

Membership and Financial Reports

Treasurer Dean Hettel (WC9C) was not in attendance, so Dan presented the membership and financial reports for October. MCWA has a membership of 127 full members including 8 family members and no Associate members.

Opening Balance	$10,712.37
Deposits	$396.00	($30 dues and $366 donation)
Expenditures	$164.31-	(Flag – Mike Metroka (WB8BZK))
	$5.00-	(Digital Ocean)
	$35.90-	(POBox subscription)
Interest	$0.00
Final Balance	$10,588.06

The reported deposits are the same as last month’s and the numbers don’t add up, so Dean will have to amend and report these at the next meeting. Dan reminded the membership to pay their 2023 dues by PayPal, check or cash tonight at the meeting. Kent Dulaney (K9KMD) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and John Kalenowsky (K9JK) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.

Announcements

The first Saturday of the month is the McHenry Monthly Ham Breakfast held at Buddyz at 1138 N. Green Street, McHenry. People gather at 8:00 AM and recent breakfasts have had over 20 attendees.

Chicago Marathon Report

Mike Metroka (WB8BZK) provided a recap of the Chicago Marathon that has held on October 9^th. Several months back, MCWA was given the opportunity to assist with radio communications for the event.

Although MCWA didn’t participate as a group, several of our members were part of the 130 plus radio amateurs participating in the event.

Mike (WB8BZK), Roger Scott (KF9D), John Cankar (W9JM), and marathon veteran, George Slominski (W9AUM) were part of the Course Medical Team – 4, located at mile-marker 6.  Setup started at 5 AM, with net check-ins beginning at 6:30 AM. The first of the wheelchair racers appeared 18 minutes after the start of the race, followed by the elite runners at the 27-minute mark, and a near ending stream of runners and walkers for the next two hours. The last walker passed by at 10:30 AM followed by the pace car and Streets & Sanitation cleanup crew.

Consider volunteering as a radio operator at the next Marathon, which will be held on Sunday, October 8, 2023. Sign-up will be in August, with announcements made at meetings. Mike would like to put together a team from MCWA next year, so our club call can be put on the list at being at a station.

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Hamfest and Event Update

PAST

None

UPCOMING

Friendly Fest, November 5, Elks Lodge, Milwaukee

Fort Wayne Hamfest & Computer Expo, November 19-20, Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

Winterfest, ARRL Midwest Division Convention, January 28, 2023, Gateway Convention Center, Collinsville, IL

Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest, June 4, 2023, Mendota Tri-County Fairgrounds

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Contest Reports

There were several reports of participation, but I could not discern who was speaking from the recording.

432 MHz Fall Sprint:

Microwave Fall Sprint:

Oceania DX Contest (CW):

10-10 International Fall Contest (CW):

Illinois QSO Party:

ARRL School Club Roundup:

Stew Perry Topband Challenge:

CQ Worldwide DX Contest (SSB):

Upcoming:

ARRL Sweepstakes (CW) – November 5-7

WAE DX Contest (RTTY) – November 11-13

10-10 Intl Fall Contest (Digital) – November 11-13

ARRL Sweepstakes (SSB) – November 19-21

CQ WW DX Contest (CW) – November 25- 27

Upcoming MCWA Presentations

December 6 QRP Showcase and Show & Tell

January 3, 2023 TBD

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Awards and license upgrades

Sean Park (KD9VWL) recently earned his Technician license.

Board of Directors Meeting Recap

 President Dan Larson (KD9M) reported on the October 18 Board of Director’s meeting. He reported the club was healthy with a strong and stable membership number. Meeting attendance was lower during the pandemic but is rebounding including more in-person attendance. Finances are also strong due to revenue from equipment auction and under budget spending. The budget and expenses were presented showing that we were $1,200.88 under budget:

 

Item	Budgeted	Spent
Field Day	$750.00	$694.32
Liability Insurance	$225.00	$200
Picnic/Dinner social	$750.00	$0
Outreach (Makers Faire)	$300.00	$246.90
Meeting Room Enhancements	$300.00	$0
Zoom Subscription	$150.00	$149.90
Website	$115.00	$79.00
Misc.	$200.00	$219.00
Totals	$2,790.00	$1,589.12

The proposed 2022-2023 budget is:

 

Expense		Notes
Field Day	$750.00	May need to increase based on food and facility ($694 in 2022)
Liability Insurance	$200.00
Pizza Party	$500.00	For Dec, need motion in Nov meeting
Dinner Social	$300.00
Outreach	$300.00	Scouts, Maker Faire…
Zoom	$150.00
Website	$130.00	35+80+12
Meeting Enhancements	$500.00	Webcam, tripod, cables, microphones
Misc.	$50.00
	$2,880.00

Dan noted that we still need a Program Chair and a person to handle the Zoom meeting, so Dean can focus on Treasurer duties. David Whiteside (N9BSA) is handling the Zoom meeting tonight.

Other items for consideration include possibly holding a Fox Hunt and that September 18, 2023 is the 45^th anniversary of the club’s founding. We intend to do something special for the September 2023 meeting.

Old Business

A new flag and stand was purchased by Mike Metroka (WB8BZK) for use at our meeting location. The cost was $164.31 for the flag, flagpole, base, tassel, and perched eagle. The flag will be offered as a donation to Algonquin Township as a small token of our appreciation for the use of the meeting area.

New Business

The December meeting will be a Pizza Social for our members and their guests. Pizza and drinks will be provided with a program following: “QRP Showcase & Show-and-Tell”. Look for more information on the K9RN reflector later this month.

John Dewey (KA9CAR) said that a team took down Jerry’s (N9AVY) antennas and has two tri-banders available: a Mosley tribander and Force 12 C3. If there are no MCWA members interested in these items, they will be put on e-Bay or QRZ. Please contact John (KA9CAR) if you are interested in these items.

Wrap up

Ron Delpiere-Smith (KD9IPO) will be presenting “Working the Pileup”, following the adjournment of tonight’s meeting. Dan solicited more presentations from the membership.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, December 6, 2022 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 “QRP Showcase and Show & Tell”.

A motion to adjourn was made by Roger Scott (KF9D) and seconded by Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY). The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:37 PM.

Prepared by Gary Kaatz (W9TD), MCWA Secretary.