ARCARS
September 2011
Meeting Minutes
The meeting was called to order on September 11, 2010 with 16 members and guests present.
There was a moment of silence in respect to the 10th anniversary of 9-11
MOTION: To accept the previous minutes by Jerrie (KC8YRQ), seconded by Dan (KD8CFF), approved.
TREASURES REPORT: Suzanne (KB8GFY) reported our new balance of $5,254.50.
DISASTER REPORT: There were several mutual aid fire calls reported for barn fires in the county. None required an ARCARS call out.
NET REPORT: Edgar (KC8VLV) announced that we have secured software that will be used to log the nets. He reported that the net has been doing well with an average of10 amateurs participating on the weekly nets. He expressed that he was going to re-introduce various topics on the upcoming nets to peak interest.
SPECIAL EVENTS: The annual Blue Water Ramble bicycle race is scheduled for Sunday, October 2nd. This marks the fifth year that we have participated in the event. The truck will be leaving at 6:30am and returning at 5pm. Food will be provided. The location will be next to the Algonac to Canada Ferry. We are planning to set up to help assist the race and promote amateur radio. Our group also plans on setting up a 40’ tower in St Clair on the way to Algonac. So far Jerri, Paul, Edgar, William, Dennis, and Andrew have committed to the event with others anticipating to attend but could not commit at the time of the meeting.
CLUB STATION: The DStar repeater is expected to arrive on Wednesday, September 13th and should be operational that evening. . The frequency is 146.690MHz. The 2 meter packet station is operational again. Please contact via, k8arc-1 on 145.01MHz.
We purchased four new deep cycle batteries. Three are intended to be used in the ARCARS truck. The other will be used to provide emergency power for the club station. An aluminum diamond plate battery box is being fabricated to contain the batteries in the truck. These batteries have the potential to provide up to three days of emergency power to operate the radios.
Shelves have been made and installed in the club station. The station has been cleaned and is organized. We now have an HF radio installed at the station. We also have the 2 meter radio for net use as well as the complete, packet stations on 144m and 220mhz. Much of the work was completed by Paul (KG8OU) and Dennis (KD8LMM).
NEWSLETTER: The web pages are located at www.qsl.net/arcars and www.bandopening.com/arcars . There is a wealth of information available on the website including the RSS feed. Please be sure to visit the swap list link has recently been updated.
CLUB PROJECT: Just prior to the meeting members toured the trailer. The purpose of the tour was to brainstorm ideas to enhance the efficiency of the trailer and even out the load. The trailer at this time has racks on one side that hold three towers. It was recommended that a reel with a crank be installed to hold coax feed line. If you have any ideas please contact Andrew; kc8spd@arcars.org .
OLD BUSINESS: The Fall Harvest Days event went relatively well, however we did not have enough member participation to ensure a smooth operation. The location of the truck at the event must be re-thought if we are going to participate in that event in the future. There was an music stage adjacent to the truck making amateur radio difficult to legally operate. There was some radio jamming observed on 20m at or around 14.313MHz.
Orders for ARCARS apparel are being processed by Russ (KD8FRE).
NEW BUSINESS: The club would like to take a larger roll in promoting amateur radio. Ideas are welcome as we attempt to put a plan together. Hand outs were discussed at the meeting that would be available to all members to hand out to interested parties. We would also like to be more visible in public areas to promote amateur radio.
Meeting topics desired. We would like to know what you would like to cover in the meetings. Some ideas proposed were; DStar, Software Radio, Traffic Handling, electricity safety. Send your ideas to Andrew, kc8spd@arcars.org.
The Poker House has a draw for future fundraising events on the first Saturday in October. Andrew said that he will attend and draw for four sessions for the upcoming year. Our choice was to do this during the winter months thus freeing up the better weather for other activities.
Elections of officers will be held at the October meeting.
DX SPOTS/ SPECIAL EVENTS: Andrew reported the several members made contact with the Pentagon Amateur Radio Club on 9-11 commemorating the anniversary of the event.
MOTION TO ADJOURN: by Ron (KC8TXC), seconded by Mark (N8EGJ), approved.
ANNOUNCEMENTS and other info:
The ARCARS & International Traders Net is held every Tuesday evening at 8pm on the 146.800 K8ARC repeater.
The International Friendship Net is held every Thursday at 9pm on the 145.370-VA3SAR repeater
The Thumb / Mid Michigan Nets are held Monday through Saturday at 9:30pm on the 147.300 repeater.
HF: The Great Lakes Emergency and Traffic Net is held nightly at 8pm on 3.932 kHz
Our scheduled events are located on the Google Doc’s system at docs.arcars.org and mail.arcars.org