Since 11/11/07

MANCORAD

February 2008 Meeting Minutes

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The February 13th, 2008 meeting was called to order at 7:35pm (1935) by the President Carl KA9WYK. Introductions were made by those in attendance at the club shack and present via Skype.

Reports
A motion by Rich KC9LOA to accepted the January 2008 meeting minutes as e-mailed and posted on the web site was made and seconded by Theresa KB9KXE. The motion carried. Dan N9NCU gave the treasury report which included amounts from the 50/50 raffle, dues received, the Christmas party, HAM of the Year, the cost of the new tubes needed for the vintage station, lunch kitty, and an adjustment (refund) to a member who over paid. For complete details, see Dan N9NCU. Ken WB9OBX made a motion
to accept the treasury report, seconded by Bob KC9HBA. The motion carried.

Old Business
Concerns about the condition of the coax and solid wire rotor cable for the harness for Field Day were discussed. The main issue surrounded the possibility of equipment malfunction during the Field Day exercise. Various options were considered, including the cost and value of replacement. After further discussion, Vern KB9EME mentioned the option of trying to appropriate funds from sources to replace the coax, rotor cable, and all the rope. .

Carl KA9WYK gave an update regarding recovering our deposit money for the 2006 Christmas party. The bankruptcy court is likely to issue/recommend that they dismiss debtors, but Carl KA9WYK wrote a letter of objection stating the clubs position on the matter. Updates will continue to be posted.

As a reminder that the club has loaner equipment, Carl KA9WYK read the check out policy agreement and also mentioned the various items that are available to try out. It is a great way to sample possible upgrades and/or practice with different equipment such as trying out an HF and antenna. These items are also available to use for those members who help with the radio coverage provided by the club to local events such as the Kewaunee Trout fest Dualathon and the Leukemia Bikeathon. Check with a board
member if you have any questions about club equipment or the check policy.

Things are looking great for the Vintage Station - Hammarlund HQ180 receiver. There is quite a history here and members seem enthusiastic with the prospect of it being operational. A big thank you to Tom WA9EXS who has refurbished the gem with hopes that one day it will once again have life. Discussion about location within the club shack and amenities needed to complete the restoration led to the suggestion to start a Station Design committee. John NZ9Z mentioned that he and Fred W6BSF thought a 6ft. table or bench
should be a suitable size for the station. Gene KB9KXF, having a desk about that size, graciously volunteered to donate it for the station. In addition, Dan N9NCU graciously volunteered to design the modification to the antenna switching board to accommodate the vintage equipment desk. Things are moving right along. It will be a terrific addition to the club once it's completed.

As a show of appreciation, the club was presented a USS Cobia N9BQV- Participation Certificate sponsored by the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Club. This was for participating in the Museum Ships Weekend 2007. How much fun is that! A Special thank you to the following operators who helped make the event a success. Fred W6BSF, John NZ9Z, Bob KC9HBA, Marty KC9JGE, Max KC9LOE, Steve K9ZW, Tim N9TAL, and Ken WD9ERO. Nicely done HAMs!

New Business
The membership roster is now at 86 members. Two new memberships were voted on. First, Amber KC9LMB is the daughter of current member Gary, KC9CDW who operated HF on Field Day. Steve made a motion to accept Amber's membership, Vern seconded the motion, and all were in favor, the motion carried. The other new member is Lynn KC9JVE from Green Bay who came to us via the power poles for members' workshop. Denise made a motion to accept Lynn's membership and Steve seconded the motion. All were in favor, the motion carried. Welcome
to the club ladies!

On Friday, February 22 there was a landlord meeting scheduled to show/demonstrate what we do at the club shack and to explain the importance of the service we provide to the surrounding communities.

The club is looking into having an Old Equipment Auction this fall. Dan N9NCU made a motion suggesting that a list of "actionable" equipment be created. This was seconded by Roger W9NPX, the motion carried.

The renewal for the Equipment Insurance was discussed. John NZ9Z made a motion to add the HQ-180 receiver to the existing insured equipment, seconded by Bob KC9HBA, the motion carried.

A letter of inquiry will be sent to Holy Family Hospital regarding the 100-foot tower on Western that is a 2-meter, dual bander, 440 tower. Apparently, the Wisconsin Intrastate Network's series 8-9, 440 repeater covers most of Wisconsin except us and WECOM is limited. Steve K9ZW motioned to form a committee to check into the details and report to the club at the May 10th meeting. The motion was seconded by Marty, the motion carried.

The club extended our sympathy to Bob Dunn KB9INK on his recent loss in his family. We received a thank you card addressed to the Mancorad Club from the family of Joseph Rehah expressing their gratitude for the thoughts of friends and relative during this time.

Committees

Brat fry: Marty KC9JGE has two Brat fries scheduled for May 11th at Copps and May 17th at Pic N Save in Two Rivers and will be scheduling another one after March. He is also considering doing a Brat fry at Rob's. The biggest discussion was whether to have a Brat fry at Copps on Mother's Day (May11th). It looks like there is enough support from members for this date

Web site update: Walt K9WL has been very busy in Milwaukee lately, but he and Marty KC9JGE will get it done as soon as time allows. Thanks again Walt for generously hosting the Club site for the past year. It helped take the club to a higher level and to shine a positive light on the club's image over the internet. It also helped to demonstrate our club's dedication to both the future and the past. It is easy to look forward to seeing the added features that the updated web site will be able to host.
Nice job guys!

Field Day: Rich KC9LOA gave us an update on the Field Day activities. There may be seven (7) possible operating modes and we may try to do satellites. He would like to do a site survey on April 26th. The purpose for this is to do a dry run. The loop has been moved and will be smaller, 40 meter. Then we can pack it up until we need it on Field Day and hopefully this will give us more time on the mics and less time spent setting things up. Again, for those hearty operators that stay over night, there will be steak and eggs Sunday Morning. Rich KC9LOA claims that there will be a ten 6-8 oz. steak, but some of them have already been spoken for by determined (ie. Stubborn, headstrong) operators. Excitement galore! CW operators too!!! Mark our calendars!

Repeater House Committee: Dan N9NCU, will arrange for a date in March to clean the 146.61 repeater. Carl KA9WYK is working an finding a DTMF controller with the help of Mike WB9TZ in the Sheboygan area.

Ham Cram: There was discussion about including a General Class in the April HAM CRAM. Talked to Don, the ARRL Section Manager and he knows of a program that has a HAM CRAM General Link. There may be an extra Ham Cram class scheduled if there seems to be enough interest from operators who would like to upgrade to General. Vern KB9EME also mentioned that Fond du Lac has a good system for Tech and General. Either way, great job to the Ham Crammers!

Other: John NZ9Z suggested that the club meeting could now start at 7:00pm (1900) instead of at 7:30pm (1930) since the board members no longer meet before the club meeting. Vern KB9EME donated a bag/duffle bag. Marty KC9JGE made a motion to purchase a Webcam between $80 -$100 that could be used for Pre-session Ham Cram and he offered to donate the wireless mic. John seconded the motion, the motion carried. Steve K9ZW briefed the club on the progress regarding the constitution/by laws. Right now, the committee is collecting and reviewing other existing constitutions. Some of the issues they hope to address are legal issues concerning non-profit corporation status. They are looking at best examples from the internet, historic samples, items related to tax-free status and other items filed with the state. They hope to resolve the harmony problems within the document. ARRL has model documents for 501c3 that should be of help. They will make their suggestions/recommendations to the Board once they have fleshed out the inconsistencies and act on directions from the Board.

Carl KA9WYK made a motion to adjourn and Red N9GHE seconded the motion; the motion carried.

Congratulations to Dan N9NCU who won the 50/50 raffle of $14.50.

A grateful thank you to Theresa and Gene who provided a wonderful lunch after the meeting. (Chocolate is GOOD!!!)

Meeting Attendees:
WB9OBX - Ken N4WGK - Denise W9NPX - Roger
KC9HBA - Bob KC9LFT - Lois N9GHE - Red and guest Rosie
NZ9Z - John KB9KXE - Theresa KB9KXF - Gene
KC9LOA - Rich KB9EME - Vern KC9KQU - Roxanne
K9ZW - Steve N9NCU - Dan KA9WYK - Carl
KC9JGE - Marty

UstreamTV:
There was also several members viewing.

Skype:
Gene
Mary
Ken

Respectfully Submitted by:

Roxanne KC9KQU - Secretary