GMARC MEETING MINUTES FOR APRIL 2006
I. Meeting CTO at 7:03 PM, by Scott W1BIC in the Lecture Hall.
The May 16, 2006 Club Meeting will be held at the GM
Renaissance Center – exact location to be announced via eMail in
early May [complimentary parking will be provide by GM]. This meeting will
include a tour of the OnStar Command Center. All future GMARC Club
meetings will be located in the Lecture Hall thru (at least) December
2007.
Before introductions Bobby, N8CY announced a new program that will include special benefits for GMARC members from TCF Bank – no minimum balance, free checks, Visa Check Card, and much more….. Details to be announced in a future edition of The Transmission Line.
II. Introductions
There were 24 members present, and two visitors. A special presentation was made to Neil, WD8CRT in which a souvenir GMARC coffee cup was presented to Neil acknowledging that he has call signs in at least seven different countries and is a World Class CW-Operator.
III. Previous Minutes
A motion was made by Dave, W8RIT to approve the minutes of the March 2006 meeting, which was seconded by Mike, N5WCS. Passed.
IV. Treasurer’s Report
T.J., N8RUH, reported that after a couple deposits and withdrawals, the Club has a current balance of $2,164.40. George, K8GEO motioned to accept the Treasurer’s report, then seconded by Val, N8OEF. Passed.
V. Membership Report
Bobby, N8CY reported that we have a total of 73 members including 4 honorary members. Of the 73, there are 53 members who have paid their 2006 dues. N8CY indicated that on the Website, if a name is in Black then your 2006 dues are not paid, if the name is in Green then your 2006 dues are paid.
VI. Technical Committee Report
Jeff, N8XN reported that the UHF poly-phaser was replaced due to lightening damages. The Tech Committee is considering replacing one of the 6 VHF cavities. Discussion brought up the point that replacing the cavity may (or may not) improve the performance of the VHF repeater. Jeff said that in his personal opinion, by replacing the cavity the quality would improve.
Motion to spend up to $1,000 on VHF equipment was made by Bobby, N8CY. Seconded by Jeff, N8YIO. Tabled to the May meeting.
It was noted that the 145.210 MHz – 123 Hz PL VHF repeater is underutilized. It was suggested that our two repeaters be linked (24-hours per day) until further notice. There was general consensus among the members that this was a good idea, and no motion was required. This change will be effective immediately and implemented by the Technical Committee.
VII. Newsletter Information
Dave, W8RIT announced that starting with the April 2006
edition, The Transmission
Line will have a brand new “look and feel”. This new
format will have a table of contents on Page 1, a new Masthead,
and many new features designed to make our Newsletter more aesthetic and
appealing to the readership. The Newsletter will be published later than
normal for April, but W8RIT believes it will be worth the wait…..
W8RIT suggested having two sections to the Newsletter in order to make
downloading faster and more efficient. It was decided among the members to
keep only one section (and eliminate the information about contesting
and DX that is available at other locations on the Internet).
W8RIT also requested that more members should strive to check into the Monday night WW8GM InfoNet at 8:00 PM. You can check in via:
George, K8GEO reported important events to start planning for:
· The MS 150 is coming up. The 150 is a bike ride from Oakland County to East Lansing – July 15-16. Volunteers have an opportunity to spend the night in the cozy Michigan State University dorms among many other volunteer opportunities. For more information, contact George at K8GEO@gmarc.org.
· WalkAmerica is hosting the walk for The Diabetes Foundation at Stony Creek coming up in September. Members of the club have been involved with this for quite a few years, and members are encouraged to keep up the tradition by assisting in providing Emergency Communications for this event. Bobby, N8CY will be the event coordinator. Contact N8CY@gmarc.org.
· There is a new activity in town called the Crop Walk in Rochester Hills. This is a great opportunity for the entire club to be involved. The walk will be on October 8th, so make sure to mark your calendars!
· GMARC will not be having a booth at the Dayton Hamvention – May 19-21. All members are still encouraged to attend the largest Amateur Radio Swap in the Universe.
IX. Old Business
Jeff, N8XN, motioned to have the GMARC Trunk Swap – which was tabled from the March meeting. This event will be held in the Summer months [see the April Newsletter]. Seconded by Dave, WD8IFL. Passed. For more information (or if you wish to volunteer), contact SWAP@gmarc.org.
· Jeff, N8XN suggested having the Club Picnic on Saturday, August 26th.
· Dave, W8RIT motioned to spend up to $60 dollars on club QSL cards, which was seconded by T.J., N8RUH. Passed.
· Bobby, N8CY noted that Newsletters are now being mailed to members that cannot access it through eMail for a small price of $12 per year. Bobby suggested getting the Club QSL cards from www.VistaPrint.com to reduce the cost.
· If a new ID badge is needed, send a .jpg file of your picture to N8CY@gmarc.org, and the badge will be returned via USPS.
· A 256-MB Digital voice recorder / thumb drive with FM radio / MP3 player + USB cable + Ear-pods was available for purchase at the meeting. There was a very enthusiastic response to this offer.
X. Break from 8:10 - 8:31pm
50/50 winner was George, K8GEO - $34.00 payout.
Bill, W8WRB, gave a presentation on emergency hospital net volunteers for Oakland County. ARHEC (Amateur Radio Hospital Emergency Communications) has set up radios in Oakland County hospitals in order to prevent a lack of communications during an emergency – such as the black-out a couple years ago. W8WRB gave a PowerPoint presentation displaying pictures of each hospital’s radio station, and locations of each hospital. ARHEC is a noble group that is looking for volunteers to run a test-net on Thursdays, monthly at each hospital. For more details, or if interested in volunteering, contact Bill at W8WRB@gmarc.org.
Dave, W8RIT presented a computer program that is capable of testing the capacity of your batteries. The program gives an approximate life-time of the battery. The computer program can be purchased for $99, and if you would like to have your battery tested (or want more information about this program) contact Dave at W8RIT@gmarc.org.
XIII. Adjourn
Mike, N5WCS motioned to adjourn which was seconded by Dave, WI8C. Passed
Respectfully
submitted,
Stefanie
Tranchida, KC8TLB
Secretary