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OCTOBER 2018 BAARC SECRETARY’S REPORT

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THURSDAY-OCTOBER 25, 2018 – 4:00 PM – BAARC BOARD MEETING MINUTES – BRAINERD FIRE DEPARTMENT

President: Steve Mott NØCRM
Vice President: John Luce WØWY
Treasurer: Doug Bergsnev WØDWB
Secretary: Ron Finger KØGOP
Past Presidents: Charles Lane W5CCL, Al Doree WØRC
Director At Large: Lyle Amundson KØLFV
Director of Emergency Communications: Dave Schuldheisz KØISZ
Repeater Trustee: Mitch Ahrenstorff ADØHJ
Community & Special Events Coordinator: Mark Cross KEØLFQ

Attendees: Steve NØCRM, Doug WØDWB, John WØWY, Ron KØGOP, Al WØRC, Shirley KØDCW, Mitch ADØHJ, Mark KEØLFQ and Roger WØWUG. The President opened the Board Meeting at 4 PM.

Secretary’s Report: 

  • Membership roster: 74 members with 6 unpaid for 2018. The Club roster can be found on the Club website under the“Resources/Members Only”  Current paid members can request an individual password for access via the “Contact Us” form.
  • Minutes: The September 2018 Executive Board and Membership Meeting minutes were posted to the“Baarcer” area.
  • Correspondence:
  • Documents: Updated Club membership roster and Gmail contacts database.
  • Membership ID’s: No new Club ID’s.
  • Club Website: New banner graphic for October; Northland Arboretum’s Haunted Trail event.
  • Motion to accept: Al WØRC, SecondJohn WØWY,  

Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer presented the Treasurer’s report that was forwarded to the board showing all month’s account transactions and balances to date. Doug will check to verify that the Club Trailer is covered on the Club insurance policy.

  • Motion to accept: John WØWY, SecondAl WØRC, Passed

Membership Meeting Programs: 

  • The President reviewed recent and future Club programs and events. The Fire Department meeting location is unavailable for November and December. John has arranged using the Brainerd Chamber of Commerce CTC meeting room for the November 29th and December 20th dates.

Upcoming Events: The following events were discussed:

ARRL Special Event: “Anniversary of the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald”

  • Sunday November 11, 2018 at Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit, MI
  • Extended event November 6 – November 20 using W8F call sign
  • Certificates provided w/ SASE.

2019 BAARC Hamfest

  • Saturday, April 6, 2019
  • Al WØRC has secured the date with the Brainerd Armory.

Digital & Emergency Communications: 

ARES Connect Update:

  • John reported on the recent ARES exercise.

New CWC EOC:

  • No updates on construction progress allowing reactivating our Club station there.

Old Business: 

Repeater Sites:

  • Gull Lake:
    • Mitch ADØHJ reported on a recent work session with Al and Roger to connect the new Heliax.
  • Crosby:
    • No new items.
  • Crow Wing Power:
    • No new items.
  • Cross Lake:
    • No new items.
  • High-rise Site:
    • No changes on site.

New Business:

  • Upcoming elections for Club officers were discussed. No volunteers have come forward for the open Vice-President post as yet.
  • John reported the Club has received a $100 check from the Kiwanis for the Triathlon. The Secretary will send a letter of thanks to John’s contact.
  • Mitch reported Lyle has been looking for MTM-100’s for Club repeater linking.

Motion to amend previous motion of $200 – $400 for purchase of additional FTM-100’s: Al WØRC, Second Steve NØCRM, Passed. 

  • The possibility of securing a possible northeast repeater location was discussed. Other site options are being explored.
  • Motion to request a new frequency pair for Gull Lake site (146.955 / 146.355): Mitch ADØHJ, SecondSteve NØCRM,  Mitch will pursue with the repeater council.
  • Adding APRS to the Gull Lake site was discussed. Would need a PC, and controller.
  • Discussed Hi-Rise site use and HF Win-Link.

The Board Meeting was adjourned at 4:50 PM.

THURSDAY-OCTOBER 25, 2018 – 7:00 PM – BAARC MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES – BRAINERD FIRE DEPARTMENT

International Space Station SSTV Reception – Presented by Mitch ADØHJ

–Respectfully submitted by Ron KØGOP, Secretary

All Things HF: November 2018

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First and foremost…Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all your families. A special Thanksgiving along with our prayers to our veterans serving this country here and on station.

November was/is a very wonderful month for those of us who love the thrill (sometimes the defeat) of working that ATNO or just working that rare DX even though we’ve already have them in our logs. So it was with the Ducie Island DXpedition (VP6D) that went QRV during some of the South Pacific’s worst weather conditions. Those of us that served in the Pacific theater of operations are aware of just how bad and how unpredictable the weather can be in October when Pacific typhoons break loose with their treacherous seas along with destructive landfall conditions. During those stressful conditions, the DXpedition operators on Ducie Island set up operations.

I’ve worked a lot of DXpeditions along with some of the worlds finest operators or so I thought until I worked VP6D, these dedicated radio guys were absolutely the crème de la crème. They made the pileups so enjoyable that nobody that had to wait to work them was disappointed. They diligently worked 121,000 total Q’s with the following breakdown by mode (rounded off) CW 68,000. SSB 29,000. Digital modes 25,000. You’re reading the numbers correctly…over 50% of their contacts were on CW and so I can tell you with pride, that one of them was mine.

Continued enthusiasm for the CW mode is not the technology, it’s the legacy. As for the digital modes…all that can be said is that digital modes are the future of our great hobby. Gerald Youngblood (K5SDR) CEO of Flex Radio wrote regarding digital modes on HF operations “FT8 et al is an example of the technology that will keep Ham Radio alive and relevant for the future” What will kill Amateur Radio, he continued, “is if we cease to innovate, become old and grumpy, and no longer bring new blood into the hobby” There’s no doubt that Digi-modes will be the vehicle that brings the young technically oriented talent into the hobby and so keeping the hobby alive and well. Us old grumpy dudes operating CW and phone will eventually hand over the reins to the newbies but in the meantime…sit down at your station, check out all those lighted up dials, twist some knobs then call CQ because there’s another grumpy old dude listening for your call so don’t disappoint him/her. So long from my station in Huntersville to your station wherever it may be.

Best 73 es gud DX de Bob/WØZPE

All Things HF: October 2018

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All Things HF
Summer clothes are put away as sweats, hoodies and mittens take their place. The leaves have turned with most fallen to the ground. Our deer feeders are in place as we stock pile their winter feed. Yep, winter whether we like it or not is here with below freezing temps (soon to be below zero) as snow covers the landscape.

I celebrated another birthday, wow, living in the fast lane went away many years ago. I spent the day on HF looking for DX but instead made many QSO’s around the country. The best reliable openings have been on 20-meters with very good signals from east to west. Most of you will remember Jim KØTXT along with his XYL Sharon KBØSQX who were long time members of the BAARC now living in Arkansas…Jim answered one of my CQ’s, what a pleasure it was to hear his voice again. Both pass on greetings to the BAARC club membership. There is nothing better than running into old friends on HF. With many more shut-in days ahead, I am looking forward to whatever comes back to my CQ calling.

Halloween, the deer opener, Thanksgiving then Christmas are all in the next 60+ days so you’ll find me wishing my contacts a very Merry Christmas coming up. I can’t wait for the greetings they’ll come back with such as Happy Holiday or just plain thank you…it’s interesting that in different parts of the country they’ll say Merry Christmas then in another (mostly the west coast) its happy holiday…hey, different strokes for different folks. As for this operator, I celebrate everything and anything as I call a spade a spade, if it quacks it’s a duck.

Veterans day is next month so lets thank a vet for his/her service. I’m also reminded that it’s the 100th anniversary of the ending of the war to end all wars…you betcha. Many years ago I had the privilege to work a veteran of WWl on HF as he celebrated his 105th birthday. Wow, you just never know who is going to be at the other end of the microphone. That’s all from my radio station in Huntersville to your station wherever it may be…do yourself a favor, sit down at your station to call CQ because there’s someone somewhere listening for your call, don’t disappoint them.

Best 73 es gud DX from Bob/WØZPE

SEPTEMBER 2018 BAARC SECRETARY’S REPORT

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THURSDAY-SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 – 4:00 PM – BAARC BOARD MEETING MINUTES – BRAINERD FIRE DEPARTMENT

President: Steve Mott NØCRM
Vice President: John Luce WØWY
Treasurer: Doug Bergsnev WØDWB
Secretary: Ron Finger KØGOP
Past Presidents: Charles Lane W5CCL, Al Doree WØRC
Director At Large: Lyle Amundson KØLFV
Director of Emergency Communications: Dave Schuldheisz KØISZ
Repeater Trustee: Mitch Ahrenstorff ADØHJ
Community & Special Events Coordinator: Mark Cross KEØLFQ

Attendees: Steve NØCRM, Doug WØDWB, John WØWY, Ron KØGOP, Al WØRC, Shirley KØDCW, Mitch ADØHJ, and Roger WØWUG. The President opened the Board Meeting at 4 PM.

Secretary’s Report: 

  • Membership roster: 74 members with 8 unpaid for 2018. The Club roster can be found on the Club website under the“Resources/Members Only”  Current paid members can request an individual password for access via the “Contact Us” form.
  • Minutes: The July 2018 meeting minutes were posted to the“Baarcer” area. There were no business meetings for August.
  • Correspondence: None.
  • Documents: Updated Club membership roster and Gmail contacts database.
  • Membership ID’s: 2 new Club ID’s.
  • Club Website: New banner graphic for October; Northland Arboretum’s Haunted Trail event.
  • Motion to accept: Al WØRC, SecondJohn WØWY,  

Treasurer’s Report: The President presented the Treasurer’s report that was forwarded to the board showing all month’s account transactions and balances to date.

  • Motion to accept: John WØWY, SecondAl WØRC, Passed

Membership Meeting Programs: 

  • The President reviewed recent and future Club programs and events. Al WØRC suggested a program on Software Defined Radio (SDR). Mitch ADØHJ said another member is exploring VHF/UHF “meteor scatter” which might be another possibility.
  • The Fire Department meeting location is unavailable for November and December. John will check into using the Brainerd Chamber of Commerce CTC meeting room for the November 29th and December 20th dates.

Upcoming Events: The following events were discussed:

Northland Arboretum’s Haunted Trail event

  • Friday October 19 – Saturday October 20, 2018, 6:00PM – 9:30 PM
  • Need Club operators to patrol “Scare Spots” over the 2-hour event
  • Meal provided; contact Ron KØGOP to sign up.

CQ WW DX SSB Contest

  • Saturday October 27-Sunday October 28, 2018

2019 BAARC Hamfest

  • Saturday, April 6, 2019
  • Al WØRC has secured the date with the Brainerd Armory.

Digital & Emergency Communications: 

ARES Connect Update:

  • John reported that we need to find someone to get our Club up to speed using WinLink, per ARES request for use with SKYWARN, etc.
  • Mitch ADØHJ volunteered to do this.
  • October 3rd ARES Test: Need to contact Doug Nelson or Jerry Groeneveld regarding our expected Club role.

New CWC EOC:

  • No updates on construction progress allowing reactivating our Club station there.

APRS:

  • Al WØRC reported that the APRS PC has been going offline recently, but seems to be holding a connection for now.

Old Business: 

Repeater Sites:

  • Gull Lake:
    • Mitch ADØHJ requested a work session with Al and Roger to connect the new Heliax.
  • Crosby:
    • No new items.
  • Crow Wing Power:
    • No new items.
  • Cross Lake:
    • No new items.
  • High-rise Site:
    • OCF-Dipole remote station antenna seems to work well, but will likely need resonance adjustments when placed in the final roof-top environment.

Storage Unit:

  • Lyle KØLFV ahs acquired some shelving.

New Business:

  • Upcoming elections for Club officers was discussed. Most agreed to be placed on the ballot to serve again with the exception of Vice President John Luce, who would prefer to see someone else take on that role. The Club membership will be encouraged to consider any of these roles if interested.
  • Mitch reported Lyle has purchased a Yaesu FTM-100 for $200 for Club use.

Motion for reimbursement: Ron KØGOP, Second Doug WØDWB, Passed. 

  • The possibility of working with the Emily Fire Department on a possible northern repeater location was discussed. Other options were explored to add coverage for SKYWARN as well as the Mid-MN 150 Sled Dog Race event. A repeater setup could exceed $2500 with hardware, antenna and Heliax, so possible state and county funding should be explored as well as local business and foundation grants. Steve and Mitch will reach out to Becky KDØHBH for her offer of assistance in pursuing these proposals. John will inquire about state / county aid, and Al will check with Emily FD on their new tower timetable.
  • An acquaintance of Dave KEØIUZ has generously offered to donate 100 Cotton LED lighted hats to our Club. They will come in Black and Khaki and we will likely use them as a fundraiser. https://www.panthervision.com/product/powercap-25-10-structured-cotton-led-lighted-hats/

The Board Meeting was adjourned at 5:02 PM.

THURSDAY-SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 – 7:00 PM – BAARC MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES – BRAINERD FIRE DEPARTMENT

Pat WØOPW gave a presentation on Off-Center Fed (OCF) dipole antenna design. Mitch ADØHJ gave a presentation on the SSTV digital mode.

–Respectfully submitted by Ron KØGOP, Secretary