July 2015 Meeting Minutes

Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm at the Duvall Fire Station by Pres. Ken Kosters (W7ECK).

Members Present: Paul Butzi, Larry Backstrom, Kathy Brasch, Rowland Brasch, Rick Burns, Ken Dempsey, Dick Freiheit, Lindy Friedlander, Jim Haviland, Michael Jacob, David Jam, Jeremiah Judd, Ken Kosters, Ralph Lease, John Lento Jr., Debbi Lermond, Irvini Mizell, Tom Needham, Bengt-Erik Norum, Dan Pflugrath, Gerald Repko, Chuck Woolfolk.

Guests Present: Terry Beedle, Glendon Pflugrath, Jim Haviland

Secretary/Treasurer’s Report – Lindy (KG7IFA)

* Minutes from June meeting were reviewed electronically prior to the meeting and approved at the meeting.

* Current Balance $2,994.96 as of June 16, 2015 CDCCC Board Meeting; Plus Duvall Run donation $880 (88% of total), which is based on the proportion of volunteers that were for SnoVARC.

* 2015 Club dues: 34 members have paid their dues donation* to date. Checks for all those remaining who still wish to be members should be made out to CDCCC and brought to the next meeting or mailed with membership application to:

CDCCC, PO Box 644, Carnation WA 98014. PLEASE USE THE NEW MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION ON THE YAHOO SITE OR ASK ME TO EMAIL A COPY.

Repeater Task Force / Technical Committee – Dan (KA7GPP)

* Everything seems to working fine now.

Emergency Planning & Mobilization – Rowland (K7RWB)

* Grant status: Tribe application — still waiting. This simplified version (based on input from Jeff Madden, an experienced grant writer) is our second application to the Snoqualmie Tribe. If we don’t get this one, we will try PSE.

* Working with Ralph (KC7QXD) and Tom to see if our club should align ourselves with King County ARES. Looking into obligations and formation issues that may exist. If there is a large event, we would want to be able to communicate with as many folks as possible. Working with Jon Bromberg about creating another Net with a broader geography (Issaquah, etc.) perhaps monthly. This would be separate from our weekly SnoVARC Net.

* Carnation space – Rowland (K7RWB): We are just waiting to get the guy moved so we can take over his current space. This will be great as it has A/C and internet all for $1/year! We will have to set up antennas so they cannot be seen from Tolt Ave.

Education & Community Outreach – Bengt (K7ADD)

* VE (Volunteer Examiner) Session before the 8/6 meeting. ARRL will supply materials. Bengt would like to have 4 of these per year sponsored by the club, plus 2 Tech classes per year. The next Tech class will be in the Fall.

* Website: The new website is up with free hosting and email. The old URL will redirect. Please provide comments/suggestions to Bengt.

* Postcards: Would like to send out postcards inviting area hams to our club meeting (approximately 450 after we exclude those we know about from the 508 on the FCC list of our zip codes). An expenditure of $230 ($60 cards, $30 labels, $140 postage) was approved for this project.

Field Day at Camp Korey — Dan (KA7GPP) / Ken (W7ECK)

* Field Day was successful. Set up was great and there was a nice evening breeze, although mosquitoes were a bit of an issue. It was easier than last year to make contacts. John Lento got Guam! Great for beginners, even children.

We might want to invest in telescoping poles to reduce cross talk next year. Shawn’s (KF7WXG) missing cable may be the one with an unlabeled white tag on it. Rowland will check with Shawn.

July 4th Carnation parade – Dan (KA7GPP)

Barb (K7XIT) is running this but couldn’t be at the meeting. We have 7 volunteers to work traffic. Kathy said there were 6 intersections identified (more than in the past). So a few more volunteers would allow

Mike’s house painting – Rowland (K7RWB)

We need more volunteers! July 11th won’t work out due to the extreme heat. But we still have the back wall and trim to complete our obligation. A new date will be chosen. In particular, if you have not already helped with this project, please participate with this last requirement. Remember, this will allow us to own the Cougar repeater free and clear.

2015 NW Citizen Corps EXPO – Lindy (KG7IFA)

This EXPO will be on August 15th and includes a half day of classes covering 14 topics (including emergency communications), followed with a ‘Cascadia Rising’ scenario exercise that will test your response skills. You can register online on their website ( http://www.nwcitizencorps-expo.org/ ).

Announcements – Kathy (K7KJB):

o Thanked all those who participated in the wildfire drill. Ric Eittreim did a fabulous job with the video.

o Duvall National Night Out on crime is 8/8.

o CERT Classes begin in Duvall on 9/14.

o Gene wants to have informational events every 2 months beginning in September, which is National Preparedness

Meeting adjourned at 7:45 pm.

ELMER SESSION: CW QRP Kit — Dan (KA7GPP)

If interested in making an inexpensive kit ($50-$60) to learn Morse Code, please contact Dan. The Farnsworth method of Morse code is advocated. Dan will post the document providing all the components needed and where to get them. However, he is happy to make the trip to Frye’s and Vetco to buy for those committed to making the kits. The kits come with boards set up with frequency for the Extra class, so will need to switch out the crystals. A straight key is recommended. Then you can be a member of the SK Century Club. If you can get to 15 words per minute, you can talk with 80% of hams.