January 2018 Meeting Minutes
Snoqualmie Valley Radio Club
Meeting Minutes for January 4, 2017
Meeting called to order 7 p.m. Duvall Fire Station #45 by Tom Needham, WA7TBP.
Twenty-one members present: Robin Amundson, Larry Backstrom, Terry Beedle, Rowland Brasch, Rick Burns, Paul Butzi, Joe Carpenter, Nancy Carpenter, Dick Freiheit, Lindy Friedlander, Ken Kosters, Ralph Lease, Debbie Lermond, Marc Miller, Jim Myers, Tom Needham, Dan Pflugrath, Barb Powrie, Chuck Powrie, Shawn Somers, Chuck Woolfolk
Two guests present: Rob Hicks, KF7IFP, and Aaron Kapacinskas, KK6RUI
Greeting, welcome, and leadership announcements—Tom, WA7TBP I. For those interested in CW practice, Tom announced a daily 0800 local time practice on 3970 MHz he recently learned about.
- Radio logs, (ICS 309), for the Station 66 EOC and Carnation for public service events and drills, and message form, (ICS 213), have been placed at the EOC and Carnation. Samples were made available at the meeting and used for training in the Elmer session.
III. Discussion on badges. Nancy and Joe Carpenter still do not have badges. No answer or resolution as to why some people who have submitted paperwork to CDCCC do not yet have badges.
- Tom showed us his new Em Comm vest from the ARRL store, which is a Class 2 vest. It meets the criteria for safety vests that police and firefighters use.
Secretary Report—Robin Amundson, WA7CPA. Motion was made and approved to accept November 2017 Minutes as published in the IO Newsgroup.
Treasurer Report—Lindy Friedlander, KG7IFA. Current SnoVARC balance is $870.30. The 2018 SnoVarc budget needs to be presented at the CDCCC Board meeting for approval. Member dues for 2018 and the annual written liability waiver need to be turned in. Please make the checks out to CDCCC and mail to PO Box 644, Carnation, WA 98014. The link to information on joining the club and the form is at http://snovarc.org/join/
Committee and Task Force Reports
Repeater task force—Shawn (K7ATA)
Shawn reported the repeater is fully functional at this time. The donated cross-band repeater is in use on 145.750, tone 103.5, currently installed at Shawn’s house. NOTE: The estimated current market value of all donated equipment that is currently in use must be provided to Lindy for proper handling of the donation and asset depreciation in the financial records.
Jim, W7ABD, noted the Carnation cross-band repeater tone got turned off.
Emergency planning and mobilization task force—Ralph, KC7QXD. Ralph announced a committee meeting on 1/17/18 in the conference room at Carnation City Hall.
Education & community outreach task force—Larry, N7ART.
Technician Class: Larry reported he reserved the Duvall FD #45 meeting space on April 22 and 29 for licensing classes. Tom interjected there may be a partnership possibility with Stillwater Elementary community with space available for the technician classes there. Larry said there is a January 7 deadline for a ¼ page ad in Duvall Visitors Directory reaching 15,000 people for $350. That option was tabled due to cost and concern many residents do not actually read the directory. It was noted many new people are moving in and need to know SnoVarc exists as a club. Lindy noted that CDCCC paid the Duvall Chamber to have our brochure (with SnoVARC) included in the welcome bags that go to new households. The free online Duvall community boards were suggested.
New Ham Net—Dan, KA7GPP, reported dwindling participation in the new ham net, suggesting suspension until after the next technician licensing class. Discussion followed that the net actually has many lurkers and is bringing the club goodwill, as the net is heard being discussed on other repeaters. The net will continue. A suggestion was made to periodically announce the net time and purpose on the repeater. Shawn, K7ATA said it is possible to program an announcement. Nancy, KI7EMC volunteered to record an announcement.
Carnation space—Paul, KG7STV. Paul says the antenna is working, though Jim Myers reports some issues. Shawn, K7ATA, suggested logging weather conditions when antenna is used to determine if there is a water issue. A comment was made that perhaps a private donor of a GP-15 could be found.
Old Business
CSA grant—Tom, WA7TBP. The grant proposal to King County will be decided in February. Tom noted Maria Mahowald, CDCCC board member and Emergency Services Coordinator for Riverview School District was very instrumental in helping write the grant. The grant would be a soft match of funds, $2,905, to fund an antenna for Stillwater School, enable a technician class, and waiving the radio club fee for 30 new technician licensees. The club will, in exchange, provide volunteer hours for preparation and teaching the class, installing the antenna, etc., valued at $3,100.
Map Library—No report, Ben, KG7BTU, absent
Upcoming Elmer Sessions Discussed—February will be WinLink. March will be emergency handheld antennas. April and May are still TBD. Robin, WA7CPA will reach out to Rob Fanfant for availability on his VK9MA Mellish Reef DXpedition. Rowland, K7RWB, is prepared to present on generator safety either of those months. Robin, WA7CPA, suggested FT8 as an additional Elmer topic. There was some interest so she volunteered to find a future presenter for the topic.
100 Women Who Care Grant Application Update—Paul Butzi, W7PFB. Our goal is to get into the pool of candidates for the first quarter of 2018. The grant proposal winning the most votes wins the grant. Our proposal provides emergency communications (infrastructure and supplies), protects quality of life in the valley, and brings resilience in the face of disaster.
New Business
Fox Hunt Equipment Purchase—Dan, KA7GPP. Dan showed us his homebrewed foxhunting antenna needing flexible cable. He presented us with costs for a group purchase, totaling approximately $33.72 per unit to build. A proposal to round up the contribution to an even $35 was made to cover any additional expense. No objection to $35 was raised. Any excess funds will remain with the club. Those interested wrote their names and radio types on the board so Dan can have complete information to place the order. Checks should be made out to CDCCC and given to Lindy (or mailed to the same address as for membership) who will keep the funds segregated and will work with Dan to put in the order.
Net Control Operators—Rick, KB7CIN. A net control sign-up sheet was passed around in an attempt to increase the number of volunteers in the weekly rotation.
CW/Slow Code practice schedule—Paul, W7PFB. Paul announced he is organizing a regular CW net on HF. There was discussion about bands and who had already made on air contact. Further organizing will be done among those expressing interested. Frequencies and times will be posted in IO when known.
At the conclusion of the business meeting, part of the group, led by Ralph, KC7QXD, went into the FD radio room for orientation on the radio equipment and binder in case of a disaster event.The rest of the group, was led by Tom, WA7TBP, doing message handling training using forms provided.
Upcoming Events
January 24, 2018: CERT Quarterly meeting—Wednesday, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Carnation Fire Station
February 1, 2018: SnoVARC Meeting, Thursday, 7 p.m., Duvall Fire Station; Elmer session: Winlink
February 26, 2018: Spring CERT class begins
March 2018: First Aid/CPR Class—Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Tolt Congregational Church, Carnation
April 21 and 28: Technician class presented, Larry, N7ART, organizing. Location: TBD.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Robin Amundson, WA7CPA
