August 2017 Meeting Minutes

Snoqualmie Valley Radio Club

Meeting Minutes for August 3, 2017

Meeting called to order 7 p.m. Duvall Fire House by Ralph (KC7QXD) substituting for Tom (WA7TBP).

Twenty-four Members Present: Jesse Brasch, Ralph Lease, Robin Amundson, Brian Ehlert, Ken Kosters, Dan Pflugrath, Samuel Baker, Carol Swanton, Larry Backstrom, Debbi Lermond, Milton Hanson, Linda Hanson, Michael Jacob, Joe Carpenter, Nancy Carpenter, Paul Butzi, Dick Freiheit, Chuck Powrie, Barb Powrie, Rowland Brasch, Jim Myers, Shawn Somers

Secretary Report: The July minutes were approved by voice vote.

Treasurer’s Report: Robin (WA7CPA) read The Treasurer’s report, provided by Lindy (KG7IFA).  Current Bank Balance is $1,465.16, estimated as of July 31, 2017 (not yet approved by CDCCC Board).

Committee and Task Force Reports:

Repeater. There was discussion on the weak signal and high noise in downtown Carnation. In Tom’s absence, there was no discussion or resolution on 145.590 being used by other agencies.

Emergency Planning and Mobilization. Rowland (K7RWB) announced One Net, a new major infrastructure investment that will provide first responders with a separate cell phone communication system. Cities will have the opportunity to buy into the system for their first responders. Our governor must accept or reject participation. One Net is designed to provide nationwide interoperability for emergency communicators. Congress provided for a $7 billion investment, awarding AT&T the contract. AT&T will invest and additional $40 billion.

Education & Community Outreach. Dan (KA7GPP) reported the New Hams Net on Tuesday evenings is going well and will continue. It was noted there is also a KBARA tech net on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. of interest to newer hams.

Carnation Space.  Noise from the water treatment plant was cited as a source interfering with signals. Shawn (K7ATA) moved and the club unanimously approved reimbursing Jim (W7ABD) $250.07 for purchasing the A/C unit for the Carnation space. Remote control access to the Carnation space is being worked on. Paul (KG7STV) encourages all SnoVARC members to use the space after learning how to use the equipment. It makes a good Thursday net control location. Jim (W7ABD) is there third Saturdays 10-noon, available to Elmer hams new to the space. Shawn (K7ATA) will take another Saturday when his time frees up.

Old Business

  1. Rowland reported on the CDCCC board meeting. He mentioned the September 30 earthquake/emergency drill we can participate in. He said CDCCC was happy with our performance during the July 4th parade and is seriously considering suggestions we made for improvements next year.
  2. Robin (WA7CPA) confirmed the September 7 Elmer presentation by John Petrich (W7FU) of Radio Club of Redmond. The topic will be on basics of software defined radio (SDR).
  3. Shawn (K7ATA) will obtain admin permissions on the Yahoo! Groups account and automatically transfer the entire group to IO Groups, a different platform for communicating within the club. IO is a moderated group. It has a WIKI, databases, public and private photos, and a place for SnoVARC discussion. It will be divided into two parts. The SnoVARC part is for discussion. The KE7GFZ part is for official announcements and documents. [Shawn subsequently did the transfer and added Ralph (KC7QXD) and Ken (W7ECK) as additional admins for IO Groups.]
  4. We were asked to check the latest net control schedule posted at Yahoo! Group.
  5. The Map Library of Carnation for emergency deployment was not discussed, as Ben (KG7BTU) was absent.
  6. Rowland (K7RWB) stressed the need for shorter, simpler, smaller grant application requests. The next grant application will be to a women’s group in the valley, 100 Women Who Care. Paul’s (KG7STV) wife will present the grant proposal to the group, as she is a member of it. Rowland added that Rotary would be another likely group to consider a grant.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:54 with a 6-minute break before the Elmer session. Dan Pflugrath (KA7GPP) presented the Elmer session on the basics of Summits on the Air (SOTA) activation.

Upcoming Events:

  • 9/7/17 SnoVARC Meeting, Thursday, 7 PM, Duvall Fire Station; Elmer Session: SDR-John Petrich (W7FU)
  • 9/11/17 Start CERT class-Monday 6:30 PM, Carnation Fire Station 85
  • 9/23/17 NW Citizen Corps EXPO (including EmComm)-Renton Technical College
  • 9/30/17 2017 Region-wide emergency exercise
  • 10/5/17 SnoVARC Meeting, Thursday, 7 PM, Duvall Fire Station; Elmer Session is 2018 Planning (All Club Members).

Minutes respectfully submitted by Robin Amundson (WA7CPA)