July 2018 Meeting Minutes

Snoqualmie Valley Radio Club

Meeting Minutes for July 5, 2018

Business Meeting called to order 6:15 p.m. Duvall Fire Station #66 by Tom Needham, WA7TBP.

17 members and guests present for business and/or Elmer session: Robin Amundson, Larry Backstrom, Jesse Brasch, Rowland Brasch, Paul Butzi, Joe Carpenter, Nancy Carpenter, Lindy Friedlander, Linda Hanson, Milt Hanson, Ken Koch, Irvina Mizell, Jim Myers, Tom Needham, Dan Pflugrath, Shawn Somers, Kirt White

Secretary Report—Tom, WA7TBP, motioned for approval of minutes as posted on io.groups. Jim, W7ABD, seconded the motion. The motion was approved. Robin reported 22 individuals signed the log at Field Day.

Treasurer Report—Lindy Friedlander, KG7IFA, reported the most recent bank balance is $2,547.65.  The CDCCC board has not yet approved the June financial report.

Prior to the meeting there were 48 members, including one new licensee member with unpaid dues. One new member joined and paid dues, bringing the total membership at the conclusion of the meeting to 49. Welcome to Ken Koch, KI7ZIN.

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. Jim, W7ABD reported he would be going to Cougar Mountain July 6 to install software. Jim fixed the Carnation crossband. Work on Bell will come later. Shawn has no updates on the move at Cougar Mountain. We are in standby mode.

 

Emergency planning and mobilization task force—Robin, WA7CPA, reminded that Ralph, KC7QXD, was looking for his replacement as head of this task force. She suggested Joe Carpenter in partnership with Nancy Carpenter, KI7EMC, to head this task force. Ralph had spoken to Joe about it during Field Day and Joe agreed. There was no objection from the membership. Joe Carpenter is now the head of the Emergency planning and mobilization task force in partnership with his wife, Nancy, KI7EMC.

Education & community outreach task force

The new hams net continue weekly on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. with Dan as host. The high number of check-ins after the tech class in May is dropping off. In the future, Dan will need someone else or a rotation of other net controls as he transitions to a club much nearer his QTH. (He moved an hour away). The weekly ham gathering at Big Rock Ball Fields continues. Robin, WA7CPA and Paul, W7PFB, will be setting up FT-8900R to learn how it operates. Each week will bring another show-and-tell for new hams. Robin needs to step up advertising to new hams for the Big Rock gathering. A rainy weather alternative location will need to be determined.

Larry, N7ART, said due to now living 190 miles round trip away from Duvall, he will no longer be organizing the annual spring tech class. He will consult with whoever steps up to organize them. Tom, WA7TBP expressed his desire to have next spring’s class be proctored entirely by SnoVARC members. He asked for raise of hands on who is already a VE. All in the club are encouraged to study for and pass the online exam to become a VE. This involves reading a book on rules and regulations and setting aside a couple of hours for the test.

Carnation spacePaul, W7PFB,  with Jim, W7ABD

Jim, W7ABD, reported he installed Team Viewer software to make it possible for authorized club members to remote into the club shack. Jesse, W7JEB, offered to donate scrap lumber from his employer, design and build a new Carnation shack workspace. The membership expressed gratitude for the offer. Jesse and Paul, W7PFB, will confer on the design. Jim said he makes use of the Saturday training days at the shack by testing the rig even when there are no visitors.

Old Business

Field Day—Though Ken, W7ECK, was not present, Tom acknowledged and thanked Ken for his significant contribution securing the Field Day site at Carnation Farms, arranging the portable potty, and all the other site details. Tom also acknowledged Jim and Robin for providing radio stations for the event. Rowland suggested we evaluate whether or not we want a more publicly accessible site location for future Field Days to make it less daunting for new hams to find us. Everyone agreed the potluck food was superb and that was the highlight of the weekend.

Grant Update—Paul, W7PFB, the third quarter decision-making process for making a grant is on an “organic” rather than a pre-defined schedule. He will continue to submit paperwork. Tom, WA7TBP, reported Maria from CDCCC is submitting a grant proposal on behalf of CDCCC for $25,000, which would be shared between MRC, CERT, and SnoVARC if it were successful.

Upcoming Club Meetings—Dan, KA7GPP, confirmed the August meeting will be the actual foxhunt exercise. Transmitters will be hidden in the neighborhood around the Duvall Fire Station to be found with the antenna kits many club members previously made. Shawn confirmed he and Shawn will present the September meeting Elmer session on emergency hand-held antennas.

New Business

Tom suggested KF7P.com as source on grounding system.

Robin asked for loan of soldering iron.

Note: The business portion of the meeting was concluded timely by 7 p.m. The summary of it at 7 p.m. ran 30 minutes, two-thirds as long as the business meeting itself.

Elmer Session: Shawn, K7ATA, presented on emergency power options from tractor batteries to solar with diode protection circuits and inverters, and Tesla power walls. Reminder to put dry chemical fire extinguisher in each shack.

Upcoming Events

July 11, 2018: CERT bi-monthly meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Carnation Fire Station; topics include discussion of CERTs as part of the school district’s emergency plans, and triage with some hands-on practice. Attendees should bring their radios.

August 2, 2018: SnoVARC meeting, Thursday, 7 p.m. Elmer session is directional antennas and foxhunt facilitated by Dan, KA7GPP. Transmitters will be hidden in the neighborhood local to the downtown Duvall Fire Station

September 6, 2018: SnoVARC Meeting, Thursday, 7 p.m., Duvall Fire Station: Elmer is Emergency Antenna/Hand-held antenna by Ken and Shawn. (6:15 business meeting).

September 22, 2018: CDCCC Disaster readiness exercise

Minutes respectfully submitted by Robin Amundson, WA7CPA