Northeast Iowa Radio Amateur Association (NIRAA/W0MG) Meeting Minutes, May 2016 The May 2016 meeting of the Northeast Iowa Radio Amateur's Association (NIRAA) was called to order at 7:11 pm on May 14, 2016 by Mark Colby (N8TWO). There were 23 members and 7 guests in attendance this evening, listed below. OLD BUSINESS ------------ Meeting minutes from last month accepted as emailed with no revisions. (N0TKC/W0GEN) Treasurer's report: $5 was paid to register with the Iowa secrectary of state in persuit of our non-profit status. (only $5 was required to reinstate the 5013C, saves us $395) Black Hawk insurance paid $228. Dues for three new members (plus a $20 donation) were collected for deposit. We now have $$639.31 in the general fund. Treasurer's report approved, (N0TKC/KZ0MBI) NIRAA Swap Meet was discussed. Dick and Taryn have been busy working on planning, many flyers were handed out at the Cedar Rapids swap earlier today. Field Day was up next. We're going to try to get firmer committments on time slots this year, hams planning to attend are strongly enoucraged to sign up for specific time slots, to insure maximum coverage throughout the two day event. Nathan to forward current schedule to members and forward additional signups. Dave pointed out that in addition to full coverage, we need to try to have an extra class operator as much as possible if not continuously, to enable full band access for all attendees. Christmas Party plans were also discussed, Taryn has taken the lead on organizing and conducted some research on planning a venue. Waverly diner has no room rental fee and $200 minimum bill on food, but will schedule extra staff for us. Highway 63 diner has a room but requires $50 deposit. (Stan has experienced service issues there however) Becks will be under construction and may not be available by the time we need it, shouldn't plan on them. The Isle is more expensive than we probably want to consider. Motion to select Waverly diner. (W0HHF/KZ0MBI) Further details on Waverly Diner, they will need to expect us as early as 5:30 pm, Saturday Nov 12. Parking is "a little weird", it's in the back, across the street to the North, and is limited. Carpooling is encouraged. New Business ------------ Next VE testing session is on Saturday Sept 17. Dick reports we have a new APRS digipeter in strawberry point, it's working well but range is still limited. Stan continues to research cores for production of cheap unun for his endfed multiband longwire. We'd like to find a Stuart core, preferably one that can pass 500w, but they're proving difficult to locate, Stan advises holding off on construction until we can find a better source for cores. Judy is still making club tshirts, and will be starting the next batch shortly, get your orders in as soon as possible. Tim Busch (N0KCR) is teaching one-day license classes. So far, 13 classes have produced 171 new hams. Quite impressive, he figures a 2.5% increase in the number of licensed amateurs in Iowa as a result of his efforts. There is a $99 fee, but that includes all materials, a basic HT, and even feeds you (pizza) so it sounds pretty all-inclusive. A few members were added to the mailing list. If you or someone you know is not receiving emails, please contact Nathan at sec@w0mg.net. Motion to adjourn (N0ZYC/N0TKC) Tonight's presentation was by Joe Hoepfner on digital mode (Olivia) There will be no June presentation in leu of field day preparation. CALENDAR: REGULAR EVENTS -------------- - ARES net check-in is at 9pm every Sunday night, on 146.94/34 - hams meet informally at 9am every Monday morning at HyVee on University Ave - hams meet informally at 12pm every Tuesday at Taco Johns on University Ave - Iowa Digital Net runs every Tues night at 7pm on 3572.5 / 3574 ctr USB VE TESTING AND TRAINING ---------------------------- Saturday Sept 17 (will be filling in more details shortly) HAMFESTS -------- Jul 16: W0MG Swap Meet Nat Cattle Congress, NCC Pav, Wloo 8-12 Free Admission, tailgaiting http://www.w0mg.net/presentations/SwapMeet2016.pdf Aug 7: CVARC HamFest 2016 8am-1pm, Teamster Hall - 5000 J St SW, Cedar Rapids tailgaiting, $7 adm, $10 tables, VE testing http://w0gq.org/ OTHER EVENTS ------------ - June 25-26: Field Day ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The NIRAA club meets on the 2nd Saturday of every month at 7pm in the basement of the Red Cross building (2530 University Ave) in Waterloo. Anyone interested in ham radio is welcome to attend. Our primary club repeater is on 146.94 mhz, negative offset, PL tone of 136.5 hz, with coverage centered in Black Hawk County. Our club website is at http://www.w0mg.net/ Officers may be contacted over the air or via email: President, Mark Colby, N8TWO, pres(a)w0mg.net Vice President, Curtis Wilson, NKØT, vp(a)w0mg.net Secretary, Nathan Fisher, NØZYC, sec(a)w0mg.net Treasurer, Dave Knittel, K0CQH, treas(a)w0mg.net Director 1, Chris Conklin, NØCF, dir1(a)w0mg.net Director 2, Stan Johnson, WØSJ, dir2(a)w0mg.net Director 3, Tom Bicket, AEØTB, dir3(a)w0mg.net - Nathan Fisher Secretary, W0MG You're receiving these meeting minutes because you have given the NIRAA club your email address for minutes or announcements. If you no longer wish to receive email, please reply requesting removal from one or both distribution lists. Meeting attendance: Members: N0ZYC Nathan Fisher N4HRL Harold Lucas KD0DK David Kelly AE0TB Tom Bicket W0GEN William Dedic W0VJB Vicki Bicket N0TKC Taryn Colby W0SJ Stan Johnson N3CAH Craig Hoepfner W0HHF Dick Nelson KE0IYQ Seth Rindels N0HHF Judy Nelson W0UNI Bob Decker N7PSA Craig Hundley NK0T Curt Wilson WA0ILD Kermit Kittleson KZ0MBI Michael Chapman W0ALO Chuck Angel K0CQH Dave Knittel KE0IWO Chris Goeller KE0IWB Lyle Stout AE5EI Joe Hoepfner N8TWO Mark Colby Guests: N0CKR Tim Busch KE0DXH Steve Clark WA0TPN Scott Lowe (A significant number of attendees did not appear on the attendance list, the sign-in sheet must have missed a row/table. Many entries above were based on attendee rollcall)