Northeast Iowa Radio Amateur Association (NIRAA/W0MG) Meeting Minutes, January 2018 The January gathering of the Northeast Iowa Radio Amateur's Association (NIRAA) was called to order at 7:00 PM January 13, 2017 by Harold Lucas (N4HRL). There were 19 members (16 ARRL) and 4 guests in attendance this evening, listed below. MINUTES ------- Adjustments to last month's minutes: Someone reported that the repeater frequency was not 146.94 / 146.34 (it is?) Just want to let you know that I was on the committee to look at the bylaws & the committee about the IWARN & field day. Thanks. Jan Fitkin Minutes accepted with no adjustments (AE0TB/N0TKC) TREASURER'S REPORT ------------------ Dave reports we have $1,747.80 in the general fund plus $210.18 in the repeater savings fund, in addition to some recently received dues for 2018. Report accepted (N8TWO/N0TKC) REPEATERS --------- Tom (AE0TB) reports the Grundy repeater is down, he's got it at his office getting worked on. Chuck (W0ALO) reports all his repeaters are up Curt (NK0T) reports the 220 is running fine Bill (W0GEN) reports most of the DMR network is up, Marshalltown's PA is getting repaired. OLD BUSINESS ------------ (none) NEW BUSINESS ------------ NIRAA board met prior to this evening's club meeting, mostly a handover to the new board members. There was some discussion of the pros and cons of recording and uploading club presentations. (Nathan attempted to make an impromptu recording of this evening's presentation using his laptop's camera and mic, not ideal but not a bad test run) One-day tech classes are coming up. Tom (AE0TB) reports Tim is looking for a minimum of 10 students before committing to a trip from Cedar Rapids. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Tom. The new board has agreed that we should look into updating our bylaws, several of which are to modernize outdated procedures. Motion approved (N8TWO/N0ZYC) to create a committee to investigate changes. Taryn (N0TKC) will be assisted by Vicki (W0VJVB) and present proposed changes at a later date. There was discussion about getting a head start on this year's NIRAA Swap Meet. CR's Junk in the Trunk is the week before Dayton, Stan (W0SJ) suggests we watch how those go before we make any committments. CVARC is coming up in August, but will be a bit larger than typical due to ARRL midwest meeting occurring there this year. Prior hamfest handlers would like to tag out, Nathan (N0ZYC) and Michael (KZ0MBI) have volunteered to manage this year's swap meet. Advanced planning on Field Day 2018 was also brought up. Tom (AE0TB) suggested we may want to run with the iWarn group and have a combined field day. Their site is at the mill at Highway 20 and 14. Bill (W0GEN) and Tom (AE0TB) will keep on top of that. Harold (N4HRL) reported results of this year's Salvation Army bell ringing. We were able to bring in $679 this year, which is up from last year's ~$550. Tom (AE0TB) submitted a bill for our club website hosting for the next 2 years, $36.34 submitted to Dave. Approved to pay (N8TWO/N0TKC) Ideas for presentations for this year were discussed. Curt (NK0T) can do a presentation next month on SWR or High Voltage. Harold (N4HRL) is looking into club participation in S.T.E.M. activities. Vicki (W0VJB) will investigate that also. There was also some discussion of "getting back to basics" to benefit the large number of new hams in the area and the club in the last few years. Basic transciever operation and airwave etiquette would be very beneficial for new licensees. Mark (N8TWO) knows a teacher looking for a ham radio presentation for his class, Taryn (N0TKC) will investigate further and see what we can do to help. This year's club participation in JOTA was touched on. We've been assured that this year the scouts council will be more involved and provide better communications with us prior to the event. Al (KB0VGG) has an extra cell phone service number available for club use. Everyone agreed the club could make use of it, approved. (N8TWO/N0ZYC) Harold (N4HRL) discussed a possible club meeting at the EOC this year, will be trying to get ahold of Maureen to see what we can do. (possibly for April?) Storm Spotter training is on March 26 at 6:30 pm in Tama Hall, Hawkeye College. Chuck (W0ALO) gave a status report on ARES. It sounds like they're planning on some major changes to the rules, courses, ICS, training, etc. They were initially discussing requiring ICS certifications for member activation, but that was going to decimatea their available manpower. Perhaps more importantly, logged member activation hours count heavily into their receiving funding and grants, so adding hurdles to activation could have serious ramifications for them. (these additional requirements are therefore unlikely to materialize) Motion to adjourn (NK0T/W0ALO) PRESENTATION ------------ Tonight's presentation was by Bill (W0GEN) on remote station operation UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS ---------------------- February's presentation will be by Curt (NK0T) on SWR 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 Tuesday night at 7pm, 3.5885 MHz USB / 1500 Hz WF (Olivia 8-500) << NOTE! FREQENCY HAS CHANGED EFFECTIVE FEB 2018 >> - DMR checkin 7:30 pm Sunday night on talk group 3119 VE TESTING AND TRAINING ----------------------- - ongoing tech-to-general class UPCOMING HAMFESTS ----------------- - Mahoska Hams Swap Meet: March 18, 8:00-11:30 American Legion Hall, 302 High Ave East, Oskaloosa IA https://www.facebook.com/events/1310732659042610 http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/mahaska-hams-swapmeet - Dayton Hamvention: May 18-20 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, 210 Fairground Road, Xenia OH http://hamvention.org - Cedar Rapids Junk in the Trunk: Saturday May 26 - CVARC Midwest TechFest: August 4-5 Linn County Fairgrounds, 201 Central City Rd, Central City IA http://w0gq.org/hamfest-2016/ OTHER EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS ------------------------------ (none) W0MG/NIRAA LINKS ---------------- - Club Website: http://w0mg.net/ - 2018 membership form: http://www.w0mg.net/contact/membershipform2018.pdf - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/waterloo.hams/community/ - Cedar Valley area repeaters: http://w0mg.net/repeaters/ =============================================================================== 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. Many members are also monitoring channel 3119 on DMR. Our club website is at http://www.w0mg.net/ . Primary email contact is Nathan at sec(a)w0mg.net Officers may be contacted over the air or via email: President, Harold Lucas, N4HRL, pres(a)w0mg.net Vice President, Curtis Wilson, NK0T, vp(a)w0mg.net Secretary, Nathan Fisher, N0ZYC, sec(a)w0mg.net Treasurer, Dave Knittel, K0CQH, treas(a)w0mg.net Director 2016, Taryn Colby, N0TKC, dir1(a)w0mg.net Director 2017, Stan Johnson, W0SJ, dir2(a)w0mg.net Director 2018, Dave Kelly, KD0DK, 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 these emails, please reply requesting removal from one or both distribution lists. This month's meeting attendance: Members: N0ZYC Nathan Fisher KE0OMN Darci Hartke W0VJB Vicki Bicket AE0TB Tom Bicket KE0IWQ James Fitkin KE0IWP Janice Fitkin W0GEN Bill Dedic KB0RSW Randall McClain NK0T Curt Wilson WA0QXF Clark Willoughby KD0DK David Kelly W0SJ Stan Johnson KB0VGG Al Jones K0CQH Dave Knittel N0TKC Taryn Colby N0RXB Wendell Wagner N8TWO Mark Colby N4HRL Harold Lucas KB0VWP Bob Tyson Guests: W0ALO Chuck Angel KB0MGH John Carstensen KZ0MBI Michael Chapman WA0ILD Kermit Kittleson Members wishing to pay club dues (or have paid and are not indicated above) please contact Dave Knittel.