January 8, 2015 Club Meeting
Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 7:00 PM Red Cross Building, 60 Hawthorne St., Medford, OR (across from Hawthorne Park)
Program: Basic: Repeaters. Advanced: APRS.
NOTE: THE JANUARY MEETING IS THE SECOND THURSDAY THIS MONTH BECAUSE THE FIRST THURSDAY IS NEW YEAR’S DAY.
The January meeting will be on Thursday the 8th this year, in order to avoid New Year’s Day. The January program will be:
- Basic: How to use a repeater.
- Advanced: Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS). This will include a live demo.
Announced in the January 2015 issue of The Repeater.
Meeting Notes
From the February 2015 issue of The Repeater.
RVARC - Minutes for January 8, 2015
The meeting was called to order by Allan Taylor, K7GT at 1900 PDT in the meeting room of the Red Cross building - Medford, OR. Members and guests introduced themselves, and answered the question “What is your favorite band and mode?”. Guests and new members included: Jim Roberts, K5CMZ, and his wife Barbara. Also new member Raoul Salem, KG6DKA.
A short presentation was given by Allan, K7GT on Basic VHF Repeater Fundamentals.
OLD business
No Old Business was discussed.
NEW business
Allan, K7GT announced a few changes in the format of the meetings, beginning with a short, 10 minute presentation, and a little less time devoted to the business portion of the meeting. Allan also strongly suggested that no voting should take place on New Business, unless it cannot be avoided. This would allow for better consideration of issues before being voted upon.
Allan spoke briefly about Field Day, and the possibility of a different location for this year’s operation. Carl VanOrden, W7BRO gave a report on the field located next to the District 3 Firehouse at Hwy 234 and Rogue River Drive, near the Dodge Bridge. Permission for use of the field has already been secured through District 3 should the club opt to utilize it.
Vice-President Jeff Statchwick, W7KNX, announce his desire to allow Don Bennett, KG7BP to assume the position of Vice-President, in accordance with the recommendations of the Nominating Committee, which were not properly presented in November. After some discussion relating to procedure, Jeff resigned his position of Vice-President. Mike Bach, WB6FFC, nominated Don Bennett to be Vice-President. The vote was taken, and Don was installed as the new Vice-President for 2015.
Carl VanOrden, W7BRO, pointed out a couple typographical errors in the club’s Constitution, and offered to make the appropriate corrections. Scott Cummings, NA7OM suggested that since the Constitution has not been updated for 15 years, that it might be worth considering if revisions are appropriate.
Carl also announced that the club callsign had a respectable showing in the ARRL Centennial Points Challenge. W7DTA ranked 72 of 311 stations in Oregon, and qualified for the Second Level Certificate. The certificate costs $16 if the club is interested in obtaining it. Consideration was tabled until next meeting.
The issue of making coffee at the meetings was once again brought up for discussion, and a possible volunteer. Scott Cummings, NA7OM, considered it would be appropriate to nominate Jeff Statchwick, W7KNX, for the duties, as a reward for yielding his position as Vice-President. Still in a state of shock from the unexpected nomination, Jeff agreed to assume the duties for 2015.
Treasurer’s report
Bob Deuel, K2GLO, reported a balance of $3046.00 in the club treasury. All major bills have been paid, including rental and insurance.
The meeting was put on hold at 1940 PDT for “eyeball QSOs” and coffee. The meeting was called back into session at 2000 PDT
Presentation
A presentation on the APRS system was given by Scott Cummings, NA7OM. The system uses amateur radio to transmit position reports, weather reports, and messages between users.
The meeting was adjourned at 2045 local time.
Carl VanOrden, W7BRO, Secretary
