St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club
Minutes of Monthly Meeting
for
Friday, July 12, 2024
The Business portion of the meeting was called to order at 20:21
The minutes of the Executive Board Meeting from May 21, 2024 were approved by the membership and posted on the club’s website.
Club Treasurer, Will, W7WMS gave the monthly Treasurer’s Report and the membership approved the Treasurer’s Report by a majority vote.
The club voted on three new members. The membership approved all three new members. The new members were formally welcomed to the club.
Pat, AAØO, gave the results of the last VE Testing session in June 2024. The results were as follows:
Two upgrades to General
Bob Cole, KQ4MOM
Michael Fauser, KA4WIZ
**It should be noted that Pat only mentioned one upgrade, and the additional upgrade, the candidate passed on the second attempt.
Ed, NZ1Q gave the repeater report.
• Total QNI: 506
• Total QTC: 32
• Total QND: 944 minutes (34 sessions)
Repeater Trustee, Dee, N4GD reported that everything with regards to the repeater is working fine. He further stated that there are no problems at this time.
Tom, W4CU, Station Activities Coordinator reported that Field Day 2024 was a success
• Total QSOs: 1924
• Total Points: 6796, with 700 of those points being from bonus points.
• Tom recognized several members for their efforts in making the event a success:
Richie, AA2MF
John, KI4UIP
Carol, AB4YI
Dee, N4GD
Will, W7WMS
Kieth, W4BOO
Ed, NZ1Q
Bruce, KF4TYA
Dave, KR4U
Mrs. Joy Schaeffer (provided the food for the event)
• Additionally there were 47 attendees to the event which was comprised of both hams and guests
• There were a total of 22 operators for the event as well
Tom also mentioned about a RTTY contest that was coming up on July 20, 2024. However, there were only four members that showed interest in participating in that event. He asked for any additional people interested in participating to contact him.
Dave, KR4U Gave a report on the club station, (W4GAC). Everything is working well. He mentioned that a generator was not used for Field Day due to the proximity of time until the event. A given category needs to be the same from the start to the finish of the event. A change cannot be made midway through from 5D (commercial power) to 5E (generator).
The club’s webmaster, Zach, KO4WPO was not present for the meeting and no report was rendered.
Bruce, KF4TYA, SPARC Gap editor, mentioned that he is still waiting on the newsletter from April 2024 to be distributed to the membership. Additionally he mentioned that he is always looking for volunteers and article submissions.
Ed, NZ1Q, Antenna Team Supervisor gave a status report and mentioned that he is looking for additional volunteers for the team, especially those that are willing to climb the tower.
The club is looking for a leader for the next North American QSO Party. There will be a North American QSO party using phone from August 17, 2024 – August 18, 2024.
It was also mentioned that the club station is open before meetings and VE Testing.
The formation of the By-Laws Committee is still in the works and will primarily look at ARRL membership numbers.
New Business
The minutes of the Executive Board Meeting of May 21, 2024 were reviewed.
Acquisition of an emergency power source was considered
• Costco had a Furman Tri power generator. The generator would be able to run on gasoline, propane and/or methane (natural gas)
• The generator would be a cost of $700 and is capable of providing an output power of 6500 watts, 220 volts
o using gasoline was not recommended due to it being messy and the possibility of storage issues
o the generator would be on sale until approximately 7/19/24
o Several members raised opposition of this acquisition citing concerns over the infrequency of usage
o It would primarily be used for Field Day and Winter Field Day events
o There are risks associated with a rented unit vs. purchasing of a unit (e.g.: reliability)
o An owned unit can be checked frequently, and any maintenance issues can be addressed on a timely fashion
o It was ultimately decided by an overwhelming majority vote that the club would not purchase the generator
• Portions of the most recent Board Meeting were reviewed
o Field Day was discussed
o Dave, KR4U brought up the subject of event participation and what members’ callsigns would be included in the list of operators. This raised the ultimate question of what constitutes participation?
o This point was discussed in detail amongst the membership. A few basic parameters were mentioned with regards to what constitutes participation as related to contest vs. non-contest events, training of new operators.
Non-contest event – all may operate regardless of skill level. The actual operator gets credited with the contact, even if the instructor assists. (e.g.: Field Day is a non-contest event)
Event rules will ultimately determine a contest vs. a non-contest event. The club will determine entry into an event. An operator in training will not be classified as an operator for contest purposes.
Training will not be offered during a contest event. Members may bring their own equipment. Listening will not be considered as operating.
An operator must be able to operate the radio, be familiar with logging and making QSOs (band conditions will not be a factor), skill level will determine an operator vs. non-operator.
o Members who make the effort to become better operators will be rewarded. The club will teach, nurture and mentor operators. Encouraging members to become better operators by improving their abilities and skills.
o There was extensive discussion between the officers and membership as to what constitutes an operator and the training of newcomers. The club is trying to establish minimum criteria to be considered as having operator status. It was mentioned that people have ample opportunity to be trained.
Policy can be adjusted for the benefit of the membership (e.g.: announcing the people in-training for the Florida QSO Party)
The Business Meeting was adjourned at 21:38