The meeting was called to order at 19:30
The club officers and board members in attendance were:
- NY4I – Tom (President)
- AB4YI – Carol (Vice President)
- W7WMS – Will (Treasurer)
- K2BHS – Bruce (Secretary/Newsletter Editor)
- KR4U – Dave (Club Station W4GAC Trustee)
- KI4UIP – John (Board Member)
- N4GD – Dee (Board Member/Repeater Maintenance Manager)
- KO4CEE – Alex (Repeater Trustee)
- AA2MF – Richie (Immediate Past President)
- AAØO – Pat (President Emeritus)
- N2ESP – Bob (President Emeritus)
- KA4IOX – Paul (Contest Coordinator)
All members introduced themselves
First time attendees were recognized and introduced themselves
- Dan – KG7OYF
- Joe – W4GGJ
- Mike – KR4BNN
- Ron – N2SKH
President, Tom, NY4I opened up the floor for any club member to report any significant achievements, awards and other notable accomplishments (e.g.: working rare DX, POTA activations, etc.). Several Club members were recognized for DXCC, POTA Activations and Rare DX Contacts.
The minutes from the January 2025 meeting were posted on the website and have been approved as distributed by a majority vote.
Club Treasurer, Will, W7WMS gave the monthly Treasurer’s Report. He reported the balances for the month. He also reported membership stats for this month.
The club welcomed several new members. Those new members were:
- Mike McKay, W7OCM
- Mike Miller, KR4BNN
- Robert Cooper, KR4BNO
- Glenn Kaufman, KR4BOG
- Barton Burkhart, KR4BNW
- Joe Leone, W4GGJ
- Ron Ambrosio, N2SKH
A motion was made to approve the new members. Motion was made by K2BHS – Bruce, seconded by W2SUB – Fred. The motion passed by a majority.
Secretary/SPARC Gap Editor, Bruce, K2BHS reported that the February 2025 meeting minutes are posted. He further reported that the first SPARC Gap Newsletter for 2025 is still in progress. He further asked the membership for newsletter submissions. He hopes to get it released in April.
David, KR4U, Club Station – W4GAC Trustee – Presented the plaque that the club won for the Florida QSO Party from April 2024. He also mentioned that all the awards that the club has won are neatly on display in the club station. He also mentioned that the club’s Flex 6300 was installed and everything is working. He also reported that the 15-meter element on the beam is showing a 2:1 SWR but further stated that the auto-tune should correct the issue.
Dee, N4GD reported that all three repeaters are working at this time. The 220 MHz repeater is putting out 30 watts which is double the prior 15-watt power output.
Pat, AAØO gave the VE Report for February 2025, citing that there were seven candidates; all of whom were successful. The VE Session yielded four new Technicians, two General upgrades and one Extra upgrade. Next VE Session is 3/18/25, with one applicant thus far.
Paul, KA4IOX – Events/Activities Coordinator, spoke about this year’s Florida QSO Party. The event will be held 4/26/25 from 12:00 – 22:00 and then on 4/27/25 from 08:00 – 18:00. SPARC got a special event callsign for this event (to spell P-I-R-A-T-E-S). The club’s callsign for this event will be K4P. Since SPARC has a special event callsign, we will not be eligible to win any awards this year but as it will be a CQ event for the club it should provide more experience to the operators. He further stated that the sign-up sheet was now available and that anyone may come.
Ed, NZ1Q gave the Net Manager’s report for February. The totals were as follows:
- QNI: 575 check-ins
- QTC: 28 messages passed
- QND: 884 minutes (14.73 hours)
- There was a total of 28 sessions for the month.
New check-in records were set. Alex (KO4CEE) with 36, Brad (KM4LTG) with 27 and Bill (WZ4GW) & Bob (KC4SXO) with 24 check-ins.
Pat, AAØO was made President Emeritus, and presented with a certificate.
SPARC along with UPARC will be possibly having a POTA event on 4/12/25 at Honeymoon Island. Bring radios, bug spray and drinks/food. Batteries to power the equipment will be made available
Upcoming Meeting Programs will be:
April 2025 – Logging
May 2025 – Mobile Installations
June 2025 – Field Day
Tom, NY4I briefly mentioned that anything on the 50/50 table that doesn’t get taken, the donors should take their donations back home otherwise the items will be discarded.
The program for March was a discussion about making upgrades to the Club Station, including the purchase of new equipment. It was also mentioned there will be different radios at each operating spot. It was also mentioned that we are not a contesting station but do participate in contests. The station’s goal is training and learning.
A motion was made to spend up to $5000 to upgrade the equipment in the club station. Motion was made by W2SUB – Fred, seconded by KB4DSL – Lou. After a brief discussion, the motion passed with one member opposed.
A motion was made to spend up to $2500 to get a new 2-meter repeater authorized. Motion was made by KG1S – Orin, seconded by KR4BOG – Glenn. After a brief discussion, only two members were opposed. The motion passed by a majority.
50/50 was drawn with a total jackpot of $29. Olev – N4OHI won the drawing.
The Meeting was adjourned at 21:08
