Meeting Minutes – October 8, 2019
OFFICIAL NOTICE:
OUR ANNUAL DECEMBER CHRISTMAS GET TOGETHER WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2019 7:00 PM AT E.G. NICK’S RESTAURANT IN LAPEER. THERE WILL BE NO TUESDAY MEETING AT THE EOC ON DECEMBER 10!! Each attendee will be responsible for their own meal bill.
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm by our president Gerret KD8YUK. There were 15 members and guests in attendance.
Gordon N8GMM presented “Antenna Analyzers”. He demonstrated a few different models with their capability and did measurements on a few VHF/UHF antennas.
Gordon also requested that a member take over his position as presentation coordinator because shortly he and his wife will move to Arizona to pursue his love of astronomy. A presentation is needed for our November meeting.
Hospital Report
Mike KD8OTZ is recovering nicely from his leg procedure.
General Announcements
Kevin KB8TAR reported that someone left a box of dirty electrical equipment at the EOC door. It was disposed of by EOC personal. If any donations are to be made to LCARA, contact us via our e-mail listed on the website.
Secretary Report
The minutes from the September meeting were read and accepted by the membership present.
Treasures Report
The Treasures report was read and accepted by the membership present.
Repeater Trustee Report
All machines are functioning normally.
EC Report
During the September 29 state exercise, the ARES team successfully communicated a win-link message to the server in Mayville. At the quarterly EMAC meeting, mosquito spraying for mosquitoes to prevent encephalitis will occur during an upcoming evening. Be sure to keep your bees in their hives. The October ARES meeting will be October 16 at 7 pm. Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend.
Lapeer County Winter Spotter Training will be on Saturday, November 9, at 10 am at the Marguerite de Angeli Library in Lapeer. No registration required.
Old Business
Gerret wrote and sent a Thank You letter to the estates of W8LHT, WZ8C, and K8EZ for their donation of amateur radio equipment to LCARA.
To finalize the paperwork on our nonprofit organization, a $275 filing fee is required for the IRS. A motion was made by Dan KC1BUD and seconded by Ray KB8ILD to fund the filing fee. A unanimous vote by the membership present allowed the motion to be passed.
Our annual Christmas get together will be on Wednesday December 11, 2019 at 7pm at E.G. Nick’s restaurant. We had to change the day due to room availability. There will be no LCARA meeting at the EOC on Tuesday December 10.
New Business
The donated equipment LCARA received over the past few months will be categorized and listed for sale on our web site. Members have first dibs to purchase. LCARA will have a table at the USECA swap, October 27. Volunteers are needed to test some the pieces and help load a vehicle. Contact Gerret for details.
2019- 2020 Dues are due! Please pay via website or directly to Paul AB8XL.
Paul AB8XL made a proposal to upgrade our 2 meter repeater. The major reason to replace our existing 2 meter repeater system is due to its age, which is in excess of 40 years. The proposal consists of a Motorola SLR5700 VHF 50 watt repeater, a new ARCOM RC210 controller with rack mount, real time clock, Audio delay board, and Windows programming software. A new feature to be added to the system will be an Allstar node. The total package costs about $3025.00. Please think about the proposal and we will discuss it at the November meeting.
The Clarkston repeater 146.84 has this proposed system up and running. Give it a try.
Dan KC1BUD won the 50/50 and made the generous donation of proceeds back to the association treasury. Thank You Dan!
Meeting adjourned 8:41 pm.
Respectfully submitted
Lee N8LJ
