Matt Walsh AC9IG President opened the meeting at 7:00 PM.
Attendees:
Leo Ribordy N9NBH Dennis Calvey KD9HIK Cliff Sowka K9QD
Matt Walsh AC9IG Kent Ochs W9KAO Frank Giampa N9QPD
Dirk Smith W0RI Rob Glowacki N9MVO Danny Kafka KD9HIL Robert Kocourek W9RKK Burt Shultz AB9CV Steve Karson AC9EM
Rick Cook KC9PLO Don Smith K9UD D.J. Traxler WA9UBR
John Douglas KD9KSA Jim Campbell KB9RGU Bob Langsfeld WB9TZC
Ed Lishka AC9SD Bill McGovern KD9JQM Orson Baker AB9WQ
Bob Zuttermeister W9GEW John Zietlow K9WIC Dan Van Der Wonde KC9ZCC
Ray Baker K9EYT Bob McIntyre W9DXR Bob Benwitz N9JAX
Wake Wacaser AF9I Peter Maziuk N9POL Larry Burke K9FLT
Bob Ekl K9EKL
Treasurer’s report:
Chris Brewer AC9GN not present but previously reported the following during April’s Board Meeting: Ending balance $4,443.22. Paid membership is currently 64.
President’s Report:
Matt AC9IG reports website updated and running. Announced Field Day (FD) dilemma: If no one steps forward to become FD Captain this year the plan is to participate in severely truncated SARC-in-the-Park format for the afternoon only.
Support for Field Day received enough membership commitments tonight to continue with SARC’s historical participation. Volunteer leadership from Bob Zuttermeister W9GEW with CW, Robert Kocourek W9RKK will handle the SSB tent. Bill McGovern KD9JQM will manage food and assist with emergency power procurement. Kent Ochs W9KAO believes his son Ryan Ochs W9RAO may be available for necessary presence of a certified tower climber to anchor three pulleys on the tank’s guard railing.
Construction Project
Gary N9VU not present.
Membership Chair:
Bob Benwitz N9JAX had previously provided following report:
The following WEB inquiries were responded to via phone/email during the month of February
2/5 Chuck Patrick (No Call Sign shown)
2/8 Chuck Patrick additional follow-up
2/23 Christian Mahnke No Call Sign/License yet but was provided VE testing and License Exam class information
2/25 Jeremy Peeler New Tech, awaiting call sign as of 2/25, moving to Vernon Hills area in April, will try to come to club meeting.
SARC Repeaters:
Kent W9KAO reports normal operation following a few software updates. Good weather approaching will allow some hardware improvements shortly.
Secretary’s Report:
Cliff Sowka K9QD: Approval of Meeting Minutes as published in the RHG.
EMCOMM
John Zietlow K9WIC and Bob Langsfeld WB9TZC are managing licensed Ham Radio Operator support for the May 20th Chicagoland Marathon again this year.
Frank Giampa N9QPD was been specifically requested to perform Net Control duty because Village officials recognized his superior radio traffic management skills during past SARC/Village events.
Phil McBride WB9C has also been recognized and individually selected to again handle Medical Tent communications traffic.
Additionally, several SARC members have committed to provide radio resources to Schaumburg Village management again this year.
We have already received several SARC membership confirmations for the course’s station staffing ….. yet we still could benefit from additional Ham Radio support for this year’s event.
John Zietlow K9WIC posts following:
We need to publicize this event and request that members who are available contact Bob Langsfeld WB9TZC or myself at my email address: K9WIC
The event is on May 20th from 6AM to 2PM in Busse Woods Forest Preserve.
We will be providing communications between the race, the sponsor, and the medical facilities regarding participants’ health and welfare issues.
I would also like to see this on the [N9RJV.ORG] calendar of events.
Bob Langsfeld WB9TZC reminded May 20th is the Chicagoland Marathon in Busse Woods. Start 6AM and goes till 1PM. John Zietlow K9WIC will be handling the event during Bob’s absence that weekend.
There will be no EMCOMM Round Table at the Hoffman Estates Police Department for May.
Social:
Robert Kocourek W9RKK Social Chair reports planning for Saturday September 8th at the club’s choice of Lou Malnati’s, Chandler’s, or maybe Fuddrucker’s.
Education:
Leo N9NBH reported plans for a winter General Class with the Library District are in place. September 8th through the end of October at the Hoffman Estates facility, same as last fall’s Technician class.
VE Test:
John Shofield AC9JS reports the following for April 7, 2018:
Name |
Call |
Class |
| Kowols, Joseph | KD9KSE | General |
| Sheehan, Brian | KD9KSF | Technician |
| Boroff, Martin | WD9GYM | Extra |
| Jansen, Christopher | KD9KSG | Technician |
| Douglas, John | KD9KSH | Technician |
| Hendrickson, Chad | KD9KSI | Technician |
| Lurz, Donald | KD9KSJ | Technician |
| Spencer, Burton | KD9KSK | Technician |
Class |
|
| Technician | 6 |
| General | 1 |
| Extra | 1 |
Total |
8 |
Next examination date: May 5, 2018
RHG:
Mike K9KQX not present. Burt AB9CV had previously provided links to some public domain articles but there may be some latent concern of copyright protections. Brief discussion regarding potential authorization through previous means such as of Creative Comments, or potential legal authorization of so-called Common Knowledge. Best to obtain author’s permission before publishing potentially copyrighted materials in the Radio Hill Gazette.
Public Service:
Rob N9MVO reported MS Walk May 6th Sunday at Schaumburg Baseball Stadium. Radio hardware of 5W HT is sufficient because the distances are less than one mile. Expecting arrival around 7:30 and conclusion around Noon.
Fourth of July in Hoffman Estates parade will be on Hassle Road this year. The Amita Health Care running event was staffed by SARC members last year, and we will plan to support again this year. Schaumburg Triathlon will be later in July.
Programs:
Cliff Sowka K9QD: Dirk Smith W0RI presented an overview of Digital Modes for tonight’s venue.
The May Business Meeting will focus on Field Day planning and will not have a presentation scheduled. Our June Business Meeting may also continue Field Day discussion and if so, we will be in need for a July presentation. Please consider a topic you’re willing to contribute to our membership’s knowledge and let me know.
Publicity:
Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK Chairman provided following update to the Board of Directors:
- I met with the SARC board on March 7th to discuss what the Publicity Chair should be doing to support club activities
- The consensus from the Board is that the primary function is to promote awareness to the general public about Club activities.
- It was agreed that any publicity releases should be provided to the Board for review and comment before publication. The method of submission, review and approval would be by e-mail. An actual vote is not required.
- SARC maintains a web site that has not been refreshed in some time. Some of the limiting factors of the existing site include the time and effort required to get changes implemented. There are a large number of web site hosting services that provide simple methods to change and update web pages, without having to master topics like Cascading Style Sheets or HTML5. Within that group, there are many that are specifically designed for special interest groups or associations. Costs typically start at around $40.00 / month and go up depending on the level of support required. An example is wildapricot.com, that supports WordPress as well as large number of free or low cost plugins. Before I invest time in researching and preparing a report for the board to review, I’d like to know if there is a consensus to support updating the web site.
- SARC also has a Facebook page that has not been kept current. There was discussion about using social media to promote club activities, including justifiable concern about controlling what can be posted. In 2016 there were over 185 million active social media users in the United States. In 2017, 87 percent of the US population had one or more social media profiles (Source: statista.com). I believe social media can be a viable publicity tool for the club and that adequate controls can be put in place. Toward that end I’ll be attending a class on Facebook next month to learn more about how it functions, and what controls we can put in place.
- A number of suggestions for landing free publicity exposure were offered, including newspapers like the Daily Herald, Community College Bulletin boards and registering events with the ARRL.
- Recent activities like Construction Project and “Ray Tower Restoration Project” are excellent publicity examples, and I would welcome the opportunity to work with the content providers to get the message out. With respect to publicity, there are no bad suggestions – only time constraints.
Please forward any ideas, suggestions or questions via e-mail to Dennis and I’ll do my best to use them.
NETS:
Steve Karson AC9EM will take the monthly control operator duty. Matt AC9IG reminded there is an updated script is on the club’s website. Steve won the $25 Gift Certificate lottery for the previous period of Net Log-in attendance.
Ebay Sales:
Gary N9VU Not present.
Old Business:
Field Day Chair is needed. Rob N9MVO has volunteered to become a resource and asked for more members to come forward. The Permit Application with the Village needs to be started soon to secure the legacy Plum Grove water tank location. Insurance rider is required and Chris Brewer will hear from Rob to get the task underway.
New Business:
have about 10 people who wish to build Fox Hunt attenuators. Gather parts and instructions will be a future Construction Project endeavor.
Adjourn 7:51 PM
Submitted: April 20th, 2018. Cliff Sowka K9QD Secretary.