k8bxq.org

Hello fellow Amateur Radio Enthusiasts,

 

With Field Day done for another year, we can now look forward to the Ohio State Parks on the Air (OSPOTA).  This years contest is September 8th and we will be activating Harrison Lake again.  I have booked the Marzolf Shelter House for our event, and we will plan to combine the event with an end of summer cookout like previous years.  

 

We will probably setup a couple of rigs for running (80m and 40m) as any more then two is really quite useless for making contacts within the state of Ohio.  

 

Please mark your calendars for this fun club event, and we hope to see you there! I'll update times as we get closer to September.

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:30PM by Bryan Patterson (KB8ELG) with 10 members in attendance.

 

Silent Key/Members in Distress: none

 

Finance Report:

The treasurers report was read with motion to approve by Jim McBride (K8JPD) seconded by Cass Telles (KD8MNG).  All present approved.

 

Minutes from previous meeting were read and approved.

 

Hamfest Report:

The Hamfest was an overall success, although attendance was down from last year. KB8ELG gave a financial breakdown of costs and income.

 

Repeater Report:

The main repeater site environmental controls where switched to summer mode.  The backup site is offline and has been for sometime.  We plan to work on Sunday July 1 around 2pm to get those system back online.

 

Upcoming Events:

 

- June 30 is the Swanton Fireworks.  We plan to meet at 7pm near the football stadium.  Please bring an HT, safety vest, and flash light if you have one.  Bug repellent would not be a bad idea either.  Plan on using 146.460 simplex.

   On the topic of helping out at these events, a motion made by Jim (K8JPD) to purchase 6 LED safety flashlights. It was seconded by Bill (KD8WSL).  All approved.

 

W8TUX was asked by the Swanton Fire Chief if the radio club could help with the upcoming Swanton Fireworks on June 30th.  We would plan to meet near the football stadium around 7pm.  Further details will be made available at the club meeting on Monday.  Please mark your calendars.

 

First and foremost, the Club Field Day web page can be found here: 

 

http://k8bxq.org/fieldday

 

Field Day 2018 is 20 days out and it's time to start thinking about club participation.  We will be setting up at the Roth Family Woodlot in Tedrow/Wauseon again this year, and since we usually only run the 24 hour period, we can begin setup after 8:00pm on Thursday, June 21.  Remember the event starts on Saturday, June 23 at 2:00pm. 

 

If you are bringing your rig and are planning on running the full 24 hour contest, let us know what bands and modes you are capable of running (remember your license class restrictions, you can only run where you are licensed for).  If you have a laptop for running the logging software please bring it along, along with your rig and antenna system.  Make sure to bring plenty of power extension cords to tie into the generator, as well as plenty of antenna feed line so we are not setting up on top of each other. 

 

On the note of laptops, we run a networked logging software which aids immensely in filing the report with the ARRL, as well as keeping track of who is running on the allowed bands and modes.  This software will work work with Mac, Windows, and Linux.