Andrew, W5AWS, Secretary.
On Tuesday, 19 Jul 2022 at 1900 hours local, Mark, WA5MA, called the Tulsa Amateur Radio Club meeting to order in Room-3140 of Keplinger Hall at the University of Tulsa.
WA5MA introduced the club officers present then requested round-robin introductions of the members present.
WA5MA asked whether anyone doesn’t receive the newsletter. Nothing heard.
WA5MA asked for any questions or comments about the minutes of last month’s meeting. Nothing heard. Steve, KI5UGG, moved to approve the minutes as written; Lloyd, K5OSB, seconded; the minutes were approved by acclamation.
WA5MA asked for any questions or comments about the financial report. Jerry, KE5PMK, said that June was a busy month. Steve, KF5VCQ, moved to accept the financials; Ray, K5CAY, seconded the motion, which was approved by general acclamation.
WA5MA gave the Field Day (FD) wrap-up, read from notes prepared by Jack, W5JHC, who was unable to attend the meeting. Of the $1,200 approved and allocated to FD expenses, $764.65 was spent, triple the cost of previous years, but this year club membership is correspondingly much higher.
During FD, we had 29 TARC club members and 14 visitors at Chandler Park.
Remell, KA6DOY, asked whether any from the local media were present. WA5MA said none were seen, though not surprising given the other activities that day.
Ann, K5AEB, asked about FD logs. WA5MA said that Matthew, NR0Q, had submitted the logs.
Paul, WB5ANX, said he programmed six or seven handheld transceivers during FD.
WA5MA yielded the floor to Bart, N5TWB, to talk about the ARRL grant program.
N5TWB said that we missed the first round of ARRL grant applications due to an unexpected nine pages of documentation and need for a copy of the club IRS tax status document. It is a blessing in disguise because we will be able to fully include our relationship with Tulsa Fab Lab and Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance in second round of applications. N5TWB felt it unlikely that the ARRL would allocate all available funds to the first-round applications.
N5TWB yielded the floor to WA5MA.
WA5MA yielded the floor to Andrew, W5AWS, who delivered a presentation on PSK31 and gave a demonstration using his portable station hardware consisting of an old used computer running the Linux Mint operating system with fldigi and flrig controlling a Yaesu FT-818ND through the Digirig Mobile interface, feeding 5W into a horizontal magnetic loop antenna mounted on a tripod. In the third floor lecture room, there was S9 levels of noise, no signals visible on 20M, and no sign of W5AWS CQ transmissions on PSK Reporter. All of which is not surprising.
After concluding the presentation, W5AWS said that he would send the slides to Jack, W5JHC, to add to the web-site, then yielded the floor to WA5MA. Presentation Slides
WA5MA asked Bob, W5RAB, to give an update on the repeater system.
W5RAB said the repeater system is in star configuration with the 443.850 repeater as the hub, which means that when the half-century-old equipment fails it kills the entire network. The system was intermittent, causing some to-ing and fro-ing before W5RAB got it working again.
W5RAB yielded the floor to WA5MA who added that there is a plan for the club to replace the repeater with modern equipment, including new battery standby power.
WA5MA asked Steve, KF5VCQ, to talk about the MakerFair.
KF5VCQ said that this year is the tenth anniversary of the MakerFair, which caters to Junior-High-School-age kids and their parents. MakerFair is scheduled to happen on August 27th. TARC will be present with the comm trailer and will need four or five volunteers to help that day. KF5VCQ said that working with Fab Lab is an excellent opportunity to spark amateur radio interest among young people.
KF5VCQ yielded to WA5MA.
WA5MA asked whether anyone had worked the 13 Colonies Station. Several members had done so. Remell, KA6DOY, reported that he had worked them all, including the op in UK.
WA5MA said that we need to convene a nominating committee to organize replacements for the expiring club officer positions. Elections will happen in November. The nominating committee requires at least three members.
WA5MA said that the Dam Jam Bike Ride happens on September 10th, coincident with the beginning of Route 66 on the air.
WA5MA reminded the meeting that storm season is still with us.
There being no further business, WA5MA asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Bob, W5RAB, motioned; Allen, KG5CFG, seconded; approved byvoting of the feet exiting the room.
Minutes respectfully submitted by
Andrew, W5AWS, Secretary.