Taos Amateur Radio Club Minutes of the Meeting on 8-9-2023

107 Civic Plaza Drive, Taos, NM 87571

  1. Sign in. Meeting began at 6:10 pm

  2. Guest and member introductions, 17 members & guests attending with one virtually by Google Meets.

  3. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes held on 7/12/2023. Motion for approval by Don (K2WQ) and seconded by Bill (AI5LK), vote was unanimous with no objections.

  4. Treasurer's Report. Don reported the current available balance is $11,491.00 after accounting for obligations.

  5. Tim (W5TNM) president's remarks & discussion topics:

a) Known calendar of events: Don (K2WQ) noted a meeting with the town for upcoming events. Sep 2 concert, Sep 4 concert (free event), Sep 15-16 Paseo Project, b) 2023 ARRL Rocky Mountain Division convention, 8-10 members will be attending. John (WB5Q) will have a table for selling items for the club and/or members. c) Tim noted the Officer and Board nominations in September, for the October annual meeting for elections. d) Current Officers: Tim (Pres) Termed Out, Greg (VP) Termed out, Donovan, Secretary and Don, Treasurer. e) Tim noted the current Board makeup Immediate-Past Pres (Mike to be replaced by Tim automatically), Trustee, (Brian) multi-term, Grants (Tom), STEM, (Darien) and Events/Maintenance (Glen). f) Next ARRL License test will be November 4th, however Tim noted there are a couple of members who may wish to test for General earlier which we will accommodate.

  1. New Business:

a) Fiesta debrief, Donovan noted what occurred to assist the fiesta council for the vendor setup/teardown. For next year’s fiestas, donovan will contact the fiesta council earlier to better coordinate resources. b) At the July meeting Tim asked for event participation appreciation swag ideas. Ed (KF5EIG) provided a number of examples of hats, mugs, etc. Tim asked for a vote by show of hands for hats or mugs, hats was unanimous. Ed will research hats further for cost and logos. c) TARC social media FB & IG presence, Darien (NM5DF). No discussion. d) Other: Don (K2WQ) handed out the redesigned ARES badges.

  1. Old Business

a) ARES update – Kiri (K7KAH) noted that there are currently 23 members signed up and will be planning to perform a drill. b) OPD Shack facilities update. New refrigerator purchased and setup. c) STEM portable demo system. Keith (K5FS), vara software installed on laptop and has worked great via HF along with new microphone covers. d) Grape 1 & 2 space weather station update, Keith (K5FS) spoke about the process for foundations/grants and what is expected to obtain these grants. Keith has contacted a local foundation and hoping to obtain some new funding. Motion to allocate funds in order to purchase Grape 1 components by Tim (W5TNM), vote was unanimous with no objections.

  1. Repeater report: no update.

  2. Net Report: 80M net will move to 7257, too much noise otherwise.

  3. Business Meeting Close. Motion by Mickey (N5TSV) and seconded by Don (K2WQ). Unanimous with no objections. Meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm