TAOS ARC SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 MINUTES OF THE MEETING
1) The meeting was called to order by Tim Henson at 6:00 pm by calling for self introductions by name and call sign of members of the 13 present. New member, Thurman Turner, K7TTX, and future Ham, Dan Battle were welcomed by the club.
2) The approval of minutes of the prior meeting was motioned for by Greg M. and second by Tom. Approval was unanimous.
3) Treasurer Glen R. reported a current club account balance of $16,999.80. Deposits in the amount of $194.50, and expenses of $543.11 primarily for SAM repeater upgrades. An additional $25.00 is available for future deposit from a new membership.
4) President's Remarks:
a) Tim announced a new learning program, starting with Brian to teach members about digital radio.
b) Forest Service Fee Schedule:
i) Attachment A - Annual $126,55 PIC and SAM vs commercial fees.c) New grant opportunity due 09-15-21- Trailer application vote for purchase not to exceed $15,000, but recommended around $12,000 for the expense. Motion apply for the grant by Greg M. and second by Mike K. Vote was unanimous. No objections. Tim stated the club had, for IRS compliance, a maximum of $50,000 in revenue via donations, grants, and membership fees. As of today it is $4,000 in cashflow+ grants ( 12.8+5+12, all in K) = $31,800 for tax year to date.
5) New Business:
a) August 14 Test Report: Examiners John Wheatley, W5JHW, W5GWR, Wayne Rivali, and Tim Henson, W5TNM were present. No examinees attended for any tests.
b) ARES Interest Level- Tim mentioned Wayne signed up, Gary had an interest, and Greg had discussed signing up with Tim. Brian, NB5R, pointed out the fact that this area is not prone to hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes, etc. and most ARES missions in the area are by far, search and rescue.
Brian further stated for those interested, there are a variety of training sources online for free citing ICS by name and is based on equipment limitations adding that an emergency trailer is a great asset, as he used Los Alamos as an example.
Operators would rotate out, preferably two at a time. Logs would need to be taken by operators. HF is also a source for emergency nets. Wayne mentioned the NM ARES net held on the first Sunday of the month on 3.939 80 meters.
Brian is the official District Emergency Coordinator for the Taos area. Gary, W5TAO, added Winlink as potential emergency services which can be sent as a sort of email. Dale, KB5NFT, who has considerable credentials in emergency services, including ARES, RACES, WINLINK, Red Cross, MRC, CERT, Storm Spotter and more spoke about helping the club by talking more in depth about these services in future meetings. Dale went on to explain more about Winlink emergency services citing several examples of various actual events and exercises.
c) Honda EU3000iS generator purchase ($2,456 budget), 8 ea AT-D878UVII Plus Digital HT radios @ $299.99 ea ($2,399.99), 2 ea AT-D578UV Triband DMR Mobile radios ($800.00). The club receives a 10% affiliate (via KF5RKM) rebate of approximately $300.00 on the radio purchases. A lengthy discussion ensued on the need for one or two generators on the purchase. Consensus was one generator for now. Motion by Brian, second by Mike followed by unanimous approval from members. The radio purchase was motioned for by Glen and second by Tom. Also, a unanimous approval by members present.
*) Non agenda discussion- Tom on new Taos ARC club location approval by Town of Taos to use the old police station: According to Tom and verified by Brian it appears that Taos ARC will granted the use of the "back room" known as the dispatch room by the town. It appears Taos ARC can use the fifty-foot mast for antenna use along with backup power sources. Leak repairs and storage removal of town items will be necessary. A projected date of Oct 1st is the targeted date for move in but is subject to change. Taos ARC could participate in town events by posting members with radios in various locations in exchange for stipends. Brian announced that he would donate a triband antenna. Dale reported new progress on Philmont. Still working with Taos Pueblo.
6) Repeater report:
a) 220 frequency working fine.
b) Brian reported a frequency change at SAM to avoid interference with neighboring repeater was successful. The new receive frequency is 146.780, transmit is 146.180, and color code is 5.
c) Tim is eyeing this weekend to replace the roof on the SAM old shack. The replacement planned for two weekends ago was postponed due a an emergency surgery needed by the chief carpenter. No update on the electrical agenda to replace the old power box which is still functional, but very, very old.
7) Net report – W5GWR & K5GEO NET CONTACTS 8/25/2021: Analog Net: 1 K5TTO Greg 2 NB5R Brian 3 KI5OSA Dan 4 KI6KGC Mike B 5 NM5MK Mike K 6 KI5IPS Sheila 7 KI5HKU Craig 8 KI5IPT Dan 9 KI5OSB Glen 10 KB5NFT Dale (Echholink) 11 K5GEO George 12 N5TSV Mickey 13 KE5CEJ Catherine (Echolink) 14 N6SIK David 15 WB5CSO Gabe 16 AD5NM Dave 17 W5GWR Wayne (Net Control) Completed at 19:22 DMR KF5TTO,Greg AD5NM, Dave NM5MK, Mike W5GWR, Wayne KF5OSB,Glen K5GEO, George (Net Control) Completed 19:42
8) Old Business a) SAM Maintenance report i. Part 1 – Painting & Ground rod (Daniel THANKS) ii. Part 2 – Roof old shed iii. Vent for new shed, heat? -NB5R iv. New Shed roof right behind v. Electrical planning b) Siegel Foundation Update – KF5RKM c) Update on Town of Taos activities - KF5RKM d) LANL Foundation STEM Update – W5TNM e) Monthly Tempo meeting notification appears automatic f) VLA Tour, 10/15, Hamfest 10/16?
9) Other Business
a) Nets, 4th Wednesday 7PM, Picuris Mountain 147.120+, 67.0 analog, immediately afterwards DMR 442. 175 (+5 MHZ0 CC5 TS2 TG 715 local) b) Other Nets of interest: a) Bravo Net - 7.215 Sunday 9:30, b) Freewheelers 3916, 7PM nightly C) https://www.legion.org/hamradio/monthly-net-schedule, d) http://www.warc1.org/ since 1932, e) http://www.arrl-nm.org/wp/nets-around-new-mexico c) ARRL Test, 11/13/2021, 10am at the EOC, FRN required.
Wichita Amateur Radio Club – since 1932
TALARC Net Schedule | The American LegionHF NETS
10) Business Meeting Close a) Motion for adjournment called for by Mike, second by Greg. No objections. Meeting officially adjourned at 6:52 pm.
Side note: After the meeting, Brian had a very effective 101 level tutorial on DMR radio lasting about 40 minutes.