In following State and Village of Schaumburg guidelines and requirements masks and proof of vaccination will not be required for club events starting March 1, 2022.
We are also happy to announce that this means the club will now be able to provide refreshments at some events as we have in the past.
This announcement comes just short of two years after we had to begin cancelling meetings and events in March of 2020. We were optimistic at that time and thought the cancellations would only be through the month of March. You can read our first COVID-19 response post when we made this announcement.
Board of Directors Meeting March 2, 2022
Ed Lishka AC9SD Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
Attendees
| Ed Lishka AC9SD |
Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK |
John Douglas KD9KSH |
| John Zietlow K9WIC |
Charlene Treve K9CMZ |
Barry Friedman K9FMB |
| Danny Kafka KD9HIL |
Cliff Sowka K9QD |
Kent Ochs W9KAO |
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Secretary’s Report
Cliff Sowka K9QD: Kent W9KAO moved to approve the February BOD Minutes as published in the RHG. John Douglas KD9KSH seconded. So Moved.
Treasurer’s Report:
Barry Friedman K9FMB provides the following report:
Month: March 2022
Bank Balance 31-Jan $6,804.69
INCOME MEMO $ 0.00
DISBURSEMENTS MEMO $ 72.82
ACH 6-Feb AT&T $ 62.82
Check #1263 IL Sec of State $ 10.00
Checks Outstanding $ 0.00
Deposit not included $ 0.00
Account Balance $6,731.87
28-Feb Bank Statement $6,741.87
Checks Outstanding $ 0.00
Adjusted balance $6,741.87
Checkbook balance $6,731.87
Petty Cash $ 131.00
Pay Pal $ 94.56
Plus petty cash Funds Available $6,957.43
117 members on roster
Public Service
Rob Glowacki N9MVO not present. John K9WIC informed there is a March of Dimes event planned for Boomer Stadium on May 1st. We are not aware of any radio support requests for support at the moment.
EMCOMM
John Zietlow K9WIC reported he attended an organizational meeting for the ChicagoLand Marathon scheduled for May 15th. SARC plans to support the Schaumburg Fire/Police Emergency Radio Team again this year.
Repeaters
Kent W9KAO rescued our 2M machine from continuous transmit lock-up. It appears the heartbeat system suffered myocarditis. Board of Directors requests the Repeater Committee prepare a report ready for the March 17th Business Meeting outlining needed resources/budget to help us improve remote reset functionality for such events.
Construction Project (CP)
| Budget Request for consumables and potential projects as communicated in previous Minutes is needed for FY 2023 planning. It’s possible we can ask for a show-of-hands during the March Business Meeting to ascertain interest levels before committing to any particular project investment. |
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VE Testing
Ed Lishka AC9SD reports a candidate is scheduled for Saturday’s session. Reminder from last report that Legacy walk-ins were allowed to present themselves for testing in the past but the new FCC VE Testing requirements of FRN-Number registration make things a bit more cumbersome. Candidates will be given instructions ahead of time to help them prepare for VE session admission.
Nets
Barry Friedman K9FMB reports Nets continue to be well attended. We are in need of a host for the second Tuesday of the month TechNet.
Radio Hill Gazette RHG
Mike K9KMV No Report.
Website:
Our current WordPress software doesn’t play well with MS Word. Minutes are recorded and uploaded in Word. Difficulty occurs when members wish to create a printed copy because the two software programs don’t handle hidden commands the same way. Goal is to provide a link to a PDF file for those who wish to print.
Membership
We’re in need of a Membership Chair.
Publicity
Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK Publicity Chairman moved forward with participation in Social Media platforms. It was decided to publish an inquiry via SARC-ALL to determine what resources we have within the membership to help us define a possible re- entry and craft procedures for managing a club presence. Some members have stepped forward to help begin the process with both Facebook and Linked-in. While account establishment is accomplished with both entities, there is no content posted at the moment. Once authorization procedures are defined content population into the sites will begin. Dennis now has the SARC logo graphics crafted by John N9IJS.
Social
John Douglas KD9KSH said we will plan for a summer picnic. Site reservation for July 10th or possibly July Business Meeting’s date (replace the normal meeting schedule with a picnic) will be investigated.
Education
Leo N9NBH not present.
Programs
John Zietlow K9WIC is working on a possible presentation for the March Business Meeting and may host a Roundtable Venue during the April/May meetings to discuss typical Ham Shack layout. The June presentation is planned to focus on Field Day Operations.
Old Business
John K9WIC proposed a framework for Special Events Committee and enlisted several club members to staff the various roles. Danny KD9HIL will chair the committee with Rob N9MVO hosting the SARC-In-The-Park events, Dirk W0RI leading the Bike Rally, Rob N9MVO managing the Winter Field Day. Dennis KD9HIK will manage Outreach; additional sub-committees of Finance, Operations, Planning, Logistics, and STEM Activities are to be defined. For the Education Committee, Leo N9NBH will chair with VE Testing lead by John Shofield AC9JS, Construction Project handled by Don N9NJR, and Rob N9MVO Technical Committee. Organization Charts outlining the proposal will be presented at future Business Meetings.
New Business
Danny Kafka KD9HIL is requesting budget ideas for this year’s Field Day expenditure.
John K9WIC proposed we publish a Survey on SARC-ALL to the membership later this week to help build a profile of the club’s interests, skills, preferred operating bands, and even to learn of publication subscriptions. Ed AC9SD moved, Kent W9KAO seconded. So moved.
Adjourn 8:44PM.
Submitted March 3, 2022 Cliff Sowka K9QD Secretary
Save the date!
Public service events that SARC has assisted with in the past are returning. We are working with the event organizers to get additional details and exact times that they will need our support. If you’re interested in helping please mark these dates in your calendar:
- Sunday, May 1, 2022: MS Walk at Harper College
- Sunday, May 15, 2022: Chicagoland Marathon at Busse woods
Business Meeting March 17, 2022
John Zietlow K9WIC President called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM.
Attendees:
| John Zietlow K9WIC |
Barry Friedman K9FMB |
Cliff Sowka K9QD |
| Danny Kafka KD9HIL |
Rob Glowacki N9MVO |
Charlene Treve k9KMZ
Bill McGovern W9WEM |
| Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK
Hugh Pearl WB9UWM |
Ed Lishka AC9SD |
Don Dewar KD9NJR |
| Steve Dove KD9UDL |
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Virtual Participants:
| Daryl Jenks KD9RHR |
Rick KY0Q |
Jody KD9QAI |
| Pierre Berube K9EYE |
Robert Kocourek W9RKK |
Steve Karson AC9EM |
| Bob McIntire W9DXR |
Jim Campbell KB9RGU |
Russ Schmidt KC9NUV |
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Secretary’s Report:
Cliff Sowka K9QD: Ed Lishka AC9SD moved to approve the February Minutes as published in the Radio Hill Gazette (RHG). Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK seconded. So Moved.
Treasurer’s Report:
Barry Friedman K9FMB provides this report:
Month: February
Bank Balance 1-Jan $6,804.69
INCOME MEMO $ 0.00
DISBURSEMENTS MEMO $ 0.00
Checks Outstanding $ 0.00
Deposit not included $ 0.00
Account Balance $6,804.69
31-Jan Bank Statement $6,804.69
Checks Outstanding none
Adjusted balance $6,804.69
Checkbook balance $6,804.69
Petty Cash $ 131.00
Pay Pal $ 94.56
+ petty cash Funds Available $7,030.25
117 members on roster
Bill McGovern W9WEM moved to approve, Ed Lishka AC9SD seconded. So Moved.
Public Service:
Rob Glowacki N9MVO notified us tonight that MS Walk will take place at Harper College Sunday May 1st. We have initiated our offer to support the event and will expect to hear their response shortly.
EMCOMM:
John Zietlow K9WIC reported ChicagoLand Marathon is set for May 15th. John will communicate his Busse Woods Course staffing plans for SARC Membership in three levels: SARC members who are already village-vetted radio operators will be notified first. Next level of notification will be to SARC club members who are not part of the Schaumburg trusted radio operator team, and then finally to qualified Ham Radio operators.
The State of Illinois is planning a Simulated Emergency Test (SET) for some time in April; probably coordinated by an entity called Joint Emergency Management System (JEMS)
Repeaters:
Rob Glowacki N9MVO has been unable to move our Wires-X machine to the pump house but it could be accomplished sometime in the next several weeks. Roberto WA9E mentioned that we need to procure a WIN 7 PC [WIN 10 forced-updates will cause corruption] for the Wires-X installation.
A recent hours-long key-down event on the 2M machine exposed the need for a remote reset capability. We have now enabled a remote reset command on the controller but the assumption is there will be a valid internet pipe. Remote reset potential with a power-strip module could also work but external wired and/or wireless access would also be required.
Construction Project (CP):
| Cliff Sowka K9QD will Chair with Russ Schmidt KC9NUV serving as Co-Chair. Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK has been communicating with the Park District for authority to reconnect our 2M antenna on the Tennis Club’s roof. During his dialog the Park District they requested to know if SARC wished to reserve the basement facility with a different schedule from that currently in effect. We currently have access from September through May. Since the Park District is asking for our calendar of events, we may be able to reserve the basement for year-round CP. It was decided tonight that we want to have the Park District issue our rental agreement for a year-round schedule if possible. Whether we utilize newly-allowed summer months or not isn’t decided but the option to use the basement any/every month of the year may be an open possibility now.
We’ll have to survey the membership to determine if there would be enough summertime interest to continue CP year-round.
Membership access to club test equipment and possible issuance of loaner tools was discussed. Our past experience with loaned equipment hasn’t gone well. While good intentions were initially in place, a club-owned HF station was loaned for temporary use many years ago. Years later someone asked “whatever happened to that complete HF station we had?”…. everyone forgot who/what/where and the club’s equipment hasn’t been seen since. Maybe we could craft a secure method to allow loaner equipment be taken out of the CP cabinets for personal use, track the safe return, and maintain integrity of club resources; will have to enlist some ideas from the members.
SARC in the Park historically is conducted one Saturday per month once CP ends in May. The second Saturday of the month has been the preferred date with the fourth Saturday being a rain-out option if the second Saturday needs to be pushed. If our CP venue continues year-round, then maybe SARC in the Park could be specifically scheduled to be held on the third Saturday of a month. Additionally, Emcomm/Public Service training could be scheduled during the fall-winter months. Nothing decided an membership dialog invited.
We have received several project proposals for CP. Ron Remus WB9PTA has already designed a PCB layout for a code practice oscillator but he needs to meet critical mass for a minimum order. Russ Schmidt KC9NUV explained some of the options that Ron could select in order to make the most efficient PCB layout maximizing yield while conforming to the PCB order requirements. Our CP team will need consensus from our membership to decide proper options before any PCB order commitments are made.
Rob Glowacki N9MVO will craft a SARC-ALL survey to ascertain membership interest in building several suggested antenna projects. |
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VE Testing:
Ed Lishka AC9SD Chairman of the Board offered tonight our review of John Shofield’s AC9JS VE Test Results for March 5, 2022
| Name |
Call |
Class |
| Joseph |
KD9JYT |
General |
| John |
K9WIC |
Extra |
| Class |
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| Technician |
o |
| General |
1 |
| Extra |
1 |
| Total |
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2 |
Participating Volunteer Examiners (VEs):
| Bill |
Davies |
K9WKD |
| Steve |
Karson |
AC9EM |
| Ed |
Lishka |
AC9SD |
| William |
Riess |
KW9WR |
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Next examination date: April 2, 2022
Nets:
Barry K9FMB Net Chairman reports our Nets continue to be well attended. Bruce Warrington N9EHA has offered to host next Tuesday’s Net.
Radio Hill Gazette RHG:
Mike K9KMV No Report.
Recurring Calendar:
Radio Hill Gazette (RHG) articles are to be submitted to Mike K9KMV.
Field Day:
Danny Kafka KD9HIL reports preparation is underway in submitting documents to Public Service requesting access to the Plum Grove Water facility for this year’s Field Day. Typical return response (hopefully a permit) occurs about 4-weeks later.
Membership:
Recruitment efforts continue.
Publicity:
Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK Publicity Chair has received support from our membership in helping us establish a Social Media presence. Planning will include content, administration, and Board Approval procedure for media postings.
Social:
No report.
Education:
No report.
Programs:
No report.
Old Business:
None.
New Business:
Daryl Jenks KD9RHR described local Parks that qualify for Parks on the Air (POTA) activation and the requirements in establishing proper Logs. It’s possible enough interest resides within the membership to organize a formal committee to host POTA events.
Adjourn: 8:56PM.
Submitted March 18, 2022. Cliff Sowka K9QD Secretary
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