April 22, 2014
(Editor’s Note: Normally the monthly meeting is held on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Scheduling conflicts with required training by the La Grande Fire Department will occasionally move the meeting to the fourth Tuesday during the spring and summer. Please check the meeting notice in the right panel for current information)
The meeting was called to order at 1906 by Ted, N7NSL.
11 Members were in attendance.
Old business.
Field day will be held at Bird Track Springs camping grounds on June 28th and 29th. We are hoping for more operators in attendance and hoping for an increased number of contacts. We have had three stations for the last few years and are open to having more. For more information contact Ted N7NSL or Joel KD7JG.
Union County Fair booth.
We will try to have HF and VHF equipment operating, and would like to make contacts in more modes, not phone only. The dates of the Fair this year are July 30th through August 2nd. Contact Gary W7GFA or Mark Larson K7OWG for more information.
Swap Meet.
This years W7GRA swap meet will be held on September 17th. Contact Mike KF7STP for more information.
Club Picnic.
The club picnic will be held on July 12th and will be followed by a Fox Hunt which starts at 3:00PM. The picnic will begin at 1:00PM and will be held at Pioneer Park provided we can hold it there at no cost. Or, it will be held at the picnic tables nearest to Pioneer Park that we can find.
New Business
Fox Hunts for this year will be held at 3:00pm on May 10th, July 12th, and September 13th. Dinner for participants after the hunt is over will be covered by the Club. For more information contact Graham, W4PJS. (As a reminder, the Fox will transmit on 146.550 Mhz [Ed: check in at 2:55PM])
Ted reported that local repeaters on Mt Fanny, Mt Harris, and the La Grande repeater as well are all operational, albeit the W4PJS repeater needs a new home as it is not elevated like it was while it was located at the Grande Ronde Hospital.
The 7th Area QSL Party will take place on 3 and 4 May. The following websites provide more information:
WS7N.NET/7QP
QSL.NET/W3KM
For more information contact Larry W7IXZ.
Mike, KF7STP was not able to attend the meeting but he has put together a very attractive and informative flyer for the Swap Meet this year. A copy was passed around at the meeting and Mike sent out an email to the membership with the flyer attached for everyone to see.
Ted will e-mail members about adjusted W7GRA meeting dates this summer. Some normal meeting days will have to be adjusted due to the availability or lack thereof of the regular meeting room at the La Grande Fire Station.
Larry, W7IXZ put on a presentation on the use of GenLog which is a general computer logging program. It is freeware and can be down loaded free of charge from the internet. Just Google “GenLog” and it will come up with the proper site to obtain the program. GenLog can be used as a general everyday log program but it also has built in templates for over 300 contests one of which is the 7QP contest this weekend. Thanks Larry for putting that very informative and interesting program together.
Ted will not be present for the May meeting.
Discussed past Field Days and the desire for additional stations and loggers.
The Union County Fair booth application is in the works and Gary W7GFA will find out about the requirement for liability insurance.
Meeting adjourned at 2022.
Gary F Anger W7GFA / Joel Hinshaw KD7JG
