November 28, 2017
Present were
W7GFA Gary Anger
KD7CEM Don Magee
W4PJS Graham Hicks
N7NSL Ted Ivester
W7JSN Jason Fouts
KI7FXJ Tyson Brooks
KD7VY Irwin Smutz
KD7JG Joel Hinshaw
Joel opened the meeting at 07:01 PM.
Gary read the minutes of the October meeting. Following changes added: No committee needed for disposable table ware needed. That is taken care of. Ted will bring sodas and ice to the December club dinner.
There was no treasurers report.
Digital interface projects update. Anybody still needing assistance let Joel or Larry Wilson know.
Joel recommended the club hold digital interface project workshops. The first workshop could cover one specific digital program. Subsequent workshops could concentrate on various other digital programs. Ted and Tyson stated they could help provide the necessary equipment for such workshops. Joel said he could also.
Operators discussed their recent experiences with the programs they are using.
Joel recommended the first workshop focus on FL Digi.
Ted offered up an explanation of digital modes to members present, especially to operators unfamiliar with current digital modes. Joel said he would send out an e-mail to solicit input on the date of the first workshop and ask which mode to cover. Members agreed to discuss further in January.
There will be no December 2017 club meeting, instead we will hold the Christmas dinner on 12 December 2017 beginning at 1400 at Graham Hicks’ home. His address is 900 Main Street La Grande Oregon.
Graham asked that those attending bring a dish.
Those whose last names begin with A through G bring a salad
Those whose last names begin with H through M bring a hot dish
Those whose last names begin with N though Z bring a desert
The Fox Hunt meeting that was scheduled for 11 November 2017 was cancelled. We will discuss Fox Hunts again beginning in January 2018
New Business
Tom Bingham in Joseph Oregon is updating our website. There remains a lot to be done in order to bring it up to present date. Tom requests photos of any of our activities. Tyson asked that Tom provide us with his contact information so we can provide him with photos.
Joel would like to know what activities the club members would like to undertake. We can hold Saturday work sessions. One idea put forth was the building of audio interface devices which would allow two operators to plug headphones into as well as a speaker so that non operators could hear traffic, such as onlookers at field day, etc.
Graham recommended we offer our services for community events such as parades, Hog Wild Days, car shows, and other such special events.
We briefly discussed the possibility of holding our meetings at different times or on Saturdays during the months when the hours of daylight are shorter.
We will hold election of new officers at the January 2018 club meeting. All current officers have served several years already and are due to step down.
Our next club meeting will be on 23 January, 2018. Reminder that the meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday at 1900 at the La Grande Fire Station. Ted will confirm with the Fire Chief that those dates are still viable for 2018.
Tyson passed around a photo from a weather balloon project that the tri-cities club launched. Very impressive.
Gary discussed the upcoming Eagle Cap Extreme sled dog race to be held 17 – 20 January 2018. Communications volunteers are needed and their participation is vital for the safety and smooth operations of the event. Contact Gary for more information or go to the Eagle Cap Extreme web site.
Beginning at 07:53 PM Ted did a presentation on troubleshooting and knowing your test equipment and its limitations. He presented several models of various meters. He entitled his presentation TIPS, Technician Induced Problems. Very good information.
The last topics brought up were our attempt to contact licensed but inactive hams via mail and try to get some of them to become active with the club, and grid maps and band plan sheets for any and all to take. THese are very handy for contest activities. Graham stated he has plotted out the bearings to use in order to direct your antennas towards different DX countries and he is willing to share with anybody wanting those bearings.
The meeting concluded at 08:20 PM.
