The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. EST by LARG President Jay, KI4TXP. There were 31 attendees present. Please double-click here for the attendance roster.

Minutes from the March meeting were approved as posted. The Secretary, Dodson, AJ4EY, called for a volunteer to take minutes for the May meeting, as he will be out of town. Jay Greeley, KI4UTB, volunteered to take the May meeting minutes.

Jay, KI4TXP, presented the posted treasurer report, as the Treasurer, Jeff, KE5APC, was unable to attend the meeting. The Treasurer's report was approved as presented/posted.

One new (old) member was present, Bill Fenn, N4TS. The guest speaker, Lee Gladwin was also present.

Committee Reports

YL: Carol, KF4TJJ indicated there was no activity currently.

Public Service: Jay, KI4TXP provided an update on the Dulles Drill, scheduled for May 8th, 2010. The drill is expecting ~200 actors and the exercise will need help checking the actors In/Out. The Drill will start at 0500 and go until 1300. The support personnel are expected to be released at ~1400.

Balloon: There was no Balloon activity reported, however, Jay, KI4TXP, indicated that Tom Dawson, WB3AKD, the Balloon Committee Chair would be running a Fox Hunt after the May meeting. Denny Boehler, KF4TJI, brought in some sample "Tape Measure" antennas so people interested in the Fox Hunt might have an idea of how to construct a directional antenna for Fox Hunting.

Training: Jay Greeley, KI4UTB, indicated there would be a Technician class for a local scout troop held from 7-9 PM on 7 May 2010 and from 7AM to 5 PM on 8 May 2010. Testing in support of this class would be 15 May 2010. Jay also asked for volunteers to help with the Boy Scout Signal Badge.

Public Relations: Jay Greeley, KI4UTB, indicated he would be getting together with Doug Johnson, KJ4BRN, (2010 Field Day Chairman) and Norm Styer, AI2C, to discuss the public relations activities for the upcoming Field Day.

Interference: Paul Dluehosh, N4PD reported that there were no interference issues to report.

Contesting: Norm, AI2C, indicated he had received an email from John Unger, W4AU indicating that the unofficial total score for the LARG participants for the VA QSO Party was 1,003,099 points.

Website: Norm, AI2C, indicated he is still looking for more material for the website.

Awards: Norm, AI2C, indicated the awards committee is still meeting in "SECRET". A poll had been on how LARG members log their contacts. As of the meeting, 13 members had answered the poll. The notional idea of the award is for an award called "The Hunt" which is completed when ~100 LARG members are contacted and the contacts are confirmed.

Legislation Affairs: Norm, AI2C indicated there was no activity.

Programs: Luther, K5NOB, gave an update on the upcoming programs:

May – Tom Dawson, WB3AKD, will run a Fox Hunt after the meeting in lieu of a presentation. The Fox Hunt is planned to be in two parts. An easy to find (relatively) Fox and a harder to find Fox.

June – Doug, KJ4BRN will cover final planning for the 2010 Field Day.

July – Jeff, KE5APC will give a presentation on EchoLink.

Repeater Status:

Dulles Repeater (145.310 MHz - W4DLS Repeater): Email was sent to Frank Gentges, K0BRA, on the transmit performance of the repeater. The repeater transmit gets weaker as the repeater is used. Bill Fenn, N4TS, has been working with Frank and expected to get a look at the repeater on 19 April 2010. Leesburg Repeater (146.700 MHz - WA4TXE Repeater): Dave Boltson, WA4TXE, reported on the status of the 146.700 repeater. The popping noise was being caused by the Sterling Remote and required a repair of the screen circuit to correct. It is planned that an automated weather alert feature will be added, so weather alerts will be relayed by the repeater. Field Day: Doug, KJ4BRN reminded everyone of the Field Day dates of 26-27 June. Antenna setup will be on the afternoon/evening of 25 June. Jay Greeley, KI4UTB, indicated that help would be needed for food setup and that Boy Scouts would be helping with parking management again this year.

Old Business

Jay Greeley, KI4UTB, indicated that the VFW had received the agreement memo from LARG and that it would be reviewed at the May 13 VFW meeting and hopefully approved then.

Dodson, AJ4EY, indicated that there were no additional changes to the new LARG brochure design and he would get with Denny, KF4TJI for printing in time for Field Day. He also suggested and took the action to create a one page flyer on "Why to become a HAM".

New Business

Chris Patton, W3CUM, reminded members that the Northern Virginia Traffic Net, which is on the 147.300 repeater, is offering on-air training in passing traffic (2 classes) and 1 class in how to be a Net Control. Interested persons should email [email protected].

Dave Putman, KE4S brought forward a motion that the club set aside $700 for potential Field Day expenses. The motion passed. Last years major Field Day expenses were ~$410 for food and ~$194 for portable toilets.

Jay, KI4TXP indicated that the club liability insurance bill was due and was $320. No motion was made regarding this since it is a standing obligation of the LARG.

Jay, KI4TXP indicated that Rick Miller, AI1V, was planning to have an N1MM setup meeting in support of the upcoming Field Day sometime in May, with the exact date TBD.

Chris Painter, KB3RUR, suggested that during the upcoming LARG training activity that HAM radio smart phone (like the Droid) applications be highlighted to increase the interest of the younger potential HAMs.

Bob Rodriguez, KJ4NXG, indicated that flyers were available for the "Virginia Ham Radio Cruise-In" on May 1st, 2010 in Charlottesville, VA.

Paul, N4PD, indicated he had type 2032 batteries for sale if someone needed one for their HT memory.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 a.m. EST.

Luther, K5NOB, introduced Lee Gladwin who gave an informative talk on Bletchley Park, which was the British super-secret code-breaking headquarters during World War II.

Respectfully submitted, Dodson B. Brown, AJ4EY, LARG Secretary

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A reminder to all about Holy Trinity's inclement weather policy: if Loudoun County Schools are closed (or would be if it were a school day), all activities at the church are cancelled – this includes outside groups. This policy allows for parking lot clearing so snow is not packed down; and it is also a safety issue.