The meeting was called to order President Bryan Stephens, KG4UPR, at 8:30 am, Saturday, April 21, 2012, at the Leesburg Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 605 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA. Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Remembering W2BHK. A call was put out for W2BHK in Morse and on Phone by Norm Styer - AI2C. Norm spoke of Joe and his amateur radio station. Joe was a great operator and a friend to many in the LARG. Dave Putman - KE4S spoke of Joe and how he helped Dave get his first station on the air; Joe was Dave's Elmer. Joe Sheinman, W2BHK became a (SK) on April 6, 2012. Rest In Peace. W2BHK will be added to our SK Membership Roll.

New Members: Tom Lindsey, KK4ELH from Leesburg, and Bob Geisler, KK4IJV from Lovettsville, VA.

Elected Officers Present:
President, Bryan Stephens, KG4UPR
Vice President, Henry Weidman, K2BFY
Treasurer, Denny Boehler, KF4TJI
Secretary, Norm Styer, AI2C

Attendees:
Carol Boehler, KF4TJJ
Denny Boehler, KF4TJI
Henry Weidman, K2BFY
Dave Putman, KE4S
Mike Wodynski, K2LEK
Jay Ives, KI4TXP
Chris Patton, W3CUM
Bill Fenn, N4TS
Bill Buchholz, K8SYH
Jim Stowers, K4FW
Earl Haussling, KF4UUX
Steve Green, KS1G
Eric Carlson, AJ4LN
Bryan Stephens, KG4UPR
David Wendland, KE4OKY
Dodson Brown, AJ4EY
Marcia Brown, KJ4GYH
Eric Carlson, AJ4LN
Jeff Slusher, KE5APC
Jay Greeley, KI4UTB
Luther Guise, K5NOB
Frank Gentges, K0BRA
Sven Duhme, W4/DF9MV
John Unger, W4AU
Norm Styer, AI2C
Gary Quinn, NC4S
John Westerman, WB5ODJ
Paul Dluehosh, N4PD
Nancy Dluehosh, N1NCY
Tom Lindsey, KK4ELH
Bob Geisler, KK4IJV

General Announcements

O 2012 Field Day Captains' Meeting at John- WB5ODJ's farm at 0900 hours, Saturday, May 12, 2012. All are invited.

O LARG 2012 Calendars are available from Denny Boehler, KF4TJI, for $5.00. All proceeds go to the LARG.

O Purcellville 5K Run support required for Saturday, May 12, 2012. More information will be provided by Jay - KI5TXP.

O LARG Special Event Station to be held during Governor's Country Fair Day on June 10, 2012, at Morven Park. Look for Jay - KI4TXP to have some announcements in the weeks ahead.

March 2012 Secretary's Report. The minutes for the March 2012 Monthly Meeting were written and posted to the K4LRG.ORG Internet Site by Norm Styer - AI2C. A motion by Jay Greeley - KI4UTB and seconded by Dave Putman - KE4S to approve the minutes as posted was pass by voice vote. April Treasurer's Report. Denny Boehler - KF4TJI reported the status of the treasury. See Treasurer's Reports at Members Only at K4LRG.ORG. A motion by Dave Putman - KE4S and seconded by Jay Greeley - KI4UTB to approve the Treasurer's Report was passed by voice vote.

Tech Report by Bill - N4TS. Bill summarized WRC XII by encouraging members to read reports by Mr. Price of the ARRL. He noted the new 472 - 479 kHz Band approved for amateur use.

Pacific Ocean Trip Report. Mike - K2LEK summarized his recent experiences on the Queen Mary II on a Pacific Ocean vacation. He encouraged those doing this should announce a "Ham Meeting." His was very successful with 3-VK's, a G4 and an N6. It was noted that authority to operate amateur radio equipment rests with the ship's captain.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Public Service Committee. Jay Ives - KI4TXP reported the May 12th Purcellville Bike Ride support will need about 6 operators stations at start, finish and route locations. Operators should report by 7AM. It is scheduled from 7 to 10:30 am. We will use 147.48 or 146.700 MHz. More details to follow.

Jay also noted that more information will be provided on the June 10 special event station at the Governor's Day Event at Morven Park. LARG Award Committee. Norm - AI2C will provide a quarterly report in June.

FIELD DAY Committee. Gary Quinn - NC4S provided a nice briefing on preparation for Field Day. He established several goals: 1). Increase QSO count by 5% over last year. That's only 29 QSO per station or 1.5 per hour per station, 2). Improve 6-meter station with more operators and better antennas (N4PD suggested we test the 6-meter station during the VHF Party), and 3). Have more operators for the GOTA station.

Gary noted the following positions are still open: Food Captain, Site Safety Captain, Talk-In Station Captain, Co-Captains for 20-CW and 40-CW, Submission Team members, Youth Participation Captain, Agency Support Representative, Education Activity Captain and PR Table Captain.

Gary reported that work was on-going on the Group's trailer tower and included replacing cables, painting, repairing the bearings in the cable assemblies, and maybe replacing the tires. A motion by John - W4AU and seconded by Dave - KE4S to include payment of tower repair expenses in the Field Day expenses.

John - W4AU is the Big Board Sign-Up Captain and he encouraged all to get their operating preferences to him. He reminded all that we were trying to sign up folks in 2-hour time block. Details are available on the2012 Field Day Internet Site.

Denny - KF4TJI reported he was preparing the Field Day T-shirt and Pin purchase and asked everyone to get their orders to him as soon as possible.

Finally, Gary - NC4S asked that everyone bring a friend with you to Field Day.

Balloon Committee. No report.

Training Committee. Jay Greeley - KJ4UTB reported thst the Committee was looking for a minimum number for future; he suggested 15. He reported that in January 32 students from the National Guard took training and as many as 8 passed their license exams.

Contest Committee. John Unger - W4AU reported that "practice makes perfect;" And, that other state QSO Parties are a good way to get practice: FL QSO Party next weekend with lots of mobiles, May 4-5th is New England QSO Party and there are parties in VE3-Land, SD and MI.

LARG Legislative Affairs Committee. Chris Patton - W4CUM reported on recent FCC request for comments on EmCom activities. Actually, our input should go to the ARRL who will prepare an input. Do not include random rants but helpful descriptions of how you could or could not support EmCom from your home do to deed restrictions or HOA covenants. Input to the ARRL is due this week and input to the FCC is due by May 17, 2012.

YL Committee. Nancy - N1NCY had nothing to report.

Emergency Service Committee. The chairman for this committee is open.

Program Committee. Henry - K2BFY, our Vice-President by assigned duties, had no report.

LARG NET REPORTS

Sunday Night FM Net. Bryan - KG4UPR reported 10-15 stations joining most Sunday nights.

Sunday Digital Watering Hole. Bryan - KG4UPR reported successful bulletin transmission test in the MT-63 digital mode.

Tuesday Night CW Net. Bill Buchholz - K8SYH reported we continue to look for more to join the net. The net will slowdown as necessary.

Thursday Night HF SSB Net. Norm - AI2C made a detailed report of activity during April 2012.

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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.