LARG Monthly Meeting
October 19, 2013

The meeting was called to order by President Henry Weidman, K2BFY, at 8:35 am, Saturday, October 19, 2013, at the Leesburg Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 605 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag to the United States Of America was recited.

New Members - Visitors:: All interested in Amateur Radio are welcome to attend our meetings, activities and on-the-air radio nets. Please feel free to contact any of our members for more information or visit our Announcements at K4LRG.ORG. You may wish to join via this eMail message our Yahoo eMail QST de K4LRG eReflector and stay abreast of amateur radio happenings in Northern Virginia. There were three new members, guests or visitors introduced:

Bud Johnson, KK4ULA invited by Luther, K5NOB
Melvin Carpenter, No Call invited by Paul, N4PD
Todd Peppe, KK4MBK

Elected Officers Present:
President, Henry Weidman, K2BFY
Vice President, Jay Greeley, KI4UTB
Secretary, Norm Styer, AI2C
Assistant Secretary, John Westerman, W5ODJ
Treasurer, Luther Guise, K5NOB

36 Attendees:

Sign in:

1.      W5ODJ, JOHN

2.      AI2C, NORM

3.      WA4TXE, DAVE

4.      KF4TJI, DENNY

5.      KF4TJJ, CAROL

6.      KK4ULA, BUD

7.      N4TGA, MERC

8.      K2BFY, HENRY

9.      KT9N, CHRIS

10.    AI1V, RICK

11.    KE4S, DAVE

12.    K4AIU, DOUG

13.    KI4UTB, JAY

14.    K0BRA, FRANK

15.    AI4UX, MARGARET

16.    N3FQ, BEN

17.    K5NOB, LUTHER

18.    KJ4VTH, BILL

19.    W2YE, DICK

20.    N1NCY, NANCY

21.    N4PD,, PAUL

22.    MELVIN CARPENTER

23.    KJ4GYL, KEN

24.    K0ZR, JEFF

25.    K4FW, JIM

26.    KG4UPR, BRYAN

27.    KK4MBK, TODD

28.    KK4RLE, JOSHUA

29.    KK4RLF, CHRISTA

30.    ALEXANDER

31.    ANDREW

32.    KJ4NXG, BOB

33.    NC4S, GARY

34.    AJ4LN, ERIC

35.    N2ALA, DWIGHT

36.    W4AU, JOHN

Minutes:

1.      Door prize: Ham Key made by Ham Radio Center; no longer in business. Tickets distributed. Number 601982 was winning ticket number.

2.      Visitors: Bud Johnson (kk4ual), Dell Carpenter (working on ticket), Todd Peppe (KK4MBK)

3.      September Fox Hunt. LARG won the SPARC contest.

4.      RF connectors and adapters donated by K4ZY (Ken) offer for sale at 50-cents each. Proceeds go to LARG.

5.      John, W4AU, Contest Committee:

    • Contest season is upon us!
    • Cold atmosphere, conditions better on low bands.
    • Check out rig on all bands, make sure it's working well.
    • Test out your antennas
    • This weekend, New York QSO party, Illinois QSO party
    • "Work all Germany" contest this weekend, Germans are trying to work people all over the world on both phone and CW. Exchange: Signal report and serial number. They will give you back your call, signal and some sequence of letters.
    • Stew Perry (SK) Memorial Contest - December 28-29, 2013. One of the top guys working 160 meters. See "Remembering Stew Perry". Exchange is your grid square. The way scored: calculated distance between grid squares.
    • October 26 - 27, 2013: CQ World Wide Sideband contest. Largest world wide contest in terms of participation. 48 hours duration. Exchange: signal report & CQ zone. We are in zone 5. People are talking really fast in this contest. There is a 24-hour overlay; see new rules. CW WW at end of November.
    • ARRL Sweepstakes - CW Nov. 2 - 4 & Phone Nov. 16-18, 2013. A US & Canada contest. Try to work all of the sections in ARRL in US and Canada (83). If you work all sections you get a "clean sweep" certificate

Rick, AI1V's Program on "HTs and Repeaters"

 


Some notes from Rick's presentation:

PL = CTCSS

DCS = DIGITAL CODED SQUELCH. SOMETIMES CALLED DTCS

GET PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE! MOST OF IT IS FREE. WORKS WITH MOST RADIOS.

CHARGE YOUR BATTERIES: USE N4PD'S METHOD OF DIGITAL TIMER TO TURN ON A POWER STRIP EVERY 7 DAYS FOR 12 HOURS SO YOUR BATTERIES STAY CHARGED. GIVE BATTERIES A BOOST EVERY WEEK. A GREAT TIP TO KEEP YOUR BATTERIES IN GOOD SHAPE. Check "Battery Tenders" at COSTCO.

NEW BUSINESS: Motion By Henry, K2BFY: LARG will pay the $8 fee above original $36 holiday party to cover $44 of total per plate cost of the holiday dinner. Motion voted with all in favor. Cost to the member will be $36 per person.

 

Calendar

  • November 16 next meeting
  • December 7, 2013, 6:30 PM. Fairfax Army Navy Country Club - Holiday Dinner. Dress is business casual. No jeans, no denim. Dinner is going to be buffet style. There is a limit on attendance; please place your reservations with Luther Guise, K5NOB, as soon as possible.
  • Randy Sly would like us to give a Ham Radio Demo at his school. We are looking for volunteers to help with this. Date is not yet set. It is located at Our Lady of Hope School off of Algoncian Road

Other New Business

John Unger mentioned Costco has a nice battery "tender" for $35. Dual leads. Fused.

Doug, K4AIU, thanked club. Needs help with HF antennas. He lives in an HOA area.  

The meeting adjourned at 10:03 AM

Respectfully Submitted, John Westerman, W5ODJ, Assistant Secretary

NNNN  

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.