The meeting was called to order by President Bill Buchholz, K8SYH, at 8:35 am with 24 members present.

Bill welcomed visitors and new members.

A motion to approve minutes as posted on the Reflector passed.

The Treasurer's report, also posted on the Reflector, passed. Jeff would be present later in the meeting.

Committee Reports

Emergency Service/Public Service – Tom Dawson

• Loudoun EOC

     o Hurricane activation took place since the last meeting but not much happened here… We staffed the EOC with volunteers

     o Cables have now been terminated in the radio room at the EOC and antennas were installed in a temporary configuration– both a dipole and 2m/440 vertical.

• Reston Bike Ride

     o Tom thanked Gary for organizing Reston Bike Ride

      o Gary gave thank you's to those who helped with the ride and reported that all went well

• Lovettsville Oktoberfest

     o John Westerman, WB5ODJ, reported that eighteen people have already volunteered, so there is plenty of help.

• Next LARG activity is First Night Leesburg on New Year's Eve

Balloon Committee – Tom Dawson

• October 14, 7pm at the Purcellville Library is the next scheduled meeting for the Balloon committee.

• Rick, AI1V, is working on an APRS payload.

• A lot more needs to be done to prepare for the next launch, which will probably not be until next Spring and Summer.

• We have found some digital fixed focus cameras at Wal Mart that we will try to interface to photograph from the balloon.

• NASA launched high altitude platform this past week at 122,000 feet. We will be posting information about this on the reflector.

Interference Committee – no report

Training Committee – Steve Reed, KW4H

• Training committee is holding a weekend training this weekend

• Steve and most if the instructors are at the VFW setting up

Field Day 2008 Report – Gary Quinn, NC4S

• Gary distributed awards to Paul, N4PD, for 20m CW station captain, Dave, KE4S for VHF/UHF.

• Jay Greeley, KI4UTB, was awarded a certificate for logistics along with the Virginia Defense Force.

• Special award was presented to Jay, KI4TXP, for exceptional contribution as well as being the 40m phone station captain.

Contest Committee – John Unger, W4AU

• We are now entering contest season

• This weekend and next weekend there are a bunch of state QSO parties. Getting involved in these smaller contests is a lot of fun

• PA QSO party is first week in October. For 100 contacts you are eligible to get a commemorative mug

• This weekend: Colorado, South Carolina, Texas QSO Parties and the Washington Salmon Run. Also, a Scandinavian contest is taking place.

• Next year the ARRL is going to have a special emphasis on QSO parties. If a state does not have a QSO party, they are usually involved in a regional effort.

• The past issue of QST contained a special emphasis on Radio Sport.

• The largest CQ Worldwide RTTY contest is next weekend.

DARG Repeater – Frank Gentges, K0BRA

• All seems to be working.

• We still need to put up the new antenna

Website – Thank you to Norm for all his work on the site. The new Field Day report just posted is extremely thorough and well done.

OLD BUSINESS

Incorporating as a 501.c.3 – Jay Ives, KI4TXP

• Information was distributed via the reflector
• Dave, KE4S – Concern on the cost of directors' insurance fee
• Gary, NC4S – when the club was young, an attorney was a member and was asked to review the opportunity for incorporating. His report indicated that he didn't think it was worth it.
• Tom, WB3AKD – we already have insurance coverage for club activities.
• Cons – Won't really protect us from law suits.
• Pros – We can use tax-deductible initiatives. We can also own property, such as our antenna trailers, etc.
• The committee is being directed to prepare a complete report and distribute that via the reflector. We will probably vote on this at the January meeting.

Jeff, KE5APC, indicated that Field Day T-shirts and pins are still available.

NEW BUSINESS

We are looking for a new head for the holiday party. If anyone wants to volunteer, let us know asap.

John, W4AU, did a "show and tell" of a new digital recorder from Sony that can record 580 hours, records mp3, and has a USB connector. It also has line-in as well as microphone inputs. The unit is a Sony UX80.

Jack, K4VV – If you need an "old fashioned" computer screen, he has them with him today for anyone who is interested. Also, if you need more, email [email protected].

The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 am by the President.

Respectfully submitted, Randy Sly, LARG 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.