ABARC Agendas, Minutes, and Reports

• Minutes of January 30, 2022, Quarterly Meeting, Held on Zoom
• 1. President Richard (AE6XO) began checking in participants on Zoom at 1 pm.
• 2. Richard called the meeting to order.
• 3. Richard (AE6XO) confirmed that a quorum was present.
• 4. Minutes of the October 31,2021 meeting were approved.
• 5. Club elections:
• President: Richard Mogford AE6X0 agreed to continue
• Vice President: Dave Horvitz AG6HT (not present) has agreed to continue
• Treasurer: Pat Chaban KI6GGI agreed to continue
• The Activities Director and Secretary positions are open.
• 6. The Treasurer, Pat (KI6GGI), was not present; the financial report was provided ahead of time by email. The members voted to approve it.
• ABARC – Financial Report – January 2022
• Month October January
• Cash Balance $5,421.60 $6,081.60
• Expenses
• Mogford (Radio and Zoom) ($253.80)
• Reynoldson (Antenna Repairs) ($149.20)
• Powell (Web Site) ($240.00)
• Deposits
• Dues $60.00 $270.00
• Equipment Sales $600.00
• Adjustments
• Voided Checks
• Ending Balances $6,081.60 $5,708.60
• 7. Repeater Status
• • Richard (AE6XO) reported on the status of repeaters used and maintained by ABARC. These are:
• o Anchor Bay in Gualala, 147.825, - offset, PL tone 103.5
• o Point Arena repeater, 146.610, - offset, PL tone 88.5
• o Bob’s repeater in Timber Cove, 146.620, - offset, PL 88.5
• o The Sea Ranch repeater, 147.945, - offset, PL 88.5
• • Richard reported that Bob’s repeater seems to have a power issue, which is being worked.
• 8. Activities
• • Another emergency drill was discussed with operators at different locations
• • Ham license tests are available from other clubs and ABARC can hold a test upon request.
•  9. Other Business
• • Ken (KE6WC) asked that someone else take over liaison with the ARRL for testing purposes and take on the club call sign (W6ABR)
• • Dennis (KI6HHA) volunteered for both the license exam management and club sign registration.
• • Michael (KI6PFJ) suggested that a good recruiting strategy for new hams would benefit from having Bob’s repeater working consistently so that GMRS and ham users could communicate locally without using the County repeater (147.975 MHz), which is linked across Sonoma county and is taken over by County Emergency Services during emergencies.
• • Richard (AE6XO) invited members to contact him if they want FLDIGI or WINLINK training or mentoring for the next level ham test.
• • The ABARC Diginet has been moved to Mondays at 7:30 PM.
• • Pam (KA1LHQ) asked for photos for the ABARC web site.
• • Dave (AG6HT) has been coordinating with the GMRS group and Richard offered them an emergency procedures document based on the ABARC Emergency Plan.
• 10. Meeting adjourned at about 2 PM.
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• 11. Attendees
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• AE6XO Richard Mogford
• AG6HT Dave Horvitz
• K3KDP Richard Custer
• K6FRE Michele French
• KA1LHQ Pam Powell
• KE6WC Ken Reynoldson
• KI6CHB Bob Pounds
• KI6GGI Pat Chaban
• KI6HHA Dennis Kelleher
• KI6PFJ Michael Hallett
• KK6NHE M.A. Brauer
• KM6SGO Hal Ferguson
• KN6BEA Lisa Riboli
• KN6BEJ Michael Alexander
• N6CM Anatoly Aranovsky
• W6BPR Wendy Babbe
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• 16 attending, 8 had not paid dues.
• 18 paid members for 2022, 11 paid up members present, 11/18 = 61%.
• 20% is required for a quorum.
• MINUTES OF JULY 25, 2021, QUARTERLY MEETING
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• • President Richard, AE6XO, opened the meeting at 100 p.m. at One-Eyed Jacks on Sea Ranch and distributed the sign-in sheet. With 38 paid members and 13 members signed in, a quorum was present. (If you attended the meeting without signing in, please contact Pam, KA1LHQ, so that the minutes can be corrected.) This was our first in-person meeting since before COVID-19.
• • Secretary Pam, KA1LHQ, distributed hard copies of the minutes from the April meeting. The minutes were discussed and approved as corrected.
• • On a personal note…
• • Congratulations to Alice (who has since been given her grandfather’s call) and Damien for successfully passing the test for Technician class license.
• • Tony, N6VOT, introduced his wife Julie and daughter Claire, who were welcomed to our meeting.
• • Thanks to Richard, AE6XO, to Pat, KI6GGI, and to Bryan, AI6B, for signing up for net control. Only two slots remain open for 2021 – December 21 and 28.
• • Treasurer Pat, KI6GGI, led discussion of the treasurer’s report, which was approved.
• • Richard, AE6XO, reported on the status of the repeaters used by ABARC. These repeaters are: the Anchor Bay repeater in Gualala, the Point Arena repeater, Bob’s repeater in Timber Cove, and the Sea Ranch repeater. The first three of these repeaters are linked. Big thanks to Chris Howard for his rewiring of the TRSA repeater and facilitating use of the generator. Efforts to secure a waiver for the tower rental fee are moving ahead.
• • Activities Manager, Bryan, A16B, announced that the Great American Shakeout earthquake drill will be held October 21. Three club volunteers will be needed to staff the same locations used for the tsunami drill. There is some potential interest in a “Simplex Sunday” contest for VHF simplex. Note that the Gualala River Run has been cancelled for 2021.
• • In the area of training, there are several past, upcoming or potential offerings announced by Richard, AE6XO. These include assistance on programming for Allstar internet access for 5 people, a Zoom class on how repeaters work to be conducted on July 31, and perhaps a class on FLDIGI or WINLINK (similar to radiogram or a node on the internet) within the next couple of months. More licensing classes are also a possibility, depending on level of interest among potential students.
• • Awards Committee Report (Richard K3KDP, Richard AE6XO, Pam KA1LHQ) reported that Jan returned the check issued to thank her for her sustained work on the club website.
• • Pam, KA1LHQ, reported that the website ABARCCLUB.COM was up and running. The club directory has been removed from the website until member emails can be deleted.
• • In a related conversation, the members present accepted the suggestion that the club Facebook page be used to promote club activities and advertise available equipment locally.
• • New Business
• • VP Dave, A6GHT, led a discussion on general mobile radio service (GMRS). GMRS is a no-test alternative to amateur radio. Locally, there are three GMRS repeaters with roughly 55 users. A GMRS net happens each Tuesday at 600 pm, with approximately 30 check-ins. GMRS is of interest to the amateur community for two reasons: (a) an interface with amateur radio can help make both services more useful in an emergency and (b) to protect frequencies from commercial use.
• • Ken, KE6WC, and Richard, AE6XO, have been working on cleaning and sorting the ABARC storage room in the fire department storage and garage space in Anchor Bay. This will allow the club to release space that has been loaned to the club. Thank you, Ken and Richard.
• • Grant news.
• • A grant from the Soroptomists paid for the ABARC portable emergency station with transceiver, antenna, and needed accessories.
• • A grant request to ARRL was not funded.
• • Auxiliary Communication Service (ACS). Sonoma and Mendocino counties both have ACS and seek participants. Sonoma participates in a statewide roll call each Monday at 2000 hours on 3992 MHz; this net is only open to stations on the roll call (NB6TE and AI6B).
• • Opportunity to serve. ABARC is seeking individuals to serve as club secretary and emergency communications unit leader for Sonoma County. Please contact Richard, AE6XO, for more information.
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• • The next ABARC quarterly meeting will be October 24, 2021, with location to be determined.
• • The meeting was adjourned at 224 pm.
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• Member Attendees
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• 1 Barbara KN6BEE
• 2 Pam KA1LHQ
• 3 Richard AE6XO
• 4 Bryan A16B
• 5 Michael KN6BEJ
• 6 Anthony N6VOT
• 7 Bob K16CHB
• 8 Ken KE6WC
• 9 Hal KM6SGQ
• 10 Joel KG6YLU
• 11 Pat KI6GGI
• 12 Dave AG6HT
• 13 Alice KN6PPG
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• AGENDA FOR MAY 1, 2022 QUARTERLY MEETING
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• • Open Meeting (Richard, AE6XO)
• • Discuss/Approve Previous Minutes (Michael, KI6PFJ)
• • Discuss/Approve Treasurer’s Report (Pat, KI6GGI)
• • Repeater Status (Richard, AE6XO)
• • Upcoming Events (Richard, AE6XO)
• • Training Report (Richard, AE6XO)
• • Emergency Drill, Phase 2
• • Tsunami Drill, March 23, 2022
• • Website Report (Pam, KA1LHQ)
• • New Business (Richard, AE6XO)
• • Mesh network
• • Firehouse antenna
• • Manchester radio
• • Lunch, May 4
• • Dues (Richard, AE6XO)
• • Need Secretary and Activities Director
• • Next Meeting (July 31)
• • Adjourn
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• Agenda for April 18, 2021 Quarterly Meeting
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• Open Meeting and Roll Call (President, Richard, AE6XO)
• Discuss/Approve Previous Minutes (Secretary, Pam, KA1LHQ)
• Discuss/Approve Treasurer’s Report (Treasurer, Pat, KI6GGI)
• Repeater Status
• Upcoming Events (Activities Manager, Bryan, A16B)
• Training Report
• Awards Committee Report (Richard K3KDP, Richard AE6XO, Pam KA1LHQ)
• Website Report
• New Business
• Net Control Sign-up
• Next Meeting (July 18 or 25th?)
• Adjour

January 2021 Quarterly Meeting Minutes The Acting President, Michael (KI6PFJ), called the meeting to order. The Secretary, Richard (AE6XO), confirmed that a quorum was present – 40 paid members, 17 members present (43%).The Treasurer, Pat (KI6GGI), reviewed her report. The members voted to approve it.ElectionsElections were carried out with the following results:President: Richard MogfordVice President: Dave HorvitzSecretary: Pam PowellActivities Coordinator: Bryan BrauerRepeater StatusRichard (AE6XO) reported that the Anchor Bay repeater (147.825 MHz) is working and the Point Arena repeater (146.610 MHz) is also operational. The repeater link between Anchor Bay and Point Arena is also up. Bryan (AI6B), Ken (KE6WC), and Richard (AE6XO) installed two 4D batteries in the Point Arena repeater and Ken disposed of the old, worn out batteries. A third 4D battery will be installed there.Dave (AG6HT), Heidi (KE6GJC), and Richard (AE6XO) installed three 4D batteries in Bob Dickson’s repeater. This repeater is working and has a link to the Anchor Bay repeater.Richard (AE6XO) reported that the Allstar link to the Anchor Bay repeater is working. Other club members are interested in this capability.The ARCOM RC210 controller at Bob’s repeater developed a fault and was repaired under warranty. A backup controller was purchased by the club and was installed at Bob’s repeater site.TrainingTraining on Allstar and repeaters is being planned.There will be an exam at the Bill Platt Training Center on January 31 for those interested in obtaining their Technician license or upgrading.There are 2-meter contests that club members may participate in. Members were encouraged to leave their VHF radios on for emergency traffic and for general casual traffic.ActivitiesThe Activities Manager, Bryan (AI6B) discussed upcoming activities. The events in which we normally participate have been canceled. However, the club should consider what it wants to do for Field Day 2021.ABARC Member AwardsNo report.New BusinessPam (KA1LHQ) reported that the new ABARC web site was ready for review. The ABARC calendar, net control list, and net script are available. Ideas for web site enhancement including paying club dues via PayPal were discussed. We could also have a “gallery view” where pictures of members’ radio shacks or areas could be published.A request was made to make members aware of what is available in the club storeroom in Anchor Bay. Members have equipment for loan including dummy loads, antenna analyzers, watt meters, etc.The next Quarterly Meeting will be on Sunday, April 18 at 1:00 PM using a virtual conference system (Zoom).The meeting was adjourned.
Pam (KA1LHQ) Secretary, ABARCAttendees:Name Call Sign Club Member Dennis Kelleher KI6HHA YJim Joyce NB6TE YWendy Babbe W6BPR Y Bob Pounds KI6CHB Y M. A. Brauer KK6NHE Y Richard Mogford AE6XO Y Ken Reynoldson KE6WC Y Bryan Brauer AI6B YHal Ferguson KM6SGQ YArt Juhl K6AEJ Y Michael Alexander KN6BEJ Y Michael Hallett KI6PFJ Y Richard Custer K3KDP YPam Powell KA1LHQ Y Pat Chaban KI6GGI Y
Number of attendees: 15Number of club members present: 15Percent of members present: 15/33 = 46%