Piscataquis Amateur Radio Club Minutes For August 25, 2008
Call to Order: The regular monthly meeting of the Piscataquis Amateur Radio Club was called to order at approximately 1912 by club president George Dean, WA1JMM with about 10 members present.
Old Business:
DEBREIF OF THE ST. ALBANS HAMFEST: Various members of the club provided comments on the event. Although it had rained most of the week prior to the ham fest, the day of the event turned out to be very nice although the ground of the SnoDevils club were wet and muddy in places. Turnout was down to about 75 to 80 but it was considered a success none the less. The president thanked all who helped with the preparation and execution of the event.
THANK YOU LETTER TO DONORS: Bob Turnbull volunteered to write thank you letters to most of the donors with George Dean doing ones for the rest as agreed on between George and Bob.
DEBRIEF OF THE FIVE COUNTIES “SINK THE KATE” EXERCISE: Stoch gave an overview of the exercise and noted that there were issues with communications, namely that the ARES repeater overheated late in the exercise resulting in some lost communications toward the end. The overheating was attributed to the heavy use of the machine and the fact that there was inadequate ventilation in the repeater compartment in the ARES trailer. The turnout of hams was very good with more then 25 showing up from a number of counties and groups.
K1BUC THANK YOU LETTER. It was noted that we did not send a thank you letter to K1BUC for the HW 101 he donated to the club. Howie made a motion and the club approved, that we send a thank you letter to K1BUC, Don Davis. George volunteered to do the letter. George will also take care of a thank you letter to W1TWP for the 20 amp power supply Mr. Poole gave the club, which Howie delivered to the club and which was sold at the 2008 St Albans Hamfest.
UPDATE ON REPEATER PROJECTS: Paul Kelley gave an update on the Stickney Hill repeater and the remote receiver project he is working. Stickney Hill has been upgraded about as much as it could be. A “remote receiver” system could greatly enhance coverage, especially from low power hand-helds. As long as the hand held can “hear’ the repeater, they should be able to get in via the remote receiver system.
CLUB CUSTODIAN: It was reiterated that Bob Wilson has taken care of the paperwork for him to be the Club Custodian.
New Business:
Interim Secretary to fill the remainder of Stanley Spoors.
DOG SLED RACE COORDINATOR: Terry Knowles requested a volunteer to be the Coordinator for the 2009 100 Mile Wilderness Dog Sled Race. Bob Wilson volunteered to be the coordinator.
PARKS PEAK AWARD; was presented to Dottie Hughes, KB1FOI.
NCS SCHEDULE:
August 27, Howie; September 3, George; September 10, Ron (switch from Terry); September 17, Terry.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 1955 local time.
Respectfully Submitted,
George R. Dean
Acting
Piscataquis Amateur Radio Club
Regular Monthly Meeting
July, 2008
The regular monthly meeting of the Piscataquis Amateur Radio Club for July 2008 was called to order at 1910 hrs by our President, George Dean WA1JMM.
The minutes of the June 23rd, meeting were accepted as read.
The treasurer’s report was accepted as read.
OLD BUSINESS:
Stosh, George and Paul gave a brief review of the Field Day Exercise. A total of 2239 points were claimed, with 613 contacts.
A discussion was held regarding the upcoming hamfest. Margie made a motion to appoint members to specific jobs during the function to help run the event more smoothly. Motion was passed by a unanimous vote. George requested that members planning to help with setup arrive by 0700 hours. Ray Roberts volunteered to post signs directing traffic to the event. George, Margie and Bob Turnbull volunteered to prepare and submit press releases to the media.
A brief discussion regarding the “Sink The Kate” disaster drill was held, and Stosh made a request for more members to participate.
NEW BUSINESS:
Howie brought a 20 amp power supply that was donated to the club by Terry – N1TWP, and made a motion to send a letter of acknowledgement and thanks to the donor. Motion carried by unanimous consent. Margie made a motion to sell the power supply at the St. Albans hamfest. Motion carried by unanimous consent.
PARC’s PEAK awards were presented to Stosh for the month of March, and to George for the month of June.
Paul discussed the history, upgrades and future plans for the Stickney Hill repeater and noted that this is the 10th anniversary of the machine’s installation.
MEETING ADJOURNED
Respectfully submitted,
Stosh Spoors – KB1NJO
Secretary PARC
PARC Meeting Notes for 28 April, 2008
Meeting Called to Order at 1905R by WA1JMM George Dean Club President. No other club offices were on hand.
Attendees were: Rodney N1JRQ, Dottie KB1FOI, Howie WA1SBI, Donnie WA1AKV, Ray N1MRT, Terry N1RCU, Ron W1FLV, Tom KB1ORJ, Bob K1DDC and George, WA1JMM.
Secretary Report form the March 2008 were read by George. Motion was moved and seconded and accept with one correction suggested by Bob.
Treasurer Report was read by Terry. Motion was moved and seconded and accept as read.
Old Business:
After Action Review of River Race. We were short of people because of “no shows” and this made the work at the finish line difficult. Working out of EMA van and tent were a great addition this year. It was noted we need to do a more accurate count at some Check Points. It was suggested by Ray we request more ham’s by announcement of this activity on other Nets. George suggested the race coordinator be at the finish line to better coordinate ham support during the race. Tom suggested all hams have a distinctive vest so we would be more visible.
Up date on Moose River Race; Terry requested we contact Town of Rockwood if we want to support this race and take a proactive approach. Ray said he would see what he could do. Ray also suggested we might want to think about setting up the club repeater for race.
George gave an update on the club's Hamfest. We are “sanctioned as an ARRL event.” We still need to be looking for more prizes. Bob has received CD’s which covers many issues of Circuit Cellar magazine issues which is a very technical publication as a prize. He also has two subscriptions to Amateur Radio Magazine as prizes. Bob will be the hamfest prize coordinator. A motion was made to have George suggest to the Kiwanis that a donation of a 2 Meter mobile rig would be in order as support to our club for work on canoe race. This rig would be the Grand Prize for Hamfest. Motion was moved and seconded and accept.
New Business:
Paul N1BUG has updated the club web site to include a club roster minus the personal data.
We talked about Field Day 28 and 29 June 2008. George and Paul have looked at our antenna assets and they reported the following:
- 160M Needs work and a plan is in place to correct.
- 80M is OK.
- The vertical antenna in the wood is OK.
- The 2M is operational.
- Paul has made the offer to build a multiple-band die pole.
- We talked about some club funds to build and repair antennas for field day but nothing was decided.
- Terry stated we also needed to clean and organize our radio room prior to field day.
No PARC’s Peak award was presented for March as winner was absent.
Net Controls; 4/30/08 Ray, 5/07/08Ron, 5/14/08 Dottie, 5/21/08 George.
Tom requested to borrow the club’s folding tables for a County Event. Motion was moved and seconded and approved by membership.
Motion to adjourn was made. Motion was moved and seconded and accept.
Respectfully Submitted,
Terry, N1RCU
The March 24th meeting of the Piscataquis Amateur Radio Club was called to order by President, Stosh Spoors at 1908.
Members Present: President - Stosh Spoors, President Elect - George Dean, Treasurer Margie Williams, Terry Knowles, Don Gaudreau, Ron Cook, Rod "Doc" Perry, Dottie Hughes,
The Secretary's report was read and accepted as corrected.
The Treasurer's report was accepted as read.
OLD BUSINESS:
The annual election of club officers was discussed after being tabled during the February meeting. President, Stosh Spoors, informed the club that he would be happy to serve as Secretary for the coming term, however he wanted the club to know that there was a possibility that he may be leaving the state of Maine within the coming year. After a brief discussion Terry Knowles made a motion accept the slate of nominees as submitted by the elections committee, and to elect the nominees as listed. The motion passed unanimously.
The officers for the coming year will be:
President - George Dean, WA1JMM
Vice President - Bob Wilson, KC1AU
Secretary - Stosh Spoors, KB1NJO
Treasurer - Margie Williams, N1UCN
President Elect, George Dean made a motion to continue the meeting with the current officers, and the new officers will assume office after adjournment of this meeting. The motion carried with a unanimous vote.
The appointment of a new trustee of the club call-sign was discussed due to the absence of Ben Kittredge, and President Elect George Dean made a motion to appoint Don Gaudreau, W1AKV as the new trustee. The motion was passed by unanimous vote.
A brief discussion concerning the keys to the EOC was held. Currently there are two keys in the club's possession. Terry Knowles has one key, and the key formerly held by Ben Kittredge was given to President Elect, George Dean. Terry will retain his key due to the fact that he normally is the one who transports club equipment to and from our functions. President, Stosh Spoors will talk to Tom Iverson regarding the issuance of two additional keys. One will be retained by Stosh as the DEC and EC for ARES, and another may be issued to the new trustee, Don Gaudreau.
President Elect, George Dean provided an update regarding the 24th annual PARC Hamfest. The application for ARRL Sanction has been completed and submitted, and we are now waiting for the approval. George will talk to Paul Kelley, N1BUG about updating the club website and including a copy of the flyer for the hamfest. President, Stosh Spoors, volunteered to contact Bob Turnbull, K1DDC for more information concerning an advertisement for the hamfest in CQ. George then suggested that, for the next meeting, each club member select a couple of advertisers in QST to solicit for prizes to be given at the hamfest. This will preclude any duplication of efforts in our contacts.
Terry Knowles gave the club an update on the coming Piscataquis River Canoe and Kayak race, He provided a tentative list of assignments for the event, and agreed to talk with the Metilly's to inquire if they will be participating this year. He will also contact Larry, in Jackman for the same reason. Those who can assist in setting up the shelter and equipment for the race will meet at 8:00 on the morning of the race, and all those assisting with communications for the event will meet at McDonald's at 9:00.
The PAEC's Peak award for February was presented to President Elect, George Dean.
Net controls were assigned for the coming weeks. NCS for March 26th will be President, Stosh Spoors. For April 2nd, April 9th, April 16th, and April 23 the Net Controls will be President Elect George Dean, Terry Knowles, Ron Cook, and Margie Williams, respectively.
The meeting was adjourned at 1943 hrs.
Respectfully submitted,
S. R. (Stosh) Spoors.
Secretary.
Piscataquis ARC Meeting Minutes
February 25, 2008
Members Present: George Dean, Ray Roberts, Dottie Hughes, Ron Cook, Terry Knowles, Stanley "Stosh" Spoors, Tom Iverson, Don Gaudreau, Rod "Doc" Perry, Tom Lambert and guest Gloria.
The meeting was brought to order by PARC president Stosh at 1907 Local.
Since the club secretary is in Rhode Island, there was not Secretary's Report from the last meeting. George Dean volunteered to do the minutes in the absence of the Secretary.
The Treasurer's report was read by Terry Knowles for Treasurer, Margie Williams. The report was approved by the membership. A copy is attached to these minutes.
OLD BUSINESS:
Elections. Since the nominating committee was not present, a motion was made and seconded to table the elections until the March Meeting.
Dog Sled Race. A letter was read by the club president from the Brownville Town Manager, Sophie Wilson. Race committee member Terry Knowles reported that everything went very well and all the hams who participated had a great time at their stations and were well received and appreciated by the race committee, the musher's and the spectators alike. He noted how important our services are to the success and safety of the race.
St. Albans Hamfest. Hamfest Coordinator, George Dean gave an update on Hamfest preparations. The VE team has been contacted and will provide testing services at the Hamfest starting at 9 AM. The SnoDevils facility has been reserved again this year. The 2008 flyer about ready to distribute and asked Don Gaudreau if we could put the weekend camping package as a door prize... he said yes, so it will be on the flyer. It will show the Grand Prize "to be announced" since we have not picked this prize as yet. George will be sending in the ARRL Sanctioning application soon as well as listing it in ARRL. The flyer will be updated once this has been determined. It was decided by the club that the donation/ticket price would remain at $5 due to the slow economy. George emphasized that we need to start getting a prize list NOW. He noted that it gets more difficult each year to get free stuff from ham vendors and we are lucky to get brochures from them. We could try a few "feeler" letters to see if any of the bigger outlets respond with something other than brochures, but it will take a coordinated effort... a prize committee so that we won't duplicate effort. George noted too that prizes are not limited to ham related items. A prize such as the weekend camping that Don Gaudreau acquired is a great example of nice non-ham related prize. Gift certificates good at chain stores are nice as well. It was suggested that we contact Bruce Worcester, N1VLQ from the Ellsworth Radio Shack, who has set up displays at previous ham fests at St. Albans to see if he would like to come again this year. It was suggested that we all spread the word about our Hamfest... even now is not too early... also mention on nets you check into, blogs, general QSO, etc. are good ways to spread the word. Also encourage NON HAMS to come and see what the hobby is all about... what better way to see hams in action then a Hamfest?? The Hamfest will continue to be an item of discussion until the date of the Hamfest.
There was a discussion on having demonstrations at our meetings and at the Hamfest... homebrew projects, antique radio displays like Ben Kittredge has set up at meetings, discussion groups/speakers on RACES, EMA, Moon bounce, etc. to make both meetings and ham fests more fun and interesting.
NEW BUSINESS:
EMA Director Tom Iverson, also a ham and club member, gave an update on activities. He reported that the Kiwanis Canoe Race is scheduled for April 26th and asked in the name of the Kiwanis if we intended to provide communications support again this year. He noted that he was aware of the issue of the rescue sweep boat not having room for a ham communicator and that this is unsatisfactory... this will be addressed at the Kiwanis coordination meetings. The club was unanimous in promising to support this event. Tom also reported that up to 5 counties will be participating in an exercise at Moose Head Lake in August. It will involve the scenic tour boat, "Katahdin", will be involved. It was noted that we COULD NOT participate if the exercise falls on August 9 due to the St. Albans Hamfest. There will be a "Table Top" exercise in May with a communications theme. Tom noted that snowmobiles are running across the antenna field of the EOC and even thought they are not suppose to, the EMA director needs to place some markers on guys of the towers for safety and liability reasons and would appreciate any assistance we could give in putting up the markers. Tom will contact us when he needs help with this. Another concern the EMA director and others has it that the water content of the snow this year is twice that of last year. There is a concern for flooding when the snow melt this spring or heavy rains between now and spring. He asked if we could keep an eye out for unusual conditions... ice/water rising etc. so the EMA can take action early on. George noted that he would be willing to fly the EMA over county rivers time and weather conditions permitting when he feels a need to check the conditions from the air. Tom stated that we are welcome to use the back room formerly used as a storage and maintenance shop for club operations. Stosh noted that this would be a good place to put our 2nd operating position for Field Day. Finally, the EMA director offered to set up a tour of the State EOC in Augusta. It is a very well equipped facility well worth the tour.
Tom Lambert reported that Pine State ARC is looking for volunteers to assist with the Kenduskeag River Race which is the weekend before the Piscataquis race. Just show up the morning of the race for an assignment. The 146.94 repeater will be used for the event.
Terry Knowles, Communications Coordinator for the Piscataquis River Race reported that George Dean had gotten permission to put up the club repeater at Bob Darlings again this year. Terry will have a race sheet ready for next month's meeting.
It was also noted that the Rockwood Canoe Race come the next weekend after the Piscataquis Race and we need to contact someone there soon if we intend to support their communications needs. It was clear who up at Rockwood is in charge of the race this year
.NCS for the next four weeks: March 27, W1FLV; March 5th, WA1JMM; March 12th, N1RCU; March 19th, N1MRT;
The January PARC's Peak Award went to George Dean, WA1JMM for most check-ins for the month of February, 2008.
Respectfully Submitted,
George R. Dean, Acting
page last updated December 16, 2010