HAM RADIO CLUB
Meeting Notes
Officers Present:
- President - Adam Radel KE7CJL
- Vice Pres - Harry Evans KE7SYH
- Treasurer - Matt Va KE7SBS
- Secretary - Cliff Murphy KE7PHG
Attendance:
- Club Officers (4)
- Jasper Nance KE7PHI
- Josh Nelson KE7MTF
- Rody Wilcox KE7GDZ
- Jessica Elgan KE7MTK
- Brian Bowles N/A
Pre-meeting Notes:
This is probably the last meeting for the club for the spring semester, because the next scheduled meeting date falls in Finals Week. Attendance was 9 people.The agenda for the meeting's topics included:
- Olympus Rally Discussion
- Vandal Friday Review
- Officer Elections
- Discussion W7UQ's ASUI Funding Proposal
During the meeting other topics were brought up:
- Out-Reach to Other HAM Radio Groups
- Steam Plant Roof Access
- Tactile Callsign Usage
Meeting Notes:
We began with discussion on the upcoming Olympus Rally. Our contact is Ralph, but he is relaying information from Lee. This is an event with rally car racing, and they need communicators on April 19th and April 20th (Saturday/Sunday) for the start, finish, and spectator positions. It is possible to volunteer for just one day and you can confirm participation as late as the day before the race - Saturday features more race events and will require more radio operators. In the past, operators wishing to stay overnight and help both days were provided with a hotel room. A list was passed around to see who was interested in participating.
Rally Interest:
- Cliff - Sat
- Josh - Sat (Maybe)
- Jasper - Sun
- Matt - Either
- Jessica - Sat (Maybe)
- Adam - Either
Next was discussion on Vandal Friday. We were able to get 5 e-mail addresses of people looking to going to UI, and of those 2 were already licensed operators. The e-mail is copied below in these notes:
Dear Potential Vandals,
My name is Cliff Murphy (callsign: KE7PHG), and on behalf of the
W7UQ Amateur Radio Club I'd like to thank you for visiting us during
Vandal Friday last week. We saw some licensed hams, and others without
their amateur radio license, but we would like to welcome everyone to
visit us again next year and consider joining our club.Amateur Radio provides a great opportunity to talk with people both
around and outside of Idaho, and to make new friends in foreign
countries. It provides you an opportunity to experiment with radio
communications and a chance to play with emerging digital communications
protocols. And the skills and experience you gain can help you provide
emergency communications to the community if the need arises.
If you don't have your Amateur Radio License yet, this summer would
be a great time to get one! I would recommend looking for a Ham Radio
Club in your area and contacting them. Here is what is involved in the
license…it basically boils down to some reading, classes that are
usually free, and finally a 35 question exam costing less than $14.
( http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/classes.html )As a club we run a weekly net, compete in contests, and volunteer
our services for other fun events that come up. This semester we
operated during the Idaho QSO Party, tracked a student-built weather
balloon, did a workshop on making radio propagation maps, and next week
some of our members may help out with event communications for the
Olympus Rally - a racing event with high performance off-road vehicles.If you have any questions or want more information, feel free to
contact me by e-mail. Also, checkout our website at:73, Cliff Murphy
KE7PHG
W7UQ SecretaryWe came away from Vandal Friday with some new perspectives. First, we noticed that few people wanted to talk to us. Most of the people who we talked to were brought to us by parents. Second, we noticed that many people confused Amateur Radio with Broadcast Radio. We explained a bit about Amateur Radio and what our club does, but visitors didn't seem interested - they wanted broadcast radio. Thirdly, the kids that we did talk to were shy, and it was difficult to get them to talk to us.
We have some strategies to improve future Vandal Friday events or other student club fairs. We need to break the stigma that Ham Radio is that old technology that somebody's uncle has in the corner of his garage, and show off some 'new' technologies and things that people wouldn't have imagined as being possible with this 'old' Ham Radio. For example, APRS, SSTV, Packet Radio, Satellite Communications, Moonbounce, etc. Basically anything that people wouldn't have imagined possible.
Vandal Friday Improvements:
- Show QSL Cards From Foreign Countries
- Perhaps Show APRS Off Again…have someone on campus transmiting
- Maybe Do Some SSTV Examples On Air…it's loud and gets attention
- Maybe Have a Progression Of Radio Exhibit…people will stop and look
- Show off digital modes…maybe even do tours of our shack
- Have Photos Of Our Event Participation…ie, upcoming Olympus Rally
We also need to keep an ear to the ground for other events and places to show off our club. For example Palousa Fest…or maybe just pick a day and set up at the Idaho Commons or Admin Building so people can watch us…or maybe even at Friendship Square…any place there are people, we should keep an open mind and try to get some attention to what we do. It would be even better if these gatherings could happen during contests of Field Days, etc.
We discussed other groups in the Moscow-Pullman area, and wanted to know the status of them and our current relationship with them. We would like to work with them to come up with events and activities that help promote Ham Radio locally. It can also provide us with better access to workshops that are of interest to Ham Radio Operators, and they can learn more about what we're working on.
Some Local Groups:
- Schweitzer Engineering ( Posted on Company Bulletin Board, Supportive )
- Palouse Hills ( Honorary Members, Attend Meetings, Good Participation )
- W7YH - WSU Amateur Radio Club ( Dismantled?, We Should Help WSU Hams )
- Moscow High School ( Currently Being Formed, Harry Is Helping Establish It )
- Lewiston-Clarkston Area ( Unknown, No Contacts or Information )
Next we had discussion on our access to the Steam Plant Roof. It is an important resource that our club continues to require access to. It allows us to check on the status of our equipment that is installed on the roof; without this access we cannot inspect and perform timely repairs on our club's equipment. It also allows us to perform radio experiments from a central location with good coverage. As a club we continue to be responsible on the roof and use a buddy system for safety. We recently discussed safety and our tower on the roof in another meeting, and found that we lack appropriate climbing equipment for it. Because of this we cannot have our members climb the tower at their convinience - it is irresponsible, and a liability. But, through the use of good judgement, we find general roof access to the Steam Plant is safe, and our access is necessary and something that our club can not give up.
Since this is probably our last meeting for this semester, we need to perform officer elections. We will do elections tonight, but they will not get their positions until the end of this current semester. They may work with current officers to ease into their positions. We also decided to consolidate our positions for next semester because our club does not have very many members.
Elections:
- President - <Cliff>
- Vice Pres / Treasurer - <Matt>, Harry
- Secretary / Website - <Jessica>
A good point was brought up during discussions regarding next semester. Our club needs to change the door combination for the summer. This can be handled during Dead Week.
The meeting was closed to continue discussion on items to include in our ASUI Spring 2008 Funding Request.
END.
W7UQ
Meeting Minutes April 2nd, 2008
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