President’s Report
Greetings, Fellow Club Members!
March came in like a lamb and is going out like a lion. Let us hope for pleasant weather for our club meeting on the 14th of April. The tentative plan is to meet in person. The program is going to be covering the OPENSPOT3 and Satellite modes of communication. We hope to do demonstrations and to make contacts via the OPENSPOT and Satellite. The location of the meeting is still being determined, but it will likely be in Bartonville.
As a reminder:
We have a Testing Session on Saturday the 16th of April 2022. Hope to see all of Deb’s students out to test. New persons who come out and get at least their Tech license will be offered the rest of the year Membership Free! If you would like to join the club, please contact a board member and we will get you taken care of.
May is coming up Fast! Our PARKS ON THE AIR event is May 6-8th, 2022 at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. Several members of the Club and myself are going to be camping at the park and making as many contacts as possible. There is still a short amount of time left to get a spot next to the 3 that we have already. This is a Semi Public Event! Everyone from the Club (family/friends included) are welcome to come out and play. You will be responsible for all food/drinks/chairs etc. We are limited to 20 people at one time. No alcohol is permitted, and the Quiet Hours will be observed. I will be at the campgrounds around 3PM on Friday. Checkout is 3PM Sunday.
One last reminder: Superfest will be here before you know it. We need all the help we can get to make this year at least as good, if not better than last. Superfest meetings are open to all members who would like to help or have ideas. Contact Deb KD9EB for details.
I want to say Thank You to all of the members who have paid your dues. Without your help from dues… we cannot continue as a club. I hope that we are keeping your interest peaked. Please let me or a board member know what you would like to learn about. What events would you like to do?
73, Justin N9WX
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Meeting Minutes: Board of Directors
No Board meeting this month due to lack of a quorum.
Meeting Minutes: Membership
7:02pm meeting begins with Justin calling it to order.
Motion to accept Bandbits as posted online… Tom and Mark. Motion carries by all.
Treasurer’s report was presented and approved.
Motion to accept … Mark and Tom. Motion carries.
SuperFest meeting coming up on March 24th. Anybody and everybody is welcome to come help.
Feedline (hardline) from old repeater site needs to be stored somewhere. The coil is 4.5 to 5.5 feet in diameter, so needs a bit of space.
Rich asks if we’d talked in the past about not publishing our treasury numbers in a public forum. Thinks it should be resolved… by people actually attending the meetings. Rich makes motion to not publish financial details in Bandbits. K9RCS seconds…. motion carries.
Rich also asks about a donation of $1000 sometime in the past that was in someone’s will (Al?)… did we ever get it? It was a letter from an estate’s lawyer. Deb says that we did get it 2.5 years ago.
Next board meeting, there will be a short presentation about state/regional affiliation for upcoming SuperFests.
K9RCS asks how many members we have. Justin says 30-35 members are paid up on dues. Will get Adam a member list via Google Drive soon.
Scott (K9XJT) starts presentation on OpenSpot3 by SharkRF. Unfortunately, a firmware update bricked his device – but is a trooper and carries on.
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ARES News
Note time change for the ARES Net, no longer at 8:00 PM, going forward to be at 7:00 PM.
April 6, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CST on the 075 repeater
April 13, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CST on the 075 repeater
April 20, ARES On-line Conference @ 7:00 PM CST (Watch your email for Zoom conference info)
Call or email Rich if you are not on the ARES Roster and desire to join the Zoom Conference.
On-Line Conference Agenda includes: ARES Local Parks On The Air, Weather Spotting, Training, Winlink News, Antenna of the Month, Upcoming RATPAC Sessions, Help Wanted, & More!
ARES website: http://www.peoriacountyares.org
Rich Holtman, KD9ANU, Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Peoria County ARES
email: kd9anu@arrl.net
Winlink: kd9anu@winlink.org
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SuperFest
The April Superfest meeting will be held on Thursday, April 28th at 7:00pm, please use the link on the Club meeting page to join.
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March Net Logs
3/6
KD9ERS KD9ANU K9HJZ KD8SZZ W9DAY KC9IH NM0O KD9IBC K9RCS W9JDP N9NDF KD9PXZ KD9IVV KD9JXR KB9ATO KD9AER W8NWG N9GUE KD9NYE KD9RJH N9WFT KD9QQU K9CEW WF9E K9UQF K9XJT W9WGN KD9HZZ KD9QQT KD9RYH WW9DLM NP2WJ KD9STL Submitted by KD9DBQ 73
3/13
K9XJT KD9ANU KD9SZZ N9WX KD9IBC W9SEB KC9IH KD9AER W9JDP K9TNT KD9IVV KD9PXZ N9NDF KB9ATO W9TTX NM0O W8NWG KD9JXR W9WGN K8JLX9JLX K9RXS KD9ERS WF9E KD9STL N9WFT N9GUE K9UQF WW9DLM KC9YTT K9CEW NP2WJ KD9TAE KD9QQU KT9TB KD9RYH KD9RJH KD9MPI KD9SPJ NA9LE Submitted by KD9DBQ 73
3/20
AD9I/SK WD9EB KD9ANU KD9IBC N9WX W8NWG K9HJZ KC9IH W9JDP KD9SZZ KD9NYE K9XJT N9GUE N9NDF KD9PXZ KD9JXR W9TTX NM0O W9WGN K9CEW KD9ERS N9WFT KD9IVV KB9ATO W9SEB KD9UIM K9UQF KD9STL K9RCS KD9TEG KD9QQU KD9RJH KD9SPJ Submitted by KD9DBQ 73
3/27
KD9ANU K9XJT KD9IBC KB9SF W9JDP N9SJZ KD9IVV KB9ATO W9WGN W9TTX KD9PXZ KD9ERS NM0O N9GUE K9HJZ KD9JXR W8NWG N9WFT K9RCS W9SEB WW9DLM KD9QQU KD9STL NP2WJ WF9E KD9SZZ KD9SPJ KD9TAE KC9IH KD9LSV Submitted by KD9DBQ 73
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April Club Events
April 6 – 7:00 pm: ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater
April 7 – 7:00 pm: Board of Directors Meeting via Zoom.
April 13 – 7:00 pm: ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater
April 14 – 7:00 pm: Club Meeting – openSPOT3 internet gateway demonstration at the Bartonville American Legion, 4501 S. Airport Rd., Bartonville. Restaurant and Bar will be open.
April 16 – Noon: License Testing, CHANGE OF LOCATION: Hopedale Community Center, 101 SE Main St., Hopedale, IL. LAST CHANCE BEFORE NEW LICENSE FEES GO INTO EFFECT.
April 20 – 7:00 pm: ARES Meeting on ZOOM
April 28 – 7:00 pm: Superfest Meeting via ZOOM
Looking Ahead: May 6-8 – Parks On The Air (POTA) camping trip/activation: Starved Rock State Park. Contact Justin, N9WX for details.