Category: General updates

President’s Report

All,

As summer winds down, it means that our club’s main event of the year is just around the corner. Midwest Superfest 2022 is set for Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18th at the East Peoria Event Center, 4200 Washington Road. We look forward to seeing you next month, and hope to sign you up as a volunteer for an hour or two to make this one of the best hamfests in the area.

Volunteers make the difference: Putting on a hamfest is a major undertaking for any organization. Volunteers are the backbone of this event. We appreciate the long hours they put in not only on the weekend of the event, but in the planning and logistics process. They give of their time and purchase their own tickets to insure our success. We can’t thank them enough for their time and effort. To show our appreciation, all Superfest volunteers will get a free tee shirt. Volunteer sign up sheets will be available on line soon, but to make sure you get yours, please send you name and shirt size to me ASAP:  n9wx.ares@gmail.com 

Likewise, a special thanks to our Board of Directors, also volunteers, who oversee ther club’s operations, from Superfest, to Field Day, to educational and informative meetings, to license examinations and the day to day operations of our repeaters. Volunteers make the difference.

Repeaters: D-Star, Fusion and EchoLink require internet connectivity. We had an issue with our internet over the summer that was recently resolved. We are happy to report that EchoLink and D-Star are fully functional. Full Fusion operation will be coming soon.

Our repeaters are used a lot, and we want to make sure that they stay on the air to provide reliable service to the area. We made a couple of important decisions in order to insure our repeaters are there for you. We had hoped to move our repeaters this summer in order to improve service. To do it properly, we have to use experienced, insured tower climbers. Unfortunately, their availability is limited, and their prices are higher than we anticipated, so the Board decided to postpone this project for the time being. Because we rent tower space for each of our repeater antennas, we evaluated repeater usage and found that of our 2 D-Star repeaters, the UHF repeater had very little use, so we shut it down. This will reduce or total tower rent costs. The VHF D-Star repeater on 145.1050 will remain on the air.

I realize that we have talked about a lot of change here. Sometimes life is about change, and in this case it is positive change that will keep the Peoria Area Amateur Radio Club alive and well.

73,

Justin Flick, N9WX

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Meeting Minutes: Board of Directors

In attendance: Justin, Adam, Darren, Rob, Deb, Matt

7:07 p.m. July 7, 2022: meeting begins

Deb makes a motion to approve July Band Bits. Rob seconds. It
unanimously passes.

Darren bought 100 more stickers for the club.

TREASURER REPORT:
Savings: $235.31
Checking: $2,251.11 (had to pay Noize Communications,
equipment/liability insurance $723.38, Field Day $40.23, $12.04
refunded)
Money market: $8,395.27
Paypal: $147.14

SUPERFEST COMMITTEE:

• Deb picked up tickets last Friday and will invoice to John. Deb will
  bring tickets to the regular membership meeting for July. Adam will
  get Deb an updated copy of our membership list. People who aren’t at
  the meeting will have tickets mailed to them or will meet up with them
  later. Deb is also getting the raffle license signed and notarized.
• We got the contract from Three Sisters Park and they’d like us to
  pay the full deposit. Deb will ask if we can pay half of it now and
  the other half after SuperFest ($650-700 each time)
• For this year’s SuperFest, the A/C at our East Peoria location was
  supposed to be fixed this summer. Deb will check on if it actually
  happened.
• Deb will also follow up on our food truck situation. We should have
  permission, but will get it in writing. Scott was getting two food
  trucks AND a coffee truck reserved.
• Deb is working on getting our website opened for ticket sales and
  will have it done by the end of the weekend.

REPEATER COMMITTEE:

• Justin is waiting on a climbing quote for our repeater tower move.
  It’ll probably be around $4,000 for the job.
• We’re still not able to get Echolink back up because we can’t get
  access to the router that needs a firewall exception.
• But we’re ready to move our D-Star machine to Proctor once we have
  the tower climb completed.
• What are we paying Noize Communications for? Not sure! Will try to
  find out and see if that’s our obstacle with getting Echolink working
  again. (Will also see if we need to remove the Noize antenna during
  the tower work as well)
• Matt picked up a used laptop to get Fusion/Wires-X going at the fire
  station site.

OLD BUSINESS:

• Giant spool of coax was picked up from Neil and is being stored.
• Will check if we got registration taken care of…

Darren motions to finish, Deb seconds… meeting adjourns at 7:40 p.m.

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SuperFest

All club members have been mailed their tickets to buy or sell. If you do not receive your tickets by Friday August 5th, email Deb at WD9EB@arrl.net because either we don’t have an address listed for you or we don’t have you listed as paid for this year.

The next Superfest meeting will be on Thursday August 25th at 7:00pm. Location will be posted on our Facebook page.

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Peoria County ARES

August 3, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CDT on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater
August 10, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CDT on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater
August 17, Monthly Meeting at the Bunker @ 7:00 PM CDT

For those who have never seen the Bunker, here is your chance. This is a cold war era facility now equipped with a variety of public service radios and antennas. Call or email Rich if you need info on how to get to the Bunker. The tour will focus on our gear as-well-as that used for weather spotting, with a shorter than normal presentation.

Please submit your Training Documentation form – bringing to the meeting is an option.

ARES website: http://www.peoriacountyares.org/

Rich Holtman, KD9ANU, Emergency Coordinator for Peoria County ARES
email: kd9anu@arrl.net
Winlink: kd9anu@winlink.org
Cell: 309-256-4272

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July Net Logs

7/3
KD9ERS KD9PXZ K9FIT NM0O KD9JXR N9NDF W9WGN KB9ATO KD9IVV KD9AER N9GUE KB9TNZ KD9STL WW9DLM KD9RYH K9UQF WD9EGV N9GZ N9WFT K9HJZ K9TNT Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

7/10
K9XJT KD9ANU W9JDP KB9ATO K9TNT N9NDF KD9IBC W9WGN KD9AER KD9JXR KD9IVV KD9PXZ AA9MK W9SEB N9WFT WF9E N9GUE K9UQF N9SJZ K9FIT NM0O KB9TNZ KT9TB KD9RYH KD9QQU KD9SZZ W9WTF KD9NYE KD9STL Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

7/17
KD9ANU K9XJT W9JDP K9RCS W9WGN N9NDF W8NWG KD9JXR N9WFT NM0O W9SEB KD9IBC WW9DLM KD9AER N9GUE K9UQF KD9ERS WF9E K9HJZ KD9RYH KD9PXZ KB9TNZ KD9STL KB9ATO K9TNT Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

7/24
K9XJT KD9ERS W9JDP K9TNT W9TTX NM0O N9NDF KD9IBC KD9IVV W8NWG KD9PXZ K9RCS KD9AER W9WGN N9WFT KD9QQU N9GUE KD9JXR KD9MPI KT9TB K9UQF WD9EB KD9RYH KB9TNZ KB9ATO K9HJZ N0XOH Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

7/31
WD9EB KD9ANU NA9LE W9WTF KD9ERS N9GUE KC9IH KD9IBC N9NDF WF9E KD9JXR K9RCS W9WGN KD9IVV W8NWG KD9PXZ N9WFT KB9ATO K9HJZ KD9AER KD9QQU KD9RYH KD9NYE KB9TNZ K9UQF KD9STL KT9TB Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

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August Club Events

August 3 – 7:00 pm: ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater

August 4 – Board of Directors Meeting – Zoom

August 10 – ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater

August 11 – Membership Meeting – Satellite Communication using the Arrow antenna – Bartonville American Legion.

August 17 – 7:00 p.m. ARES Meeting at the Bunker

August 20 – FCC License Testing: Morton Knights of Columbus, 616 W. David Street, Morton, IL. FRN Required. Bring two forms of identification and a copy of your license (if upgrading). Testing Fee: $15.

August 25 – Superfest Meeting

President’s Report

Even though we got rained out and the gnats were bad, it was still a fun time at Field Day 2022. We had several people from a far away as Ohio stop and say hi. We even received a $20 donation from a non club ham just for thanking us for doing what we do.

Young Toni, K0TYT, Seth’s daughter made several contacts (click on the video link below). She even made one to Puerto Rico! Her mother got to get on the air for the first time in 8 years, she said.

Again, I want to thank those who helped set up and especially those who stuck it out during the rain to tear down.

Sorry to all those who wanted to come out Sunday, but it was just too much work to have to come back and set up again with the little sleep.

73! Justin N9WX

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=812904249589355

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Meeting Minutes: Membership

Justin introduces himself and Scott… other attendees take turns.

Motion to approve Bandbits … Tom first, Mark seconds. Unanimous approval

TREASURER’S REPORT:
$235.30 in savings
$3,072.09 in checking
$8,394.63 in money market
$98.75 in PayPal

Looking to move W9UVI repeater (075) from current location to Supreme
Radio tower in East Peoria. It’ll be at 300 feet in height, with
hopefully a better footprint. The owner of Midwest 2-way doesn’t want
to renew our lease and was going to raise our rent, so this is our
best option.

We’re permanently taking down the UHF D-Star repeater. Neither D-Star
system gets much use. Matt has set up an agreement to place the VHF
D-Star repeater on the top of Proctor Hospital. No tower rent! And
there’s already an antenna and internet access ($25/month).

At the Midwest site, we have intermod issues due to others on the
tower. And our antenna is only at 180 feet. The Proctor site is the
highest point on this side of the river in Peoria, says Tom. We’ve
also been having issues with network firewall problems that prevent
Echolink use.

The cost? $2,520 a year for five years at Supreme. After five years,
we have an option to renew at a 3% rate increase. Supreme Radio was
originally going to charge $3500/year for tower space, but we got that
down quite a bit.

Justin says we’re waiting to sign the contract because we don’t have a
climber available just yet… our first climber dropped out, this
second one is just busy. He was recommended by Craig Thompson – we
can’t just have any climber, as they must be insured and bonded. The
rate for a climber is usually $100/man/hr, but dropped to $85/man/hr
to help us out.

The new tower site is on Cole Hollow Road, near a church. We’ll have
24/7 access to the site, secured by a gate. There’s also a generator
there, although we already have battery backup. Internet access is
already out there.

Other towers we looked at were super expensive. The new site has been
approved by the board and some members, but Justin wanted to bring it
to all membership because of the time crunch: Our current lease is up
July 1 with Midwest. We may need volunteers to help move the repeater
when it’s time. We’ll only have 3 or 4 days notice to Supreme when a
tower climber is finally free.

We’re still okay with Bill, owner of Midwest 2-way… this is just a
financial decision. If we can’t get the repeaters moved, we’ll be able to work
month-to-month with Midwest.

Finally, there’s nothing 100 feet above or below on Supreme tower
that’s anywhere near the frequency range of our needs.

Any old or unfinished business? No.

FIELD DAY 2022:

• June 25/26 at Bartonville VFW in the back lot that we reserved
• Justin is bringing a generator and battery.
• We’re not going to contest seriously, but just out to have fun.
  Bring out your go rig. Bring chairs, drinks, etc.
• Not just about being on the air, either.. also about getting things
  set up and learning.
• Justin will be there 11:30ish on the day and will stay there the whole time.
• Will set up a couple of club stations (including a GOTA station),
  but feel free to bring your own.
• Don’t need to be licensed to come play
• 10×20 canopy for shade
• Will have access to restrooms out back

Scott says that this was going to be his last day as VP of the club.
When he does training, 3 or 4 people show up… just want to know that
people are interested in this stuff. He’s been frustrated with a lack
of interest. If wanting to do/learn something, please do let Scott
know! He’s trying to expand learning beyond voice-only ham activities.

If new to the hobby, we can help get you on the air! We have access to
our radio room at the Red Cross in Peoria and the equipment within.
Scott will meet anyone out at Jubilee State Park to do Parks on the
Air, etc.

There’s a suggestion from someone at the meeting to do a better job
promoting a willingness to train/teach/have fun during the Sunday
night nets. Or even announcing a single topic in advance that we’ll
talk about after the net. The audience is there.

7:45pm: Jim (KD9JDP) motions to end meeting, Jon (NM0O) seconds. All
in favor… the meeting has ended.

____________________________________________________

Peoria County ARES

July 6, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CDT on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater
July 12, Emergency Expo from 4-7 pm at the Grand Prairie Shopping Center
July 13, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CDT on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater
July 20, Monthly Meeting On-line @ 7:00 PM CDT (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.

Monthly Meeting will include a short update on Infrastructure activities but will focus on Training. Please submit your Training Documentation in advance of the meeting.

ARES website: http://www.peoriacountyares.org/

Rich Holtman, KD9ANU, Emergency Coordinator for Peoria County ARES
email: kd9anu@arrl.net
Winlink: kd9anu@winlink.org

____________________________________________________

June Net Logs

6/5
K9XJT KD9ANU W9JDP N9SJZ KB9ATO W9WGN W8NWG KD9JXR NK0O KD9IVV KD9AER N9WFT K9RCS KD9ERS K9UQF KD9QQU NA9LE K9HJZ KD9IBC WF9E KD9RYH KD9PXZ WW9DLM N9GUE K9TNT KB9TNZ KD9SZZ KD9STL Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

6/12
KD9ANU W9WTF W9JDP K9TNT N9NDF NM0O KD9NYE W9WGN KD9AER KD9IBC KD9PXZ N0XOH KD9JXR N9GUE KD9IVV KD9ERS N9WFT K9RCS NP2JW WF9E K9UQF KT9TB KD9HZZ K9QZ N9GZ KC9YTT KB9YVN KD9RYH KD9HZZ KB9ATO WW9DLM K9HJZ KD9STL KB9TNZ Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

6/19
K9TNT KD9SZZ W9WTF NM0O KB9ATO KD9NYE N9NDF KD9PXZ W8NWG KD9JXR N9WFT KD9QQU/AG KD9IVV KD9TAE N9GUE KD9MPI W9JDP WF9E K9RCS KB9TNZ K9HJZ KD9RYH NP2WJ K9XJT KD9ERS KD9STL W9SEB Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

6/26
N9WX KD9ANU JD9HZZ KD9SZZ K9TNT KB9ATO KD9IVV KD9AER K9RCS KD9PXZ N9WFT KD9IBC KD9VAM N9GUE KD9JXR K9XJT N9NDF NM0O K9HJZ WF9E KC9YTT WW9DLM KB9TNZ KD9QQU KD9STL KT9TB Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

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July Club Events

July 6 – 7:00 pm: ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater

July 7 – Board of Directors – Zoom

July 12 – 4-7 pm: Emergency Expo at the Grand Prairie Shopping Center. Contact Rich, KD9ANU for more information

July 13 – 7:00 pm: ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater

July 14 – Membership Meeting – details to be announced

July 20 7:00 p,m, ARES Meeting – via Zoom

July 28 – Superfest Meeting

President’s Report

All,

I think you will all agree that the last couple of years have been challenging. With pandemics, the economy, politics and world events, we have had to deal with uncertainties and change. Some people would say that life is all about change, and change is inevitable.

Our Club has had to deal with change as well. At one time, the W9UVI repeater was located on free tower space. The tower’s ownership changed and we had to move the repeater, resulting in a smaller coverage area and an annual rental fee. This is a challenge, since the 147.075 is one of the most used repeaters in the area.

The PAARC Board is taking positive steps to meet these challenges, among them making dramatic improvements to the 147.075 repeater’s location and coverage. Recognizing that free tower space is a thing of the past, the Board and several members polled have agreed to move the 075 repeater and to relocate and consolidate the D-Star repeaters.

Yes, this is change. In the long run, it will be positive change for the success and future of this club. The repeater will be moved to the Supreme Radio Communications tower in East Peoria. It will nearly double our antenna height to 300 feet (we are currently 180 feet). The move will also help with some internet problems we have had impacting EchoLink and Wires-X. The rent has been locked in for a five year contract which will help our budgeting process.

We currently operate two D-Star repeaters on VHF and UHF. They do not get much use, so we will consolidate and relocate to one repeater.

We will discuss all of this in detail at our upcoming June meeting at the Bartonville American Legion. We hope you attend and that you make your voice heard with your vote. We want to hear from you because this is YOUR CLUB!

Don’t forget Field Day June 25-26 at the Bartonville American Legion. We will post details on the website and Facebook. This month has also been declared “Amateur Radio Month in Illinois” by the Governor.

I hope to see everyone at the next Club Meeting on Thursday, June 9th.

Justin Flick – N9WX President PAARC

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Meeting Minutes: Board of Directors

7:03 p.m. call to order. Deb, Scott, Rob, Justin, Matt, Tom and Adam.

OLD BUSINESS:

Talked at the emergency executive board meeting last week that we need
to get tower climbs going. Craig talked to Supreme and they didn’t get
back; Justin will do as well, along with other places.

BandBits: Tom moves approval, Matt seconds. Motion passes.

TREASURER’S REPORT: The treasurer’s report is not available since John
isn’t in attendance.

REPEATER COMMITTEE: Matt has been sick and hasn’t been out to the
repeater site. May look into getting a second set of keys so Scott or
someone else can help with repeater issues as well.

SUPERFEST: Deb got the contract from Three Sisters for 2023. A few
things need to be discussed with them, but overall very happy with it.
$3500 annually… $1500 non-refundable deposit, with remaining $2000
prior to access. The contract is for five consecutive years through
2027, with an option to renew for another five years at a potentially
new rate. Three Sisters Park retains rights to concessions.

Tickets will go to RapidPrint for printing so we can have tickets by
the end of May.

Tom is still working on the SuperFest logo and details on signs.

NEW BUSINESS:

POTA is this weekend at Starved Rock. Justin is planning to get there
a little later at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Friday due to rain, but Darrin and
Rich will be there a few hours earlier.

7:20 p.m.: Meeting adjourns after Deb motions, everyone seconds.

____________________________________________________

Peoria County ARES

June 1, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CDT on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater 

June 8, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CDT on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater 

June 15, ARES On-line Conference @ 7:00 PM CDT (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 but is not limited to: a presentation on Emergency Communication Readiness.

ARES website: http://www.peoriacountyares.org/

Rich Holtman, KD9ANU, Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Peoria County ARES

email: kd9anu@arrl.net

Winlink: kd9anu@winlink.org

Cell: 309-256-4272

____________________________________________________

SuperFest

Superfest is fast approaching, we have our forums confirmed and we will soon be distributing tickets for sale. The June Superfest meeting will be held on Thursday June 30th at 7pm. It will be an in person meeting with the location to be announced.

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May Net Logs

5/1
W8NWG KD9ANU KC9IH K9HJ, K9XJT N9GUE K9TNT KD9SZZ N9NDF KB9ATO NM0O KD9JXR WF9E N9WFT W9JDP N9SJZ KD9XPZ KD9AER K9QZ K9UQF N9SJZ NP2WJ KB9TNZ KD9RYH KD9PXZ W9WGN KD9DBQ Submitted by KD9QQU 73

5/8
KD9ANU KD9AER KD9IVV W8NWG KD9PXZ W9JDP N9WFT KD9JXR K9HJZ N9GUE KD9NYE K9TNT KD9TAE KD9SZZ K9XJT KD9MPI N9GZ WD9EGV KD9ERS AD9DM K9CEW KD9TEG KD9RYH KD9STL KB9TNZ KD9NYI WF9E W9WGN Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

5/15
KD9ANU N9GUE W8NWG W9JDP W9FYR K9XJT N9NDF KD9IVV W9WGN KD9PXZ KD9JXR KD9IBC W9TTX KD9SZZ KB9ATO N9SJZ KB9ATO N9SJZ N9WFT KD9RYH K9RCS WW9DLM K9HJZ KD9ERS KT9TB KD9NYE NP2WJ KD9STL W9SEB KD9TEG KD9AER K9CEW Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

5/22
KD9ANU WD9EB W9JDP KD9SZZ NM0O W8NWG KD9PXZ WW9DLM KD9ERS W9WGN KD9JXR KD9AER K9XJT WF9E KD9MPI K9TNT N9GUE NP2WJ KD9STL KD9RYH KB9TNZ K9HJZ KD9IBC Submitted to KD9DBQ 73

5/29
N9WX KD9SZZ N9SJZ W9JDP N9NDF W8NWG KB9ATO WF9E KD9PXZ W9WGN KD9JXR N9GUE K9XJT KD9IVV K9HJZ KD9AER K9UQF KD9QQU K9TNT KD9STL KD9MPI KD9RYH N9CN N9IUA KD9ERS KD9NYE Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

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June Club Events

June 1 – 7:00 pm: ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater

June 2 – 7:00 pm: Board of Directors Meeting via Zoom.

June 9 – 7:00 p.m. Club Meeting – Bartonville American Legion – Repeaters.

June 18 – FCC License Testing: Morton Knights of Columbus, 616 W. David Street, Morton, IL. FRN Required. Bring two forms of identification and a copy of your license (if upgrading). Testing Fee: $15.

June 23 – 7:00 p.m. Superfest Meeting – Location TBA

June 25 – 26: ARRL Field Day – Bartonville American Legion.

President’s Report

April showers bring May Flowers. Let’s hope that we have pleasant weather for our Parks On The Air event that is fast approaching. I know I am excited to actually test my gear past the one-day mark. Again, this is a public event. May 6th through 8th. Check in is at 3pm on Friday and we will be wrapping up by 1pm on Sunday. Bring out your gear and have some fun! If you do not have any gear, there will be a GOTA or Get On The Air station set up. We will be using our own callsigns for the main event and the GOTA will be the Club call. If you want to grill out… There is a grill cover over the fire pit. Please bring all food/drinks/condiments you may want/need. Also, if you want to use charcoal… Bring that as well. There are primitive restrooms near the site.

My personal site is 033. Look for the Club POTA sign. We have a couple of members that have reserved spaces across the path from me and another that is next to me. We are going to be towards the back of the campground so hopefully we will not disrupt anyone. Please, always follow all rules and regulations of the park. I want this to be a magnificent event for everyone, not just us, but the public as well.

In other news: Field Day 2022 is booked at the American Legion in Bartonville! June 25th and 26th from 1200p Saturday to 1p Sunday. We will most likely be in the garaged area and have the back field opem for our antennas. Bathrooms will be open, but we’re unsure about concessions at this time.

As always, be weather aware for the next few months.

Justin Flick, N9WX
President PAARC 2022

____________________________________________________

Meeting Minutes: Board of Directors

Before the meeting…

From Thom Beebe, W9RY, Illinois section manager:

• will start sending us a new ham report with contact info that we can use to reach out to new possible members
• confirmed that we’ll host the Illinois division at the 2022 SuperFest and have officially expressed a desire for hosting both Illinois and Central divisions for the 2023 at Three Sisters Park. He’ll get back to us on the Central hosting.

7:15 p.m.: regular meeting portion begins…

We lost the Knights of Columbus testing site, but are now going to have exams in Hopedale at the Winter Field Day site.

Motion to approve April Bandbits… approved unanimously.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

• Deb will meet with John tomorrow to hand off deposits.
• Deb will email Adam with new members who sent in via snail mail… and Adam will update member roll in Google Drive.
• $875.15 in PayPal… will move $775 over to checking.
• CEFCU: $235.28 in savings, $2,683.99 in checking, $8,393.48 in money market
• Deb makes motion to approve report. John seconds. Motion carries unanimously.
• Deb asks if we have too much in checking and should move some to savings. Proposes $1000 in checking, $2000 in savings and the rest to money market. No vote taken on this.

Next club meeting is at American Legion in Bartonville. Scott has to join Sons of the American Legion for $40/year to have free use of the facilities during the year. They would also like us to do classes for their members and have testing sessions held there. Justin makes motion to pay Scott’s membership fee of $40. Tom seconds and the membership approves unanimously.

REPEATER COMMITTEE REPORT:

• Justin will reach out about the third antenna on the tower… will likely have to get it removed ourselves with a climber. (Scott will find out if Civic Center riggers can do the work with proper
  insurance.)
• Matt reports that they have internet installed for the .85 repeater. He’ll go out and get it set up for Fusion use.

We apparently didn’t send in our not-for-profit paperwork to the Secretary of State’s office last year, so we’ll need to get it reinstated. John asks if we filed our state tax info last year… uncertainty among group if we’ve done that recently. Could be why our corporation was dissolved? Deb will get with John on the letter we received and try to get things squared away.

SUPERFEST REPORT:

• Deb would like to pay the deposit and sign a contract to make it official where we’ll be for SuperFest in 2022. Thinks deposit is $500? Whole thing at $1450, which is $1000 off from last year due to broken A/C. Motion to do so… approved.
• Three Sisters is working on our contract for 2023. $2500 was the original spending plan, but haven’t heard if approved yet. They’ll be doing concessions, not us. We’ll be using the chapel for forums. For the museum, we’ll use one room for testing if need be. Campground will
  be for the flea market. The old event manager died of a heart attack, so we have a new one now (his niece.)
• John suggests a place in Morton that loans out skinny orange cones to help label the different sections for the flea market. Matt says that we have a bunch of the shorter cones. John says that the taller ones are free, but we just need to reserve them… he’ll check and see if any are available that aren’t reserved for Pumpkin Fest.
• Matt has prize letters ready to go out, so will start on that in the next couple of weeks.
• Deb will mock up tickets, send out for approval, then give to Rapid Printing for a quote (they beat other options last year by a lot.) John does mention a ticket printing website as an alternative option (raffletickets.com)
• Trying to figure out where to have the next Super Fest meeting…

Adam mentions that he changed w9uvi.org from HTTP to HTTPS (SSL secure) and did some other behind-the-scenes work to make our website a little faster. Deb mentions wanting to change the website theme, so will plan a time to discuss in the future.

Deb will try to stop by the Red Cross and take the silent key plaque off of a door in the radio room… Fritz and Ron aren’t on there. Will get their names added along with a couple other former members. Will also check on the status of using the building in the future… will table any formal discussion until we have a chance to check out the American Legion facilities. Scott asks for access to the radio room and Justin will make that happen.

Deb asks where we’ll have summer Field Day in two months. If American Legion is available, we’ll book it (motion by John, membership passes.) Beyond our canopy and such, they also have a giant pavilion that could be used on-site.

Meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m.

Meeting Minutes: Membership

4/247:13p meeting begins

Justin makes introductions and everyone attending takes a turn.

Band Bits from last month? Rob motions, Matt seconds. Approved.

On May 3, Matt is meeting Russ at the repeater site; will take a
laptop out to set up WIRES-X.
EchoLink should be working fine on the .075 repeater.

As of April 7, treasury report
$235.28 in savings
$2683.9 in checking
Deb pulled envelopes from our PO BOX, along with several new memberships.
$155/6 years for use of the American Legion
Deb accepts report, Scott seconds. All in favor and it passes.

SuperFest report:
It’s the third weekend in September and has been renamed Midwest
Superfest since it is no longer in Peoria.

Next year will be the first year out at Three Sisters Park.
Deb is meeting tomorrow to hand over a check for $1000 for this year’s
East Peoria site.

She’s still waiting on the contract from Three Sisters for 2023.
This year, the club will host the Illinois ARRL section conference.
Next year, we will do Illinois again AND have asked to host the
Central division.

Matt is working on prizes already.
Scott will do a satellite demonstration at Superfest. And other
members will do sessions as well.

Will host SuperFest meeting at 7pm in two weeks on Zoom. If you have
any ideas for Superfest, let the committee know.

No old business.

New business:
Thinking of having Field Day at American Legion. Just need to check
the date to see if it’s available. There’s a pavilion with garage doors available, bathrooms, and a field out back. John has motion to host it at the Legion, Rob seconds, all approve.

Mother’s Day weekend is Parks on the Air at Starved Rock. Three spots
already booked for camping, maybe more (may be some extra space
available from members). If anybody wants to come for the day, they’re
welcome to join. Details will be on website/social, but Friday 3 pm
until around 3pm on Sunday.

Don’t think alcohol is technically allowed out there… wink wink.

Rich says that if you’re interested in all things emergency, there’s a
big event at Grand Prairie (Emergency Expo) with departments showing off their gear:
July 12 at 4:30pm.

At 7:34pm, Rich moves to adjourn, Jim seconds… the business portion
is over. Scott begins his presentation on OpenSpot.

____________________________________________________

Peoria County ARES

May 4, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CST on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater
May 11, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CST on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater
May 19, ARES Monthly Meeting @ 7:00 PM CDT – Bartonville American Legion Hall, 4501 S. Airport Road, Bartonville IL, 61607. This is a Thursday, rather than a Wednesday. No Zoom.

If coming from Peoria, continue south through the 4-way stop at Limestone High School. Take the second entrance (near the jet aircraft) for the Legion building, then come inside on the south side of the building.

The monthly meeting agenda is To Be Determined (TBD). Come and find out. I hope to make it interesting and informative.

ARES website: http://www.peoriacountyares.org/

Rich Holtman, KD9ANU, Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Peoria County ARES

____________________________________________________

SuperFest

The May Superfest meeting will be Thursday May 26th, location to be determined. Midwest Superfest 2022 will also be hosting the ARRL Illinois Convention and for our forums we are planning to highlight different contact modes. We have confirmed a satellite demonstration and a WinLink demonstration. We would like to have other modes, like FT8, EchoLink, DMR, RTTY or PSK31. If anyone would like to volunteer to do a presentation on one or more of these modes it would be appreciated, just let Deb (wd9eb@arrl.net) know.

____________________________________________________

April Net Logs

4/3
N9WX KD9ANU W9JDP K9QZ KD9IBC K9TNT KD9PXZ N9NDF NM0O KD9JXR KD9NYE KD9SZZ N9GUE W8NWG KD9IVV N9WFT KB9SF KD9ERS W9SEB K9RCS K9CEW KD9STL KD9RYH K9HJZ WF9E K9UQF WW9DLM W9WGN K9XJT WB4GLM W9TTX KB9ATO KD9SPJ KD9QQU N9GZ KT9TB KC9IH Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

4/10
W9WTF KD9ANU KD9IBC K9RCS K9HJZ W9JDP K9TNT N9SJZ N9NDF KD9PXZ W8NWG KD9SZZ KB9ATO KD9JXR W9TTX N9WFT WW9DLM KD9NYE KD9QQU NM0O KB9SF N9GUE WF9E K9XJT KC9IH K9RYH KD9STL W9SEB N9GZ KD9ERS K9CEW K9QZ KB9TNZ Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

4/17
W9WTF KD9ANU KC9IH K9HJZ W9JDP W8NWG K9RCS KD9IBC KD9ERS KD9SZZ KD9PXZ KD9NYE KB9ATO NM0O KD9JXR K9XJT W9SEB KD9IVV N9GUE K9TNT WF9E N9NDF WW9DLM KD9AER KD9TEG NP2WJ KD9STL K9CEW KD9RYH Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

4/24
KD9ERS W9JDP KD9IBC KC9IH K9XJT K9HJZ W8NWG N9GUE KD9PXZ N9NDF KD9IVV KD9AER NM0O KD9MPI W9WGN KD9JXR KB9ATO K9QJ N9WFT K9RCS KD9QQU N9SJZ KD9TEG K9UQF WF9E KD9NYE KD9SZZ W9SEB K9TNT Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

____________________________________________________

May Club Events

May 4 – 7:00 pm: ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater

May 5 – 7:00 pm: Board of Directors Meeting via Zoom.

May 6-8 – Parks On The Air (POTA) camping trip/activation: Starved Rock State Park. Contact Justin, N9WX (site 33) for details.

May 11 – 7:00 pm: ARES Net – 146.075 Repeater

May 12 – 7:00 p.m. Club Meeting – CANCELLED

May 19 – THURSDAY: ARES Meeting.  This will be live, in-person, at the Bartonville American Legion, 4501 S. Airport Road, Bartonville IL, 61607

May 26 – 7:00 pm: Superfest Meeting – location TBA

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

____________________________________________________

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.

____________________________________________________

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

____________________________________________________

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.

____________________________________________________

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

____________________________________________________

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.