NOTICE: WE ARE MEETING AT THE RED CROSS ON UNIVERSITY AVE ON JAN 9 2015 The December 2015 meeting of the Northeast Iowa Radio Amateur's Association (NIRAA) was called to order on December 12, 2015 by Mark Colby (N8TWO). There were 14 in attendance this evening, listed below. We had planned to meet at the EoC, but due to facility access problems, we relocated at the last minute to the Red Cross on University Ave. November's meeting did not have a quorum, October's minutes were not accepted at that time. October's meeting minutes were approved as emailed, N0TKC/AE0TB Treasurer's report was $925.51 in the general account, accepted N0ZYC/N0TKC OLD BUSINESS ------------ No change in dues, please submit dues to our new treasurer, Dave Knittel The 440.97 repeater was discussed, along with expenses in maintenance and upgrades made by Chris (N0CF), he estimates about $1000 invested at this time. (in addition to his personal time working on the gear) Motion was made to begin reimbursement for expenses, in the amount of $500, approved. (NK0T / W0HHF) Elmers - no progress from Curt 60+ scouts etc showed up at the Jambouri over at Ingawanus and Hawkeye college. Mark (N8TWO) presented and Nathan (N0ZYC) hosted a small foxhunt on campus for interested scouts and company. The 2015 Christmas party was well-received, however, everyone was in agreement with Taryn's suggests to try to find "better than HyVee but cheaper than Brown Bottle" for next year, and she has volunteered to scout for an alternative for next year's venue. Motion to form a committee for christmas party 2016 (N0ZYC / W0VJB) New Business ------------ Winter field day - no club members were interested in participating so NIRAA won't be sponsoring a winter field day event this year. VE testing will be held on Feb 20 at the Cedar Falls Public Library. (all four regularly scheduled tests will be held there) Contact Chris (N0CF) as far in advance as possible if you would like to test. We are expecting to resume meetings at the Red Cross as of January, but this is being determined on a month-to-month basis. Board met and discussed numerous topics before the meeting this evening, and one thing discussed was ideas for meeting presentations. Ideas discussed: jan radio show off (open participation) feb logging and logbook software (N8TWO? N0CF?) mar crimp coax and powerpole (AE0TB) apr contesting may mobile installation (N0ZYC) june field day prep ??? DMR radio The idea was to plan presentations more than a month or two in advance to insure we always have a program. Many members are sporting the Tytera MD380 radio, which has turned out to be a very popular HT. It's digital/analog, but is not dual-band. ("fusion" digital protocol) Unfortunately, the club's digital radio is on UHF and the main voice repeater is on VHF, so users have to make a choice for now between the two bands. Everyone seems to be getting the UHF one though for the obvious digital access, but that means carrying something else as well if you want to use the VHF 94. They've been showing up on ebay in both UHF and VHF models for as low as $130 new in box, with programming cable. For now, we're recommending purchase of the UHF model, make sure you check that if you order one. NIRAA Membership dues for 2016 are being accepted by Dave (K0CQH) our new treasurer, he can be reached by email, on the club repeater, or in person at club meetings. Dues are $20/yr, and spouses are covered. You might also want to renew your ARRL membership at this time. Motion to adjourn (N0ZYC / W0ALO ) CALENDAR -------- Regular events: - ARES net check-in is at 9pm every Sunday night, on 146.94/34 - hams meet informally at 9am every Monday morning at HyVee on University Ave - hams meet informally at 12pm every Tuesday for Taco Tuesday at Taco John on University Ave - Iowa Digital Net runs every Tues night at 7pm on 3572.5 / 3574 ctr USB Upcoming Events: - NIRAA VE testing scheduled for Feb 20 at CF Public Library - license classes are being held in Jan and Feb on Thursday evenings, check the calendar at http://www.w0mg.net/ for dates and contact information - VE sessions from the Benton County Repeater Association are underway also. Sessions are held at the Newhall City Park Pavilion located at the corner of 3rd Ave and 3rd street, in Newhall Iowa. Jan 28, Feb 25, March 24, Apr 28, May 26 Registration time for each event will begin at 5:00 PM, contact Butch, W0WDF on the 145.230 repeater. He can also be reached at bfaulk@fmtcs.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The NIRAA club meets on the 2nd Saturday of every month in the basement of the Red Cross building (2530 University Ave) in Waterloo. Anyone interested in ham radio is welcome to attend. Our primary club repeater is on 146.94 mhz, negative offset, PL tone of 136.5 hz, with coverage centered in Black Hawk County. Officers may be contacted over the air or via email: President, Mark Colby, N8TWO, pres(a)w0mg.net Vice President, Curtis Wilson, NKØT, vp(a)w0mg.net Secretary, Nathan Fisher, NØZYC, sec(a)w0mg.net Treasurer, Dave Knittel, K0CQH, treas(a)w0mg.net Director, Chris Conklin, NØCF, dir1(a)w0mg.net Director, Stan Johnson, WØSJ, dir2(a)w0mg.net Director, Tom Bicket, AEØTB, dir3(a)w0mg.net - Nathan Fisher Secretary, W0MG You're receiving these meeting minutes because you have given the NIRAA club your email address for minutes or announcements. If you no longer wish to receive email, please reply requesting removal from one or both distribution lists. December's attendance, per sign-in sheet: N0ZYC Nathan Fisher AE0TB Tom Bicket W0VJB Vicki Bicket N0TKC Taryn Colby W0UNI Bob Decker W0HHF Dick Nelson NK0T Curt Wilson KE0DIG Harold Lucas W0GEN William Dedic N8TWO Mark Colby W0ALO Chuck Angel K0CQH Dave Knittel KE0GYC Jacob Lee AD0KR Chris Thatcher