Keeping Amateur Radio Fun!
KØARF
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Meeting Minutes

Saturday 5 May 2001
Saturday 7 April 2001
Saturday 3 March 2001
Saturday 3 February 2001
Saturday 6 January 2001
Saturday 30 December 2000
  1. The FCC has taken on action on our license application.
  2. Splitrock certificates were handed around for final inspection. As of today Jan. 4 all certificates have been mailed out. Great job Charlie.
  3. The MN QSO Party is Feb. 3. Lee will be defending champion of the multi-single category. Mike and Scott are planning a mobile entry. Scott brought out some county maps and we talked strategy. Contact one of us if you wish to participate; we'll share information.
  4. Conversation took a detour and we talked about the tunnels under Pantown and the bridge to nowhere in Milwaukee.
  5. March 3 is the ARRL International DX SSB Contest. There was only one entry from North Dakota last year. Two months is too short a time to plan out a DXpedition, but there is next year.
  6. Lee's in-laws will be hosting us April 14 this year. That's only 40 miles from Wahpeton, ND. One or two of us will drive over to check it out for the future.
  7. CW practice net is scheduled for Thursdays at 7 PM at 3.705 MHz. And maybe Tuesday, too.
  8. Next Meeting Feb. 10. Nobody has volunteered to host yet.
Saturday 2 December 2000
  1. No license yet. The FCC sent back the application for lack of a club ID number. Application was re-mailed with proper ID. We'll see what happens.
  2. VHF contesting was discussed. Scott had an annual list from CQ VHF. ARRL VHF Sweepstakes is January 20-21, 2001. No plans were made to operate.
  3. Charlie mentioned Finger Hut has a 5000 watt generator for $350. Briggs and Stratton 10 horse engine. Talk to Charlie if interested.
  4. MN QSO Party, February 3, 2001. A ten hour contest. Lee will be multi-single from his house; Mike and Scott will try mobile.
  5. Sweepstakes review: Chirharts had a run going on 15 meters using a loop antenna. Lee ran a multi-single from his house. Suggestions for next year and other contests.
    • Second radio, receive only for spotting multipliers.
    • Getting all operators familiar with logging software, many problems here (Scott pleads guilty).
    • An overall Battle Plan is needed to know when to change bands and where to operate.
  6. Paul has a contact name for a possible Superior ship operation.
  7. Jeff has a 1973 Starcraft tent camper for sale. Good canvas, heater and stove. $1500.
  8. Charlie says certificates are in the works.
Meeting ended at 1:45pm
Saturday, 4 November 2000
Keeping Amateur Radio Fun
Meeting started at 12 noon at Paul And Debbie Ward's house.

1. Adopt club name and call. We decided to change the name of the club to -something- Amateur Radio Fun. Calls WØARF and KØARF are both available. Wardens of A.R.F. in the Shadow of Stillwater State Correctional Facility was too long, We Have A.R.F. too exotic (WHØARF), Keeping A.R.F. seems to fit - it's a keeper. Call KØARF will be applied for this week.

2. Report on CQWW. Ralph has sent out the summaries, 1700 plus qso's, 161 DXCC entities, DXCC on 10 & 15 & 20 meters, about 2.7 Million points. Way Cool! Three problems were discussed.
Most important: Out Of Band Transmissions. For Techs who haven't memorized them, and the rest of us when we go brain dead, we need a Band Plan Chart at every operating station. Cheap photocopies so we can scribble in notes for different operations: Nets to avoid. Set operating frequencies. No contesting zones.
Over Modulation. The only cure seems to be experience and practice. Do we need a little note on the radio: DON'T SHOUT! Speak Clearly ;-)
In Shack QRM. Separation of operating stations was discussed, but not always practical. Headphones helped in past operations, is there room for improvement? Still looking for solutions.

3. Logging Software. Write-Log saved the day for CQWW when problems came up with CT and the number of ports available. Others brought up: TR. Logic5. DXBase2001. DX4Win. Log Windows. ProLog 2000. And of course good old Log-EQF. DOS based software for portable operation when using old (disposable?) computers was talked about.

4. Station Grounding. Several styles were talked about. Lee uses one inch wide tinned copper braid. Paul uses eight gage stranded copper wire. Scott uses coax with capacitors connecting the center and shield at both ends. We all agreed there should be a single path to ground and short leads to the bus bar.

5. Next DXpedition. Lots of ideas here: Central MN Chess Tournament end of Jan. Field Day, June. Fergus Falls in April. VFH Party, Jan. Fish House operating. Kids Day Jan 6. Lighthouse Day - Split Rock or elsewhere. And Sweep Stakes Phone at Lee's place. This was the only definite outing planed. Paul suggested operating from an ore boat on its way across Lake Superior. This sounds really cool. Think of all the rare grid squares. Paul is the Big Kahuna for this one.

Field Day again. The group is split, some want a FD in the field and others will work with WØSV. WØSV will be at the clubhouse this year. Paul suggested Mississippi River Park north of Sartell, it's a county park and has group camp sites.

We finished up at 2:15 pm. And spent the next hour playing with Paul's radio. Neat stuff Paul.
Monday, October 2, 2000
Meeting brought to order by Scott, KAØDAQ at 7:02 PM.

1. Splitrock Lighthouse. Huge success. Items we could have used: Common power hook-ups. Grounding system. Eyeball QSO cards. QSL album. Better maps. Generator. Can we improve antennas? More separation. Verticals on masts. Better Public Relations. Notices to magazines and websites. Identify members: Hats, T-Shirts. Name tags. Designated member to answer questions for visitors. Analyze publicity for coming events.

2. Goals. Get together and have fun. Improve operating skills. Activities: Special events. Some contesting. County hunters net. Three DX-peditions per year. Keep It Simple, Make It Fun.

3. Ideas for DX-peditions
  • International Peace Gardens - N.D. in early July
  • Pioneer Park - Annandale
  • County Hunters Net
  • Mountain Top VHF - Anderson Hill, Lake Maria St. Park
  • UHF-VHF contest - roving station
  • South Breakwater Lighthouse - Duluth, MN
  • DX on a boat - /MM
  • IOTA - Islands On The Air.
4. Club Callsign. Charlie, KØSV and Scott, KAØDAQ will choose call from final list and make application.

5. Regular Meetings. 1st Saturday of the month - noonish. Next meeting - Nov. 4 at the Ward's house.

6. Constitution. It was decided at this point no constitution is needed. We will continue with an informal structure.

7. MWA Membership. Lee - WBØTRA, Charlie - KØSV, and Mike - WØMRD have joined - other members are still undecided - Lee recommends joining.

Adjourned at 8:16 PM. Notes taken by Debbie - KC8JRG
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Copyright © 2002, KØARF.
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