Meeting opened at 7:10PM.
Tom, K1TW, asked about new attendees. Mike, KC1DKT announced he was a first time attendee. Henry, WA1VAB, stated he is a CW lover and can copy 80WPM!
Niece, KA1ULN, mentioned her 10M CW Net. Friday, 8:30PM Eastern, 28.080. All hams are encouraged to check into this ten meter cw net.
Tom, K1TW, mentioned the Northern California CW Beacon Network. Each beacon transmits on each of 5 bands (20,17,15,12,and 10) for 10 seconds every 3 minutes, 24 hours a day. Tom encouraged all to try hearing the stations to see if the bands are open. Full details about this network are at http://www.ncdxf.org/pages/beacons.html
A mini-auction was proposed for the end of the meeting, with Niece, KA1ULN, offering miscellaneous equipment, and Jim, N1HTS, offering some Tuna-Tin-2 style kits.
Tom, K1TW, recounted topics from the Board meeting of 1/28/17, particularly that BARS is about:
– help with getting-on-the-air
– education
– training
– friendly mentoring
– and a general interest club.
Tom, K1TW, brought up proposed plans for Field Day 2017 with a BARS station/presence this year. The group discussed ideas about sites, possible class (Niece wants the Club to do QRP battery power for 10x points per QSO), and the need for a Chair. Andy, KA1GTT, stated that he would look into the possibility of using the Middlesex County 4-H Fairgrounds in Westford. (Later, he discovered that it is already booked and also that the price is $500/day.)
Tom said the next meeting (3/1/17) would feature W1UE’s presentation of his tour of Asia.
Jim, N1HTS, Acting Treasurer, gave his report. The PO Box bill was paid. The Paypal account contains $567.19. Tom, K1TW, reported that the small profit (~$7) from the Holiday Dinner would be rolled into the treasury or donut fund. (A donation cup for donuts was posted. Jay, AI1EE, picked up donuts and coffee for the Meeting.
There was no VE report.
The success of the Stelio’s weekly breakfast and Wednesday W1HH nets were lauded.
Formal meeting business was finished and Andy, KA1GTT, gave a talk on “The Care and Feeding of Bugs” (semi-automatic keys) with live demos and audio clips. Andy’s presentation has been posted to w1hh Yahoo group for all to see: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/W1HH/files/Presentations/BUGS_KA1GTT.pdf
Note, Andy has updated the presentation with a few new points and saved it as a PDF for size/compatibility.
After the presentation, the mini-auction was held. Approximately $16 was raised for the treasury (Niece declined to take a share of the proceeds.) Jim’s items did not sell so they remain available by contacting Jim directly.
Meeting adjourned before 9:30.
Andy Wallace
KA1GTT
BARS Secretary
