Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association
Board Meeting
Minutes

1)  Call to Order

Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)called to order the board meeting of the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association, Inc at 13:07 EDT (17:07 UTC) on July 18, 2021, on ZOOM.  A quorum was present with 7 board members.

2)  Old Business

a)    Repeater status and connections – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)

The voter system is still on hold due to roof work on JKV. Joe McGee (NX4T) was asking if we could link the UHF and VHF repeater at the JKV. Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) is not sure if it is possible but will investigate it. All repeaters are working as expected.

Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) will not be the trustee for the Palmetto Club since the FCC rejected him. FCC has a new regulation the prohibits being Trustee for more than one club.

b)   Mike’s Electronics

Mike’s Electronics offered the club an antenna at his cost and the club could use it on JKV. Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) told Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) to find out what the price was and asked Erik Olmer (W4EJO) to cut a check. The price for the antenna is $450.00. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) made a motion to approve the purchase of the antenna, Jeff Stahl (K4BH) second the motion. Motion passed without objection.

Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) will investigate if we can get the new antenna up on JKV before we need it to store it for future use, whatever that use may be.

Mike’s Electronics will also donate cables and an interface. Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) will get the items and store them for the club.

c)    Meetings in Person

Jeff Stahl (K4BH) is not sure how the school would react at this time to bring a new organization into the school due to the new COVID cases. He will talk to the school about this once the public health situation has improved.

d)   Next Club Dinner

The next dinner is scheduled for September 18, 2021. The owner of Wings Plus would like us to move the meeting to Sunday since that is a better day for the restaurant. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will send out a poll asking the members whether they would like to do the dinner or not due to the current situation with COVID. Joe McGee (NX4T)

e)    Joe McGee (NX4T) — HF Station

Joe McGee (NX4T) has nothing new to report on the HF station. Use has not picked up yet. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) made the argument that what is enough usage regarding keep sending emails or maintaining the website. Emails have a very low open rate, and our website barely gets any traffic. Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) commented that this may be due to the advanced age of our club members, and we need younger members. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) mentioned that the HF station could be advertised more and used to attract younger members. Jeff Stahl (K4BH) added that new HAMs often don’t upgrade their technician license because they say they can’t use HF. The remote station could encourage them to upgrade.

f)     Membership Dues – Policy on Effective Date

Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will work on new wording for when membership will start. Joe McGee (NX4T) made the motion to change the start of membership to the month when it was first paid. Second by Jeff Stahl (K4BH). Motion passed without objections.

g)   Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) — Echo Link

Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) will install Echo Link at JKV and hook it up to the .610 repeater. The project with David Warner did not come to realize due to disagreements on the terms.

h)   Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) — WinLink

Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) has started cleaning his laptop which he will donate to the club for use with WinLink. Nothing else has happened yet due to a lack of time.

3)  Jesse Shannon — Recommended for Lifetime member

Erik Olmer (W4EJO) suggested Jesse Shannon as a Lifetime member due to the large number of donations he gave. Joe McGee (NX4T) will talk to Jesse Shannon before we move on with that decision to let him know that his donation towards the HF Project may not be used for a while and if he wishes the club will refund his donation. Contingent on this conversation we will announce in the next General Meeting his Lifetime Membership

4)  Board Slate for October

All current board members are agreeing to stay on the slate.

5)  Winter Field Day 2022 – Plans

Winter Field Day 2021 is going to happen on January 29 and 30, 2021. Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) will fill out the paperwork to reserve the Pavilion at Quiet Waters Park. The club will decide whether or not to meet in person later this year depending on the public health situation.

6)  Adjournment

Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) adjourned the meeting at 14:32 EDT (18:32 UTC).