1)  Call to Order

Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)called to order the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association’s regular meeting at 19:33 ET (00:33 UTC) on November 23, 2021, over ZOOM. A quorum was present with 16 members.

2)  Pledge of Allegiance

3)  Secretary’s Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)

The minutes from the October meeting will be approved in January with the November minutes.

4)  Treasurer’s Report – Erik Olmer (W4EJO)

We have two new members; Alan Spicer (KA4UDX) and Robert Rockwell (KM4QYG).

The name tags generated $150.00. This month’s total balance is $8,693.67; total expenses for this month are $474.75; total income for this month is $210.00.

57 total annual members; 7 family members; 19 Lifetime members

5)  Membership Report – Joe McGee (NX4T)

Joe McGee (NX4T) welcomed the two new members. Robert Rockwell (KM4QYG) was present and introduced himself.

Allan Karden (N4ALK) wanted to know whether the club will inform members when their membership will expire. Erik Olmer (W4EJO) ensured that he would let members know when they are close to their renewal date, and if there are any specific questions or if a member is not sure, they can always contact him at gcaratreasurer@gmail.com

6)  VE Status Report – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)

We still have not found a place to do the testing. The room at Coral Springs Parks is too costly. The city wants about $34.00 an hour and a $258.00 deposit. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will follow up with his church to see if the club could schedule testing there.

7)  Repeater Report – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)

There are new things in the work. We are going to set up AllStar nodes running on Raspberry-Pi. Eric will work on the repeaters sometime this week. We have new notch filters which will have to be installed. The filters are for the .610 repeater, which still has some noise on transmit. The amplifier is back in line again.

8)  Web Admin Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)

No significant changes have been made to the website.

9)  Amended Bylaws – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)

The proposed amendments to Section 4.4 Annual dues have been read by Charlie Artner (KN4VDW), and discussion has been opened to members present at the meeting. After discussion, the Amendment was accepted with a unanimous vote.

10)      Announcements

a)    Club Dinner – December 5, 2021

The quarterly dinner will be on December 5, 2021, and Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) is asking all participants to RSVP on our website

b)   Sunshine Committee

Hope Smith (WB3ANE)—Sunshine Committee Chairman, and Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) are sending cards to people who are ill or need otherwise encouraging words.

c)    Welcome home – Marty Falk (KI4IQZ)

Marty Falk (KI4IQZ) is back home and recovering from his health issues. Marty Falk (KI4IQZ) was in the hospital where doctors had to revive him after an allergic reaction to a medication.

d)   Mike’s Electronics Recognition

Representatives of the club joined Mike at his store to thank him for his decade-long service to the HAM community and celebrate his retirement. The club presented him with a personalized beer mug as a thank-you gift.

e)    Election of Board for the fiscal year 2022

Barry Porter (KB1PA) nominated the following members for the board:

Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) – President
Joe McGee (NX4T) – Vice President
Erik Olmer (W4EJO) – Treasurer
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) – Secretary
Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) – Repeater Trustee
Jeff Stahl (K4BH) – Director
Mike Wolf (K2HXC) – Director

Because the slate was unopposed, Barry Porter (KB1PA) moved to accept the slate as presented by Acclimation. The slate was accepted with no objection.

11)      Winter Field Day: Joe McGee (NX4T)

Winter Field Day will be at the Quiet Waters Park at the Bald Eagle Shelter. Winter Field Day was not as organized as they are today. We are preplanning the number of stations and antennas going up to avoid any interference between the individual stations at the park. To participate seriously and enter our submission to the Winter Field Day Committee, we will have to be organized. We will set up three stations, and our class will be 3O. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) and Jeff Stahl (K4BH) will help Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) with the digital station. Joe McGee (NX4T) will set up the SSB station with the remote station. That means during Winter Field Day, the remote station will be offline. Erik Olmer (W4EJO) will see if the SO-50 satellite has a good pass for a contact. His satellite rig is not set up for any other satellite.

12)       Adjournment

Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) adjourned the meeting at 20:49 ET (01:49 UTC).