1) Call to Order
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) called to order the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association’s Board meeting at 14:40 EDT (18:40 UTC) on March 27, 2021, on ZOOM. A quorum was present with six board members.
2) Old Business
a) Echo Link – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)
Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) has not had a chance to work on it since he focused on the repeater issue.
b) WinLInk – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Still on hold.
c) ARRL Club Grant for projects
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) will call Jeff Beals to get more information on the grant program
d) Set up dates for Spring Picnic at Vista View
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) tried to contact the person who can book events but has not been successful yet. We are going to plan for May 7, 2022
3) Antennas for Summer Field Day – Joe McGee (NX4T)
Joe McGee (NX4T) is planning on building a fan dipole antenna for the Summer Field Day. Ricky built an end-fed antenna that could also be used.
4) Start Prep for Summer Field Day – Choose an FD captain.
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) will be FD captain for now.
5) Winter Field Day 2023
Tabled until April meeting.
6) Testing Sessions – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)
We are scheduled for the second Saturday of the month except for June and December. The sessions are posted on the ARRL website. Jeff Stahl (K4BH) will send out an email to all the VEs in the area. We need to post the information on our website as well.
7) Boca Repeater – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)
The Boca repeater has been replaced with a Yaesu repeater. The ICOM repeater did not transmit anymore. Ricky will look into whether fixing is an option. To get an estimate, we need to ship the repeater to ICOM in Washington State. The shipping will cost around $100.00.
Another option is to purchase a new BridgeCom repeater.
The weather function we had on the .820 repeater is currently disconnected because it is not set up for the Yaesu repeater.
Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) was also informed that the room the repeater is currently located in is planned to be remodeled. At that point, we may have to move the repeater to another location. Every board member is encouraged to look out for a new site.
The board gave consent to move the weather alert system to the .610 repeater next time Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) is going to Boca.
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) made a motion to send the ICOM repeater for a repair estimate. The motion was second by Jeff Stahl (K4BH) and carried 6:1.
8) Speaker for a practical lesson
We are coming back to this suggestion. The problem is that this is a technical hobby, as Jeff Stahl (K4BH) mentioned.
9) HF Station Status
The HF station is working fine but is not used enough to justify its existence, according to Joe McGee (NX4T). The station is used only By Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) and John Cole (N1HQF). Joe McGee (NX4T) is suggesting to the board to take down the station.
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) put a motion on the floor to table this discussion until Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) is available to join the discussion. The motion was seconded by Jeff Stahl (K4BH) and carried 6:0.
10) New topics to discuss?
Joe McGee (NX4T) announced that he was resigning effectively at the end of this meeting. Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) accepted his resignation and thanked him for his service
11) Adjournment
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) adjourned the meeting at 15:51 EDT (19:51 UTC).