GCARA celebrated summer yesterday, July 10, 2021, with a picnic and mini-Field Day with about 30 of its members. Although rain was forecast as usual in July at this time of year, our intrepid group braved the infrequent drops and enjoyed a feast for both the stomach and the eyes.
I want to extend a special vote of thanks to Gerald Deitch W4LST who planned the menu and did all of the shopping, transported the food, and then was “Chef de jour” for our hungry hams! He did a lot of hard work and heavy lifting to get the food to the park implementing strict food preservation protocol and was assisted by his wife when it came time to lift the heavy large coolers into his Explorer. Those coolers weigh more than 100 pounds when you consider about 80 pounds of ice each and 25-40 pounds of food and beverages. That is a monumental task for one person and I want to thank Gerry from the bottom of my heart for volunteering to do this picnic. In the future, I envision more than one person coordinating the food and beverages or getting ready-made food to serve. I know from personal experience throughout my tenure as food chairman that the job is just too much for one person. Thank you Gerry for your unselfish and patient contribution to the preparation of our food today.
Okay! There were goodies for the eyes, too. We were blessed to have five show and tell exhibits brought to the picnic for us hammies to look at and enjoy. Charlie Artner KN4VDW took photos and will post them on the website for all to enjoy. Our VP Joe McGee brought some vintage ham equipment from military use for us to see the stuff he started with. It brought fond memories to some of the older hams who recognized all of it and had used it as well. Many stories were exchanged about experiences with the equipment. He also brought an antenna tuner, and other equipment to offer for sale from his collection. We may see this equipment listed on a MailChimp ad or the website in the future. Joe offered a 50/50 split with the club. Thank you, Joe.
Kenny Hollenbeck KE4NC was kind enough to bring his homebrew radio equipment and the hams were thrilled to hear how Kenny put together his operational center. Kenny is an expert in communication using things he finds around the house or utilizing unusual and varied designs to build his equipment. He makes it all work and shows a lot of creativity in doing so. I am always excited to see what he will come up with for antennas or communication gear. It is truly unique and outside-of-the-box thinking. Good work Kenny! And. Kenny, thank you also for lugging your grill to the park, as you tend to do faithfully for every club function. We appreciate your contributions to the club!
A member new to the club, Ben Echavarria N7BBE, brought his radio go kit with his design of solar power and battery set up using an $8.00 Plastic box from Walmart that contained his lightweight 20 V battery and connections for his flexible solar panel. He showed me how he had drilled the holes for the connections along the upper rim of the case and how the case supplies his continuous emergency power. There was lots of ingenuity here as well and it was a treat to see how different minds utilize their creativity to make contacts.
We were happy to see the return of Mickey Galper, AA4AC, with a demonstration called “All Digital Modes with just a PC”. With the use of his computer alone, Mickey was able to use DMR, D-Star, GMC, Fusion sites without repeaters for those entities. The software has enhanced Mickey’s radio experiences on the digital outlets without the use of a radio or antenna. Mickey stressed it does not replace radio, it merely enhances the amateur’s radio experience. This works for all digital modes and Mickey will be giving a demo of its use during our November Meeting after our elections. Originally seen on the W4BUG website, Mickey successfully backtracked the info and found the source code. Thank you Mickey for your enlightening display.
Last, but not least, Mike Samokieszyn KF4ZW, known to us as “Mike Sams” brought his “shack in a rolling Gator box”. It was a beauty to see all of the intricate connections and his antenna array and how he neatly engineered his station. I marvel at people’s ingenuity. (Mike Sams, by the way, has been instrumental in helping Ricky Eaton KD4HGR and Joe McGee NX4T with the router problems and programming end of our remote station. Between those three gentlemen and our HF Guru AL Flapan, AF4FA, we have been enjoying the use of our HF station for several months. No problems have been too big for these 4 brains!!!)
The “Show and Tell” portion of the picnic was so good, it has been difficult to choose a winner from our contest. Each of the four entrants showed great ingenuity and a winner will be announced shortly.
Unfortunately for some, being full of food and too excited talking to one another, we opted not to do the Foxhunt this picnic. It will be back at our next event with hopefully better weather and a larger group at an opportune time.
I was pleased to meet our three newest members, Terry Delmonaco KM4HJJ, Ric Green KG4ARU, and John Hale KA4WKS (who brought his son Nick along). Besides being our newest members, John and Terry have donated their Fusion equipment to the club as a backup for our repeater. They are currently working closely with our Repeater trustee, Ricky Eaton KD4HGR, at John Knox Village. Thank you gentlemen for attending the picnic and meeting some of our other members.
Our third annual Picnic at Vista View Park was a success on many levels. We came, we socialized, we learned and we broke bread together for a few hours and we became closer as a result. We were able to enjoy the company of an older member, Hope Smith WB3ANE, and some of the newer members like Barry Gardner KO4FBU and others mentioned before. What a treat to see humanity at its best.
For those of you who could not make it, we missed you and hope that we will see you the next time!
Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association
General Membership Meeting
Meeting Minutes
1) Call to Order
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) called to order the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association’s regular meeting at 19:30 EDT (23:30UTC) on June 22, 2021, over ZOOM. A quorum was present with 21 members and.
2) Pledge of Allegiance
3) Secretary’s Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Motion to accept minutes Erik Olmer (W4EJO) second motion passed without objection.
4) Treasurer’s Report – Erik Olmer (W4EJO)
We collected dues from new members Steve Surowinski, Ben Echavarria, Doug Mitchell, Kenny, and Sally Hollenbeck renewed Marty Falk renewed. We also received several donations for $145.00. Recurring fees totaled $20.00 this month. The bank fees for this month have not been posted yet, so we may have 2 bank fees in the next month’s report. PayPal fees were $13.59 this month.
In Summary,
we received $200 in dues this month,
$145.00 in Donations,
total expenses on PayPal $13.59,
Transfer from PayPal to Checking $312.12,
For the Picnic, we collected $80.00,
Checking account has currently $6,723.61,
PayPal account has $144.75
Total Club Asses are $6,868.36
5) Membership Chair’s Report – Joe McGee (NX4T)
53 Active members and 18 Lifetime members (3 new members). It has been talked about trying to get the VEC going again, possibly at Joe McGee’s (NX4T) place.
6) VE Status Report – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)
Jeff Stahl (K4BH) was not present at today’s meeting.
7) Repeater Report – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)
Repeaters are working as expected. The clock on the Boca repeater will be disabled because it is constantly wrong and the only way to correct the clock is to be physically in front of the repeater. As soon as the hospital will let Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) back into the repeater room he will install the amplifier at the .820 machine and deactivate the clock.
8) Web Admin Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) gave an update on all the changes that have happened to the website recently. Added features include:
- Signup for the email newsletter on the website
- All presentations are now on the homepage under the tap Presentations.
- GCARA has now a YouTube Channel
- Meeting Minutes have been separated in BoD and General Meetings.
- Repeaters have been more defined. There are now W4BUG repeaters, Broward and Palm Beach County Repeaters. Many repeaters now have a link to their location, which will open a map and allow the visitor to get an idea of where the repeaters are approximate.
- A new tap with all the local nets.
- Still under development is the Membership Application form.
9) Announcements
a) Mini Field Day/Picnic on July 10, 2021, @ Vista View Park, Pavilion #1
Open from 09:00 – 16:00
4001 SW 142 Ave
Davie, FL 33330
b) GCARA is now a 501(C)(3)
Our club is now a not-for-profit organization, and any donation can be deducted from the taxes.
c) Ongoing projects
Currently, there are 2 big projects ongoing. (1) Amplification for the HF remote state at Joe McGee (NX4T) house, which needs appr. $1,200.00, maybe even close to $2,000.00 (2) restoring the infrastructure to get better coverage throughout Broward County. Donations are welcomed.
10) Speaker: Joe McGee (NX4T)
20:07 EDT (00:07 UTC) Joe McGee (NX4T) is speaking to the club tonight on “Basic Electronics.”
The presentation lasted from 20:07 EDT (00:07 UTC) until
11) Adjournment
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)adjourned the meeting at 21:15 EDT (01:15 UTC).
CQ, CQ, CQ Calling all hams!
I hope that everyone is doing well as we continue our year in Amateur radio. We have much to be grateful for and we are counting our blessings daily.
We started our social foray with our quarterly dinner at Wing’s Plus on June 5th, 2021 and it was a successful meeting of the minds. We celebrated getting back to normal after the pandemic with 30+ hams. We met some newcomers to the club and were grateful to introduce Ben N7BBE and Barry Ko4FBU and John ?. Welcome to Steve KO4QYU and Kevin W1OM to the GCARA family. If you are new to the club, we welcome you and invite you to participate in our upcoming functions. All are welcome and appreciated.
We will all do Summer Field Day on June 26th and 27th from our individual shacks this year. Some people may gather in public and host their fellow hams at their homes. The pandemic was ongoing so we were unable to utilize our normal spot at Quiet Waters Park this year. We are presently planning for the park for Winter Field Day in January of 2022.
Please join us for our meeting on Zoom on June 22, 2021. Contact me if you need the address and topic @ 954-560-3706. We are still unable to get the hospital room for the public meetings but we are checking monthly to see if our status changes. Too many of us miss our Dandee Donuts! Lol.
Special thanks to Joe McGee NX4T, Ricky Eaton KD4HGR, Eric Rodriguez, KF4LZA, Al Flapan, AF4FA, and Mike Sams who have worked tirelessly on the repeaters and the HF station. The John Knox Village Roof is being changed and has caused a lot of cut cables which had to be repaired or replaced by Ricky and Eric, so thank you very much for doing that. We are also in the process of resurrecting our ECHOLINK capability so that Ham Helper’s NET can broadcast the educational classes it produces to new hams all over S.Fl. Thank you, Dave Warner, KB4ICU, for sponsoring ham Helper’s NET and all of the work you do with Jeff Stahl, K4BH, and Carol Sjursen, KJ4AWB, of AresRaces.
I am proud of GCARA and all of the active members who either contribute funds or manpower to keep our hobby alive and flourishing. Many hands make light work and I am proud to be associated with ALL of YOU!
Thank you Jesse Shannon KJ4FKK, for all of your speaking contributions and monetary donations to the club’s efforts. It is greatly appreciated. Thank you, Dave Warner KB4ICU, for speaking to our club on occasion about your new discoveries in Ham radio. We all enjoy it and have learned a lot about our hobby.
If anyone has an interest in helping me with the SUNSHINE COMMITTEE, a committee of hams who welcome newcomers and stay in touch with those who are under the weather, please contact me at the phone number listed above. The same goes for anyone who has an interesting topic to present at the meetings. We like to keep it fresh and updated as much as possible. Thanks.
It is going to be a long, hot summer but hopefully, we can cool off with each other at all of our activities. On July 10th, 2021, one such activity is planned for us at Vista View Park, 4001 SW 142nd Ave. Davie, 33330. We will host a show and tell of our ham gear and have a picnic. The best item to be shown will be awarded a $50.00 gift certificate from Mike’s Electronics.
It is the first time in a year and one half that we will be getting together in this form. Jerry Deitsch, W4LST will head up the food committee and most likely will be our chef de jour for the burgers and dogs. Ham will also be served along with some cold sides. We are collecting $10.00 to cover the cost of food and beverages plus you may make a donation through PayPal in addition to the fee. Go to the website, w4bug.org and click on the link to obtain an invoice. Once the invoice is sent, just make your payment on Paypal to the club. There is a choice of paying at the picnic but you must RSVP on the website and choose that option so we can get a headcount.
God bless all of you and keep you happy, healthy, and prosperous in your lives. Take care.
Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT
President
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 13:08 EDT (17:08 UTC) on June 6, 2021, on ZOOM. A quorum was present with 7 board members.
2) Old Business
a) Memorial Plaques
Connecticut lost our inscriptions for the memorial bricks. Melanie will resend them.
“Grateful appreciation for the support of our club and Amateur Radio in general.”
b) Erik’s Social Hamming Around
Joe McGee (NX4T) requested to postpone this event until after Field Day. Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) suggested waiting until the end of July or the beginning of August.
c) Get Voting System implemented now
A setting was overlooked that may have caused that the repeater does not unkey. Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) will investigate this setting and try to make it work with what we have Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) will have to go there and connect the computer to program the repeater.
3) Trustee Report – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)
The internet was down for a while due to repairs on the roof. The CAT5 for the satellite was damaged by the roofers The cable is fixed now.
The club is considering installing EchoLink on our 610-repeater. David Warner (KB4ICU) has requested that so he can promulgate his Ham Helpers Net on Friday better and make it more accessible.
UHF server will be rededicated for WinLink Node. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will contact Barry Porter and/ David Wagner (WA2DXQ) to get more information on how to set up a node.
4) Picnic July 7, 2021, @ Vista View Park
a) Activity ideas – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)
We are going to do a Fox Hunt. Possibly we could build antennas and put them to use right there. Show and tell withdrawing of participants. The price will be a gift certificate to Mike’s Electronics. The purchase of a $50.00 certificate was approved without objections.
b) Food Committee
Mike Wolf (K2HXC) offered to help with the cooking if nobody else is available.
c) Invite Palmetto Club, Knights of the Round table, SEFTN
Jeff Stahl (K4BH) will contact Palmetto Club
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will contact Knight of the Round table and SEFTN
d) Fees for Picnic
The cost for the shelter is around $79.00 and since it is such short notice, Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) believes that there is not enough time anymore to fill out and submit the paperwork to get approved for the fees to be waved.
5) Date for next Quarterly Dinner
The next quarterly Dinner is planned for September 18, 2021, @ 19:00 (23:00UTC) at Lester’s. Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) will check with Lester’s for availability.
6) Remote HF Station – Joe McGee (NX4T)
The remote station is working fine at this moment.
7) Plan for Winter Field Day
Too early to start planning but Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) will make sure that if we can get the Pavilion at Quiet Waters Park that we will have them Saturday and Sunday.
8) Workshop
Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) will check with Mike’s Electronics whether we can have some space there for workshops. Possible workshops for new HAMs could be on how to build a dipole.
9) Upcoming Speakers
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will speak in October on MMANA, Joe McGee (NX4T) will contact Seth and ask him if he would be willing to speak on his military experience.
10) Resume testing at Joe’s
Joe McGee (NX4T) and Jeff Stahl (K4BH) will work out a schedule.
11) Next Board Meeting
July 18, 2021, at 1:15 PM via ZOOM
12) Member Chair Report – Joe McGee (NX4T)
Joe McGee (NX4T) had problems finding information on our members, so he requested if it was possible to add additional information to the roster that is produced by Erik Olmer (W4EJO). The additional information that used to be on the roster is Phone number, Call Sign, email address, etc. Erik Olmer (W4EJO) will start providing this report to Joe McGee (NX4T) starting with the next report.
Joe McGee (NX4T) is questioning whether we should revisit the requirements for membership. The reason for his request was because nobody is really checking whether a new member is fulfilling the requirements, especially the requirement to have no felony record. This was the table for a later time.
Joe McGee (NX4T) also suggested starting membership cards again and after a brief discussion, this was also tabled for a later time.
Joe McGee (NX4T) was looking for information on our website and was unable to find it. He was visiting our website on a mobile device and the GUI is different on a mobile device than on the desktop. The top menu which is easy to find on the desktop is hidden behind three horizontal lines on a mobile device. In our case that is in the upper right corner of the website. There are unwritten and unspoken industry standards that are applied to our website via the template we use in WP. After a discussion among the board members, the board has decided to keep everything the way it is only the menu “People” shall be changed to “Members” which has been done at the time of the meeting.
13) Adjournment
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) had to leave at 15:10hrs (1910 UTC)
Joe McGee (NX4T) adjourned the meeting at 15:12 EDT (19:12 UTC).
Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association
General Membership Meeting
Meeting Minutes
1) Call to Order
Joe McGee (NX4T)called to order the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association’s regular meeting at 19:30 EDT (23:30UTC) on May 25, 2021, over ZOOM. A quorum was present with 17 members and.
2) Pledge of Allegiance
3) Secretary’s Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Erik Olmer (W4EJO) proposed an amendment to the total assets reported in the last meetings to $6,701.19
Motion to approve the minutes as amended by Jeff Stahl (K4BH); second by Joe McGee (NX4T); the motion carried with no objections.
4) Treasurer’s Report – Erik Olmer (W4EJO)
The club is officially recognized as a 501(3)(c) organization. The filing fees were $52.50 and the mailing was $29.20.
We received $170 in member dues (4 single / 1 family). We also received a donation of $100.00. We also paid $204.00 to the USPS for our PO Box for the next 12 months.
Total as of 5/01/2021 $6,468.29
5) Membership Chair’s Report – Joe McGee (NX4T)
40 regular members paid their dues
3 Family memberships (6 members)
17 Lifetime members.
We had a total of 85 members at the end of last year. Compared to that our membership is currently down by 27%. One of our major sources for new members were the HAM Exams which have been completely canceled during the last year.
6) VE Status Report – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)
Not much difference from last month. Until we have a place to test, we cannot test in person. Jeff Stahl (K4BH) is working on possible online testing. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) offered to talk to his church if it was possible to reserve a room there for testing.
7) Repeater Report – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)
No changes to last month’s report due to lack of time. Everything is running as it should be. The Boca site has still not been accessed. The hospital has been taken over by Baptist Health.
8) Web Admin Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Visitors to the website can now sign up for our email list. The form to sign up is on the home page in the right-hand column.
9) Call for Old Business.
We still have not heard from the hospital when we can meet in person again.
10) Announcements
Our quarterly dinner will start again on June 5, 2021, at 7:00 PM at the Wings Plus on Sample Road.
Update on Memorial Plaques for Roy Neiman (KJ4EGN), Don Search (W3AZD), and Chuck Gress (K3NXH). According to Barry Porter (KB1PA), everything is in order and moving forward.
Summer Field Day will be individual. The Club will not participate as a group. Individuals can submit their contacts and contribute to the club.
We are still looking for volunteers for the Sunshine Committee.
11) Speaker: Dave Warner (KB4ICU)
Dave Warner (KB4ICU) presented an intro to Mesh Networks.
12) Adjournment
Joe McGee (NX4T)adjourned the meeting at 21:15 EDT (01:15 UTC).
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 May 23, 2021, on ZOOM. A quorum was present with 7 members.
2) Old Business
a) Re-stated Articles of Corporation
The check was cashed by the state shortly after it was issued in May of 2020. We have the necessary paperwork from the IRS and so we are officially a 501(c)(3). The amended articles of incorporation should be coming soon.
3) PO Box
The fees for our PO Box are due by June 1, 2021. Erik Olmer (W4EJO) the board for approval of the payment. Motion to approve payment was made by Charlie Artner (KN4VDW); second by Jeff Stahl (K4BH). Motion carried with 7-0.
4) Social Hamming Around
A meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 19:30 EDT to discuss further details.
5) Social opportunities for HAM Get Together IN PERSON
The first meeting will be on June 5th at 19:00 EDT (23:00 UTC) at Wings Plus on Sample Road. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will send out an email to all subscribers on our email list with an inline RSVP form.
6) Remote HF Station
HF Station has crashed twice now. One time when Joe McGee (NX4T) checked it, it was transmitting continuously. The issue could possibly be the ground. The plan is better more ferrites and better grounding. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will send Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) several other options to access the computer for the remote station.
7) Plan for Winter Field Day
If we cannot get the pavilion, we could rent trucks again and do the Field Day at the field like we did the last time we were at Quiet Water Parks.
8) Picnic at VV Park
Possible picnic after Summer Field Day. Parks in Broward seem to allow get-togethers again. Melanie will call to make a reservation at Vista View. The target date is Saturday, August 14, 2021.
9) Workshops
Possible workshops for new HAMs could be on how to build a dipole.
10) Any Other Business
None
11) Adjournment
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) adjourned the meeting at 13:53 EDT (17:20 UTC).
Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association
General Membership Meeting
Meeting Minutes
1) Call to Order
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)called to order the regular meeting of the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association, Inc at 19:35 EDT (00:35UTC) on February 23, 2021 on ZOOM. A quorum was present with 16 members and 4 non-members.
2) Secretary’s Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Motion by Jeff Stahl (K4BH) to approve the minutes from March 23, 2021. Second by Barry Porter. The motion carried (12:0)
3) Treasurer’s Report – Erik Olmer (W4EJO)
Income through dues was $363.67. In addition, we had $100.00 donated to General and $10.00 to HF Project. The current total is 7,085.40.
4) Membership Chair’s Report – Joe McGee (NX4T)
In absence of Joe McGee (NX4T), Erik Olmer (W4EJO) gave the membership report.
Currently, we have 36 Single Members, 4 Family Members, and 17 Lifetime Member bringing the total number of members to 57.
5) VE Status Report – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)
No updates available
6) Repeater Report – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)
All repeaters are up and running. The HF station is partially up. Can receive but there are still issues with the audio. Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) is still waiting for an answer from the developers of the software. LDG will send a brochure with prices for the equipment for the new voter system.
7) Web Admin Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) gave a tour around the website. Presented changes and improvements made so far and explained how to pay club dues online.
8) Call for Old Business.
a) Memorial Plaques
Everything is on hold because the people who make the plaques have not been able to make them due to the pandemic.
b) Sunshine Committee
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) announced that we are looking for volunteers for the Sunshine Committee.
c) Vote on Bylaws
Barry Porter KB1PA made the motion to approve the Bylaws as amended and Allan Karden (N4ALK) second. The motion carried (15:0)
d) Looking for Speakers
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) announced that we are looking for speakers for upcoming Club Meetings.
9) Speaker: Robert Molleda
Robert Molleda gave a presentation on the upcoming Hurricane season and brief analysis of past Hurricanes.
10) Adjournment
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)adjourned the meeting at 21:06 EDT (01:06 UTC).
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 13:16 EDT (17:16UTC) on April 25, 2021 on ZOOM. A quorum was present with 7 members and 1 non-member.
2) Old Business
a) Re-stated Articles of Corporation
Will be done Wednesday and filed. Will write check and reimbursement to save time.
b) Bylaws on Website
Must post New By-laws and advertise for membership to read so can vote on at a general meeting.
3) Membership Dues Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
a) When are Dues due?
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) suggested to modify Section 3.3 Annual Dues to be more specific on when the annual dues are due. Following text was proposed to replace current Section 3.3:
The annual dues to the GCARA paid to the Treasurer or his/her designee by members shall be in such amounts as determined by resolution of the Board of Directors and approved by a majority vote of the general membership. Dues shall be paid for the year on admission to membership and annually thereafter no later than 60 days after the beginning of the fiscal year. Membership benefits for members who have not paid their annual dues will continue until 60 days after the beginning of the fiscal year. Failing to pay membership dues within the first 60 days will result in all membership benefits being removed, and the membership status will be considered lapsed. Benefits will resume the moment the annual dues have been brought up to date.
Motion to accept this change was made by Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) and second by Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT). The motion carried (6:1).
b) Definition of Fiscal Year
The definition of the Fiscal year will be added as Article III and all subsequent articles and subsection will be renumbered, as necessary. Article III shall read as follows:
The Fiscal Year shall be from December 1 through November 30 of the following year. The Board of Directors shall be allowed to amend the beginning of the Fiscal year from time to time as seen fit.
Motion was made by Jeff Stahl (K4BH) and second by Charlie Artner (KN4VDW). The motion carried (7:0).
c) Prorated membership fees
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) mentioned that the practice of prorated 2nd year is nowhere defined in the bylaws. He suggested to replace this practice and the changed version to the bylaws. The dues on any new member who joins in the last quarter of the fiscal year shall be applied to the following fiscal year and member shall be admitted for free for the rest of the current fiscal year.
Motion by Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) second by Jeff Stahl (K4BH). Motion carried (7:0).
d) Lifetime Membership
The bylaws fail to describe the requirements for a Lifetime Membership and how to become a Lifetime Member. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) suggested to add a section in Article III – Members to add Lifetime Membership to the bylaws. Motion was made by Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) and was second by Jeff Stahl (K4BH).
Following text was proposed to be added as Section 3.2 Lifetime Membership:
Lifetime membership shall be awarded after 25 consecutive years of membership. Alternatively, after at least one year of members ship a member may apply for lifetime membership by payment of dues in the amount of current dues times the difference between 25 and the number of years of consecutive membership already achieved.
The Board of Directors may at its discretion grant Lifetime membership to any member for outstanding service to the club.
The motion carried (7:0)
4) Passing information of new members
Joe McGee (NX4T)—as the Chairmen of the Membership Committee—will take responsibility to contact new members after the have been accepted. To make sure that Joe McGee (NX4T) has the most up-to-date information on new members, Erik Olmer (W4EJO) will forward any information on new members at least once a week to Joe McGee (NX4T), Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT), and Charlie Artner (KN4VDW).
Joe McGee (NX4T) also asked if anybody is checking the call sign validity of new members and this task has not been assigned. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) mentioned that he is checking call sign on random basis on QRZ.com but does not necessarily check every call sign. Joe McGee (NX4T) asked whether QRZ.com is a reliable source to check validity of call signs and Jeff Stahl (K4BH) confirmed that it is.
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) mentioned that Herbert L. Schulman has been reported as Silent Key. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) confirmed that his status on the roster has already been changed accordingly.
5) John Knox Hurricane Planning
Everything is going to be the same. Joe McGee (NX4T) had a quick contact with Kirsten and no physical meeting is necessary. The only decision will be who is going to be part of the team during a disaster.
6) Social Hamming Around Erik Olmer (W4EJO)
On hold until the remote station is working again
7) Remote HF Station
The remote station is currently offline due to technical difficulties. Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) spent 4 hours on trying to find the issue but was unable to resolve the problems. Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) and Joe McGee (NX4T) are still working on it. The main problem is that the program freezes up and the radio stays keyed-up. The only way to unkey the radio is to turn it off.
Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) already contacted the developer of the software and reported the issue. It seems the problem is in the server software or their system.
Joe McGee (NX4T) asked users of the remote station what we can do to improve it and the overwhelming answer was more power.
- 500W Amplifier
- Switching PowerSupply
- Higher Power Tuner
- Higher Power Balun
Total for all the equipment is $2,193.29
8) Social opportunities for Ham Get Togethers IN PERSON
Several locations have been suggested but the board could not come to a decision. Erik Olmer (W4EJO), Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR), will check out a few places regarding rules and how many people can meet.
9) Any Other Business
a) Ongoing Web improvement
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) added a new plugin to the website which will allow to create popup windows with important information. Also, the Repeaters have been added to the main menu at the top of the page to give them a more prominent existence and make them easier to be found. Additional tabs have been created for Broward and Palm Beach county repeaters. Erik Olmer (W4EJO) requested to add Miami-Dade repeaters as well. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will work on adding an additional tab with Miami-Dade repeaters.
b) Hope Smith suggested for Lifetime Membership.
Erik Olmer (W4EJO) has asked if the board could consider awarding Hope Smith Lifetime Membership. Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) and Jeff Stahl (K4BH) have talked about this in the past and Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR) said that he would support it.
Motion has been made by Joe McGee (NX4T) and been second by Charlie Artner (KN4VDW). Motion carried (7:0).
10) Adjournment
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)adjourned the meeting at 15:20 EDT (19:20 UTC).
Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association
General Membership Meeting
Meeting Minutes
1) Call to Order
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)called to order the regular meeting of the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association, Inc at 19:30 EDT (00:30UTC) on February 23, 2021 on ZOOM. A quorum was present with 22 members and 1 non-member.
2) Secretary’s Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
a) Minutes from February 23, 2021
Minutes from February’s meeting have been approved without objections.
3) Treasurer’s Report – Erik Olmer (W4EJO)
Not much activity this month. We received 4 more member dues and 1 donation in the amount of $300 in support of the HF project. All monthly fees have been paid. Current balance is $6,295.64.
Anybody who has questions regarding their membership and their dues please send an email to gcaratreasurer@gmail.com
4) Membership Chair’s Report – Joe McGee (NX4T)
Currently we have 49 members up to date with their dues. 16 are Lifetime and 4 family memberships. Unfortunately, not everybody of the 16 Lifetime members are active. According to Joe McGee (NX4T) 4 Lifetime members are definitely not active in the club anymore. The remaining 12 Lifetime members are probably another 4 who are not active anymore. Realistically we are down to about 40 active members or even less than that.
5) VE Status Report – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)
No update regarding testing.
6) Repeater Report – Ricky Eaton (KD4HDR)
Everything is working as it is supposed. Ricky Eaton (KD4HDR) is investigating the new repeater at John Knox. He is in touch with John Knox Admin regarding the questionable repeater but nobody at John Knox knows about this repeater (441.800MHz). We are going to start posting on the website about new repeater projects (remote receive site fund) and are going to ask our members for donations towards these projects. The upgrade will allow us to link all three repeaters together during net time and during Hurricane times. That includes FUSION and DSTAR.
7) Web Admin Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
a) Upcoming Web Projects
In future we will post more updates on ongoing projects. This will allow the club to bring new information to members faster and not only once a month in the general meeting.
b) Membership Roster – Poll Results
We have sent out an email and asked our members whether to keep the membership roster. The result of that poll is posted below:
| Option | Votes | Percentage |
| Yes, please continue the membership roster | 18 | 48.65% |
| I don’t know | 1 | 2.70% |
| Doesn’t matter to me | 0 | 0.00% |
| I never used it, but don’t mind it being online | 2 | 5.41% |
| I don’t mind it, but if possible, make it accessible to club members only. | 12 | 32.43% |
| Remove the member roster | 4 | 10.81% |
| Total | 37 |
Jeff Stahl (K4BH) suggested for future surveys/polls to only send the survey/poll to those members who are up to date with their dues. A member who is not up to date with their dues should not have a say in what is happening in the club. To do that Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) will have to update the MailChimp mailing list with the current membership status or each email/member subscribed.
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) is also currently in the process of updating the online roster to reflect the current status of the members and at the same time updating the contacts in Money Minder with addresses.
Jeff Stahl (K4BH) gave a brief report on Winlink and spoke about the plans to convert one of the 70cm repeaters to a Winlink Node. Winlink is extremely easy and quick to setup and is used as emergency communication in ARES/RACES. Winlink is also used over HF and VHF/UHF. The conversion may involve expenditure, but this is exactly what Jeff Stahl (K4BH) and Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) are researching right now. We possible may have to solicit donations for execute this project. Ricky Eaton (KD4HDR) suggested to use the 442.500 MHz repeater since this repeater is barely used by anyone.
Joe McGee (NX4T) mentioned that the videos from past presentations are not accessible on mobile devices. He found a link to read the presentation but does not see a link for the video. The issue was that the link to the video was to the right side off-screen and as soon as Joe McGee (NX4T) turned his phone into landscape mode the link was visible.
8) Call for Old Business.
a) Update on Hospital
This Item was not discussed in this meeting.
b) Update on Memorial Plaques
This Item was not discussed in this meeting.
9) Announcements
a) SKYWARN Class March 20, 2021
Class was a success. We had almost 100% attendance. There is going to be another class on March 27. Please contact Carol @arrl.net. There were some technical problems in the last class and NWS apologizes for them. If anybody would like to attend the class on March 27 please contact Carol Sjursen (KJ4AWB) at KJ4AWB@arrl.net
b) Emergency Volunteers
Carol Sjursen (KJ4AWB): Broward County is still looking for individuals who can help in the sheltering. Broward County offers the HAMs a lot of privileges such as free parks for field day and in exchange they want us to provide a HAM operator for each shelter in the county. There are over 30 shelters in the county. We desperately need HAMs to help.
Jeff Stahl (K4BH): This year there are more shelters due to the virus situation. So we have more shelters this year than we had two years ago and less HAMs due to some losses. One of the reasons why the Amateur Service exists is to provide emergency communications. This is exactly why we are here, and RACES is codified in Part 97 of our regulations. As a HAM when you serve in a shelter, you can bring your family.
c) MailChimp
This Item was not discussed in this meeting.
d) Upcoming Presentations
This Item was not discussed in this meeting.
10) Vote on revised Bylaws
We did not vote on the Bylaws in this meeting.
11) Speaker: Erik Olmer (W4EJO)
a) What does it mean to be an EOC/Shelter Volunteer
b) Questions and Answers
Presentation will be posted on the website.
12) Adjournment
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)adjourned the meeting at 22:04 EDT (02:04 UTC).
