Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club Board of Directors Meeting July 6th, 2022

Board of Directors Meeting July 6, 2022

 

Ed Lishka AC9SD Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

 

Attendees

 

Ed Lishka  AC9SD John Douglas  KD9KSH Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK
Kent Ochs W9KAO Barry Friedman K9FMB Danny Kafka KD9HIL
Cliff Sowka K9QD

 

Secretary’s Report

 

Cliff Sowka K9QD:  Ed Lishka AC9SD moved to approve the June BOD Minutes as published in the RHG.  Danny Kafka KD9HIL seconded. So Moved.

 

Treasurer’s Report:

 

Barry Friedman K9FMB provides the following:

 

Month: July 2022

 

Checkbook Balance 31-May                                        $7,079.86

INCOME MEMO                                                                $       0.00

DISBURSEMENTS MEMO                                               $   173.55

EFT 1-Jun Deluxe Check                                                 $     38.25

ACH 6-Jun AT&T DSL                                                       $     62.82

Chk 1265 2-Jun Matt Walsh AWS Host                    $     72.48

Checks Outstanding

Deposit not included

Account Balance                                                              $6,906.31

30-Jun Bank Statement                                                 $6,906.31

Checks Outstanding

Adjusted balance                                                             $6,906.31

30-Jun Checkbook balance                                           $6,906.31

Petty Cash 30-Jun                                                             $   176.00

Pay Pal 30-Jun                                                                   $1,322.27

 

+petty cash – special accounts Funds Available     $8,404.58

 

78 paid members

 

BUDGET

Barry has been working on our financial planning for the coming year. Preliminary budget for Fiscal 2022-2023 was discussed at length.  We currently have a substantial reserve from past internal surplus sales, items sold at Hamfests, and generous donations received over time.  Our substantial reserve should be implemented for un-forecasted/un-budgeted expenses such as expensive repeater repairs but routine maintenance needs to remain in operational expense planning.  Dennis KD9HIK described the need for the Board of Directors to explain to our membership we’ll have to deficit spend by draining some of our reserves until such time as we either increase income for reduce expenditures, or both.

 

A significant monthly expense is our DSL Line at Barrington Road.  Our currently-enjoyed teaser DSL rate is expected to increase substantially by a factor of ~250% starting this coming December.   Our data pipe resides on copper due to historical infrastructure access at the Public Works site.  The facility doesn’t currently have coax cable service which limits us to twisted pair.  A wireless access option might become available but is not currently.  Therefore Barry is planning for the substantial operational expense increase.

 

Our expenses are supported by annual dues.  Based upon historical income and historical expenditures, there will be a ~$200 operating deficit for 2022~2023.  We’ll have to spend our reserve to continue operations.  Surely there are optional income/expense items to consider such as limiting Field Day food, introducing additional charges for social activities such as the Holiday Party, and increasing annual dues.  The Board decided to implement responsible changes to bring our projected deficit under some limited control.  A final Budget will be published once the club agrees on which items require continued support and which items we can alter or eliminate.

 

DUES

 

SARC’s Annual Dues have remained stable for more than 20-years.  Our club has operated efficiently over these many years by requiring dues of $25 yearly ($20 for over 65).  Based upon the projected operating expense increases, the Board has voted to raise our Annual Dues beginning next July.

 

Motion:  Kent Ochs W9KAO moved to increase our annual dues to $30 ($25 for over 65) for FY 2022-2023.  Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK seconded.  So moved.

 

Public Service 

 

Rob Glowacki N9MVO not present.  Our support for the Hoffman Estates July 4th Parade held on July 2nd was successful.

 

EMCOMM

 

John Zietlow K9WIC not present.

 

Repeaters

 

Wires-X at the Barrington Road facility currently suffers a few configuration challenges with ‘Room’ Assignments.  Additional hardware and programming will be accomplished to provide better control.

 

The 2M machine sounds poorly at times (especially mornings) so we’ll have to perform more service actions; maybe even have tower climbers place a short at the tank-top antennal to allow TDR analysis.  A new antenna could be needed (~$1,500 expense) and hopefully TDR indicates our coax run is okay.

 

Construction Project (CP)

 

Cliff Sowka K9QD reports there will be a special meet this coming Saturday for Tape Measure Yagi Build.  Normal CP meets will return in September.

Cliff will be on the lookout for consumables purchases approved in the Budgeting Process during the remaining Hamfests this summer.  Items such as real Pb-Solder, bench-mounted vice, hand tools, freeze spray, contact cleaner, decent test leads, PL259 & SO239 connectors, are in need of replenishment for the fall CP sessions.

VE Testing

 

John Schofield AC9JS not present.  There are no candidates currently scheduled.

 

Nets 

 

Barry Friedman K9FMB reports Nets continue to be well attended.  We are in need of a host for the second Tuesday of the month TechNet.

 

Radio Hill Gazette RHG 

 

Mike K9KMV No Report.

 

Membership

 

Scott DeSantis KB9VRW Membership Chair.  No Report.

 

Publicity

 

Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK Publicity Chairman reported:

 

  • Field Day reports for Social Media, Safety Officer, Sign In Sheets submitted to Board of Directors.
  • Field Day event was submitted to Daily Herald Calendar; confirmation obtained.
  • Great conversation with State Senator Michell Mussman during Field Day about SARC reaching out to various groups for publicity and recruitment.
  • Our local Senator responded to Dennis with a written communication that listed several community groups that could be potential prospects for SARC’s efforts.

 

Social

Summer Picnic July 23rd Noon ~ 4PM.

 

John Douglas KD9KSH reports our summer picnic is set for Saturday July 23rd.  Event will be Noon~4PM.  Plan is to include Fox Hunt activity during the picnic.  There may be some activities/games organized for children.  Planning for food and refreshment will begin once John receives RSVPs to a broadcast to SARC-ALL is transmitted.  There will be a $25 VISA CARD Door Prize and a demonstration of Tape Measure Yagi implementation.

 

Education

 

Leo N9NBH not present.

 

Programs 

 

John Zietlow K9WIC not present.  There will be no meeting/presentation for July because the picnic will be held instead of our normal meeting.

 

Old Business

 

Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK and Cliff Sowka K9QD will plan to visit with Park District management to explain our antenna installation desires for the Tennis Club once the roofing work is completed.

 

New Business

 

Danny Kafka KD9HIL proposed we could increase membership attendance at Board Meetings by announcing upcoming meetings on SARC-ALL.  While the Board Meetings are published on our website’s calendar, it would be advantageous to transmit reminders beforehand.

 

Adjourn 8:31 PM.

 

Submitted July 7, 2022    Cliff Sowka K9QD Secretary

Summer Picnic – Families Invited

by John KD9KSH, Social Activities Chairman

SARC Members, we have had a busy year with many events that have provided assistance to area organizations such as the Chicagoland Marathon, the MS Society, the Hoffman Estates Fourth of July parade, and others.  The members of SARC have been requested to take part in helping out the community and we have done a fantastic job in providing help where needed.

It’s time that we get together for a picnic where we can have some fun and relax. On Saturday, July 23rd we have reserved a cabin in Bartlett that will provide us with space enough to eat, talk, and meet with our friends rain or shine.  The cabin has indoor bathrooms, tables, chairs, and is even air conditioned.

Our club has done a great job helping others and it’s our turn to sit back and enjoy.    Come alone or bring the family. Please plan to attend this event as it will be a fun afternoon.
WHEN:  Saturday, July 23rd from noon till 4:00 PM.
WHERE:  102 N. Eastern Ave., Bartlett

Don KD9NJR will provide a fox hunt demonstration that will be interesting and fun.   There will be a drawing for a $25.00 Visa Gift card from the club members present.  The cabin is located in a park so there are slides, swings, and things to keep children occupied.

Please confirm your attendance by sending John KD9KSH an E-mail [use the Member Roster – ed.] by July 15th with the number of adults and children in your group.

Thanks and we hope to see you at the picnic.

Field Day Results 2022

SARC’s Field Day was back to a full-scale, in-person operation this year. Operating three stations: SSB, CW and GOTA we kept the QSOs coming. Below is the preliminary score calculation submitted to the ARRL.

Total Score and Classification

Preliminary Total Score: 3,232
Call Used: N9RJV
GOTA Station Call: (NONE)
ARRL/RAC Section: IL
Class: 2A
Participants: 40
Club/Group Name: Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club
Power Source(s): Generator, Solar
Power Multiplier: 2X

Band/Mode QSO Breakdown

          CW              Phone                        
          QSOs    Pwr(W)  QSOs  Pwr(W)
160m                                           
80m       47      100     44     100        
40m       146     100     90     100        
20m       123     100     117    100        
15m       59      100     11     100        
10m       12      100     5      100        
6m                                             
2m                                             
222                                            
432                                            
Other                                          
Satellite                                      
GOTA                                           
TOTAL     387             267               

Bonus Points

100% emergency power                   200
Media Publicity                        100
Public information table               100
W1AW Field Day message                 100
Natural power QSOs completed           100
Site visit by invited elected official 100
Site visit by invited served agency    100
Educational activity                   100
Safety officer                         100
Social media                           100
Entry submitted via web                 50
Total bonus points                   1,150

Technician License Classes Begin in September

The Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club (SARC) is sponsoring  a series of 10 classes to help prepare people wanting to take the FCC Technician Class License test.
The classes will begin Saturday September 10, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM at the Hoffman estates Branch of the Schaumburg Township District Library, 1550 Hassell Road in Hoffman Estates, and continue until Saturday November 12, 2022.

There is no charge for the classes.  Registration is through the Library web site.  Attendees are encouraged to obtain a copy of the ARRL publication “ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 5th Edition“, which is used as study guide and reference manual. It’s available at arrl.org and other sites.

At the conclusion of the classes attendees are invited to take their license exam through SARC during one of our regularly scheduled testing dates. The testing schedule and registration information is available here.

Location

Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club Business Meeting July 21, 2022

Business Meeting July 21, 2022

 

Danny Kafka KD9HIL Vice President was unable to call the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

 

No Quorum

 

Attendees:

 

Robert Kocourek W9RKK Danny Kafka KD9HIL Don Dewar KD9NJR
Daryl Jenks KB9RHR Cliff Sowka K9QD

 

 

Kind-of Adjourn: 7:01 PM.

 

Submitted July 22, 2022.  Cliff Sowka K9QD Secretary

Field Day Pics 2022

Below are some photos provided by our members of this year’s ARRL Field Day.

Field Day 2022 results are also available.