Four Lakes Amateur Radio Club

Meeting at Space Place and Zoom

Called to order at 19:30 by Steve W9GZO

Introductions & Guests

• No guests this month.

Upgrades, Callsign Changes, and Bragging Rights

Thomas WN1C:

• June ARRL VHF 2024: SOP, Analog 1st place WI Section, 4th place W/VE 864 points
• WIPOTA 2024: QRP in park winner 550 points
• California trip in October: 6 POTA references (all qualified), 4 WWFF (KFF) references (1 qualified), and 2 SOTA summits
• POTA: James F. LaPorta N1CC Activator completed (10 parks with QSOs on 10 bands each)
• ARRL Sweepstakes SSB: SOQRP, Limited raw score 24,304 points

Thomas AC9BJ:

• Participated in IL QSO party in-state, Jo Daviess County
• WIPOTA 2024: 232 QSOs, 1392 points, 3rd place in-state despite technical difficulties

Sam KI5POE: contacted South Cook Island DXpedition FT8 80m 10W

Review of September Meeting Minutes

No corrections. Nicholas KB9SKW moved to accept, Same KI5POE seconded. No objections.

Treasurer's Report

Recent transactions includes Field Day and Web Hosting reimbursements. Shoutout to an incoming donation from Dick K9APW. Checking balance of 5259.76 plus interest-accruing funds in the CD.

Sam KG9NG moved to accept report, Don seconded. No objections

Review of proposed 2025 budget entries and comparison to 2024 to-date. Current budget to date shows $290.31 surplus, but with holiday party, reimbursements, and equipment expenses coming up. Future budget currently at $775 deficit due to projected equipment expenses (likely one-time). No additional discussion. Contact Andy AC9CB (ARRL.net forwarding) or treasurer@w9jz

VE Report

5 candidates - 3 new Technicians, 1 new General, 2 upgrades to General.

We are still looking for a full-time VE Liaison. Testing takes place on the first Saturday of the month, 8 am at Space Place.

Upcoming Opportunities

• FLARC Holiday Party - December 3, 2024 at Great Dane East 6 pm!
  • Sign up by Sunday, November 24th! See the QST email list announcements.
• Winter Field Day - January 25/26, 2025 [Matt NM9O]
• Tri County Hamfest Jefferson WI - March 17, 2025
• MARA Hamfest Stoughton WI - April 26, 2025
• Dayton Hamvention Dayton OH - May 16-18, 2025
• ARRL Summer Field Day - June 28-29, 2025

Old Business

• 2024 Bylaws Update Proposal
  • Open for comments in the meeting. Request for potential for tracked edits, but this formatting was not available.
  • Comment from Tom W9TDP: announcement of Special Meetings do not have an advance notice requirement. Having said requirement (e.g. 7 days) is a common process. Discussion is positive toward having this added.
  • Summary of edits given. There may be additional typographical and formatting refinements.
  • Comment from Patrick KD9ZKI: 4.03 Vacancies, B "other that the president" typo
  • Final refinements will be worked through with the Board and the copy presented to the club on the email list.
• Another reminder to sign up for the Holiday Party! We will have door prizes as well.
• Anticipating the Winter Field Day event in Christiana, WI with indoor operating positions

New Business

• Open Positions: Secretary, Member at large, VE Liaison (ARRL VEC), Equipment Tracking Manager, Point of Contact for Local Ham Estate Advice
• ARRL Field Day Planning Team: Zoom meetings Jan, Mar, May
  • Interest for the committee was gathered, Zoom meetings to be arranged
  • Kevin is volunteering for BBQ

Announcements

Reminder that Board nominations coming up next month.

Program for November Meeting

Discussion of Bylaw proposals

Adjournment of Meeting

Adjourned at 20:31 with multiple motions.

 

Meeting at Space Place and Zoom

Called to order at 19:33 by Steve W9GZO

Introductions & Guests

• Bob, KE9BHS

Review of September Meeting Minutes

No corrections. Thomas WN1C moved to accept, Nicholas KB9SKW seconded. No objections.

Treasurer's Report

$2000 was moved into a 13-month CD with 4.5% interest rate. Recent transactions includes Dues payments received. Combined CD and checking balance is $8109.76

Nicholas KB9SKW moved to accept report, Patrick KD9ZKI seconded. No objections

VE Report

3 candidates - 1 new tech, 1 upgrade to Extra, 1 no license. Additionally one address change.

Bragging Rights

Patrick KD9ZKI made a 10m long distance contact using a modified CB antenna

Steve W9GZO got the cobweb he has up tuned

Thomas WN1C activated 2 parks during Wisconsin Parks on the Air.

Thomas AC9BJ also participated in the WI-PotA from Governor Dodge State Park but had to cut it short due to his battery not being fully charged.

Upcoming Opportunities

• Hidden Valley Hamfest, Lancaster WI - October 19, 2024
• ARES Wisconsin Convention, Wisconsin Rapids WI - November 2, 2024
• Milwaukee Repeater Club Friendly Fest - November 2, 2024
• The Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club Swapfest - November 3, 2024
• Winter Field Day - January 25/26, 2025 [Matt NM9O]
• Tri County Hamfest Jefferson WI - March 17 2025
• MARA Hamfest Stoughton WI - April 26, 2025
• ARRL Summer Field Day - June 28/29, 2025

Old Business

New Business

• Open Positions: Secretary, Member at large, VE Liaison, Equipment Tracking Manager
• Introduction to 2024 Bylaws Revision Process
  • We have not had updates since 2001 and several updates are needed to be addressed
  • Paper copies of the draft available tonight at the meeting. PDF to be circulated over the list.
  • Formal proposal will be submitted at the November meeting with voting in December
  • Objectives for modifications:
    • Ensure continued operation of club
      • Increase flexibility in elections to add electronic balloting
      • Assure ability for members to form a quorum for voting at club meetings
    • Clarify membership types and, separately, classifications for dues schedules
      • Includes striking life membership rate due to lack of use and avoiding financial administrative effort needed to manage those funds
    • Clarify details of Directors and Officers
    • Standardize language around Annual Business Meeting
    • Align references to communication so as not to conflict with the increased use and availability of technology since the prior revision
    • Address potential typographical errors accumulated due to revisions and transcriptions of previous texts
    • Confirm Not For Profit status of club corporation in the Purpose text (we are not currently a registered Non-Profit corporation)
• Holiday Party Planning {tentative Dec 3rd 6-9pm}
  • Interest survey has been sent to QST. If you would like to attend the party, please complete the survey by tomorrow.
  • Current proposal is $18/person with a choice of 4 meals. May need to adjust plan depending on number of interested members
• Winter Field Day Planning
• Summer Field day Planning Team: Zoom meetings Jan, Mar, May
  • Interest for the committee was gathered, Zoom meetings to be arranged
  • Kevin is volunteering for BBQ

Announcements

Illinois QSO Party is this weekend, AC9BJ will be operating from the Salem park in Illinois.

With solar flares, any recent contacts? Thomas made one 6-meter contact. VHF activity has been high with aurora bounce. HF has been a struggle with noise. However the Badger Emergency Net (40m daytime) was strong today following the storm.

Program for October Meeting

Antenna Tuning & equipment

YouTube Video - Electronics for the Inquisitive Experimenter: What is an Antenna Tuner and what does it do for me?

Show-n-tell with manual tuner and nanoVNA

Adjournment of Meeting

Adjourned at 20:51

Meeting at Space Place and Zoom

Called to order at 19:31 by Steve W9GZO

Introductions & Guests

Bob, KE9BHS
Don, K2PD

Review of August Meeting Minutes

Correction to Thomas's award for ARRL January 2024 VHF contest.

VE Report

There was a VE Session in September, 1 General (and Technician), 3 Technicians

Upcoming Opportunities

• Wisconsin Parks on the Air - September 21, 2024
• HRO Superfest Milwaukee - September 21, 2024
• Badger Challenge Bike Event Support - September 22, 2024 [KD9SDK Kyle]
• Chicago Marathon Event Support, Chicago IL - October 13, 2024 [WA9CBR Tom]
• Hidden Valley Hamfest, Lancaster WI - October 19, 2024
• ARES Wisconsin Convention, Wisconsin Rapids WI - November 2, 2024
• Winter Field Day - January 25/26, 2025

Old Business

FLARC Equipment Inventory & Tracking

New Business

Open Positions: Secretary, Member at large, VE Liaison, Equipment Tracking Manager

Holiday Party Planning - Tentatively December 3rd. Contact Steve W9GZO or Ann KD9ZUE if you are interested in assisting with the planning.

Winter Field Day Planning Team - Previous years have been at Christiana Town Hall. Matt NM9O will be sending a note out to QST to coordinate.

Summer Field day Planning Team - Reservations open in November for the Dane County Parks and end of June is very popular, so getting reservation in is important.  We have been at Badger Prairie Park in Verona for over 15 years, it has shelter, bathrooms, water, ample parking and plenty of space to setup antennas. 
If you have recommendations for other locations, please discuss on the QST list. Otherwise we will proceed with making a reservation at Badger Prairie.

Announcements

Wednesday, September 25th at 7pm will be in-person ARES meeting at the Dane County EOC. Contact Jeff KC9UNZ if you are interested. Program will be getting started with ARES and some event review

Program for September Meeting - Being prepared for remote activation - Tom Pugh W9TDP

 

Adjournment of Meeting

Adjourned at 20:58

Meeting at Dane County Emergency Operations, 2982 Kapec Road, Fitchburg

Called to order at 19:31 by Steve W9GZO

Review of July Meeting Minutes

Nicholas, KB9SKW moved to accept, ? seconded. Passed without objection.

Treasurers Report

No change from last month.

Guests

J
Chad
Mike
Doug
Patrick

VE Report

There was a VE Session in August with one candidate that successfully upgraded to Extra.

Bragging Rights/Upgrades/Call Sign Changes

Thomas WN1C achieved an award for ARRL January 2024 VHF contest - Division Record for Single Operator Portable

Upcoming Opportunities

• Circus City Swapfest, Baraboo, WI - August 24, 2024
• Wright Stuff Century - September 1, 2024
• Bike the Barns Bike Event Support - September 15, 2024 [KC9UNZ Jeff]
• Wisconsin Parks on the Air - September 21, 2024
• Badger Challenge Bike Event Support - September 22, 2024 [KD9SDK Kyle]
• Chicago Marathon Event Support, Chicago IL - October 13, 2024 [WA9CBR Tom]

Old Business

None 

New Business

We are beginning planning for a Holiday Party in December. If you are interested in helping to coordinate, contact Steve W9GZO

Announcements

None

Program for August Meeting - Dane County Emergency Management and EOC

J. McLellan, Dane County Population Protection Planner gave a presentation on how Amateur Radio interfaces with the county emergency management structure. Dane County Emergency Management

Jeff KC9UNZ, Dane County Emergency Coordinator presented on ARES/RACES organization, training and how it works with local agencies including Hospitals, Dane & Iowa Counties and Wisconsin Emergency Management. To be part of the response when ARES is called upon, you need to register with Jeff and complete some base (free) training modules - FEMA Emergency Management Institute (look for IS-100, IS-700 independent study). Dane and Iowa County ARES and RACES

Joe N9TWA gave a presentation on Amateur Radio Relationships: Importance for Emergency Communications

Chad WA4ORM spoke about Skywarn and passing messages between weather spotters/observers and the National Weather Service. Encourage attendance to yearly NWS Storm Spotter training and report when you see weather events. Local Madison weather nets are found on the on 444.375 repeater using standard offset and PL 123.0 run as part of Midwest SSTRC.

Adjournment of Meeting

Adjourned at 21:06

Called to order 19:31, WN1C, Vice President

Review of April Meeting Minutes

Nicholas KB9SKW moved to approve, Thomas AC9BJ seconded. No objections.

Treasurers Report

Treasurer not available, possibly due to imminent severe weather conditions.

Guests

No guests.

VE Report

No report from the Space Place session in May.

Bragging Rights/Upgrades/Call Sign Changes

KE9KOA has callsign change to N6WIS and is working on APRS with FTM-500DR, looking for input about configuration and use for free-text messaging.

WIQP 2024 results are out, our bragging for in-state operation:

• W9S team (AC9BJ, NM9O, K8SD) took 2nd place Multi-Multi Fixed, Low Power (results correction: operated from Shawano county)
• WN1C took 2nd place Single Op Fixed, QRP
• As a club, Four Lakes ARC scored an aggregate 91882.5 points from 7 entries!

Upcoming Opportunities

• Field Day June 22/23 Badger Prairie Park Verona
  • If you are interested in participating please get in touch on the FDOps list or contact Matt NM9O
  • KF9AQ will be helping with the catering
• Northern Lights Radio Society Aurora'24 Conference Twin Cities, MN June 1, 2024 [https://nlrs.club/]
• Horribly Hilly Hundreds Bike Event Support Blue Mounds, WI June 15, 2024 [W9TDP Tom]
  • Tom is looking for 4-5 volunteers to help, mostly at water stations. If you are interested, contact Tom via email W9TDP at ARRL.net
  • 1500 riders participate in this event, supporting the Friends of Blue Mounds State Park
  • Good radio coverage is available via VHF mostly using the SNP repeater deployed to the top of Blue Mounds State Park (where the event finish is)
• Central States VHF Society Conference 2024 Cedar Rapids, IA July 25-27, 2024 [https://2024.csvhfs.org/]
• Circus City Swapfest Baraboo, WI August 24, 2024
• TREK-100 Bike Event Support Waterloo WI June 8, 2024 [W9JM John]
• Dairyland Dare Bike Event Support August 3, 2024 [KC9IFF Luke]
• Bike the Barns Bike Event Support September 15, 2024 [KC9UNZ Jeff]
• Badger Challenge Bike Event Support September 22, 2024
• Chicago Marathon Race Event Support Chicago IL October 13, 2024

Old Business

April J-Pole construction project: Nicholas KB9SKW reports a continued development effort to secure expected performance of antennas.

New Business

Board is looking for self-nominees for appointment to Secretary, VE Liaison, and Member at Large

• Ann Reh KD9ZUE nominated for Member at Large

Announcements

No additional announcements.

Program for May Meeting

Brian Basura, N6CVO, discussing Pico-Ballooning (background, components, launch, and performance)

Adjournment of Business Meeting

Severe weather in Madison resulted in a power outage at Space Place during the course of the program at 20:30. In-person attendance including the lead of the meeting was cut off from Zoom, though the presentation seemed to carry on in due course. A hasty sign-off was provided to conclude the presentation by WN1C over cellular with Zoom on KB9SKW's phone.

Called to order 19:32

Review of March Meeting Minutes

Thomas W9TDP moved to approve, Sam KG9NG seconded. No objections.

Treasurers Report

Treasury is healthy, checking balance is $7,901.37. Recent transactions include dues received..

Guests

Bob, W2THU inquiring about W9YT and their participation in the ARRL Collegiate Radio Program

VE Report

No report from the Space Place session in April.
The Hamfest VE session saw 7 candidates, 3 earning new Technician license and 3 Extra exams passed, 1 candidate missed their General upgrade by 1 question.

Bragging Rights/Upgrades/Call Sign Changes

none

Announcements

MARA Hamfest was successful with about 300 attendees. Eyeball QSOs were enjoyable

Upcoming Opportunities

• Field Day June 22/23 Badger Prairie Park Verona
  • If you are interested in participating please get in touch on the FDOps list or contact Matt NM9O
  • KF9AQ will be helping with the catering
• Horribly Hilly Hundreds Bike Event Support Blue Mounds WI June 15, 2024 [W9TDP Tom]
  • Tom is looking for 4-5 volunteers to help, mostly at water stations. If you are interested, contact Tom via email W9TDP at ARRL.net
  • 1500 riders participate in this event, supporting the Friends of Blue Mounds State Park
  • Good radio coverage is available via VHF mostly using the SNP repeater deployed to the top of Blue Mounds State Park (where the event finish is)
• Dayton Hamvention, ARRL National Convention, Xenia, Ohio May 17-19, 2024
• Central States VHF Society Conference 2024 Cedar Rapids, IA July 25-27, 2024
• Circus City Swapfest Baraboo, WI August 24, 2024
• TREK-100 Bike Event Support Waterloo WI June 8, 2024 [W9JM John]
• Dairyland Dare Bike Event Support August 3, 2024 [KC9IFF Luke]
• Bike the Barns Bike Event Support September 15, 2024 [KC9UNZ Jeff]
• Badger Challenge Bike Event Support September 22, 2024
• Chicago Marathon Race Event Support Chicago IL October 13, 2024

Old Business

none

New Business

May presentation will be on Pico-balloons

Announcements

Mike, KB9WWJ is looking for good homes for a station's worth of stuff, including a tower and Bushcraft 20-15-10 meter beam antenna. Look for an announcement on QST soon.

Adjournment of Business Meeting

Sam KI5POE moved to adjourn, Nicholas KB9SKW seconded, Paulette WB9VHF third'ed.. Meeting adjourned 19:52

Program for April Meeting

Antenna build party led by Nicholas KB9SKW

Called to order 19:32

Review of February Meeting Minutes

Thomas WN1C moved to approve, Sam KG9NG seconded. No objections.

Treasurers Report

Treasury is healthy, checking balance is $7,590.41. Recent transactions include dues received in PayPal but not transferred to checking.
Approval Nicholas KB9SKW moved to approve, Will WA9MCV seconded. No objections

Guests

Ann KD9ZUE has her tech license recently, looking to upgrade to General this weekend.
John new to the sport, here observing

VE Report

Not Available for March

Bragging Rights/Upgrades/Call Sign Changes

Thomas WN1C earned the 2023 Pennsylvania QSO Party Out of State Single Op QRP SSB Award - 4th of all out-of-state, 1st for Wisconsin Section

Announcements

MARA Hamfest
April 13th 8am-Noon
FLARC Table [Nicholas KB9SKW]
FLARC VE Testing [Sam KG9NG]
Need Volunteers for VE & Setup/Reception/Table/Takedown

Upcoming Opportunities

• Field Day June 22/23 Badger Prairie Park Verona
• Dayton Hamvention, ARRL National Convention, Xenia, Ohio May 17-19, 2024
• Central States VHF Society Conference 2024 Cedar Rapids, IA July 25-27, 2024
• Circus City Swapfest Baraboo, WI August 24, 2024
• TREK-100 Bike Event Support Waterloo WI June 8, 2024 [W9JM John]
• Horribly Hilly Hundreds Bike Event Support Blue Mounds WI June 15, 2024 [W9TDP Tom]
• Dairyland Dare Bike Event Support August 3, 2024 [KC9IFF Luke]
• Bike the Barns Bike Event Support September 15, 2024 [KC9UNZ Jeff]
• Badger Challenge Bike Event Support September 22, 2024
• Chicago Marathon Race Event Support Chicago IL October 13, 2024

Old Business

Wisconsin QSO Party Recap March 11, 2024

• Space Place Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) station activated as N9UW with 166 QSOs
• Shawano County activon - 3 operators with 3 radios who made 581 contacts between them
• Thomas WN1C was at Blue Mounds and made 199 QSOs QRP Portable
• Kevin KF9AQ had 173 QSOs

New Business

Adjournment of Business Meeting

Thomas WN1C moved to adjourn, Will WA9MCV seconded with no objections. Meeting adjourned 19:45.

Program for March Meeting

RF Cables and Connectors, Richard Cetron, K2KNB