Called to order at 19:30 by Frederick W9GOC.
Minutes
Read by Thomas AC9BJ, two corrections.
Treasurer's Report
Checking Balance: $4,903.50
Recent Income:
Dues (February 4th PayPal Transfer)
$100.00
Dues (February 18th Deposit)
$20.00
Recent Expenses:
2019 Liability Insurance
$215.00
PayPal Fees
$4.12
Pending Expenses:
2018 Website Hosting
I would like to close 2018 finances soon. Please be sure to submit any receipts for reimbursement.
Guests
Nick KD9MIF - new ham
Kyle KC9SDK - Wisconsin Section Emergency Coordinator, also President of WECOMM
Bragging
Mathew T contacted South Africa on 20M SSB - first time contacting.
- Also picked up Guantanamo Bay during winter field day
Barry K8SD contacted Guam.
Sam KG9NG went to Quartzite. At Quartzite, Icom gave away an IC-9700 because there were over 1,000 hams on-site.
Kyle picked up some SSTV from the ISS this past weekend. - an image from the Hubble telescope, one from the Mars lander, and one of the space shuttle. It takes about 180 seconds to receive an image.
Call sign changes and upgrades
Fritz is now KD9MKM - Technician class
VE Report
1 Technician and 1 Extra
Next session is March 2nd
Winter Field Day
Setup went well.
There were two end-fed half-waves in a perpendicular configuration.
Only four stations this time, in a diamond configuration so people could see each other.
There were visitors of varying ages and licensures.
All of the radios were operated off a battery rather than a generator - approximately two-thirds of the battery was consumed.
Lessons learned will be applied to Summer Field Day.
There was a magnetic whiteboard used for sign-in and in/out tracking.
Band conditions were "OK", but we made roughly the same number of contacts as last year.
There was a noise generator which was located and shut off, which improved the noise floor.
We like the Christiana Town Hall very much.
Upcoming Classes
The last weekend of March - 30-31 - there will probably be a Technician Class class, as there has been sufficient interest expressed.
Announcements
The MARA D-STAR repeater's hard drive failed. After a full re-install, the repeater is now back on. 145.305 is the frequency.
If you have registered to the MARA D-STAR repeater, please do not re-register; your information is in the cloud.
Yaesu Fusion is available on the 147.150 repeater, but it's not on the network.
The next MARA meeting is March 11, in the UW Space Place at 19:30. Seating is available.
The Wisconsin ARES/RACES annual conference is October 19th.
The same venue as last year in the McMillin Public Library in Wisconsin Rapids.
Tricounty Ham Fest March 17th, 2019
April 13, MARA Hamfest, Stoughton
The MARA vendor form is now available.
Buck Night
Eldon NK9U, James Madison
Presentation
Video on the 2015 K1N Navassa Island DXpedition