MERCER COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

Minutes of the Regular Meeting

August 26, 1997

The regular August meeting of the Mercer County Amateur Radio Club was called to order on August 26, 1997 at 7:34 PM by President Tom Galloway, KA3MYM. There were 22 members present and 2 guests: Tom Junk, W3ZLV; Steve Shemancik, Jr. Two area hams are now Silent Keys: John Hendrickson, KE3TA, MCARC member, died Aug. 5; Walt Kesslar, K3HHE, Former Crawford County Club President, died July 28. Steve Varga, father of Sec. Mike Varga, NR3C, died July 27. All three died of cancer. The June 1997 minutes were read by the Secretary. A motion by Scott Jones, N3RA, and seconded by Jerry Parkany, KB8YBE, to accept the minutes passed. All member present received the July edition of the Carrier Wave.

Treasurer's Report: June and July reports were read by the Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. Blaine Smith, N3UGN, moved to accept the July Treasurer's report. Dennis Gregory, WM3H, seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Membership Committee: Dan Smith, K3DR, reported four (4) fully-paid applications on file: Tracey Ann Cook, KC8EUA, Tech Plus, Greenville; John Foster, N8QJE, General, Greenville; Tom Junk, N3ZLV, Tech, Greenville; James Crawford, N2ZZR, Tech, Uniontown, Ohio. Scott Jones, N3RA, moved to accept all four into membership. Tim Duffy, K3LR, seconded the motion. The motion passed.

EMA: Dan Smith, K3DR, recapped the table-top drill that took place at the EMA office for Jim Thompson's PEMA Certification as EMA Director. Four hams participated: Dan Smith, K3DR, Steve Uhalie, NB3N, Howard Anderson, KE3F0, Tom Galloway, KA3MYM. The results of the drill are not in yet. Thompson is planning for a full-scale drill that will involve all hams. The move of the EOC will take place soon. Cabinets are now being built for the amateur equipment. Access to the EOC will be through the front door of the 991 Building and by showing a valid RACES badge.

Repeater Committee: Tim Duffy, K3LR, reported on the lightning strike the repeater took on Aug. 16. Main damage mentioned: Commutation logic of power supply, 16 chips in the ACC controller, squelch gate card, autopatch hand-set, Reticon bucket brigaid (for delay of audio on transmit and receive). Service agreement with Cattron, if still in effect, would not have covered the damage. Youngstown Radio Supply supplied equipment free of charge (power supply, squelch gate card). Transistor for commutation logic supplied by Cattron $30.94). Repeater will have back-up power supply, squelch gate card, and cellular phone (donated by Wilcom Cellular). The sequence of repair events was explained by Tim, K3LR. The repeater was back on the air in a very short time. It was questioned whether the insurance would cover damages. K3LR said that is not known. There were less than $100 worth of parts required. Members applauded for repair: Tim Jellison, W3YQ, Tim Duffy, K3LR, Joe Vaccaro, WA3YAO, Scott Jones, N3RA. It was mentioned by Joe Vaccaro, WA3YAO, that the Club is indebted to W3YQ for his work. Tim put in over 40 hours of his time. Tim Duffy, K3LR, moved to send $100 to Andy Bowell, WB8HYO, for the equipment from Youngstown Radio Supply. Steve Shemancik, AA3EW, seconded the motion. The motion passed. K3LR said the $100 possibly could come out of the capital fund. He mentioned the filing of an insurance claim (equipment/labor) was up to the membership.

Constitution & Bylaws Committee: Nothing to report.

RFI/TVI Committee: Nothing to report.

VE Testing: There was a VE session on Sat., Aug. 16. There were 2 applicants. One (1) Technician license was earned. Seven VE's were present. The next VE session in Mercer is on Sat. October 18 with registration at 9:00 AM and testing at 10:00 AM. Contact Dennis Gregory, WM3H, for details.

Net/Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner: There were 24 checkins into last week's Emergency Communications Net; 2 persons attended last week's breakfast at The Suburban. No one attended lunch at Wendy's; 12 attended dinner at The Suburban.

OLD BUSINESS: Field Day: Tom Galloway, KA3MYM, reported the resulting scores from F.D. Tim Duffy, K3LR, reported that there were 26 hams that attended (21 Club members). Some hams operated on HF for the first time. There was operating going on through the night. There were no generator failures. The food was good. Charley Ring, W3NU, brought some antique equipment to be used (keyer, Johnson-Viking tuner). The 10 meter radio was a true Field Day experience!

Picnic/WAMCO Grand Prize: The Club Picnic was held on July 22 in Buhl Park. The WAMCO Grand Prize, an IBM PS-2 Model 30 8086 computer, was randomly drawn. The winner was Linda Yankovich, N3XZA, who plans to set-up a second packet station at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in North Jackson, OH.

NEW BUSINESS: Silent Key: A thank you was read from the John Hendrickson (KE3TA) family for cards members sent and for the memorial the Club gave. The Club will donate a book, "From Spark to Space," as a living memorial to the Shenango Valley Community Library. Jerry Parkany, KB8YBE, mentioned a possible estate of KE3TA in the distant future.

Auditor: Dan Smith, K3DR, had no report.

Foxhunt: Sat., May 31, 1997: Winners: Chuck Paddock, W8AOO, Jim Clinefelter, N3BAT,where Scott Jones, N3RA, was the fox. The prize for the winners was "The 1997 Radio Amateur Almanac." The next Foxhunt is Sat., Aug. 30 with W8AOO/N3BAT as the fox. 146.46 will be the frequency used. Starting time is 10 AM. The ID for the fox will be W3LIF/FOX. The hunt should take about 2 hrs. K3LR called for more participation.

Hamfests/Auction: Erie Hamfest, Sat., Sept. 6; Butler

Hamfest and Computer Show, Sun., Sept. 7; Ft. Venango

Mike & Key Club Auction, Sat., Oct. 18, 145.23 Talk-In.

Citizen's Band Bill: Dave Magargee, N3CM, mentioned that we should be in favor of the ARRL being against this bill. It was stated that local police have no jurisdiction when it comes to amateur radio (Tim Duffy, K3LR). Tom Galloway, KA3MYM, suggested to bring this and other topics up when Bernie Fuller, N3EFN, Vice-Director to the Atlantic Division, will be at the Club meeting for next months program.

Bootlegger: Linda Yankovich, N3XZA, reported that her father, Carl Yankovich, has threatened to transmit on the amateur bands without a license. Linda wanted to inform the Club of this potential illegal operation and interference by her father.

Vanity Calls: An increase from $30 to $50 for a 10 yr term will take place on Sept. 15. It is not known when the gate for General-class will open. Cliff Toth, AA3KK, is now N3LR, as a result of the program.

Contests: Sept. 13-ARRL VHF QSO Party; Sept. 27-CQ WW RTTY

Contest; Oct. 11-PA QSO Party.

Program: Video on WKBN Family-Owned Television/Radio Station by Tim Duffy, K3LR.

Raffle: 2 Bulter Hamfest Tickets, Sept. World Radio,

QST/CQ (KE3TA), $24 collected.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:46 PM.

Respectfully submitted by Michael S. Varga, NR3C, Secretary