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Metro DX Club Meeting Minutes In attendance besides Jim
were members John, W9ILY, Bob N9ORD, Jerry K9PY, Lee WA9LEY, Mike K9LSH, Jim
NV9X, Mike K9AJ, Matt KA9BBQ, Phil N9LAH, Carl K9CS, John K9EL, Erik K9EU, Gregg
AB9MZ, Thomas N9IHZ and guests Jeff KD9APD, Gary W9LX and Wayne AC9EF. Wayne
submitted his application to Metro and was welcomed to the club. OLD
BUSINESS: The MINUTES were distributed. A motion was made by AB9MZ and seconded by
N9ORD to accept. The Treasurer’s Report was distributed by John, W9ILY. The amount of
$287.50 is available for donations. Income was from a WUST award, equipment
sales and the 50/50 raffle in June. Expenses included a donation to the VP8
DXpedition, the CQ Marathon Plaque and Field Day. A photo of the plaque that
Metro sponsored and winner’s letter were passed around for the members to
view. A motion to approve the treasurer’s report was made by WA9LEY and
seconded by N9ORD. The full report is on the club’s Yahoo Group site in the
“files” area. A WUST award was presented
to N9LAH. Congratulations, Phil! CLUB
PICNIC is scheduled at the residence
of Phil, N9LAH on Saturday August 1 at 12 Noon. Mark K9TP our picnic coordinator
was not able to attend tonight’s meeting but Phil, N9LAH reported that all is
covered. Phil gave directions to his home in Chebanse that is just south of
Kankakee just off of I-57. All are welcome. If you have not yet done so please
let Mark K9TP (k9tp@arrl.net) know that you will be attending. NEW
BUSINESS CONTESTS
and UPCOMING DXPEDITIONS The CQ Marathon is organized
and coordinated by member John, K9EL. Included in the statistics is a club
report that included Metro in 8th place among many clubs. Our club finished 8th
in the 2014 Illinois QSO Party and 21st in the NAQP-RTTY held in
February. K9EL, K9NU, W9ILY and VE2BWL
will travel to FS in October for CQWW-SSB. DX to look forward to
includes: Palmyra KH5, along with two
VP8s and VKØ in 2016. For current and scheduled DXpeditions check: Field
Day Our Field Day operation from
the grounds of the former Tinley Park Mental Hospital was a success as reported
by W9ILY. 918 QSOs were made resulting in 2,968 points. Newspaper coverage was
obtained and copies of the coverage were available. A “thank you” letter
including several pieces of ARRL support material was sent to Pat Carr of the
EOC. Jerry, K9PY, noted it was a good operation. NIDXA
Invitation On August 14, Metro members
are invited to the NIDXA meeting in Joliet sponsored by John W9ILY and Paul
K9NU. The meeting will be held at the Moran Athletic Club, 1207 Nicholson St. in
Joliet on the corner of Ingalls Ave. and Nicholson St. There is plenty of
parking on both the north and south sides of the building. Enter at the main
entrance on the east side of the building and the meeting room that we will be
using is on the main floor, just to the left as you walk in. Please let W9ILY or
K9NU know if you plan to attend.
Conventions The W9DXCC Convention will
be held in Schaumburg September 11-12 and the W4DXCC Convention will be
September 25-26.
DXpedition
Funding The 2016 VP8 DXpedition will
feature the Metro logo on their QSL card. A donation of $200 has been
made to the 2016 KH5 Palmyra DXpedition. A link to the WUST Award has been
placed on their web page.
Club
Liability Insurance Jim, N9TK, recounted a story
of a Michigan club that encountered a disaster and was protected by insurance.
W9ILY reported that the ARRL offers affiliated clubs a liability insurance
policy that covers multiple situations. Coverage costs $200 per year. Following
a short discussion a motion to obtain the insurance was made by K9CS, seconded
by N9ORD and approved by voice vote.
All
Time New One The ATNO Metro challenge
effective date was discussed as we have several new members. It was decided that
all ATNO’s contacted since January 1 would count for all members. This is for
the 2015 Metro DX Club Challenge to be awarded at the end of this year. General
Discussion Carl K9CS has tickets for
the Peotone hamfest on July 19. Matt KA9BBQ explained a
Special Event station that will operate from the SS Badger on Lake Michigan on
September 13-14. Hamfesters is organizing this event. Several special event
possibilities were discussed including the Eastland disaster and the Diamond
Mine Disaster. W9ILY will check on the possibility of operating from Diamond
which is located just off I-55 south of Joliet near Coal City. N9TK and AB9MZ discussed a
possible vertical dipole antenna for the roof of the EOC. A drawing and proposed
budget will be required. N9TK will contact TW Antennas for a diagram and
documents. Following a motion to
adjourn by N9LAH and seconded by N9ORD, the meeting was called to a CLOSE
at approximately 20:20. A short break was followed
by a presentation made by John K9EL of his setup and operating from FS (St.
Martin). John explained the various problems that he has encountered and
overcome. John has visited FS many times and has made thousands of QSOs from
there. Respectfully submitted: John W9ILY |