MEETING TO ORDER:
President Jeff Darby, KSØJD, called to order the August, 2021, business meeting of the SFTARC at 8:15 AM. The meeting included 15 members who were physically present at the Gardner Perkins and 4 members who joined via Zoom. (Quorum is 13.) There were no guests. The hybrid meeting linking people in Perkins with people at other locations worked well.
SECRETARY-TREASURER REPORT:
Marty Peters, KEØPEZ, reported the balances and transactions of the club accounts. There has been no club income since the July business meeting. (Proceeds of the sale of the linear amp belonging to Jim ACØOW will be held in the club checking account until distributed to Jim's widow.) The one expenditure since the July business meeting was for website maintenance. The club continues to be in a position to honor its commitment to support the club repeater project.
A total of 67 members are paid up for 2021.
Ensor Park & Museum [Marty - KEØPEZ]
The museum will open for the autumn tour season on Saturday, September 5, 2021. SFTARC will provide volunteers in September. To sign up, go to SignUpGenius at:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094AAAA62BABFE3-sftarc1
The JCRAC will provide volunteer tour guides for October dates. Marty, Howard, and/or Joe will be onsite whenever the museum is open.
Post COVID operating [Jeff - KSØJD]
It is desirable for the club to set the time of its meetings to accommodate as many members as possible. One constraint is that we need to vacate the meeting room at Perkins by 9AM. It was moved and seconded to start future business meetings at 8AM; the motion passed 18-1. Members can gather to chat and have breakfast as early as they please. Usually the "action" picks up around 6:30AM.
Club Repeaters [Jim - KØNK]
Jim continues to gather information about possible sites for the club repeaters. He will approach OMC later this year to discuss options and possibilities. One of them is to affix antennas to the side wall of the penthouse. This option would place the antennas about 20' lower than if they were on a tower, but it eliminates the need for a tower. He continues to seek information about the building, owned by Newmark-Jones, under construction along I-35 near the weigh station. Working with the Olathe Public Schools is another option. An elementary-school teacher is interested in ham radio and may provide some momentum. Finally, there is a tower located near the fire station at Old 56 Hwy and Harrison that might have space available for additional antennas. It is a possibility to investigate.
2021 Future Ensor Special Events [Larry - KDØRIU]
Loretta Ensor passed away on September 7, 1991. The club can consider honoring Loretta by holding an operating event on the first weekend following this date.
2021 Santa Fe Trail Special Events [Jim - KØNK]
SFTARC will hold an operating event at Lone Elm Park on Oct. 9, 2021, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Santa Fe Trail. Jim described the layout of Lone Elm Park. Either of two pavilions can be reserved for a fee. If no one reserves them, they can be used free of charge. One duplex outlet is available. If auxiliary power is needed, both Tom and Joe have offered to make their small generators available. The event will run 9AM-3PM on 4 bands and will use KSØKS as the callsign. The station will activate three POTA numbers simultaneously. We will contact area scout troops to see if they would like attend/participate in the event.
ARRL Meeting notes [Jim - KØNK]
At the end of June, Jim met via Zoom with the ARRL Midwest Division Director, Art Zygielbaum, K0AIZ, Vice Director Dave Propper, K2DP, and about 13 other Assistant Directors. It was largely an introductory session, where Art expressed his belief that having strong and active clubs is a key to the health and well-being of amateur radio. He noted the particularly good club organization seen in the KC area and the way the clubs coordinate for the common good of amateur radio.
Art plans to hold similar meetings with the Assistant Directors quarterly.
KS QSO Party [Del - KØDDS]
The KSQP will take place on August 28-29, 2021. Please visit https://www.ksqsoparty.org for details. Del encouraged club members to operate at the Sawyer Antenna Farm in Edgerton. Up to four stations can operate simultaneously from Del's radio room and from the club trailer. Members may operate from any point in Kansas. To use callsign KSØKS, please sign up for one or more slots on the operating schedule, as it is not permissible for there to be more than one person using KSØKS on the same band with the same mode at the same time. Those using KSØKS should exchange the county designator corresponding to the location of their station. (If you plan to operate using KSØKS from a location outside Johnson County, please notify one of the club officers.) Non-members of SFTARC are permitted to operate as KSØKS only if a club member is physically present at the control point of the station.
2021 SFTARC Christmas Party
The SFTARC Christmas party has been set for Saturday, Dec 11, 2021. Start time is 6:30PM. Other details will be determined later.
OTHER BUSINESS:
We look forward to holding a ham class in person in January and February of 2022. The class can be General, CW, or both. Please communicate your thoughts about this to one of the officers.
The JoCo Fair Parade took place on July 31. It was hot and muggy, but all survived.
We should continue to display the club signage on the trailer during operating events.
A test of Jeff's omni-directional mic/speaker was conducted; Zoom participants reported that it worked very well.
ADJOURN:
Following a motion and a vote, President Jeff adjourned the meeting at 9:00 AM.
