MEETING TO ORDER:
President George WBØCNK called to order the 2024 January business meeting of the SFTARC at 07:40 AM CST. A total of 19 members attended, 13 joining in person at the Gardner Perkins and 6 joining via Zoom. There was one guest.
SECRETARY-TREASURER REPORT:
Marty KEØPEZ reported the current bank balance, the expenditures, and the receipts for the past month. The club bought 3 license manuals for Tech class students. This expense will be offset by tuition paid.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Repeater Update
Jim KØNK reported that he expects to meet with Olathe City officials late in January to discuss possible repeater sites. On January 16, the SFTARC weekly net that is conducted on the KØECS repeater will be followed by a short follow-on net to assess whether club members can access the KØNK repeater in Gardner. The KØNK repeater is at 147.195 MHz, positive offset.
Tech Night Program
George will give the January Tech Night program on a subject to be determined. Please contact any club officer if you would like to suggest a topic or theme for a Tech Night presentation.
2024 Ham Class
The CW Class got off to a good start on January 6 with 18 students registered. It will run from 9AM to 10:30AM on Saturdays until the end of February. The in-person Tech class was cancelled due to lack of students, but Rob KØRAR is making arrangements to have online tutoring sessions with 5 students.
SFTARC Website
Greg KIØKK urged members to post events to the calendar with plenty of lead time.
Club Merchandise
Deborah N2LZN and George are working to coordinate an order for shirts. Several styles are available. Deborah said the sooner we order, the better chance we have of getting what we want.
Ideas for Club Activities
George suggested organizing some activities along the lines of "Members helping members." For example, club volunteers might deliver, repair, and/or install antennas for members needing help. Another possibility is to visit less active members. Jeff KSØJD and Larry KDØRIU are planning to build a quad for deploying at FD; this is an interesting construction project. If you are interested in participating, please contact an officer. Rob recommended taking pictures of these activities and building projects.
Other
Jim KØNK gave a recap of the club Christmas party. As always, Tony KDØKLD served great BBQ; the pot-luck dishes were excellent; Jim entertained us with enjoyable videos.
A group of members will travel to Xenia, Ohio, in May to attend Hamvention. Joe KRØUT described the 2 1/2 day event. There is a lot to do, including 2 interesting museums in the area. Members share costs of travel and group accommodation. If you are interested in joining the group that is going, please contact a club officer. Google “Hamvention” for more information.
Jim told the club about the Netflix movie “All the light you cannot see,” a series of four 1-hour installments. Hams will be interested in seeing the drama of clandestine HF radio communication during WWII, which is at the core of this movie.
Jim reported that a scout in the UK, working with staff of the Fullers Library, had found the SFTARC website useful and had suggested that we add a link about soldering. The link has been added; we are pleased about this friendly educational connection across the Atlantic.
Noel KFØDVQ donated a soldering station to the club; it is available to be used by any club member. If interested, please contact a club officer.
ADJOURN:
President George adjourned the meeting at 8:20 AM.
