Minutes from the KARS Monthly Meeting February 14, 2022

 

The meeting was held in person at the fire station and a contingent of members attended via Zoom. The meeting was started at 7:35 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.

We had three new members to report: Dan Mumford (WB5DSC, Advanced), Michelle MacDonald (KI5MDW, General), and Jonathan Taylor (KI5OZK, General). There being no dissenting votes all three are now official members of the Katy Amateur Radio Society.

The Katy Safety Fest will be held on April 23 at Katy Mills Mall (Burlington entrance) and promises the be a rather large event with many participants from public safety, law enforcement, and branches of the military. Geographically, too, the event will be spread out and HAM operators are requested to held with supportive communications to free up radio channels for official business.

The sidewalk sale outside of Freddy’s Café of some of Mike Brennan’s bequeathed radio equipment will become a regular swap meet to be held every third Saturday of the month, except for March as not to conflict with the Houston Area Tailgate (which replaces the Houston Area Hamfest this year). The swap meet at Freddy’s Café will be advertised to local area HAM clubs.
There is $xxxx in the account with no outlays coming up until June/July for the insurance.

All board positions were opened for new candidates, but there being no new candidates and the existing board members all indicating their willingness to serve another term meant that the board was reappointed by acclamation.

A new location for VE testing was named, being the Episcopal Church on Grand Parkway and Highland Knolls. This is in addition to the American Shooting Centre on Westheimer Parkway (inside the reservoir) that has also been offered as a potential location. Gerald Doucet will be the final arbiter to make a decision as he runs the VE program.

Sheree and Bill run a local traffic net and there is a push for the creation of a digital traffic net, similar to the current traffic net.

The MS 150 bike ride is held at the end of April. A training ride, Peddling the Prairie, will take place on February 26. The Buffalo Bayou Regatta will celebrate its 50^th anniversary on Saturday, March 5 from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. All three events are opportunities for HAM operators to volunteer their services.

The meeting concluded shortly after 8 PM

 

Hielke Buddelmeijer KI5JYX

Secretary KARS

 

Minutes from the KARS BOD January 31, 2022

Original agenda:                                         

1. Apologies for absence
2. Treasurer report
3. Secretary report

* Activities coordinator report

4. General discussion

 

Meeting notes:

Our KARS board of directors meeting was conducted via Zoom.

 

• The meeting started at 7:30 PM with all board members present.

 

• The treasurer reported that there is $xxxxin the bank account and $xxxx in the PayPal account. This reflects membership renewals and the proceeds from the sale of Mike Brennan’s bequeathed radio equipment. HamClubOnline automated messages are going out for members to renew their membership.

 

• KARS received new member applications from Dan Mumford (Advanced), Michelle MacDonald (General), and Jonathan Taylor (General) who will be put up for a vote at the February (Valentine’s Day) General meeting.

 

• Bridgecom was mentioned as a potential speaker on DMR and/or DMR equipment for the General Meeting as was ABR Industries to give a presentation on coax cable.The Katy Safety Fest will be held on April 23 this year at Katy Mills Mall.

  There will be a swap meet outside of Freddy’s Café every 3^rd Saturday of the month from 8AM, except in March as not to conflict with the Houston Area Tailgate (which replaces the Houston Area Hamfest this year). The swap meet at Freddy’s Café will be advertised to local area HAM clubs.

The meeting concluded at 7:54 PM.

 

K5JBT did this presentation on Grounding and it is highly recommended

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cMUcgPjWD7ttZLAI2O3xf2BadTH0clcd/view

Winter Field Day will be held on January 29/30, 2022. KARS will setup at Cullen Park in Pavilion C as we normally do. The event runs from 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Sunday. KARS wants to make this a successful social event and will be providing Lunch and refreshments. The plan is to start setup around noon. Please use the signup form if you plan on attending so we can get an estimated head count for ordering food.  https://forms.gle/eemhq46HUyE7EEuf8

The event is open to all so feel free to bring friends and family.

More information about Winter Field Day can be found here
https://www.winterfieldday.com/

Minutes from the KARS BOD November 29, 2021

Original agenda:                                          

1. Apologies for absence

2. Treasurer report

3. Secretary report

* Activities coordinator report

4. General discussion

Meeting notes:

Our KARS board of directors meeting was conducted via Zoom.

1. The meeting started at 7:30 PM with all board members present.

• The treasurer reported that there is $xxxx.xxin the bank account and $xxx.xx in the PayPal account. The members had approved the purchase of a (used) laptop to conduct our General Member meeting also via Zoom, but a suitable laptop has not yet been found. There are several attractive options available, and the expectation is that we will soon find a good deal and purchase it.

The amateur radio field trip to the Senior Road Tower facility in Missouri City has about 30 members signed up.At the November General Meeting the members approved that KARS would contribute $150 towards the costs of refreshments and lunch.

• KARS received a new member application from Salvador Garza (KI5SRR, General) and Ed Arrighi (Associate) who both will be put up for a vote at the December General meeting.

To date, 22 sets of 6 tickets (132 tickets total) have been sold. A pack of 6 tickets costs $10 meaning that we already more than broke even on the Raspberry Pi 400 prize.

• Jack Cavutti (NZ5TX) reported that at the last VE training session they had 9 people taking exams. Two became Extras. One person did not pass their technician class exam.
  
  Winter Field Day will be held on January 29 and 30. It will likely be a low-key fun half day at Cullen Park as it has been in the past.
  
  The Treasurer shared an inventory list of old radio equipment that was donated to the club (Mike’s bequest). The board will have to decide what to do with it. Some may be sold, some of it may be kept by the club for club use, and some of it may be given to club members. The inventory list will need to be cleaned up and values will have to be assigned to the various items.
  
  The Christmas party (December General Meeting) will have no presentation, but Sergio will touch base with John Thurmond about either giving, or knowing about someone who might give, a presentation on grounding.

The meeting concluded at 7:54 PM.

Hielke Buddelmeijer

KARS Secretary

KI5JYX

The Christmas meeting on 13th December will be held at Rudi’s BBQ on the I-10 starting at 7:30. We have the rear room reserved but Rudi’s advised that if they get a ‘paying’ booking we may have to vacate and move to the main room. I am assured this isn’t really an issue though.

The raffle prize will be drawn so make sure you have your tickets beforehand. Heilke will have some for sale on the night.

Hope to see you all there for some great BBQ and fun.

Original agenda:                                          

1. Apologies for absence

2. Treasurer report

3. Secretary report

4. Activities coordinator report

5. General discussion

Meeting notes:

Our KARS board of directors meeting was conducted via Zoom.

1. The meeting started at 7:30 PM.

• The treasurer reported that there is a little over $7,000 in the account. Given that the members have approved spending by the board without approval as long as it is below $250, the Treasurer will go ahead and purchase a Raspberry Pi 400 kit for the Christmas raffle, and a webcam and microphone to conduct the General meeting over Zoom for those unable to attend in person at the fire station. The club has been using member’s private equipment, but given that Zoom seems to be a permanent feature the investment was deemed prudent.

The Treasurer secured an amateur radio field trip to the Senior Road Tower facility in Missouri City.  This is a 2000 foot mast (tower) that is used by the majority of the FM radio stations in Houston. We will get to see the combiner room, and hopefully we will get to see some of the Transmitter rooms. The date is Dec 11th at 10am. Participants need to sign up on a Google Doc. Information has been provided through the KARS listserver. If approved at the General Meeting, KARS will contribute $100 towards refreshments and lunch.

The members will be asked to approve the purchase of a (used) laptop during Black Friday / Cyber Monday to run Zoom during the General Meetings. The initial idea of using the Raspberry Pi 400 failed because the unix client for Zoom does not run on the processor the Raspberry Pi uses (AMD?).

• Robert Hicks (W5TKB, Extra Class) will be put up for a vote for membership in the upcoming General Meeting.

Raffle Tickets will be created by the Secretary using the templates from last year. Care needs to be taken to include the legally required details. These aren’t too onerous but need to spell out the day of the drawing and the prize, among others.

The Christmas party and meeting will be held at Rudy’s at 1930 hours on the second Monday in December. The room has been reserved, with the understanding that should a paying party show up we will be bumped towards the patio in the front.

The meeting concluded at 7:50 PM.

Hielke Buddelmeijer

KARS Secretary

KI5JYX

Minutes from the KARS BOD May 31, 2021

(Held on Wednesday June 2 due to May 31 being Memorial Day)

Original agenda:                                          

1. Apologies for absence

2. Treasurer report

3. Secretary report

4. Activities coordinator report

5. General discussion

Meeting notes:

In keeping with the continuing social distancing guidelines, our KARS board of directors meeting was conducted via Zoom. The original meeting was slated for May 31, but it being Memorial Day the meeting was moved to Wednesday June 2. The meeting started early at 7:20 pm.

1. The original scheduled time for the meeting was 7:30 PM, but the meeting was started early and everyone was present at 7:20 PM.

• The treasurer reported that the equipment insurance premium ($203) was paid. 
  • The liability insurance, which is separate, is $323.20 and is due in July. The liability insurance payment is cumbersome as we are unable to use PayPal to pay it.
  • Taxes were filed with the IRS before Tax Day, but no taxes were due.
  • Elmer accounts have been created on HamClubOnline.com and Jimmy Vance (NA5D), the Treasurer, will become an Elmer, too.
  • Money needs to be paid to Tidelands HAMfest for two swap tables ($15 each). Tidelands HAMfest will be on July 10.
  • Field Day will be on the 4^th weekend in June (26^th and 27^th). Same rules as last year will apply, meaning that people can participate individually from home and have their results tallied and attributed to KARS. There will also be a contingent of members meeting in Cullen Park, after the breakfast, to set up radios and participate in Field Day. The park will not be reserved, unless there is a strong desire by the club members to do so. The reason is the park is very under-utilized.

• The Secretary reported that the membership form for Jeff (Paul) Granstrom was still with the Treasurer, but during the Saturday breakfast we will organize a handover.
  • On Monday June 5 the Treasurer will walk the President and Secretary through the different features of HamClubOnline.com
  • The Secretary will go to the storage unit and make an inventory and take photos to assess possible items for the Tidelands HAMfest.

• Due to the activities coordinator position remaining unfulfilled, there was no report presented.

• General discussion

1. A door raffle with prices will happen for the General Meeting in June, to increase the incentive to attend the monthly meetings at the fire station.
   1. A contact person was mentioned within CentrePoint as a potential speaker for the General Meeting.
   1. The BVARC Ice Cream Social for August is still on the agenda.

The meeting concluded shortly before 8:00 pm as the Technical Session was about to start and uses the same Zoom link.

Hielke Buddelmeijer

KARS Secretary

KI5JYX

Original agenda:                                          

1. Apologies for absence

2. Treasurer report

3. Secretary report

4. Activities coordinator report

5. General discussion

Meeting notes:

In keeping with the continuing social distancing guidelines, our KARS board of directors meeting was conducted via Zoom. The meeting started at 7:40 pm 

1. The VP joined late, but the other three board members were present from the start.

• The treasurer reported that the new higher rate for the storage unit was paid ($72) and we are not getting the discount. The storage unit still needs to be cleaned out. Taxes are due after the MS 150 ride.
  • A few people still need to pay their membership fees.
  • We have 91 paid members out of 119 entries in the database (but 115 is a more accurate number)
• The secretary reported on two potential new members, Michael Hunt and Miciah Hecker

• Due to the activities coordinator position remaining unfulfilled, there was no report presented.

• General discussion

1. The Net Control script was updated by the President. Older files were archived.
   1. During Net Control on 4/27 the President will ask for suggestions on topics for the monthly presentations during our General Membership Meetings.
   1. We still do not have an activities coordinator. The suggestion was raised to perhaps re-purpose that position/description and establish something more relevant for the club. It was also suggested that if we do not fill that position within a reasonable timeframe the BoD will jointly come up with some activities for the club.
   1. The very first Virtual-In-Person (VIP) general meeting worked well. We need to work on capturing the activity within the fire station. The reception of members via Zoom into the fire station was great.
   1. The President raised the possibility of two members that could be asked to serve as Elmers. He was going to speak with them to see if they are interested.
   1. It was agreed the BoD needs to be kept in the loop on testing activities. The email for testing on the website diverts directly to the testing coordinator (Gerald), but there is some uncertainty if and when we will have further testing.
   1. A door raffle with prices will likely start in June, to increase the incentive to attend the monthly meetings at the fire station.

• Other business
  • The Treasurer said he was thinking of a tailgate event at Cullen Park. TDXS had done one recently and we could potentially coordinate with them.

The meeting concluded shortly before 8:20 pm.

Hielke Buddelmeijer

KARS Secretary

KI5JYX