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July 2019 Meeting Minutes

Alan Streitman W4UB called the meeting to order at 9:59 am at Fire Station 65 in Palm Harbor.

Alan Streitman W4UB reviewed the Club’s goals and core values.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Jeff deGrasse K4JJD.

The Agenda overview was presented

The Club Board members and meeting attendees were introduced.

Reports

  • Secretary’s Report – Jeff deGrasse K4JJD stated that the June 1, 2019 Meeting Minutes were posted on the Forum. Steve Foy N4FOY moved to approve the meeting minutes, Kevin Poorman KV4CT seconded the motion, and the motion was passed.
  • Treasurer’s Report – Glenn Panazzolo N4ESU prepared the report which was presented by Alan Streitman W4UB. There are 59 current members. The total balance is currently $3,302.13. Gerry Pollack WR6N moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report, Mike Branda K4HN seconded the motion, and the motion was passed.

Committees

  • Technical – Alan Streitman W4UB reported that the repeater was running fine until the last club net of the month when a warbling sounding transmission occurred for while then it disappeared. The repeater real time clock board and speech synthesizer have been replaced. Tom Schaefer NY4I investigated the announcement (DVR) storage to insure the stored messages were valid. The repeater firmware will be reloaded after the Club meeting.
  • HamWan –The antenna equipment was tested on June 22. It successfully reached Tampa. We need to work with Clayton to schedule an installation date ion the #65 tower.
  • Club Net Status – Glenn Panazzolo N4ESU prepared the report which was presented by Alan Streitman W4UB. During the month of June 4 nets were held with 50 total check-ins. A call for more net controllers was issued. Glen in New York reported receiving Alan Streitman W4UB during the HF Rag Chew but Glen’s transmissions were in and out of the noise level.
  • VE Testing – Mike Branda K4HN reported two new Technician and one General licenses were granted.
  • Communications – Jason Esterline N4BOZ stated that the Website migration to a new WordPress based platform is in progress with the assistance of Tom Schaefer NY4I. The goal is to make additions easier, to increase flexibility, and to have plugin support. The new site ‘uparc.org’ hopefully will be functional in a few days.
  • ARRL (Summer) Field Day – 3 HF stations and 4 antennas were in operation. Tom Schaefer NY4I reported there were over 1,000 contacts but 80 less that the previous Field Day. Unofficial total score is 4,788 which is down 8% from last year. It was noted that the wooden parking lot coax protectors broke under the weight from vehicles and must be redesigned.
  • Social and Events – Alan Streitman W4UB presented the report for Jack Kinney N4KIN and announced the Weekly Trivia Net, There will be a Breakfast Social at Perkins on July 27 at 9:00 am. SPARC, CARS, and UPARC are planning a joint deployment on September 21 at Eagle Lake Park in Largo.
  • Youth and Community Outreach – Alan Streitman W4UB reported the Oldsmar Fire Station Ham radio Technician license training and testing is planned for July 13 and July 27 at 8:00 am. We are awaiting confirmation from Lt. Young. Steve Foy N4FOY noted that it is time to order class materials.

Old Business

501 C3 Status:. Ken Scaggs WQ3V reported that his research found the Club must incorporate first as part of acquiring nonprofit status. Ken discovered a caveat that Florida incorporation does not necessarily conform to IRS standards. Ken is trying to determine the proper language to enter on the forms for UPARC incorporation.

New Business

Nothing reported.

Upcoming Events

Next Club meeting will occur August 3 at Fire Station 65 at 10:00 with VE testing beforehand at 8:30.

Technical Presentation

Patrick Connelly AA0O gave the Club a Parks on the Air (POTA) presentation. This described what POTA is, how it works for activators, how the logging works, and explained the activator awards system. He provided his mobile gear for our inspection.

Jason Esterline N4BOZ conducted a 50/50 raffle.
The meeting was formally adjourned at 11:22.

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