Present In Person (7): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve K1RF, Toy K1WYQ), Rusty K4SAA, Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary) , Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Steve W1SMS (Vice President)
Present Virtually (5): Jon AI1V, Peter KC1PWH, Bill W1BKR, Jonathan W1DYN, Paul W1PPL
Social Preamble: 7-7:30 – Early technology and social discussions revolved around the upcoming change of call sign of our repeater trustee, the joys of portable bluetooth speakers, help for DMR programming, and general issues related to the repeaters which became old business.
General Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:30
A motion to accept minutes of the November meeting was approved unanimously.
Some discussion and generation of ideas for club activities became folded into New Business (see below).
Treasurers Report:
Dave shared results and finances from the Holiday party which had 25 attendees. All agreed that although costs were higher than last year, the food this year was an improvement.
To date we have 8 paid members. Last year paid membership was 65. Notification and membership renewal instructions will be sent out very soon. A review of 2025 club finances revealed we were once again in the black for the year.
2026 expenses so far include payment for a Zoom account that was implemented successfully for this meeting.
In the upcoming months we will need to file a form 990, and renew our mailbox at the UPS store. GNARC will host the Blooming Metric event in May; Dave will be this year’s point person, he will need help and member participation.
Election of New Officers:
Toy, representing the nominating committee, put forth the slate of officers who served in 2025 to be elected for another year. Club by-laws state that only members who attend in person may vote on new officers. Due to sparse attendance at this meeting, a motion was put forth to temporarily suspend this and allow everyone in attendance, both in-person and virtual, to participate in the voting. This was unanimously agreed upon.
As the club by-laws stipulate, prior to the vote new nominations from the floor were sought three times, none were offered. The current officers were unanimously re-elected.
Old Business:
Some discussion of issues related to the clubs repeaters centered around two issues: the 2 m repeater currently in use whose antenna is located in the tower on Strawberry Hill ave, and the new repeater and antenna to be installed at Norwalk Hospital. Steve says there is a plan in place to get full access to the tower in the event maintenance or problem-solving is needed, but the system is functioning now and there’s no immediate urgency. The new repeater at the Hospital site needs to be fully operational before he can move forward on the tower access project. If we do end up with a calamitous failure, he should be able to fix it, but in the meantime we should view it as a working system and not disturb it. There’s a lot of work involved and he is getting to it as he can make progress. Some members reported sporadic failure during last summer’s Bloomin Metric and at other warm weather times, we should involve “Repeater Steve” if and when this happens.
Some noted that activity on the 2 m repeater has declined, that it isn’t being used much. However we must be able to rely on it when we need to, and as of now that is the case.
New Business:
Hugo noted that the club will be replacing Tom Gunther, W1TEG, as former trustee of the club’s W1NLK call sign, with Hugo AA1XV as the new trustee.
Toy suggested that during the winter months (cold times), we should consider holding meetings entirely on Zoom as was done during the pandemic. Starting earlier might be beneficial for some, the idea that we could postpone the traditional “social” portion of the meeting until later and start the old/new business side of the meeting first at 7:00 has merit. Yet,there are clear advantages to gathering in person. When there is a presentation, it can be done over Zoom but might be better in person.
A larger discussion issue began with the idea that meetings in person enhance the health of the club, but we need a reason to attend. Some challenging questions were posed for us to think about…. Why do people come to meetings? What can each of us do to make the club better?
A review of current club activities includes Saturday morning breakfasts, the Holiday party, summer picnic, field days, service activities (Blooming metric), weekly nighttime nets, POTA exercises. What else are we doing? What else could we be doing to engage our members?
It was noted that much of the core participation group is an aging population. How can we attract more (younger) people and keep them interested? Possibly reaching out to the ARRL periodically for a list of newly licensed hams in the area would be a start.
We must keep reminding ourselves and each other that we are all volunteers!
Hugo reminded us of the list of events and initiatives outlined by The ARRL Connecticut Section Manager in his email to members dated 12/30/25.
Toy reminded us of the profound role Tim W1GIG, now a silent key, played in the club during his years of involvement. He proposed we should do something in memory of W1GIG. We will be working to formulate ideas for memorializing him, perhaps something at the ARRL site in Newington.
Meeting was adjourned at 8;34
Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Recording Secretary
Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 11/12/25
Present In Person (7): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve K1RF, Jeff KB1C (Secretary) , Joe KC1AUH, Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Paul W1PPL, Steve W1SMS (Vice President)
Present Virtually: Tom KD1FBX
“If the people don’t want to come out to the ball park, nobody’s going to stop them” -Yogi Berra
A Zoom meeting was tried, and seems to be a good fit for the technology and room at the Westport Library. The link was distributed in a last-minute email, hopefully more advance notice will help those wishing to attend virtually next time.
Social Preamble: 7-7:30 – come early to share and get caught up with fellow members’ fix, build and broadcast experiences!
General Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:32
Minutes from last month were approved with one correction: Steve K1RF had suggested a need for some major events and meeting programming to get some club excitement going. The word “major” was stricken.
Some discussion and generation of ideas for club activities included:
- Field day (light) – perhaps a POTA style, minimalistic approach
- Learning how to solder class
- Fox hunt – warm weather activity with a stop for refreshments after ?
- POTA events
- HF Net – Hugo would be net control 40 or 75/80M with possible use of club’s 2M repeater as a “duplex” intercom
Further ideas are welcome! (See New Business below)
Treasurers Report:
Paid membership remains at 65. Club finances are in good shape, augmented by sales of donated equipment. Expenses such as insurance and website are being kept current. A review of last year’s Holiday party menu and expenses suggests perhaps similar or slightly higher rates this year which will support some additions to the food offerings. Stay tuned for details.
Old Business:
Nothing new to report on the trailer; the new repeater is a continuing project while our current repeaters continue to function and serve club needs
New Business:
Toy is in charge of organizing and informing the club regarding elections for next year’s officers. Anyone interested should contact him, or Hugo.
We have received donations of a few radios that are for sale to interested club members: A Kenwood THF6 including mike,and a Kenwood TS140 transceiver are currently available.
The beginnings of idea generation for activities during club meetings:
Paul W1PPL has some kits that can be built teaching or reinforcing soldering skills. We would need to find a different location for the meeting if soldering will be involved for all attendees., other construction-based ideas: an attenuator for Fox hunting, simple antennas. Others? Your ideas are welcome!
Some discussion of attracting users to Nets included these thoughts:
What is the purpose of a net? In addition to fellowship and socialization, one relevant objective is making sure your equipment is working properly. There are currently well-run weekly ARES and club 2-meter Nets, structured to serve both strict and loose goals. (See note about new HF Net above.) How can participation be increased?
Presentation:
by Steve W1SMS : “Lightning Strikes”
A very interesting and informative cause-and-effect theory-based explanation of what causes lightning, and what results from a lightning strike. Detailed instructions for protecting buildings and equipment using various grounding systems preceded the story of a personal disaster at Steve’s home QTH and resulting recovery. He included detailed information on grounding: do’s and dont’s, physical equipment and best practices, and a helpful list of resources for further information, planning, and acquiring equipment. The presentation in electronic form will be available on the club website.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:56
Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Secretary
Hugo AA1XV, our club president, recently wrote to our Congressman and our two Senators to support the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act. His letters are shown here
Letter to Representative Himes
We urge all hams and supporters of ham radio to contact your Representative and Senator to support this legislation.
Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 10/08/2025
Held at the Westport Public Library
Present: W1SMS (Vice President), N1DPD (Treasurer), AI1V (recording), K1RF, K1MGD, W1PPL, K1CYW. We were unable to run internet access due to technical problems.
Meeting called to order at 7:30 pm
Minutes of the September meeting were approved.
Treasury: Good financial shape. We paid our CT Business Registration Fee ($50). Our insurance and website payments are coming up which will be about $375 total.
We have 65 current members, pretty much the same as last year.
Website: Nothing to report.
Repeaters: W1SMS has been busy and has not made any progress on the hospital repeater. He is still working on getting an MOU with the hospital to make sure we are covered there. He is planning on integrating Echolink into the repeater site rather than having it external to the repeater.
N1DPD was at the trailer and noticed a little rust on top of the back door. We will need to address it sooner rather than later.
It is time to start planning the holiday party – hint hint.
New business:
K1RF pointed out that we need some major events and meeting programming to get some club excitement going. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO ORGANIZE EVENTS AND ORGANIZE MEETING PROGRAMS!!!
Next meeting:
The next meeting is expected to be November 12 at the Westport Public Library. Informal gathering at 7pm, formal meeting to start at 7:30 pm.
Meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm.
Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Time: In person 7:00 PM, Remote access starts at 7:30 PM
Location: Westport Library – Room 210,
20 Jesup Rd. Westport, CT 06880
Our informal session will run from 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM, providing a great opportunity for discussion and brainstorming. The formal part of the meeting will begin at 7:30 PM with audio/video access available. Topics will include upcoming fall activities, event planning, and general club updates.
If you cannot attend in person, you can join the meeting online. Instructions will be sent out to club members.
Hope to see you all there.
Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 9/18/2025
Held at the Westport Public Library
Present: W1SMS (Vice President), N1DPD (Treasurer), AI1V (recording), K1RF, KB1HVC, KC1WSE
By internet: KC1FB, W1PPL
Meeting called to order at 7:30 pm
Deferred approval of the minutes of the previous meeting due to lack of people.
Treasury: Good financial shape. Summer picnic cost $699. We had budgeted $700. Spent $95 on a wheel lock for the trailer since it is no longer being stored at the fire station.
We have 65 current members.
Website: Nothing to report.
Repeaters: W1SMS has been busy and has not made a lot of progress on the hospital repeater. However, he has been working on getting an MOU with the hospital to make sure we are covered there.
NV1P regularly runs the Wednesday night ragchew net and would love to get more people on the net. Details are on our website at http://gnarc.org/category/nets/
AA1XV is taking steps to make sure we are properly represented in the CSMA. We need to update the repeater trustees to active local members, which is a requirement for CSMA. In fact, CSMA requires that any trustees are officers of the club.
Lighthouses On The Air: Three members went out to Sheffield Island for a LOTA activation. It went well.
Further discussed issues around implementing a remote station at W1SMS’s site. If you are a club member and think you would be interested in operating via a remote station at his site, please contact W1SMS via our email reflector.
W1SMS is also interested in knowing if anyone would be interested in operating HF contacts from his location in the Danbury area. Again, if you are interested, contact W1SMS via our email reflector.
New business:
We received some equipment from an elderly ham. N1DLD has photos. Is anyone interested in taking the equipment to a local hamfest – especially the Nutmeg hamfest coming up in October?
Next meeting:
The next meeting is expected to be October 8 at the Westport Public Library. Informal gathering at 7pm, formal meeting to start at 7:30 pm.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 pm.
We will be getting together about 7pm at the Westport Public Library and the meeting will officially start at 7:30pm.
The Westport Public Library is at 20 Jesup Rd, Westport CT
