Present in Person (20): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve W1SMS (Vice President), Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Jon AI1V (Recorder), Steve K1RF, Martin K1MGD, Chuck K1CWT, Joe KC1AUH,  Dan N3DAW, Rich K1CYW, Peter KC1JGY, Daniel KC1WSE, Elliott K1MF, Paul W1PPL, Bill KC1WJR, MJ (guest), Carl KR1STF, Susie KC1QVE, Peter KC1TMT, Peter KC1YMJ

Peter K1PCN (CT ARES, Guest speaker)

Present Virtually (6): Peter KC1PWH, Richard M (guest), Steve N1CM, Steven M (guest), Tom M (guest), John W1JGM

Business Meeting called to order by AA1XV at 7pm

Guest attendees welcomed (both ham and non-ham).

May minutes accepted, no correction.

Treasurer’s report by N1DPD:

• Donation from Sound Cyclists
• 58 members
• No significant expenses coming up except summer party

Old Business

Our support for the Bloomin Metric bicycle ride went well.  Sound Cyclists made a donation to GNARC for our work in providing them with communications. 

Club standby repeater operational at W1SMS home in Danbury.  Range limited due to low mounted antenna.  Being tested.  No date for deployment at hospital.

People have been reading the newsletter.  Good content but file size is too large for some browsers, especially on phones.  Photo files too big.  One newsletter was over 134 Meg in size.

New Business

We will be doing Field Day with HARC and GFARA at the Westport Astronomical Society.

——

The business meeting was adjourned at about 7:30. 

Peter K1PCN gave a informative and directly useful presentation on MeshCore, which seems to be replacing MeshTastic. MeshCore is growing rapidly in this area and is being adopted by emergency responders in some of the towns within Region One based on MeshCore repeaters being put up by amateur operators in the area.

Respectfully submitted by Jon AI1V

Present In Person (10): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve W1SMS (Vice President),Dave N1DPD ,(Treasurer), Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary), Steve K1RF, Rich K1CYW, Peter KC1TMT, Chuck K1CWT, Peter  KC1YMJ, Michael  KC1WXK

Present Virtually:  Difficulty starting the Zoom meeting prevented virtual attendance

Business Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at  7:11

New attendees welcomed: Peter  KC1YMJ, Peter KC1TMT

April minutes were accepted, no corrections.

Treasurer’s Report: by  Dave N1DPD: 

We are at 58 paid members.

Recent expenses for Bloomin Metric – Club banner was purchased last month

Our next expenses will be related to Field Day, including a donation to WAS

Secretary’s Report: by Jeff KB1C: 

Recent positive feedback included “complaints” that the newsletter is too long…rather that than the opposite! Members are urged to send suggestions/corrections/content to Jeff

General:

Rich K1CYW is planning to put up a repeater to add to a Mesh network. There was some discussion of issues with the club’s doing this at our Norwalk Hospital, a major difficulty being that maintenance is not remote capable. Steve W1SMS will look into it.

This upcoming Sunday 5/17 is the Bloomin Metric bike ride. GNARC Event chair Dave N1DPD has some help already lined up from club members; setup will be at Sherwood Island Park 6:15-6:30AM, with first riders going out at 7 

New Business: 

New GNARC member Michael Powers from Wilton was introduced, just upgraded to his Extra ticket last week. Charles N1LLL helped him get started, and in the process of getting his shack set up.

Longtime club member W1PPL is recovering at home from some health issues…we wish him well! 

Goshen Hamfest is this upcoming weekend, as is the much larger Dayton Hamvention in Ohio. 

The club will be looking to liquidate old/donated equipment. Hugo floated the idea of a silent auction of some kind to generate interest and activate the process. Nothing was decided…in the meantime he needs someone to store the club’s surplus equipment, about 1 cubic yard of space would help immensely! Contact him if you can do this!

Some members will be keeping and using (auditioning? babysitting?) radios, tuners,etc. subject to club recall when needed.  Watch the reflector and the newsletter for lists of what’s available. Any member can borrow (try out) available surplus equipment under these terms. Contact Hugo for more info.

The weekly Thursday HF nets are averaging 5-7 participants. All are welcome.

Show and Tell: Steve K1RF brought 2 tiny 5 W transceivers, “small but mighty”. The smaller unit, the QMX , covers options for 80-20m, 60-15m,or 20-10m The newest unit, the QMX+ (larger unit), covers 160-6m. Both can be built from a kit (recommend experienced kit builders only!)  or purchased assembled. The units are very efficient and competitively priced. Steve has contributed to helping the company design/improve their equipment. For more info or to purchase a new radio, go to QRPLabs.com.

__________

The meeting was adjourned at 8:23PM

Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Recording Secretary

Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 4/8/26 

Present In Person (5): Hugo AA1XV (President), Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary) , Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Rusty K4SAA, Steve K1RF

Present Virtually (5):   Rich K1CYW, Steve N1CM,  Jon AI1V, Bill KC1TX, Peter KC1PWH

Business Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:07 

We had some struggles with audio in room 216, making it difficult for those present in person to hear virtual attendees. This room will be our meeting location for a few more months, and the tech deficiency belongs to the Westport library, so we will need to find a workaround.

There was no presentation scheduled for the meeting. March minutes were accepted.

Old Business: Dave N1DPD reported not many signups to help with the Bloomin Metric thus far; there’s still a bit of time until the event. All volunteers are needed!

President’s Report: by Hugo AA1XV: Hugo shared an old PowerPoint on QRP radios with many slides outdated, though containing useful information. It will be uploaded to the GNARC website.

Treasurer’s Report: by  Dave N1DPD: Dave showed off a new display banner with the club’s Logo, to be hung at public events. Total cost was $61.

As of today, paid membershipship is at 46, including our two newest members:  Michael KC1WXK,  and John KF6CHT. Welcome! 

We will publish a list of paid members, as a way of reminding those who may have forgotten. We encourage everyone to get on that list if they aren’t already.

Dave also showed off new QR codes, one as a graphic link to the GNARC website, and one to use PayPal to pay club dues.

Club finances remain in good shape, all current bills paid. Next anticipated expenses will be related to Field day.

 Webmaster Report: by Jon AI1V

Jon can publish equipment you want to sell on the website; we can also list it in the newsletter—send item list to Jeff KB1C.

There was some discussion of the club Facebook page, but ongoing social media abuses complicate this.

Secretary’s Report: by Jeff KB1C: I received a pleasant email from Ed K3EIN, along with his copy of the March puzzle dutifully filled in with all answers perfect! 

Please consider contributing content if there’s anything you think club members might be interested in: announcements, items for sale, suggestions, and especially corrections, etc. Your ideas are welcome! The April issue contains a new different kind of puzzle,and some other surprises.

New Business: 

VP Steve W1SMS has acquired as a donation a set of Duplexers in fine condition, including 4 “cans”, to be incorporated into our backup repeater system. To be determined: some gift for the donor, who does not wish to be paid. 

GNARC antenna guru Steve K1RF reported on his testing of the club’s EFHW 8010 end-fed antenna, including how to properly tune an end fed dipole.

Rich K1CYW recommended and shared a link to the East Coast network : https://www.eastcoastreflector.com/ . The repeater system can also be accessed on Echo Link at ECR9050.

President Hugo reminded us that for the next few months our meeting location will be room 216 here in the Westport Library.

A motion to close the meeting passed, and we adjourned at 7:49PM

Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Recording Secretary

Present In Person (6): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve K1RF, Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary) , Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Steve W1SMS (Vice President), Rusty K4SAA

Present Virtually (6):  Toy K1WYQ, Rich K1CYW, Steve N1CM, Tom WB2HTJ, Jess ND1L, Andre W2ART

Business Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:11

Hugo welcomed Steve N1CM, president of SARA, and Tom WB2HTJ, now in North Carolina.

Minutes of the February meeting as previously distributed were approved, with the modification that the summer party should be changed to summer picnic.

Old Business:

President’s Report: by Hugo AA1XV: We were reminded of the loss of N1ZD last month, and all the memories we have of him, particularly pictures.

He related that no one joined the HF Net last Thursday night, noting band conditions were noisy and hoping this week’s is more active. We have not had a lot of feedback on presentations about antennas in the past, perhaps tonight’s session will help. The more general question is: how many are operating HF with any regularity?

Treasurer’s Report: by  Dave N1DPD: Last month, a paid expense was flowers for N1ZD’s calling hours. A goodwill donation to the Westport Astronomical Society to maintain a future relationship is in the works. We may consider selling some equipment to generate revenue. As of today, paid membershipship is at 44.

Secretary’s Report: by Jeff KB1C: Not much feedback of any kind has been received on the newsletter, it’s impossible to determine the extent of readership. Please consider contributing content if there’s anything you think club members might be interested in: announcements, items for sale, suggestions, and especially corrections, etc. Your ideas are welcome! Watch for the April issue…a new puzzle, and a new feature – “Ask Elmer!”

New Business:

Newsletter issues will be archived on the club website.

Steve N1CM will be attending the upcoming Southington Hamfest on 3/22, he may be selling equipment there; he will check with other SARA members. If they do have a table there, he has offered to include GNARC equipment. He was asked if any VE sessions are in the works; as of now testing is on demand, exams are generated using an online tool, and no requests are pending.

Dave N1DPD is running the upcoming Bloomin Metric event in May, for which we offer radio support services. He will be looking for helpers for this, stay tuned!

Rich K1CYW has some equipment to donate to the club, which is much appreciated.

Main Event: Presentation:

Steve K1RF’s talk “End Connected-Off Center Fed Dipole Antennas” (EC-OCFD) was loaded with technical detail on history,  construction, testing, and comparison with other types of antennas for various bands. To achieve his goal of building low-cost, easy to build, efficient, hi-power multiband antennas, Steve has extensively researched many different wire models. Accompanied by the origination and evolution of each model, we learned who designed each, what materials are involved, and what works well on various bands.

The precursor models to the EC-OCFD included the City Windom, sleeve dipole, end-fed monocord, banana half wave end fed choked coax model, and single band end fed and center fed portable antennas. Each antenna was presented in detail, including construction and effectiveness. Charts and graphs showing efficiency, and lists of parts needed and where to obtain them were included.

Steve’s highly informative and interesting presentation thoroughly outlined the pros and cons of EC-OCFD vs end fed half wave antennas. Thank you, Steve!

Powerpoint will be available on the club website.

Any questions or more information needed?  Contact Steve at K1RF@ARRL.net.

Bonus Presentation: “Operating Opportunities-Get On The Air!”

 Rusty K4SAA shared details of some DXpeditions he knows and has participated in. Many stations present uncommon, even rare CW, voice, or digital contact opportunities; details about locations, time frames, and even folks you’ll meet describe terrific goals for Hams to try, some being more challenging than others. Rusty will supply his detailed list for inclusion on the club website. Thank you, Rusty!

Hugo AA1XV informed us that next month’s meeting location will be changing to room 216 here in the Westport Library. The meeting is expected to be on April 8.

The Meeting was adjourned at 8:42.

Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Secretary

Present In Person (6): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve K1RF, Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary) , Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Steve W1SMS (Vice President), Chuck K1CWT

Present Virtually (4): Toy K1WYQ, Rich K1CYW, Jim KC1FB, Paul W1PPL

Business Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:02
Longtime club member Chuck K1CWT attending in person was welcomed.

Minutes of the January meeting as previously distributed were approved.

Old Business:
Treasurer’s Report: by Dave N1DPD: The club’s trailer registration and mailbox renewal expenditures were completed. A summary of last year’s income and expenses left us in the black for 2025, we are hoping for the same in 2026! As of 2/17 paid membership is at 38. Next anticipated expenses will be related to June Field Day and the annual summer party.

Secretary’s Report: by Jeff KB1C: The first issue of the newsletter was well received by a small but mighty group of members. The puzzles will continue, and there might even be math in there occasionally! We will shoot for releasing a new issue at the beginning of every month, so look for Volume 1, no. 2 (March issue) in a couple of weeks. As always, your announcements, items for sale, suggestions, content contributions are welcome!

VP’s Report: by Steve W1SMS: A duplexer has been located and is in the process of being tested and configured. Club President, VP, and Secretary recently visited West Rocks Middle School, long ago a club repeater site, to determine what equipment if any might be found there and its condition assessed; no hardware was found but there is an antenna on the roof though it is not clear whether it belongs to the club. We will maintain a relationship with the school administration to possibly use the school, which is located fairly up in Norwalk geographically, as a future alternate repeater site.

New Business:
President Hugo AA1XV and VP Steve W1SMS reported having dinner with Dan N3DAW to explore a collaborative relationship with the Westport Astronomical Society, expanding on GNARC’s previous use of their facilities for Field Day activities. The goal would be establishing a more or less permanent station there, but right now there are some infrastructure and access challenges, such as environment, availability and security, which make this impractical. It was suggested that the club make a donation in the form of a membership as a good will gesture, to continue the relationship for future considerations.

Hugo AA1XV announced an upcoming meeting at WAS at a future date: Joe Carcia, manager of W1AW at ARRL, will be on hand and presenting, all are invited, stay tuned! This will be in addition to our regular GNARC second Wednesday March meeting on 3/11 at the Westport Library. At that meeting, Steve K1RF will present an end-connected dipole antenna.

Steve W1SMS related his recent pilgrimage to Hamcation in Florida. He promises more detail in his report in the March newsletter, but reported attendance at the event was a bit lighter than last year’s, and offerings at the flea market not as interesting to him. In general he enjoyed the Dayton Hamfest more, but encouraged members to attend a future major event where random personal connections with other interesting hams make the experience very worthwhile.

Hugo AA1XV made a plug for the newly-operational Thursday night HF Net, which he said has started with a small but enthusiastic nucleus of attendees, which he is hoping to grow. You can tune in to 3965 +/- QRM – he will post the exact frequency in use for that evening’s session on the reflector at 7:55 PM.

Business Meeting was closed at 7:46

Steve W1SMS gave the main event presentation of the evening, extremely informative and packed with detail: “A Visual History of Flex Radios, Their Remote Operation Capabilities, and Remote Operation in General.”

Beginning with the definition of Software Defined Radio (SDR), he related how the idea for these communication systems started and evolved; those in attendance were able to hold and pass around the room samples of early and more recent Flex radios Steve brought. He traced the evolution of the various models he owns and uses, the manner in which early models which were more analog became more digital, and the way the radio and computer shared more of the work as time went on. As smaller footprint models were developed, remote and portable operation became more and more prevalent. Software evolved from being open-source with experimentation and expansion encouraged, to the current closed, proprietary product which can run on a desktop, laptop, tablet, even a cell phone. He highlighted and passed around a number of accessories, including a USB-connected knob for users who need to turn knobs! The Flex radios allow for SO2R (Single operator, 2 radios) systems as well as multiple operators sharing a single radio.

During a brief discussion of the seeming complexity of SDR systems, and the challenge involved building and maintaining them as compared with traditional stations, Steve reminded us all that this hobby is technical by its nature, and it is important to document changes as they occur.

We sincerely thank Steve for his interesting presentation! His Powerpoint will be available on the club website.

The Meeting was adjourned at 8:48.
Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Secretary