GNARC Meeting Minutes, January 8, 2025
Location: Westport Library, Conference Room 216
Attending: Officer members –Hugo AA1XV, President; Marty K1MGD, Vice President; Dave N1DPD Treasurer; Tom KB1FBX, Secretary
Other members in attendance: Toy K1WYQ; Steve W1SMS ; Steve K1RF; Rusty K4SAA; Mark N1MG; Jeff KB1C; Pete KC1PWH and Chuck K1CWT
Minutes: Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM by President Hugo
Election of New Officers for 2025:
Nominating committee: Toy K1WYQ and Paul W1PPL (who was not present) reviewed their slate of candidates:
Current officers – President Hugo AA1XV, Vice President Marty K1MGD, Treasurer Dave N1DPD, and Jeff KB1C for Secretary. Nominations from the floor were sought by Toy: Mark N1MG nominated Steve W1SMS for Vice President, which was duly seconded and who was elected by majority vote of attending members. Remaining officers and candidates in the proposed slate were also elected by majority vote.
Treasurer’s Report:
Treasurer Dave N1DPD reported 25 attended the Holiday Party in December, which after costs were subtracted from expenses was a net cost of $569. A financial statement form 2024 was presented which showed income from club dues, donations and sale of equipment against expenses related to taxes, form 990 filing,UPS mailbox, picnic supplies, holiday party, website, insurance, and new repeater and antenna at a cost of $2800, which overall meant( a net loss of $1553 for the year).
So far in 2025, 3 members have paid annual $35 dues. Members are asked to PLEASE pay using PayPal, via the link on the club website: http://gnarc.org/join/.
Dues can be mailed to:
Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club, 304 Main Avenue #115, Norwalk, CT 06851
Overall the club is in good shape financially.
There was some discussion of moving the club PO mailing address to someone’s private residence which would save $300 per year. Currently we are paid through March. Disadvantages of this would be the need to change mailing addresses registered to the club in lots of places, and this would need to change whenever the hosting member required us to change it (i.e., moved, quit the club, etc.) We would also need to retain both addresses for a one year overlap. Advantage of keeping things as they are is that the address remains permanent, No conclusions were reached.
Old Business:
Steve W1SMS reported the new repeater is working and will undergo a bit more testing. There was some discussion of antennas located at Norwalk Hospital and FOX radio station. The current tower on Strawberry Hill Ave is still in use though the site has been sold twice and we have had no contact with the present owners. We should wait until the new antenna is in place and has been tested before removing anything from anywhere.
Our trailer, which currently stores Field Day equipment, is currently located behind Fire Station #4 and we must find a new home for it within the next 6 months. There may also be some club “stuff” still stored in a closet there, and some antennas, which must be removed. We are seeking a volunteer or someone with contacts who can assist with this. Rusty K4SAA and Marty K1MGD may be able to help with this. (Update: on 1/9 we received an email from Marty K1MGD relating that there is in fact nothing in that room.). The trailer itself needs to be power washed and unusable “junk” inside remove, a possible springtime club project.
New Business:
Hugo AA1XV related a conversation he’s had with Steve N1CM, president of SARA about possibly connecting GNARC more with the Stamford club. SARA has their own way of doing Field Day, and so far we have not found common ground. The idea of trying other joint activities was explored but needs further research, GNARC and SARA did join forces to work at last summer’s “Bloomin Metric” bike race, which was successful in some ways but had some technology glitches. The question was raised: could we pair with SARA on other (non Field Day) activities, maybe contests?
A more general discussion followed revolving around the question posed by Steve W1SMS: What do GNARC members want? The idea of a survey of membership asking for thoughts/ideas/reactions was advanced.
More specifically, some discussion of exploring moving our Field Day back into Vets Park, but perhaps not as extensively as we’ve done it in the past. A lot of discussion and volunteering of antennas that would be simple to erect and give us good coverage of the band we need, perhaps making setup easier. No conclusions were reached; Hugo will survey the membership before the next club meeting. We have 4 meetings before FD to discuss and plan.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 12, at the Westport Library, room location TBA
Meeting adjourned 8:55 PM
Jeff KB1C, Secretary
(Note: Thank you for this opportunity to serve the club. Please address errors and corrections directly to me at gnarc.webmaster@gmail.com so I can keep accurate records!)
Monthly Members Meeting
June 12, 2024 – Meeting Minutes
This month we were unable to secure a room at the Comstock Center of Wilton. A virtual meeting was held.
Called to order by the president, Hugo AA1XV, at 1930 hours.
Attending: Officer members – Hugo AA1XV, President; Dave N1DPD, Treasurer. Other members and guests in attendance: Pete, KC1PWH; Paul, W1PPL; Jon, AI1V; Toy, K1WYQ; Steve, W1SMS; Dan (callsign?); Jim, KC1FB; Steve, K1RF; Johnny,W1DYN; Andre,W2ART.
Treasurer’s report: Our club is solvent. No changes since last meeting. No new paid members nor new expenses.
Committee Reports:A committee previously appointed on the matter of club assets, credentials, and technological evaluation of the repeaters and GNARC licenses and coordination, integrated by Steve W1SMS, Paul W1PPL, and Peter KC1PWH, presented a report on the current state of GNARC’s repeaters. This is a first step towards ensuring continuous availability of VHF communication by creating enough redundancy to address power loss, hardware failure, site inaccessibility, or any other unforeseen situation.
Peter KC1PWH put forward a motion for the Board of Directors (B.O.D.) to consider, and if adopted, authorize the expenditure of funds to cover the purchase of a new Yaesu Fusion repeater, a new collinear antenna, and other necessary hardware complemented with donated material to be installed at the Norwalk Hospital.
Subsequent steps for the broader scope of this committee will include:
- Installing an Echolink node
- Securing access to the current 2-meter repeater site
- Creating necessary maintenance documentation
- Ensuring rights to access the locations of the equipment
- Assuring the club’s rights over these locations.
Old Business:
Johnny, W1DYN, and Dave, W1DPD, provided a brief overview of the Bloomin Metric Bike race held this past month. Firstly, there were no injuries or accidents among the participants. However, it was noted that some areas on the route do not have reliable cell phone coverage, highlighting the convenience and reliability of radio communications to support the event.
New Business:
Toy, K1WYQ, expressed concern about the gnarc.org website. His concerns included outdated information and the vulnerability of membership email addresses to spam and exploitation by malicious actors. In this vein, I’d like to ask again for help: We’d like to have a permanent webmaster or someone willing to take care of our webpage on a more permanent basis.” Jon, AI1V, stepped in to help when Paul, W1IP, stepped down as webmaster after many years of dedicated service, for which we are very grateful. We are looking for volunteers who can dedicate a few hours a month to keep the website current and secure. If you are interested, please step forward and let us know.
Announcements:
This June 22 and 23 is the annual ARRL Field Day. GNARC will not participate as a club, but some members will join the event at the Westport Astronomical Society, collaborating with two other clubs. Setup will be on Friday, June 21st. If you want to reserve an operation slot, please visit: Field Day Signup Form.
The meeting was adjourned at 2100 hours.
We passed four (4) new Technician class hams at our session on May 11
Steve K1RF gave a very interesting presentation of the design and building of 80-10 meter delta loops. Please click here to view. Thank you Steve.
Monthly Members Meeting
March 12,2024 – Meeting Minutes
Meeting held at Comstock Community Center, Wilton, CT. 7:30PM
Attending: Officer members – Hugo AA1XV, President; Dave N1DPD, Treasurer; Tom – KB1FBX, Secretary. Other members and guests in attendance included: Steve K1RF, Jim KC1FB, Peter KC1PWH, Jon AI1V, Jonathan K1RFD
New Business:
David N1DPD gave an update: There are 54 paid members. We have adequate funds in the Treasury.
A new ham radio coordinator is needed for the Bloomin Metric coverage.
We discussed our repeaters. Steve W1SMS and Peter KC1PWH are going to pull together better information on the location of our repeaters and their conditions. Paul W1PPL is expected to help them.
We have 3 older radios to sell or let new members use.
We expect to combine with the Housatonic Amateur Radio Club and Greater Fairfield Amateur Radio Club to hold Field Day at the Westport Observatory on June 22-23.
At our March VE session, we had 4 people earn their Technician license. Next VE session will be May 11 at the Norwalk Public Library.
Dave, Hugo, and Martin (K1MGD) moved an assortment of radio gear and parts donated from Silent Key Joe WJ1M to the trailer.
The meeting closed at 8:10PM.
A presentation was made by Paul N1II regarding test equipment based on digital circuits. It was a well done presentation and we thank Paul.
Our next meeting will be April 10 at the Comstock Community Center.
Monthly Members Meeting
February 15,2024 – Meeting Minutes
Meeting at Comstock Community Center, Wilton, CT. 7:30PM.
Attending: Officer members – Hugo AA1XV, President; Dave N1DPD, Treasurer; Tom – KB1FBX, Secretary. Other members and guests in attendance included: Steve K1RF, Sam W1SMF, Mark N1MG, Pete KC1PWH, Andre, W2ART, Jon AI1V, Steve W1SMS, Jonathan K1RFD
Old Business:
A suggestion was made to cut off non-paying members and non-members from the email reflector. The overall question is: What is the benefit of membership if non-paying members and non-members get the same access to the reflector. A decision was not made.
New Business:
March 9, VE exam to be held at the Norwalk Public Library at 10am. Help needed.
A new ham radio coordinator is needed for the Bloomin Metric coverage.
The meeting closed at 8:15PM.
A presentation was made by Steve Dick regarding the 2024 Winter field day at the Westport radio shack. Well done presentation.
Our next meeting will be March 13 at the Comstock Community Center.
Monthly Members Meeting
January 10, 2024 – Meeting Minutes
Attending: Officer members –Jon AI1V, President; Dave N1DPD, Treasurer; Tom W1TEG, Secretary. Other members & guests in attendance included; Hugo AA1XV; Joe KC1AUH; Tom KB1FBX; Toy K1WYQ; Steve W1SMS, Pete KC1PWH and Marty K1MGD.
Location: Comstock Community Center, 180 School Rd, Wilton CT
Minutes: Meeting called to order at 7:40 PM by Tom W1TEG; – all in-person, no Zoom link was offered..
Order of Business
- Nominating Committee: report for election of Board members: Nominated were Hugo AA1XV for President; Tom KB1FBX – Secretary, Dave N1DPD for Treasurer and Marty K1MGD for VP. Motion to waive By Laws requirement for a quorum to be present for the election was made, seconded and unanimously voted. Thanks were noted to outgoing officers Jon AI1V and Tom W1TEG. Brief comments from nominated individuals occurred. No nominations from the floor received. All nominated were effectively elected for new terms starting immediately.
- Open Discussions: Discussed activities ahead including POTA, HF activity due to good cycle conditions, Field Days, Nets, DXing and presentations planned.
- Classes: no new class is currently planned.
- Treasurer’s Report – Accounts remain strong with minimal spending during the prior period and future month; 65 members have paid their dues to date. Holiday Party expenses were minimal ($275). The treasurer will look into expanding the funding source from merchandise offered by the club. Dues for the coming year were voted (8 in favor, 2 opposed) to remain the same at $35 – after general discussion. Need to better define the benefits of club membership to all in the upcoming dues solicitation.
- Meeting Presentation – none planned for this meeting.
- VE Session: next session is March 9 at Norwalk Library. Extra VEs are needed.
- Future meetings – Seeking ideas for future presentations and discussions.
- Club Dues — Annual Dues of $35 are due and payable January 1, 2023. Please PAY VIA PAYPAL. A link is on our website. http://gnarc.org/join/
Next meeting will be February 15th a THURSDAY. IN-Person at Comstock Community Center, 180 School Rd, Wilton
Meeting adjourned 9:00 PM.
W1TEG, Secretary.
