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
