Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 03/12/2025
Present In Person (10): Hugo AA1XV, Jon AI1V, Chuck K1CWT, Steve K1RF, Rusty K4SAA, Jeff KB1C, David N1DPD, Steve W1SMS, Andre W2ART, George WB1K
Present Virtually (6): Toy K1WYQ, Pete KC1PWH, Tom KD1FBX, Paul N1II, Jonathan W1DYN, Paul W1PPL
Informal Meeting opened ~7:00 PM by AA1XV
Steve K1RF and Hugo AA1XV presented boxes of miscellaneous adapters/equipment to the club from the estate of Tim W1GIG. There is a lot of remaining equipment.
Hugo also mentioned being in contact with another collection of books and surplus usable equipment, some vintage; the need to test, catalog, and possibly price for distribution/auctioning was brought up.
As people began to join the virtual meeting, difficulties were encountered with the Westport Library’s Internet/networking setup. Troubles with video and audio arose as more members came online.
Formal (business) meeting started by Hugo at 7:36 PM.
Feb meeting minutes were approved.
Department Reports:
Treasurer: David N1DPD reported the club continues to be financially solvent; we have 52 paid renewals to date. Members are urged to please renew if they haven’t already. Some revenue can be generated by the sale of some unneeded equipment now.
Webmaster: Members suggested listing items for sale on the website. We were reminded there is a link to available GNARC “merch” (logo shirts) via the GNARC Store link.
Old Business:
Repeaters: Steve W1SMS, the club’s Repeater Committee Chair, related progress on the implementation of the club’s new 2M repeater. As warmer weather is now here, the new hardware will be soon installed onto the Norwalk Hospital roof top. In preparation for the new 2M installation and the Norwalk Hospital, non-operating equipment was removed and the cabinet was cleaned. He is also auditing other various sites to identify equipment, including antennas and radios that are currently active or to be used as stand by radios. He is also working to revise the various CSMA (Connecticut Spectrum Management Association) coordination filings to update the published point of contacts to responsible and active GNARC members.
Trailer Cleaning/Upkeep: Once the weather warms up a bit, volunteers will be able to more easily wash/organize it.
Member Survey Responses: Rusty K4SAA summarized trends revealed in the 11 responses received so far, which he notes represents only ~20% of membership. Items of interest included SOTA, POTA, lighthouse on the air, homebrew projects, operating (including QRP), Field Day, antennas… interest in technical presentations in these or related areas was expressed. It was suggested that the responses be posted on the website. SOTA/POTA seemed especially of interest, though Jon AI1V and others have tried offering opportunities in the past with limited participation. This will be revisited next month.
Field Day Site Research: Rusty reported that Waveny is not a viable option, Sherwood Island may be an option but we would need approval to remain in the park overnight. The Norwalk Senior Center site was investigated and use of the outside fields rejected due to ongoing baseball games that time of year. There may be a room inside we could adapt to our needs and use; Rusty will follow up on this possibility. Next month we will make a definite decision.
Remote HF Station: Paul W1PPL is continuing to explore the viability of our club implementing this with our ICOM 7300 and other available equipment.
New Business:
We agreed that the “Hybrid” model we experimented with for this club meeting seems useful, but still needs work. Primary advantage is the inclusion of more members. The suggestion was made that virtual attendees be encouraged to communicate with the group using the Chat feature of the software. Possibly a better microphone and/or different meeting management software could be tried, ideally a pre-meeting trial could help iron out kinks.
Hugo expressed that those interested in surveying the estate of Tim W1GIG contact him so that this could be done soon; a lot has been donated to the club and donated to an Antique Wireless Association group. GNARC members have 2 weeks left before disposal of remaining equipment.
Hugo reported on an anonymous donation to the club of a new ICOM 7300, which he will be custodian and responsible party for, as requested by the donor.
No upcoming VE sessions are planned; members interested in becoming a Volunteer Examiner to join the grading fun are encouraged to contact Jon AI1V.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:47PM
Next meeting is anticipated Wed. Apr 9
