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
Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 02/13/2025
Present (8): Hugo AA1XV, Toy K1WYQ, Steve K1RF, Pete KC1PWH, Rusty K4SAA, Jon AI1V, David N1DPD, Steve W1SMS
Meeting opened 7:00 by AA1XV
Jan minutes approved.
Department Reports:
Finance: Checking and savings both good. However, we have had only 32 paid renewals so far this year which is running behind last year at this time. Please don’t forget to renew.
Communications: No communications of note.
Board: No Board actions.
Technical Committee: Steve W1SMS continues to work on getting the new repeater and new antenna ready for the hospital site. Once the hospital site has been upgraded we will then address the Strawberry Hill site.
Public Service: No items of note this month. Nothing in the immediate future.
Education Committee: Nothing new.
Other Old Business: We still need to deal with the trailer at the firehouse since we are going to have to move it. We either need a place for the trailer itself or at least a place for the equipment in the trailer.
New Business:
We are doing a survey of what club members want out of the club. The survey has been put on-line and a link has been sent by email to everyone on the reflector mailing list. Please respond to the survey so that the board can better plan club activities and meetings.
We will try a hybrid meeting next month – both in-person and on-line. Apparently there are a number of club members who prefer to not be driving at night, especially given rush hour traffic in lower Fairfield County.
We discussed Field Day 2025. Hugo AA1XV would prefer a more traditional Field Day than going to the Westport Astronomical Society, but so far has not found a suitable place. While Vets Park is probably available, it is a tough place given the lack of trees for antennas and lack of shade. Rusty K4SAA suggested that we look at Waveny Park. Hugo has also suggested that if we cannot find a place of our own that we consider combining with another club such as Stamford.
We also discussed the desirability of a remote HF operation. We do have an Icom 7300 that was set up for remote operation but was not used very often. It was suggested that we talk to the Norwalk Senior Center to see if we can get room in there as a permanent shack and also for a permanent remote HF operation, perhaps with a 40-10 HF vertical which would probably be more practical to implement, especially if we’re going to be someplace like the Senior Center. It was pointed out that as good as the 7300 is for remote operations, it’s a lot easier to set up a Flex Radio for remote operations.
We also talked about re-implementing the formal member database that was allowed to get out of date over the past year or so.
The meeting was closed at 9:00 pm.
Next meeting is expected to be WEDNESDAY March 12.
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!)
On the menu, hover over PHOTOS and then click on GNARC Holiday Party
GNARC 9-11-2024 Meeting Minutes.
Westport Library.
Meeting was called to order by Hugo – AA1XV at 7:35 PM.
Attending:
Steve W1SMS, Paul W1PPL, David N1DPD treasurer, Hugo AA1XV president, Jim KC1FB, Martin K1MGD vice president, Tom KB1FBX vice president.
The meeting notes of the last meeting were approved.
Old Business:
Don Hudson SK. Estate donated equipment to club and family, in addition donated funds.
Treasurer’s report. The picnic cost, approximately $800, the club sec. is unsure if the gift card to the party host, is included in the $800.
Discussed at meeting: Christmas party, various options reviewed.
The repeater at the hospital is to be inspected, visit to be announced.
Club trailer at FD has to be moved. Perhaps to Fairfield Ave FD. Trailer contents to be cataloged.
Mike N1PLH is believed to have some club equipment at his house.
Hugo would like to sell extra “stuff” at Oct 13 Nutmeg Ham show. He could use another ham to attend show and help with tag sale area.
Next meeting Oct. 8,2024 at Westport Library 7:30 PM.
Submitted by Tom R. KB1FBX
We’ve been closely monitoring the weather forecast over the past few days, and the chances of rain are high, with a 50/50 chance of getting wet and sticky. As a result, we’ve decided to postpone the picnic to next Sunday, August 25, at 1 PM.
If you’d like to update your attendance, side dishes, or the number of guests in your party, please let us know by using the link you were originally sent or by email.
No need to reconfirm or take any further action if your plans remain the same.
We hope to see you all there for a sunny and pleasant afternoon on Sunday, August 25, at 1 PM.
Best regards,
Hugo W. Catta – AA1XV
President, Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Corporation
July 17, 2024.
Westport Library
The meeting was called to order by Hugo – AA1XV at 7:35PM.
Attendance:
N1DPD, treasurer; K1MGD, vice president; AA1XV, president; W1PPL, WG1HM, K1WYQ, W1SMS, K1ARF.
Treasurer’s Report:
The club is solvent. Sixty two paying members reported so far this year. Treasurer presented expenses for the new repeater and accessories.
Previous meeting minutes:
Held on June 12 were reviewed and two corrections approved:
– Typo: W1DPD, should read: N1DPD.
– Under new business, it should be noted that Jon, AI1V, took over as the permanent webmaster, not temporary. There was a misinterpretation by the board.
After these corrections, the minutes were approved.
Old Business:
A progress report on the new 2M repeater was presented by Steve, W1SMS and Paul, W1PPL. In the next weeks, The new Yaesu Fusion repeater and antenna will be field tested. A controller provided by AI1V will be incorporated into the system.
New Business:
A few words were expressed by several members on the passing of Don Hudson, KA1TZR, his long time work and influence in the life of GNARC. Marty K1MGD will provide Don’s information to the ARRL in order to include him in the Silent Keys section of QST.
N1DPD, K1RF and K1MGD commented on the Field Day participation at the Westport Astronomical Society, this year.
The ARRL grants offered to clubs were discussed. There will be no action taken.
Announcement:
This year, like in the past, many will gather for the summer picnic. To that end, we will be contacting the generous member who has lent the house and their time for us to enjoy this tradition. It will be on August 18th and we will provide the time and location very soon.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM by AA1XV, who is submitting these minutes.
Hugo W. Catta – President
Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Corporation
