Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 05/14/20
Held at Westport Public Library
Present In Person (13): Hugo AA1XV, Steve K1RF, Rusty K4SAA, Jeff KB1C, David N1DPD, Steve W1SMS, Paul W1PPL, Elliot K1MF, Rich K1CYW, Peter KC1TMT, Pete KC1JGY, Jeffrey KB1HVC, Dan KC1WSE
Present Virtually (2): Tom KD1FBX, Jon AI1V
Meeting called to order by Hugo AA1XV at 7:30
Hugo welcomed new faces and old
Presentation on Weather Satellites
By Peter, KC1TMT
The main types of satellites and how to contact them and receive and/or decode their data were reviewed. There are hardware and software considerations, depending on the kind of satellite being sought; Peter presented a lot of very interesting information gathered from his experience, results, and research on weather satellites.
His presentation was well done and well received! Thank you, Peter!
The full presentation will be available on the GNARC website.
Old Business
Treasurers Report
David N1DPD reported the club continues to be financially solvent; We have 58 paid members
Recently, the club received a donation in memory of TIm Walker. So far, one radio (706) has been sold.
Repeaters
VP Steve W1SMS reported progress on the new 2M repeater installation at Norwalk Hospital, Next steps include inspection and installation of the antenna and repeater. The repeater has 440 capabilities, but transmission on both 2M and 440 bands at the same time is not possible. For now, the repeater will remain 2M for club use. There was some discussion of linked repeaters vs DMR vs Echolink, which is located with Jon AI1V.
GNARC Meeting Locations
Rusty K4SAA has been exploring alternate sites (eg, Norwalk Senior Center) for club meetings or Field Day. Ideally a location within the City of Norwalk such as a business would serve us well.
Hugo AA1XV has been exploring Manresa Island as a possibility at some point far in the future.
Field Day Sites
Vets Park in SONO continues to be a possibility, but a complication has arisen: the City now requires us to pay a fee for us to use the Park. The Westport location used in the past remains an option, but it has disadvantages. No final decision was made.
The benefits and enjoyment of POTA were brought up. Sherwood Island is great for this, but the Park must be cleared out by sunset, so this is not a good candidate for our Field Day.
POTA, or a Lighthouse on the Air, is potentially a good way to get people involved in the club and the hobby!
New Business:
Steve Urso N1CM, of the Stamford club, is running the Bloomin Metric Bicycle Event this Sunday, and he is still looking for help from anyone with a 25- or 50-watt mobile radio and mobile antenna to drive or accompany a SAG vehicle, keeping track of the cyclers and monitoring the rest stops.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50
