Jamestown Amateur Radio Club
Meeting Minutes
April 20th, 2022
Club President Jason/ND0JL called the meeting to order at 7:30pm.
Attendance:
Tom Simpson/ND0TS (Vice President)
Jason Linz/ND0JL (President)
Michelle Linz/ND0ML (Secretary)
Jerry Bergquist (Treasurer)
Amber Linz
Warren Tobin/W0WT
Vernon “Bill” Lippert/KC0W (ARRL Dakota Division Director, Guest Speaker)
Dave Nelson
Stan Koppang
Lyle Bollinger/N0HNM
Claudia Bollinger/N0SRP
Eric Woodard/KE0IGK
Guest Speaker Presentation:
a. Bill Lippert from ARRL, current Director of the Dakota Division presented the Jamestown Amateur Radio Club with a plaque to commemorate their 75th anniversary of being affiliated with the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL).
b. Bill said JARC has been affiliated with ARRL since May 2nd, 1947.
c. JARC is the Oldest ARRL Affiliated Club in North Dakota.
d. He mentioned that electronic voting is in the works for voting for ARRL Division and Section Managers. Paper voting will continue.
e. QST has been written on a different paper, due to a supply shortage. The next couple of publications should be on the correct paper. You have the option to receive the digital version and opt out of the physical magazine if you’d wish to.
f. There are other magazines available, such as: On the Air Magazine for Beginners, QEX (A Forum for Communications Experimenters) and NCJ.
g. NCJ (National Contest Journal) is a digital magazine, started with MN Wireless Association who are celebrating their 50th Anniversary, and sharing specials.
h. Last year, a new Emergency Services Communications Committee was established. There is one group working on Affiliated Club Memberships.
i. ARRL has a Club Newsletter (E-Newsletter sent via email).
j. Logbook of the World (LoTW) is being talked about, as far as changes to the current computer systems and other technology being outdated. Looking to upgrade systems.
k. Member Management Software: ARRL is working on changing their website to integrate more, allowing users to log in one time, to navigate to different sections of the website, and not have to continue to log in each time the user navigates to a different section of the website.
l. There is a new learning center being developed on the ARRL.org website that will track users’ accomplishments and provide them with certificates of completion. Volunteers will be able to log
their hours and receive their certificate. (Ex. Skywarn Activation hours, ARES drills, etc.)
m. ARRL is now certified, thus allowing them to provide certification to members.
n. DX contacts are not supposed to charge for QSL confirmations when being logged with Logbook of the World, however, some individuals are not following that rule. Discussion is ongoing.
o. Jerry Bergquist asked, Do other clubs do disaster exercises? Bill said that some do, that they work with other organizations like police and fire.
p. What resources can be provided from ARRL? Bodies, meaning trained individuals can respond to assist with drills, such as radio operations.
q. Bill said that there is a need for local clubs to have help from ARRL.
r. Jason Linz is working on bringing ARES to JARC.
s. Division Convention is scheduled for the last weekend in September, 2022 and is held in Fargo, ND.
Treasurer’s Report:
04/20/2022 brought in dues of $115.00,
04/20/2022 brought in a donation of $35.00 from Eric Woodard/KE0IGK
Expenses since previous report:
Expense of $10.00 to Secretary of State for Yearly filing
Expense of $8.00 for bank fees
Current Balance: $2,527.95
Committee Reports:
Bylaws Committee: Jerry, Jason, Dave and Michelle
Presentation of Bylaws as written.
Questions and Concerns from Cecil Roth were discussed.
1) “It says the secretary is to keep records, but they are not specified as to what kind and for what purpose. That is fine, but it would be interesting to know if that would include preparing minutes of the
meetings. It might be good to have the minutes sent electronically to members at large to inform them of Club decisions in a timely way. Might that be addressed in the constitution?”
Jerry discussed how the particulars would be best noted in the club meeting minutes, that defining them in the bylaws would become cumbersome.
2) “The position of Trustee is an interesting addition. Would there be a limit as to the number of trustees that might serve at a given time? It doesn’t precisely specify in the current bylaws proposal one way or
another, I think.” Jason/ND0JL and Michelle/ND0ML, along with Jerry helped conclude: the
Definition of Trustee, in the bylaws, is summed up as being a contact person for FCC/ARRL and other entities. The trustee is to monitor for the inappropriate use of the call sign. In this case W0FX. The Trustee is the
appointed contact to receive the yearly Secretary of State recertification documentation. Having more than one trustee for this purpose would present potential complications with handling of materials etc.
3) “Considering Article XI, Section 5, might there be a Club member to serve as parliamentarian, possibly appointed by the president (or elected) to advise when wishing help regarding Robert’s Rule of Order?”
Michelle/ND0ML mentioned how the club membership, for quite some time, has been small enough that adding additional member roles, hadn’t been feasible.
Warren made a motion to amend the bylaws Article XII: Dissolution to have the
proceeds distributed to the ARRL.
“Upon dissolution of the Club, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all liabilities of the organization, dispose of all the assets of the Club. In fulfillment of this requirement, the Board of Directors shall liquidate all remaining assets of the Club to the highest bidder and the proceeds be distributed to a local non-profit organization to be determined by the Board of Directors. The Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL).” Motion was Seconded by Eric/KE0IGK.
Roll Call vote, showed All in Favor, motion passed.
Jason/ND0JL requested for a motion to approve bylaws, with the above amendment from Warren/W0WT:
Motion from David, seconded by Tom/ND0TS, All in favor, motion passed.
VE Test Sessions:
Shawn McClintock/AD0ND from Dazey, Tom Simpson/ND0TS, Eric Woodard/KE0IGK from Lehr, and Jeff Gunderson/NT0TT from Kulm, are all VEs that will be assisting with two upcoming VE Test Sessions.
Located in the meeting room in the Lower Level of the Jamestown Law Enforcement Center (Jamestown LEC)
205 6th ST SE
May 14th, 2022 at 2:00pm
June 11th, 2022 at 2:00pm
There is a notice published on ARRL.org, which has had two individuals from Fargo contact JARC about testing. Bob Tracey/N0TC from Bismarck will be coming to the first test session to assist.
For more information please visit: www.jarcnd.com
Special Events:
May 7th, 2022
Aviation Fly-in/Drive-in with Jamestown Classic Car Club
Jason/ND0JL will have the Hambulance on display. He is extending the invitation to allow ham radio operators to see how many contacts can be made throughout the event. Warren/W0WT said he would like to participate. Other non hams are welcome to operate, with a control operator present. Michelle/ND0ML will be on site throughout the event as well. Jason/ND0JL has other commitments with The Civil Air Patrol, during the
event.
Banners/Signage:
Banner Committee: Tom/ND0TS and Dave Nelson, will collaborate in designing a banner with logos to be displayed at various events. They will present their design, and Dave will present a quote for a banner at the next meeting.
Field Day 2022:
Unfortunately we can no longer use Joos Grove as a place to operate for Field Day, due to the construction of the Farmers Union Camp. The Jamestown Reservoir Island is not an option, as at this time the bridge has been decommissioned for use. Fenton Park, North of the old Jamestown Hospital, was a consideration, however, there would be a need to drive on the lawn.
Another location that was mentioned was the former Kite Flying location on the South East End of the Jamestown Reservoir. The advantage to this location is that there are vault toilets available. As well as, dirt/gravel to allow us to safely use our grills for cooking.
Field Day 2022 is June 25th, 2022.
Saturday Morning Coffee:
Jason/ND0JL has always heard stories about previous Saturday Morning Coffees. He decided to work on bringing the opportunity back for the JARC. After utilizing Shady’s at the Gladstone, to meet up for the bylaws committee meetings, it was decided that having a meeting about once per month on a Saturday would be a great thing to do.
Skywarn Planning:
Jason/ND0JL sent out an email requesting individuals to update their information, to include a cell phone number, where they could receive Skywarn Activation Notifications. It is an automated system which can activate through an app that will notify those that are subscribed to tune into the 147.180 repeater and listen for net control (W0FX). Jason explained that Stutsman County is on the edge of three different
radar sites, this is a contributing factor in how alerts are issued for residents.
Severe Weather Awareness Week is April 17th-23rd, 2022. The outside warning alert sirens will be tested for three minutes at 11am. Jason/ND0JL will attempt to hold a Weather Net on the 147.180 Repeater at that time,
operating as W0FX.
Old Business:
● Great Plains Tower: Went to the tower site and cleaned off old equipment from the tower, such as cabling.
● Skywarn Activations: There were 2 activations in 2021.
● JOTA event was held on October 16th, 2021 with approximately 5 or 6 Scouts earning their Radio Merit Badges.
● Block Party 2021: The Hambulance was on display.
● Generator at the Tower Site: need to reschedule to have maintenance, to verify if it is turning on with a power failure.
● Tower Site: There was a reported loss of power, seen visually outside with the loss of the lights. Inside, the repeater did not have power for approximately three days. Upon inspection by Andrew Kirking/KE0EFP, Stutsman County Emergency Manager and repair technicians, they had to put in temporary power to the building. There will be a more permanent fix performed after the ground thaws, as they will need to dig in new lines for the power.
● Club Photo IDs: Jason/ND0JL will look into whether or not the IDs can be created with the Salamander system. As of now, it would appear that the IDs would be $5.00 per ID. Jerry mentioned that Cass County uses the Salamander ID system, and that it may be beneficial to JARC to use the same system. Jason will work on
getting a proof for members to review.
Jerry motioned to have the meeting adjourned at 9:24 pm, seconded by Lyle/N0HNM, meeting adjourned at 9:24pm