_W5SFA

VOL. 8, #12

December, 1999

November/December Meeting

The next SFARC meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 7, at 6:30 PM at the home of Carl Hickman, K5OWC: 145 Wendt Rd., Bellville. This will be the Club’s annual November/December combined meeting and Christmas dinner. Food will be provided by those of you who are attending, so please contact Carl or his XYL DeAnn at 409/865-2111 to coordinate what you will be bringing.

September Meeting

Members present:

George K5RTP

Dave KK5KX

Wade W5TEN

Dan W5AOV

Old Business:

Repeater equipment insurance is due 11/1/99 for $138.00 for $8,000 of coverage. This will be paid by the Austin County Repeater Association, whose members are Wade, W5TEN; Dave, KK5KX; Sonny N5MNL and Rick, KC5BFU.

We have recorded some anomalous SWR readings on the 440 repeater antenna – further investigation will probably require a tower climb. This chore has been postponed until a) it gets cool, b) Wade is available, and c) the hornets living at the top of the tower go south for the winter.

New Business:

Dan W5AOV read a letter from Harry, W5CTZ and Lyl N5GKN. Due to health concerns, Harry and Lyl have not been able to attend recent meetings, but they expressed their continued interest and support of the Club.

The Club offered to accept the responsibilities currently shouldered by the ACRA, should the ACRA wish to dissolve. A discussion then followed covering the history of the ACRA, the need for such an organization at the time of its formation, and whether the need for a separate organization still exists. Members of the ACRA at the Club meeting decided to dissolve the ACRA on the spot, and the Club voted to assume the functions of the ACRA from now on.

The Design for a Club shirt was discussed, and it was decided not to have a design on the shirt - just the member’s name and call over the pocket and “SFA Radio Club” over the left armband. Dave can obtain shirts from a supplier that his company does business with. Shirt body color is to be tan/beige with forest green collar and arm bands. If you wish to have a shirt or shirts please notify Dave with sizes and quantities.

Treasury shows a current balance of $419.41.

October Meeting

The October meeting was the first annual SFARC club barbecue – held at the QTH of Dave Jenkins, K5KX.

Members present:

Brian KA5BKG

Dave K5KX and Joy

Dan W5AOV and Linda

Wade W5TEN and Nancy

Carl K5OWC and DeAnn

Guests:

Jim Hyde W5JGI

Cameron Mitchell K5CAM

Old Business:

It was agreed to move the monthly meeting from the Bellville Diner to a new location, which will be announced in a subsequent newsletter. There will be no formal November or December meeting - the annual Club Christmas party/dinner (see above) will comprise a combined meeting for those two months.

Dave reported that the shirts from the supplier his company uses have no pockets. A suggestion was made that we could get one extra shirt and cut pockets out of it. However, no resolution to this major design problem could be reached. We are currently at a design impasse between the opposing forces of pockets-required versus pockets-optional.

The Christmas party was moved to 12/7/99 at 1830 hours due to a scheduling conflict. The party will be at Carl (K5OWC) and DeAnn's house.

Wade will pay the repeater equipment insurance and be reimbursed from the ACRA account.

New Business:

The business meeting was held at Dave and Joy's house after a delicious BBQ dinner accompanied by lots of other good food. Chin wagging was the other major activity.

The club reimbursed Dave $20 for the meat purchased for the BBQ.

Wade made a motion to adjourn and was seconded by Dave.

Current treasury balance is $456.41

Repeater News:

Dan and Carl were forced to make yet further repeater repairs over the last 2 weeks: some of the duplexer cables had faulty connectors – replacing these may have corrected the weird SWR readings observed earlier (we hope).

Coming Events:

Annual Christmas dinner/meeting:

Time: Tuesday, December 7, 6:30 PM

Location: Carl and DeAnn Hickman’s – 145 Wendt Rd., Bellville. (Talk in on either of the Bellville repeaters)

Background Noise:

Have you started using the Internet since the last Newsletter? If so, please let Dave, K5KX (e-mail: djenki n s@phoenix.net or dfjenkins@equiva.com), have your e-mail address(es). We now have the majority of Newsletter recipients getting their Newsletter via the ‘net – a considerable postage savings (not to mention reduction in folding, enveloping, stamp-sticking, etc.).