Category: Minutes

Big Bend Amateur Radio Club

Minutes of Meeting

November 10, 2020

The meeting was attended by 20 members and guests.

W5NPR                               BILL                          ALPINE

KE5WCP                             STEPHEN                  FORT DAVIS

KG5ZIC                              PAMELA                    FORT DAVIS

KA5PVB                             CHUCK                     ALPINE

WA5MHO                           DEAN                        ALPINE

KI5EXF                              SHARON                   ALPINE

KI5ANQ                              SCOTT                      ALPINE

N5HYD                               DOUG                        FORT DAVIS

N5MVV                              ANGIE                        FORT DAVIS

KE5KNQ                            ROB                            ALPINE

KB5R                                  RUSTY                       ALPINE

KX5SP                                STEVE                       ALPINE 

KG5LMG                           MARVIN                    FORT DAVIS

KF5KMA                            DANNY                     ALPINE

KI5JTR                               RACHEL                    SAN MARCOS

KD5KBU                            JIM                             FORT DAVIS

K5WSA                              BILL                           FORT DAVIS

KG5ZIB                             JUDI                            FORT DAVIS

KG5HEJ                             AL                               ALPINE

K5AAA                              RON                            FORT DAVIS

Due to the Covid-19 virus, the meeting was conducted on 2-meters utilizing the BBARC repeater system.

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM by President Stephen KE5WCP.  

The minutes of the October 13, 2020 meeting were read and approved.

Angie N5MVV reported a current balance of $9,886.11.  Activity included one payment to Big Bend Telephone for $35.70.

Doug N5HYD presented an estimate on repairs to the Christmas Mountain 146.82 repeater as follows:  $388.99 for WindyNation 300 watt 12 volt Polycrystaline Solar Panel complete kit with LCD PWM Solar Charge Controller Upgrade to 10AWG;  $360.00 for three 24MD-DL Deep Cycle Marine Batteries and $100.00 for miscellaneous expenses for UTV, fuel, sundry and other expenses.  By mutual agreement, Doug was authorized to purchase the needed items and proceed with the repairs. 

Scott KI5ANQ reported continued efforts on his part to upgrade the EchoLink system.  He discussed the eventual logging of EchoLink users as an intended upgrade.  He also discussed addition of APRS to the EchoLink system. 

The estate sale of N5NYZ, Tom Guis, who had become a Silent Key, was discussed.  The sale was held on October 24^th from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM and was limited to ham operators.  The sale went well although much of the items available remain unsold.  A second sale is scheduled for November 13^th and will be open to the public.  In addition to radio equipment, parts and supplies, a storage building is available priced at $3200.

It was discussed it was unlikely that the meeting room at the West Texas National Bank would reopen any time soon and the BBARC meetings would most likely continue on 2-meters.  Should there be any changes, an announcement would be forthcoming.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.

Respectfully Submitted

Bill Roberts

W5NPR

Big Bend Amateur Radio Club

Minutes of Meeting

October 13, 2020

The meeting was attended by 21 members and guests.

W5NPR                               BILL                          ALPINE

KE5WCP                            STEPHEN                  FORT DAVIS

KG5ZIC                              PAMELA                    FORT DAVIS

KA5PVB                             CHUCK                     ALPINE

WA5ROE                            BOB                           ALPINE

WA5MHO                           DEAN                        ALPINE

 KI5EXF                             SHARON                   ALPINE

KI5ANQ                             SCOTT                       ALPINE

N5HYD                              DOUG                        FORT DAVIS

N5MVV                             ANGIE                        FORT DAVIS

KE5KNQ                           ROB                            ALPINE

KB5R                                 RUSTY                       ALPINE

KX5SP                               STEVE                       ALPINE 

KG5LMG                          MARVIN                    FORT DAVIS

N5JOE                               JIM                             ALPINE

KF5KMA                           DANNY                     ALPINE

KI5JTR                              RACHEL                    SAN MARCOS

KD5KBU                           JIM                             FORT DAVIS

K5WSA                             BILL                           FORT DAVIS

KG5ZIB                            JUDI                            FORT DAVIS

KG5HEJ                           AL                                ALPINE

Due to the Covid-19 virus, the meeting was conducted on 2-meters utilizing the BBARC 2-meter repeater system.

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM by President Stephen KE5WCP.  

The minutes of the September 8, 2020 meeting were read and approved.

Angie N5MVV reported a current balance of $9,886.58.  Activity included two payments to Big Bend Telephone for $35.41 each.

Doug N5HYD gave a repeater report as follows:  “We think the repeater issue is all from the 146.82 Christmas Mountain site.  We are pretty sure the solar charge controller has an issue and that the batteries are past their usual operational life span and we are down to just a few of the 20+ year old solar panels.”  A maintenance trip to Christmas Mountain is being planned. 

Scott KI5ANQ reported continued efforts on his part to upgrade the EchoLink system.  He discussed the eventual logging of EchoLink users as an intended upgrade.  He also discussed the BBARC website and the addition of EchoLink logs.

Bob WA5ROE reported on the Estate Sale of N5NYZ, Tom Guis, who had become a Silent Key.  The sale is scheduled for October 24^th from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM and is limited to ham operators.  The sale has been added to the website with photos of some of the equipment, tubes and parts available for purchase.  He emphasized that the photos in no way fully represent all available for sale.

It was discussed it was unlikely that the meeting room at the West Texas National Bank would reopen any time soon and the November meeting would probably be on 2-meters.  Should there be any changes, an announcement would be forthcoming.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted

Bill Roberts

W5NPR