Meetings and Discussion
This section of the web site will recap previous meetings and any discussion that was raised at these meetings or since that time. This will give the membership time to digest what was brought up and then pose any questions, comments, or suggestions. It will also have downloadable files of any pertinent program material presented at these meetings.
RARC Meeting April 25, 2024
The Reelfoot Amateur Radio Club met on April 25th at the Obion County Public Library. There were 14 members in attendance and 2 guests. The meeting was called to order by President Noel, KJ4UNX at 6:30pm. The meeting was done in a different order than usual. Steve Harpole, KQ4UB, provided refreshments. We decided to start with refreshments so that the pizza did not get cold. The pizza was delicious. Thank you Steve!
After refreshments, Patrick, KO4HEX, went over old business and the financial report. Old business included the donations to the Glorioso and Jarvis Island expeditions from the WTDXA. Bouvet is on hold due to two different groups looking at going.
New business included information from Ben, KO4LFZ, updating the club that the 145.270 MHz repeater is now analog only. The HRI200 has been removed and there is currently no Fusion/C4FM. DMR is up and running, but a new antenna is needed. C4FM is going to be added back as a separate repeater, but it has not been coordinated yet. Echolink is also a future endeavor. There was also a test session held the previous Saturday, where Eric, KY4BMF upgraded to General Class. Congratulations Eric!
There was also discussion on the shutdown of MFJ on the 17th of May. They will stay in business until inventory is sold.
Glenn, N4MJ, brought up discussion on a new Trustee for the club. The Trustee is an appointed position by the President. No new Trustee was appointed at the meeting and it was tabled for future discussion.
Patrick, KO4HEX, will look into the 18th of May for a potential date for a club POTA event. Phil, N4PWG, updated us on his recent POTA adventures. He has been making quite a few QRP contacts. Congrats Mr. Phil!
The presentation for the night was from President Noel, KJ4UNX, going over a Model HP238 Heathkit Power Supply. He went over the different voltages using a digital multimeter and tricking the Power Supply with a home brew wire, into turning on, very cool!
Harrell, WD4LAR, made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 PM with a 2nd from Jamie, WB4YDL. Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting. We will meet at the Obion County Public Library on May the 23rd at 6:30 PM with a program by Jamie, WB4YDL, going over contesting with discussions on the upcoming Field Day!
RARC Meeting March 28, 2024
The Reelfoot Amateur Radio Club met at the Fulton County Extension Office on Mar 28th at 6:30 pm. There were 15 in attendance and 3 guests. We decided to do things a bit differently this meeting. We moved the refreshments to eat first before the pizza got cold. Refreshments were provided by Patrick KO4HEX.
After refreshments, Patrick went over old business and the financial report. Noel KJ4UNX, let everyone know the insurance is going to be canceled and we need a new policy. Ben KO4LFZ, made a good suggestion with the ARRL insurance program.
The main focus of business for this meeting was the election of club officers. Jamie WB4YDL made a motion to accept current leadership as is for another term. This was seconded and voted in unanimously. Congratulations to the past/current officers !
We had a good conversation with Jamie WB4YDL, and Glenn N4MJ, leading, on the new DXpeditions coming up. There will be one in August this year at Jarvis Island, and Bouvet Island will have another expedition next spring.
There was some discussion on POTA day as a club. Reelfoot lake was already booked for the "Support your Parks" weekend. There was a poll on MeWe prior to the meeting and it was decided to try and look for another date in the spring. Patrick will look for another date and update the club.
Jamie did a 'show and tell' on a 20m band pass filter. He has posted a build guide and materials list on MeWe with video instructions ! Materials include things like 22AWG magnet wire, silver dipped mica capacitors and other things that can be easily found on Amazon.
Patrick and Jamie then led a presentation on MT63 and the uses of the data mode on FM. Benefits included being useful in noise conditions and that this is available to technicians !
We had a great March meeting with special thanks to Ben Rudy KO4LFZ, for the last-minute facilities for the meeting. We hope to see everyone at the usual location in April, at the Union City Public Library.
RARC Meeting February 22, 2024
The Feb 22nd, 2024 meeting of the Reelfoot Amateur Radio Club was kicked off by Vice President Phil Green, N4PWG as Noel, KJ4UNX, was out sick for the meeting. There were 11 members and 4 guests in attendance.
Patrick, KO4HEX, went over the Treasurer's report as well as the meeting minutes that were posted on the website as he was not able to make the previous meeting. Elections were going to be held, but we did not have a quorum, so elections were postponed until the next meeting.
Phil informed us that the Library did not have us down for the schedule for next month and would be on holiday as well. Patrick said that he would get with the Library and find a place for the club to meet next month. The Trenton Hamfest was also brought up in the meeting. As a reminder, the dates are March 16th at the Trenton Armory. We look forward to attending. Patrick reminded everyone of Support Your Parks weekend on Apr 22nd. He will reserve the Blue Bank Round for the club, the same as last year, so that we can have a nice fun day of POTA as a club.
We took a break for refreshments, provided by Ben, KO4MAO, with Tea bread and soup. Homemade! By Ben! Great job Ben!
There was also discussion about the troubles the Union City repeater has been having as of late. Ben, KO4MAO, said that he participated in the school club round up and scored 10,700 points. He operated mostly SSB on 20M, and some on 40M and 15M. Jeff, W5VNH, let the club know that his wife recently passed away. We are so sorry for your loss and you will be in our thoughts and prayers. Harrell, WD4LAR, reminded everyone of the CW net on 3.562 MHz at about 18 wpm. Patrick also reminded the club of the testing session on March the 2nd at the Fulton County Extension Office at 10:00 am.
Phil made a motion to conclude the meeting, seconded by Jamie, WB4YDL, and the meeting concluded at 8:00 pm.
RARC Meeting January 25, 2024
Meeting was opened by President Noel Vickers KJ4UNX with comments and the welcoming of two guests.
Patrick Hall KO4HEX was sick and only a limited report of current financial status was given to the membership along with limited old business that was discussed since in had been several months since the last meeting.
Glenn Snow N4MJ showed and told the group of his NAQCC CW QRP prize along with a nice straight key that he had been give as the 1st place finisher in 4 states Second Sunday Sprints.
James Hall WB4YDL talked about his ongoing projects and a new electronics lesson slated for MeWe.
Phil Green N4PWG showed off several new toys from Santa including a go bag, usb hubs, a pocket battery powered router, ans assorted adapters.
Noel Vickers showed us a project that he was rebuilding.
Noel provided the group with chili and various other tasty treats.
Announcement of new business included the Hoxie Hamfest, club dues needed at next meeting, and officer elections also in the February meeting.
Next meeting is on February 22, 2024 at 6:30pm.
Phil Grren made motion to adjourn meeing and Harrell Davidson, seconded!
Archive of Previous Year's Meetings
All files below are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat® reader to view:
Previous Power-point Presentations and Handouts
Programming Your HT with CHIRP
Programming Your HT with CHIRP Handout
Power Supplies
DMR - Digital Mobile Radio
RF Receiver Architecture
Introduction to EME Communications
An Introduction to Contesting Powerpoint
An Introduction to Contesting Handout
HF Receiver Principles: Noise and Dynamic Range Powerpoint
HF Receiver Principles: Noise and Dynamic Range Handout
Amateur Radio Operational Awards
Narrow Band Emergency Communications System
PSK31
ARES - Winlink
Emergency Communications - Special
Basic Message Handling
Introduction to Emergency Nets
