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Field Day location changed Posted by N8FQ on Tuesday, June 24, 2014 @ 4:04 PM Due to flooding at Coast Guard Park, Field Day 2014 is being moved to William Ferry Park. Take the Ferrysburg exit from US-31, then turn east. The park is directly across Pine St. from the Mobil station, next to the M-104 interchange. Field Day 2014 Correction Posted by N8FQ on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 @ 1:10 AM Field Day is on June 28-29, with the planning meeting on June 26 at 6 PM. The date given in the meeting minutes below is a week too early. This year, we are going to be at Coast Guard Park in Ferrysburg. Just take the Ferrysburg exit off US-31, go west, then turn on North Shore Road when you get to the fire barn. The park is on your right, about a mile down the road. Look for the big signal bouy by the entrance. Minutes of May 2014 monthly business meeting Posted by N8FQ on Monday, May 26, 2014 @ 11:28 PM At quarter after six, Phyllis and Roger pulled up into the Spring Lake library parking lot, and they unloaded vanilla brownies, coffee, tea, etc. in the North conference room. John Sundstrom had reserved it for the NOARC meeting. Shortly thereafter, John rolled in with some of his equipment. He was followed by Dick Tanis. Dick brought a bowl of freshly cut fruit. He even brought special tooth picks to eat the fruit with. By the time that 6:30 pm arrived, Roger Cox and rest of the club had arrived. John Sundstrom called the meeting to order. Names of the members and call signs were passed around. Roger Cox was the speaker. He gave an excellent presentation on digital modes. He passed out some QSL cards, which he had received. Included were cards from Long Island and Cathey, North Dakota. Roger has designed, constructed and mounted Yagi antennas. Most of his work has been on the 144 MHz and 50 MHz bands. Events coming up are the 5K Kick Off to Summer and fun run race in Grand Haven. Don Meyer suggested volunteers appear at the Department of Public Safety around 7:15 a.m. for briefing. The race will start at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers are needed for the Grand Haven Memorial Day Parade. Volunteers come to the department of public safety at 9:30 a.m.; the parade will start at 10:30 am. At 8:00 p.m. a break in the action allowed consumption of the aforementioned edibles. Mention should be made of Paul Zellar. He drove to Spring Lake with a trunk full of used equipment, to be donated "to a good home." Paul laid out his merchandise on the Library parking lot. No complaints were made about his prices. Field Day will June 21-22, 2014. A planning meeting will be held at the Coast Guard Park on the Thursday before the event. Hot dogs will be served. Dinner will be at 6:00 pm. After milling around the parking lot, evaluating Paul Zellar's donations, most of the members left. Respectfully submitted: Phyllis and Roger Simmons Minutes of April 2014 monthly business meeting Posted by N8FQ on Sunday, May 11, 2014 @ 4:58 PM Cookies coffees and brownies are not the only things that graced the April 30 meeting of NOARC. Shortly before 6:30pm, we filtered into the conference room of the Spring Lake library. Phyllis set up the coffee and goodies. John Sundstrom called the meeting to order and members identified themselves with names and call signs. Jim Wolter was introduced as the speaker. His invention, the "Solar 24", is a battery charger power supply. A solar panel with a microcontroller, using an inexpensive chip, incorporating a MOSFET circuit to a lithium phosphate battery. Jim gave credit to Paul Zellar for assisting in creating the device. He has obtained a provisional patent from the US government. After the presentation, John Sundstrom called a break for coffee, cookies and brownies. Other items discussed: There will be a Hamfest in Hudsonville the first week of June. Beverly Traxler has volunteered to take a net control this month. The repeater status was discussed. We will attempt to have a topic for discussion for each net. Following the above communications, members departed the premises in an orderly manner. Respectfully submitted; Phyllis and Roger Simmons Minutes of January 2014 monthly business meeting Posted by N8FQ on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 @ 8:26 PM With most of the club in Florida, and those still here avoiding the cold and treacherous roads, this month's meeting was thinly-attended. Joe, N8FQ arrived at the library at about a minute before 6:30 PM, got the program room opened, and began setting up his presentation on the RTLSDR software-defined radio receiver. He found his laptop (a 1 GHz P3) didn't quite have enough horsepower to effectively run the receiver, but got it to work nonetheless. Don, KB8ODB arrived shortly before 7 PM. A phone call to John, KC8UNY revealed that he was stuck in Michigan City, Indiana due to a 15-semi pileup on I-94, and likely wouldn't make it back to Grand Haven before running out of hours. Joe demonstrated the SDR receiver to Don. No signals could be found due to the undersized antenna, so Don keyed up the 49 repeater, and Joe was able to tune in the input from Don's radio, showing the signal on a waterfall display. Andy, N8HUB heard Don's ID and came back to him for a brief QSO. After discussing the obnoxious tendency of appliance part suppliers to cut corners in their manufacturing processes, the meeting, such as it was, was adjourned around 7:45 PM. The SDR presentation will be repeated at a future meeting. Don did propose that we alter our meeting scheduling a bit, by specifying that the business meeting will begin at 6:30 PM, and the program at 7. This would make it easier for those who want to see the program but aren't interested in the business portion to skip it. Minutes of December 2013 meeting/christmas party Posted by N8FQ on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 @ 8:26 PM December 19, 2013, found about 20 members and guests meeting at the Spring Lake library. Six o'clock was the appointed hour for the annual Christmas party. The potluck worked out beautifully. Drinks and ham were provided by the club. Dishes, salads and desserts were brought in by the attendees. There are two club functions that draw the wives into the group. They are Field Day and Christmas potlucks. John Sundstrom, treasurer, arranged for the party door prize. Lucky number #711 was held by Phyllis Simmons. She won a Baofeng UV-85 two meter handheld two way radio. Sure to be used in races and parades of 2014. We casually, adjourned by 8:15 PM. Someone left behind two hot pads and setting of silverware. Phyllis will return them in April. The next club meeting is on January 23rd, 6:30 PM at the Spring Lake library. Phyllis and Roger will be heading south for a couple months. We wish you a Happy New Year, and 73's to all. Respectfully submitted: Phyllis and Roger Simmons November SPARK Posted by N8FQ on Sunday, November 3, 2013 @ 4:49 PM In the usual place. Our monthly meeting is on the 21st, and we have a 5K in Grand Haven on the 28th! October SPARK Posted by N8FQ on Monday, September 30, 2013 @ 7:06 PM Click and read. Muskegon Hamfest is on the 19th! September SPARK Posted by N8FQ on Thursday, August 22, 2013 @ 6:33 PM Here! Main events this month: the GRAHamfest is coming up on the 7th, and the Old Boys Oktoberfest races are on the 28th! August SPARK and Coast Guard Grand Parade Posted by N8FQ on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 @ 8:33 PM August SPARK is here! The Coast Guard Festival is underway - nearly 1,500 runners turned out for the 5k/10k races last Saturday. The main event is this Saturday, August 3. Meet at Russ' at 7 AM for breakfast, or at Public Safety at 9 AM. Add post |