Metro DX Club JUNE 2022 Meeting Minutes
June 17, 2022
We had an in person meeting this month as well as a ZOOM option for those who couldn’t attend. Thanks to John K9EL for his help.
The meeting was called to order by our President Jim N9TK. In attendance, besides Jim were W9ILY, K9CJ, NE9A, W9KXT, KC9RLE, WA9LEY. The following attendees were guests, WA9GQK, KD9SJC, AC9CK.
Joining via ZOOM were K9EL, KA9IOC, WT2P, KC9EOQ, K9DRS WB9JYZ.
HEALTH AND WELFARE Bob K9CJ had a 3 week bout with COVID but is now feeling better.
OLD BUSINESS
MINUTES Lee WA9LEY reported that our FD entry will be 2E, not 2A as noted in the May minutes. A motion was made to approve the minutes, was seconded and passed.
TREASURER’S REPORT John W9ILY reports that the Club had no income this month. Expenses of $100 to the DX Youth Adventure and $200 to the W9DXCC for coffee expenses had been approved previously. The Club voted to approve the following expenses, yearly ARRL insurance of $200 and $64.10 to sponsor a DX Marathon plaque for the top NA score. Detailed Treasurer reports are filed on our groups.io site.
WUST No recent activity.
KING OF THE HILL The next qualifying contest will be NAQP CW & SSB coming up in August. 100 watts max.
CONTESTS
Congratulations to:
CQWW K9CJ #2 40 meters
K9ZO #2 80 meters
W9ILY and K9PMV also scored well
ARRL 160 WB9Z top 10 in USA
DX MARATHON
Metro scored 455 points as a club
W9ILY won the W9 unlimited category Other top scorers were N2BJ, K9NU, WB9Z, NV9L, K9NB, W9MK.
Nov SS Phone Ralph K9ZO won a plaque for SO Unlimited HP.
NEW BUSINESS
W9DXCC As previously reported , the big event is coming up in September. Ed WA9GQK is the chairman this year. More info will follow.
FIELD DAY Jim N9TK will be hosting Field Day this again year. Thanks to George W9GJY who is letting the Club use his generators again this year. We will be operating 2E with a 6 meter station. Lunch and dinner will be served on Saturday with more food on Sunday. Please let Jim know if you will be participating.
DX ON THE BANDS All Asia contest is this weekend Lots of DX on the bands including Maquarie Island that has been spotted lately.
SPECIAL EVENT John W9ILY has reserved W9C. See QRZ.com for more details. Members operate from their home stations using the W9C call sign. As we get closer, a link will be available for members to use to sign up for operating time slots.
HAMVENTION According to reports, Hamvention attendance was approximately 31000. Those attending reported having a good time. On the negative side, there was a COVID spike reported after returning home by some.
POSTAL RATE John W9ILY wanted to let members know that postal rates are going up in early July. Now is the time to stock up on stamps.
QUORUM At the May meeting, some questions came up about how many attending members constituted a quorum for voting purposes. John reported that our bylaws state that 25% of membership attending constitute a quorum. Since many members attend via ZOOM these days, John will amend the bylaws to include in person and virtual attendance for voting purposes.
MORE AWARDS
John W9ILY showed off a couple of recent awards. He received the SMC lifetime achievement award for making over 10000 contacts in a group of specific contests. He also received an Elmer award for helping KA9QAT. We are still waiting for the ILQP traveling plaque the Club earned last year. He showed off a photo copy. We hope it comes soon.
ARRL ARTICLES The ARRL is soliciting stories from the membership for a new Club Column to appear in QST. If you have an interesting story about our Club, let us know and check with the ARRL for the details.
A motion was made and seconded to close the meeting.
The meeting was adjourned followed by a round table discussion of members’ current activities.
Lots of DX reported on all bands with 6 meters heating up.
John K9EL spent 2 1/2 weeks in Hawaii celebrating his wedding anniversary.
CJ WT2P will be traveling to Ohio to operate Field Day with another group. BOO!
6O1OO showed up on 30 meters today.
Ed WA9GQK recently received a Bejing Olympics QSL.
PROGRAM
Ed WA9GQK presented an interesting video of CSRA Field Day’s past. The videos spanned FDs from the late 60s to early 70s. Lots of the older tube gear in use and some not so safe tower erections were shown. Watch the video to see more.
Here’s the meeting link courtesy of John K9EL. http://www.k9el.com/MetroDX/MetroDX-17Jun2022.mp4
Submitted by Lee WA9LEY