ORANGE COUNTY RADIO AMATEURS

Monthly Membership Meeting – September 13. 2021 – 7:00 pm

Platform Utilized: OCRA 442.150 UHF Repeater supplemented with Zoom

NET CONTROL AND MEETING OFFICIATION: W4SAR (Dave) Opened the meeting by inviting member check-ins. The following stations responded either by repeater or Zoom.

W4BOH (Wilson); N8BR (Bill); KO4DHJ (Ken); W4FK (Bob); KA5ETS (Doug); N4JQR (J.R.); W4ORD (Lad); N1QYW (Steve); KA1HPM (Nick); KN4JYP (Kathy); KM4MBG (Jack); N1LN (Bruce); KF4PAB Lenore; W4SAR, (Dave); KR3AM (Mark); KJ4VWG (Sam); K4SAR (Joe); KO4SZE (Bob); KU4GC (Dee); KR4UB (Dan); KD4YJZ (Karen) N1YXU (Laurie); KN4VXB, (Aurora).

W4SAR (President): called for Officer Reports.

1. W4ORD (Vice President): No formal report, but emphasized that he is waiting for a directive from the executive board indicating whether members prefer a catered dinner or a member provided potluck at the club Christmas party. David, our president, responded with a promise that he would poll the executive board and forward a decision so that plans may be made well in advance of the event.
2. KR4UB (Treasurer): 85 dues payments are needed to cover fixed expenses for the club (insurance, post office box, safety deposit box, website, Zoom and Sera, etc). As of this meeting, 93 members are current, 4 need to renew and 4 are expiring. In the last 12 months 22 new members’ dues will cover recruiting and member retention expenses (website and zoom). 26 new members have joined with 11 being newly licensed. 25 memberships have expired over the past 12 months.
3. KR4UB (Repeater Manager Orange County): no report. KA1HPM (Repeater Manager Chatham County): Not much going on. We still need permits for towers in Siler City. Receiving on Tower Rd. is good and we have had some long distance check- ins.
4. KM4MBG (Jack) and KF4PAB (Lenore) represented the DFMA. Lenore reported that the club’s repeater for 6 meters had been moved to a new location.
5. W4SAR (David) reported that the club’s efforts to sponsor amateur licensing examinations had again become active after significant slow-down due to covid-related issues. He was pleased to report that Bob, KO4SZE had passed his Technician’ license test. David is hoping to begin regular examination sessions soon.

In addition, David announced that there was nothing else on the formal agenda for the current meeting and suggested that he will be calling a meeting of the club’s executive board members shortly.

General Discussion:

KN4VXB (Aurora) described the up-coming Fox Hunt and her presentation. Planning for this event is largely based on lessons learned from a former one that occurred last year. It is scheduled to take place on October 9^th at 10:00 am. In case of rain it will be moved to the same time slot on October 23^rd. There will be both an on-foot event as well as one requiring the use of vehicles to hunt the fox(es). All potential attendees for this event should plan to bring picnic lunches. In addition, those who are interested in constructing their own radio for the hunt should plan on participating in a “virtual build day” that will be held on September 25^th.

W4ORD (Lad) is looking forward to “in person” meetings so food will be available.

K4SAR (Joe) is a new zoom attendee who reported that recent activity on the 12 and 10 meter bands has been picking up due to the increase in sun spots

W4SAR (David): Meeting Adjourned and repeater secured at 8:30

WLB/s

ORANGE COUNTY RADIO AMATEURS

Monthly Membership Meeting – August 9. 2021 – 7:00 pm

Platform Utilized: OCRA 442.150 UHF Repeater & Zoom

NET CONTROL AND MEETING OFFICIATION: N1LN (Bruce) opened the meeting by inviting member check-ins.

RADIO & ZOOM ATTENDEES: N1LN (Bruce), N8BR (Bill), KO4DHJ (Ken), W4BOH (Wilson), KU4GC (Dee), KG4CFX (Chris), KW4JY (Calvin) KM4MBG (Jack), KI4MXP (Gerald), KX4P (John), W4ORD (Lad), W4OFZ (Bill), WB4OSU (Sherri), NA4VY (Dave), N1YXU (Laurie), KK4RRT (Michael), KJ4VWG (Sam), N8VNR (Kevin), KN4VXB (Aurora), N1QYW (Stephen), KR3AM (Mark), KR4UB (Dan), .N4JQR (J.R.), KO4BHX (Ben),KG4GRY (Eli), KS4DOW (Kadar), KE0KHD (Sam), KI4TRD (Allan), KW4JY (Charles), NC4CD (Charlie), KM4IWI (Wild Bill), K4SAR (Joe), KN4DRN (Michael)

ANNOUNCEMENTS: KR4UB (Dan) gave the treasurer’s report relating to club dues. Club dues are OCRA’s income to pay club expenses. 91 members dues are current, 6 need to renew, and 2 are expiring soon. Of the 25 new members this year 11 are newly licensed. Membership for 25 folks is expiring.

(1) N1LN (Bruce) Regarding membership dues, it is easy to pay. There is a PayPal link in Dan’s membership listing email and on the club website or you can send a check to the OCRA Post Office Box, or give cash to Dan.

(2). Dave (W4SAR) was not able to join the net tonight. Bruce mentioned the need for Volunteer Examiners to help in the upcoming August 28 VE session. Contact Dave if you can assist.

(3) Bruce also explained that Net controls are needed for the weekly Saturday morning AuxCom net. Mark (KR3AM) and Doug (KA5ETS) have been net controls most of the time. This is not a hard thing to do and would be excellent practice should we ever be needed to assist in public service activities or emergency situations. Check with Mark – I am sure he would be happy to provide assistance to new (want to be) Net Control members. Should you be interested in being a future net control, the script can be found on the OCRA website at this URL:

https://ncocra.org/WordPress_v1/orange-county-auxcomm-training-net-script/

or, on the NCOCRA website, click on REPEATERS, then click on AuxComm Training Net Script.

KN4VXB (Aurora): The next Fox Hunt will be held on Oct 9. There will be 2 events – (1) on foot (2) driving from your car. Be sure to sign up.

W4ORD (Lad):  Announced that the Holiday party has been put on hold for now due to the ever changing Covid environment and potential recent increase in risks.

N1LN (Bruce) Many of us will now be moving to the NASA presentation to be held on Zoom. Dan (KR4UB) sent numerous emails with the login information, however, if anyone needs that info – I will pass it along here on the net.   The info was passed along.

The net closed around 19:25 with everyone checking out.

BM/DE/WB/s

Given the latest CDC information regarding the spread of Covid-19, now containing the Delta variant, the OCRA Board of Directors has made the decision to postpone the return in August to our regular in-person meetings at the Efland Baha’i Center.

The upcoming club meeting on Monday August 9th will be a special meeting as a combined OCRA/DFMA Over-the-Air Club Net and Zoom Meeting with NASA guest presentations, Monday evening August 9th beginning at 7pm.

Note the following time and agenda changes for this special meeting:

• The Over-the-Air Club Net check-in will begin at 7pm instead of the usual 7:30 on the 442.150 mHz repeater to get callsigns & names of the meeting attendees for the club meeting minutes and any brief club announcements.
• The OCRA Zoom Video Conference will available starting at 6:45pm for any last minute video/audio testing by attendees, check-ins by attendees not having UHF radio capability, and for all to join in for the NASA guest speaker presentation starting at 7:30pm .
• Our guest speaker will be Al Feinberg, the Strategic Content and Media Advisor for NASA Space Communications & NASA Television Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
• The radio net will be secured at 7:30pm and then the Zoom video conference will continue with speaker introductions.
• Questions any attendee would like to ask the presenters can be posted in the Zoom chat window.

Al’s presentation will be on “Space Communications in Support of NASA”.

The timing of these presentations could not be better as November 9, 2021 will be the 20th Anniversary of International Space Station contact from Barbara Pedersen’s science class room at Chapel Hill Phillips Junior High School. Club member Barbara, KE4JZM was instrumental in the planning, coordination with NASA and with additional club volunteers, the building of the amateur radio station in her science class room that was used for the successful contact.

The Zoom access link, Login ID & password has been distributed by email to all OCRA members and to the DFMA members via the DFMA Link Newsletter email list.

SEE LATER NOTICE regarding postponement of OCRA in-person meetings due to resurgence of COVID. The August OCRA club meeting will continue with the 442.150 Net & Zoom video conference format.

ORANGE COUNTY RADIO AMATEURS

Monthly Membership Meeting – July 12, 2021 – 7:30 pm

Platforms Utilized: OCRA UHF Repeater

Minutes

MEETING CONVENED AT 7:30 PM.

MEMBER CHECK-IN: Attendees: N1QYW, Steven; N8BR, Bill; KR3AM, Mark; W4SAR, Dave; KD4YJV, Karen; W4ORD, Lad; KU4GC, Dee; N1LN, Bruce; KR4UB, Dan; N4JQR, J.R.; KN4VXB, Aurora; KO4DHJ, Ken; KA5ETS, Doug; NA4VY, Dave; KI4RAN, Bill; KZ1X, Steve; KM4MBG, Jack; WA2JLW, Roy; N1YXU, Laurie; KM4WXW, Jeff; WB4OSU, Sherri; KO4RQN, James.

OFFICERS’ REPORTS:

W4SAR (David-President): We will begin our meeting with reports from club officers.

W4ORD (Lad-Vice President): Nothing important to report except that we are still waiting for a decision on the Christmas party. We have also been clearing trees to replace antennas that fell during our last storm.

KR4UB (Dan-Treasurer): As of this month 95 members are current, 4 need to renew and 5 are expiring. In the last 12 months 27 new members have joined with 13 being newly licensed and 20 memberships have expired.

N8BR (Bill-Secretary): No report.

W4SAR (David-President):

(1) The Baha’i Center has analyzed the progression of the pandemic and decided that face-to-face meetings will again be permitted to take place at their facility. Therefore, at the August 9th general club meeting OCRA will re-assume its traditional face-to-face format for the first time in over 18 months. Also, as a special surprise we have been informed that the NASA group who recently cancelled last month’s presentation, will be available to deliver their program at the August meeting. Technology for their planned presentation will be managed by KR3AM (Mark). At this point in the planning process we anticipate that there will be both a live presentation as well as one on Zoom for folks who are unable to attend the meeting in person. Hopefully this plan will mark the end of our dependence on the repeater-based club meetings that prevailed during the pandemic.

(2) Volunteer Examiner (VE) Sessions will be re-established face-to-face on August 28^th at 10 a.m. Club members with VE accreditation from the ARRL are encouraged to participate in this important club activity. Additional information will be forthcoming in August.

(3) Field Day Success Early reports suggest that club field day efforts from home stations were successful. Club participation was great with scores submitted by 37 operators representing many levels of experience using a variety of modes, equipment, antennas, and operating styles to collectively earn a preliminary total of 30,576 points.

Numerous comments from participating operators indicated that field day provided a myriad of learning experiences, a superb opportunity for development of operating skills and an enhanced appreciation and understanding of how communications technologies can be used in ways that bolster human safety and well-being.

(4) Meeting Adjourned – 8:40 p.m.

WLB/DE/s

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ORANGE COUNTY RADIO AMATEURS

Monthly Membership Meeting – June 14, 2021 – 7:30 pm

Platforms Utilized: OCRA 442.150 UHF Repeater and Zoom Video Conference

Minutes

MEETING CONVENED AT 7:30 PM.

MEMBER CHECK-IN: W4SAR (David), KU4GC (Dee),), KM4MBG (Jack), KF4PAB (Lenore), KZ1X (Steve), KO4DHJ (Ken), KA5ETS (Doug), KD4YJZ (Karen), KR4UB (Dan), KA1HPM (Nick), K4SAR (Joe), KN4BTI (Mark), KO4GJO (Boyd), N1YXU (Laurie), W4ORD (Lad), KX4P (John), KN4GUM (Nan), KN4VXB (Aurora), N4JQR (J.R.), KR3AM (Mark), WB4OSU (Sherri), NA4VY (Dave), N1LN (Bruce) and W4BOH, Wilson.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT – W4SAR (David): There will be no formal president’s report tonight. However, we will give club officers an opportunity to make brief comments as necessary and we will then conclude our planning for field day. W4ORD (Lad) – Nothing important to report. We are just finishing preparations for field day and awaiting club consensus on the preferred format for our Christmas party. KR4UB (Dan) – 94 club members are current with their dues. Membership for 15 has expired, membership for another 7 is expiring soon, and 5 need renewal.During the past 12 months we have acquired 24 new members,12 of whom are newly licensed. There is no recent news about our repeaters. Noteworthy is the fact that the towers are going up in Chatham County and there will probably be opportunities for more new ones. Over all I believe there is a good outlook for the future.

FIELD DAY UPDATE:

1. N1LN (Bruce) – There will be another session dealing with N1MM software on June 19^th at 10:30 am. This will be held on a new zoom account. We have tested the latest N1MM software and discovered glitches in the scoring tools. This was reported to the N1MM folks and elicited an immediate response. We will test the revision needed. Regarding logs, it is important to submit a document in Cabrillo format and to have proper instruction on that task prior to sending off logs. Be sure to bring your questions to the Saturday meeting.

2. KR4UB (Dan) – Commented on digital modes. Thanks to Bruce for building the spreadsheet on field day interests and intentions. 11 members attended the meeting on digital formats. Attendees will be using various digital modes. We are making good progress in getting educated for the event.

3. W4SAR (David) – Many folks will be using N3FJP software for station control and logging in field day. The program is very user friendly. We are available for answering questions as needed.

4. N1LN (Bruce) – Inquired about individual plans for hosting and emphasized the need to get the information out to prospective attendees.

5. W4ORD (Lad) – indicated that he had hosting opportunities for both ssb and digital operating and was waiting to hear from anyone interested.

GENERAL COMMENTS:

KR4UB (Dan) – The cancellation of our planned NASA presentation was due to a death in the family of one of the presenters and computer problems experienced by the other. We are working to reschedule this important event. Several options are being explored. Hopefully It will be possible to bring the speakers to our usual meeting spot at the Efland Baha’i Center. If this option eventuates, we will have to arrange for a wifi hotspot to be installed so the presentation can be distributed to those attending our meetings virtually.

For future planning purposes Dan requested the meeting attendees as they checked out of the net meeting to answer two questions:

How many would attend a rescheduled NASA presentation?

• Of the 26 attendees at the meeting (several late arrivals missed the poll) 23 expressed that they would attend.
• Given the late breaking (day of the event cancellation) two methods were used to notify attendees:
  • direct mailing of members
  •  posting on groups.io.

What is the preferred and most relied on method of notification?

• 14 preferred exclusive direct mailing notification (in this case from the OCRA mass emailer of the NASA cancelation).
• 9 stated they received the direct mailing and some also received a group.io email notification of the posted cancelation notice.
• One concern expressed with groups.io was that a late breaking notificcation may not be received in a timely manner based on the various notifications options .i.e. the daily digest (of the previous day postings sent the morning of the next day), or no email notification.

W4ORD (Lad) – Will be presenting poetry readings at the Colonial Inn in Hillsboro on a regular basis and invites all club members to attend.

NA4VY (Dave) – Wants to discuss with club members various ways to interface digital ham gear with N3FJP software.

W4SAR )Dave) – The Efland Baha’i Center has announced the facility will re-open and be available for club meetings to resume. There are already events scheduled for July, precluding a meeting then and also might be too soon after Field Day, but it will be available in August. As a cost cutting measure, the internet access has been dropped, but WiFi hotspot access via cell phone can be used given the close proximity to a cell tower. In addition to use of a hotspot for presentations, the club still wants to maintain the Zoom capability at the club meetings for members unable to attend in person.

MEETING ADJOURNED at 8:35 P.M.

WLB/DE/s

ORANGE COUNTY RADIO AMATEURS

Monthly Membership Meeting – April 12, 2021

Platforms: OCRA UHF Repeater and Zoom.

Minutes

MEETING CONVENED AT 7:30 PM.

MEMBER CHECK-IN – W4SAR (David)

OCRA UHF REPEATER: W4SAR (Dave); KD4YJZ (Karen); KU4GC (Dee); KA5ETS (Doug); W4CFO (James); W4AEN (Ed); W3AHL (Steve); KA1HPM (Nick); W4ORD (Lad); N4JQR (James); N1LN (Bruce); KI4MXP (Gerald); KN4JYP (Kathy); N4KF (Kenneth); KM4MBG (Jack); WB4OSU (Sherri); WA4PSC (Howie); KK4RRT (Michael); N1YXU (Laurie); KI4RAN (Bill); KO4DHJ (Ken); KR4UB (Dan); KM4WXW (Jeffrey) KN4VXB (Aurora); N2XZF (Paul); KF4PAB (Lenore); KN4QBZ (Fred); KR3AM (Mark); KN4JYP (Kathy); W4CFO (Jim); KW4JY (Calvin); KZ1X (Steve); W4BOH (Wilson); KZ1X (Steve); K2HJX (Jeremy); ZOOM: N8BR (Bill); KR4UB (Dan)

OFFICERS’ REPORTS:

President – W4SAR (Dave): Introduction and General Remarks

Vice Present – W4ORD (Lad): No formal report. Noteworthy is the fact that he contacted Virginia, the director of Aux Comm, and informed her that if there are no candidates for the coordinator of Aux Comm in Durham County he would be happy to be considered for the position.

Repeater Committee Reports – KR4UB (Dan – Orange County) and KA1HPM (Nick – Chatham County): No new information to report.

Treasurer – KR4UB (Dan): Currently 99 members are current with dues paid for 2021, 6 members need to renew and 5 memberships are expiring. This past year 32 new members joined 15 of whom are newly licensed.

MEETING AGENDA

Revised Job Descriptions for Executive Committee Members – W4SAR (Dave) We will now vote on proposed changes in the club bylaws that govern the position descriptions for officers and executive board members. We will accomplish this task via the club repeater and Zoom. For several weeks documents containing both current position descriptions and those being proposed have been posted on the club website for perusal. In order to vote you must be a club member in good standing (paid-up dues for the current year). When your call sign is announced, please reply “yes” if you favor adoption of the proposal, “no” if you do not favor adoption, and “abstain” if you are not a member in good standing or you choose not to vote for some other reason. The foregoing procedure resulted in the club’s adoption of the revised bylaws with a final vote of yes=28, no=0, and abstain=1 (new member abstaining due to not yet being familiar with the club’s bylaws).

Our second issue for discussion is the proposed revision of the club’s repeater code of conduct.

KR4UB (Dan) A copy of the proposed revision of our Repeater Code of Conduct which has been prepared over a period of several months has been posted on our Club’s website since the last club general meeting. It has gone through at least 3 revisions. An adopted code of conduct better positions the club when action must be taken on violations on the club’s repeater systems as required by FCC regulations. Comments on the document are now needed. We hope that you will be in agreement with its message. It has been a long time in coming!

KM4MBG (Jack)-The Durham AuxCom group is also looking for a coordinator to re-establish relationships with the county.

Field Day 2021- W4SAR (Dave): We are starting to round the corner on our planning for this year’s field day. The pandemic is still alive and we need to make some important decisions rather quickly. The basic issue we need to resolve concerns the format of this year’s club effort. To establish perspective most of you will recall that before the Covid 19 pandemic began OCRA participated in field day as a large multi-station group operating together at the W4BOH home. Last year in 2020, because of restrictions in group activities stemming from the pandemic, individual club members operated field day at their respective home stations with each contributing to an aggregate score for the club. This format was actually encouraged by and facilitated through changes made in contest rules by the ARRL. Noteworthy is the fact that over the years both of these formats have yielded impressive scores placing our club efforts among the top 9 of several thousand Field Day entrants. So, will our operation this year be a large group activity, a number of isolated individual activities, or a hybrid effort that can include both? General Discussion: W4BOH (Wilson): Generously offered his home and facilities for a group effort. He further recommended that if we do this we could require vaccinations and masks. N1LN (Bruce):suggested that this year’s field day might be a good opportunity for small groups to develop and operate in very safe ways. KR4UB (Dan): If we work FD individually from home stations it might be valuable to maintain contact with each other using Zoom. This could be especially useful for sharing information about band conditions and activity levels or simply exchanging conversation between operators. Zoom contact with other stations was a great resource for Dan this past field day.

Additional respondents presented various positions on the question of which mode for field day is best for the club. Some were supportive of a large group setting while others liked the notion of single operators working in isolation from home stations. All were sympathetic with the need for protecting the health of all participants.

Field day activities will be further discussed at the next meeting of the Executive Board tomorrow evening.

Meeting Adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

WLB/s