2022-10-11 Net Minutes

date
2022-10-11
opened
20:00
closed
20:41

Check-ins (17)

  • Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)
  • Bill Rose (K5WTR)
  • Avery McIntosh (N7ALM)
  • Don Ling (WB5CKO)
  • Jeff McDowell (KI5CES)
  • Travis Scott (KI5TMS)
  • Ken Reeves (KE5FIV)
  • Dick Zimmer (W5DZ)
  • Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)
  • Mike Wisby (KA5HIA)
  • Kevin Walton (K5BTX)
  • Danna Dyess (W5DRD)
  • Joe Napoli (KG5SDF)
  • Harold Turbyfill (KG5SDG)
  • Vic Pears (KX8V)
  • Phil Gates (N5ZKF)
  • Bennie Naiser (KA5TWB)

Officer Reports

President Phil Gates (N5ZKF)

  • Last Call: N5TC
    • Passed away 2022-09-22
    • Amateur Extra
    • LtCol in Air Force
    • Professor Emeritus in ETID
    • ARRL Vice President
    • Long-time participant in W5BCS and W5AC
  • Long list of calendar items:
    • 2022-10-15 09:30 – Next W5BCS club meeting
      • American Legion Post 159
      • VE Session at 08:00
    • (after meeting) – Radio in the Park
      • Tanglewood Park, 3901 Carter Creek Pkwy, near the southeast end
      • Weather looks great, Remember to put on sunscreen
      • Bring any equipment you want
    • 2022-10-22 07:00/14:00 – Brazos Valley Solid Waste Management Hazardous Household Waste collection
      • old TI building (off Harvey Rd on the other side of Hwy 6)
      • bring batteries, cans of paint, electronics, etc.
  • Upcoming special events
    • BSA Jamboree on the Air (JotA) this weekend
    • 2022-10-17/18 – ARRL School Club Round-up
    • 2022-10-29/30 – CQ Worldwide DX SSB contest
    • 2022-10-11 (Tomorrow) – Birthday of US Navy
      • W5KID – USS Kidd (museum ship) on the air
  • Officer elections coming up
    • need temporary nominating committee (now until January)
    • maybe just 2 people
    • contact n5zkf@arrl.net if you would like to help

Vice-President Rick Pfeil (W4RDP)

proxy Phil Gates (N5ZKF)

  • Please keep his wife in your prayers
  • Please send any ideas for after-meeting presentations

Secretary Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)

  • Net minutes will be sent out at conclusion of net as usual
  • Looks like I’ll be present at October club meeting after all
  • Special thanks to Robert Carter (NC5R):
    • calling from a new HF/VHF base station
    • gifted me an ICOM IC-746 HF/50m/2m transceiver

Treasurer Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)

  • 59 members
    • Please renew your membership if you have not done so yet
  • Current bank balance: $8,229.93
    • Please set W5BCS as your charity on Amazon Smile!

Announcements / Comments

Question #96 for conversation: If you use an HF amplifier, what do you recommend? Solid-state or tubes?

Dick Zimmer (W5DZ)

  • Have a solid-state amplifier
    • Tokyo Hy-power
    • 120 V, 740 W

Vic Pears (KX8V)

  • Tube amplifier
    • Keeps the shack warm when it’s cold out 🙂

Bill Rose (K5WTR)

  • solid-state and (ceramic) tube-type
    • prefer solid-state, but can’t afford a big solid-state amp (price)
    • Have tubes in a Heathkit SB-220

Mike Wisby (KA5HIA)

  • Winter Field Day 2023-01-28/29
    • Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ) held a Winter Field Day committee planning meeting this evening
  • have been on the USS Kidd many times
    • moored in Baton Rouge
    • Has been very well restored to how it looked WWII days
  • Battleship TX dry-docked in Galveston for some maintenance
    • Bennie Naiser (KA5TWB) made some contacts from that ship

Buy / Sell

Jeff McDowell (KI5CES)

Phil Gates (N5ZKF)

  • Still have my West Mountain Radio CLRdsp ClearSpeech noise reduction processor
  • sells for $200, asking $80
  • send me an email at n5zkf@arrl.net if interested

Information Exchange

Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)

  • solid-state vs. tube amplifiers: What are the pros/cons of each
  • Bill Rose (K5WTR), Phil Gates (N5ZKF):
    • cost of replacement of tubes is expensive
    • transistors are very forgiving of mismatched loads and don’t give out as easy
      • Dick Zimmer (W5DZ): solid-state is more well-protected (idiot-proof)
    • you don’t have to tune a solid-state, but you have to tune tubes to your transmit frequency
    • solid-state is much lighter, smaller, and runs cooler

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