Metro DX Club APRIL 2022 Meeting Minutes
April 15,2022
We had an in person meeting this month and also had a ZOOM option for those unable to attend. Thanks to John K9EL for his help.
The meeting was called to order by our President Jim N9TK. In attendance, besides Jim were K9EL, W9ILY, K9CJ, WT2P, W9PDS, KC9RLE, NE9A, KD9NYP, W9AP, K9RR, W9EWZ, KC9EOQ, W9KXT, WB9Z, NV9L, WD9HSY, K9GA, K9DRS, K9NB, WA9LEY. Some of our attendees were guests.
The mystery check in, Christine and Diane, turned out to be Lee WA9LEY who wasn’t in front of his laptop during the formal meeting. His wife Christine and her sister Diane were the last to use the laptop for a ZOOM bridal shower.
HEALTH AND WELFARE No news is good news.
OLD BUSINESS
MINUTES A motion was made by George K9GA to approve the February and March meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Mel NE9A and approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT John W9ILY reports that the Club had income of $770. Some of our costs were $14.85 web costs and Winterfest payments. UT5UY donations received will be sent soon. $200 has been collected so far. Bob W9EWZ was thanked for his generous donation. Detailed Treasurer reports are filed on our groups.io site.
WUST No recent activity.
CONTESTS.
NAQP CW Our Metro team finished 77th, about the middle of the pack.
IARU HF Ralph K9ZO finished 1st in the Central division in his category. Jerry WB9Z finished 1st in his category. Barry N2BJ also posted a nice score.
SWEEPSTAKES Ralph K9ZO posted a super QRP score.
UPCOMING CONTESTS Lots of contest opportunities coming up including CQMM this weekend. Also looking ahead to CQWPX 5/28, BARTG Sprint 4/24 (75 baud RTTY), FLQP 4/30, and on the weekend of 5/7, 7QP, INQP,DEQP, and NEQP.
ILQP John W9ILY reported that our Club W9TY was the #1 club in the state and the travelling trophy is headed our way.
WINTERFEST Lee WA9LEY reported that we had 16 members and guests attend our postponed event and a good time was had by all. There were enough door prizes so that everyone attending won something.
NEW BUSINESS
UT5UY Jerry WB9Z reports that Martii OH2BH was instrumental in evacuating UT5UY’s wife and son from Ukraine but UT5UY remains in the country. As mentioned earlier, donations to help with their support will be forwarded by John W9ILY. It’s not too late to help. Send your donations to John via our web address.
RARE DX Jerry WB9Z says to look out for an announcement of a rare DX entity that will be activated soon. Watch the DX bulletins to find out who it is.
FIELD DAY It looks like Jim N9TK will be hosting Field Day this again year. More info to come.
CW SKILLS Patrick W9PDS suggested a couple of good sources for those looking to improve their CW skills. Take a look at CWops that offer classes and weekly CW activity on Wednesdays at 1300Z, 1900Z and 0300Z Thursdays. Also check out the Long Island CW Club.
A motion was made by CJ WT2P to close the meeting and 2nd by Larry KC9RLE.
The meeting was adjourned followed by a round table discussion of members’ current activities.
Lots of DX reported on all bands with 12 meters starting to heat up.
NV9L, WB9Z and K9EL report that they will be returning to IL soon.
Some reported their CQ Marathon progress.
Some have been attending to their antennas and gardens.
TX5 DXpedition is opening up soon.
PROGRAM
With the 6 meter sporadic E season approaching, Lee WA9LEY made a presentation highlighting the basics of how easy it is to get on this band and have some fun. Most gear includes 6 meters and the antennas can vary from simple dipoles to massive arrays. Listen to the ZOOM recording for more details.
Here’s the ZOOM recording courtesy of John K9EL. http://www.k9el.com/MetroDX/MetroDX-15Apr2022.mp4
Submitted by Lee WA9LEY