General Membership Meeting Minutes
May 12, 2014

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Tom, K8TB.

Secretary's Report:
Minutes of the April 2014 meeting were accepted as published on the website.

Treasurer's Report:
	General Fund: $5275.54
	Membership:   $386.76
	Total:        $5662.30
	Treasurer's report was accepted as read.
	
Opening Remarks:

	Our next "Ham in a Day" event will take place on August 9th.
	
	Allegan County Amateur Radio Club (http://ac8rc.org/) needs help with the TRI Allegan Triathalon (http://triallegan.com).  The event takes place on Tuesday, July 22nd.  A full schedule is posted at http://triallegan.com/schedule.html.
	
Upcoming events:
	Programs:
		May:
			5/26 E.A.T: Cancelled for Memorial Day.
		June:
			6/9 Monthly Meeting: TBD
			6/23 E.A.T.: We will be starting a CW class.
	
	ARRL Centennial QSO Party:
		From the ARRL Website (http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party):
		"The ARRL Centennial QSO Party is a year-long operating event that celebrates hams making contacts. In the end you will have accumulated points, worked new stations and made new friends all over the world.

		The Centennial QSO Party is made-up of two main activities: (1) W1AW operating portable in each state and most territories; and (2) The Centennial Points Challenge which is the accumulation of points from qualifying contacts made throughout 2014.  To have a score listed online in the Points Challenge competition, logs must be submitted through the  Logbook of the World (LoTW) system.

		W1AW will be on the air from every state and most territories, and it will be easy to work WAS working only W1AW portable operations. This is the first ARRL-sponsored operating event where every member is worth at least one point, so work as many points as you can during 2014! Earn awards based upon points, working all states or working W1AW portable in every state and territory. This is an on-the-air event like no other."
		
		The W1AW/8 contact for Michigan is Randy Hatt, AA8R.  Michigan's slots begin on 2/19/2014 and 10/15/2014.  The full schedule is available at http://www.arrl.org/files/file/On%20the%20Air/W1AW_2014_sked.pdf
		
Old Business:
	
	Michigan QSO Party:
		The 2014 Michigan QSO party was held from 16z on 4/19/14 to 04z on 4/20/14.
		We made 95 contacts, and look forward to participating again next year.
		
	Club Repeater:
		We discussed purchasing a new repeater controller.  The S-COM 7330 has a digital voice recorder.
		Estimated cost: $500 hardware + $60 software + $20 shipping.
		A motion was made to purchase the controller, with the cost not to exceed $600.  Motion passed.
	
	Field Day (http://www.arrl.org/field-day):
		This year’s Field Day event will be held on June 28th-29th, 2014.
		John, AC8HZ is serving as the 2014 Field Day chairman.
		Ernie, W8EL asked for more CW operators.
		
	Tulip Time:
		Overall, this year's event went well.
		Tom, K8TB suggested that we bring direction-finding equipment next year to look for stuck mics during the parade.
		A stuck mic during the Saturday parade necessitated a switch to the Warm Friend repeater.  The transition was smooth, and our communications were not impacted significantly.
		We have clearance to install outdoor antennas at the police station.
		
	Tom, K8TB has been investigating a liability insurance policy for the club.  He will be obtaining a quote from Lighthouse Insurance.
		
	The migration from Yahoo Groups to the email list software is on hold until we can resolve an issue that is preventing us from publishing the archives.  Tom is working with Pete, N9SSA.
	
	"Spark in the Park":
		Waiting for official word from Allegan and Lowell clubs.
		Tom, K8TB was contacted by Doug Furton (GVSU, http://bit.ly/SqXmnb).  He requested that he could present the Itty Bitty Sun Detector.  He also has a solar telescope.
		
New Business:
	
	None to report.
	
The business meeting was adjourned at 7:37pm, followed by a presentation on DXLab (http://www.dxlabsuite.com/) by Dave, WA8RSA and Jim, KC8KE.

Submitted:
Todd Boss, W8YHF
Holland ARC Secretary
secretary@hollandarc.org

Please contact the Secretary with comments or corrections.