Meeting Minutes, March 2, 2010
The meeting was called to order at 19:00 by President Randall Winchester.
In attendance:
| Debbie Barton, W8IBT | Denis Barton, WB8SKP |
| Chuck Williams KJ4HBK | Don Miller, K4ENE |
| Bill Call, KJ4W | Tim Edmonson KA4WWS |
| Mike Metcalf KJ4ITH | Pat Stephens-Metcalf KJ4QEC |
| Rich Beam, K4ADW | Terry Ward, KD4WCE |
| Bill Husfield, K9MMW | Mary Husfield, KC4TIE |
| Ronnie McCrary, KJ4ROH | David Hightower, KE4PWW |
| Robin Jones, KF4GCD | Bonnie Allen, Guest |
| Powell Henderson, KI4SII | Randall Winchester, WD4HVA |
| Mary Erickson, KJ4NZU | Mike Erickson, KJ4OPI |
| Bill Gage, K4BCG | Scott Durbin, Guest & Future Ham |
| Valerie Barrett, KG4OCJ | Dale Barrett, WB7D |
| George Knecht, KI4RZY | Gary Cooper, KJ4EBQ |
| Kris Hill, KJ4BLT | Mike Steigler, Guest |
| Mitchell Moss, Guest Speaker |
The question of the day was: “What are your station plans for Spring?”
Minutes – Chuck Williams motioned to accept the minutes as emailed, Bill Call seconded. Motion passed.
Treasurer’s Report – Bill Call reported a balance of $1242.20, no change from last month.
Systems Report – Bill Call reported an interruption of APRS service due to the radio having a problem and he has a temporary radio which has restored the APRS service. Something in the antenna system is causing a high SWR and is what probably caused the problem with the original radio. The 94 repeater is having some problems with it hanging up once (Bill was able to remotely shut down the repeater and was later able to bring it back up without problem); and also others have reported that it sometimes squawks.
Staff Advisor Report – John Hart reported that a balloon launch is scheduled for next week, and he would like area hams to monitor APRS and report any balloon information received.
VE Report – A VE session was held after last months’ meeting and was unsuccessful. Another VE session is being held tonight after the meeting.
QSL Managers Report – No cards
to report.
Net Report –Matt Freeman
reported, via email, the February Net Report of 4 sessions, no traffic, 57
stations, 103 minutes, and 97.85 operator hours.
Ham Bits – Randall Winchester reported on the February 27th MSU Bicycle Race. It was a 16 mile course with 232 riders and six races. Of the six races, one was a 16 mile race, two were 32 miles, two were 48 miles and one was 64 miles. This was a road race with normal traffic. We provided APRS for tracking and used 146.55 simplex frequency for voice communications. People attending the race were very interested in seeing the tracking on APRS and the accuracy in where people were reported as down and needing pick-up.
New Business – Chuck Williams asked if we have a vectored logo for the club. Bill Call stated that the logo we currently have on the website was hand-drawn. Randall Winchester offered to check and see if any student would be interested in designing a vectored logo.
New member application – Bill Gage has applied for membership with the club. Bill was a member previously and served as Secretary for several years before moving out of the area. He is now a part-time resident and would like to become active with MSUARC again. Bill Call motioned to accept his application and Tim Edmonson seconded the motion. Motion passed with everyone in favor.
Old Business – none.
Program – Mitchell Moss, Interstate Battery Distributor, gave a presentation on DC Power Systems. He asked what we need for power and was told our radios operate at peak efficiency on approximately 13.8 volts, but that during power failures we usually get by with 12.2 to 12.6 volts.
Circular batteries are more expensive but are also more stable and will withstand rougher treatment than a standard battery. For best results a car battery should be mounted with the width parallel to the front of the vehicle so that stopping and starting does not slam the liquid against the plates.
Having a DC system is a cost effective way to provide back-up power for necessary equipment (i.e. emergency radios and/or medical equipment) during a power failure. Battery tenders are a good way to keep a battery charged without overcharging. Trickle charging a battery can cause a slight odor due to overcharging. A battery tender or smart charger is a better choice as it communicates with the battery and shuts off when the battery is fully charged where a trickle charger will just keep charging and which can overcharging. Battery tenders also exercise the battery to drawn down the voltage and then recharge. This will increase the life a battery by chemically exercising the battery. Regular usage (exercising) helps to maintain the battery’s capacity. Instead of using your radio’s power supply to charge your battery a battery tender is a viable option.
When purchasing an inverter look for an 800 watt model. “Can a battery be hooked to an inverter to recharge itself?” No, because inverters will always draw more power than they generate. Therefore, when using an inverter you need to be able to charge your battery regularly.
“I want to have 12 hours back-up for operating and would like to have the power switch over to the batteries automatically, can this be done?” Automatic switches are available but are not cost effective for smaller applications and Mitchell recommends manually switching to the back-up power and then back to commercial power. For 12 hours you will probably need a second battery.
“What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different batteries?” Depends on what applications the battery will be used. An AGM battery needs a special battery charger or it can overcharge.
“How can you tell when a battery was manufactured?” In a corner of the battery it will have a letter and a number such as L9 this corresponds to December 2009, or B0 which would be February 2010. You also need to know if the battery has been rotated, if it is more that 90-120 days old. Batteries need to be rotated and exercised every 90-120 days under normal storage conditions or they will lose capacity. Before buying you should check the manufacture date and ask about rotation, if battery is older than three months.
Longevity of batteries depends on how well they are maintained, some AGM batteries are lasting 5-6 years when used regularly and are properly charged; other types of batteries will last 3-4 years under the same conditions.
Mitchell held a drawing to give away the items he brought for his presentation. The winners were:
Robin Jones, Mike Erickson, Bill Gage, Don Miller, Gary Cooper, Pat Stevens-Metcalf and
Powell Henderson.
If anyone has questions about batteries he will be happy to help you.
Randall reminded everyone that next month is election of officers, please be sure to attend.
Randall adjourned the meeting at 20:35 for the VE session which is to immediately follow.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Barton, W8IBT
Secretary
Addendum: The VE session was successful. Mary Erickson passed her exam with only two questions missed and is now upgraded to an Extra. Congratulations Mary.