April 10th, 2009 - General Membership Meeting

Notes Posted By Ray Anderson on April 13th, 2009

The Vienna Wireless Society General Membership Meeting - April 10, 2009 President, Jim, W4JTP formally opened the meeting at 7:40 pm. TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 38 GUESTS: Luke Hillman, KB3SHJ, Pamela Toman, KB9SCM and Mike Kelter, KZ9U. NEW MEMBERS: Luke Hillman, KB3SHJ, and Pamela Toman, KB9SCM, became new Members of VWS this night.  Welcome Luke and Pamela! ANNOUNCEMENTS: Pete, KG4OJT, announced that the Club Permits for Field Day, QRP To The Field / Krazy Antenna Day and the Fox Hunt had been secured. Pete, KG4OJT, announced that set-up for the Sally Ride Science Festival, held at George Mason University on April 18 would start at 9:30 am, with the girls attending at 10:00 am and the festival coming to a close at 2:00 pm.  Since that day is also World Amateur Radio Day it is anticipated that there will be plenty of stations on the air to show the girls what amateur radio is all about.  Finally, although the club received short notice about this event, a number of Members have jumped at the opportunity to represent amateur radio and the Club to these girls. Tom, K4TCM, asked for a show of hands of those Members who are interested in participating in a Tape Measure Antenna Building Session in preparation for the Saturday, March 21  Fox Hunt.  With a sufficient number of Members showing an interest to do so, Tom promised to arrange for such a session, with updates to follow. Bernie, N4JDF, updated the Membership on the recent VA QSO Party: The Club's final score was 25,571 A total of 13 Club Operators participated in the Contest A total of 260 contacts were made, of which 8 contacts were DX A total of 42 out of 50 States were contacted Bernie, N4JDF, the Club's Field Day Chairman, advised the Membership about the ongoing preparations for Field Day, 09 which will commence at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 27th and continue until 2:00 pm on Sunday, June 28th 2009 . Bernie introduced his Field Day, 09 Work Matrix with its list of responsibilities and volunteers As of the meeting, no CW Station Masters had volunteered, although it was anticipated that this status would change. Ben, N1VF, volunteered to be Station Master of the 160/80/20/10m Voice Station . Tom, N4ZPT, volunteered to be Station Master of the 40/15m Voice Station . Matthew,  KJ4FUT, volunteered to be Station Master of the VHF/UHF Station . Pete, K6BFA, volunteered to be Station Master of the GOTA and Field Day Youth Participation Station . Pete, KG4OJT, volunteered to be the Field Day, 09 Network Administrator . Tom, K4TCM, volunteered to be the Field Day, 09 Master Chef .  Pete, K6BFA, volunteered to be the Field Day, 09 T-Shirt, hats, pins, etc. Procurement Officer . Additional information about Field Day, 09 can be found on the VWS website at http://www.viennawireless.org/fd.php VWS Members who wish to volunteer for Field Day, 09 or who have additional questions may contact Bernie at FieldDay09@viennawireless.org . Byron Black, W4SSY, was saluted for having won the ARRL, QST Article of the Month for March, 2009. Mike, K3MT, briefly discussed his recent trip to the FCC's Engineering Branch in Powder Springs, GA.  He was very enthusiastic about his trip and recommended that everyone try and visit it. Dave, K2VX, donated a PRO-2006 scanner to the Club which he received from his neighbor and ex-ham, Charlie Gillam.  The scanner was auctioned off to the Membership and Frank, W4NUA was the successful bidder. Mike, AE4R, reminded everyone of the Transmitter Homebrew Contest to be held on Friday, July 10.   He passed out an information sheet to interested Members. FREE GIVEAWAYS: Dennis, W4QMS, offered a box of Free Ham Goodies as give-aways, including a CW Keyer . Dave, WS6W, gave away free copies of Communications Quarterly magazine BREAK: Refreshments and caloric indulgences were provided by Bob, AJ4RS. ERRATUM: In the March, 2009 General Membership Minutes, your Secretary erroneously credited Bob, AJ4RS with providing that month's refreshments.  In fact, Bob, WB4KLJ had done so.  Sorry, Bobbie-Bee! POST BREAK: Ione, KJ4FHL, won this month's 50-50 Contest.  Congrats Ione! MEETING PRESENTATION Supported with the audiovisual support by Tom, N4ZPT, Mike, AE4R introduced the video, "At The Interface - The WWII Recollections of Donald M. Showers."  This captivating video chronicled how Naval Communications Intelligence (COMINT) broke the Japanese codes that proved to be invaluable to the United States in the Pacific War.  The story is related by Rear Admiral Donald Showers, one of the code breakers at the Combat Intelligence Station HYPO in Hawaii, who discussed the code breaker's roles in the Coral Sea and Midway battles as well as the shooting down of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.  President, Jim, W4JTP formally closed the meeting at 9:10 pm. For a look at some pictures of this meeting, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/viennawireless/sets/72157616592837021/ Respectfully submitted by Ray Anderson, KJ4CNN Secretary, VWS

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