| NIHRAC (K3YGG) NIH Building 13 Room G-903 Bethesda, MD 20892 |
Emergency Communications Center NIH Building 11 Room 308 phone: 301 496-5311 |
NIHRAC Web site http://nihac.info.nih.gov/nihrac/k3ygghp.html
The next meeting will be held at noon on Thursday March 5, 1998 in the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) located on the third floor of Building 11. The annual election of officers will be held and nominations will be accepted from members attending the meeting.
The meeting was called to order by President Walter Stewart at 1212 p.m. The minutes of the January 8, 1998 meeting were accepted as distributed.
Members attending the meeting were Bob Haslack N3FRT, Jim Hobbs AA3DN, Bill Hook W3QBC, Albert Lock KA3WCF, Larry Martin W3IBO, Ross Merlin WA2WDT, Andy Mitz WA3LTJ, Frank Putnam N3ZPQ, Chuck Sherman N3WTO, Walter Stewart WM3Z, Al Taylor KN3U, and Mike Thomas WB3LHT. Visitors included Dick Shaff, Chief, Emergency Management Branch, Division of Public Safety, NIH, Sandy Miller, Administrative Officer, EMB/DPS and Brian West K2BW, President, Parklawn Amateur Radio Club.
It is with sadness that we report the death of Ira Tice N3JOQ from congestive heart failure on January 25 at Shady Grove Hospital. For the past 6+ years Ira served as a control operator for the NIHRAC 145.29 MHz repeater. He was also a frequent member of local nets and participated in a number of club activities.
Ross Merlin gave an after-event summary of communications activities during the January deployment of NDMS/DMAT personnel following the severe ice storm and flooding that occurred in the northeastern states. The support provided by Amateur Radio operators in the affected areas was noteworthy. Al Taylor mentioned that NDMS traffic should be self-sufficient and not tie up local amateur frequencies. Ross noted that the Parklawn Amateur Radio station has received the new callsign W3PHS, replacing WA3VVK.
On Tuesday evening January 13, John Muller operated K3YGG and MEMA Unit 48 during the monthly exercise and found himself being asked to copy message traffic on two frequencies at the same time. Undaunted, John managed to do so but suggested that in the future, we recruit a volunteer to be on-call to help out in the event that the scheduled second operator is unable to attend. Bob Haslack and Bill Hook offered to participate in the February 10 COMMEX.
Ross Merlin displayed and described a prototype of the portable, battery power source
for which NIHRAC has been asked to provide funding. The design incorporates a
sealed, deep-cycle storage battery along with charging and power distribution circuits
mounted on a light-weight hand cart with foldover handle. A discussion followed and
Al Taylor provided additional details. The estimated cost for parts is $986.
Walter Stewart endorsed the plan to have the design studied by a committee of NIHRAC
members prior to appropriating funds.
Suggestions for other equipment purchases were received and these included a Kenwood
TS-570D HF transceiver with ac power supply and 500 Hz CW filter, a Kenwood TS-50S
portable HF transceiver with automatic antenna tuner, a Kantronics KAM-Plus all-mode
controller and a heavy duty rotator for our log-periodic beam antenna. A budget in
draft form listing expected income and expenditures in 1998 was presented by Bill
Hook. It was noted that the proposed expenditures would exceed our cash
resources. Members will vote at a forthcoming meeting on what equipment should be
purchased with funds from the NIHRAC treasury.
We were advised by the Chief, Emergency Management Branch, that it is necessary for his office to physically survey all EMB- listed NIHRAC property. This is to be done prior to the actual inventory that will be conducted by contract personnel. The survey was begun following the meeting.
The Nominating Committee meeting has contacted the incumbent officers and all agreed to be nominated to serve in the coming year. Thus, the following nominations were presented Walter Stewart, President; Larry Martin, Vice President; Albert Lock, Secretary-Treasurer and Chuck Sherman, Assistant Secretary- Treasurer. No additional nominations were made. The election will be held at the March 5 meeting.
The President appointed Dan Reggia and Bill Hook to serve as a committee to audit our 1997 financial records. It was mentioned that at the end of 1997 we had $3247.85 in the NIH Credit Union.
Every two years NIHRAC all memberships expire and all are asked to renew. A renewal form will be mailed to members in early February. Dues for full members are $5 for two years and cover the period April 1, 1998 through March 31, 2000. Affiliate members do not pay dues but are expected to provide support by their participation in NIHRAC activities.
It was proposed that we soon hold a dinner meeting. This is to provide an opportunity to meet with those members unable to attend our noontime meetings and to discuss current Amateur Radio issues in informal surroundings. Thursday February 19 at O'Brien's Pit Barbecue were chosen as the time and place.
The next power outage test is scheduled for Saturday, April 4 from 100 to 330 pm. A minimum of 12 volunteers are needed to provide radio communication.
de ka3wcf and w3qbc