Round of introductions started the meeting. December minutes read and approved with no corrections. Treasury report $935.18 after a $1 service charge. Dues are due for 2010. They are $24 a year with $12 for spouses that also hold a license.

Two hamfests this month, Hammond Saturday 16, 2010 then Jackson on the 29 and 30th. Testing will be done at both hamfests.

The McComb repeater is on the air on 146.94 with a 103.5 tone.

A new test for technician will take effect this July. So it is best to take it before then.

New officers were elected for this year. These are;

Pres. George Lambright WU5U
Treasury John P. Conn KI5MW
Secretary Gary Hancock WB5HQH
Member at large Philip R Gerber KE5RJT

The November minutes were read and adopted with no corrections or additions. Treasury report $936.18.

Homer went over the activities of the last year. He presented certificates of appreciation to three club members. Nancy KirkleyCK, Paul J. McGehee K5PJM, and Gary Hancock.

Their were 13 members that took part in the Rebel Swap. All enjoyed the fellowship that followed.

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: November 12, 2009
Pike County EOC, MS 7:00 PM.

The October minutes were read and adopted with no corrections or additions. Homer mentioned where minutes are on the website.

Bob (K5DWI) was not in attendance and no treasury report was presented. Only expense was for food at picnic, the last bowl of ice cream went home with N5ZNT. About 20-25 people showed up to take advantage of the beautiful weather.

John (KI5MW) talked about meeting with new hams at one of the regular meeting or at another time during regular business hours. This brought up a motion to hold January meeting at the McComb hospital. It was quickly seconded and passed by acclimation. It will be at the regular date and time.

The old Icom repeater is down from the ETV tower. Gary (WB5HQH) went out to the ETV site to wait for the repeater being brought down by High Lights Company out of Florida. There was discussion about what was involved in putting a repeater on the tower on Jackson-Liberty road. There is quite a bit more talk before anything can be decided, including legal items involved, Tower climbing. etc. Jeffery brought up ideas about the climbing maybe when their tower maintenance was due.

Jeffery has the ICOM RP1510 repeater and will troubleshoot it to get it operational.

Loyd Star Fire Department and Homer met Monday. They have the books and are figuring out what is next for them. Dates and times for class, who will attend etc.

Jeffery hopes next week the McComb 34/94 will be back on the air.

Next month will be the Christmas Party at the Western Sizzlin in Brookhaven. Remember to bring a gift for the Rebel gifting.

Homer mentioned that his term as president is up in January and he is stepping down. There will be an election of officers at that meeting.
 

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: October 9, 2009
Western Sizzlin Brookhaven, MS 7:00 PM.

The Minutes were read and adopted from September.

Bob (K5DWI) gave treasury balance of $1279.95

Old business: Tour for Cure. John (KI5MW) and Jeffery (N5ZNT) reported that 1200 or so cyclists participated and they had 6 rest stops and a "Sag Wagon" manned by 30 or so Hams. Sag wagon is used for tired cyclists. The Ham repeater in Kentwood was used for the event.

Radio class- We gave tests for 9. Seven passed with one getting his general. We plan on going back when they get ticket and have a day to hook up radios and work them a little.

Arrl Camp Shelby had 6 or 7 from club to go . Reports of really enjoying the museum. Also MREs were tasted and enjoyed by all.

Tee shirts about 6 people were interested. Homer looked at the vests cost.

Jeffery plans on 34-94 didn’t work out for this week's install. The antenna seems to be ok. Digi-peater is on the air 145.01 with the call W5WQ-5. The APRS was fried by probably a lighting strike. The plans are to get the 440 repeater in McComb up and running after the vhf is on the air then APRS will be rebuilt. There was a question about putting an antenna on other end of hospital. Coax run is lengthy for that idea.

New business: very encouraging there is some talk about a 350 ft. position on a Tower.

Picnic on Oct.31 at Homer' at 2 pm. Ice cream and cookout. Jeff motioned "more ice cream".

Christmas club meeting at the regular December place and time.

Motion to close seconded.

Program on psk presented by Homer.
 

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: September 10, 2009
Pike County EOC, MS 7:00 PM.

August minutes read and accepted without any corrections. Treasury balanced $1306.08

Old business: McComb Repeater on 146.94 is still down and need to be put back in operation. John (KI5MW) talked about what is needed. The afternoon of Sept. 24 set to meet at the site to try and get it up and running. A discussion on the 440 mhz. repeater and what are its requirements. A discussion on a 144.39mhz. APRS tnc unit was held and what was needed for us to have one in McComb. Equipment offers were made and noted..

Paul (K5PJM) said Liberty should have aprs on the air in a couple of weeks. If you want to see how this system works, go to www.Aprs.fi and use K4mcg's callsign, Paul’s son, and you can track him as he drives.

New business: Vest and tee shirts with the club logo on them should be available from Sweet-tee on hwy 550. The owner said she would silk screen them.

Oct. 3-4 the Ms Tour for Cure will have their ride from Louisiana to Percy Quinn state park.

Algie Boone (KC5SJV) gave a inspirational talk on his server during WWII as a battlefield medic in the Pacific. His story of island hopping again a fierce Japanese military force in horrendous conditions were unimaginable to the rest of us. His lovely wife was there giving him support during his emotional retelling of friends that didn't make it back and the spiritual ideals that kept him safe in the belief that he would survive and return to his family. The fact that all six of his family members returned from active duty was nothing short of amazing, considering the odds of that happening

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: August 13, 2009
Western Sizzlin Brookhaven, MS 7:00 PM.

There was a nice turn out for the meeting and it began with a round of callsigns and introductions from all attending.

Minutes read and accepted. With the correction "there is a weather net at 7:30 P.M. on 146.85 on Thursday night except when there is a club meeting."

Bob (K5DWI) gave the treasury report: There was a $350 total fee for state and federal on our 501C charity filings. With a monthly bank fee of $1, this left $1258.02 balance. Gary (WB5HQH) reported mail confirmations that the proper government agencies had received our 501c forms.

Station at KDMC has not began operating fully.

Emergency Communications Class in Jackson August 22. See W5WQ.net Calendar for details.

Next year's Field Day location has been confirmed. The Brookhaven Recreation Department on HWY 51 (the old armory) will once again be the site.

Jeffery (N5ZNT) has had good success with the Thursday night net on the 146.85 repeater. The check ins have come from local to Baton Rouge and out to Monroe, La. This is proving to be a good opportunity for new Technicians who want training in net

Operations for severe weather.

146.94 repeater still no progress.

New business:

Need to get KDMC checking into nets.

ARRL Day in the Park September 26, 2009. Armed Forces Museum Camp Shelby. See W5WQ.NET website calendar for more information. John (KI5MW) Southwest Mississippi Medical Center has all equipment hooked up and running. Comet vertical on HF and a dual bank vertical on VHF/UHF. Class dates are being firmed up with about 12 people.

Gary offered general classes at the Brookhaven Library on Saturdays for interested parties. Contact him at gary@garyhancock.com or leave a message at 601-532-6528.

The annual Christmas party will be at Western Sizzlin on the 2nd Thursday of December.

Bob (N4RUD) encounter a unabashed pirate operator at a gun show in Jackson. The guy said he would operated where ever he wanted.

Program "ragchewing" by Bob (K5DWI).

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: July 9, 2009

June minutes read and accepted.

Meeting started with a round of calls and names of those present.

Bob (K5DWI) gave the treasury report of a $1609.80 balance. He also had a new membership roster to be posted on the Club's W5WQ.net website. Anyone who's address or email is not correct needs to send a correction to Homer.

Reminder that all new Hams have free membership for the balance of the year. Anyone who needs a form can download it off the website or email wb5hqh@ftcweb.net to get membership form.

Finished up field day. There was good Pr and pictures in the Brookhaven paper. George's (KE5AZT) granddaughter Deedee logged contacts while he was on the radio. A reminder to Jeffery (N5ZNT) to hid the logo name on commercial ice cream for pictures in the paper. All in all it was a great write up. All contact material was sent to the ARRL. We had 642 qso's with over 2,200 points. Homer asked if we wanted the Brookhaven Recreation Dept.'s room again for next year. There was a motion and seconded to reserve. We have already received QSL's from field day and there has been some more from the Dairy festival.

Jeffery still hopes the McComb 146.94 repeater with be back on shortly. There have been some of the new Hams on the Brookhaven repeater. We want to welcome them and hope to have more local activity. Remember there is a weather net at 7:30 P.M. on 146.85 on Thursday night except when there is a club meeting. There have been some 10 meter opening and nets reported into by club members lately. Hope to have a local 10 meter net in the near future.

The Brookhaven Medical Center antennas still not up permanently.

Several people talked about the Buckmaster no tuner needed HF antenna.

Gary (WB5HQH) has the 501c3 charity paperwork ready to submit to the Federal Government.

John Conn still getting class members.

All of (SK) Clint's (K5JMD) radios sold. There is a 35 foot tower, rotor, VHF, and HF beam that has to be taken down. Algie has a Kenwood 440s for sale.

Jeffery asked for volunteers for the fall MS tour for cure bicycle race.

The next club function is the picnic on Halloween.

There is a Hamfest in Slidell Sat. week. The Satsuma repeater is up and running on 146.73 with a 107.2 tone.

A program on the East Ship Island Dxpedition followed the meeting

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: June 11, 2009
Western Sizzlin Brookhaven, MS 7:00 PM.

Minutes read and accepted.

Old business: confirmed from ETV that they will advise us when they go back up the tower.

Dairy festival, Thanks Jeff for antennas used, they really worked. Next door had 3 cookers hooked up to one receptacle and they had a electrical fire. We made 207 contacts , 39 states. Brochure and cow qsl card sent out.

New hams from hospital: As soon as the get settled in they will take over the equipment at the hospital.

Status 94 repeater: Jeff shooting for Field day to get it up and running.

John Conn seems to have good luck on their equipment getting into 85 from McComb Hospital. Vertical HF antenna on Hospital roof in McComb.

New business: Field Day coordinated by Jeff at the Rec Dept. 11:00 need vols to setup with start time at 1:00. One radio for Field day and one demo station.

1A category. Testing will be held at 2:00 . Eating plans were discussed of course.

On classes: John hasn’t informed Us when to have classes. Also still no firm plans from Loyd Star.

Clint Martin equipment has been posted on website.

Radios and 35fot tower-antenna.

End.

Next month program on East Ship Island DX expedition.

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: May 14, 2009
Pike EOC McComb, MS 7:00 PM.

Minutes for April meeting were read and accepted .

Bob (W5DWI) was not present so there was no treasury report

Vice President George (KE5AZT) presided over the meeting. This was the first one held at the Pike EOC on Parklane Rd. in McComb. There were 4 non hams at the meeting and they had plenty of questions about radio and licensing. Everyone spoke up and advised them on several questions on equipment and operating. Robin Mays of the Red Cross attended and had many questions relating to Amateur Radio and her organization.

Jeffery (N5ZNT) gave a report on the 94 Repeater and said it should be on the air in the next couple of weeks.

Gary (WB5HQH) gave a report on the classes at King Daughter’s Medical Center and the passing of the Technician test by three new Hams. Next testing at Field Day, see the website calendar for more information.

There was a discussion on the upcoming Dairy Festival and on Field Day operations.

Meeting close.

Program on Emergency Communications was give by Gary.

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: April 9, 2009
Brookhaven Western Sizzlin 7:00 PM.

Minutes for March meeting were read and accepted with one correction. The program on propagation that followed the meeting was added.

Bob (W5DWI) gave the treasury report. He sent out letters to members that were arrears in their dues. This cost $42 in stamps. $96 was collected and there was a $1.24 in bank charges leaving a balance of $1533.76 on hand. He requested that Gary send him a letter to change officers for banking purposes

Homer (WB5ASP) gave a report on the classes to be held at King Daughters. They were by 4 two hour sessions starting April 21. The web site calendar has further details. The civil defense and volunteer fire departments have shown some interest also. Public will be considered on space availability.

The McComb hospital has its VHF and HF equipment operational. This is due to the quick work by John Conn (KI5MW).

He also has the 146.94 repeater antenna and coax installed. Jeffery (N5ZNT) stated that it should be on the air next week. This brought up discussion on a 440Mhz. Link between Brookhaven and McComb and the benefits of a large coverage area and the resulting link into Jackson stations during bad weather.

Bude tower – Homer wrote a real strong letter and got action. The chairman of board for ETV call and assured that on the next tower climb they will bring down the equipment.

Next meeting will be at the EOC in McComb see the website calendar for the address and a map to the EOC which is located at 1241 Parklane Road We hope to stir up the Fire Dept.’s interest by using this site. Also operating the HF equipment more at the site will help trouble shoot for emergencies.

Next meeting program will be ragchewing. Ag5z has classes at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg starting on Monday night at 6:30 starting April 20.

Meeting close.

Program on antique radios and a tour of Jeff May’s

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: March 12, 2009
McComb Public Library 7:00 PM.

The February minutes were read and approved.

Treasury report: There was $24.00 in deposits with a $1.24 service charge leaving a balance of $1420.00. There was a motion to send a notice to members that had not paid their dues. This motion was passed without any comments.

Repeater report: Homer (WB5ASP) said work has been ongoing on the ETV tower, but he had not been able to get any of our equipment down. John said they were ready for us to reinstall the 34/94 on the hospital in McComb.

Hospital radio station: Ms. Celine Craig has ordered the amateur technician books for the students. Homer and Bob have tested the station at King Daughters Hospital. Firemen have been added to the list of proposed operators Mike herring is the fire trainer for Loyd Star. There might be a room at the new EOC. He has donated a rig to it. The McComb Hospital has expressed an interest in the same setup as Brookhaven. They have acquired a grant of $4000.00 for this purpose. There is an April 15 deadline on the grant for the station to be operational. Malcolm (W5XX) has requested a KDMC check in on EOC night on the 80 meters Mississippi phone net. The stations in hospitals along the Mississippi Coast have found out that 440mhz. has better building penetration. There was a discussion on tuners and antennas for the hospitals.

Update since the meeting - the books should be here on/around March 24. Homer also said "I have ordered a copy of the ARRL Instructors’ Manual for Tech and General class license (ARRL item # 1263). It looks like we may be conducting more classes for firemen and possibly at SW medical Center so we will just get a guide for the Club instructors to use.

Jeffery (N5ZNT) (reported on the duplexer tuning and the resulting increased performance and range.

WE had a spirited and fun discussion on the Mississippi QSO party with some of the totals scored. Such as –

AG4Z –1062

K5DWI - 396

Next event that we have is the Dairy Festival in Tylertown – Jeffery is handling the notification to QST.

Next month at the meeting in Brookhaven we sill have Jeff May on antique Radios.

Jeffery has acquired a new meeting location – The Pike EOC training room at 1241 Parklane Rd in McComb. A motion was made and confirmed to move to this new meeting place. Gary (WB5HQH) is to contact the Red Cross about their new facility in Brookhaven to explore a meeting room.

Larry (Ag5z) has a new 10 meters net on 28.335Mhz. in Hattiesburg at 9:00 P.M. on Wednesday nights with coordination on 2 meters as well as 440Mhz. This is to help the new Technician Class hams get used to the HF equipment and create an urge to upgrade to General Class. He plans to start either next wk or the next, the repeater will be the 146.775Mhz. at the Oak Grove location. It is now operating with a 136.5 tone.

We talked about Aprs and that in this area it is not really functional.

Packet on 145.01 had been getting back into action in the state.

Meeting closed.

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: February 12, 2009
Brookhaven Western Sizzlin 7:00 PM.

Approved the connectors and log book for KDMC purchased from the Ham Fest for about 17 dollars

Homer asked for suggestions for projects on web page

Also asked for backup NET control on the local NET. No response noted.

Need to work on McComb repeater SWRMC is ready for club to repair.

Dues are due for this year.

New business:

Asked Jeff to be coordinator of events.

Dairy June 6 27-28 Field Day Recreation Department

Picnic October 31 suggested

Need turner for KDMC station

Ask Nancy to help with graphics

Look for tower location

Need programs suggestions for July - December.

George E. Lambright

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: January 8, 2009
McComb Public Library 7:00 PM.

No meeting last month.

Treasury report: Activity since last meeting, $12.94 to "click to mail" and a bank service charge of $1.59. This leaves a balance of $1280.59.

Old Business:

The repeater Duplexer is still out to tune. Thinking of putting the Brookhaven repeater back in McComb on 146.94 maybe by the last part of next week. In order to do this, the antenna mounting will have to be studied on the Hospital to make it sturdier. A tripod weighed at the bottom is being considered. There are limited existing mounting points.

King Daughters Hospital – There had been a $4000 equipment order placed for vhf, uhf, and HF radios with antennas. The grant requires it to be in place by end of January. On HF a G5RV antenna has been ordered. Already operators have started studying for licenses. More to come as this unfolds.

Clint Martin had a stroke and is getting along ok but his sight has problems. He had some antennas downed by snow. Homer got him back up and running.

Homer also got all the dates at the Western Sizzlin confirmed for this year.

Certificates for last year were presented to Nancy Reeves KC4YNL, Philip Gerber KE5RJT , Robert Reeves N4RUD, Homer Richardson WB5ASP, Gary Hancock WB5HQH, Robert Hadley K5DWI., Algie Boone KC5SJV, for their Honorable Helping with Southwest Club.

VE testing January 10,2009 at 10 AM in Brookhaven at the Public Library. Update on testing – had one upgrade to General.

New business:

Web site now has links to study and training information.

Homer Richardson was elected President of the club for 2009.

Bob agreed to continue as Treasurer.

Gary agreed to also continue as Secretary.

Motion to accept by acclimation. Passed.

Discussion: These were topics that were discussed at length following the election.

There were questions on hospital grants in the future. I was agreed to seek more information from personal at hospital.

The one they were using expired this month.

Homer brought up as the number one priority is to get the 2 meter repeater system back up to wide coverage.

There were questions on whether a formal amateur radio class will be held at the hospital. It should be 8-10 hours. The number of students based on room size.

A 10 meter club net was suggested. Most thought that would be a good idea. The treasurer mentioned that there were members that have not paid their dues. The dues are $24 a year. Gulf Coast Magnolia DX club said that they may come up for a field day site this year. Don’t forget Jackson Hamfest the last Friday and Saturday of this month. Hammond Hamfest is the 17th of this month.

Check the calendar of events on the website for location information

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
December Christmas Party and Meeting
Brookhaven Western Sizzlin 7:00 PM.

This was cancelled due to weather.

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: November 13, 2008
McComb Public Library 7:00 PM.

Minutes for the last meeting were read, a motion was made to accept, seconded and passed.

Bob (K5DWI) Treasury Report… Since the last meeting payment to go-daddy com for the name registration was $8.92 and $83.88 for hosting the web site. There was a $1.12 bank service charge. $98.49 was spent on the club picnic. This left a balance of $1218.45.

Picnic .. We would like to thank Homer (WB5ASP) and his gracious XYL for a great picnic. The weather was beautiful and the food plentiful. There is a picture on ARRL web site. There were two newly licensed hams from the New Hebron Monticello area Both had the Technical Class license and were invited to join the club.

Repeater.. Jay and Jeffrey are working on Duplexer tuning outsourcing.

VE testing.. one candidate, a 12 year old YL, took the Technician test but no license yet. She plans on trying again soon.

As reported last meeting, MS. Saleen Craig , DIr. of Resources for King Daughter Medical Center, has a grant opportunity. It entails a $4000 grant to buy equipment. There were three equipment options presently being studied. Homer and Bob are talking to her about Radios and antennas packages. A location to put permanent station is also a question. MS.Kim Mcdaniel in Natchez has same grant. The EC in Natchez will try to assist her. Gary (WB5HQH) will contact Franklin County facility to see if a similar opportunity exists. A discussion on what to expect broke out. Many said that we needed Clif daily

(CD director) , MS. Saleen , and the local hams to get together to figure out what to expect. There was a motion that the club support a study of needs ,setup and training but not a promise of manning a station at the hospital. Gary made the motion Paul (K5PJM) seconded and it was passed.

Gary said he had made a major Web site rewrite of W5WQ.

Homer told about sending a write up of the Dairy Festival and the Ole Brook Festival to Malcolm for the state ARRL website.

Check it out. http://www.arrlmiss.org/

The Christmas Party will commence at 6:30PM on the 2nd Thursday in December at the Western Sizzlin in Brookhaven. See website for details. The Monthly club meetings next year will be at the same sites as this year. Odd months in McComb, even months in Brookhaven.

Club member mail out reminder for the Christmas party and yearly dues will be made.

Meeting was closed.

Program on HF antennas by Bob (N4RUD) followed the meeting

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: October 9, 2008
Brookhaven Western Sizzlin 7:00 PM.

Minutes for the last meeting were read, a motion was made to accept, seconded and passed. Treasury Report- $114.23 was paid to Homer (WB5ASP) for the new tent. With a $1 bank service chg., Bal is $1420.86.

Ole Brook 150th. Special event station - This event tested the operators for emergency conditions with rain, and lighting. There was a high noise level on the HF bands, but over 100 contacts on 20 and 40 meters were made. The QSL cards were sent out along with a club brochure and a picture of the old building now housing the Chamber of Commerce.

MS Tour for Cure - Four of the club members (N5ZNT, KE5SK, KD5WYN and KI5MW) provided the communications and everything went great.

Club Picnic- Nov. 1st. @ 2 pm. Featuring grilled meat, all the fixings, homemade ice cream, and covered dishes. $100 was approved for food purchases.

Repeater News- no progress.

VE testing Sat. Oct. 25 10am. at the Lincoln County Public Library in Brookhaven. Reminder that all newly licensed hams can be club members for the balance of the year without any dues.

SET - Malcolm (W5xx) reported the due to the recent disasters, the SET will be on a county by county volunteer basis.

Bob (K5DWI) said the MS. Saleen Craig , DIr. of Resources for King Daughter Medical Center wanted to talk about emergency communications, and what the hospital can do to help.

BOB also brought up the lack of Elmering when it came to the new hams. He proposed a program to assign a mentor to each new ham.

Christmas Party - The 2nd thus. in Dec. at 6:30pm. This brought up a lively discussion of the gift giving game we always play.

Meeting was closed. There was no program following the meeting.

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: September 11, 2008
McComb Public Library 7:00 PM

Southwest Mississippi Amateur radio Club Regular Monthly Meeting called to order @ 7:02 P.M.

Treasury Report given with a balance of $1536.09.

With the absence of Mr. Gary (WB5HQH) our secretary & I did not bring a copy of last month's min. We went from memory as far as Old business.

Ole Brook 150th. Special event station was open for discussion. Saturday 20 Sept. 08 will be the Old Brook 150th. special event station. Pre-setup will be 5pm Friday. ON the air time will start 9am Saturday. Mr. Danny (KD5BQT) has some tables we can use. Mr. Homer will get another ten to replace the damaged one & a couple of tarps.

Jeffery mentioned & asked for volunteers for the MS Tour for Cure for 4th. & 5th. of Oct. 2008. Also 27 Oct. 2008 is the SET exercise. Mr. Homer (WB5ASP) reminded us of our club Picnic on 1st. Nov. 08 @ Homer's house starting @ 2pm.

Jeffery discussed needing a tone board for the 94 machine. After discussion, a motion was made 2nd. and passed to get a new tone board. Also Me Jay & I discussed getting 2 commercial radios off e-bay @ $100 ea. for the Brookhaven site. Me BoB(N4RUD) said he will check into getting some radios from his contact in Alabama. Discussed & tabled for later discussion.

Meeting adjourned @ 7:30 pm.

Program presented by MR. Paul (K5PJM) on ant. setup w/out trees.

Jeffery N5ZNT

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: August 14, 2008
Brookhaven Western Sizzlin 7:00 PM.

Treasury report – Homer reporting for Bob - There was a Bank fee $1.00 Leaving a balance of $1512.07. A motion to accept the report from Gary (WB5HQH) and a second by Bob (N4RUD). Pass by acclimation.

Old business- There was a discussion on the color of the pastel paper to be used for the new brochures.

We also talked about antennas for Ole Brook and when to set up and if testing on site should be done. Gary asked a question if we needed to buy another tent to replace the one that was destroyed at field day. Bob brought up that we had allocated money for field day and not used it. He made a motion to buy a new tent using that money. There was a motion to buy tent as well as two plastic tarps. $150 allocated for the total purchase. Homer volunteered to pick them out and purchased. Homer said while we were on the subject of Field day. He had asked Brookhaven Recreation to set aside the date for next year.

The repeater and EOC updates and repair was brought up by N4rud. Jeffery reported that due to a shortage of manpower we were behind but will be addressed. One of the items was the duplexer for 146.85 needed to be tuned professionally and probably will be a charge. A motion was made to pay to get tuned. AN estimate would be forthcoming. Jeffery also reported that the 146.94 on hospital should be operational in a couple of weeks.

A time of 7am on Ole Brook setup on the event day with operations to be from 9-4. There was a discussion of logistics about tables and items for the booth.

New business –Richard (K5RJT) Ben Franklin Masonic lodge in Meadville is available for emergency use.

Homer read a note from Algie (KC5SJV) about an estate sale of a L4B 2001 linear for $300 and a bundle of a 40 foot tower, Beam, and Rotor for $300. No details were available except they are in the McComb area.

Homer- Showed a QSL card with the old Railroad Station to be used for contact during the Ole Brook Fest. A Motion to accept design was made by Jeffery and second by Gary. The members in attendance accepted the motion.

Gary said we needed ideas to get more members to show up for meeting as the attendance was the lowest he had seen.

Next meeting in McComb will have a program titled "Program on Easy Ways to put up Antennas" by Paul (K5PJM).

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: July 10, 2008
McComb Public Library 7:00 PM.

Club’s minutes for June were read by the secretary and were approved without addition or comment. Bob(K5DWI) Reported $12 from James Reeves joining the club and a $1 bank fee leaving a balance of $1513.45

Old business- The brochures that were printed up have almost been exhausted. Probably need more before The next event with would be the Ole Brook Festival in Sept. A suggestion was made by Nancy (KC4YNL) to use pastel paper.

Field Day- Really good in spite of storm coming thru forcing the radios inside. Total points were good see website for pictures and other information.

Two people passed the technician class exam. James Reeves and George Lambright Jr. George Jr. was excited and wanted a picture with all those involved with his test. He also brought the operators pizza later that night. The only real request was for more operators next year.

No news on repeaters.

New business – Homer suggested Field Day next year at same place. Motion to try to reserve was made and passed.

A comment was made that Antennas for Ole Brook Festival needs to be put up 3-4 days ahead of time.

Meeting was closed.

A program on emergency communication was presented by Bob (N4RUD

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: June 12, 2008
Brookhaven Western Sizzlin 7:00 PM.

Last month’s minutes were read by the secretary and were approved without addition or comment. Bob(K5DWI) Reported $10 to Homer (WB5ASP) for supplies and a $1 bank fee leaving a balance of $1501.45.

Old business – The 501 (C)(3) application and amended club bylaws were presented. These had been compiled at a board meeting the past weekend at the Brookhaven Public Library. A copy of the bylaws had been emailed to all the club members that were on the website list. Nancy (KC4YNL) wanted a copy sent to her email address. A motion to accept the amended bylaws was made by Philip (KE5RJT) and seconded by Jay(W5JVK). Since this took a 2/3 vote of the entire membership. A call for the total number was made by the secretary. The Treasury reported a total of 15 paid members. The vote was tallied and there were 12 voting to approved. The motion was accepted. The bylaws will be filed with state. A couple of things are still left to do on the application before it can be filed.

One of the items to be completed is the narrative. An email has been sent to all club members with registered addresses requesting a report in writing of any public service and/or emergency work done by them while they were club members. This is necessary to show why we should be granted the status of a 501(C)(3) group. Without this I don't think we will be successful.

Dairy Fest- Homer will have a report and pictures on the web site. Bob(K5DWI) – antennas should be labeled better and that maybe a Multi-band portable vertical antennae would be better. Bob (N4RUD) raised concerns about crowds and shock danger. However an emergency vertical would be good.

Bude repeater- The engineer is still saying it will be another couple of weeks before someone should be out to bring down our unit.

Bob (N4RUD) brought up that the Hospital tower work could lead to grant.

Field Day - Everyone plan to get there about 11:00 am. There will not be a GOTA station but a Demonstration station will be available. Bonus points – emergency power. Solar. Media publicity Politician. Message to section manager. ARRL bulletin. Inside the old armory access will be available all day.

A motion to allocated funds to buy food at local joint was made by Bob (N4RUD) and seconded by Donnie (KD5RGT). It was approved with a $100 limit.

Meeting closed.

There was a program on antennas by Bob (N4RUD) after the meeting

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: May 8, 2008
McComb Public Library 7:00 PM.

Last month’s minutes were read by the secretary and were approved. Bob(K5DWI) reported the deposit of $25.00 into the treasury and a balance of $1486.95 on hand.

501c - Paul (K5PJM) talked to the lawyer and was informed of several items that need to be addressed. The IRS has a $300 fee for the application. The application is the 1023 (Application for Recognition of Exemption) that has to be filled out and approved. There will also be either an attorney or grant

writer fee. Total will be around $500.00 (filing and writing fees). Paul suggested seeking out a grant application specialist. He read out the items that are required by the club to file. There were questions on how to change the constitution. The Board will exam the form and bring it up next meeting. There

were discussions on a grant writer. Secretary will make copies for board members to read and a board meeting will probably be required before the next club meeting.

Richard (N5IAW) said he would donate connectors for mini 8 coax to be used by the club.

There were two non-ham guests at the meeting. They had Inquires about testing session in Brookhaven and were invited to field day. Taking into account the non-hams, Homer (WB5ASP) brought up QST's article on what to buy to start Hamming. He then reminded everyone about the Dairy Festival coming up.

The plans are to start operating at 9:00 on Saturday June 7, using the 40 and 20 meter bands. This is not a contest just a fun event, but we will be sending out those cow QSL cards. The radio raffle at the festival was brought up and it was tabled till further notice.

On the antenna party scheduled for McComb, Jay (W5JVK) injured himself and the CD - hospital antenna installation will be delayed.

There were questions about a possible 250 ft tower site in McComb.

The public display chart for special event and field day was presented and it really looked good. Nancy (KC4YNL) designed, made, and explained all the different pictures displayed.

Money for printing of brochures and others handouts were brought up and approved to a maximum amount of $50.

There was a report on the Bude repeater from Homer. He talked to the Engineer was told he hasn’t forgot about us, but the crew is still out of state. He also reported that the Engineer had worked on several grants for Ham stations on the coast with five of them for Ham stations at hospitals.

Jeffery (N5ZNT) led a discussion about special points that are awarded for Field Day.

Homer also reported that November 1 is ok for the Club Picnic.

Bob (N4RUD) had a program on feed lines and their characteristics following the meeting

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: April 10, 2008
Brookhaven Western Sizzlin 7:00 PM.

Minutes of the March meeting were read and accepted. Treasurer Bob(K5DWI) reported a deposit of $46.00 and a service charge of $1.00 with a $100.00 check for the Brookhaven repeater preamp. This left a balance of $1,613.90 .

New Business: When Jay (W5JVK) was buying the coax and connectors for the repeater, he purchased a 500ft. roll as it only cost $8.00 more for the entire roll compared to a 100ft piece. Everyone agreed this was the proper thing to do and was approved by everyone at the meeting. The cost for the coax and connectors along with the preamp was $249.95 . With $100.00 already given to Jay, an additional check for $149.95 was issued by the treasurer.

Field Day : June 28-29, 2008

Homer received a letter from the Brookhaven Recreation Department that gave him permission for using the Saturday and Sunday's field day site. Remember on that Saturday at 2:00 P.M. there will be a VE test session. A map for the field day site location is on the internet. The information is located at

http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php.

N5ZNT has the equipment for field day and needs volunteers for food cooking and purchasing. Homer has a new field day logging program. Jeffery brought up the extra things we need to do to get more points. Advertising, Solar power etc.

Ole Brook Festival: September 2008 - The antennas that are to be used need to be tested to see what can be installed at the location.

Bob(K5DWI) wants to put on an Evolution of Radio at the Ole Brook Festival. Everyone liked the idea.

April 19th. weather permitting. An antenna party at the McComb CD HQ. and at the hospital.

Paul (K5PJM) talked to the lawyer about the 501CE. Seems the legal secretary had informed him that we no longer were interested. Paul told him otherwise.

A club picnic on November 1 was approved. Details to be forthcoming.

The meeting was adjourned.

Homer presented a program on Digital communication after the formal meeting.

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: March 13, 2008
McComb Public Library 7:00 PM.

Minutes of the February meeting were read and accepted with no opposition. Treasurer Bob(K5DWI) reported that the old balance was $1571.90. The amount of $96 was deposited and a service charge of $1.00 resulting in a new balance of $1,666.90. Bob requested the letter with the new club officers , so as, to update the signatures for banking purposes be sent again as the email was blank. Gary (WB5HQH) to try another format in the new email.

Jeffery (N5ZNT) brought up sending letters to former club members to encourage them to rejoin the secretary stated he didn't have a list of the old members. This list will be supplied to him.

Upcoming Events: Dairy Festival is on June 7th this year. Field Day will be from June 28 to June 29. Homer (WB5ASP) is in charge of the QST article. Homer also proposed the Brookhaven Recreation Building, the old armory on U.S. 51, as the site. Jeffery made the motion and Gary seconded and it was passed. The use of the building and/or tents is to be studied and the other particulars to be worked out. This location would provide a high visibility to the public. Ole Brook Festival- Homer talked to the Camber and we got two spaces for out club. There is power and wireless Internet available. We need to study how to get the best antennas for this limited space. The need for ARRL books and club literature for the event will have to be addressed. Bob (K5DWI) showed some ideas for poster for the booth. Gary gave a demonstration of how he thought the station should look using Ham Radio Deluxe and a blend of Amateur HF radio and Internet. Several hadn't seen this program and were interested. A link to the site that has the free software is:

http://hrd.ham-radio.ch/

The MS Tour for Cure will be in October and volunteers will be needed.

Old Business: Paul (K5PJM) reported that no information has been forthcoming from the lawyer on the 501CE filing. He said he would get a go or no-go reply from him. Jeffery mentioned that he had heard that you had to have a budget for the next 2 years when you received a grant. The Pike CD antenna installation has been delayed by weather. The use of a DB224 antenna at the hospital has been received favorably by John Conn. The ETV crew is in California at the present. The preamp for the Brookhaven repeater has been delayed by a wrong telephone number for the company. It should be resolved quickly. Donnie (KG5RGT) had a very good Mississippi QSO party with a pileup wanting his Lincoln County contact. Several of the club members had a good time on the radio during this contest.

New Business: GEORGE S SWAN (AE5FK) has been appointed EC for Walthall county. Copiah county hams reported they were putting a repeater at Gallman on a 300 ft. tower. VE testing coming up, see the website for details.

Meeting was adjourned. Bob (N4RUD) had an interesting program on power supplies that followed.

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: Feb. 14, 2008
Brookhaven Western Sizzlin 7:00 PM.

Minutes of January meeting read. Homer (WB5ASP) moved to except and Bob (N4RUD) seconded, and they were accepted with no opposition.

Treasurer Bob(K5DWI) reported that $180 in dues were paid at the last meeting. The balance was adjusted to reflect Debit Card charges for the club website in Oct and for bank fees. The new balance is $1571.90. Bob requested a letter with the new club officers ,so as, to update the signatures for banking purposes.

Jeffery (N5ZNT) brought up sending letters to former club members to encourage them to rejoin. Homer (WB5ASP) proposed to do this and Bob (N4RUD) seconded. It was passed unanimously.

Upcoming Events: Dairy Festival is on June 7th this year. Field Day will be from June 28 to June 29. Location for Field Day to be determined. Ole Brook Festival will have our Ham Club as the Premier Event on September 20th. We will use the club call, W5WQ. A proposal to make QSL cards for this day was made and Homer (WB5ASP) moved to except with Jeffery (N5ZNT) second. Everyone voted in favor.

The 501CE status is unchanged and other avenues are to be looked into as it has stalled.

Pike CD- It will be at least 2 weeks before antennas will be installed.

Fund Raiser- Homer and Bob looked at prizes and they were presented to the club. Two separate Raffles were agreed on. The Dairy Festival will have a weather radio as the prize and the Ole Brook Festival will have 2 main prizes. A $150 amount was proposed as the limit for the raffles. Bob (N4RUD) moved to accept this amount and Jay (W5JVK) seconded. It was passed.

SEC 5 yr plan- Jeffery (N5ZNT) presented his view of what was necessary for the near future. He envisioned repeaters in the surrounding 9 counties of southwest Mississippi. Each of these would cost around $3,500.00 except for the Bude ETV repeater. This would run in the neighborhood of $17,000. There was a lively discussion on these. Later Homer reported on contact with the person responsible for the ETV tower and secured verbal support to removed the equipment to the ground for repairs, leaving the antennas in place.

Brookhaven Repeater- Due to some excellent wheeling and dealing at the Jackson Hamfest, the Repeater has a new Workman dual band gain antennae in place. The range has been noticeably extended.

Plans for the purchase of a preamp and dual-band splitter was given and Jay (W5JVK) moved to approved the funds with Donnie (KD5RGT) seconding it. The purchased was approved 100%.

Bob reminded all that the Mississippi QSO Party was Saturday the 23rd and encouraged all to participate.

Gary (WB5HQH) stated that Malcolm (W5XX) called him to advised that he was to be the new EC for Franklin County.

The meeting was brought to a close at 8:15 P.M
 

Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club
Minutes: Jan. 10, 2008
McComb Library 7:00 PM.

Unfinished business ; Paul (K5PJM) handed out certificates to Jay (W5JVK) and Nancy (W5NCK) for their club work this last year.

Minutes from the November club meeting were read. Homer (WB5ASP) moved to adopt with Jeffery (N5ZNT) seconded. Passed by acclimation

Treasury report: At the Nov. meeting, raffle was won by Danny (KD5BQT). New Balance of $1482.82.

Paul said that the attorney hasn't reported any progress with out 501C3 paperwork.

Election of new club officers: Jeffery accepted the nomination for President and was voted in by acclimation. Secretary Gary (WB5HQH) and Treasury Bob (K5DWI) retained their positions. Bob (N4RUD) was appointed new Vice President . For Board Member at Large, Donnie (KD5RGT) was nominated and elected.

Old business: Bude tower repair has no progress to report. The 146.94 and 440 Mhz. repeater were discussed at length.

Discussion on other tower sites were also heard. The Civil Defense tower is up at about 45ft. The antennas are still to be installed.

Brookhaven water tower report: The coax was replaced with hard line and many have been able to notice the increase in range. The antennae on the tower was manufactured March 1978.

The raffle was brought up by Bob(K5DWI) and there were many good and new ideas on its implementation. Also a special event callsign for the Ole Brook Festival was proposed.

New Business: Replacement of the antennae on the Brookhaven water tank. At present it is a ground plane. Also help the City of Brookhaven on their antennae used by the water department