ILLINOIS  REPEATER  ASSOCIATION

 

BOARD of DIRECTORS MINUTES

 

April 19, 2013

 

  • Meeting called to order at 8:52 pm  hours by President Bill Kraus KA9FER
  • Board members and committee members present: Steve WD9CIR, Will K9WSS, Tim KB9FBI, Milt K9QZI, Dave KA9FUR, Aaron N9OZB, Greg K9QI, Bill KA9FER, Fred Seibold W9FWS, Guest: Dave  KA9WXN
  • FER asked for approval for minutes of last minutes as printed. All answered aye, motion carried.
  • FER said that Rich KD9Q is no longer running as a Board member, opening up a Board member position. FER thanked Rich for his time on the IRA Board. He now lives 700 miles away.
  • Al K9SI is up for nomination and said that he would like to stay on as a Board member.
  • Jerry N9RBQ said he was interested in a position on the Board, per Al K9SI. KC9KKO and W9DWP were also interested in the open Board position. Ballots will be presented to IRA members at the meeting.
  • Al said that we should get representation from Northern, Southern and Central Illinois. FER said that this should be spread throughout the State. Tim FBI is furthest south on the Board. We need some representation from the Carbondale area, too.
  • Secretary/Treasurer report. See K9WSS’s report.
  • Coordinator’s report. See Aaron N9OZB’s report.
  • FER received a certified letter from Don W9DMW for coordination of the WA9ORC CFMC repeater, which he doesn’t have authorization for. Don has also applied for coordination of other repeater(s) which have not been granted at this time. He is in pending status for his personal system(s). Don needs to speak with the trustee of CFMC to be in communication with each other.
  • Greg K9QI reports that a reported interference issue was an IM problem in Rockford. Nothing else substantial was reported. Greg will report tomorrow at the meeting on future coordination methods, similar to what WI is currently doing. It’s similar to what’s been done in the commercial world for many years. The software is available to everyone to get a look and see what’s being done in the commercial venue. A slide presentation will also be shown at the meeting on this topic. Offsets for digital systems will be presented by Greg at the meeting also. Greg is looking at narrow banding analog. It doesn’t look favorable for several reasons. It’s a mandate topic, but possibly may or may not work. Greg will curtail an extended discussion, and will ask for emails from persons who may wish to work on this. Last year, no one stepped up to the plate, but Greg will ask again if people wish to work on this with him. Dave FUR added to this discussion also with his involvement on this project. Steve CIR suggested this should be an educational project as opposed to policy right away. More work on this may take time further down the road. FER said that it IS coming later in time.
  • FER said that Spectrum Defense fund should be submitted for the amount of $500, once we receive the check from ARRL.
  • FER said he’d like to increase the dues to $15 from the traditional $12 we’ve been charging. Because of funding the cost of lodging for the IRA meeting, we need to consider increasing the cost of dues for the membership. It’s been $12 estimated for approximately 20 years. Al suggested that we make a motion for increase dues to $20 for fiscal year 2014-2015. This will be recommended to the membership tomorrow at the meeting. The Board voted to increase the dues to $20 for 2014. If it fails at the meeting tomorrow, it will be re-submitted for $15. Tim said that we weren’t being re-imbursed for submissions to the ARRL in the past, and we only recently have been donating $500 to the Spectrum Defense Fund. In the past Larry KDC did a lot of the printing at no cost. Now we are paying for these expenses out of the IRA treasury.
  •  FER asked about next year’s meeting dates. Reservations for 2014 will be made for the 3rd weekend in April (Easter Weekend). In the event that 3rd weekend fails, we may consider the 4th weekend as an alternative. WSS will check with Eastland Suites on this issue.
  • FUR brought up the tone plan. He worked on the project recently, and sent an email to Board members. FBI wasn’t clear with splitting off, so FUR brought up a map with the possibilities. He explained the dropdowns on the map and how the different tones were applied. FER said he wasn’t totally indifferent to the idea, and many tones are used in several areas. He said that it shouldn’t be mandatory, so that it doesn’t run against the grain of the concept. It should be voluntary, and not mandatory. A discussion of current tones took place, and that they weren’t mandatory currently. Greg QI said that there should be primary, secondary, and an alternative set of tones available, and should be chosen accordingly. FER asked Aaron and Greg to take a look at it, and report back to the Board.
  • FUR said that he was working with WA9VGI on the FishFar plan. He is also working with Tony KT9AC on the linking of his WI system to FishFar.
  • FER mentioned NFCC. He is on the Board of Directors of the NFCC. Lots of comments regarding what the NFCC recognizes or certifies in the last year. ARRL had requested an MOU which has been submitted, and approved at the end of 2012. One road operator in the AZ area has been “self-coordinating and purportedly self-policing.” In cases of extreme conflict, NFCC makes a statement, then lets the FCC take action if/when necessary. Aaron said a similar issue occurred in Indiana. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding these practices.
  • Aaron mentioned that the SERA email reflector has been down. The organization is purportedly still in force at this time. Greg said that he sent a request for coordination in WVA a few weeks ago, and hasn’t heard anything. The email may have been misdirected due to someone retiring and the email addresses haven’t been updated at this time. It should be corrected in the near future.
  • Tim said that use of our spectrum actively is prudent. This will be brought up at the general meeting tomorrow. Greg said that amateur, commercial and land mobile systems are all “under attack.” Time and usage are all under consideration, especially those systems that are under utilized.
  • Rich KD9Q should be recognized for his past participation with the IRA. Should a plaque be presented to him? What about Bob W9QBH? These recipients will be receiving plaques per WSS.
  • Greg said that he would like to discuss an interference issue that took place on a ham packet frequency last year. The FCC was contacted and didn’t take enforcement action. The system malfunctioned, and the FCC responded in very short order. Greg will mention at the general meeting about contacting the local ham community before calling out the FCC.
  • Motion to adjourn was made at 10:25 pm; meeting closed.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Will Sperling K9WSS

IRA Secretary/Treasurer

 

ILLINOIS REPEATER ASSOCIATION

 

General Membership Annual Meeting Minutes

April 20, 2013

 

  • Meeting called to order at 10:00 am by President Bill Kraus KA9FER.
  • A moment of silence was requested for past IRA Board member Bob Hajek W9QBH who passed away in December 2012.
  • Introductions of all members and guests present was conducted around the room with names, callsigns, representation of repeater systems, and home QTH’s.
  • FER asked for approval of the past meetings’ minutes; approved.
  • WSS read the treasury report. See attachment; Seconded and approved.
  • Frequency coordinator’s report by Aaron N9OZB. See his attachment; Seconded and approved.
  • FER thanked the Sec’y / Treasurer, and the frequency coordinator. He appreciated the work of these individuals.
  • Elections are now due for several positions of the IRA Board. President, V/P, Sec’y/Treasurer, and a Director’s position. Nominations for President. Bill KA9FER, seconded. V/P – Greg KB9FBI; seconded. Sec’y/Treasurer – Will K9WSS; seconded. Director Al Wolfe K9SI seconded. Open Director position – W9DWP, seconded. KC9KKO John Waters, seconded, N9RBQ Jerry. A suggestion was to have a Director from southern IL area. Kermit W9XA stated that this was not in the bylaws. FER said that it would nice to have someone in the southern region for interference investigations issues. No nominees would be disqualified. Nominations were closed. Motion made that the 1st four positions be accepted and elected. Seconded and passed. The three nominees for the open Board position gave brief speeches as to their experiences, qualifications, and ham careers. Kermit W9XA accepted the ballots after each member filled out their entries.
  • FER asked Tim FBI to attempt to simplify future elections so that it doesn’t become so confusing. Tim had suggestions as to this should be conducted for future and upcoming elections. Capability of individuals who can conduct their offices was discussed, and the bylaws will be changed to reflect these changes. Further discussion took place by members and the Board. When Larry KDC passed away, there was a mad scramble to get someone else to take over his duties and responsibilities. With new modified bylaws, this issue and others could be simplified. This will be decided, and will be implemented next year.
  • The ballots for the open Director position were tallied; W9DWP 10, KC9KK0 25, N9RBQ 27. Winner is N9RBQ. Motion to destroy the ballots was moved, and seconded, then passed. FER thanked everyone for participating in the election.
  • FER that under old business, explained that the plaque recipients, Bob Shepard KA9FLX, and Larry Schroeder KA9KDC will be presented to their families. Also plaques for Bob Hajek W9QBH, and Rich Ranson KD9Q will also be presented plaques. Motion for plaques for the 3rd and 4th recipients was seconded, and passed.
  • FER mentioned that the Board discussed increasing the dues from $12 to $20. QZB suggested that the newsletter be emailed instead of sending via US Mail. Kermit W9XA said that it was decided a number of years ago to keep sending the newsletters via US Mail for positive tracking purposes. Fred FWS said that it must be mailed because of legal requirement of 30 day notice before an upcoming meeting date. Other members had suggestions which were further discussed. The mailing will continue to be sent via US Mail until further notice. The dues have been $12 for over 20 years. WSS mentioned that current paid dues are 217 entities, including repeater owners, associate members, etc. Motion made to raise dues to $20 annually. Motion carried. This will be for 2014-2015 year, and thereafter.
  • Meeting location was discussed; WSS said that Eastland Suites was the most accommodating, and most reasonable for costs to the Association for our needs. It was agreed to remain next year at Eastland Suites, and thereafter.
  • Technical presentation by Greg K9QI regarding the use of spectrum, i.e., “use it or lose it.” Various commercial services are under scrutiny, and also Ham Radio falls under these “eyes of scrutiny.” There should be more efficient uses of spectrum. Ham Radio is there at times of need and otherwise available. In the event of interference, please convey issues directly to the Ham community, instead of immediately calling the FCC. Most of the surrounding states are coordinated by associations that are commonly recognized. Greg made recommendations as to coverage by propagation models. Reducing white space and other issues were discussed. Channel bifurcation was also discussed by Greg. This was all part of his technical presentation, and discussion among members. The issue of narrow banding analog systems was also discussed. There are way too many radios out there that would not be compatible with narrow banding, and it would impractical. It’s a short term fix that wouldn’t work out in longer terms.
  • Carol Schroeder KB9FYL, wife of Larry Schroeder KA9KDC, SK (previous IRA Secretary/Treasurer) appeared at the meeting, and was presented the plaque FER displayed earlier this morning.
  • FER had a motion to pay $200 for the IRA’s use of KA9FUR’s coordinating software. Motion, seconded, and passed.
  • FER urged club’s to keep their databases backed up such as the IRA currently does. If there’s a trustee, make sure that it’s accurate, and that there are contingencies.
  • Motion for donation to the ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund. This will be completed when the ARRL sends the IRA its funds for the repeater database.
  • Kermit W9XA made a motion to commend Aaron N9OZB for all his hard work on the repeater database. Seconded, and carried.
  • Motion by the floor regarding paying dues by April 1st until the actual date of the annual IRA meeting. This will be tabled, and taken up with the bylaws committee. It was already decided a few years ago, not entered in the bylaws. Motion was seconded, and passed.
  • Motion to adjourn, seconded, and meeting closed at 11:52 am.

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Will Sperling K9WSS

IRA Secretary/Treasurer

 

ILLINOIS REPEATER ASSOCIATION

BOARD of DIRECTORS MINUTES

(after General Meeting)

 

April 20, 2013

 

  • Board meeting convened by KA9FER at 11:57 am.
  • All the elected IRA Board members / officers present were announced, and newest Board member N9RBQ was accepted. Committee members were announced and accepted. FER will continue to serve as IRA delegate to the NFCC. FBI will be second alternate delegate to the NFCC.

 

Here is the current slate of Board members, Directors, and Committee Chairs:

 

President: Bill Kraus KA9FER

Vice-President: Tim Childers KB9FBI

Secretary/Treasurer: Will Sperling K9WSS

Directors:  Stephen Craig, WD9CIR; Milt Forsberg, K9QZI; Al Wolfe, K9SI; Jerry Sebok, N9RBQ

Frequency Coordinator: Aaron Collins N9OZB

Newsletter Editor: Fred Seibold W9FWS

 

  • Motion to adjourn at 12:00 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Will Sperling K9WSS

IRA Secretary/Treasurer