ILLINOIS REPEATER ASSOCIATION
BOARD of DIRECTORS MINUTES
Friday, April 18, 2014
Eastland Suites Hotel Room 112
- Meeting called to order by President Bill Kraus
KA9FER at 9:13 pm hours. Present for the meeting: President Bill Kraus
KA9FER, Vice-President Tim Childers KB9FBI, Secretary/Treasurer Will Sperling K9WSS, Director Steve Craig WD9CIR, Director
Jerry Sebok N9RBQ, Director Al Wolfe K9SI,
Director Milt Forsberg K9QZI, Frequency Coordinator Aaron Collins N9OZB,
Newsletter Editor Fred Seibold W9FWS, Tech
Committee Chairman Greg Buchwald K9QI, Guests JP Watters KC9KKO, Pete
Johnson AB9PJ
- A quorum with every Board member present was
established.
- Board members and participants introduced
themselves; A total of 26 persons were present
according to the sign-in sheet.
- Motion to dispense of reading of past minutes; voted and carried
- Secretary / Treasurer’s report; Greg K9QI agreed to donate his $100 check back to
the treasury for projector rental from the 2013 meeting; motion carried to
accept treasurer & secretary’s report.
- Guest present from WI taking Dave Karr KA9FUR’s
place is Pete Johnson AB9PJ Chairman of WAR. Pete introduced himself and
will discuss more later in the meeting
- FER mentioned that the coordinator’s and
secretary/treasurer’s jobs are tedious, and their efforts are most
appreciated.
- Question as to having separate forms being sent
out for renewals and updates; the postage costs were explained by Aaron
OZB that additional cost(s) would have to be incurred. Perforating the
form was suggested but additional costs could start getting expensive. US
Mail is utilized for verification, and is necessary. Discussion about
emailing vs. electronic mail; we will continue to have notices and
newsletters sent via US Mail now, and in the future. An updated form will
be configured for Aaron to consider using his future reports &
mailings with separate submission(s) to the Frequency Coordinator and the
Secretary/Treasurer. Members who do not represent repeaters presently do
not receive newsletters or frequency coordination. Until the associate
members’ information is blended into the frequency coordination database,
the associate member(s) won’t get a newsletter. This situation is pending
resolution. JP Watters KC9KKO will attempt to resolve this issue.
- Aaron will be getting assistance with
coordination and future database issues with JP Watters KC9KKO.
- FER mentioned that recent issues with the ARRL
make submitting repeater database info a very difficult situation. With
new ARRL requirements of submission, the new format has to be submitted,
and it’s a difficult and extremely time-consuming process.
- JP Watters KC9KKO will be appointed to an ad hoc
position as the assistant to frequency coordinator Aaron N9OZB.
- Fred W9FWS does a great job putting together our
newsletter, and getting it out to the membership each year. Fred asked for
more input for future newsletters.
- FER mentioned that there are in general fewer
arguments and more issues that are clearer than they were in the past.
- Aaron read his annual frequency coordinator’s
report (see attachment). Motion to accept; voted and carried.
- Tech Committee Chair Greg K9QI; FER mentioned PL
issues; Greg continues with seven questions of interference that came up
in the past year. Six were resolved with a phone call, and one was
involving technical issues with one repeater system. Greg says it was a
very quiet year for the most part. He mentioned that communications with
neighboring states helps considerably. This is something for not only
interference issues, but for coordination matters. We must demonstrate
that we are effectively using our spectrum adequately. A discussion about
cooperation with other states took place. WI is most cooperative. Some of
the other states use different channel spacing; that could be an issue in
the future.
- Pete AB9PJ from WAR spoke about modeling
repeater systems. A discussion about using this method has been proven
successful.
- Greg says the process works well, and it has
been proven working with WI. “Directionalizing”
may be more effective systems than traditional repeater configuration methods
of the past. Greg says that we can recommend PL/DPL tones to repeater
owners, but can’t be forced (by the IRA or the FCC). A standard can be
set, but it would only be a recommendation. Spectrum occupancy in analog
is falling off consistently. D-Star & DMR systems are growing
considerably. “Color Codes” are replacing PL/DPL tones which may fall off
in the future.
- Al K9SI says that Dave Karr’s PL plan is quite
usable, and makes sense. He says that the IRA should recommend a plan at
this time. In the past, every plan that was proposed was not accepted, and
didn’t pass. Steve CIR says that major progress has been made, more so
than in the past.
- Bill FER would like to have Greg look at the
proposal. At the meeting tomorrow, it will be announced that it will be
examined, and in the future, a recommendation will be suggested.
- Pete from WAR suggested possibly monthly
conference calls between the IRA and WAR. FER said that Aaron, JP, and
Greg should be included in the discussion. The conference calls generally
begin on Wednesday’s at 7:30 pm. This will be considered, and possibly
implemented.
- Tim FBI said that Dave Karr’s PL plan looking
downstate was no larger than the average footprint of an existing
repeater.
- Bill FER’s President’s
report – NFCC – no real authority, with no funding, no changing as a
coordinating body. FER is a Board member of the NFCC. An MOU was accepted
by the ARRL, but it’s nothing more than a paper organization without
enforcement, or ability to really do anything of substance. There are some
states that have two coordinating authorities, and they “play nice.” Other
states do not have the same pleasure. It is known that the ARRL won’t
recognize these agencies, and nothing has changed whatsoever. The function
is needed, but there’s “no teeth” in the NFCC.
- Bill thanked all the people on the committees. JP
KC9KKO for making up the labels for the newsletter.
- Two directors are up for election; Steve CIR and
Milt QZI. They both wish to remain on the Board. Bill would like for both
Steve and Milt to get nominated at the membership meeting on Saturday
morning.
- Date and location for next year’s meeting;
should remain here in Bloomington
at Eastland Suites, unless anyone has an objection. Next year NAB is the
11th to the 16 of April (2015). Easter is April 5, 2015.
Depending on WSS’s days off and the availability
of Eastland’s facilities will predicate the date of the 2015 meeting.
- Al K9SI mentioned spacing on UHF. California went to
20 KHz spacing. Greg K9QI said it’s not a good idea for several reasons.
25 KHz channels can be split in 1/2 much easier.
- Bill FER mentioned that the IRA Yahoogroup was initially set up by Larry KA9KDC, SK.
It was more or less abandoned. It was suggested that it be withdrawn,
because it’s not used. A motion was made, and passed by the Board to
officially close this Yahoogroup. WSS will
contact Yahoogroups to close the group.
- Bill suggested that a donation be made to the
ARRL for the Spectrum Defense Fund for $500. The defense of our spectrum
overrides any inaction currently by the ARRL. Motion made, and passed.
This is a Board recommendation, but will be brought up by the membership
tomorrow at the meeting.
- Dave Karr KA9FUR has been supported in the past
for his coordination software. Aaron said that there have not been any
updates in the last few years. $200 was recommended to be donated to Dave
again for his services, as in the past. A motion was proposed, voted, and
passed. This will be brought up before the membership tomorrow.
- Bill closed the meeting at 11:40 hours.
Respectfully
submitted,
Will
Sperling K9WSS
IRA
Secretary/Treasurer
ILLINOIS REPEATER ASSOCIATION
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Eastland Suites Hotel, Bloomington,
IL
- Meeting called to order by President Bill Kraus
KA9FER at 10:00 am. He welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked all
participants.
- Introductions were made by all attending the
meeting.
- A quorum was present to conduct the meeting
- Motion to accept the minutes as published; moved
and passed.
- Secretary / Treasurer Report – see report;
motion to accept, and passed.
- Coordinator’s report; Aaron N9OZB – see report.
Additional coordinator & back-up JP Watters KC9KK0 was appointed to
assist Aaron. Presently there’s a lot of work for Aaron, so the new
assistant will be welcome for his assistance. Motion to accept; and
passed.
- Tech Committee Chairman Greg K9QI; WI & IL
currently using propagation by model is moving well. Dave Karr KA9FUR
introduced this method and it continues with further applications. PL plan
is still in review stage at this time; was discussed extensively at last
night’s Board meeting. Our spectrum needs to be protected, by being used
to its fullest extent. Chicago
area is packed at the present time. Other parts of the state, more can be
done because of less congestion. There are a few interference issues. 7 came
in, and six were resolved. The last one was more or less due to
“expectations” of a repeater owner, and more or less resolved itself.
Potential for a regional PL plan, with Dave KA9FUR’s assistance this could
be a possibility, with suggestions as changes with current PL’s. This again would be on a voluntary and suggested
basis. Spectrum defense, putting issues with ARRL aside, there are still
lawyers in DC representing the ARRL working hard for the Amateur Radio
spectrum. We need to keep using our frequencies before we lose them. The
spectrum is being monitored in the Chicago
area by several factions, and we may lose more of the spectrum unless it’s
utilized. We can’t hire lawyers; we depend on the ARRL lawyers. Motion to
accept, and passed.
- President’s report – Bill KA9FER; mentioned that
he is an NFCC member. An MOU is with the ARRL, but it’s generally
ineffective. No enforcement power or any “teeth” with the NFCC. There is
no financial backing.
- Bill thanked KC9KKO for printing the labels, and
to for Fred W9FWS for publishing the newsletter. Two Board positions are
up at this time for re-election. Milt K9QZI and Steve WD9CIR have agreed
to stay on the Board. Nomination for Steve and Milt were propsed. No other nominations from the floor were
received. By acclimation, both the above Board members were re-elected for
another two years. Bill mentioned that our meeting date for next year will
remain at Eastland Suites, and the date will be set up by WSS for 2015.
These dates will be announced in the future.
- Discussion last evening at the Board meeting
about the Yahoogroup. It has fallen by the
wayside, and is not being used. Any correspondence is currently being
handled by email among the Board members. It was decided to have the
abandoned Yahoogroup closed. This will be
accomplished by K9WSS. There is no control or access of the Yahoogroup because it was run by the former
Secretary/Treasurer Larry KA9KDC, SK. Bill FER said that things continue
to run smoothly using email, and the Yahoogroup
is no longer needed. In correspondence, Aaron OZB copies the Board on all
responses. If something might not be readily answered, one or more Board
members have helped out to a great extent. This has also opened the lines
of communication for all issues posed to him. Bill also brought up the
Spectrum Defense donation. He is somewhat unhappy about the ARRL’s new method for repeater submissions. This is
very cumbersome, and not coordinator friendly. We continue to make the
submissions, anyway. Motion brought by Bill to donate $500 to the ARRL for
Spectrum Defense fund. Motion carried, and passed. Aaron OZB said that the
ARRL literally “dropped a bomb” on coordinators’ submissions with the new
protocol. It had been easy to “batch” these submissions, and now it
changed totally, making it extremely difficult. Because of certain “rogue”
coordination submission by other states, the ARRL now has “open
submission” by any party for the repeater directory via a website. This is
not secure, and can be edited by anyone including repeater owners. Aaron
finds it difficult to hand edit each entity, and takes weeks, with
hundreds of hours to get these things done. Tom Ciciora
KA9QPN has communicated this issue to the ARRL, but has not received an
answer from HQ. Much of the submission issue is not clear, and the ARRL
has not responded to coordinators. Old data may show up in the directory,
and more amateur radio repeater owners will complain about dated
information in future directories. A boycott of coordinators would not
send a positive message, so we will work with what we have, although it is
not optimal. Motion was proposed from the floor to protest to the ARRL, however, Tom Ciciora
said that it’s not over yet. Pete from WAR said that they have similar
issues, and are on board with the IRA’s stance.
Motion made, and passed with protest letter to be forwarded to the ARRL.
Once there is an outcome of WI’s issue, we will wait 30 days before
responding. The $500 Spectrum Defense fund donation will proceed
immediately without hesitation. Bill mentioned that we traditionally
donate $200 to Dave Karr KA9FUR for support of the coordinator’s software.
Motion proposed to make the donation; moved, and passed.
- Discussion about Peoria area interference with access to
“cheap Chinese radios.” Other areas have similar issues. Enforcement is
difficult per Greg K9QI. He wishes to be informed of these issues for
logging purposes.
- Yaesu’s C4FM digital format was brought up and briefly
discussed. Mark WB9QZB said that
“free repeaters” are being offered by Yaesu, but
must be installed within 30 days to three months. The format is similar to
D-Star, but is still different. Of course they must be coordinated before
they can operate.
- President Bill KA9FER closed the meeting at
11:00 am.
Respectfully
submitted,
Will
Sperling K9WSS
IRA
Secretary/Treasurer
ILLINOIS REPEATER ASSOCIATION
BOARD of DIRECTORS MINUTES
(after General Meeting)
April 19, 2014
Eastland Suites Hotel, Bloomington,
IL
- Meeting called to order at 11:00 am.
- Board and Committee members remained after the
general membership meeting.
- Position of Frequency Coordinator will be Aaron N9OZB,
and Assistant Coordinator will be JP Watters KC9KKO. Moved and accepted.
- Chair for Technical Committee is Greg K9QI.
Moved and accepted.
- Bill will remain delegate for NFCC; Tim KB9FBI
will be assistant.
- Fred W9FWS will continue as newsletter editor;
moved and accepted.
- Meeting closed at 11:03 am.
Respectfully
submitted,
Will
Sperling K9WSS
IRA
Secretary/Treasurer