METRO DX CLUB MEETING MINUTES – July 20, 2012

The meeting was called to order at 7:34 by Vice President Phil Snyder, N9LAH. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, introductions were made by all.

Health & Welfare: Bob, K9MDO, reported on K9RB who had cataracts removed. Otherwise, N2WB is looking for a new property in Florida and Bob, K9MDO, has purchased a home 10 minutes from the QTH of W9AEB.

Old Business: Minutes of the June meeting were read. Passage of minutes was moved by K9TP and seconded by K9MDO. Motion passed.

W9ILY gave the Treasurer’s Report of $264.41 cash on hand and $841.23 in our checking account for a total of $1,105.64. Multiple expenditures and receipts were described to the members. Income was from new member dues for $65.00, WUST Award for $20.40 and Split the Pot for $21.00. Expenses included $16.63 for postage, $40 for cap printing, $25.44 for two new caps, quarterly WEB site cost of $14.85 and a $50.00 donation to NCDXF that was approved at the June meeting. Approval was moved by W9YYG and seconded by K9MDO. Report was approved.

The club caps were discussed and it was noted that the caps originally cost about $7 years ago increased to $11.00 and are now $16.72 each. Because of this, new members will be asked if they would like to buy a cap. Following the discussion of caps, five members donated $45.00 to help cover the cost of the caps that had been provided to our new members. The donations were greatly appreciated.

DXpeditions: The 1AØC operation was discussed and N9LAH produced a Clublog display that indicated eight Metro members had contacted 1AØC at least once with K9AJ reporting the most contacts. It is hoped that more club members will upload their contacts to Clublog.

The NH8S Swains DXpedition will occur September 4-18 and Metro members K9CS and WB9Z will be team members.

Nominations for DX Manager of the Year were discussed and no new managers were submitted.

Contest Report by our Contest Chairman Jim, NV9X: Metro had only one entry in the January VHF Sweepstakes. 2011 CQWW RTTY had five club entries and N9LAH was top scorer. In the 2012 ARRL CW, W9OA finished first in the club and K9CJ and W9ILY finished in the top 10 in the USA in their categories. Other results were not available. This weekend is the NAQP-RTTY and CQWW-VHF. Please report all scores to NV9X and W9ILY.

New Business: A picnic update report was given by Mark, K9TP. All picnic items except appetizers have been selected and the attendee list is now at 20 persons. The date is August 18^th.

A new member application has been received from Jerry, KE9I, who is currently in KL7 with DM5TI trying to operate from there but conditions have been very poor.

K9BWQ had offered to serve on a committee with at least two others to review applications for funding received from DXpeditions. After a lengthy discussion, K9TP moved that we contribute only to NCDXF. W9OA seconded and motion passed. A letter will be sent to NCDXF indicating Metro support for them and asking for their support of the WUST Award. W9ILY will draft. N9TK suggested we look for additional ways to generate funds for DXpeditions.

WUST Award: Four have been issued since the June meeting and one application was just received. A supply of flyers was sent to the Pacific Northwest DX Convention scheduled for August 3-5 and the DXCC-EAST Convention on August 25. W9DXCC will also have a supply.

An email was received from K1BV confirming that our updated club membership has been included on his Awards page. He made the nice comment ”Congrats on the club growth. That’s one thing that can keep a club viable and fun.”

W9ILY noted that our club name has been included on the www.qth.com page as a club whose web site is provided by qth.com.

In the Metro Challenge and Diamond DXCC competition, K9BWQ leads in both. More activity from members is needed.

N9LAH discussed the need for a recording secretary for the club so that the Secretary/Treasurer will have assistance in preparing the meeting minutes. Phil will be post the issue on the club reflector.

Refreshment scheduling was discussed as this has not been done since we changed our meeting location. At each meeting, refreshments for the upcoming meeting will be discussed and a volunteer requested. N9TK has volunteered to provide refreshments for the September meeting as there will not be an August meeting.

John, K9DRS, asked about “DXing from the Black Hole” DX basics class that will be held on September 14 prior to the W9DXCC Convention on September 15. The cost of the class is $25.00 for the day.  

A motion to close the meeting was made at 8:25 by K9TP with N9TK seconding. Meeting adjourned. As a matter of interest, QSL cards issued by BV100 were passed around.

A video “YJØVK 2011” was presented to the group.

Meeting attendees:

Members: K9BWQ, K9DRS, K9GA, K9MDO, K9PMV, K9TP, N9LAH, N9TK, NV9X, W9ILY, W9NJB, W9OA, W9YYG.

Guest: Delores, XYL of K9BWQ.

Respectfully submitted by John Holmes, W9ILY, Secretary/Treasurer.