April 2000 - Annual NEQRP Club Meeting at ARRL HQ

The annual meeting of the New England QRP club was held April 1, 2000 at the ARRL Headquarters Offices in Newington, CT. Dennis Marandos – K1LGQ called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. with self-introductions of the following attendees: Dennis Marandos – K1LGQ, Diane Troyer – KF4ZAD, Jim Fitton – W1FMR and guest Margaret, Charlie Fitts– N1EI, Joel Malman – K1QM, Bob Schmeichel – N1RXV, Bill Keane – N1NIK, Jim Franceour – KC1FB, Joel Curneal – N1JEO, John Forrest – WB1HBE, Chuck Ludinsky – K1CL, Michael Tracy – KC1SX, Jim Ritterbusch – KD1YV, Dave Benson – NN1G, Bill Acito – W1PA, Zack Lau – W1VT, and Ed Hare - W1RFI.

Items discussed:

1. NEWSLETTER – Due to the time and expense required for hard copy newsletters, it was agreed that newsletters should be put on the NE QRP website. Those who are interested can view the newsletters and download them for printing if desired.
2. MEMBER LIST – Bill Acito – W1PA has the current membership list. With the addition of an information/instruction link to the web site, those interested in becoming a member can easily do so and obtain their membership number over the internet.
3. CLUB BANNER – Several options were discussed, including two cloth banners (4'x6'), non-collapsible wood signs, laminated signs with logo, and computer generated paper banners. Diane Troyer – KF4ZAD will research the cost of the cloth banners.
4. WEBSITE – It was announced that due to time and space, Randy Jones - K8ZFJ will no longer act as webmaster for the NE QRP Club website. Chuck Ludinsky – K1CL and Joel Curneal – N1JEO expressed interest in coordinating those responsibilities. Members on the "old" list should be notified via letter or email. It was also recommended that other club links be placed on various amateur radio websites, including FISTS.
5. QRP AFIELD – Dates for this year’s event will be September 16 & 17. Dave Benson – NN1G will post a simple version of the rules on the NE QRP website. Because of the confusion in scoring last year’s event, there were no "winners" announced among the 80-100 participants. Only two people requested scores.
6. FUTURE QRP RIGS – Mike Tracey – KC1SX displayed several QRP rigs he is evaluating for the ARRL labs. An article will be generated in a future issue of QST.
7. SWL – Dave Benson– NN1G mentioned several radios "in the works" through his company Small Wonder Labs (SWL), and briefly discussed PSK-31, the newest mode of operation enjoyed by hams around the world. He may be speaking at Boxborough the end of August and have an article for the June issue of QST.
8. ROCHESTER, NH FLEA MARKET – May 12 & 13. A new member sign-up sheet will be available at the Rochester flea market and hopefully a new banner will be there as well.
9. BOXBOROUGH, MA – Since Boxborough, Massachusetts seems to be the central location for NE QRP Club members, it was determined that bi-monthly or quarterly meetings might be considered at the Holiday Inn. Jim Fitton - W1FMR has researched the database and found that area to be best for all concerned.
10. FIELD DAY – June 24 & 25. Bill Acito – W1PA will research the possibility of holding field day in Princeton, MA on Mt. Washcuset.
11. CT HAMFEST – If the club is interested in a table at the Connecticut Hamfest, Joel Curneal – N1JEO can made the necessary arrangements for a QRP table.
12. SHOW AND TELL – Several wonderful homemade projects were brought and it was plain to see that a lot of the membership has been doing their homework.

Winner’s of the door prize drawings were:

• Jim Ritterbusch– KD1YV ARCI QRP coffee mug
• Diane Troyer– KF4ZAD ARRL QRP Design Notebook manual
• Chuck Ludinsky – K1CL ARRL Art of QRP book

The meeting adjourned to the ARRL labs at 11:45 and all who were interested operated the Tuna Tin #1 & #2, as well as the W1AW station. Ed Hare - W1RFI provided the radios for everyone to send on the Tuna Tin #2.

*** A special thanks to Mike Tracey – KC1SX for hosting and providing coffee, donuts, and bagels once again for the NE QRP Club annual meeting. ***