Call to order
A meeting of the Bay Area Amateur Radio Club was held on Mar 14th, 2024, at the Salvation Army
building, Bay City, MI. Board members in attendance: president Steve Covieo (ke8nko), treasurer Dusty
Trisch (k1dlt), and secretary Bill Baylis (ke8nkn). The meeting was called to order at 7:04pm.
Reports
Secretary’s report: notes from February meeting were read into record. A motion was made to accept
these notes. The motion was seconded, and passed.
Treasurer’s report: Financial update was given.
Old Business
There was no old business
New Business
Newly licensed operator Brian (kf8aiw), and guests were welcome.
Name tags have been created by Dusty for Paid members. These tags contain a QR code that
provides resource info about the club. Cards should be returned to Dusty after each meeting. He is also
working on a similar card for Field Day.
We will be mailing out postcards to previous members and local operators. The intent is to spark some
interest in club membership.
Repeater Council: Joe (ka8fhw) spoke to members about the popularity of GRMC radio’s. He stated a
license is good for 10 years at a cost of $35. Additional info on GMRS repeaters can be found on the
Web at MI8 GMRS Network. He also stated that this might be a getaway for a lot of people to pursue
Ham Radio.
Joe spoke to the membership about the 147.360 repeater. Due to mis-formation there has been
confusion on its current state. He did concede there had been some interference issues due to
propagation, but stated more analysis would need to be done. He stated a bigger problem
existed on Tuesday night Nets. Most of the blame fell on Net Controllers for not allowing a longer break
between conversations. This has led to missed check-ins and operators talking on top of each other. He
stated that better practice methods should be used. He reminded members they needed to, “Relax, take their time, and slow down. Net Controllers should be asking if the frequency is in use before starting the Net. The repeater times out at 183 seconds. Net Controller Coordinator Steve (ke8tsj) stated he would be putting together some basic rules for Net Controllers to follow.
Joe stated that the council has equipment ready to install on the VHF repeater. The president
mentioned the club’s 444.555 UHF repeater was getting little use and wondered if the club might have other uses for it.
Club member Jon (kc8usu) said the club had an opportunity to gain membership with the popularity of
GMRS and stated membership should be all inclusive. He also recommended the club develop a
contingency plan in the event all communications were lost.
Presentations
Rob (kc8sdl) gave a presentation on his hybrid Kenwood transmitter. He gave a history of the rig and
covered operating procedures.
Members are encouraged to bring their equipment to share with the club.
Announcements
Club secretary Dusty reminded members of our coffee hour held each month. Place: Mandy’s located in
downtown Bay City, Date: 4th Wednesday of each month, at 9am. Some members suggested a weekend would work better. Next coffee hour will be Saturday, check the club website for more details.
Adjournment
A motion was made by member Dean (kc8bgk) to end the meeting, the motion was seconded by Dusty.
Motion passed.
William C. Baylis
Secretary Date of approval