OPD, 107 Civic Plaza Drive, Taos, NM 87571 Potluck started at 5:30pm. Thanks to everybody for bringing food.
Sign in. The meeting began at 6:10 with Greg (KF5TTO) presiding.
Guest and member introductions, with 11 members and one guest present.
Approval of October 8, 2025, meeting’s minutes. Motion was made to approve by Mike (NM5MK) and seconded by Tim (W5TNM).
Approval of the agenda for tonight’s meeting with the addition of an update to the current Exam classes added by Tim (W5TNM). The motion was made by Mike (NM5MK) and seconded by Keith (K5FS).
Approval of Treasurer's Report by Greg (KFTTO) and Ed (KF5EIG) Expense summary, balance.
a. October Deposits - $4,124.97.00 Membership dues and Events
b. October Expenses - $490.40 KCEC Internet & Electric, ARRL Insurance, Food for Volunteers, Reimbursement for Grant docs
c. October Ending Balance - $18,435.06. The ledger will be posted to the Shack Bulletin board.
Greg (KF5TTO) made the President’s remarks:
a. Elected officers will become effective January 1, 2026.
b. FCC License Test held Nov 8th, one candidate passed the Technician test. Awaiting the government to reopen in order to send it to ARRL.
c. The next license test is December 13th, 10am. Tim (W5TNM) gave an update of the class schedule and structure, as well as upcoming tentative testing dates.
d. Event debrief, Town of Taos Halloween Event (10/31) was given by Craig (KI5HKU). Three members were present at the event. No critical events happened with minor police department activity. One car needed assistance getting out. It was noted that the event was loud at the Plaza location, and that earphones would have been helpful for that location. A discussion was held about securing more earphones for the club to replenish the stock for next year’s Town events.
New Business:
a. Election of Officers for 2026-
i. The current Officers (4) are: Donovan, K2AH (Pres), Vacant (VP), Craig, KI5HKU (Secretary), and Ed, KF5EIG (Treasurer). All officers except the vice president are on the ballot for next year. No one has been nominated for vice president, and no members present offered to be voted upon. A discussion proceeded about selection after the meeting, or by the board for the vice president position.
ii. The current Board (5) consists of: Tim, W5TNM (Immediate-Past Pres), Brian (Trustee) multi-term, Keith,K5FS (Grants), David, KJ5DFQ (STEM) and Darien, NM5DF (Events/Maintenance)
iii. Mike (NM5MK) made a motion to re-elect all nominated positions by Affirmation by all members present. The motion was seconded by Ed (KF5EIG). The vote was unanimous in support of the motion.
Old Business:
a. Christmas Party, December 10th tentatively to be held at OPD. A request was made for a member to handle the coordination, and a discussion that Donovan (K2AH) would likely handle the organization, as Club President.
b. Event participation appreciation Update was made by- Ed (KF5EIG). He indicated that mugs will be the gift for this year. He will coordinate with Tim (W5TNM) on the roster of members who participated in Town events. He clarified the schedule needed to complete the ordering. He also updated the Echo Link status, as well as discussing the location for important documents needed for configuring the PC and repeater.
c. There was no ARES Update, as Brian (NB5R) was not present for the meeting.
d. The grants update was given by Keith (K5FS). He indicated that the Frost Grant was now closed, and he is working on grants for the new year.
There was no repeater update, by Brian (NB5R) as he was not present. A discussion was held by other members indicating whether they were experiencing any repeater issues. Mike (NM5MK) indicated that the Mega link repeater was down.
Technical presentation:
a. There was no scheduled technical presentation, but David (KJ5DFQ) related experiences he was having with his class and specifically his contacts with a ham operator in Germany on Echo Link. He also recounted how his students positively responded to this contact in Germany, and how Echo Link has been very exciting for his students. He also explained his class's contacts with a former student who is in Antarctica, and trying to establish HF communications with her. Mike (NM5MK) offered to assist in helping them establish correct radio contacts via HF. David (KJ5DFQ) requested help from club members in using the club’s radio equipment with his students pursuing this project.
b. Mike (NM5MK) made a motion for the club to purchase the correct antennas for the satellite radios owned by the club, possibly eggbeater style antennas, which would likely cost no more than 300 to 400 dollars. These would be useful for working satellite repeaters. A discussion was held about the antennas, the radios the club owns and how to get things working. A decision was made to cap the expenditure to 499.99 dollars with the motion being refined to satellite antennas for the club radios. Tim (W5TNM) seconded the motion and the vote by the members present was unanimous in support of the motion. Members present reviewed the radios in the shack for the correct radio for this type of communication. More research will be needed.
c. Mike (KI6KGC) updated the members on the status of the Rabbit AI device indicating the developer has updated with version OS2, with examples of people using the device, and people using the device to create phone apps. He also suggested uses for the AI device to support different ham radio operations.
d. Tim (W5TNM) reviewed the Club Bylaws and indicated that the Board can fill the vice president position with a vote following the next Board meeting.
e. A discussion was held about club members’ experiences with the recent Aurora Borealis events that were being seen around our community and possible future observations.
The Business Meeting was closed by a motion from Tim (W5TNM) and seconded by Mike (NM5MK).