Held at: Civic Plaza Drive, Taos NM 87571 Potluck started at 5:30pm. Thanks to everybody for bringing food.
Sign in. The meeting began at 6:15 with Donovan (K2AH) presiding
Guest and member introduction with 15 members attending in person.
Approval of June 11, 2025, meeting minutes. Motion was made to approve by Tim (W5TNM) and seconded by Keith (K5FS), unanimous vote
Approval of the Agenda, motion by Ed (K5EIG) and seconded by Mike (KJ5KLM), unanimous vote to approve.
Treasurer's Report - Ed (KF5EIG) Expense summary, balance. Approval of Treasurer's Report.
a) May Deposits - $294.98, Membership Dues, License Testing Fees
b) May Expenses - $1,058.79, KCEC Internet, ARRL Insurance, Food-field day, ARRL Testing Fees
c) May Ending Balance - $15,688.20
d) Deposits from testing fees are a “wash” as fees are paid to AARL
Motion to approve Treasurers Report by John (W5BQ), seconded by Randy (AG5QC), unanimous vote to approve
President’s Remarks: a) The club needs to schedule a project to rebuild and install an Echo Link repeater which has been down for sometime. The project will be like the “shack-in-a-box project. Steps to start with the initial plan. Brian (NB5R) detailed the basic steps. The person spearheading the project can decide the operating system for the new repeater. Club has HP desktop PC’s if needed. These have Windows 10 but could be converted to run Linux. There was a discussion about location, i.e. TARC shack, backup power, internet connectivity, etc. People interested can contact Donovan (K2AH) via email for research, resources and proposals. He will coordinate.
b) ARRL Field Day, Recap (K2AH). Good showing by club members. No visit by town/community/elected people. Lots of good food, several radio setups by members, beautiful day. Discussion of past locations versus the park. Special thanks to Glen (KF5OSB) and Daniel (KI5OSA) for their efforts in cooking food for everyone. One Test Student made the trip from Santa Fe.
c) Town of Taos Concert Events, Recap (K2AH). Back-to-back concerts with Allison Krause scheduled. Lake Street Dive event was cancelled due to transportation issues with the band. Thanks, given for great turn-out by Club members. July 4th, 5th and 6th had Town scheduled events. No club support on the 4th due to non-alcohol/family nature of event. On July 5th, 8 club members supported the concert with no issues. The 6th event had 6 members assisting, again with no issues. Next scheduled event will be September 27th. There may be additional events upcoming, and Donovan (K2AH) will coordinate with the Town. The likely support needed for Fiesta’s event, for the Thursday vendor setup and Sunday takedown. Fiestas Historic Parade will be on Sunday, courthouse to the town post office. We may need to support the Highschool Homecoming event on Sunday the 27th.
New Business:
a) Update - FCC License Exams, Tim (W5TNM): 9 people showed up for the test. 2 new General Licenses, 8 total license passing scores, with one failing the exam who will retest soon. Tim (W5TNM) indicated that David (KJ5DFQ) suggested holding the next class during the school term. Discussion was had concerning the usefulness of class and the upcoming schedule.
Old Business:
a) Grants Update by Keith (KF5FS): Frost Grant has to be used for educational purposes only. The club needs to investigate coordinating with the local Red Cross office. Keith (KF5FS) elaborated on Red Cross processes and involvement in community events, with membership discussion.
b) ARES and repeaters updates with Brian (NB5R): We need to get the ARES repeater online. Discussion about LMT repeater site on fees and not having to move locations. Drawings need to be made for the Forest Service site. FS is emailing him on needs. He was up on the Highline site (Ski Valley) and found the Mega Link repeater had been switched off. No functional issues just switched off. He installed warning notices for the repeater. UHF radio is back up now. The issue was an inadvertent hand mic depression. He still needs to coordinate with Red River the on the relocation site. Donovan (K2AH) will help him coordinate on the email side.
c) Tim (W5TNM) updated repeater status work done on San Antonio Mountain. The D-Star repeater had a new battery installed. Antenna SWR was checked by Micky (N5TSV). The “Trash” repeater was replaced. The Mega Link repeater was investigated and found to have possible antenna damage.
d) Brian (NB5R) discussed the moving of the ARES repeater to TARC combiner system and is working better. The Brandmeister repeater was repaired and now working properly. A discussion was held concerning members assisting with scheduling of sites and repair work. Interested parties should email Brian to schedule regarding assistance.
e) Brian (NB5R) was asked and assisted in clarifying the radio values of the recently donated radios to the club. He itemized the radios by model number and possible usage or possible sale for radios that have limited club usage, based on band/frequence coverages/range. The donated repeaters should be held by the club for future replacement needs. A discussion was had about values for any radios that opted to be sold, with the idea that checking online pricing for value. Tim (W5TNM) reminded the club about the repeater that was purchased by the club last year that was purchased on sale. John (WB5Q) suggested using the Socorro Ham Fest as a possible venue for any radios that are slated for sale. He offered to transport any radios that the club wants to sell. He would want the club to price these radios. A discussion was held concerning the sale of radios on-line versus the Ham Fest, including reserving radios for sale to club members.
f) No Technical presentation for this month’s meeting.
The meeting was called to a close by a motion from Gary (W5TAO) and seconded by Mike (NM5MK).
Reminders:
a) Statewide ARES Net – HF 3939, 1st Sunday, 7pm.
b) TARC Net - VHF/UHF-DMR, 4th Wednesday, 7pm
Net Report Below
Picuris VHF/UHF NET CONTACTS 4TH Wednesday 7PM Net:
Analog: June 2025 Net not held
DMR June 2025 Net
- K2AH, Donovan
- KI5HKU, Craig
- W5TAO, Gary
- NM5MK, Mike
- W5GWR, Wayne
- W5TNM, Tim
- K5GEO, George (Net Control)
HF Net Friday, 8PM, follows the 4th Wed Net: