General Membership Meeting April 2024

BRARA General Membership Meeting minutes for 4-April-2024

The BRARA monthly association meeting was held at the Boca West Library and via Zoom conference.  The meeting was called to order by the President Ralph Mele W1DAR at 6:32 pm local. Attending:  19 present at the library and 18 Zoom participants.  Officers and directors present provided an update of their club related activities. Tonight’s speaker is Dave Vest, K8DV from DX Engineering who will talk about his experiences providing customer support.

Directors and Officers Present

Ralph W1DAR, Bruce KO4XL, Mike K8BQ, Bonnie KC2JVS, Jay S N2ELG, Henry WA2ROA, Jay S N2ELG, Lou K4LA

Pledge of Allegiance

President’s Report: Ralph W1DAR

Recent club activities have included:

• River Cruise last weekend with 10-12 attendees
• Lunches attended by 30-50 people
• Orlando car pools

Send Henry information about activities you feel the club would be interested in.

There have been some requests for training on equipment. You can come Wednesdays and Saturdays during our open house times and someone can help you out. We’re planning some more formal training as well.

We need operators for Field Day.

Director at Large: Jay S N2ELG

Jay reported the Zoom Auction was very successful. The club also sold some miscellaneous tubes and test equipment that were not being used. He pointed out that although he runs the DMR Tech Net he is not a DMR expert. One idea behind the net is that participants can help each other.

Vice President: Henry WA2ROA

Upcoming lunches April 18 Casa Tequila and May 18 Mama Mias West Boynton

Secretary: Mike K8BQ

Mike reported that the March minutes have been uploaded to the BRARA Blog. Motion to accept the minutes made by Bruce KO4XL, seconded by Ed W2SI. Motion carried. Currently have 117 members current for 2024. New members for March are Colin Cade W8CMC, Ray Vaughan KD4BBM, and Morton Sussman WA2HEM.

Treasurer: Bonnie KC2JVS

Treasurer’s Report March 31,2024

December 31,2023 Available Balance $12,927.58
February 29,2024 Available Balance $11,351.68
March 31,2024 Available Balance $15,736.03

Income: $5,462.74
Income includes $482.51 in memberships, $3,686.41 from Auction, $283.82 for Radiator Grille, and
$1,010.00 in donations.

Expenses: $1,090.66
Expenses include: $949 for Liability Insurance, $61.25 for SunBiz registration, and $80.41 for a transistor
for power amplifier.

Above amounts include reserve funds of $5,000.
Balance available for operating capital after deposits and expenses clear: $10,736.03

Bonnie was asked if the reserve fund was in a CD. Currently it is kept with our other funds since it is intended for emergencies such as equipment failure. This led to a discussion about is the repeater PA fixable. Art WA8VSJ reported that it is not. In addition, we should set up to use separate transmit and receive antennas to minimize cellular interference which would require a new antenna. The transmission line for the second antenna should be upgraded to hardline.

Director at Large: Bruce KO4XL

Bruce thanked Henry for his efforts in organizing the Radiator Grille. He reported that we have enough donations for the next auction.We’ve started to accumulate items for the next auction. Henry thanked all who helped. We had 64 attendees.

Director at Large: Lou K4LA

Lou reported that a bill was submitted in the US Senate, S.3690. This was sent to the Commerce Committee on January 20 where it has been sitting. The House has a similar bill with 20 co-sponsors. This is the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act which looks to eliminate local restrictions such as HOAs that completely prohibit amateur radio antennas. He suggests contacting our Florida Senators and Congresspersons to ask for their support as co-sponsors and to work to get it out of committee. You can use examples such as Florida is subject to natural disasters such as hurricanes, amateur radio operators provide a backup to emergency communications, CERT communications support, and so on.

• Senator Rick Scott; https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/contact
• Senator Marco Rubio; https://www.rubio.senate.gov
• Congresswoman Frankel; https://www.frankel.house.gov/contact
• Senate Commerce Committee; https://www.commerce.senate.gov

Adjournment: