Minutes:

SOUTH FLORIDA FM ASSOCIATION MEETING AUGUST 9 1999
NEWSLETTER

PRESIDENT JASON SWIFT KE4KYY
VICE PRESIDENT LEE CIERSZKO N4TCW
SECRETARY GEORGE ABRAMS K4PAA
DeFACTO SECRETARY JOE AC4TV
TREASURER SCOTT POWERS KF4FIK
PAST PRESIDENT SAM HARTE KQ4MR

DIRECTORS
JOE CHWICK AC4TV 99-01
HECTOR VERGARA AC4SB 97-99
RICK VAHAN N4PBF 98-00

WEB SITE http:/www.sffma.net

Meeting opened at 1940 Hrs with 20 members present. After introductions of all those present, the first order of business was a motion by SAM KQ4MR that the minutes be accepted as printed in the newsletter. Motion was seconded by JOE AC4TV and was unanimously passed by those present. Due to the absence of the Treasurer, a report of our finances was not available. The meeting was on the air on the 146.760 repeater, thanks to RAY KD4BBM.

Repeater report was the next item of business. JOHN KU4GY trustee of the 147.000 reports that the repeater is still on the bench at the EOC.   The repeater will stay there until it is perfectly ready to go back on the tower.  The tower is a blessing in that we get such a great coverage, but we pay the price in that it is not easy to get at. This makes it imperative that we are absolutely certain that the repeater is ready to go back up. At present we have a problem of sluggishness on receive, and the suggestion is that we wait a second before we transmit. Problem could be the controller or
exciter.

RAY KD4BBM: report on the 146.760 We are having a problem with intermittence. I found a cold solder connection on the PC board which may be the problem. we will have to wait and see.  The 1.2 Ghz repeater is off the air with a problem. KEVIN W4PCS suggested that a spectrum analyzer be used to see what the sine wave looks like. The six meter seems to be working well. Ray is looking for another receive site for 6 meters.

CARL KA4HLO trustee for the 444.200 repeater says that the controller returned to the factory is totally not repairable. Now the paper work to the insurer will have to begin.

JASON KE4KYY said that a Technical meeting took place. It was suggested that we print the trustee phone numbers in the newsletters. It was said that this doesn't mean that you can call the trustee during an unreasonable hour to report the machine is down.

JASON again, " If you missed the CERT training sessions", you missed a great thing. But don't feel bad, as a new training session will begin in the latter part of September. On a motion by SAM KQ4MR and seconded by JOE AC4TV the following dates suggested were Wednesday SEPT 22 and 29 starting at 6PM TILL 10Pm, and an all day session on SATURDAY OCT  2. (this is a field session at Indian Hammocks Park) were accepted.. If you have a disability that you feel may be a hinderance, BE ASSURED that there is a place for everyone. If there is a difficulty with the dates, let CARL know at 305-273-6718. Communicators are desperately needed, indoors and outside. The indoors would be ideal for those with a disability. If we don't have communicators, it means that every 20 minutes or so, a runner has to be sent to inform net controller of what is going on. Another suggested date is Wed's OCT 6 and 13 and Saturday Oct 16 as the field day. Let CARL know your desires.

RAY KD4BBM: MOTION made "Communications 101 for the new members of CERT without radio training should be offered. Perhaps we can get the CERT co-ordinator to use the FM association meeting as a training site for Communications 101". Seconded by GUSTAVO KB4PEZ motion passed.

JASON reminded us all that by the time you receive this newsletter, Year 2000 dues will be payable.

JASON: We have EOC's that need staffing. In the event of a disaster we are very short handed at the following ; MIAMI EOC, HIALEAH EOC, N. MIAMI BEACH EOC, MIAMI BEACH EOC, HOMESTEAD EOC. Why not sign up for EOC duty,they will have food, shelter, and air conditioning.  Call 305-273-6718.

Although we had no guest program on schedule, we a very lively discussion on Y2K ensued and will be presented in the next portion of this newsletter. We had a small pot in the 50--50 the total collected was $10 and the $5 was won by RAY BBM and was donated back to the club.  Thank You RAY.

Meeting ended at 2130 Hrs.


****Y2K ROGER KE4VNN spoke about his view on the Y2K dilemma

ROGER KE4VNN reported on the seriousness of Y2K and what may happen. "Roger" I feel that DCAT 4955 should prepare rather extensively for the new millennium. The Y2K poses a problem. No one has ever lived through one, so the consequences are unknown. DCAT will do some extensive training and will stockpile food, water and MONEY, as there may be a run on the banks, and should this happen, the government is ready to declare a bank holiday to prevent the banks from running out of money . It may be a good idea to get some Gold and Silver and diversify your portfolio. Cited was the CASSANDRA PROJECT REPORT and other reports who feel the same about Y2K. "ROGER" I'm very serious about Y2K. If you read these reports, you will see that things will get quite hairy. We the DCAT believe that we are on the verge of a very serious problem, worse than any Hurricane. No one is really ready. We had fifteen years to correct this problem and they kept putting it off for the next generation. Guess what, ITS TOO LATE now. Do you know that nationwide, 911 is only 32 percent ready. Are hospitals ready? Guess what, their billing departments are, but how about the rest of their departments. We have some Y2K dates coming up. August 22 is when GPS will turn over their dates, October 1 is when the United States fiscal 2000 year begins. We should watch these very carefully, as well as 9-9-99.

There are those who are in the know, who predict great hardships due to Y2K. Our news media for some reason does not write too much about this. There have been just a few articles printed by papers and magazines.

In a couple of months as Y2K sinks in, there will be a rush on the supermarkets, and food will get scarce. I tell you, we must take this seriously and prepare. Our view is prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

Dear Fellow Hams,
We're on the verge of two things, evolution or, extinction. As I see it, ham radio, as you and I know it, won't live to see the year 2100, unless some things change. During the early part through the middle of this century, ham radio rapidly expanded. At some point things died down. Why? What can we do to spark the interest again? Are we willing to make the changes to re-light the fire?

Ham radio is responsible for a lot of things we take for granted today; Phone interconnection (hams call them "autopatches"), over the air elctro- cardiogram telemetry (thanks again Dr. Hirschman!!!) and, the pioneering of VHF and UHF technology.

I'm not concerned about the commercial labs producing better technology than hams. I'm concerned about what we might be missing out on because kids aren't getting into technology. There's lots of practical experience to be gained through hamming. I'd think an engineer with a degree and, some hands on experience would be much better off than someone who's never played with the medium. Ham radio is an outlet for the hands on aspect.

We're raising a bunch of vidiots. The fact that parents use "video baby-sitter" and like techniques is producing apathetic kids who are detached and, lacking social interaction skills. What better way of correcting that problem than putting the kids on the air and talking to other people?

I'm not naive enough to think that ham radio would cure the evils of society. Ham radio can make some difference. If the technological possibilities aren't enough, think of the leaders we could develop through the public service we provide. I hear a lot from hams who'll tell me they've paid their public service dues. It's like they're telling me they've retired. How can you retire if you can't pass the buck onto someone else? The need is there. There's great plans for disaster relief programs. I'm concerned about our ability to deliver operators. All this ranting must lead somewhere and, it leads to
aggressive recruiting.

The beloved "Elmering" method isn't enough. We need desperately to get "Ham Make Ham" off the ground. So far, there's been nothing but great support of the idea. Everyone wants to help out. The concept lacks one key element; someone to implement it. FM Association Members, consider this my four month notice. In four months, I plan to actively pursue bringing the revolutionary concept of Ham Make Ham to life.  Since nobody else has risen to the challenge of directing Ham Make
Ham, I will. I'll need the club's support and, the members who have offered their expertise.

Someone else will need to be president. At the September meeting, I will form a committee, no, a task force, to search for my successor. If you're seriously interested in perpetuating a fine tradition, become active in the leadership of this club.