The Minnesota QRP Society

The Minnesota QRP Society meet on Saturday, January 5, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. at the Minnetonka Community Center. The meeting was called to order by Dave Kent, k0tcp. There were six attendees and a variety of topics were covered.

The December meeting minutes as posted on the two lists were reviewed and accepted.
The treasury report was also presented and accepted. The folks at Midcountry bank continue to provide exceptional service.

Dave, k0tcp, proposed that the February 2nd, 2008, meeting be held at his QTH as part of a day of operating in the 2008 FYBO Winter Sprint. This propsal was discussed and accepted. Dave plans to post more information on arrival times and details for the pot luck. Everyone is invited!

Jay Taylor, our pre-ham web master, lead a discussion about the old and new web sites and lists. He explained how editors can create new content and discussed various options for creating an archive of old list activity.

Dave Kent, k0tcp, reminded folks that they can renew (or open a new) ARRL memberships through the club. This helps the club by contributing a small commission to the club. For information please contact me (Phill, n0oe).

Ron Dodge, k0tc, shared an article from the Pioneer Press that announced that a new solar cycle has started. This discusion lead to the recommendation of a couple of web sites that folks have found helpful in learning about solar activity. Check out:
www.spaceweather.com
http://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/solar/

In regard to the discussion about solar activities, Dave, k0tcp, also discussed his activities in recent 160m and 80m contests. There was also some discussion about the Straight Key Night sprint.

Elections for 2008 officers was held. The new slate of officers was:
Dave Kent, k0tcp, for President,
Phill Hogland, n0oe for Secretary and Treasurer,
Steve Ulrich, nw0c, for Vice President and Program Chairman.

The slate was accepted. Each office was uncontested and elected by the members present at the meeting. Then there was a discussion about the programs and activities that folks enjoyed participating in in 2007 and suggestions for activites for the club in 2008. There is a desire to build some more kits in 2008, so if you have suggestions of an interesting kit, please pass the suggestion on to Steve.

Dave commented that folks that are interested in the designs that Craig, AA0ZZ, designed should check out his web site for new information on the kits that he is now shipping.