October 2020
Fall is an ideal time to check your antennas. Winter will soon be upon us and now is the time to check antenna connections, outside coax, lightning arrestors, grounding connections, guy ropes for UV damage, etc. And while you are at it, now would be a good time to pull out that antenna analyzer (or borrow one) and check for the accuracy of your band settings. It’s amazing how the sun’s UV rays, small animals, and the elements of weather can play havoc with your equipment. Preventive maintenance is not something to be put off unless you like trying to fix problems when it is snowy and freezing outside. Remember the adage, “Pay me now or pay me later”. That’s what preventive maintenance is all about.
October begins our annual membership drive. If you pay your membership dues prior to January 1st, they are still only $35 for 2021. If you wait until after December 31st, they go up to the $40 for the year.
Please go to our club website to complete the transaction under renewals. Also, please remember that when using PayPal to send money via the Friends and Family option and NOT Goods and Services, or your money will be refunded because there is a fee associated with sending via Goods and Services. Also, when using PayPal, your transmission of funds needs to be from your bank account and not your credit card, because a fee would be added for a credit card transaction. This is not hard, so just be aware of how to send your renewal funds in and also indicate your call sign and name so we can credit your membership payment. Thanks for continuing to be a member!
By all accounts, 2020 has been a rough year for most of us. While our membership has hit record levels, our expenses for renting space for our repeaters continues, along with storage fees, and equipment maintenance. Unfortunately, we will not be able to conduct our annual, in-person auction and indoor ham fest in December and this has been a major source of revenue for the club. We are planning a virtual auction toward the end of this year of donated equipment, but even these assets are down significantly from years past. Because of this, I would encourage all of you to consider making a donation to the club to help offset these expenses. This can be done conveniently at the time of renewal of your membership by using the donation option when you renew. And one other way to help the club stay financially solvent is to consider making Amazon purchases through smile.amazon.com and designating the North Shore Radio Club as the charity. With Amazon Prime Days coming up this month, it is a very painless way to assist our club.
I want to give a shout out to Rich Davidson, K9RD and Cary Willis, KD9ITO for establishing our club as a premiere VE electronic testing program in the Midwest. Testing over 10-15 applicants per session, these VE events are helping to grow our membership and our hobby. And while I am at it I would like to personally thank Dave Hewitt, WW9S, for launching a very successful virtual Build Club. And looking to the future, post Covid 19, we have also been able to erect antennas atop the Northbrook Public Library for future use by library patrons and club members. Thanks to Rob, K9RST, Greg, W9GAK, Denice, V31kcbz, and Marty, WD9GYM for their efforts in bringing this to reality.
I look forward to seeing you all at our virtual monthly meetings, Saturday morning breakfast club meetings, and other events in the future. If you have any suggestions for future club meeting topics, please let Dave, WW9S know. That’s it for October.
73,
Burt KR9T