BCARS Meeting Minutes - August 7th, 2025
A meeting of the Bedford County Amateur Radio Society was called to order at 1930 hours at Bedford American Legion by Vice President Gary Metivier, KC3HKZ and a quorum was declared.
In attendance were (12):
KB3DFZ, KC3HKZ, KC3DNB, KC3VLQ, Louise, KC3NFD, K3QNT, WB3JEK, W3DRW, KE3ZT, K3IP, KC3WMI.
Meeting Minutes were presented by John KB3DFZ. Motion to approve was made by W3DRW and seconded by K3QNT.
Treasurer’s report was given by KC3DNB. Motion to approve was made by K3IP, seconded by KE3ZT.
Old Business
Repeater Update John Hogenmiller, KB3DFZ reports that the Martin Hill 146.790 repeater was swapped out with a Kenwood TKR-750 K2. Members reported hearing Virginia stations coming in over the 790 repeater prior to the Tuesday night net. This has occurred before, on the GE hardware, and different antennas.
Lost Turkey Trail Some feedback was raised that radio operators ended up reporting to stations early - sometimes hours ahead of runners or aid stations. For next year, we should get more clarity from while working out the arrival times. We had rather disjointed communication from the race officials this year. Otherwise, the even went really well, and the 147.150 Blue Knob repeater’s new amplifier helped greatly with coverage.
BCARS Picnic will be held August 23rd at Merritt’s Pond. So far Zach only has 4 reservations, please contact him to RSVP and coordinate food for the event.
New Business
KC3DNB Moving Steve Stiffler, KC3DNB will be moving out of the area in August and has to step down as Treasurer. Members present thanked Steve for his years of service to the club. We discussed updates that would have to be made such as changing the PO box in Manns Choice and various change of addresses with our vendors.
K3QNT gave a fundraising report. As requested earlier this year, K3QNT has raised funds towards repeater repair and upgrades. BCARS has received $1200 from the Bedford County Commissioners (unconditional) and $1800 from the Bedford Legion (conditional). This brings our total fundraising so far for 2025 to $3000, and additional applications are outstanding.
KB3DFZ motioned to purchase a new repeater. Given the fundraising efforts and existing issues between Martin Hill and Kinton Knob, KB3DFZ motions to purchase a new Hytera 1062 VHF repeater for Kinton Knob. The list price is $3,000 but a discount is expected. Seconded by W3DRW. All in favor, motion carried.
Motion to adopt new call sign. K3QNT discussed the availability of a 1x2 call sign, W2ZC which can be used for the repeaters and events. After discussion, WB3JEK motioned for BCARS to apply for use of this call sign. Seconded by W3DRW. All in favor, motion carried. Our 5-year trustee, Kip Kostenbauder, K3IP will work with Lloyd Roach, K3QNT to facilitate this.
K3QNT to become acting treasurer. With Steve Stiffler, KC3DNB’s departure, KE3ZT motioned to have Trustee Lloyd Roach, K3QNT operate as Treasurer for the remainder of 2025. The club will take nominations for the treasurer, trustee, and other open positions at the November meeting for election in December. Motion seconded by KC3HKZ. All in favor, motion carried. Lloyd Roach, K3QNT and Steve Stiffler, KC3DNB will coordinate transfer details.
Route 66 Special Event KE3ZT presented about the Route 66 special operating event which goes from Sept 6th through the 14th. Also presented was the Kansas QSO party August 30-31st. Multiple QSL cards and certificates were presented and passed around.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2040 hours.
Respectfully Submitted,
John Hogenmiller, KB3DFZ
BCARS Secretary