The May 4th, 2026 monthly HARC meeting was held in Hermiston High School Room 313 and was called to order by President Sam at 19:01.
Member Attendees: KI7CUS (Dennis), NB7O (Kevin), K7MGO (Michelle), KE7YX (Emery) W7JJK (Jeff), KJ7NYZ (Anna), K7TTW (Sam), W7MWK (Mike), KD7VX (Whitley), W7ILD (Todd), KB7CKJ (Chuck), AA7TH (Sam), KG7WYY (Fred), AA7AZ (Jim), N2SRX (Rhett)
Guests: Rory
New Members:
The March and April 2026 meeting minutes and May 2026 Secretary/Treasurer’s Report were distributed via email by J. Kelso on 05/01/2026. A motion to adopt the March meeting minutes was made by Kevin and seconded by Chuck. The motion passed unanimously. A motion to adopt the April meeting minutes was made by Kevin and seconded by Chuck. The motion passed with one abstention.
The May 2026 Secretary/Treasurer’s Report was read by Jeff.
Ongoing Business:
- Dennis provided a solar report to the membership.
- Testing – There were no applicants registered for testing scheduled for this month according to Kevin.
- The Fourth Thing – There was nothing to discuss, other than the theory that our last First Thing meeting at the radio station apparently was its death knell.
- Jeff reported that two groups had given proposals at the last City Council meeting. HARC and the Hermiston Museum will be presenting at the next meeting on Monday, May 11th. A discussion ensued and pictures of the building were shown to the membership. Please plan to come to the Hermiston City Hall at 6 PM on Monday, May 11th to show support for the proposal.
- Meshtastic – Sam thought that it would be good to know who is tinkering with Meshtastic. Several members are messing around with it. The node at the HARC repeater site can be heard in Hermiston but cannot be talked to so far. Sam showed a picture of the node that he put at the repeater site. A motion was made by Fred and was seconded by Rhett to purchase a club-owned node for the repeater site, not to exceed $200. The motion passed unanimously.
- Lewis and Clark On The Air – June 6 – 21. Kevin has sent out invitations to everyone who has participated in the past. People who are interested in participating have responded. Kevin will pull together a Zoom meeting to organize the participants.
- Wagon Train – June 22-27. Kevin reported that he needs a replacement for Todd, and perhaps for Alan. If you’re interested in serving as a listener, please contact Kevin.
- Rhett brought up 73qrz.com which has a lot of ham-related tools and wanted to share it with the club. It aggregates data from many sources to display it all on one page.
- Summer Field Day – June 27-28. Emery made a motion to make Drift Fence the location for Summer Field Day. It was seconded by Whitley. There were 6 in favor and 5 abstentions. Motion passed.
New Business:
- Anna mentioned that several parades are coming up, and that she will reach out for volunteers as the dates get closer. The Boardman Fourth of July Parade starts at 2 PM. Irrigon Watermelon Festival Parade may be on 7/25 at 10 AM. Umatilla County Fair Parade is on August 8th. Todd mentioned that May 16th and 17th has the Oregon Trail Rally in Dufur and Portland. 2m simplex is the usual operating mode. Volunteer sign-ups are available at oregontrailrally.com.
Announcements:
1. Club Breakfast – Saturday, May 16th at Rayz Dayz, Umatilla at 8:00 AM.
The meeting was adjourned by AA7TH at 20:21.
Respectfully submitted by Jeff Kelso, W7JJK.
