I realize I have had little to do with the current affairs and equipment, having been to few meetings because of health and work over the last couple of years. But having been a member since 1978, 8 to 10 times as President,( I forget which) and being the Equipment Manager for around 20 years, I have to agree with Dave.
George, I really do appreciate all you have done and donated.. Please don't misunderstand that. But you are not the first to do so. Myself, and through my now thankfully ex business, I have donated tens of thousands of dollars to the club over the years, and many thousands of hours. Once I did that, it was theirs. When I wanted to retain control over anything, I "loaned" it to the club with the proviso that they give it back in the same condition. Donate means "give away"! If these areas really do bother you that much, then I doubt anyone would blame you, or care, (except a greedy few that every organization has) if you quit donating stuff. But, again, I agree with Dave. If it has been donated to the club, you have exactly the same rights to opinion and voice as any other member. Your checkbook IS appreciated, but only buys membership. And, again please, take this in the manner it is meant, not as a "diss". You are a likeable guy, and as a dedicated ham, a valuable asset. Your checkbook doesn't change anything but what you feel like doing with it. We have had multimillionaires a members, and several that could have bought Vandenberg! They were still "just" valued members, NOT "sources". If and when someone does act as generous as you, I really believe it is greatly appreciated. Being able to "do" something, rather than just "planning to" is always great. But please, even if this offends you, we like you for you, not the checkbook. (I do speak for just me, but I would bet most feel the same). If it does offend you, then ignore me, and I probably won't cry. If not, and you can take it in the FRIENDLY manner it was given, I think everyone will like you even more. (We already have too many members who only function after pats on the back, and having their balloon inflated!) We DO STILL VALUE them, but it gets tiresome. The last two years of my business, I donated more to charity than I took home as pay. I did most of it anonymously, because being "known" as the giver isn't why it should be done. At least that is my opinion, and opinions being like other things (a certain body part comes to mind), we all have at least one! Your enthusiasm and knowledge are what makes you valuable, not your bank balance.
'Nuff said. 73, God Bless, and hope you are still speaking to me (not down at me) at the next meeting.
Paul Andreasen, K1JAN 4At 12:47 PM 6/7/2009, you wrote:
I am not turning it over. Access to it is as it has always been. If somebody wanted to use it in the past, they could have used it and blown it up as easily as they could now. The only difference now is that we have removed the added extra complication of moving the cables around. I have not changed any policy that the club has whatsoever. People should not operate things they don't understand. I have just made it easier for people to operate in the easy mode (and easier to understand). In the past, people were intimidated from using the radio at all because there were no instructions on how to do so. I really think you should read what I said again. In the easy mode, they can't blow anything up. The tuner takes care of everything, and if the tuner can not achieve a good match, the radio folds back if there is a bad mismatch and protects the final amp.I would also prefer if you would stop referring to donated items as if they are still yours. I don't care how much you paid for them, they are now club property and nobody wants to have them destroyed. You don't have a monopoly on concern for the items.Dave KA6BFB ----------From: sarcmembers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:sarcmembers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of george bernardSent: Sunday, June 07, 2009 11:56 AM To: john maetta Subject: [sarcmembers] Re: SARC HF station use etcdave, i think u r making a mistake turning the hf amp over to the general population, that's how it got blown before. u should be requiring a check out on this item. if a member is serious about using it , he/she will be quite willing to get checked out. we are not going to turn over the vhf ssb gear to the general population at this time, it is not ready and fool proof yet. george bernard w6nre ps: i am willing to go up to the club and brief properly qualified operators on the idiosyncrasies of this expensive gear. i dont want the amps blown out due to over driving, i paid a lot of money for them. one of our new techs might make a mess of things unless properly briefed on how things work, i am sure john portune does not give experience in his tech classes.santa barbara, ca web page is www.balanceindustries.com for my company cell 818-370-9407---------- From: dave@xxxxxxxxxx To: sarcmembers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [sarcmembers] SARC HF station use etc Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 10:00:51 -0700 AllWe finally have a nice shelving system to accommodate are ham shack at the club. Thanks to Bob for the fine craftsmanship. It looks and functions terrific. Assembling the station to its final configuration will take time and money, but one of the HF operating positions is available now for general use. It will accommodate simple use with the auto tuner, or complex high power operation without moving cables around.Here is the FT-840 station. A paper copy of the manual is available for reference at the operating position.[]All that is necessary to operate the station in the "simple mode" is to turn on the tuner mode on the radio, and ensure that the amplifier is off and the tuner is in the "coax 1 direct" mode, as shown in the terrible cell phone pictures below.[]Amplifier is off. The PWR and OPR buttons are pushed in on the lower part to OFF and STBY respectively. This effectively bypasses the amplifier.[] Tuner mode is "Coax 1 direct" so that the tuner is bypassed.That's it. The radio is now ready for tune and play operation with the auto tuner turned on. Here is the section from the manual on how to operate the tuner[]For the time being, the B&W folded dipole is connected to the station. It is the best all around performer. If you want to change it, you can connect a different cable to the tuner where the current one is. For those of you that want to operate the amplifier, be advised it has a parasitic oscillation issue that you need to be on top of. I am going to order a cheap kit to solve this issue. If you want pointers on how to use the amp, just ask me.In the long term, we plan to have an antenna switching system that will allow both stations to operate all of the antenna with a simple selector mechanism. I will probably send out an email later describing that effort.On another note. All three computers in the shack are now operational, and the printer is also working for both of them. Thanks to all that donated monitors and keyboards.73 Dave KA6BFB
