opened

20:00

closed

20:39

Check-ins (28)

• Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)
• Avery McIntosh (N7ALM)
• Matt Robinson (W5XMR)
• Larry Shiver (KJ5KFU)
• Brad Snyder (W5BLS)
• Nathan Wood (KN4TTV)
• David Bailey (K5DKB)
• Brian Gaskamp (N5WCT)
• Gabriel Rodriguez (AI5TN)
• Richard Taylor (KJ5LXI)
• Joe Napoli (KG5SDF)
• Jason Cox (KB5MPJ)
• Kevin Walton (N4RMF)
• Dick Zimmer (W5DZ)
• Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)
• Bill Preston (KZ3G)
• Ron Estes (KJ5EFO)
• Mark Zimmerman (N5NBD)
• Jason Shutt (KI5LGO)
• Bill Rose (K5WTR)
• Don Ling (WB5CKO)
• Phil Gates (N5ZKF)
• Tom Johnson (KI5ZPG)
• Russ McDonald (KL2PB)
• Michael Bobinski (N5NYL)
• Travis Scott (KI5TMS)
• Roseanne Cunningham (KC5FGG)
• John Graesser (KC5DWD)

Officer Reports

President

David Bailey (K5DKB)

• Nothing to report

Vice-President

Tom Johnson (KI5ZPG)

• ARRL Field day coming up in June
• need volunteers to help plan and make things happen
• If interested, let me know at tomdj56@yahoo.com. Also good on QRZ

Secretary

Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)

• Minutes will be sent out after the net.

Treasurer

Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)

• 73 members
• Bank balance: $12,549.29
• Next Ham License Exam 2026-05-16 11:00
  • at CEOC, 110 N Main St, Bryan [Google Maps]
  • This is where our next meeting will be as well!
• Veteran’s Coffee Thursday, 2026-04-30 08:00
  • We’ll be providing Kolaches since it’s a 5th Thursday

Announcements / Comments

Question #273 for conversation: Influential people in amateur radio: Which amateur radio operator(s) do you admire or is/are otherwise famous?

(If interested in submitting a weekly question, email n5zkf@arrl.net)

Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)

• Only “famous” person I actively know: Leo Laporte (W6TWT)
  • Host of TWiT podcast network (This Week in Tech)
  • Lot of Tech-related podcasts, several of which I listen to
  • Former home of Ham Nation podcast (now hosted by Josh Nass)
• I’ve been working on a 3D printer upgrade!
  • Formerly a Prusa i3 MK3S+ with MMU3
  • Upgrading to MK3.9S (functionally identical to MK4S, but with original motors)
  • Printed several of the parts used for the upgrade

Mark Zimmerman (N5NBD)

• Playing with DigiPi
  • Just released 2.1 Beta
  • Lots of fun, and just about every digital tool you can think of
• Sorry I missed POTA activity
  • Was ill last week

Phil Gates (N5ZKF)

• Bob Heil (K9EID) /SK - Renowned for lots of great sound engineering feats
• Josh Nass (KI6NAZ) - Ham Radio Crash Course
• HF is hopping tonight: get on the air!

Buy / Sell

Don Ling (WB5CKO)

• Selling 2 element Hy-Gain 20/15/10 m beam antenna
• First mentioned it a few months ago
• Split driven element and split reflector
  • leads can be used to make vertical antennas
• Asking $50
• If interested, let me know at wb5cko@arrl.net; also good on QRZ

Information Exchange

Matt Robinson (W5XMR)

• Warning about cross-coupling signals
• I have 3 coax cables: two LMR-600, one RG-8
• If I go over 300 W, it instantly goes out of tune
• Feed line was coupling on nearby coax cables through ferrite chokes

Closing Remarks

• Visit us online at w5bcs.radio.