CAKE Meeting Notes Aug. 13

Notes from the CAKE meeting

CAKE Minutes August 13

Hi all, it was truly enjoyable to be back in the familiarity of a CAKE session. It’s tough to compete with the siren songs of a Flea Market but we had a lively discussion as always and delighted to have David KM6BEG from Pacific Grove with us for the first time. First of many we hope David !  Anyone know an email addr for him ?
Also present were Ward AE6TY, Gary K6PDL, Craig N6SBN, Cap KE6AFE and Rich W1WUH. BTW both Rich and Ron were first lic in 1951 !  Our topics included digital mode issues which Craig understands so well. He laments that most are related to Windows. David is interested in a magnetic loop for HF transmissions and clearly understands there are high voltage concerns. Ron mentioned that near-field magnetic field strength should be considered as a potential health concern.  As intended we devoted quite a lot of time talking about plans for a centennial celebration. There is a general concern that time is fast running out to make full use of the Museum on September 17. The consensus was that we should not abandon this opportunity but to also determine the feasibility of arranging a display at the County fair as an addition or even alternative.

Cap is convinced we need a unified  command and control structure as the way to move forward. He undertook to devote some attention to recruiting leaders for the various functions. Gary expressed interest in ARES coverage and Craig indicated his interest in demonstrating SDR radio. Ron is keen on history, technology exhibits and demos such as remote HF station operation. From experience we agreed that the sooner we become task oriented the better. Ron mentioned that Don K6GHA, previously put forward great ideas for a web page, we need to get in touch with him on developing a page that could be keep up to date as our activities take shape.
We have never held a CAKE session without some discussion on antennas and today was no exception. Our mystery item was an EZNEC model of a coax-fed dipole. Clearly not much of a challenge on it’s face but there are always lessons to be learned. Ron mentioned he was working with such models, looking for a way to quantify the effectiveness of a balun.  Craig and Ron discussed ways to master Morse code and would like to hear from others with this in mind.
73  to one and all, participate more, procrastinate less.
Ron  W6WO