Watching
how our chapter pulled together over the last few weeks
and how it continues to grow in number has been nothing
short of amazing. Friendships
are blossoming, projects are getting completed and we are
having a lot of fun.
Our chapter's membership has grown from three MARC
members to fifteen this week in just over five months. We have now
worked together as a tactical support unit in an
unusually complicated and large event while it rained,
hailed and muddied our bikes all the while performing
like seasoned veterans.
What great team you are becoming!
Activities:
In March, we set out to
ring-out hidden communication problems and shortfalls in
the gear we use on the road and I’m happy to report our
goal was achieved with speed and aplomb. None of the MARC
members in the Tierra Bella Century Classic had a problem
with their radio gear and the team’s performance during
the event was stellar.
More on the Tierra Bella will be presented in a
separate report.
April’s
meeting attendance found eight hams circling the table. Those present
were Frank
Nielsen KG6ELP, J.P. Rouland NQ6T, Ralph
Howard WD6BGN, Jeff Bray W1GRS, Max
Malzkuhn K6MAX, Lewis Osborn K7LVO (Medford, Oregon),
David
Sawyer
and myself W1RDR.
At our
meeting we tried to discuss our experiences with the
Tierra Bella event, our local business cards,
organizational growth, a group ride, J.P.’s APRS
equipment and how we should best take Max – K6MAX new
bike apart in the parking lot. In looking back
at yesterday’s meeting, the strongest message that came
through was how difficult it is becoming to hear what is
being said at the other end of the table when a meeting
is conducted in a noisy restaurant. In addition, the
friendships are bubbling over with so much conversation
and laughter that it is hard for a single voice to have
any impact. Our
meeting location issue isn’t new to us; it is just that
we haven’t been able to spend adequate time to get it
resolved. We
need to get a better place soon, or we are going to be a
group that reads lips and signs to communicate.
Our
BA-MARC ride to the Alamo is
still on schedule and as of today, only David Sawyer and
I are planning on taking the trip from the Bay Area. If we manage our
in-flight time right, we should be able to be in Orange
County for the May MARC meeting and be back in the Bay
Area for the Sunday BA-MARC meeting. Had more time been available this year, we would
have considered doing a MARC meeting tour. Maybe the members
in Florida and Washington State would consider having a
chapter meeting so we can make a Four-Corner ride out of
a road trip next year. 8=D
Organizational
growth is becoming an issue for BA-MARC. Our team needs to
consider how we should share areas of responsibility so
we can become a more responsive and interesting
organization. Leaving
most of the vision to the arsonist who started this
chapter will only create a myopic focus and leave the
group overly dependent on one person. Not the best
thing for the long-term success of our chapter. To get resolve
this, I would like us to talk about how we manage the
group in the future.
Some areas where our group needs support are in
ride planning, event planning, treasury maters and
others. We
should also talk about if and when we might want
elections. Lets
talk more about this at our next couple of meetings, or
on the list so we can make some decisions.
As a
chapter we haven’t planned a ride yet and we need to do
this next. What
are some of the areas where members would like to ride
and how long should we make our rides? For example, do
we want to start with an overnight jaunt or should we
keep it to a day ride?
Lets start talking about this on the list as well.
APRS: J.P.
Rouland – NQ6T brought in his APRS mobile
station at our last meeting. Because our
meeting situation was noisy and restricted, J.P. wasn’t
able to give much of a demonstration and it was obvious
from the questions that some don’t understand the full
strengths and abilities of APRS. What also might
not be known is that our chapter has two motorcycles (KA7QQV & W1RDR <= click Callsign to find)
that are constantly reporting their GPS data into the
APRS network whenever they are moving around. These motorcycles
were tracked during most of the Tierra Bella event, but
event organizers don’t understand how this information
can be a tactical asset to their leadership. I would like J.P.
to come back with his package and put on a full
demonstration so we can show off its capabilities. To do this we
will need a segregated meeting place. Once we have
found a good location, we should plan on having this
demonstration.
Ralph
Howard WD6BGN, asked us about PacCon
2001. I’ve
never been to this Amateur Radio event, but it might be
an opportunity to show off how MARC has integrated ham
radios to work with motorcycles and event support. This might be an
event where MARC-HQ might also want to participate
because it has great exposure to a large ham audience. Ralph will get
more details for us and present them at our meeting.
Speaking
of exposure, Jeff Bray W1GRS suggested we
consider going to another ham radio club meeting like the
West Valley Amateur Radio Association
(WVARA) and introducing MARC and how we use
amateur radio on our motorcycles. This will awaken
hams that don’t know about MARC and it will broaden our
base of exposure into the local amateur community.
David
Sawyer
