Members,
     I want to thank everyone that showed up for the meeting, it was a great success! I know some of you had to leave early and that's OK, we'll get you on the air next time. All of you did a good job learning a few things about the amplifier although I know it may still seem complicated and intimidating, it's really not. I want to give an overview of tonight's interesting club meeting for those of you that could not make it.
     We started the night off with a SKED (Scheduled Contact) that I had arranged earlier today on CollegeARC.com with the amateur radio club station K0VVY at the South Dakota School of Mining & Technology. We talked for a few minutes using PSK-31 on the 40 meter band (7MHz). Afterwards, members got an overview of the amplifier and how to use it (Although we have not cleared anyone to use it alone yet!) followed by getting it on the air. I want to make a correction to my previous statements as the amplifier is actually 1200 Watts INPUT which will equate to a little less actually getting transmitted due to the efficiency of the amplifier, that's still a lot of power! Several members stayed in the club room to operate the radio and made over 25 contacts across the country!
     I would also like to point out that tonight I showed members a neat trick on the air, a trick that is usually learned over time but I wanted to give you a jump start! I showed members how to "Sound" like an important station whether you are using an amplifier or not, simply by operating in a way that encourages contacts. This was a contributing factor to tonight's success and on the air contacts, along with the amplifier that Bryce recently repaired for the club. We enjoyed making contact after contact and even working "Pile-ups" on our frequency. I think a few members gained a lot of experience tonight and did a great job, even if they just watched other members operate.
     I hope everyone is excited for School Club Round-up next week and I will be talking more about that shortly. The amplifier works great and we are in a great position to do well this winter during contesting season.

Thanks, 73's
     Brenton Salmi, KB1LQD
     K2GXT President