Dear Fellow Ham,     
Spring is here! On the calendar, anyway. I went for a nice ski in the woods the day Spring arrived. The buds on the Hobblebush, Hazel Nut Shrubs, and Red Elderberry are still winter tight. In a few places, though, bare ground shows through. Mostly all of those are on steep south facing slopes at the bases of stumps or ledge. In the house,  planted onion and pansy seeds have germinated. We look forward to real Spring.
      
Our March 9 meeting was well attended. N1FRX told us the terrible story of the fire that destroyed the home he built and all the family's belongings, including at least 50 vintage radios he had restored. His fire insurance had been canceled two months previous to the fire by the insurance company. Talk about bad timing. He urges everyone to carry insurance on their radio gear. (It is available from ARRL.) He also mentioned an automatic fire extinguisher that will dispense foam when it senses a fire. He intends to clean up the debris when the snow melts and to rebuild. He could certainly use help, if any of you can give him the time. Charlie, when clean up time comes, let us know.

My Icom-751, power supply and tuner have been delivered to N1FRX. Anyone have an antenna for him?

My computer suffered a virus attack on St. Patrick's Day. I was off line for five days. Two weeks before that  I made an EchoLink schedule with G0LDK in the U.K. for 11 AM on Sunday March 21 to talk to a blind girl who would be at his house. He had been trying to arrange this contact for 6 months. We were able to keep to this schedule thanks to the N7GLR-L to .64 on EchoLink. G0LDK gives his sincere thanks to all those who keep the repeater running and for the EchoLink.  Good job, everyone, and thanks from me, too. 
     
Address comments, questions or suggestions to:
Gale Flagg, 108 Franklin School Rd.
Fort Kent,  ME 04743
Phone: 207-834-6670, email: galeflagg@sjv.net

Next Meeting: TUESDAY, APRIL 13,  ALUMNI Conference Room.,
Nadeau Hall, UMFK , 6:00 PM, Election and Video 

Called to Order: 18:00 hrs.
In Attendance:  N1FG, N1QMC, N1JHD, N1PMS, N7GLR, KA7VNR, N1FRX, KW1C.

Secretary's Minutes: N7GLR motioned to waive reading of the minutes. N1PMS seconded. Passed.
 

Treasurer's Report: Feb. Balance $721.11- $179.66 for batteries for 146.64 + Dues $36 + Interest $.50  + $79.50 (Current Fund Raiser) = March Balance  $ 657.45. N1PMS motioned to accept, N7GLR seconded. Passed.

Old Business:
1. Rocky Mountain Report: Working fine. KW1C suggests we try to switch the net to this frequency during one of our sessions, just to see how many can get into it.
 

2. 146.64 Report: All okay. New Damp Aid purchased. The last of the first container used when the batteries were replaced on February 19th.
 

3. Can-Am Communications Review: Everyone was very pleased with the performance of the repeaters. The new batteries made a big difference. The checkpoint operators and control center would like to have radios to monitor the S&R frequency. We had one at Maibec, and it helped a lot.  It was noted that the Can-Am net was possibly not opened with an official statement. It was closed properly. Net Control would like Checkpoints in point to point contact to ask permission more than once during long drawn out communications .  But, all in all, communications in 2004 were the best ever.

New Business:                                                                                   1. Nominations: N1FRX motioned to keep the same slate of officers. KW1C seconded. Passed. A ballot will be included with the issue of Feed-Point.

2. EchoLink for Schools? N1FG suggested that EchoLink could be used in the schools without an antenna (antenna a stumbling block in the past).  It was thought EchoLink as part of a demonstration of the range of ham radio would be a better choice. We should include HF phone, CW, and 2 meter HTs. We should find schools who have ham radio programs to talk to our school officials.

3. Marty's New Mike: KW1C brought his impressive  and substantial new microphone.  It's a Heil Heritage Dynamic. (N1FRX explained how a dynamic mike is different from a regular mike - it has a diaphragm that responds to pressure.) Ordinary mikes have crystal and ceramic elements. Thanks, Marty.
 

4. Steve's New Instructions for Getting Feed-Point: Did it work? Yes, it did.

5. Dues Due: Several present paid their dues.

6. N1FRX  Tragedy:  N1FRX shared the horror of the disastrous fire that destroyed everything. He's glad he and his family are alive and he will rebuild.  Go to Firetrace.com  for information on the automatic fire extinguisher.

7. Lewiston Hamfest and ARRL section Convention March 26 & 27th

8. G0LDK would like to contact our club from his club sometime on EchoLink.

Adjourned: 19:25  hrs. 

Submitted by:  N1FG

Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" x 16" x 16". I

ncludes mounting hardware. Best Offer -  N1FRX
 

Parental notes to Teachers collected by Richard Lederer:
* Ronnie could not finish his work last night. He said his brain was too tired of spelling. * The basement of our house got flooded where the children sleep so they had to be evaporated. *  I kept Monica home today because she was not feeling too bright.  * Ralph was absent yesterday because he had a sore trout.  * Please refuse Robert's absents last Friday. He had a sour thought.

FEED-POINT: Published by the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association and distributed free to members and friends of Amateur Radio.
Officers:
President: Gale Flagg, N1FG
Vice President: Sandra Daigle, N1QMC
Secretary:: Rotating
Treasurer: Steve Boomhower, N1CHF
Public Information: Charles Ames, N7GLR
Technical Advisor: Steve Boomhower, N1CHF
Editor/Publisher/Printer: Gale  Flagg, N1FG /Stan Flagg   834-6670 
Associate Editor/Web Edition: Steve Boomhower   N1CHF 
Membership Information (Annual Dues): Regular Membership  $12 Associate Membership  $6
Articles:
Articles may be submitted by anyone with a good idea, and may be reprinted only in their entirety and with credit going to this newsletter.