HWC Shield Harvard Wireless Club Bulletin
November 30, 1998
I want to get a little summary down on paper of the things that Tim and I discussed Tuesday evening. Keeping everyone in the loop has always been a challenge, so this might help. First of all, as we know the building is undergoing extensive renovations. Tim and I have met with all the key players who are doing this work for the university and thankfully we have a good rapport with them as well as a number of agreements on what the university will or will not do that affects our physical installation. However, there are daily problems that arise. Over the past month we've had to work out dozens of issues (some large, some small) between them and us. Which is why I've spent a good deal of time on-site. So far, so good. Tim, Dave Smith and myself have talked about this on-site presence thing and each of us will do what we can to just be at the station when we can. This presents the architect, project developer and construction manager with a HWC rep. on-site to sort out problems before proceeding with any actions that might cause us headaches.

Here are the other issues Tim & I talked about:

  1. Carter obit: Tim has written it up for QST and WorldRadio. He was to have sent it off to them Wednesday.

  2. Keys: I had the station locks changed. It had been 4 years since the last change. We've always been on a 2-year change schedule. We all understand the need for this. Mike, Tim, Frank, Nick & Dave have new station keys.

  3. Entry: We have been advised to use the Adams Courtyard corridor entry from now on, rather than the front entrance. We 5 have keys for that door as well. We also have cards to get us into Adams C entry for the bathroom. The downstairs bathroom in our building will be torn out soon.

  4. Phone Bill: Had lapsed for several months. Tim paid it Tuesday evening. He believes we are getting overcharged for local service and will straighten this out with the phone company. He will also reimburse the club for his personal charges on the bill.

  5. HWC Refurbishment: Lots of things have been done, some things large, some small. So far, I have put @ $1,400 into the re-do. I have been reimbursed from club funds. For the time being, the shack itself is done. After the construction people leave in February, we'll replace the carpet and ceiling.

  6. Antenna Work: Matt Strelow will come down from NH on Dec. 22 to work on the tower, antennas and to suggest improvements. The 2nd HF mast is down now and the university has agreed to pay for erecting it again when construction is over. Matt will also be involved in that. Tim will be on-site with Matt and his crew on the 22nd.

  7. Roof clean-up: The old HyGain Explorer needs to be disassembled and gotten off the roof. We'll save the mast. Frank is looking into getting that done. I suggest Saturday, Dec 12. The scaffolding also needs to come down. The R-7 can also go up as a temporary 2nd position HF antenna. BTW, the 2nd position is operational again and works very well, CW and SSB using only the 40 EU sloper at the moment. I have pulled in 4 coax lines for antennas that no longer exist and sorted out and labeled the coax runs into the shack.

  8. Construction notes: Several large items loom: A sprinkler system is slated to be installed in the shack. We're still negotiating this point. I don't like the idea. We're working on this. The upstairs ceiling is asbestos. It may have to come out. The construction people are still deciding about this. Our own electrical system may have to be pulled out. However, if it passes code, it will stay. That's the agreement. The construction people have also offered to wire the upstairs room for us. BTW, the partition studs and tarps are up in the upstairs room. We lost 4 feet of the room. We can live with that.

  9. Upstairs: Tim, I and Tim's nephew moved all the stuff out of the path of construction. In the process, much junk was discarded. There's a lot to be done yet on this room. That's the next target area.

  10. Program: Actually, Dave and I discussed this at length yesterday. Yes, we need members. Not just shadow members, but real people. Frank and I also talked about this. This will be an ongoing discussion.

  11. Station Log: When we pass through the station, sign the station log. It is a good way to keep the lines open between us. Sometimes, it's the only way.

  12. Logging: I have installed CT v. 9.37 (latest) with updated country and master.dat files. It can be accessed from the desktop via the DOS icon. The log file is called . Let's wean ourselves from the paper log. I will do some data entry and backdate the log for this calendar year.

  13. Awards: We received a 25 Year ARRL Affiliation certificate. I have this and the original Affiliation award (1973) at the framers. Also I'm having a CQWW award from 1958 with Carter's name on it framed. And we *finally* received our plaque as World High MS in the 1992 YV Contest. Bill and I did that one. It only took 6 years to arrive. It is in the shack now.

  14. CQ shot: Larry Mulvahill from CQ wants to shoot W1AF for a CQ cover. Not bad! I'm working with him to schedule a time when he will come to Cambridge in the spring.

  15. Equipment loans: This has never been our policy. Tim and I discussed this. We understand each other's position on the subject now.

  16. Dues: Dave and I have paid our dues. 25$ for codgers and 10$ for students. The $$ is not the issue here. There is no such thing as a free lunch. All Harvard affiliates who become members should contribute to the cause, annually.

  17. Mail: Still being delivered. The construction people have given us a new box attached near the front entrance.

  18. MIT Flea: Naturally, we'll probably not see any $$ from last season until April or May. GSL keeps putting it to us. Nice to sit around and collect interest on someone else's earnings. We tabled this for later discussion.

    I'm working for GSAS Admissions now. I'll be around the club during my lunch hours, weekdays. Next meeting, Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7:00PM. Hope to see Bill, MaryAnne, Frank, and Nick there. Tim, Dave, and myself will be there. Hopefully we'll be back in gear soon and doing some special things for our 90th anniversary year.

    73,
    Mike, K3UOC

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