The CRES amateur radio club held a general membership meeting on April 10, 2007 at the New Albany library. The following members were in attendance: Bill Erwin N9CX, Al Mecozzi WA8LBZ, David Woolf K8RSP, Bob Kenyon K8LJ, Jim Kerr K8KJ, John Lawson W8AGS, Dave Brown K8AX, Mike Rauh W8GT, Tricia Kovacs KC8HIH, David Jeffords K8ON, Brad Spencer KC8VKS, Bob Cartwright W3CRZ, George Kinder KC8DJR, Ed Weston W8REW, Rick Tressler K8SV, George Foy N4DLR, Tom Foy N4HAI, Dan Merrick K8TX, Andy Elliott K8LE, and Rick Taylor N8OAW. After a social hour, the meeting was called to order by president Bill Erwin N9CX at 7PM. Meeting minutes from the previous meeting were accepted, with motion by Al Mecozzi WA8LBZ. Dave Woolf K8RSP presented the financial report, which was $305.77 in cash, $1660.25 in the Telhio savings account and $5651.96 in the Telhio CDs. The financial report was accepted, with motion by John Lawson W8AGS. Dave also reported that the CRES club has 37 members, 25 of whom have paid 2007 dues. Dues may be paid to Rob Stampfli KD8WK. Dave next reported for the repeater committee that he and Art Grandle KD8ZG are aware of the hum problem and are working on it. The tone squelch sometimes is not working because of the hum. They will be adding a filter to alleviate this problem. Dave next reported for the Volunteer Examiner committee that they were holding a test session on Saturday, April 14 at the Parkview United Methodist church. There were 7 Volunteer Examiners scheduled to attend. Bill Erwin reported that the CRES club had won the high score in the 2006 CQ-WE contest and displayed the award certificate which we received. Bill also received tickets to the Athens hamfest to be held on April 29. These tickets were given to John Lawson, who planned to attend. Bob Cartwright W3CRZ requested help with field day, which will be held at Mike Rauh W8GT's house again this year. Tricia Kovacs KC8HIH informed the club that our former field day site behind the Lucent Technologies facility is now a park in the new housing development. The meeting was adjourned at 7:12 PM. After the meeting concluded, door prizes were awarded by Bill Erwin to the following people: Al Mecozzi WA8LBZ - antenna mount David Jeffords K8ON - headset Rick Tressler K8SV - power adapter Andy Eliot K8LE - surge station and noise filter Bob Kenyon K8LJ - RS232 cable George Foy N4DLR - multi phone recording control George Kinder KC8DJR - multi meter Following the meeting, Rick Tressler K8SV gave an interesting presentation entitled "Batteries and the Radio Amateur". Rick was introduced by Dave Brown K8AX. Rick is the Training and Education Manager at Alber. His presentation will be posted on the CRES club website. Rick spoke about lead-acid batteries, both Flooded and Valve Regulated (VRLA) types. He explained electrolytes, hydrometers/refractometers, and how batteries work. He showed examples of plates, a flame arrestor and a valve pressure vent. He explained that the common battery for ham radio use is the VRLA AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) type. He gave us some practical advice on battery use, including proper charging, storage considerations, storage & temperature effects on service life, and battery safety. Rick presented examples of determining the proper battery size and load cable size, and explained how to read battery data sheets. Other topics included amp hour capacity, load cable voltage drop and charger sizing. Regarding battery safety, Rick discussed electrolyte dangers, use of safety glasses and gloves, insulated tools, torque wrench for proper cable attachment, First Aid and the need to follow manufacturers instructions. Due to time constraints, Rick will be presenting a second talk to cover the topic of other battery types (nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries). We were very impressed with Rick's knowledge of the subject and look forward to his next presentation. Meeting notes submitted by Tricia Kovacs KC8HIH