Treasurer's Report

From The Presidents Desk

The July 15 reporting date for inclusion in next years ARRL Directory has passed. I will attempt to make entries right up until the publishing deadline, but no promises. If your repeater appears in red in the latest posting to the website, it is delinquent. Only those with reporting dates in 1999 and 2000 are current. I still am sifting through some problems which take a lot of time to resolve. The reason that they take a lot of time is that the trustees take forever to answer simple questions when I send them out. Some never answer at all. This is demoralizing.

At present, the repeater database table shows 616 total records. 137 entries show delinquent TDS reporting dates and about half of them are repeaters. 114 entries carry a last reporting date of 1997 or earlier 48 of those are repeaters.These and more machines have administrative (problem) markers on them in the DB which keeps them from being listed on the website and ARRL Directory. The address table has 425 entries.

One machine has been coordinated during this quarter. About 10 rx links and control freqs have been coordinated. There may be some more repeaters coordinated before the September meeting. I will update at that time. Latest repeater coordination went to K8PLW on 224.620/223.020 in Milford. This was a re-assignment of the KA8BFF coordination that was in Holly.

As you all know, I have spent a lot of time with the database over the past 2 years. I continue to be amazed that people don't keep records of their repeaters and links. Please get a file folder and set up a station file with all the information and correspondence regarding your repeater(s) and links.

It also amazes me that people think we are somehow too stupid to see a developing falsehood in the records. I can tell you right here that the TDS form is well designed and has some hidden traps in it to catch those who would attempt to fool us. There are a number of "red flags" that we look for. No, I won't tell you what they are. I will give you but one small example. We get TDS forms that indicate that the trustee really doesn't know where his machine is located. Every time we get a TDS from him, the coordinates are different. This is a red flag. 90% of the time, when we do some time consuming in depth research, we have found that this condition eventually reveals a "paper" repeater. It does not exist. Repeaters that are seriously delinquent in reporting their status are also prone to be 95% paper repeaters. The numbers and data do not lie. There are many indicators that problems exist and they are not hard to spot with just a bit of experience. Why not be straight up? Why make us chase you down before you reveal the honest and (really) obvious truth? It's a massive waste of time and money. Be honest. It's easier.

For those who gripe about having to fill out a TDS form, a bit of "news"? Unless you have a quadrant level repeater, you only have to file a TDS every TWO years for your repeaters and links. Quadrant machines have to report every year. (BTW, I have never seen a proper report from a quadrant machine. Check the Standards and Procedures.) I have observed a number of TDS "strings" sent where several TDS forms were filled out and sent one after the other. The time differential between reports is 8 to 10 minutes. I totally disagree with the non sequitur proposed by those continual gripers who say they "don't have time" (10 minutes) to fill one out every two years. Seems to me that everyone has the same amount of time alloted in each year of life. Most people send in their reports regularly. Pardon me, but this does not compute. (Maybe it's the head injury I suffered?). The Funny part is.....they always say this in a letter or email that obviously took more than 10 minutes to compose; which always states nothing has changed (wanna bet?RED FLAG!!) about their machine. And...they send us one of these letters every six months just to reinforce their point! Go figure.....

To MARC Board and Members

After a couple months of hard deliberation, I hereby tender my resignation from all MARC offices and positions, effective immediately. I do this for the following reasons:

First: The purpose and intent of the MARC has drifted from what I feel it should be. This is due to the influence of some of the large clubs and associations. These large clubs, with lots of members and money, are gradually and successfully attempting to twist the MARC Bylaws, Standards and Procedures out of context to fit their own private agendas. One group in particular is flooding the membership roster (with people who have no connection with any repeater and no real knowledge of repeater operations and problems) through a loophole in the bylaws that says any licensed amateur can join and have a vote, and they can now easily turn all motions and major changes in the MARC to suit their own special interests.

I fully expect that they will take over the MARC and re-write the ruling documents to their own ends and to the detriment of the majority of small system repeater owners and sponsors. Through requiring high priced and unnecessary spectrum analysis studies and signal propagation studies, they could make it impossible for anyone but the rich, high influence clubs to put up or maintain a repeater. These are the kinds of things they have talked about as being "needed."

These groups are trying to turn the MARC into a politicized, psuedo-professional "business" instead of a well intended, volunteer public service. I feel that the MARC exists to service our hobby by keeping some semblance of order. I do not feel that the high powered business atmosphere being created, complete with threats of lawsuits, is what the MARC was intended to be; namely, a volunteer organizational effort to keep things in reasonable order, keep repeaters from being able to interfere, and protect our frequency spectrum allocations.

Unwarranted personal assaults and threats of legal actions that could potentially damage members of the Board and their families are not constructive, are demoralizing, and they have occurred. This is what we get for trying to follow the bylaws and do our jobs?

Second: The majority of the MARC members do not actively support the MARC by giving us any input that is not self serving, or by attending our meetings. We are constantly subjected to non-supportive actions such as lying on TDS forms about system moves and specifications, not answering questions about systems when we ask, gripes about spending 10 minutes every two years to file a TDS, etc. This is not what I expected when I came on board. I felt that the members were interested in making the whole repeater scene more accurate and effective. They obviously are not. The silent inactivity of the majority is inviting the self serving tyranny of the large club minority.

Third: For the past two months, I have been willing and attempting to re-coordinate a repeater for a big club that was de-coordinated for not following the Standards and Procedures in refusing to properly communicate with us. I have received virtually no input from the other Board members OR the repeater Trustee involved. I need both before I can complete this mess. Some hard-headed reactions from the Board and total non participation on the part of the Trustee make me wonder if either party truly wishes to put the matter to rest. If the MARC Board doesn't want it to end, I want no more to do with them. If the Trustee does not respond, the probable reason is that the big club wants to falsely use it as a campaign issue in the upcoming MARC elections. This is but one example of the kind of stuff that has constantly frustrated me. I have had enough. I am done.

I want this published in the September MARC newsletter. The members have a right to know what is going on and why.

73 to all K5EKP BILL GILBERT

New Coordination___ Reassignment ___ Modify Existing Coordination___ Renewal Update___

1.Check New Coordination for a frequency not currently assigned to you or when requesting an additional link frequency, to change location, ERP, antenna height, or any other operation that will change the technical parameters of the system. Explain the modification desired in the AComments@ area.

SYSTEM STATUS: AWill Be On By@ enter date only if the system has been off-line for some reason. AProposed@ is only for new coordination=s If system is coordinated and on the air use AOperational@.

Please use this as your absentee ballot for the September elections. The office of President, Secretary, and one Director are up for election. Pursuant to our Bylaws and Standards, your dues must be currant 24 hours prior to the date of the election Sunday September 10, 2000. Mail ballot's to MARC PO Box 127 Oscoda, Mi. 48750

Please clearly mark on the exterior of the envelope your call sign and the word's election ballot that will ensure the vote will not be opened prior to the election date.