MARCO Grand Rounds for July 5, 2009

From Warren, KD4GUA:

This coming Sunday I will be in Washington D.C. to visit my daughter and family.

Harry WB9EDP has graciously accepted the net controller for that date. If Harry (and Ellen) can do as good a job as they did for the recent annual convention, next Sunday should be a winner!

Note: I do need actual photos to scan of the convention for Aether...the emailed ones are not so clear. Looking for those that should copy well. Since I won't be back until July 9th it would be helpful if Bruce could send the "Lood Backs" and if anyone else wants a want ad or technical paper printed please send soon. Have fun.

MARCO Grand Rounds for June 28, 2009

From Warren:

This Sunday we will discuss "Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy." This is a new (FDA approved 2002) treatment that can relieve congestive heart failure symptoms by improving the coordination of the heart's contractions. Hundreds of thousands of Americans with mild heart failure could be candidates for the devices.

The condition, in which the heart beats out of sync and pumps blood inefficiently, is common after a heart attack and other conditions.

A "CRT-D" is a kind of fancy pacemaker which connects wires to both ventricles. A doctor friend has had one for three years and is in active practice and feels great. Educational, tune in ((U-may need 1 some day!).

[Blogmeister's note: This weekend is Field Day - expect QRM!!]

MARCO Grand Rounds for June 21, 2009

From Warren, KD4GUA:

This Sunday at 14.307 MHz, 10 am Eastern we will answer questions concerning the Chicago meeting. We will then finish the discussion on "Vitamins," and time permitting will turn to the new 64-slice cardiovascular scanner which will probably replace both angiography and stress testing in the near future.

Tune in, should be fun.

MARCO 2009 Annual Meeting Report

MARCO's annual meeting took place in Chicago from June 12^th to June 14^th. Thanks to the efforts of Harry “Top Quark” Przekop and Ellen “Gluon” Przekop, the gathering was a complete success.

Several members gathered for dinner at Lawry's Restaurant on Thursday June 11^th. Unfortunately, your humble scribe had to work that day, and so was still enplaned and circling somewhere over Indiana when steaks were served. By all reports, it was a warm gathering and a great meal.

The annual business meeting took place on Friday morning at Harry and Ellen's home, located about ½ mile from our headquarters hotel, the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza.. Theirs is a very interesting place, a converted shrimp warehouse. It is part dwelling, part museum, part music studio, and part ham shack.

Minutes of the meeting are posted separately.

From Chez Przekop, we piled into several vehicles for the drive out to Fermilab. Harry formerly worked there, and was warmly greeted by old friends. Fermilab staffer Kermit Carlson (W9XA) and docent Lynda Ballingall took us on a 3-hour, take-no-prisoners tour of the facility. We saw plenty of hardware, including the 750,000 volt Cockroft-Walton accelerator and the various stages of the high-energy linear accelerator. More than one of us mused about firing up those 5 megawatt amplifier tubes on Field Day! We also learned about the construction and operation of the proton storage and collider rings as well as some of the medical applications of neutron beam therapy employed at the Lab. Lynda “B” also delivered an informal talk on the search for and classification of subatomic particles, the history of the site and the Lab's first Director, Robert R. Wilson. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any “techie.”

Any dinner plans effectively blown by our late return to Chicago, the group went its separate ways in the evening.

Saturday's schedule allowed some time to sleep in, and most people took advantage. I spent a little while exploring the massive Merchandise Mart adjacent to the hotel.

At 10 AM about 15 of us departed for the Museum of Science and Industry. There, we toured the U-505 exhibit. This is the only WWII German submarine in the United States. We learned of what living and working conditions were like for those who sailed on this vessel. We also learned the story of the daring capture of the U-505 by a team under the command of Chicago native Dan Gallery. From there, we were free to explore the rest of the museum. Some did, and others didn't. I did for a while, and then enjoyed the nice weather by taking a long walk along the Lake Shore. I also dropped in at the Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park.

Mirabell was the setting for the MARCO banquet on Saturday evening. This authentic German restaurant served wonderful German beer, food and atmosphere. Our speaker was Chief Joseph Roccosalva of the Chicago Fire Department. Despite having just come off an extended tour of duty including twelve hours spent helping prevent a woman from jumping from a 25^th floor balcony, the Chief delivered an informative and interesting talk. We learned several useful tips for minimizing the risk of injury or death during a fire, and we each were given smoke detectors to take home and install. (I got mine through the TSA security check. Did you?) The Chief's personal reminiscences about his firefighting career were quite entertaining.

I didn't make a list of those in attendance, and so apologize in advance for anyone who might be inadvertently omitted from the roster of attendees. Those whom I remember are: Harry WB9EDP, Ellen KC9ARN, Lou WA1HGE, Danny W4DAN, Caroline Centers, Arnold WB6OJB, Joan Kalan, Warren KD4GUA, Linda KE5BQK, Bernie KD5QHV, Linda and Bernie's friend Iliana, Mary AE4BX, Bill WA9HIR, Marilyn N9PXI (Bill's XYL), Chip N5RTF, Terry Keister, Paul N6DMV, Elsa Lukas, Stuart WA9ZPL, Bill W9ZCL, Michaline KC9ARP and yours truly, Bruce KM2L. We missed Jili BD2CM, who participated in the business meeting and helped transport participants around Chicago. Unfortunately, he had another engagement and could not attend the banquet.

KD4GUA won the boobie for worst travel arrangements, as his return flight to Tampa departed at 5:30 Sunday morning. The rest of us followed at a safe distance.

As always, it was over much too quickly, and we can't wait to get back together. Mark your calendars for Dayton Hamvention, May 13^th to May 16^th, 2010.

Minutes of 2009 Annual Meeting

Minutes of the 2009 Medical Amateur Radio Council Annual Meeting

The 2009 MARCO Annual Meeting took place on June 12, 2009 at 950 West Lake Street, Chicago, IL. In attendance were Harry Przekop WB9EDP (President), Ellen Przekop KC9ARN, Danny Centers W4DAN (Secretary), Lou Wiederhold WA1HGE (Treasurer), Warren Brown KD4GUA (Newsletter Editor/Net Control), Arnold Kalan WB6OJB (MediShare Chair), Linda Krasowski KE5BQK (President-Elect), Chip Keister N5RTF, Paul Lukas N6DMV, Mary Favaro AE4BX, Bernie Krasowski KD5QHV, Bill Hargadon WA9HIR, Sun Jili BD2CM, and Bruce Small KM2L.

The meeting was called to order at 8:45 AM CDT by WB9EDP, who announced that June 13, 2009 had been declared MARCO Day in the city of Chicago.

An invocation was provided by WA9HIR.

WB6OJB read the minutes of the 2008 meeting, and they were approved with minor corrections.

WA1HGE presented the Treasurer's Report. Comparing calendar year 2007 with 2008, cash inflows were down $3007.01 and outflows were up $6102.26. There was a large one-time expenditure for the MediShare Sri Lanka project. Also, substantial dues payments have been received since the first of the year. Administrative expenses for 2008 were below those of 2007. As of June 9, 2009, our assets were $11, 638.45 and liabilities were zero.
The Treasurer's Report was approved.

W4DAN presented the Secretary's Report. Most of the discussion dealt with promoting the organization and prompting existing members to pay their dues in timely fashion.
Our advertisement in QST has not been very productive, but it was felt to be necessary. We should explore means of obtaining free publicity in QST and CQ. WB9EDP suggested creating the print equivalent of sound bites, that is, short, interesting bits of information about MARCO, its people and activities. When these have been submitted in the past, they have usually been ignored. WB9EDP thought that tie-ins with FEMA or Homeland Security might be more likely to be picked up. He will try to use his connections with people in ARRL to further this cause.
N5RTF suggested that we write up a piece for eHam.net and inquire about placing an ad on their Web site.
N5RTF also inquired as to whether MARCO could accept dues payments through PayPal. W4DAN indicated that he has received inquiries about this and also credit card payment of dues. The advantages of PayPal are that it facilitates “impulse” shopping, cuts several steps out of the process of joining or renewing membership, and saves postage. The disadvantages are cost to MARCO and possible additional administrative overhead. After some discussion, the details of information flow between Secretary and Treasurer were clarified, and it was decided to explore the feasibility of setting up PayPal.
MARCO currently has 48 lapsed members still receiving the newsletter. This is a typical figure. The membership expiration date is printed on the mailing label, but some people do not look for it. KD4GUA has been stamping “Courtesy Copy” on the newsletters mailed to lapsed members. It was suggested that the stamp be changed to something less subtle, such as “You Membership Has Expired.”
The Treasurer's Report was approved.

KD4GUA presented a Newsletter Editor's report. Each copy of the newsletter costs $0.92 to produce and mail.
Warren has deliberately planted typographical errors in the paper and invited readers to report them to him. He found a suitable trophy and will present it to the reader who has detected the most errors, Louis Lyell WA5MYK.
N5RTF will provide the proper url for downloading the Grand Rounds audio.

WB6OJB presented the MediShare report. Several substantial donations have been received, including those from WB9EDP/KC9ARN and Gene and Judy Hoenig N3HG/N3MBW. Additional donations are encouraged.
MARCO stickers were passed out to those in attendance.
MediShare has received a few proposals for funding, but none meet our criteria, so there are currently no active projects.

KM2L presented the Internet Committee report. The Web site was migrated to Godaddy.com in September 2008. The email list moved from University at Buffalo to Google Groups, and after a few initial problems has been working smoothly.
WB9EDP commented that some of the members' links on the Web site are stale. He also mentioned that a few of his coworkers have listened to the streaming audio of Grand Rounds and have been inspired to obtain their amateur radio licenses.
It is desirable to make audio of Grand Rounds available as podcasts. N5RTF will work on this.
N5RTF also reminded the group that we have the ability to provide email aliases for all members in the form of XXX@marco-ltd.org.
WA1HGE has not received a bill from Godaddy.com. AA4FL set up this account, and will be invited to submit a request for reimbursement.

KM2L presented a brief report on Dayton Hamvention. The booth was busy. In addition to current members, we met several prospective members and a few former members who promised to rejoin. N6DMV's Dr. Pepper satellite model drew by far the most interest at the booth. Although KM2L spent very little and went home virtually empty-handed, the same cannot be said for N5RTF or N3IM.

New Business:

Bob Nevins KF1J has asked to step down as the 1st call area Director. Ted Figlock W1HGY will be asked to serve.

Duane Wyatt has informally requested assistance from MARCO for his efforts to produce compact short wave listening stations for placement in children's health care facilities. While we believe that the idea is a good one, it is not relevant to the mission or purpose of MARCO.

N5RTF proposed that the organization consider purchasing a 1.5KW amplifier for use by the Grand Rounds Net Control station. The consensus was that the idea had merit. WA1HGE suggested that the choice be determined by a committee. WB9EDP offered to discuss our need with Ray Novak, a personal contact at Icom. W4TAD (SK) was KD4GUA's neighbor, and had an Alpha amplifier. Warren will in quire about its availability.

BD2CM was asked to say a few words about himself. Jili is a surgeon from northeastern China, where he founded a small hospital. He is currently living in Chicago while pursuing an MBA degree at University of Illinois – Chicago.

WB9EDP raised the possibility of MARCO staging a special operating event for publicity purposes. We could use WB5D as a call sign.

KD5QHV recommended that we use every opportunity for 1:1 personal contact with ARRL staff, whether at Dayton or visiting League headquarters.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 AM CDT.

MARCO Grand Rounds for June 7, 2009

From Warren, KD4GUA:

I think most of us have had it concerning medicine's future since next week Congress will decide, so we will finish that and then go on to more medical discussions of "Update on Vitamins." A lot of changes going on, especially with Vit. E., Folic Acid and D.