2025-12-30 Net Minutes

Check-ins (27)

David Bailey (K5DKB)

excused

Tom Johnson (KI5ZPG)

Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)

Minutes will be sent out after the net.
Reminder: next meeting will be at
- Cooper’s Old Time BBQ, off Hwy 6 [Google Maps]
- 2026-01-17 11:00
- N5ZKF: be mindful of construction: closed exits and reduced speed limit (60 mph)

Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)

81 members
Bank balance: $13,144.75
Next license exam is 2026-01-25 during Winter Field Day
- Anyone taking the Technician exam must have their FCC Registration Number (FRN)
Many have already paid their dues for 2026
- Online at https://hamclubonline.com
- Can also be done in-person at Cooper’s
Next Winter Field Day committee Zoom meeting is 2026-01-07 18:30

Question #256 for conversation: 2025 Year in Review: what do you look back on fondly this year?

(If interested in submitting a weekly question, email n5zkf@arrl.net)

It’s going to be cold tonight: low of 31°F
Highlight of the year: getting Brazos County ARES (N5BRZ) set up as non-profit
- W5XMR: I’ll be in touch regarding what you need

Interested in getting into WIRES-X and C4FM a bit more
Does anyone have an old mobile Yaesu C4FM-capable radio, I’d be willing to make an offer
Good on QRZ

I have a 3x2 dual-band (2 m / 70 cm) Yagi
Do I need lightning protection on a Yagi that’s close to / under a barn?
N5ZKF:
- ARRL has info on “grounding and bonding” on their website: https://arrl.org
- My advice: add that arrestor just to be safe
- Ground at the same point as HF antenna
Arrestors are expensive; might just unplug during stormy weather

Need some help: I attempted to install Zorin Linux, and it redid the partition table
- There are several partitions that I don’t recognize
KG5LYE: assuming GUID Partition Table (GPT)…
- Windows has several partitions, and I’m not too familiar with all of these:
  - ESP boot partition - NTFS or FAT32
  - Recovery - NTFS
  - C: drive - NTFS
  - (Optional) “Dev Drive” - ReFS
- While booted into Linux, you can see other partitions and their mountpoints (Note that these will show as “unallocated” to Windows):
  - /boot/efi (or maybe just /boot) - FAT32
  - (optional) separate /boot - ext4
  - Root filesystem / - ext4 or dm-crypt if encrypted
- Any other unused partitions can probably be deleted, but be very careful when doing so!