The meeting was held at Ken’s office/lab in Stittsville.

This meeting was rescheduled from March 1 because of nasty weather.

The following were present:

Name Call Sign Position MH Grid
Doug Leach VE3XK   FN15ws
Tom Zinck VA3NFA President FN25bh
Rick Bandla VE3CVG V.P. / Webmaster FN25hm
Harold Hamilton VA3UNK   FN25dg
John Christensen VE3IAO   FN25xi
Tim Evangelatos VE3MY   FN25bh
Ken Asmus VA3KA Treasurer FN15wg
Rene Kahle VA3XK   FN15xl
Frank Kahle VA3ZK   FN25ad
Graham Ide VE3BYT Secretary FN25ch

The club executive had a short meeting before the regular meeting to cover a few items. It was decided that the minutes of meetings should be available publicly so other amateurs can know what is happening in the club. Rick, VE3CVG, will make the changes to the club web site.

Ken, VA3KA, gave a financial report. Details are available in the Members Only Section on the web site. Ken is still collecting information on members in preparation for the RAC insurance plan. The club will determine how to deal with the situation of club family members who are not members of RAC.

Doug, VE3XK, indicated that the policy on the RAC insurance is not quite finalized for publication.

Ken will be in VE8land in April and expects to be on the air.

Rick, VE3CVG, said that there had been over 400 unique hits on the WCARC web site.

There were a few ‘show and tell’ objects brought to the meeting.

  • Doug, VE3XK, showed the very neat power attenuator and 1-500 MHz power meter he had built from Kanga parts kits. These are built in die-cast boxes. They are based on the article on RF measurement in QST of June, 2001.
  • Rick brought some examples of ‘simple cheap yagis’ with the hairpin match, built for 903 and 432 MHz, using gray rigid PVC conduit for the booms.
  • Tom, VA3NFA, showed some halo antennas for 222 and 432 MHz, and a clever folding copper J-Pole for 2 meters. Bungee cord inside the antenna permits it to be folded for storage in a vehicle, saving your passenger from being poked in the ear with it. Tom is now known as ‘The Copper Guy’.
  • Graham, VE3BYT, showed a small submersible sump/bilge/aquarium pump that might be suitable for water-cooling a 2C39A/3CX100A5 tube amplifier for VHF or UHF or, we could take up tropical fish. The pump’s effectiveness will be tested for tube cooling and garden pond cleanout purposes. Graham also showed a number of LASERs that could be used for communication. The one from Sears is a convenient design because the battery contacts are easily accessible (for modulation, on-off keying, and so on).

Rick gave a rundown on the 902 MHz band Transverter project. Seven of the members and another local amateur (Bryan, VE3ZRK) are participating in the purchase of Transverter kits from Down East Microwave Inc. These will all have an IF of 144 MHz, and approximately 10 watts output on the 902 MHz band.

There was some discussion about antennas for the 902 MHz band. Most will be using one or more yagis. Graham said he is working on the mechanical design of a Pi or other network to match to 50 ohms the paralleled feeds from a number of antennas.

Rick also reported on the Beacons project. Ken has donated a 222 MHz handheld to the beacon, and Rick has offered one for the 430 band as well. When these are operational and installed, the WCARC will have beacons on three bands - 222, 430 and 902 MHz. It is likely that the 222 MHz and 430 MHz beacons will be installed initially at Manfred’s QTH, VA3WK, near Franktown, and the 903.370 beacon might join them there. Rick has programmed a controller/identifier for CW ID, and this could be used to key all three beacons at once.

Tom has abandoned the organization of a club Field Day effort in view of the limited response from members in support of it. Tom plans to mount a Rover expedition for the June VHF/UHF contest, and will have equipment for a number of VHF and UHF bands.

Tom is asking for interest in the Diefenbunker Museum Tour on March 19 at 11:00 AM. So far 5 people are committed. Members can bring a guest. Tom indicated that if more people do not sign up for the tour, it may be recanvassed at a later date.

Rick and Tom will have a table at the Iroquois Flea Market in early April.

Ken’s lab will not be available for the April meeting. It may be possible to hold this meeting at Barney’s QTH (VA3BGB) in Kanata. Frank, VA3ZK, has offered his QTH, near the intersection of Fallowfield and Dwyer Hill Roads.

The meeting adjourned around 9:30.

Graham Ide VE3BYT
Secretary.