The meeting was held in the Kanata room at Sobey's in Kanata.

The following members were present:

NameCall SignPositionMH GridRACWCARC
Al PenneyVO1NO/VE3PresidentFN24cw?Yes
Doug LeachVE3XKVice PresidentFN15wgYesYes
Ken AsmusVA3KATreasurerFN15wgYesYes
Barney BakerVA3BGBSecretaryFN25aiYesYes
Tom BartelloVE3ELMFN15wgYesYes
Bill BrownW4TAA/VE3FN15veYes
Brad SmithVE3BSMFN24cwYesYes
Richard HagemeyerVE3UNWFN25diYesYes
Graham IdeVE3BYTFN25chYesYes
Shelley Jones PenneyVE1NOS/VE3GuestFN24cw?

Al, VO1NO/VE3, wished all present a happy new year and requested everyone to introduce themselves.

Ken, VA3KA, provided the treasurers report and reported that membership fees were again due for the new year.

Graham, VE3BYT moved that the minutes of the December meeting be accepted as posted on the website. Seconded by Ken VA3KA, the members voted their approval.

Ken, VA3KA reported on the status of The D-STAR sytem, that it is now linked to Europe, that multicasting is now available and that new gateway software releases expected soon will ease certain D-STAR constraints including the use of a variable IP address.

Ken also mentioned that a Japanese Ham had created a dongle to interface a transceiver to D-STAR which provide a number of D-STAR features.

Al, VO1NO/VE3, described the location that Doug VE3XK had found for use in the June 2008 VHF contest. His request of who would want to participate resulted in several members responding with interest.

Graham, VE3BYT, reported on a balloon project. Discussion resulted in the recommendation that this topic be brought forward in the early spring and Graham said he would take that action.

Al,VO1NO/VE3, described a number of contests which will occur from January to May of 2008 and a number of ham radio markets that will occur.

Propagation Beacon Briefing

Doug, VE3XK, provided the briefing which covered approximately 1.75 hours generating much discussion. The briefing will be provided to Rick, VE3CVG, for inclusion onto the WCARC website.

Upon completion of the discussion to the satisfaction of the members the following motions were made:

  1. Doug, VE3XK, motioned that the WCARC beacon program objective should read: To provide a weak signal propagation beacon on each VHF, UHF and SHF band of club interest, located for maximum user benefit to both local and distant radio amateurs. Seconded by Graham, VE3BYT, the members present voted to approve the motion.
  2. Doug, VE3XK, motioned to accept W4TAA/VE3 offer of a 6M beacon with a budget of $100.00 to obtain a suitable antenna. Seconded by Brad, VE3BSM, the members present approved the motion.
  3. Doug, VE3XK, motioned for approval of phase one of this three year project to cover the cost of the purchase of hardware to create a 70cm beacon with a budget not to exceed $1200.00. Seconded by Graham, VE3BYT, the members present approved this motion.

Following discussions concluded that equipment belonging to Tom, VA3NFA, be returned to him for his action.

Upon completion of discussion the meeting was adjourned at 22:10 Hours.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

Barney Baker VA3BGB
Secretary.

The minutes were amended on Feb. 5, 2008 as follows: Doug, VE3XK, motioned for approval of phase one of this three year project to cover the cost of the purchase of hardware. The project would begin with the creation of a 70cm beacon with a budget not to exceed $1200.00. Seconded by Graham, VE3BYT. The members present approved this motion. Barney Baker VA3BGB (Secretary)