Minutes of the Meeting on May 1, 2008
The meeting was held in the Kanata room at Sobey's in Kanata.
The following members and guests were present:
| Name | Call Sign | Position | MH Grid | RAC | WCARC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Penney | VO1NO/VE3 | President | FN24cw | Yes | Yes |
| Doug Leach | VE3XK | Vice President | FN15wg | Yes | Yes |
| Ken Asmus | VA3KA | Treasurer | FN15wg | Yes | Yes |
| Barney Baker | VA3BGB | Secretary | FN25ai | Yes | Yes |
| Barrie Crampton | VE3BSB | Guest Speaker | FN14 | Yes | |
| Dean Denter | VA3CDD | FN15wl | Yes | Yes | |
| Harold Hamilton | VA3UNK | FN25 | Yes | Yes | |
| John Christensen | VE3IAO | FN15 | Yes | Yes | |
| David Conn | VE3KL | FN25bh | Yes | ||
| Graham Ide | VE3BYT | FN25ch | Yes | Yes | |
| Andy Hart | VE3NVK | FN25bh | Yes | Yes | |
| Valentin Doroga | VA3WO | FN25 | ? | ? |
Al, VO1NO/VE3, called the meeting to order at 19:30 hrs.
Doug, VE3XK, Vice President had no report. Ken, VA3KA, Treasurer, had no report. Barney, VA3BGB, Secretary, motioned that the minutes of the 1 April meeting be accepted as published. Graham VE3BYT seconded the motion and the motion was passed.
Beacon Report
Doug, VE3XK reported on the beacon project providing a powerpoint briefing and responding to numerous questions. Doug will provide the powerpoint briefing to Rick, VE3CVG for inclusion on the WCARC website.
June Expedition 14 to 16th June
Al, VO1NO/VE3 described the plan for this DXpedition near Grafton. He surveyed those interested. Discussion ensued with 4 members showing interest and agreeing to hold the 4 grid intersection near Franktown as a backup location
Balloon Project
Graham, VE3BYT provided a brief background on the balloon project coordinated by Barrie Crampton, VE3BSB.
D-STAR
Ken, VA3KA mentioned that the generation 2 of the D-STAR operating software had been received and was being implemented.
Events
Al, VO1NO/VE3 informed the meeting of a number of contests and flea markets that will be occurring in the near future.
Al made note that the scheduled meeting date in July would fall on the Canada day holiday and therefore the July meeting date would be the second Tuesday of the month, the 8th of July for this occasion only.
New Business
Al, VE1NO/VE3, received an e-mail requesting the clubs interest in providing a amateur radio display at the Carp Fair. Discussion by all present showed that after many attempts using this concept the benefits were zero. Barrie Crampton, VE3BSB recommended that the appropriate agency recognize the acquisition of a Amateur radio license as fulfilling the requirements of the high school volunteer hours as they should be considered to be a public service.
Barney, VA3BGB questioned what repeater should be considered the standard for use by club members. Discussion resulted in the selection of VE2CRA on 433.3MHz. This would be an interim solution until a project could be undertaken to relocate the repeater donated by Manfred to the club, to a location which would serve the appropriate area. It was agreed that this would be a significant project.
Constitution
Al, VE1NO/VE3 deferred this discussion to a later time due to the late hour and a guest speaker.
Special Presentation
Al, VE1NO/VE3 introduced Barrie Crampton, VE3BSB who provide an in depth briefing on the latest balloon launch, it's problems and it's overall mission as viewed by the students who are conducting the project. Barrie requested all members to suggest any ideas which would improve the project. He also requested any suggestions which would overcome the data gaps which occurred as well as any improvements in telemetry of additional data. Ken, VA3KA and Graham, VE3BYT offered to participate in that effort. Graham will co-ordinate the WCARC involvement.
Thank you Barrie for a very interesting briefing, and showing how young people can become involved in amateur radio through a fun project.
Adjournment
Dean, VA3CDD motioned that the meeting be adjourned, motioned passed.
Barney Baker - VA3BGB
Secretary.