The meeting was held in the Kanata Room at Sobey's on Terry Fox Drive in Kanata.

The following members were present:

NameCall SignPositionMH GridRACWCARC
Doug LeachVE3XKVice PresidentFN15wgYesYes
Ken AsmusVA3KATreasurerFN15wgYesYes
Barney BakerVA3BGBSecretaryFN25aiYesYes
Graham IdeVE3BYTFN25chYesYes
Rick BandlaVE3CVGFN25hmYesYes
Andy HartVE3NVKFN25bhYesYes
Dean DenterVA3CDDFN15wlYesYes
Tom ZinckVA3NFAFN25bhYesYes
Harold HamiltonVA3UNKFN25YesYes
Manfred KahleVA3WKFN25YesYes
David ConnVE3KLFN25YesYes
Bill BrownW4TAA/VE3FN15veYes
Tom BartelloVE3ELMFN15wgYesYes
Bertrand ZauharVE2ZAZFN25Yes
Dale HennigarVE3XZTFN15YesYes
Peter PfisterVE3SNUYes
Glenn MacDonellVE3XRAFN25YesYes

In the absence of President Al VO1NO, Vice President Doug VE3XK called the meeting to order at 19h40 and requested guests, then all members to introduce themselves.

Doug then circulated the proposed agenda and asked for any additions or deletions - of which there were none.

Reports

Al VO1NO/VE3 provided a written Annual Presidents Report, which Doug circulated. Doug reviewed each item with the members. He requested that the report be placed on the website. Rick VE3CVG agreed that he would place it in the historical section.

Treasurer Ken VA3KA reported that the bank balance was $459.00. An additional $300.00 in member's dues was received during this meeting. Ken mentioned that he will provide a year end report at the next meeting. He is pursuing a change of banks to escape the $4/mo service charges presently charged by Royal Bank on chequing accounts. He has found that most banks have adopted similar charges. The PC bank service does not provide chequing. Bank of Montreal (BMO) provides a Community Account with a moderate per-cheque charge, and our account will probably be moved to the local BMO branch at Signature Centre, Kanata

Secretary Barney VA3BGB moved that the minutes of the November 4, 2008 meeting be accepted as published. Rick VE3CVG seconded the motion - it was passed.

Rick mentioned that the corrected minutes for the October 7, 2008 meeting had not been approved. Barney asked that the members review those minutes for approval at the next meeting.

Doug VE3XK suggested that the minutes be reviewed initially by the executive, prior to submission to the webmaster for publishing on the website. He also suggested that the small WCARC logo should be added to the top of subsequent minutes.

Webmaster

Webmaster Rick VE3CVG stated that the web site is operational and all submissions have been posted. He is continuing his efforts toward the transfer of the club's website domain name from Rene VA3XK, to himself. Rick is working with Manfred to accomplish this transfer.

Repeaters

Repeater Committee Chair Dale VE3XZT mentioned that work on the repeaters is now completed. A new CW identification chip, programmed with the club callsign VE3WCC/R, has been installed in the 2M repeater and the repeater tested OK. The repeater will be re-installed this week at the Franktown tower site by Phil VE3CIQ. The 70CM repeater is working well. It identifies properly in voice which originates remotely in the IRLP Node. That IRLP Node computer system is being relocated back to the new home of John VE3IAO, in Almonte. Unfortunately, due to network problems, the IRLP function has been working only outbound since June. This was when the system was moved from John's previous home in Carp, to the home of Steve Mayne VE3LWX, near Franktown. John's new high-speed service should return the IRLP function to normal.

Our recent work on the repeaters and IRLP Node has resulted in complete documentation, instruction manuals on all systems, and an upcoming PowerPoint presentation in the new year.

D-STAR

Rick VE3CVG reported that the recent software update for the gateway was installed and is working fine with 23 users registered. Manfred VA3WK mentioned that there is a new kit available to attach to an existing radio to enable operation on D-STAR. Rick mentioned that D-STAR is growing across Canada, but is slower in growth than expected in Ottawa.

Old Business

Balloon Project

Balloon Project Chair Graham VE3BYT corrected some minor errors in the references to the project in the President's Report. The recent Perth balloon altitude record attempt was made by the Parents' Association of the Perth Montessori School. The communications were provided by the North Lanark ARES Club. For our own balloon launch planned for April, the focus will be on instrumentation and telemetry. Dale VE3XZT has acquired an ATV transmitter and a GPS suitable for flight. Wayne VE3CZO has agreed to provide a broadcast of the ATV video on the VE3ATV television repeater. Graham described the flight path of the Perth launch and pointed out that we would not be focusing on altitude or distance, but rather on the measurements and real-time TV pictures. The budget has not yet been determined, but will require the purchase of the balloon and the helium required for the flight.

Beacon Report

Beacon Project Chair Doug VE3XK described the accident during the erection of the beacon antennas. The upper strut got loose in the U-bolt and the antenna mast rotated, bringing the array down into a soft landing in a pile of snow. The only damage to the antenna array was a failed U-bolt and a failed coupling between the 10 ft. mast sections. Upon testing of the contents of the enclosure before re-erection, Doug discovered that the MFJ-4115 power supply was inoperable. All other contents tested OK on the bench.

Since that power supply was Doug's personal unit and not intended as a permanent part of the beacon project, it was decided that a suitable power supply be acquired and installed. An Astron SS-18 power supply was ordered for delivery in two days. As with other equipment in the enclosure the SS-18 is designed for -10° C to 50° C operation and has a thermally controlled fan which does not run most of the time.

The array should be re-mounted on the tower this week and the enclosure mounted two or three days later, after testing under normal load.

Election

With no candidates for Vice President and Treasurer, both incumbents were willing to serve another two-year term. The members present voted their approval by applause.

Adjournment

Dale VE3XZT moved that the meeting be adjourned.

Christmas Party

The Christmas Party followed, with door prizes and refreshments provided by the club.

Barney Baker - VA3BGB
Secretary