Minutes of the Meeting on March 03, 2009
The meeting was held in the Kanata Room in Sobey's, at the SW corner of Hazeldean and Terry Fox Drive in Kanata.
The following people were present:
Name | Call Sign | Position | MH Grid | RAC | WCARC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barney Baker | VA3BGB | Secretary | FN25ai | Yes | Yes |
Bernie Madore | VA3BMZ | Guest | FN15vz | Yes | |
Peter Jago | VA3PJ | Member | FN25 | Yes | Yes |
Stan Madore | VA3SMM | Guest | FN15vz | Yes | |
Manfred Kahle | VA3WK | Member | FN25 | Yes | Yes |
Valentin Doroga | VA3WO | Guest | FN25ci | Yes | |
Bert Zauhar | VE2ZAZ | Member | FN25 | Yes | |
Graham Ide | VE3BYT | Member | FN25ch | Yes | Yes |
Rick Bandla | VE3CVG | Webmaster | FN25hm | Yes | Yes |
John Christensen | VE3IAO | Member | FN15xi | Yes | Yes |
Andy Hart | VE3NVK | Member | FN25bh | Yes | Yes |
Travis Hein | VE3THZ | Member | FN15 | Yes | Yes |
Doug Leach | VE3XK | Vice President | FN15wg | Yes | Yes |
Dale Hennigar | VE3XZT | Director | FN15 | Yes | Yes |
Al Penney | VO1NO | President | FN24cw | Yes | Yes |
Opening:
The meeting was opened by President Al Penney(VO1NO) at 19:30 hours.
President Al VO1NO welcomed everyone and we introduced ourselves around the table.
Al VO1NO advised us that Ken VA3KA would be absent since he was heading up to Resolute for 3 weeks on the following morning.
Secretary's Report:
Secretary Barney Baker(VA3BGB) introduced the minutes of the previous meeting. Moved by Rick Bandla(VE3CVG) that the previous minutes as published on the web pages be approved. Seconded by Bernie Madore (VA3BMZ).
Motion approved.
Old Business:
Vote On Financial Matter - announced last meeting
Al indicated that since we were not sure how much cash was in the bank, we would defer the vote on a re-imbursement over $400 ($439.32) until the Treasurer returns.
Plaque Presented to Manfred VA3WK
President Al VO1NO presented Manfred Kahle VA3WK with a plaque recognizing his generous donations of two repeater systems and IRLP node to WCARC. See the Repeaters tab for more information on the repeaters.
New Business:
There was no New Business.
Reports:
Beacons
Doug VE3XK gave us an update on the beacons. An excellent insert was published in CQ Magazine about the WCARC beacons. We will explore obtaining permission to publish an image of the article on our website.
June Grid Expedition
Al VO1NO gave us an update on the coming Grid Expedition (repeat of last year).
Balloon Project
Graham VE3BYT reported that the Balloon Launch was deferred due to a lack of participants.
Web Master
Rick VE3CVG indicated that we had received a complimentary email about our web site from Hugh VE3AYR, publisher of the Ontario Repeater Directory.
D-STAR
Rick VE3CVG indicated that Alan VA3STL and a few other D-STAR users have been experimenting with D-RATS which has a D-STAR slow data to internet gateway.
Upcoming Events
Al informed the meeting of numerous upcoming radio contests and flea markets. See the Events tab on this website for several interesting items.
Presentation(s)/Activity:
Repeaters
Doug VE3XK gave us a comprehensive presentation on the WCARC repeaters and site. He described the recent work done by Dale VE3XZT, Phil VE3CIQ, John VE3IAO, Sean VE3HXP, Manfred VA3WK and himself. See Presentation tab on web site.
Portable Server
Rick gave a talk and demo on his Portable Web Server with wi-fi access point (AP). Several attendees had their laptop computers, netbooks and a Blackberry. All connected to the server and were able to browse the club web site. See Presentation tab on web site.
WCARC Minutes Generator
Rick gave a talk and demo on his WCARC Minutes Generator Project. The Generator program was spec'd by Rick. His friend Bob Chambers developed and coded the actual program. Barney and Rick input all the data from today's meeting but the program crashed. The data was recovered without a problem. Note: The fault was corrected the next day and these minutes were generated using the program. See Presentation tab on web site.
Adjournment:
The President Al Penney(VO1NO) Stated that there being no further business, the meeting would be adjourned. The meeting was closed at 22:00 hours.