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:

NameCall SignPositionMH GridRACWCARC
Dean DenterVA3CDDMemberFN15wlYesYes
Ken AsmusVA3KATreasurerFN15wgYesYes
John ChristensenVE3IAOGuestFN15YesYes
Greg SpeakmanVA3OMPMemberFN25YesYes
Bert ZauharVE2ZAZDirectorFN25bkYesYes
Clare FowlerVE3NPCMemberFN25djYesYes
Glenn MacDonellVE3XRASecretaryFN15djYesYes
Al PenneyVO1NOPresidentFN24cwYesYes


Opening:
The meeting was opened by President Al Penney (VO1NO) at 19:30 hours.
The President welcomed one guest, John Christensen (VE3IAO).


Secretary's Report:
Secretary Glenn MacDonell (VE3XRA) introduced the minutes of the previous meeting that had been posted on the club website before the meeting . Moved by VE3XRA-Glenn MacDonell that the previous minutes as published on the web pages be approved. Seconded by Greg Speakman (VA3OMP).
Motion approved.


Treasurer's Report:
Treasurer Ken Asmus (VA3KA) reported that the club had done done quite well at the Smiths Falls flea market with 3 new members and sales of surplus equipment. As of the beginning of June the club had 23 paid up members (in addition to the 3 life members) and about $900.00 on hand. The major outstanding expense is insurance obtained through Radio Amateurs of Canada. This expense of about $280 must be paid in the late fall so the club has about $620 for activities over the balance of the year.


Old Business:
Attendance at meetings
Members briefly discussed the apparent fall off in participation at meetings. Some suggested the changes of location may have been a factor. That has now been resolved and it was agreed to check again in the early fall to see if any actions would be required.


General Reports:

Grid Expedition
President Al (VO1NO) described the upcoming expedition to FN04xa near Grafton Ontario for the ARRL VHF QSO Party June 9-10. The location has been secured and arrangements are in place for equipment, meals and accomodation (most participants will bring their own tents or campers and a small motel is not far away. While several operators have committed we can use more, especially experienced CW contestors. Al will report on the results of the expedition at the July meeting.


Beacons
Ken Asmus (VA3KA) reported that the beacons continue to operate nominally and noted that the 6m beacon had been spotted across the USA during some recent 6m openings

24GHz
Bert (VE2ZAZ) reported that the 2 transceivers he had demonstrated at the last meeting are operating well and ready for use at the upcoming Grid Expedition.

VE3WCC APRS Digipeater

Ken Asmus (VA3KA) reported that there had been problems with the digipeater going offline several times. The system was being checked and it was possible that the TNC may need to be replaced. Ken noted and members agreed that the digipeater was a valuable contribution of the club to the local community and that the club should ensure it continued to operate.

Cheap SDR
Bert (VE2ZAZ) demonstrated the SDR receiver he had described at the previous meeting. The dongle, typically used as a satellite TV broadcast receiver for Europe, can easily be used with free SDR Windows software to provide an SDR receiver coveriung the frequency range 64MHz to 1.7GHz. Usining a local oscilator and mixer ahead of the input to the dongle he was able to capture amateur radio transmissions in the 40m band. He used several recordings of data from the receiver in an SDR program on his laptop to show the performance of the system.

Presentation(s)/Activity:
Al Penney (VO1NO) described plans and preparations for the upcoming expedition to FN04xa for the June ARRL VHF QSO party. He will present a report on the results at the July meeting.

New Business
Glenn MacDonell (VE3XRA) moved, seconded by Bert Zauhar (VE2ZAZ) that the club provide $200 toward expenses associated with the grid expedition. He noted that the participants would each provide $50 towards the expenses. The motion carried.

Adjournment:
The President stated that there being no further business, the meeting would be adjourned. The meeting was closed at 21:50 hours.