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
Barney BakerVA3BGBMemberFN25aiYesYes
Peter JagoVA3PJMemberFN25agYesYes
Bert ZauharVE2ZAZDirectorFN25bkYesYes
Dave GoodwinVE3AAQMemberFN25dgYesYes
Ray BurrellVE3BVVGuestYes
Graham IdeVE3BYTMemberFN25chYesYes
Rick BandlaVE3CVGMemberFN25hmYesYes
Wayne GetchellVE3CZOGuestFN25YesYes
Clayton SmithVE3IRRVice PresidentFN25aiYesYes
Andrew HartVE3NVKMemberFN25bhYesYes
Doug LeachVE3XKMemberFN25wgYesYes
Glenn MacDonellVE3XRASecretaryFN25djYesYes
Al PenneyVO1NOPresidentFN24cwYesYes


Opening:
The meeting was opened by President Al Penney (VO1NO) at 19:30 hours.
The President welcomed two guests, Ray Burrell (VE3BVV) and Wayne Getchell (VE3CZO), our guest speaker for the meeting.


Secretary's Report:
Secretary Glenn MacDonell (VE3XRA) introduced the minutes of the February meeting, that had been posted on the club website and moved that the minutes be approved. Seconded by Doug (VE3XK).
Motion approved.


Treasurer's Report:
Treasurer Andrew Hart (VE3NVK) reported that all the necessary arrangements for the transfer of the club account to a different bank had been completed and the transfer would take place shortly. At present, the club has a balance of about $735 with an outstanding committment of about $200 for the recently installed 900 MHz and 1296 MHz beacons. He noted that the Club's financial year began in January and to date we have 15 paid up members. At the end of the previous year we had a paid membership of 23, so the Club can expect some additional revenue from membership renewals.


Vice President's Report:
Vice President Clayton Smith (VE3IRR) reported that our usual meeting room was booked at Sobeys for the June meeting and that he had requested the room for the July and August meetings. He noted that speaker for the May meeting would be Andy Hart (VE3NVK) who will speak about the Raspberry Pi for radio amateurs.


President's Report:
The President reported that Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, had passed away on 31 March after a brief illness. Ken had continued his active involvement in amateur radio throughout his life and he was a regular participant in the weekly breakfasts of the local chapter of the Qurter Century Wireless Association until shortly before his death. An electrical engineer, he had worked for 37 years at the National Research Council, the last 10 as Vice President and was a tireless worker for amateur radio both in Canada and around the world. He was appointed Secretary of RAC in 1994 and later held positions of Secretary Treasurer, Vice President for Government Affairs and Vice President for International Affairs. He served the international amateur radio community for more than a decade and a half as Canada's representative and later the technical representative of the International Amateur Radio Union at international meetings of the International Telecommunications Union and World Radio Conference. One of his last accomplishements was the successful creation of the new amateur radio band at 600m at the World Radio Congress a little over a year ago. His passing was recognized by an statement from the ARRL noting his formidable contributions to amateur radio. The latest (May-June) issue of "The Canadian Amateur contains an extensive description of his professional and amateur radio accomplishments.


Old Business:
Glenn MacDonell (VE3XRA) reported on his continuing efforts to find a way to a new band, 3.4GHz, for the club's participation in the ARRL June VHF QSO Party (the annual Grid Expedition to FN04). While there were several options for transverters, the hoped-for easy and inexpensive solution remained elusive and it seemed unlikely one could be found in time for this year's contest.
Bert (VE2ZAZ) reported on developments to improve performance on the new band added for 2012, 24 GHz. In addition to the bandpass filter and amplifier for the IF described at the previous meeting he plans to add a varactor to improve tuning.


New Business:
None


General Report and Announcements:

D-STAR
Rick (VE3CVG) reported that work continues on the 5.8GHz intranet connection planned to link D-STAR repeaters in Ottawa and Almonte described at the previous meeting and it is possible that the system will become operational this summer.

Grid Expedition:
Al (VO1NO) reported on preparations for the mid June event. Prospective participants have been emailed to tie down important details and he was happy to report that arrangements are in place for the use of the site, cooking arrangements and the power and communications equipment at all bands used in the event in 2012. While we have committments from enough operators to compete successfully there is always room for more and he invited members to particpate either for the entire event or for a part of it. The club has done very well in the contest since it began using the location 5 years ago - placing first in Canada 4 of the 5 years.



Presentation:
Wayne Getchell (VE3CZO) delivered a presentation on the development of a 1296 MHz amplifier from original concept through prototype to the final product. Members appreciated the thoughtful presentaion of key considerations in successful amplifier design. Wayne will deliver a similar presentation to the annual Eastern VHF/UHF/MW Conference in Mansfield CT in April.



Adjournment
The President, Al (VO1NO) stated that there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 21:30.