The meeting was held over the internet via a Zoom video meeting. The following people were present:

Name Call Sign Position MH Grid WCARC RAC
Bertrand Zauhar VE2ZAZ Secretary FN25bk Yes Yes
Jeremy Jones VA3ZTF Vice President FN25ac Yes Yes
Karen Bryden VA3IGO Member FN25ag Yes  
Charles MacDonald VA3CPY Member FN25ag Yes Yes
G-A Chaudron VE2VAB Member FN25 Yes Yes
Brian Jeffrey VE3UU Member FN15 Yes Yes
Robert Boyd VE3BE Treasurer FN25dj Yes Yes
Wayne Getchell VE3CZO Director FN25dh Yes Yes
Clayton Smith VE3IRR Member FN25ai Yes Yes
Chris Rochefort VE2MW Member FN25ck Yes Yes
Randy Nordlund VE3AX Member FN25jg Yes Yes
Raj Thukral VA3RZT Member FN25 Yes Yes
Ray Perrin VE3FN Member FN25dk Yes Yes
Graham Ide VE3BYT Member FN25ch Yes Yes
Remi De Cristofaro VA3DRI Member FN25bh Yes Yes
Bryan Rawlings VE3QN Visitor FN25   Yes
Paul Coverdale VE3ICV Visitor FN25   Yes

Opening

The meeting was opened by the Vice President, Jeremy (VA3ZTF) at 19:05. Two visitors were in attendance: Bryan Rawlings (VE3QN) and Paul Coverdale (VE3ICV).

Secretary’s Report

  • Bert (VE2ZAZ) posted a draft version of the February 2020 meeting minutes on the website prior to this meeting. Moved by the Secretary that the minutes be adopted as posted on the website. Seconded by Jeremy (VA3ZTF). The motion was carried.
  • There was no meeting held in March due to COVID-19 pandemic lock-down, thus no minutes were posted.

Treasurer’s Report

Robert (VE3BE) reported 22 paid up members for 2020 and a bank balance of $1419.57. There is also $2,000 which is split up into 2 term deposits. One will mature on April 23rd and will be renewed with a maturity date of June 21st, 2021. The other deposit will mature in October 2020.

Vice President’s Report

  • Jeremy (VA3ZTF) announced that the Club participation to the ARRL June VHF contest is canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The City of Ottawa facilities are all shut down, and this includes our venue. The City is planning to re-open the facilities on June 30th.
  • Jeremy also confirmed that Clayton (VE3IRR) would be the speaker at the May meeting and that Rich (VE3KI) would be the speaker at the June meeting.
  • Looking forward, the Fringewood Community Center will no longer be our meeting venue. Either the Kanata Recreation Complex or the Kanata Seniors Centre will be chosen for our meeting location. We must wait for the City services to re-open in order to book a meeting room.
  • Jeremy reminded the members that the President’s position was currently unoccupied. He expressed the importance of having a complete board of officers, as required by our non-for-profit status and by our constitution. In order to facilitate the election of the missing officer, he offered to move to the President’s position, if necessary, to free up the Vice President position. He suggested that the members present should consider moving forward as candidate for either position.

Director’s Report

Nothing to report.

President’s Report

None. The President’s position is open.

Speaker

Bryan Rawlings (VE3QN) - Reported back on the WRC-19 conference.

Old Business

None.

Reports / Project Updates

Beacons

Several members reported having heard the 6m, 2m and 70cm Club beacons. It appears though that the 70cm beacon signal is very weak. We will investigate the issue once the pandemic lock-down is lifted.

D-STAR

Jeremy reported substantial activity on the Ottawa D-STAR network and the VA3ODG repeater during the last few weeks.

Broadband Hamnet

  • Bert (VE2ZAZ) reported that the Ottawa-West to YMCA link is still inconsistent in performance. It was suggested that we change the link channel, as it is possible that there are interfering signals on the current channel. But this would have to be coordinated at both ends of the link.
  • Georges-André (VE2VAB) reported that there was no configuration activity on the Gatineau side of the network, due mostly to the pandemic lock-down.

New Business

  • Bert (VE2ZAZ) suggested that the Club could participate in the September VHF Contest instead. Many members present at the meeting confirmed that they would likely participate in the activity. One open item is the rental of the Corkery Community Center, which may not be available for that second weekend of September. This will be checked once the City re-opens their services.
  • Bert (VE2ZAZ) offered to order some WCARC-logo waterproof stickers. This would help in identifying the Club assets from other individuals’ assets. The expenditure should be of around $60. Since that amount is below the allowed discretionary budget, a go-ahead was given by the Vice-President and the Treasurer to place an order.

Election of President

The election of president was deferred to the next meeting, as nobody came forward to fill the position.

Announcements / Show & Tell

None

Adjournment

The Vice President observed that there being no further business; the meeting was adjourned at 20:35.