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

Name Call Sign Position MH Grid WCARC RAC
Charles MacDonald VA3CPY President FN25ag Yes Yes
Karen Bryden VA3IGO Member FN25ag Yes Yes
Bertrand Zauhar VE2ZAZ Secretary FN25bk Yes Yes
Rémi De Cristofaro VA3DRI Member FN25 Yes Yes
Clare Fowler VE3NPC Member FN25 Yes Yes
Peter Jago VA3PJ Member FN25ag Yes Yes
John McGowan VA3JYK Member FN25 No Yes
Lawrence Dobranski VA3IQ Member FN25 Yes Yes
Clayton Smith VE3IRR Member EN82qb Yes Yes
G-A Chaudron VE2VAB Member FN25 Yes Yes
Ray Perrin VE3FN Member FN25dk Yes Yes
Michael VE3TKI Visitor - - -

Opening

The meeting was opened by the President, Charles (VA3CPY) at 7:12 pm. There was one visitor attending the meeting.

Secretary’s Report

  • Bert (VE2ZAZ) posted a draft version of the December 2021 meeting minutes on the Club website prior to this meeting. Moved by him that the minutes be adopted as posted on the website. Seconded by Remi-VA3DRI. The motion was carried.

Treasurer’s Report

  • The balance as of December 31st was $2033.47. There is also $2,000 which is split up into two term deposits. One has a maturity date of August 21st, 2022. The other one will mature on October 21st, 2022.
  • There are 13 members as of today. There are also three life members.
  • Ray (VE3FN) is still collecting the 2022 membership dues. He accepts Interac email transfers and mailed-in bank checks.

Vice President’s Report

The Vice President position is currently unoccupied.

Director’s Report

The Director was absent.

President’s Report

  • The Quebec QSO party has been announced and will take place on April 17. The topic will be covered by Georges-André (VE2VAB) at the February meeting.

Speaker

Michael VE3TKI (Ontario Incoming QSL Bureau manager) on the IARU and QSL Bureau System.

Officer Election

Not all Officer positions were fulfilled during the AGM.

  • Secretary: Bert (VE2ZAZ), being the only candidate for the Secretary position, is acclaimed as the 2022-2023 WCARC Secretary.
  • Director: no other candidates for that position have come forward. Moreover, Wayne (VE3CZO), the previous Director, is absent. As he cannot confirm whether he accepts to renew his role as Director for the 2022-2023 period, his re-election is deferred to the next meeting.

Old Business

  • VHF/UHF Beacon move:
    • On Hold until further notice from the DARC officers.
    • Bert (VE2ZAZ) reported that the beacon enclosure power consumption should be much less than 100W, as the built in heating system made up of a few power resistors is disconnected.

Reports / Club Project Updates

None.

New Business

None.

Show and Tell / Announcements

  • Karen (VA3IGO): Explained her venture into FT8 and WSPR using a Raspberry Pi.
  • Bert (VE2ZAZ): Reported on his participation in the ARRL January VHF contest. He contacted mostly local stations (< 500 km). As usual, most activity was in the FT8 mode.
  • Ray (VE3FN): His participation to the ARRL January VHF contest was essentially in CW and SSB modes. Because of that, he contacted few stations.
  • Georges (VE2VAB): The Quebec HF QSO party will take place on April 17th 2022. It was chosen as the same weekend as the Ontario QSO Party. This year the date coincides with the Easter weekend.
  • Clayton (VE3IRR): GNU Radio 3.10 was just released, with new features and bug fixes. Also, Gqrx SDR receiver software had a major release (he is the maintainer). Both pieces of software should be available in Linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
  • Bert (VE2ZAZ): He has made changes to his VHF Contest Logger software. He has just tested the new software version during the VHF contest. He will release it on GitHub in the near future.
  • Lawrence (VA3IQ) is working on setting up a GPS rover grid square driver for his logging software and to auto-grid FT8.

Ask the Club

This period in the meeting offers an opportunity to ask technical questions and get answers from knowledgeable Club members.

Adjournment

The President observed that there was no further business; the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm.