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
Bertrand Zauhar VE2ZAZ Secretary FN25bk Yes Yes
Lawrence Dobranski VA3IQ Vice President FN25 Yes Yes
Mike Kennedy VA3TEC President FN25 Yes Yes
Glenn MacDonell VE3XRA Treasurer FN25dj Yes Yes
Norman Siemens VE3NPP Member FN25 Yes Yes
Wayne Getchell VE3CZO Director FN25dh Yes Yes
Rich Ferch VE3KI Member FN25 Yes Yes
Ted Reinhardt VE3EDE Member FN25 Yes Yes
Ray Perrin VE3FN Member FN25dk Yes Yes
Luc Pernot VE3JGL Member FN25ek Yes Yes
Andrew Hart VE3NVK Visitor FN25 No -

Opening

The meeting was opened by the President, Mike (VA3TEC), at 7:08 pm. There was one visitor attending the meeting.

Meeting Agenda

The meeting agenda, which these meeting minutes rigorously follow, was published on the groups.io mail reflector on April 19th. Mike (VA3TEC) moved that the agenda be adopted as published. Bert (VE2ZAZ) seconded. A unanimous vote in favour of the motion took place, and the motion was carried.

Secretary’s Report

  • Bert posted a draft version of the March 2025 regular meeting minutes on the Club website prior to this meeting. Moved by him that the minutes be adopted as posted. The motion was seconded by Glenn (VE3XRA). A unanimous vote in favour of the motion took place, and the motion was carried.

Treasurer’s Report

  • Glenn sent a cheque to the Kinburn Association to cover the rental cost of the community centre for the June VHF Contest.
  • Glenn is still working on a system that will allow the members to pay the dues via an Interac email transfer, with the money being automatically deposited to the Club bank account. There are still email issues with the account. As soon as it is operational, Glenn will send payment instructions on the Club groups.io email reflector, which should happen in the next few days. The 2025 dues are $30, payable as soon as possible. We currently have 7 paid members. This will increase when the payment system is functional.
  • Glenn will bring in cash at the VHF Contest to cover Ray Burrell’s current and past expenditures.

Vice President’s Report

  • Lawrence showed the activity calendar, which is also available in a calendar form on the Meetings page of our Club website. It lists the monthly meeting dates and planned speakers and topics, the proposed breakfasts and MAD days, and the “VHF and above” contest dates. The current calendar is appended to these minutes.
  • Upcoming monthly meeting presentations:
    • Being Planned:
      • July: Lawrence (VA3IQ) - N1MM+ radio control functionality;
      • A presentation on the microwave Canadian Coastal Radar project.
    • Lawrence is looking for presenters for August and September.
  • Since the weather was terrible, we had a quiet Microwave Activity Day on April 5th. Only Bert (VE2ZAZ) was operational on the 10 GHz microwave band.

Director’s Report

The Director had nothing to report.

President’s Report

The President had nothing to report.

Presentation(s)

Rich (VE3KI): The new QSY feature in the WSJT-X software.

Old Business

  • Bert (VE2ZAZ) suggested that we could integrate a Google Calendar onto our website. Clayton (VE3IRR), our webmaster, completed the task. Status - Closed

New Business

  • June VHF Contest: Bert (VE2ZAZ) will contact Ray Burrell to inquire about his availability for the June contest. Status - Open

Show and tell

  • Bert (VE2ZAZ) showed the Rigol DHO804 oscilloscope, which he finds impressive for the $360 US dollars it costs.
  • Lawrence showed a Raspberry Pi 5 SSD adapter.

Ask the Club

No questions were asked.

Adjournment

The President observed that there was no further business; the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm.

WCARC Club Schedule

V1.0 2025-04-21

May 3 MAD:

  • Breakfast followed by our 2nd Microwave Activity Day of 2025. Location and other details to follow.

May 12 Club Meeting:

  • Planning for the June VHF contest

June 9 Club Meeting:

  • Final planning for the June VHF contest
  • Note: This meeting is on the second Monday of the month to avoid the June VHF contest.

June 13-16 June VHF Contest

July 21 Club Meeting:

  • After-action report on the June VHF contest
  • Presentation: Controlling a rover using N1MM+ UDP messaging.

August 16-17 10 GHz contest

  • ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest Weekend 1. Location(s) and other details to follow.

August 18 Club Meeting

September 15 Club Meeting

September 20-21 10 GHz contest

  • ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest Weekend 2. Location(s) and other details to follow

October 5 MAD

  • Breakfast followed by our 3rd Microwave Activity Day of 2025. Location and other details to follow.