Minutes: YRARC General Meeting 2017-10-03

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:30 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 36

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT. Chris presented Don VE3IXJ with the Harvey Bell Award for his past and present contributions to the club.
   
2. Treasurer’s Report – Charles VA3TTB
   
   Opening Balance 2017/09/01 [Balance is available to members upon request to Secretary]
   • Income
     
     • York Arts Music Festival: $600.00
       
     • Dues $780.00
       
     • Field Day refund: $354.20
       
     • Hamfest table rental $70.00
       
     • Total: $1804.20
       
   • Expenditures:
     
     • Bank Fees: $2.33
       
   • Closing Balance 2017/10/01 [Balance is available to members upon request to Secretary]
     Charles also spoke about a proposed project night.
     
3. Public Service Report – Eric VE3EB
   
   • We supported Run for the Cure (year #8) with parking and vehicle management. It was a successful event for the organizers.
     
   • The club received letters of appreciation from the Mount Albert Sports Day and the Run for the Cure organizers, for our participation in their events.
     
   • The next events will likely be in the spring of 2018.
     
4. EmComm Report – Mike VA3MCT. On October 14 there will be an Ontario wide SET. The York Region EOC will be activated, and members are encouraged to make check-ins during the SET. Further details to be provided closer to the event. Communication on 40m and 60m will be attempted using NVIS antennae.
   
5. Membership Report – Barry VA3LLT. This is the last day to pay membership dues, before your membership expires. The Go-kits are being refurbished.
   
6. Hamfest Report – Geoff VA3GS
   
   • Our annual hamfest will be held on November 4 at the Markham Fairgrounds. This year we will use Hall 2 as the entrance as before, and this year, all exhibits will be in Hall 1.
     
   • We will need lots of help, on Friday for preparation, on Saturday morning to run the event and also for tear-down. When we do the cleanup, we save ourselves money.
     
   • We especially need help with security, parking and admissions.
     
7. Winter Field Day – Steve VE3UT. Winter Field Day will happen in January 2018. It is both a contest and an emergency preparedness event. We will be operating outdoors again this year, with antenna and station setup done as a team. The intent is to be able to erect antennae as quickly as possible. It is proposed that the club pay for gas and beverages and that meals be the responsibility of the participants. The proposed site will be Al's Tack Shop, 4812 Vandorf Rd in Stouffville.
   
8. Repeater Committee Report – Steve VE3UT. IRLP and Echolink are running. Steve gave a demonstration of IRLP and Echolink with the help of Bruce VE3BV who was at home. See IRLP.org for a list of IRLP nodes. Also mentioned, there is an Echolink app for Android and Apple devices.
   

Guest Speaker Hugh VE3AYR – “Vimy 100”. Hugh talked about Vimy 100, an event to commemorate the 100thh anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Planning started back in 2011 for a special event with amateurs from across Canada running a commemorative station from locations across Canada.

A special, non-standard call sign was obtained: VE100VIMY, along with a corresponding French call sign TM100VIMY. Although the site of the Vimy Memorial is Canadian territory, the air waves are not, thus the use of the French call sign.

The Canadian operation ran from 2017 Jamuary 01 to 2017 March 31. In April 2017, the operation moved to Arras France, the closest town to the Vimy Memorial. The station in France ran from 2017 April 01 to 2017 April 09.

Minutes - YRARC Board of Directors Meeting 2017-08-15

Meeting held in the Magna Centre, Multipurpose Room 1. Called to Order at 19:02 by Steve VE3UT.
Board members attending:

• Barry VA3LLT
  
• Charles VA3TTB
  
• Chris VE3NRT
  
• David VA3DCY
  
• Eric VE3EB
  
• Geoff VA3GS
  
• John VE3IPS
  
• Mike VA3MCT
  
• Steve VE3UT.
  

Absent: Rick VA3VO. Others attending: none

1. Approval of Agenda & declaration of conflicts of interest. Amendments: none. Motion: To adopt the agenda. Moved Eric VE3EB, seconded Chris VE3NRT. Carried.
   
2. Minutes: Motion: To adopt the minutes of Board Meeting 2017/07/18. Moved Charles VA3TTB, seconded Geoff VA3GS. Carried.
   
3. Election of President: Moved by Eric VE3EB, seconded by Charles VA3TTB that Chris VE3NRT be nominated for the office of president. No one else stood for election. By a unanimous vote, Chris VE3NRT becomes the new president. Carried. As newly elected president, Chris now chaired the meeting.
   
4. Election of Treasurer: Moved by Barry VA3LLT, seconded by Steve VE3UT that Charles VA3TTB be nominated for the office of treasurer. There were no other nominations. By a unanimous vote, Charles VA3TTB becomes the new treasurer. Carried.
   
5. Actions arising from previous board meeting: Steve VE3UT.
   
   • David and Steve met to finish the Summer Field Day accounts.
     
   • The Markham Fair cheque has been delivered.
     
   • The go-kits are to be re-called.
     
   • Inventory tags – to be followed-up.
     
   • Access updated to allow new board members access to the membership database.
     
   • Outreach by Mike and Eric at the farmer's market – Newmarket Music Festival booth.
     
   • Cheque for trailer insurance has been sent.
     
   • Bank signatures for the new executive need to be done.
     
6. Treasurer’s Report: Not available.
   
7. Committee Reports:
   
   1. Trailer: Barry VA3LLT. The trailer needs a clean-up. Some storage containers have been broken during transit. Barry will buy new replacement containers. Motion: 2017-08-15-7a to allot $200.00 for trailer maintenance. Moved Barry VA3LLT, seconded Geoff VA3GS. Carried.
      
   2. Repeaters: Steve VE3UT.
      
      • Steve needs to travel at times to get test equipment from Bruce VE3BV, and requested re-approval to pay for gas for extended travel. Approval unanimous.
        
      • Mike VA3MCT asked about repeater operation during the during the planned SET where there will be no power for an extended period. Only VE3YRA would have extended operation, the other repeaters have only battery backup.
        
      • Motion: 2017-08-15-7b to allot $200.00 for repeater maintenance. Moved Steve VE3UT, seconded Geoff VA3GS. Carried.
        
   3. Hamfest: Geoff VA3GS. Information is on the RAC web site, and information will be passed out at Junk-in-the-Trunk on August 25. Mailings are to be sent.
      
   4. Web Site: Mike VA3MCT. Mike has built a new web site with information from the existing site. He will present it to the board for comments and approval. Next step will be to check the domain, but the site will not go on-line until after the hamfest.
      
   5. Property: Rick VA3VO. No report.
      
   6. Public Service: Eric VE3EB
      
      • A past event was at the Sharon Temple on July 22.
        
      • Eric and Mike attended the Newmarket Farmer's Market and distributed “QSL” cards with interest from the public.
        
      • The upcoming Newmarket Music Festival needs additional help from members.
        
      • Sunday October 2 is the date for Run for the Cure.
        
   7. EmComm: John VE3IPS. Mike VA3MCT will become the new RAC Emergency Coordinator for York Region instead of John. We should do our own “SET” like exercise within York Region to test our own internal communication.
      
   8. Field Day: Steve VE3UT
      
      • Motion: 2017-08-15-7ha to pay $50.49 to David VA3DCY for gas for field day generators. Moved Geoff VA3GS, seconded John VE3IPS. Carried.
        
      • Motion: 2017-08-15-7hb to pay $71.85 to Rick VA3VO for gas for field day generators. Moved Geoff VA3GS, seconded John VE3IPS. Carried.
        
8. Other Business:
   
   • Possible donation of a trailer: Steve VE3UT. Steve offered a tent trailer to the club for the club's use. It was noted that there would be problems (costs) if owned by the club, and potential storage issues if parked with the EmComm trailer and the tower trailer. Geoff suggested parking it at Al's Tack Shop. Steve will investigate.
     
   • IRLP: Chris VE3NRT wishes to pass the IRLP construction to someone else. He will maintain/update the software on the Raspberry Pi. Steve VE3UT offered to take over the project. Chris would host the finished project.
     
   • Harvey Bell Award: We need to get the Harvey Bell Award returned, and make a new label and award it to DonVE3IXJ at the September meeting.
     
   • The Secretary, David VA3DCY will issue a recall notice for the Go Kits.
     
   • Barry VA3LLT mentioned a new tower to be erected in Georgina. He will investigate.
     

Meeting adjourned 20:40. Moved Geoff VA3GS, seconded Eric VE3EB. Carried

Minutes - YRARC Board of Directors Meeting 2016-01-19

Meeting held in the Magna Centre, multi purpose room 1. Called to Order at 19:00 by Chris VE3NRT
Board members attending: Chris VE3NRT, Steve VE3UT, John VA3JI, Geoff VA3GS, Eric VE3EB, Barry VA3LLT, David VA3DCY, Rob VE3RQB, Doug VE3ATP and Alf VA3BLE. Others attending: none

1. Agenda: Chris VE3NRT. Agenda adopted without changes. Moved by John VA3JI, seconded by Steve VE3UT to accept the agenda. Carried
   
2. Minutes: David VA3DCY. Moved by Alf VA3BLE, seconded by Steve VE3UT to accept the minutes of the 2015/12/15 BoD meeting. Carried
   
3. Treasurer's Report: John VA3JI.
   
   • Opening balance 2016/01/01 [Available to members on request to club secretary]
     
   • Revenue: None
     
   • Expenditures: None
     
   • Balance Unchanged
     
   • Moved by John VA3JI seconded by Geoff VA3GS to adopt the treasurer's report. Carried.
     
4. Repeaters: Steve VE3UT. A work party was at the Hospital VE3YRC-U site on Monday Jan 18. 4 batteries were brought to the site for the repeater and 1 battery for the link radio. Old cabinets and junk were removed. A new repeater link map is ready and was shown to the board, copies to be emailed to the board members.
   
5. IRLP/Echolink: Chris VE3NRT. Equipment is being build and scripts loaded (RaspberryPi). We will keep the same node number and the IRLP portion will be done first, since the IRLP project supports IRLP only, not IRLP/Echolink. When working, a backup will be made, and then progress to IRLP/Echolink. Next steps, install the software, modify the IRLP board, test with a radio and run an antenna cable.
   
6. Membership: Alf VA3BLE reported we added 5 new members at the January general meeting: 3 regular and 2 family memberships. We now have 73 members total, 70 voting members.
   
7. Meeting Schedule: Geoff VA3GS.
   
   • On February 2, Trevor VE3SLT will speak on his trip west.
     
   • In March Mike VE3MKX will speak on fraud (possibly at the beginning of the meeting).
     
   • Bob VE3WY will be the April speaker
     
   • Jeff VA3DOC is scheduled for May to talk about drones (possibly at the beginning of the meeting).
     
   • The January mini hamfest had little for sale or trade, and should we have something different next year?
     
   • The Makers Group will be holding a self-study course, led by John VE3IPS with help from Mike VA3MCT.
     
8. Property: Rob VE3RQB will change the codes on both trailers (EmComm and tower), and possibly change the lock on the storage container. Rob will mention at the next general meeting, if anyone is planning to bring material to the storage container, or remove material from the container, to please contact him first. There are still D-STAR radio to be programmed. Rob will continue to request that they be returned at the next general meeting (and meetings to follow if required). Geoff VA3GS noted there may potentially be a new frequency list for GTA wide use with repeater and simplex frequencies, plus a block allocated for individual clubs and groups to use.
   
9. Other business: None.
   

Meeting adjourned at 20:12. Moved by Geoff VA3GS and seconded by Barry VA3LLT. Carried.

Minutes - YRARC General Meeting 2016-02-02

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:34 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 37 Guests attending: 3

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT
   
2. General Announcements – Chris VE3NRT.
   
   • Adoption of minutes will be postponed until next meeting.
     
   • The 6m net continues on Monday night.
     
   • Upcoming contests include CQ Worldwide, RTTY, ARRL DX CW, CQ 160m SSB, and North American QSO party (RTTY).
     
   • The Makers's Lab is holding a self-study licensing class led by John VE3IPS with assistance from Mike VA3MCT who is also connected with the Maker's Lab. The class starts February 03 at the David Dunlap Observatory.
     
   • Mike VE3MKX will be next month's speaker.
     
3. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • Opening Balance 2016/01/01 [Available to club members on request to club secretary]
     
   • Income: $160
     
     • Dues from the January meeting: $135.00
       
     • Dues from new member VE3MPI: $25.00
       
   • Expenditures: None
     
   • Closing Balance 2016/02/01: [Available to club members on request to secretary]
     
   • Motion that the treasurer's report be adopted, moved John VA3JI, seconded Rob VE3RQB. Carried.
     
4. Membership Report – Alf VA3BLE: We now have a total of 77 members, 74 voting members.
   
5. Public Service Report: VE3EB. There will be a 5k run in May in Georgina. Details later.
   
6. EmComm Report: Robert VA3BXG. The January EmComm meeting had a presentation from Urban SAR group in Toronto. At the February meeting there will be a presentation by York Region EMO on personal and family preparedness. The meeting will be at the Newmarket Community Centre.
   
7. Repeaters – Steve VE3UT
   
   • There was a repeater work party at the Richmond Hill site to deliver batteries and remove the old cabinets and junk. Rick VA3VO has built Low Loss Powergates for the link radios for both the Richmond Hill and Aurora sites. The 6m repeater will not have backup power, otherwise all repeaters and links will soon have battery backup.
     
   • Rick could build more power gates for members if requested.
     
   • IRLP/Echolink (Chris VE3NRT). The old Sun computer has been replaced with a Raspberry Pi, tied to an IRLP board, an Icom 2100 radio and a USB sound card. The IRLP/Raspberry Pi is still wired in a temporary fashion until it can be packaged permanently. The Echolink is temporarily at Steve VE3UT's QTH. Eventually both IRLP and Echolink will be run on the Raspberry Pi.
     

Guest Speaker: Trevor VE3SLT and his great grandson Alexzander. Trevor spoke about his road trip with his family, to the N.W. Territories, Yukon, Alaska and BC, travelling in a 2003 Astro Van, with a 15' trailer behind his vehicle. The outbound trip was via Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and then through Peace River, Yellowknife, (by way of MacKenzie and Liard Highways). They visited Joe and Mickey McBryan (Ice Pilots) from Buffalo Airways, in Yellowknife. The route dipped into northern B.C., and back into the Yukon, Whitehorse, and Dawson City. From there they went to Fairbanks Alaska (by way of "Top of the World Highway"), and Mt. McKinley, and Anchorage, At Haines Alaska, they took the Alaska Marine Highway to Skagway and back again into the Yukon and B.C. They then continued to Telegraph Creek, Stikine River, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Smithers, and Vancouver BC. They visited relatives in Vancouver. On their return trip they passed through Washington State, Alberta, Montana, Minnesota, back to Rainy River and the northern route through Ontario. In total, they travelled 20,330 kms in six weeks, and crossed the border into the USA 4 times, and back into Canada for another 4 times.

Trevor travelled with lots of extra gas (100 extra litres) and spare tires (plural), though remote regions, on less travelled gravel roads, with long distances between settlements. Cell phones are almost useless for emergencies, because of the lack of coverage in remote areas. A heavy wire mesh was installed on his grill to protect his radiator from stones and screening to filter the bugs. The trailer ran on 12VDC (no 120V generator) and the trailer batteries were charged by his vehicle when driving. They make the trip with only one vehicle window replacement. The trip was panned well in advance with Microsoft Streets and Trips. Reservations at RV parks was done for every night before the trip started, for the first three weeks up to Vancouver. They never missed any RV park reservations. The application was run continuously on a laptop with a 120VAC inverter. A USB-GPS antenna gave their location and recorded their trip.

Stay tuned for his next trip, through along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Labrador, (by ferry, across the Strait of Belle Isle) to Newfoundland, St. Pierre and Miquelon. The Return trip is through Nova Scotia, PEI, Magdalen Islands, New Brunswick and back via the coastline of the Gaspe.

IRLP Progress

Bruce VE3BV and I have been working through the issues on the new Raspberry Pi based IRLP node. As I write the node is operational but it is running off an antenna that is not only used frequently in my shack but is also not designed for 2m. Fortunately the coax is so lengthy and lossy that we don't have a mismatch problem. Nor is the loss itself a problem because I live so close to the repeater.

In the photograph, you can see the IRLP transceiver, an Icom 2100 on the top right. Immediately below it is the Raspberry Pi, with the Ethernet cable running off to the left then up, and the 8GB memory stick in the USB port. In the USB port below the memory stick, there's a short USB extension cable that runs to a tiny USB sound "fob" that has the audio connectors plugged in. Those audio connectors are cabled to the 2 small transformers sitting next to the fob, although there is about 3 feet of cable connecting the two running out of the picture on the left.

These transformers are connected to the coiled orange CAT 5 cable that runs to the radio Mic/PTT input, where there are a couple of extra wires. The grey wire goes to the speaker output of the radio, while the thin orange wire is patched into a COR (Carrier detection) output on the inside of the radio.

The transformers are also connected through the the wire going to the DB9 connector at the bottom of the picture, which connects to a ribbon cable, which connects to the IRLP board. This board handles DTMF decoding and conversion of the PTT and COR signals to TTL levels. The board was modified to run from 3.3V supply provided by one of the pins on the GPIO ports of the Raspberry Pi, The board also communicates to the Pi through the short cable built by Gary VE3NMI and interfaces through other pins on the GPIO port.

The only purpose served by the black wire with alligator clips on each end is to hold a resistor in place that we were using to test levels. The audio coming from the radio to the computer is a little too hot, so we have about 32K of resistance in the circuit right now. 

The Raspberry Pi is the original model that came out a couple of years ago. It was running several housekeeping tasks on my home network, like email and telephone switching. As I've upgraded my home 'server' to a Raspberry Pi model 2, the original was available for IRLP use. It will use a lot less power and take up much less space than the computer it replaces.

The Pi is running and unmodified version of the latest edition of the Raspbian (a varian of Debian Linux customized for the Pi) called "Jessie". Installation and configuration is reasonably straightforward once you figure out the 20 or so settings that need to be just so.

Once this is all tidied up and boxed, with its own external antenna it will be ready for production use. After that we'll look at adding Echolink as well. This is just additional software and runs on exactly the same platform as IRLP. Bruce also suggested we might want to spin up another Pi just for Echolink, so that both could be used at the same time.

Meanwhile, when it is connected, you can connect to VE3RLP in Parry Sound by using DTMF to send 2480. Or try out some other node on this list of Canadian repeaters. When done, 73 will disconnect the link, although it will also disconnect itself after a few minutes of inactivity.

YRARC General Meeting Minutes - 2015-12-01

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:30 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 36

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT
   
2. Adoption of Minutes from the 2015 November general meeting postponed until January.
   
3. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI. The next report will be at the January meeting.
   
4. Membership Report – Alf VA3BLE. To date 67 members have paid.
   
5. EmComm Report – Don VE3IXJ. The SET exercise was held on November 7 at two locations, the Regional Headquarters and the trailer in Schomberg. VE3TWR was the control channel. The cross band radio at the Regional Headquarters worked well to communicate from within the EOC to the trailer in Schomberg.
   
   • Using simplex frequencies to communicate with adjacent ARES groups did not work.
     
   • Other groups do not use the same pre-programmed memory channels as YRARC.
     
6. Repeater Committee Report – Steve VE3UT and Chris VE3NRT
   
   • The current repeaters are working well.
     
   • We have been approached by an existing repeater operator who would be receptive to us using the site and repeater pair for a Yaesu System Fusion 2m repeater. The site is located in Uxbridge on a police tower. Yaesu is currently offering a repeater at $500US until the end of the year. There are drawbacks to the proposal since there is a co-channel US repeater with coverage reaching the GTA. The repeater is built with 2 mobiles back to back, and reportedly not robust and may need to be run a half power. It was decided not to proceed with the proposal.
     
   • The IRLP/Echolink will be working soon.
     

Meeting adjourned at 20:00 Moved by Barry VA3LLT, seconded by Nicholas VE3NJV. Carried. The annual Christmas party followed the business meeting.

General Meeting Minutes - 2015-11-03

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall.Called to Order at 19:30 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 45

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT
   
2. Adoption of Minutes from the general meetings 2015/09/01 and 2015/10/06, both motions moved by Rick VA3VO and seconded by Rob VE3RQB. Carried.
   
3. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI.
   
   • Expenditures: $1094.04 insurance, $1415.00 hamfest
     
   • Revenue: $1555.88 hamfest, $335.00 dues
     
   • Balance at 2015/10/31 [available to members upon request to club Secretary].
     
   • Moved to adopt the Treasurer's report John VA3JI, seconded Garrett VA3PYP. Carried.
     
4. Membership Report – Alf VA3BLE: To date 62 members have paid.
   
5. Public Service Report – Eric VE3EB: We need someone to haul the trailer for the Newmarket parade on Nov 14 and the Aurora parade on Nov 21. No other events are planned until Spring.
   
6. EmComm Report – Don VE3IXJ
   
   • Don attended a York Region training event on Oct 21 with regional officials. Topics included problems with interoperability between various emergency services, dealing with terrorist activities and gun related violence.
     
   • There will be a SET exercise on Nov 7.
     
   • We received a cheque for $1000 from the Lake Simcoe REACT group, via Ron McCracken KG4CVL, in support of EmComm activities.
     
7. Repeater Committee Report – Steve VE3UT and Chris VE3NRT
   
   • The 6m repeater was unlinked just prior to the hamfest, and relinked to the other repeaters after the hamfest to avoid unnecessary use of the 6m repeater. The battery backup project is underway.
     
   • The Echolink/IRLP upgrade project is progressing. We now have an interface cable for the Raspberry Pi and the Echolink board is now ready. The D-STAR network issues have been resolved.
     
8. Hamfest Report – Geoff VA3GS: The Hamfest was Saturday October 31. Approximately 600 members of the public attended and 150 vendors participated. Setup time was about 2 hours and tear-down time was 2 plus hours. Move details to follow.
   
9. Other Business
   
   • Doug VE3VS and Rob VA3RBM have activated 2 more islands. Island ON-298 is Narrows Island (FN04dt66), near the outlet of Glouchester Pool on the Trent-Severn waterway. 26 40m contacts were made. Island ON-299 is Darling Island (FN04dt75) near Narrows Island. 38 40m contacts were made. (It was noted that Doug should also activate island 300.)
     
   • Doug VE3VS reported the results of exams held at the hamfest. 7 people took the basic exam and 1 person took the advanced exam. 7 of the 8 passed.
     

Break: 20:10 Guest Speaker: Dave VE3KCL spoke about Amateur Radio High Altitude Balloons.

• Weather balloons are expensive. They are latex balloons, are filled with helium, carry a payload of several kg, and continue to rise until the balloon eventually explodes.
  
• Amateur balloons are more moderately priced. They are mylar coated which prevents the balloon from expanding after being inflated, are filled with hydrogen which is cheaper than helium, are limited to a much lighter payload, and rise to approximately 8 to 10 km.
  
• Due to the restricted payload, only a lightweight processor (Arduino Nano), GPS module, fine gauge antenna (reinforced) solar cells and battery could be used.
  For more information see: http://qrp-labs.com/ultimate3/ve3kcl-balloons.html
  

Minutes – YRARC BOD Meeting 2015-10-20

Meeting held in the Magna Centre, general purpose room 1. Called to Order at 19;00 by Chris VE3NRT. Board members attending: Chris VE3NRT, Steve VE3UT, John VA3JI, Geoff VA3GS, Eric VE3EB, Barry VA3LLT, David VA3DCY, Rob VE3RQB, Doug VE3ATP and Alf VA3BLE. Others attending: none.

1. Agenda: Chris VE3NRT. Adopted, moved by Barry VA3LLT, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Carried.
   
2. Minutes: David VA3DCY. Moved by Barry VA3LLT, seconded by John VA3JI to accept the minutes of the 2015/09/15 BoD meeting. Carried
   
3. Treasurer's Report: John VA3JI.
   
   • Opening balance 2015/09/30 [available to members on request]. Income: Dues $25.00, Sale of ATX500 $200.00, Hamfest $1,127.00. Total 1,352.00
     
   • Expenditures: Insurance $1,094.04, Prizes $602.75, Bank fees (PayPal) $3.13, Frames for certificates $28.18, Total $1,728.10
     
   • Balance 2015/10/20 [available to members on request]
     
   • Thanks to Rick VA3VO for selling the ATX500.
     
   • Moved by John VA3JI, seconded by Geoff VA3GS to accept the treasurer's report. Carried.
     
4. Blog: Chris VE3NRT provided a short update on the latest blog statistics.
   
5. By-laws: Chris VE3NRT asked Alf VA3BLE for a list of paid voting members with name, call sign and email address. The revised and final versions of the bylaws will be emailed to members.
   
6. Property: Rob VE3RQB has made a list of the container contents. Steve VE3UT and Geoff VA3GS will identify what is scrap and what is to be kept. The 6m repeater and batteries were added to the property list. We are waiting for Peter VE3PBT to acquire parts for the BBQ repair. Motions 2015-10-20-1 moved by Barry VA3LLT, seconded by Eric VE3EB to approve $200.00 for ongoing general repairs to the trailer. Carried
   
7. Repeaters: Steve VE3UT
   
   • 4 new (to us) batteries were installed at the VE3YRC UHF site at Yonge/Bloomington. In addition all levels are good at the site. Thanks to Bruce VE3BV for the borrowed test generator. Messages on the repeaters have been updated for the hamfest.
     
   • IRLP/Echolink: Chris VE3NRT is waiting for a cable for the IRLP project.
     
   • D-STAR: Chris VE3NRT. Gord Hewit VE3GIH has been working on the firewall at the VE3YRK site, and some ports may be blocked. Chris and Gord to investigate.
     
8. Events and public Service: Eric VE3EB thanked those who participated in The Run for the Cure on Oct 4.
   
9. We need drivers to tow the trailer(s) in the Newmarket Santa Claus parade on Nov 21 and the Aurora parade on Nov 28. The Aurora parade is in the evening and if we participate, we will need lots of lights.
   
10. Meetings: Geoff VA3GS reported that the speaker for the October meetings is Dave VE3KCL speaking on balloons. January will be 'junk-in-the-trunk', February will be a travellogue, March will be Mike VE3MKX speaking on fraud, and April or May will be Barry VE3ISX speaking on remote stations. Other possible topics/speakers could be a demonstration of IRLP/Echo Link or antennae by Bob VE3WY.
    
11. Membership: Alf VA3BLE reported on paid memberships to October 12. We have:
    
    • 12 additional members (10 regular plus 2 family) with and $310.00 received for a total of
      
    • 43 Regular memberships, 5 Family memberships 6 additional members, and 7 Life members.
      
12. Hamfest: Geoff VA3GS reported we have allocated 8 tables for public relations, including RAC, QSL and CLARA, 3 club tables and 3 demo tables. Setup bill be at 13:00 on Friday Oct 30. at the Markham Fair Grounds The Aurora Lyons Club will be serving a breakfast of pancakes and sausages. We will provide tea and coffee. 27 members have signed-up to assist.
    
    • Two cash floats will be required, one for admissions and one for the grand prizes.
      
    • On Friday, Steve VE3UT will deliver the EmComm trailer and Doug VE3ATP will deliver the tower trailer.
      
13. December meeting: Motions 2015-10-20-2 moved by Geoff VA3GS, seconded by Rob VE3RQB to approve $325.00 for food at the December meeting. Carried.
    
14. Other business: On November 18, Chris VE3NRT has been invited to the Makers Show at the David Dunlap Observatory. His topic will be “This is Not Your Father's HAM Radio!”
    

Meeting adjourned at 20:40. Moved by Rob VE3RQB and seconded by John VA3JI. Carried.

YRARC General Meeting - Minutes 2015-10-06

Meeting held in the Sharon Temple (Temperance Hall). Called to Order at 19:30 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 35

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT
   
2. Adoption of Minutes from the general meeting, 2015/09/01 deferred until November.
   
3. By-laws – Chris VE3NRT. The current by-laws (#6) are being revised to update the wording, and the updated version will be circulated to the club membership. Then proposed revisions will be made to the by-laws. The target date for revisions is January 2016. Proxy voting to the changes will be allowed.
   
4. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • September: Opening balance [available to members on request]. Expenditures: $15 plaques, $14 parking (for repeater maintenance), $240.69 post office box, $1.32 bank fees (PayPal). Income: $345 hanfest, $740 dues, $700 honouraria (for summer public service duties at Mt. Albert and the Aurora Street Festival.
     
   • October: Opening balance [available to members on request]. Expenditures: $280 hamfest grand prizes. Income: $429, $25 dues. Closing balance as at Oct 6 [available to members on request]
     
   • Moved to adopt the treasurer's report Barry VE3LLT, seconded Bill VE3QB. Carried.
     
5. Membership Report – Alf VA3BLE. To date 49 members have paid.
   
6. Public Service Report – Eric VE3EB. There were 2 recent events, Sharon Temple Illumination on September 11 and CIBC Run for a Cure on October 4.
   
7. EmComm Report – Don VE3IXJ. The EmComm group meets on the second Thursday of the month, and the next meeting will be on October 8 at the Newmarket Community Centre. The cross-band repeater worked well at the recent Mono Cliffs race in Dufferin County.
   
8. Repeater Committee Report – Steve VE3UT. The repeaters are in good shape and all are linked. The IRLP/Echo Link is down and Chris VE3NRT is in the process of replacing the the old computer with a Raspberry Pi.
   
9. Hamfest Report – Geoff VA3GS. The date of the Hamfest is Saturday October 31, with setup on Friday. Members are asked to sign up for this event.
   
10. Awards
    
    • Eric VE3EB and Steve VE3UT were jointly awarded the Harvey Bell award.
      
    • Bruce EVV was presented with a certificate of appreciation for 10 years work at the prize table.
      
    • Nick VE3NJV was presented with a certificate of appreciation for 10 years work at providing refreshments.
      
11. Other business
    Winter field day planning is beginning. See Steve VE3UT or Rick VA3VO for details.
    

Guest Speaker: Paul Delaney from York University spoke about Pluto the planet, now reclassified as a dwarf planet. His talk included many images of Pluto, ranging from older fuzzy images taken from earth, to highly detailed images taken close up from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.

Minutes - YRARC Board of Directors 2015-07-21

Meeting held in Multipurpose Room 1 of the Magna Centre. Called to order at 19:01. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT.

Board members attending:

• Chris VE3NRT, Steve VE3UT, John VA3JI, Geoff VA3GS, Barry VA3LLT, David VA3DCY, Rob VE3RQB, Alf VA3BLE, Doug VE3ATP.
• Absent: Eric VE3EB.
• Club members attending: Chris VA3DXZ, Peter VE3PBT.

Review of the agenda as proposed by Chris VE3NRT. Moved by Geoff VA3GS, seconded John VA3JI to adopt the agenda without changes. Carried. [2015-01-21-01]

Pro-term chair and secretary for elections: Moved by Chris VE3NRT, seconded by Rob VE3RQB that Geoff VA3GS serve as pro-term char and secretary. Carried. [2015-01-21-02]

Elections:

• Chris VE3NRT, nominated for president by Steve VE3UT, moved Steve VE3UT, seconded John VA3JI, Carried. No further nominations for president.
• Steve VE3UT, nominated for vice-president by Rob VE3RQB, moved David VA3DCY, seconded Chris VE3NRT, Carried. No further nominations for vice-president.
• John VA3JI, nominated for treasurer by Barry VA3LLT, moved Steve VE3UT, seconded Chris VE3NRT, Carried. No further nominations for treasurer.
• David VA3DCY, nominated for secretary by Steve VE3UT, moved Steve VE3UT, seconded Chris VE3NRT, Carried. No further nominations for secretary.

All of the above agreed to serve, no other nominations were made and the positions were filled by acclamation. (There was no need for an election.) [2015-01-21-03]

Minutes: Moved by Barry VA3LLT, seconded by Geoff VA3GS to adopt minutes of the board meeting held on 2015/06 /10. Carried.            [2015-01-21-04]

Committees: The following were chosen to act as chairs and vice chairs for the following committees:

• Property: Rob VE3RQB
• Trailer : Barry VA3LLT
• Repeaters: Steve VE3UT, Doug VE3ATP.
• Hamfest: Geoff VA3GS, David VA3DCY
• Membership: Alf VA3BLE, Barry VA3LLT
• Events : Eric VE3EB
• EmComm: Barry VA3LLT, Chris VE3NRT
• Field Day: Steve VE3UT

Moved by Rob VE3RQB, seconded by John VA3JI. Carried. [2015-01-21-05]

Treasurer Report:

• John VA3JI reported as opening balance (2015/05/30) [Club members may request the bank balance by contacting the Club Secretary]
• Income $75.00, Expenditures  FD toilets $253.13 Repeaters $300.19 (total $553.31)
• Closing balance (2015/06/30) $14,807.40 (includes $205 prepaid dues for 2015/16).
• Upcoming expenses: Insurance $814.00, Trailer maintenance $100.00
• Future balance  [Club members may request the bank balance by contacting the Club Secretary]
• Moved by Geoff VA3GS, seconded by Barry VA3LLT to adopt the treasurer’s report. Carried. [2015-01-21-06]

Property:

• Rob VE3RQB reported the cost of the 'drive-on' anchor brackets exceeded the original quote. He has donated the excess cost of the brackets.
• David VA3DCY proposed to make trailer additions – add phone and data circuits, a new circuit breaker, receptacles, and an exterior mouse hole for miscellaneous cables/extensions.
• Moved by David VA3DCY, seconded by Geoff VA3GS to proceed, with the cost not to exceed $50.00  . Carried [2015-01-21-07]

Trailer Insurance:

• Moved by Barry VE3LLT, seconded by Rob VE3RQB to pay the trailer insurance $874.00, due in August. Carried. [2015-01-21-08]

Repeaters:

• Steve VE3UT reported the second battery charger at VE3YRC-C site appears to be defective. A Kenwood power supply is now installed to power the link radio at Yonge/Bloomington. All repeaters are currently linked. [2015-01-21-09]
• EchoLink has not been working for approximately 5 weeks. The current server has failed (and is both old and too large). It was suggested to use a Raspberry Pi for IRLP or a Klaus Rung thin client solution. Chris VE3NRT will investigate. [2015-01-21-09]

Events:

• Barry VA3LLT reported that volunteers are still needed for the Newmarket Jazz Festival. Contact Don VE3IXJ. [2015-01-21-10]

EmComm:

• There have been no recent meetings, and no report. [2015-01-21-11]

Membership

• Moved by Steve VE3UT, seconded by Geoff VA3GS that name plates for Harvey Bell award and the field day Melted Coffee Pot award be ordered. Cost not to exceed $50.00. [2015-01-21-012]

Field Day: 

• Steve VE3UT submitted the field day results and gave a preliminary report of field day results, with the official report to follow.  Steve VE3UT and Peter VE3PBT made the following observations about Field Day.

1. Field day food money collected from members should be handled by a 3rd party and deposited into the club bank account.
2. All money to purchase food should come from the bank account as an advance, not partly from the club and partly from participants.
3. Rent only one toilet next year to reduce costs
4. A better kitchen shelter is needed.
5. The club BBQ needs to be repaired, however it may be cheaper to purchase a new BBQ. [2015-01-21-13]

Other Business:

• Chris VE3NRT asked that committee chairs submit a preliminary budget for each     committee's estimated expenditures – due at the next meeting in August.
• Geoff VA3GS suggested a generator as a hamfest grand prize.
• Geoff VA3GS is looking at getting speakers for the fall meetings.

Meeting adjourned at 20:42. Moved by Geoff VA3GS, seconded by Barry VA3LLT. Carried.

IRLP/Echolink Troubles

IRLP and Echolink on VE3YRC-VHF are down until further notice due to a computer hardware failure. The repeater committee is currently considering replacing the computer, but this will take some time to accomplish. The new hardware being considered is based on the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. As it contains no moving parts and consumes much less power, it should be much more reliable. Assuming the IRLP board is salvageable, the replacement should also be very inexpensive to purchase and operate.

73,
Chris

Minutes of the May 2014 Board of Directors meeting

Meeting held in the multipurpose room of the Magna Centre. Called to order at 19:07. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT

• Board members attending; Chris VE3NRT, Rob VE3RQB, Chris VA3DXZ, Publius VE3XS, John VA3JI, Eric VE3EB, Steve VE3EZ, Barry VA3LLT, Geoff VA3GS
  
• Board members absent; Richard VE3NSD
  
• Guests attending; none
  

1. Agenda was approved as proposed by Chris VE3NRT with the addition of the two email motions;
   
   • 2014-04-24-01 Email Motion - Movement of trailer out of region
     
   • 2014-04-28-01 Email Motion - Trailer Renovations
     
2. Adoption of April 4th, 2014 board meeting minutes
   
   • Motion 2014-05-20-01 by Chris VA3DXZ to adopt minutes, seconded by Publius VE3XS. Motion carried.
   • Finance report John VA3JI –
     
     • Income; $200.00 for the sale of the old tower, $75.00 for 3 memberships
       
     • Disbursements; $529.15 for Go Kit Items, $2,401.25 for purchase of the storage container
       
     • Balance [Available to members from Secretary on request]
       
     • John VA3JI reported that an earlier Motion for $500.00 for Go Kit materials was recorded in the minutes with the incorrect motion number.
       
     • Motion 2014-05-20-02 by John VA3JI to amend the earlier motion numbered 2013-11-19-04 for allocation of $500.00 for Go Kit items to 2013-12-17-04 seconded by Chris VA3DXZ. Motion carried.
       
     • Motion 2014-05-20-03 moved by Geoff to increase funding allocated under motion 2013-12-17-04 for go kits by $29.15, seconded by John VA3JI. Motion carried.
       
   • Motion 2014-05-20 -04 by Chris VA3DXZ to recognize and confirm approval of 2014-04-24-01, an email motion approving the movement of the communications trailer out of region, seconded by Eric VE3EB. Motion carried.
     
   • Motion 2014-05-20 -05 by Chris VA3DXZ to recognize and confirm approval of 2014-04-28-01, an email motion approving certain renovations to the interior of the communications trailer, seconded by Rob VE3RQB. Motion carried.
     
   • Trailer Weight Distribution System – Rob VE3RQB
     
     • Rob VE3RQB reported that the weight distribution brackets on the tongue of the communications trailer were damaged during towing for the recent renovations and subsequently removed without prior approval of the board.
       
     • In response to a concern raised that the weight distribution kit was not compatible with the braking system on the trailer, Rob VE3RQB provided a report from D.D. Eagles & Sons (see attachment #2), (the installer of the weight distributor kit), noting the manufacturer of the kit; Reese Hitch, had confirmed that the weight distribution kit would present no issue. Problems arise when a sway control system is used. In the case of the club’s trailer, a sway control system has not been installed nor used.
       
     • Motion 2014-05-20 -06 by Eric VE3EB to allocate up to $300.00 to repair the weight distribution system in accordance with the recommendation of the trailer committee, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion amended by John VA3JI to request a written validation by the installer that the system meets or exceeds the manufactures recommendations, seconded by Chris VA3DXZ. Motion carried.
       
     • Rob VE3RQB recommended that the generator be removed from the trailer during towing, until such time that the weight distribution system is repaired.
       
     • Motion 2014-05-20-07 moved by Barry that Steve VE3EZ, Chris VA3DXZ, Bill VE3QB, and Rob VE3RQB, be solely authorized to tow the trailer until the trailer committee has reviewed / amended the trailer policy to ensure the club's interests are protected. Seconded by Publius VE3XS. Motion carried.
       
     • Motion 2014-05-20-08 by John to request that the board seek cost recovery for the damage to the weight distribution system. Seconded by Rob VE3RQB. Motion defeated.
       
   • Tower Trailer – Rob VE3RQB
     
     • Discussion concerning modifications of the new tower necessary to install it on the existing tower trailer
       
     • It was noted that the existing tower trailer was originally a Toronto Police tower trailer
       
     • The trailer committee suggested that only the 3 inner sections be used to reduce weight
       
     • Rob will call out for volunteers, to disassemble the new tower
       
   • Storage unit – Rob VE3RQB
     
     • The storage container was purchased (see attachment #3) and delivered to site. Rob VE3RQB will donate a lock. Property manager will hold one key and club secretary will hold second key.
       
     • Barry VA3LLT will begin work on interior shelving
       
   • Bylaws – Eric VE3EB
     
     • Bylaws have been distributed to the club secretary who will distribute to club members on request
       
     • The secretary reported that there have been no requests for a copy of the bylaws
       
   • Membership drive – Steve VE3EZ
     
     • The draft version of the post card was presented for feedback. Edits will continue for the following week at which time Steve VE3EZ expects to finalize the design
       
     • Steve VE3EZ provided a budgetary cost estimate totaling $762.00 including tax to produce and mail 500 cards. He will secure additional quotes prior to the next general meeting.
       
     • Steve VE3EZ will send the mailing list for review and comment.
       
     • Motion 2014-05-20-09 by Geoff GS to go to general membership with a motion to allocate up to $800.00 for membership drive seconded by John VA3JI. Motion carried.
       
   • IRLP – John VA3JI
     
     • IRLP was brought on line 4 weeks ago but is presently down due to a lightning strike. System will be back online once the internet access is restored
   • Field Day
     
     • Chris VE3NRT & Steve VE3UT to meet to discuss details
   • Harvey Bell Award
     
     • The Harvey Bell award nominations were reviewed and a winner was selected by majority vote of the board. The winner will be announced at the AGM
   • Events update – Eric VE3EB
     
     • Eric noted the upcoming events, all of which are on the calendar on the club web site WWW.YRARC.org
   • AGM Food
     
     • Motion 2014-05-20-10 by Barry VA3LLT to allocate the $50 in addition to the amount allocated for food for the 2013 AGM.
     • Seconded by Rob VE3RQB
       
   • Motion 2014-05-20-11 by Eric VE3EB to adjourn meeting, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried at 21:10
     

VE3YRC IRLP/Echolink down until further notice

Due to an inopportune lightning strike affecting the ISP service the IRLP is down until further notice. The service provider is working on the problem.

Update: Service is now restored.

Guide to using IRLP and Echolink on VE3YRC

After a long cold winter John VA3JI has at last been able to climb his tower and complete the installation of the VE3YRC IRLP/Echolink node at his house and it is working well. It is simple to use and the following guide will take through through the steps of looking up your destination repeater or operator and connecting it to the VE3YRC repeater.

IRLP - The Internet Radio Linking Project

The operator accesses an IRLP "Node" by using DTMF (touch-tone) tones sent by radio. First, look up the node number that you want to contact. A list of current nodes can be found on the IRLP web site.

Once you have decided which node to call, listen to the repeater (VE3YRC on 147.225+, PL Tone 103.5) to ensure that it is clear and ask if the repeater is in use. Announce the node that you are about to call and then enter the node number (i.e. hold the microphone PTT down and then use the keypad to enter the 4 digit number)

For example to connect to VE3RPL in Parry Sound DTMF 2480f it will reply "Connected to VE3RPL"

NOTE: If your node is already connected to another node or reflector, the repeater will announce that "your node is currently connected to [ID of the connection]") In this case ask if anyone is still using the connection before dropping it with the off code 73

Once connected and after hearing the confirming voice ID, wait at least 5 seconds before transmitting as the following conditions may occur:

• The link may be in use, and your command may have occurred between transmissions.
  
• If the voice ID of your node is longer than the voice ID of their node, the connection will not be made until the ID is fully played.
  
• Their computer may be slower and take longer to process the connection than yours.
  

Press and hold the PTT for a second and then announce your presence and your intention, such as you are calling someone specifically or just looking for a chat with another amateur in that city.

If no response is heard, announce your call and your intent to drop the link and then enter the OFF code 73. Please do not transmit DTMF commands without first giving your call-sign. Not only is this courteous it may be required by law in one of the countries that might be connected to the reflector.

Some nodes are configured so you cannot connect to them if that repeater is active. In this case you will receive the message "The node you are calling is being used locally" If you receive this message wait 5 or 10 minutes and then try again. If you stay connected to a node and there is no activity on your repeater for 4 minutes, the connection is automatically terminated with a spoken disconnect message on both nodes.

If unsure that local node is working you can perform a audio loopback check. Node 9992 will reply "IRLP reflector 9992 active". Cancel with 73

Don't forget if you require any more detailed information visit the official IRLP web site.

EchoLink Operation

The EchoLink system is similar in many ways to IRLP and the same operating etiquette needs to used. The main variation is that you can not only connect to remote repeater but also to another amateur's computer system. Like IRLP, you access EchoLink using DTMF tones using a node number that you can look up on the EchoLink homepage.

Entering Node Numbers

To enter a node number (for the Connect or Query by Node commands), enter the 4, 5, or 6-digit node number. If the specified node is not among the stations currently logged on, EchoLink will say "Not Found".

Examples

These examples assume that the default DTMF codes are configured on the local repeater, as they are with VE3YRC

To connect to node number 9999 (the echo test reflector) enter: #9999

EchoLink responds with: "Connecting to conference E-C-H-O-T-E-S-T" followed by: "Connected", because 9999 is the node number of conference server "*Echotest*".

For example to connect to VE3RAK enter: #2068

EchoLink responds with: "Connected to VE3RAK" (if the node is not busy)

To disconnect use 73 like with IRLP

******Note: Because we are using an ECHOIRLP combination only one of Echolink or IRLP can be used at one time ******

Please support your local repeaters VE3YRA, VE3YRC and VE3YRK by becoming a member of the York Region Amateur Radio Club!

Minutes, YRARC Board Meeting, March 18th, 2014

Meeting held in the multipurpose room of the Magna Centre. Called to order at 19:00. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT

• Board members attending; Chris VE3NRT, Rob VE3RQB, Chris VA3DXZ, Barry VA3LLT, Steve VE3EZ, Geoff VA3GS, Publius VE3XS, John VA3JI, Eric VE3OIC
  
• Board members absent; Richard VE3NSD
  
• Guest attending; Steve VE3UT
  

1. Agenda
   
   • Agenda as proposed by Chris VE3NRT (Attachment #1)
     
   • Motion 2014-03-18-01 by Geoff VA3GS to adopt agenda seconded by Barry VA3LLT. Motion carried.
     
2. Adoption of Feb 18, 2014 board meeting minutes
   
   • Motion 2014-03-18-02 by John VA3JI to adopt the minutes of the Feb 18th board meeting seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried.
     
3. Treasurer's report John VA3JI
   
   • Report detailed bank balance and transactions in February. Information is available to members upon request.
     
   • 1 cheque outstanding for 88th Baden Powell. Geoff, VA3GS, will ask them to cash it.
     
4. Old Business
   
   1. Antenna Trailer – Rob VE3RQB
      
      • Contractor is estimating 20-30 hours at $70.00 per hour plus an estimate of $1,000 for material for outriggers, all plus HST. Rob VE3RQB intends to be there to assist
        
      • Discussion concerning how high the tower could be deployed with/without outriggers and/or guy wires. It was agreed that outriggers should be included for added safety. There was an agreement that the board would create a policy to set out the maximum deployable height with and without guy wires to ensure safe operation of the tower trailer. There was further discussion about whether a mechanical means could be installed to limit the deployed height of the tower. This idea will be discussed with the contractor.
        
      • Motion 2014-03-18-03 by Eric VE3OIC to bring to the membership a motion to authorize $3,500 for services and materials rendered by Trick Toys to repair the antenna trailer (outriggers, and other modifications) to make it ready for field day and other events, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried.
        
   2. Bylaws – Eric VE3OIC and Geoff VA3GS
      
      • Updated draft to be finalized and sent to board members by Mar 19th
        
      • Comments by the board required by Mar 26th
        
      • The bylaw committee will communicate through the Splatter Blog and Yahoo group that interested club member should contact the club secretary for a preliminary copy of the bylaws for review prior to the AGM, not withstanding that the Preliminary draft will also be sent to the membership 3 weeks prior to AGM
        
      • Publius VE3XS will send membership list to the club secretary to validate club members requesting a copy of the preliminary draft
        
   3. Hamfest Location – Geoff VA3GS
      
      • Geoff is targeting Nov 8th
        
      • Location is not finalized.
        
      • Geoff has requested a quote from Markham Fairgrounds
        
      • Geoff is looking for additional parking that could be made available near the Newmarket Community Centre
        
   4. Storage – Rob VE3RQB
      
      • Quotation for 20’L x 8’W x 8.5’H “construction grade” container is $1,700.00
        
      • Peter VE3PBT has volunteered to store the unit on his property
        
      • Costs range from $225 to $290 to transport the container to Peter VE3PBT’s property
        
      • Geoff to research monthly storage costs so the board can compare an upfront purchase option vs on-going rental fees for storage
        
   5. Field Day Budget – Steve VE3UT
      
      • Steve VE3UT presented the field day budget. Very slight increase planned over 2013 expenditure.
        
      • Motion 2014-03-18-04 by Geoff VA3GS to allocate $1,200 for Field Day expenses seconded by Rob VE3RQB. Motion carried.
        
   6. Membership Drive – Steve VE3EZ / Publius VE3XS
      
      • Steve presented a mock up of the proposed mailing card for feedback
        
      • There was a discussion concerning the anticipated increase in postage costs planned by Canada Post. It was agreed that if the cards were mailed prior to the increase, they would arrive far too early to be effective in drawing amateurs out to field day. It was agreed that the cards would be mailed 3 weeks before field day.
        
   7. Status of IRLP – John VA3JI
      
      • Tower is inaccessible. John will repair cable and re-locate the antenna as soon as he can access the tower.
        
5. New Business
   
   1. Harvey Bell Award – next steps – Chris VE3NRT
      
      • One nomination has been received
        
      • Chris VE3NRT will send a reminder note
        
   2. YRARC QSO Award – support from the board – Chris VE3NRT
      
      • Chris VE3NRT will create a form listing club members and bands for interested members to use to track points
        
   3. Life Membership Award Criteria
      
      • Wording in the current Bylaws was reviewed and deemed acceptable for its purpose
   4. Equipment Donation from VE3RTO – Chris VE3NRT
      
      • VE3RTO is a silent key who’s son donated his amateur equipment to YRARC
        
      • Proposal by Chris VE3NRT to lend (or rent cheaply) the equipment to a newly licensed amateur or failing that, to be sold with funds to go into the club treasury
        
      • Geoff VA3GS to come back with a suggested recipient
        
      • In the mean time the equipment will be held by the club and be made available for loan to club members
        
6. Motion 2014-03-18-05 by John VA3JI to adjourn meeting, seconded by Rob VE3RQB. Motion carried at 21:02
   

Links of the Month - February 2014

Here are the interesting (at least to us radio amateurs) web sites that were found by club members this month.

• Latest release of MESH firmware. [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• US Navy Electronics Training. Scroll for other topics like machining, photography, how to toast the Queen, etc. [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• Amateur and SWL apps for Android and iOS. [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• Initial RAC comments on Industry Canada Antenna Policy Changes. [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• YouTube videos of Raspberry Pi set up as an Echolink hotspot #1, #2, #3 and instructions. [Patrick VE3WST]
  
• Use an RTL dongle to read your smart electricity meter. [Steve VA3SRV]
  
• Waterfall views of various HF signals. [Chris VE3NRT]
  
• The recent $5B Spectrum Auction. [Steve VE3EZ]