General Meeting: September 1st, 2020

The club's next general will be held on Tuesday, September 1st on-line at 7:30pm. We will have the usual format of the business meeting followed by the presentation. This month's presentation topic will be Winlink. The meeting link will sent to all club members several days prior to the meeting.

YRARC General Meeting - Minutes 2018-04-03

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:35 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 32.

1. Welcome & Introductions: Chris VE3NRT
   
2. Adoption if minutes from 2018/03/06. Moved Bill VA3QB, seconded Brian VE3IBW. Carried.
   
3. Treasurer's Report: Charles VA3TTB
   
   • Opening Balance 2018-03-01 [available to members upon request to secretary]
     
   • Income: None
     
   • Expenditures: None
     
4. Antenna analyzer update VA3TTB. The circuit board that Charles was planning to use has some flaws, and he is searching for an improved board.
   
5. Repeaters: Steve VE3UT. Due to the recent interference (noise) on the repeaters, causing them to transmit continually, Eric VE3EB shut down VE3YRC-V and VE3YRA. Steve VE3UT will investigate. VE3YRK-V update: a replacement antenna will be on site in approximately 2 weeks, and will be installed when a rigger can climb the tower.
   
6. Summer Field Day: Steve VE3UT. It may be difficult to operate the kitchen as done previously. Assistance will be needed in the kitchen on Field Day weekend, as well as assistance with shopping. Options to be discussed are – reducing the number of meals, a lighter lunch, or possibly preparing only dinner. It was suggested that we invite a Scouting Venturer group to assist.
   

Break 20:00 – 20:20

Guest Speaker: Bob VE3WY. Bob spoke about his trip last summer to Zone 2 in northern Quebec, north of the 50th parallel, to grid square FO10le. Bob and fellow VHF fans from Canada and the US set up a special event station VC2EME in a normally quiet park, to work as many stations as possible Earth-Moon-Earth. June 21 was the chosen date since the moon was closest to the earth without Jupiter or the sun behind the moon. Unfortunately the date coincided with other visitors celebrating St. Jean Batiste Day, and they found a choice camping spot beside the toilets. In spite of vehicle difficulties experienced by the US amateurs, and the limited space available, the trip was a success.

Upcoming Club Meetings

We begin another meeting season on the first Tuesday of September at the Sharon Temperance Hall at 7:30pm. Our Fall meeting presentations have been set as follows.

• September 5th: Grant VE3XTV will be bringing along ATV hardware to show what it can do. If you have a receiver bring it with you. The receivers used are standard free to air Satellite receive, for analog FM or digital DVB-S with a Mpeg2 decoder, the IF range is 950 to 2150 MHz; our 23cm band is from 1240 to 1300 MHz. As for the 13cm band (2.3 GHz up to 2.45 GHz) he will bring along a few Satellite down-converters to receive the repeater output at 2370 MHz.
  
  
• October 3rd: Hugh VE3AYR will talk about the VIMY100 special event station.
  
  
• November 7th: John VA3KOT will give a presentation on NBEMS (Narrow Band Emergency Message System).
  

We are in need of presentations for the club meetings January - May 2018. If you have one that you like to make or know of some one who might do one please let me know.

Thank you Geoff VA3GS for putting this together.

Minutes - YRARC General Meeting 2017-02-07

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:30 by John VA3JI. Total members and guests attending: 12. (Note: Freezing rain conditions)

1. Welcome & Introductions – John VA3JI
   
2. Adoption of the Minutes from the 2017/01/03 general meeting postponed until March.
   
3. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • Opening Balance 2017/01/01 [Available to members on request to secretary]
     
   • Income: Membership dues $80.00
     
   • Markham Fair refund $1856.00
     
   • Total: $1936.00
     
   • Expenditures: None
     
   • Closing Balance [Available to members on request to secretary]
     
   • Moved the treasurer's report be adopted, by Barry VA3LLT, seconded GlenVA3AU. Carried
     
4. Membership – Barry VA3LLT. We have 37 regular members, 5 associate members, 17 family members and 9 life members. Total members 68.
   
5. Repeaters – John VA3JI for Steve VE3UT. All repeaters are OK.
   
6. Winter Field Day – John VA3JI for Steve VE3UT. Winter Field Day was held on January 28 and 29 in the parking lot (near the road) at Al's Tack Shop on Vandorf Rd. There were 3 stations with 5 antennae, and we operated as “3O” (3 transmitters Outdoors not in a regular location with generator power). We made 107 QSOs with a submitted score of 6348 which included 4500 bonus points. Charles VA3TTB made his first ever QSOs at WFD.
   
7. EmComm – No report. The February meeting will be cancelled.
   
8. Trailer – Barry VA3LLT. The trailer Hilomast has been temporarily fixed. The top section, which has a crack, has been locked to the second section, to prevent the top section from being extended.
   
9. Examinations – Doug VE3VS. Doug wanted to mention that Terry VA3TYB approached Doug in January, asking to take his basic exam, in which he received 99% (and knew the correct answer to his 1 mistake), then passed his advanced exam a few days later and received 100%.
   
10. Trillium Grant – No report
    
11. Other business
    
    • Question from Mike VA3MCT – Are we able to send emails to members if a meeting is to be cancelled? Answer from John VA3JI – The ability to send emails from the membership database does not currently exist. If requested by the board, John will investigate a means to send bulk emails to members.
      
    • Doug VE3VS has a projector available if needed.
      
    • We will need a new auditor, since Bob Rennie is no longer able to carry on.
      
    • There was no guest speaker. Steve VE3EZ who was scheduled to fill in at the last minute was unable to get to the meeting due to poor road conditions.
      

Minutes: 2016-12-06 General Meeting

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:30 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 39 including, 1 new member, 1 amateur guest and 2 family guests.

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT. Adoption of the Minutes from the 2016/11/01 general meeting was postponed until next January.
   
2. Announcements: CLARA will be celebrating its 50 anniversary in 2017. To celebrate, a year long contest will be held. For information, see the CLARA web site: clarayl.ca
   
3. Fox Hunt – John VE3IPS: The fox hunt was held on November 19, with Ian VE3YRP the winner. More fox hunts will be held in 2017 (and they may get harder).
   
4. Hammond Museum – John VE3IPS. A trip to the Hammond Museum could be in the works. Details to follow.
   
5. Trillium Grant – Eric VE3EB. Eric is looking for interested members to be part of a committee which will investigate applying for a Trillium Grant.
   
6. Repeater Report – Steve VE3UT. Several visits have been made to the VE3YRC-V site as well as a visit to the VE3YRC-U site to make some fine adjustments. All 3 linked repeaters (including the VE3RYA repeater) are working well and sounding good. The D-Star repeaters have had network connectivity problems, but are now working properly.
   
7. Winter Field Day – Steve VE3UT. Winter Field Day will be held on January 28 and 29. The first location choice, the David Dunlap Observatory, is not available. The regular Summer Field Day site is the second choice and Steve will be soon be in contact with the owners. There are rule changes this year regarding setup, however it was suggested that we set up just before the contest begins, to simulate setup in a real emergency. We plan to use simple antennae to keep the setup simple and have a maximum of 4 stations. A quick show of hands showed 8 members were interested at the moment.
   
8. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • Opening Balance 2016/11/01 [Available to members on request to secretary]
     
   • Income: Hamfest vendor fees: $1455.00; Hamfest admissions: $4614.90; Donations COARC+ Anonymous+REACT: $680.00; Membership dues: $365.00; Auction plus club table $248.25; Hamfest grand prize tickets: $670.00; Total $8,033.15.
     
   • Expenditures: Hamfest - prizes $196.00; WYNSORC fees: $10.00; Bank charges for PayPal: $1.03; Total expenditures: $207.03
     
   • Closing Balance 2016/12/06: [Available to members on request to secretary]
     
   • Additional expenses: December Christmas party - food $158.20
     
   • Moved the treasurer's report be adopted, by John VA3JI, seconded Rick VA3VO. Carried
     
9. EmComm Report – Robert VA3BXG
   
   • EmComm participated in the recent Municipal Exercises and the York Region Conferences.
     
   • The next meeting will be on the Thursday December 8, at the Newmarket Community Centre. Planning for next year including more fox hunts will be discussed.
     
10. Other Business – Geoff VA3GS. Geoff thanked everyone involved with the hamfest for their help, and noted that at the January meeting we will have short, 5 minute talks, and show and tell sessions.
    

YRARC General Meeting Minutes - 2016-10-04

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance HallMeeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:30 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 39 including 5 guests and 2 new members.

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT
   
2. Coax Connector Tips – Doug VE3VS. Doug passed on preparation tips to make perfect connections with RG8 or RG213 type cables and PL259 connectors.
   
3. Adoption of Minutes from 2016/09/06 general meeting. Moved by Bill VA3QB, seconded by Jack VA3UU. Carried
   
4. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • Opening Balance 2016/09/01 [Available to members upon request to secretary]
     
   • Income: Hamfest vendor fees: $325.00
     
   • Membership dues: $610.00
     
   • Expenditures: Name plates for awards: $10.00
     
   • Repeater link antenna: $75.00
     
   • Post Office box rental: $240.69
     
   • Liability and Directors insurance: $1112.48
     
   • Bank charges for PayPal: $4.56
     
   • Closing Balance 2016/10/04 [Available to members upon request to secretary]
     
   • Additional income to be deposited: Hamfest vendor fees $42.00; Membership dues (tonight) $185.00
     
   • Moved the treasurer's report be adopted, by John VA3JI, seconded Jack VA3UU. Carried
     
5. Public Service Report – Eric VE3EB. Past public service events include: Sunday Sept 18, 2016 Sharon Temple wedding (parking), Saturday Oct 01, 2016 Sharon Temple 2 weddings (parking), Sunday Oct 02, 2016 Run for the Cure
   
6. Hamfest Report – Geoff VA3GS. We need MANY volunteers, for setup on Friday, the event on Saturday morning and for teardown after the event is over. Bob Heil's attendance should be confirmed 2 weeks before the Hamfest. Community service hours for high school students are available when helping with this event.
   
7. EmComm Report – Don VE3IXJ. There is an EmComm meeting the second Thursday of each month in the Newmarket Community Centre, 200 Doug Duncan Dr. The meeting will look at transmitting data digitally for IMS213 (ICS213) forms with DMR radios.
   
8. Repeater Report – Steve VE3UT
   
   • The new link antenna was installed at the hospital site, aimed at the VE3YRA site, and the power of the link radio has been reduced, to reduce propagation toward a repeater in Western Pennsylvania. In addition the time-out timer has been removed in the link radio.
     
   • On the same visit, the 6m antenna was raised.
     
   • At the VE3YRC-V site the 100w PA was installed, and it failed shortly after installation. A second 100w PA was then installed and is stable.
     
   • Recently a cross-band radio at the EOC was causing interference with VE3YRC-V, resulting in the YRC-V repeater being shut down overnight. The cross-band radio, normally on EmComm “Channel 90”, was for some unknown reason, transmitting on the input to VE3YRC-V.
     
9. Winter Field Day – Steve VE3UT. It has been proposed that we participate in Winter Field Day this year, held on January 28 and 29, 2017. We participated in 2015, however the noise floor at the site (Sharon Temple) was extremely high, but did disappear later in the evening. We will try to determine the noise source before returning to the Sharron Temple. Steve would welcome suggestions for an alternate site. As in past winter and summer field days, those wishing to be fed will need to purchase a $10 meal ticket, which will include breakfast, lunch and dinner.
   
10. YRLAB – “RJ” from YRLAB noted that after the first amateur class last year, the antennae have been re-installed at the David Dunlap Observatory, and a second class is now underway.
    
11. Membership Report – Barry VA3LLT, John VA3JI. 36 members have paid or renewed their membership to date. John is looking for missing information for 3 life members VE3SLM, VE3WHY and VE3ATO to be included in the new membership database.
    
12. Fox Hunt – John VE3IPS. John is interested in holding a fox hunt on October 22.
    

Guest Speaker – Grant VE3XTV / VA3XTV / ZL1WTT

Grant spoke on developments in Amateur TV, and the use of DATV repeaters. The key points in operating a DATV repeater are achieving maximum gain, minimum losses, keep to broadcast standards, use horizontal polarization, employ cross-band, Rx high, Tx low, always use Rx and Tx filters to eliminate interference to and from other users, and operate amplifiers extremely linearly to avoid splatter and interference.

ATV broadcasts real-time video and audio, and uses bands above 70cm. Both analogue and digital signals can be used and adhere to NTSC, PAL for SD, 480i 576i for MD and 1080i for HD broadcasts.

Volunteers needed for Sharon Temple Event

The radio club is in need of volunteers for the following event.

Event: Wedding Show at the Sharon Temple Grounds
Date:  Sunday September 18th.
Time: 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Role: Communications and Vehicle Management
Support: 2-4 Volunteers

Please contact me at the following address if you are able to support this event.
Events.YRARC@Gmail.com

Thank you

Eric Brown VE3EB
Director, Public Service Events
York Region Amateur Radio Club

Minutes: YRARC General Meeting - 2016-04-05

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:30 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 37 Guests attending: 3

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT
   
2. Adoption of Minutes from 2016/02/02 and 2016/03/01 general meetings, moved by Anthony VE3HIS, seconded by Eric VE3EB. Carried
   
3. General Announcements – Chris VE3NRT
   
   • The 6m net continues to operate on Mondays at 20:00 on 50.135 MHz
     
   • Upcoming contests include the Nebraska QSO party on April 16, and the Ontario QSO party on April 17.
     
   • Bernie VE3OTR (a former club member) is now a Silent Key.
     
4. Field Day – Steve VE3UT
   
   • Rick VA3VO has offered to co-chair field day with Steve.
     
   • There will be a meeting (with EmComm) on April 14 at 19:30 at the Newmarket Community Centre, to discuss field day planning, including eliminating interference and station placement.
     
5. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • Opening Balance 2016/03/01 [Balance available to members on request to Secretary]
     
   • Income:$0.00
     
   • Expenditures: Director and Officers Insurance $649.08
     
   • Flyer Printing: $8.36
     
   • BBQ purchase $281.37. Total Expenditures: -$938.81
     
   • Closing Balance 2016/04/01[Balance available to members on request to Secretary]
     
   • Motion that the treasurer's report be adopted, moved John VA3JI, seconded Rob VE3RQB Carried.
     
6. Public Service Report – Eric VE3EB
   
   • Eric handed out acknowledgement certificates for participation in events during the last year.
     
   • A list of upcoming events can be found at yrarc.org Under the main menu select Calendar
     
   • Current public service events include:
     
     • Saturday, May 14, 2016 (New Event) Cancer Recovery Foundation 5K Run/Walk, Sutton
       
     • Saturday, May 28, 2016 (Rain date Sunday May 29) MADD York-Simcoe Riders Poker Run, Newmarket Town Hall
       
     • Friday June 3, 2016 Mt. Albert Sports Parade
       
     • Saturday June 4, 2016 Mt. Albert 5K Run/Walk
       
     • Sunday, June 5, 2016 Aurora Street Festival, Yonge Street (Murray to Wellington)
       
     • July 29 to August 1, 2016
       
     • Newmarket Jazz Fest (New Location) Ray Twinney Recreation Complex, Eagle Street West
       
7. EmComm Report – Don VE3IXJ. Don will be making a presentation to a Regional Conference of Regional Managers on April 12.
   
8. Repeater Committee Report – Steve VE3UT
   
   • Steve has not been able to contact the operator of a nearby repeater, with regard to possible linking of his repeater with our repeaters.
     
   • There have been some reported APRS issues. The user is known, and the problem appears to be an issue with the radio being used.
     

Guest Speaker – Bob VE3WY: Bob's presentation was in two parts. The first part was a talk with pictures of many of his own antennae after the recent ice storm, which hit his area with more ice than the surrounding areas. The ice storm provided unintentional testing of his antennae, which survived with very little damage. Part two, was a talk of his visit to a VHF Super-station in Texas, owned by Marshall Williams K5OE. The site is located in a rural area, hidden from view by trees, and located on 30 Acres, filled with towers and antennae. There were six different 6m arrays, five 2m arrays, two 222 MHz arrays and four 432 MHz arrays. With this choice of arrays, Marshall does well in contests.

Minutes - YRARC General Meeting - 2016-03-01

Meeting held in the Sharon Temperance Hall. Called to Order at 19:30 by Chris VE3NRT. Total members and guests attending: 28 Guests attending: 2 (note: winter storm that evening)

1. Welcome & Introductions – Chris VE3NRT. There were no reports or other announcements made, but we proceeded directly to our guest speaker.
   
2. Guest Speaker – Mike VE3MKX from YRP, who spoke on fraud, how to recognize it and how to protect yourself from being a victim of fraud.
   
3. Adoption of Minutes from 2016/01/05 general meeting, moved Barry VA3LLT, seconded John VE3IPS. Carried
   

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
  

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.

YRARC's 2015-2016 Season Blasts Off

The first meeting of the new YRARC year is behind us. Even though the summer seemed all too short, it was great to see everyone again as well as see some new faces and especially some guests who were looking to get their ham licences.

Thanks to Dave VE3OOI for his informed and interesting presentation on model rockets and (fortunately!) static display. They were impressive home-built vehicles.

Next meeting will feature Paul Delaney. Don't miss it!

Members assemble for the Meeting

Pause for Refreshments - Steve VE3EZ and Nick VE3NJV

Geoff VA3GS looking for a lucky winner

Alex VA3ASE, Trevor VE3SLT & John VE3IPS

Chris VA3DXZ and Anthony VE3HIS

Alf VA3BLE signs up a member

Terry VE3ODM and Brian VE3IBW

The picture on the left of +Barry Byrom VA3LLT and +Bill Reid VA3QB clearly shows that we have diversity on the club's board and membership, while on the right Dave VE3OOI talks rockets with Doug VE3ATP.

Dave VE3OOI Introduces his Topic

YRARC - Meeting Tonight

The first meeting of the 2015-2016 is tonight - Tuesday, September 1st, 2015 after an all-too-short summer. Tonight's meeting will feature a presentation by Dave Rajnauth, VE3OOI on the topic of model rocketry and amateur radio which I'm sure will be of interest to most of our members.

The meeting is at the usual time and place - 7:30pm at the Sharon Temperance Hall, adjacent to the parking lot for the Sharon Temple.

We will be approving both the minutes of the June 2nd General meeting, and the June 2nd Annual General Meeting tonight. Please take a moment to read them.

Minutes: General Meeting - June 2nd, 2015

Meeting held at the Sharon Temperance Hall. The meeting was called to order at 19:30. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. 37 members and 1 guest in attendance

1. Reminder that proxies must be given to the secretary prior to AGM
   
2. Adoption of the minutes
   
   • Motion 2015-06-02-01 by Bill VE3QB to adopt the minutes of the May 5th general meeting minutes, seconded by Barry VA3LLT. Motion carried.
     
3. News and Opinion
   
   • Congratulations to Jack VA3UU for qualifying for “Worked all Pacific”
     
   • Thank you to EmComm for participation in the SET exercise & the May 29th exercise
     
   • Chris raised the question of whether or not the club should continue meeting on the first Tuesday of each month or look at the option of finding an alternate date for club meetings. Based on a few responses during our meeting, it seems club members would prefer that the meetings continued on the first Tuesday of each month.
     
4. Public Service - Eric VE3EB
   
   • Eric VE3EB reported that we need 6 additional volunteers for the Aurora Street Festival this Sunday.
     
   • Chris VE3NRT reported that the MADD event went well and thanked Rob VE3RQB, Carlos VA3CAZ, Steve VE3UT, Steve VE3EZ, and John VE3POJ
     
5. Field Day - Steve VE3UT
   
   • Brad VE3HII and Alex VA3ASE have confirmed they will be operating satellite
     
   • Set up will begin after lunch on Friday. We need lots of help on Saturday morning for final set up
     
   • All stations will be on the air at 2pm
     
6. Emcomm – Barry VA3LLT. Barry VA3LLT reported that during the RED Cross SET there was some difficulty getting to Peel Region but the organizers praised Emcomm for how quickly Emcomm was able to setup and begin operation on FL Digi
   
7. Appointment of the AGM chair. Bill VA3QB nominated Ron KG4CVL for AGM chair
   
8. Appointment of the AGM secretary. Chris VE3NRT nominated Chris VA3DXZ for AGM Secretary
   
9. Harvey Bell Award – Chris VE3NRT
   
   • This year’s nominees were all board members
     
   • Two winners were selected this year, Eric VE3EB and Steve VE3UT
     
   • Congratulations to both Eric and Steve
     

Meeting was adjourned and the Annual General Meeting was opened

Upcoming YRARC General Meetings

The first meeting of the new season is on Tuesday, September 1st - before the Labour Day weekend. The meeting schedule for the year is:

• September 1st - Dave VE3OOI on "Model Rocketry & Amateur Radio"
• October 6th - Prof. Paul Delaney, Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy, York University
• November 3rd - Dave VE3KCL on balloon launches with a ham radio telemetry package on board.
• December 1st - Christmas Social
• January 5th - Mini flea market
• February 2nd - TBD
• March 1st - TBD
• April 5th - TBD
• May 3rd - TBD
• June 7th - Barbecue and AGM

Club meetings are at Sharon Temperance Hall at 7:30 pm. 

YRARC Board Minutes - June 16, 2015

Meeting held in the Magna Centre. Called to order at 19:06. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. Board members attending; Chris VE3NRT, Rob VE3RQB, Chris VA3DXZ, Steve VE3UT, David VA3DCY, John VA3JI, Geoff VA3GS. Board members absent: Barry VA3LLT, Eric VE3EB. New board members attending (terms beginning July 1, 2015); Alf VA3BLE, Doug VE3ATP

1. Motion 2015-06-16-01 by John VA3JI to adopt agenda, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried.
   
2. Motion 2015-06-16-02 by Geoff VA3GS to adopt May 19, 2015 board meeting minutes as published in the splatter blog at http://yrarc-splatter.blogspot.ca/, seconded by Steve VE3UT. Motion carried.
   
3. New board member orientation (Chris VE3NRT)
   
4. Governance
   
   • Treasurer’s report (John VA3JI)
     
     Balance at May 31 2015 [Available to members by request to Secretary]
     • Income $50.00
       
     • Expenditures $553.31
       
     • Balance as of Jun 16, 2015 [Available to members by request to Secretary]
       
     • Motion 2015-06-16-03 by John VA3JI to accept the treasurer’s report, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried.
       
5. Property (Rob VE3RQB)
   
   • The communications trailer was deployed to the Aurora Street Sale. The generator was found to be low on fuel.
     
   • Rob VE3RQB requested that the communications trailer generator fuel tank be topped up prior to return to the Bales Road site for storage.
     
   • Rob will advise those persons authorized to tow the trailer, of this new requirement.
     
   • Motion 2015-06-16-04 by Rob VE3RQB that Carlos VA3CAZ be added to the list of authorized towers for the communications trailer, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried.
     
   • Chris VE3NRT will create an email distribution list for the authorized towers, update the Trailer Policy and distribute it to the authorized towers list.
     
   • Motion 2015-06-16-05 by Rob VE3RQB that the club allocates $90.00 for the purchase of 3 parking pad’s which would be used to anchor the tower trailer guys when deployed on pavement or other hard surfaces, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried.
     
6. Repeaters (Steve VE3UT)
   
   • 6m diplexer is now tuned to Tx 53.49 MHz with -1 MHz offset for Rx 52.49 MHz with 110dB isolation. There is no PL tone.
     
   • Level of the link radio in Aurora was adjusted
     
   • Reconfiguration of batteries at VE3YRC-VHF site
     
     • The DC power supply feeding the batteries was found to be introducing noise.
       
     • The batteries were isolated so that one battery now feeds the link radio and the remaining battery feeds the VE3YRC-VHF repeater. The power supply DC continues to feed the VE3YRC-VHF repeater battery and a trickle charger was installed and connected to the link radio battery.
       
     • As a result of these changes, the battery backup time for the VE3YRC-VHF repeater is reduced.
       
     • Steve reported that a total of $199.79 has been spent against the $200.00 repeater float.
       
     • Motion 2015-06-16-06 by Geoff VA3GS to increase the repeater float (Motion 2015-03-17-06) from $200.00 to $300.00 to accommodate the purchase of a trickle charger for the link radio battery, seconded by David VA3DCY. Motion carried.
       
7. Events – No report
   
8. Emcomm
   
   • Chris VE3NRT reported that the May 29th York Region 'Back 2 Basic' exercise went well and drew attention to Robert VE3BXG’s report emailed earlier to the board (see attached)
     
   • Steve VE3UT discovered the Thornhill Amateur Radio Club’s 2m antenna discarded on the roof of the MacKenzie Health Centre. Steve suggested we request direction from Emcomm on what to do with the antenna.
     
9. Membership
   
   • Field Day: Motion 2015-06-16-07 by Steve VE3UT that the club allocates $253.12 for the rental of toilets for field day, seconded by Geoff VA3GS. Motion carried.
     
   • Guest speakers;
     
     • Sept 2015 Rocketry / AM Radio
       
     • Oct 2015 - Dr. Delaney
       
     • Nov 2015 – Barry VE3ISX remote stations
       
     • Need suggestions for remaining meetings
       
10. Trillium Goals: Chris VE3NRT reported that at the last Emcomm meeting, they discussed the next phase of infrastructure that the club should consider for a future Trillium grant.
    
11. Other business
    
    • John VA3JI requested that the job of property valuation be handled by the property manager going forward
      
    • John VA3JI reported that the IRLP is unstable with the TX locking on after a power reset. He is looking into options to replace it or repair it.
      
    • Geoff VA3GS responded to a question from Steve VE3UT confirming that he had not yet received a response from WYNSORC.
      
    • Doug VE3ATP confirmed he will tow the tower trailer to the field day site next Tuesday
      
12. Meeting adjourned
    

Minutes - YRARC General Meeting 2015-05-05

Meeting held at the Sharon Temperance Hall. The meeting was called to order at 1935, chaired by Chris VE3NRT. 41 members and 3 guest in attendance. Geoff VA3GS Secretary Pro Tempore.

1. Agenda
   
   • The agenda for the meeting was presented. Eric VE3EB requested that Public Service Events be added to the agenda. Item was added.
     
2. Minutes of the last meeting:
   
   • Motion 2015-05-05-01 by Eric VE3EB to approve the minutes of the April meeting as published online in the Splatter Blog, seconded by Steve VE3UT. Motion carried.
     
3. Financial update, John VA3JI:
   
   • Reported that the balance was the same as reported at the April meeting, [Balance is available to members from the Club Secretary], less the $150.00 the BoD had voted to cover the cost of the new antenna for the 6m repeater.
     
4. News:
   
   • Robert VA3BXG has been appointed by the BoD to manage the EmComm group.
     
   • Nominations for the Harvey Bell Award are due by 31 May.
     
   • Dayton: Rick VA3VO has room in his vehicle if anyone is interested in going to Dayton.
     
   • The June meeting will be the annual Club BBQ and AGM
     
   • Club members will be electing 6 new directors at the AGM in June. Anyone wishing to stand for election should contact Chris VE3NRT.
     
5. Field Day, Steve VE3UT
   
   • Will be held at the same site as last year.
     
   • Contacts with other EmComm/ARES stations will be organized to garner additional points.
     
   • Planning for the event is well under way. Members of the local municipal government will attend, as well as a reporter from the local newspaper.
     
6. Public Service, Eric VE3EB: Operators are required for the following events. If interested please contact the Public Service Director, indicating the event(s) that you are interested in helping with.
   
   • May 31 York - Simcoe Riders MADD Charity Ride. Provide communications at 4 check points in and around the region. The route will start at the Newmarket town offices, go east of Newmarket this year into Mt. Albert , Udora and north into Jackson's Point and back to the Newmarket town offices. This is the same route used for the first year that the club supported this event. Ham Operators required 6-8. Hrs: 8:00am – 3:00pm approx.
     
   • June 5 Mt. Albert Sports Parade. Provide communications and safety with York Regional Police at various points along the parade route. Ham Operators required 10. Hrs: 5:00pm – 8:00pm approx.
     
   • June 6 Mt. Albert 5K Run. Provide communications and safety with York Regional Police at various points along the 5K run route. Ham Operators required 10. Hrs: 8:00pm – 11:00am approx.
     
   • June 7 Aurora Street Festival. Provide communications, Vendor Management and safety with the Aurora Chamber of Commerce in support of this year’s street festival. Ham Operators required 10. Hrs: 9:00am to 11:30am Approx. Vendor load in. Hrs: 5:00pm to 6:00pm Approx. Vendor Load out and reopen roads.
     
7. EmComm, Robert VA3BXG:
   
   • The club was well represented at the YR Emergency Measures fair on Saturday 09 May.
     
   • The EmComm Net is held the 4th Thursday of the month on VE3YRC VHF, VE3YRC UHF, and VE3YRA commencing at 1930.
     
   • The next EmComm meeting will involve touring a repeater site.
     

Program: After the break Chris VE3NRT gave a demonstration of various digital modes and inexpensive pieces of apparatus and software that Amateurs can use to operate the digital modes.

The meeting finished at 2145.

Minutes - YRARC General Meeting - 2015-04-07

Meeting held at the Sharon Temperance Hall. The meeting was called to order at 19:31. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. 40 members and 2 guest in attendance

1. Adoption of the minutes
   
   • Motion 2015-04-03-01 by Rob VE3RQB to adopt the minutes of the March 3rd general meeting minutes, seconded by Robert VA3BXG. Motion carried.
     
2. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • Current Account
     
     • February month end balance [Available to members on request to Secretary]
       
   • February disbursements:
     
     • Directors and officers Insurance $649.08
       
     • Repeater controller $600.00
       
     • Repeater maintenance $181.87
       
     • Trailer maintenance $76.31
       
   • Income:
     
     • Donations $100.00
       
     • Membership dues $25.00
       
   • Balance at the end of March 2015 [Available to members on request to Secretary]
     
   • April disbursements $14.70
     
   • Balance as of April 7 2015 [Available to members on request to Secretary]
     
   • John VA3JI moved that motion 2015-03-03-04 be amended such that the club allocates $250.00 for the purchase of property insurance to cover club assets not already covered under existing policies, seconded by Robert VA3BXG. Motion Carried.
     
3. Repeater Update Steve VE3UT
   
   • VE3YRC-UHF is back on the air
     
   • The link from VE3YRC-UHF to VE3YRA is operational
     
   • Work is still underway on the link between VE3YRC-VHF and UHF
     
   • An additional donation of $10.00 was received today for the repeater controller
     
   • The repeater controller cost more than $600.00 including exchange and other fees. Steve VE3UT re-confirmed that he is donating the difference between the final purchase price of the controller and the $600.00 approved by the club.
     
4. Public Service Eric VE3EB
   
   • Eric reported the he is updating the online calendar regularly.
     
5. EmComm Update Robert VA3BXG
   
   • Robert VA3BXG provided an overview on EmComm and the need for planning and exercises to be prepared to deliver emergency communications
     
   • The agenda for the upcoming EmComm meeting will touch on
     
     • Election of a new EmComm leader
       
     • Upcoming Red Cross exercise (6-8 Volunteers needed)
       
     • FLDigi Demo
       
     • Establishing a biweekly net
       
     • Upcoming repeater site visit
       
     • May 2nd York Region Emergency Preparedness Fair
       
     • York Region EOC activation
       
     • Update on work underway with EmComm partners (York Regional Police)
       
     • Engaging new municipalities
       
     • Volunteers are need to liaise with services agencies and to help coordinate exercises
       
6. Field Day Steve VE3UT
   
   • Steve VE3UT circulated a questionnaire to club members asking for input on Field Day planning
     
7. Hamfest Geoff VA3GS
   
   • The date has been confirmed for Oct 31
     
   • Looking for ideas to attract more vendors and patrons
     
8. After the break, Peter West VE3HG from the Ontario Contest Club presented an overview on contesting
   

Meeting adjourned at 21:26

YRARC General Meeting - January 6th, 2015

Meeting held at the Sharon Temperance Hall. The meeting was called to order at 19:30. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. 31 members and 3 guests in attendance; Brian Hopkins VA3BAH, Alex Sutherland VE3ASE, Ian Sutherland

1. Agenda
   
   • The agenda for the meeting was presented by Chris VE3NRT (attachment #1)
2. Adoption of the minutes
   
   • Motion 2015-01-06-01 by Brian VE3IBW to adopt the minutes of the XX general meeting minutes, second by Steve VE3EZ. Motion carried
3. Opening remarks – Chris VE3NRT
   
4. Repeaters – Steve VE3UT
   
   • VE3YRA 145.350Mhz is going off the air next Wednesday Jan 14 2015 at 10am, and will be off the air for 2 weeks to complete work.
     
   • Work is continuing on the project to link VE3YRA to VE3YRC. Bob VE3WY has loaned the club a filter to reduce interference.
     
   • There was a question from the audience asking if VE3YRA will go back to original location. Steve VE3UT reported that it is unlikely we will be relocating.
     
   • New audio messages have been recorded and sent to Steve VE3UT for use on the repeaters. Special thanks to Cindy.
     
   • Question from the audience on the status of the 6m repeater. Geoff VA3GS reported that the frequency pair was unused for 3 years and has been relinquished. A new frequency pair can be acquired but there is presently no location available to host the repeater.
     
5. Treasurer’s Report – John VA3JI
   
   • Bank balance at the end of November $22,967
     
   • Income $50.00 dues plus $500 security deposit
     
   • Expenses $5,279 for Hamfest, $278.20 for the Christmas party, $200.00 for Winter Field Day, and $64.21 for the Trailer
     
   • Current balance is $17,695.59
     
6. EMCOMM – Don VE3IXJ
   
   • There were no on air, or face to face meetings held in December
     
   • The group is continuing the work to improve sites
     
   • Work at the East Gwillimbury EOC will begin this year. Don VE3IXJ will take the lead on this site on behalf of EMCOMM
     
   • Next EMCOMM meeting will be held this Thursday Jan 8, 2015 at 7:30pm at the Newmarket Community Centre
     
7. 6m Net – Chris VE3NRT
   
   • Chris VE3NRT has been hosting the net for over a year. Idea is to move the net to different bands / modes (between 6m and 80m) and continue to operate at the same time each Monday.
     
   • Suggestion to use 30m PSK next week. Chris will announce the frequency and mode on the YRARC Yahoo group
     
8. Winter Field Day – Steve VE3UT
   
   • There has been lots of interest expressed by club members
     
   • Reviewed the list of equipment pledged by the participants; Radios, Antennas (R5 in trailer, R8, G5RV, 75m dipole cut to 3.75 MHz, 160m), Coax: Steve asked participants to bring coax, Participants are asked to bring their laptops, Chris VE3NRT will take the lead on logging using N1MMplus, which will be networked across all PCs. Participants are asked to install N1MMplus ahead of the event
     
   • Discussed the station layout inside the Temperance Hall
     
   • Need volunteers to transport Communications Trailer from Bales Road, and tower trailer from the summer Field Day site
     
   • Space heater for the club trailer is needed
     
   • Everything except lights, coffee pots and space heaters to be operated on generators
     Kitchen: we have 14 people who have purchased meal tickets.
     
   • Two generators are available which should meet our needs. Participants are asked to bring extension cords
     
   • Concrete blocks are needed for antenna anchors
     
   • Chris VE3NRT indicated that the rules will allow us to make repeater contacts. All club members are asked to monitor VE3YRC.
     
   • CW and digital contacts on each band count as multipliers.
     
9. Sable Island and Navassa – Doug VE3VS
   
   • There is an amateur radio operator presently working on Sable Island who will try to be on 15m each day around 2220z for about an hour during the month of January
     
   • Navassa Island will be activated for approximately 2 weeks near end of January to mid February, with 5 to 6 stations operating. This is a very rare opportunity. Call is K1N1
     

YRARC Board of Directors Meeting - December 16, 2014

Meeting held in the Magna Centre. Called to order at 19:00. Chaired by Chris VE3NRT. Board members attending; Chris VE3NRT, Rob VE3RQB, Chris VA3DXZ, Eric VE3EB, Barry VA3LLT, David VA3DCY, Steve VE3UT, John VA3JI, Geoff VA3GS. Board members absent; none. Guests attending; none

1. Review of the agenda as proposed by Chris VE3NRT
   
   • Motion 2014-12-16-01 to adopt agenda. Motion carried.
2. Adoption of Nov 18/14 board meeting minutes
   
   • Motion 2014-12-16-02 to adopt minutes as published in the splatter blog at http://yrarc-splatter.blogspot.ca/. Motion carried.
3. Governance
   
   • Treasurers Report – John VA3JI
     
     • Balance as of Nov 30-14 [Balance available to members upon request to Secretary]
       
     • Expenses: Total $5,621.50 (Hamfest $5,279.09 + Christmas Party $278.20 + Trailer $64.21)
       
     • Income: Memberships $50.00
       
     • Balance as of Dec 16-14: [Balance available to members upon request to Secretary]
       
   • Insurance coverage – John VA3JI
     
     • John VA3JI is working toward providing a report to the board at the Feb 2015 board meeting
       
     • It was confirmed by John VA3JI that the trailers are considered commercial and are not covered while being towed by a typical personal motor vehicle insurance policy
       
     • Rob VE3RQB indicated he had received a quote of $80.00 flat rate one way commercial towing. The idea being that the club could avoid purchasing a vehicle policy for the tower trailer (similar to what is in place for the communications trailer) if a commercial tow operator was hired to move the tower trailer when needed. Depending on the frequency of use of the tower trailer, this could be a more cost effective option for the club.
       
     • John VA3JI presented a list of the insurance requirements (including a list of club assets) to be provided to the club’s insurance broker for the purpose of requesting a quote. The value of some of the assets was still outstanding. In particular, John VA3JI was looking for the original purchase price of the communications trailer and equipment installed in it.
       
     • Eric VE3EB indicated that the value of the communications trailer as equipped was approximately $27,000.00 excluding in kind contributions.
       
     • The requirements list was amended to reflect a value of $27,000.00 for the communications trailer.
       
     • Motion 2014-12-16-03 by Chris VA3DXZ to confirm that the board is in agreement that the list as amended adequately captures the club’s insurance requirements, seconded by Rob VE3RQB. Motion carried.
       
     • Chris VE3NRT will provide the list to Russell VA3WTR who had indicated that the region was willing to solicit a competitive quote on our behalf.
       
4. Property – Rob VE3RQB
   
   • Potential retired ambulance acquisition
     
     • There was a short discussion about the utility of an ambulance in addition to the communications trailer and the concern over the limited resources available to the club to support and maintain both assets.
   • Go Kits
     
     • Chris VE3NRT confirmed that he has all of the hand held radios
       
     • Chris VE3NRT will retrieve the remaining go kits and prepare an inventory
       
   • EMCOMM Leadership
     
     • Russell had indicated at the last general meeting that EMCOMM would be looking for a new leader as he focused this year on support of the 2015 PAN AM games.
       
     • Barry VA3LLT will contact Russell VA3WTR to understand his plans and report back at the next board meeting.
       
5. Repeaters – Steve VE3UT
   
   • Steve VE3UT suggested that the board consider allocating a fund to cover miscellaneous expenses for materials etc… that are needed from time to time to maintain or improve the performance of the repeaters.
     
   • Motion 2014-12-16-04 by Steve VE3UT to allocate up to $200.00 for funding of incidental expenses incurred in maintaining the repeaters, seconded by Eric VE3EB. Motion carried.
     
   • Intermodulation interference was causing issues with the link radio linking VE3YRC UHF to VE3YRA. This problem is being investigated.
     
   • The radio linking VE3YRC VHF to VE3YRC UHF should be replaced. Any club member willing to donate a replacement radio is asked to contact Steve VE3UT
     
   • Steve VE3UT proposed increasing the audio recording library for the repeaters. The board was in favour of this. Steve VE3UT will contact Cindy who has helped the club in the past. An honorarium (approximately $25.00) will be required and will be funded from motion 2014-12-16-04.
     
   • The VE3YRA controller will be removed from operation to facilitate a firmware upgrade and reprogramming. Steve VE3UT will make an announcement at the next general meeting and on the Yahoo group advising that the repeater will be off the air for a period of time in January while the work is being done.
     
   • Steve VE3UT re-iterated the goal of the repeater committee which is to provide coverage across York Region. VE3YRC VHF, VE3YRC UHF, and VE3YRA will be continuously linked together to facilitate region wide coverage. The linking radios can be enabled and disabled in the event that the repeaters need to be isolated.
     
   • Steve VE3UT will provide copies of the scripts and codes to the club Secretary.
     
6. Events - Eric VE3EB
   
   • Recognition Plan
     
     • Eric VE3EB reported that recognition certificates were handed out at the last general meeting. There are still a few to deliver to members who were not present at the general meeting.
       
     • A report will be provided indicating the total volunteer hours of the club for future reference
       
7. Membership – Chris VE3NRT
   
   • Meeting schedule
     
     • Ideas proposed included a talk on IRLP, a presentation by the Ontario Contest Club
       
   • Winter Field Day
     
     • N1MM logging software will be used
       
     • David VA3DCY has collected $90 for meal tickets
       
   • Junk night
     
     • Will be held at the January General meeting
8. Other Business – None
   
9. Motion 2014-12-16-05 by Geoff VA3GS to adjourn meeting, seconded by Rob VE3RQB. Motion carried at 9:10pm.