January 1999
by John Holmans
secretary@kwarc.org

The Jan 4^th 1999 General Meeting
Some forty members and guests ( some from as far afield as Fergus and Elora) turned out on a very snowy night to attend Monday’s meeting. Several members, including Club President Paul Cassel VE3SY, were unable to attend because of the weather. Dave, VA3DGS presided over the evening’s meeting which was called to order at 7:35pm.

After introductions Dave launched right into the business meeting. This reversal of events was as a result of the extra time required to set up for the evening’s demonstration.

The motion to accept the minutes of last month’s meeting was proposed by Bill, VE3WFR and seconded by Gord, VE3NQK. Bill also proposed the motion accepting the treasurer’s report which was seconded by Vern, VE3RVS.

Gord, VE3EOS announced that a Packet Meeting was to be held at the usual place at the usual time of 7:30pm.

John, VE3AMZ, delivering the Technical Report, announced that the club had been in receipt of a very generous donation of eight reels of Heliax cable. It was pointed out that operating frequency of the repeater VE3EUC was mistakenly recorded as 442Mhz instead of 444.7Mhz.

QSL manager, Gord VE3NQK, declared that the club now has three confirmed countries; the United States, Canada and Norway. There was some confusion regarding the Norwegian card that is addressed to VE3IC/7. No one present seemed able to offer an explanation. As the collection increases these, and others like them, will be mounted into an album reserved specifically for this purpose. Gord also informed the members of a logging program which will be made available to club members wishing to use the VE3IC call during contests.

Ron Gimbel, VE3DBD, the club’s Education Co-ordinator is seeking additional registrants for the beginner’s course, scheduled to start January 18^th. The numbers of applications receive to date has not been encouraging.

At 8:45pm, Ben, VA3BNY announced that with their preparations complete he and Ted, VE3TJD were in a position to begin their talk on Packet Radio. The talk was divided into two sections. Ben started with a slick Power Point presentation that enabled members to see in detail the workings of Packet. Later, Ted demonstrated various Packet sites and walked club members through some of the software and commands.

Dave, VA3DGS closed meeting directly after the completion of the talk.

John VE3VRA, Secretary

Executive Committee Meeting
Present:  Paul VE3SY, Gord VE3EOS, Dave VA3DGS, Greg VE3NXB, John VE3AMZ, Bill VE3WFR, Ben VA3BNY, Frank VEOFH and John VE3VRA.

Cancellation of meetings
As El Ninia continues to wreak havoc across the region it was thought that a procedure should be put into place that could inform members of a cancellation. Frank VE3OFH informed those present that a greeting option is available through the RCK repeater. A small vocabulary of words are on hand that can be sorted into an appropriate message. This message can then be set remotely using a 3 digit code.

Objective: To configure the RCK repeater to broadcast a cancellation notice over the air.

Red Cross
For some time now the Red Cross has been financing the license fee for RCK. Paul VE3SY, suggested that the organization should be reimbursed in the form of a cheque or donation. It is common knowledge that the Red Cross is currently in financial difficulty.

Objective: To open a dialogue with the Red Cross and improve its longstanding relationship with KWARC.

Cuban Update
No satisfactory communication has yet been made with Don VE3ESE regarding the shipment of technological aid to Cuba.

Objective: Pose the following questions to the University of Santiago de Cuba: What would they like us to do?; How can donors be assured the exported equipment will find its way into amateur hands?; Can some means of feedback be implemented that would enable KWARC to assess the success of the project?

Finance
Several ideas were posed to reduce the cost of membership and maximize club funds.

Objective #1: To reduce the cost of membership by $5 for those persons able to receive the Kilowatter bulletin via the KWARC website. The reduction could increase the membership, since the associate membership fee would be only $10.

Objective #2: That the $1500 earned by hosting the Radio Society of Ontario be reinvested into GIC’s or some other monetary vehicle.

Fleamarket
Paul mentioned a disturbing comment printed in the Guelph club’s bulletin regarding, what was described as, the poor effort of KWARC members at the last year’s fleamarket.

Objective: To gain an understanding of the criticism leveled against the club.

Action: Gord VE3EOS to obtain a copy of the bulletin containing the article

The following items were discussed informally.

Nominations
Members examined the problem of finding individuals willing to take office within KWARC. Paul VE3SY asked those present to indicate their willingness to move up the ladder, or continue in their present positions. Several present reported that a commitment for a further year would prove difficult.

Meeting Format
It was suggested the coffee break at mid-meeting be extended and the business meeting shortened.

Constitution
Ben voiced a complaint he had received regarding the specific use of male gender in the club constitution. Paul countered that the subject of gender identification is itself addressed within the constitution and that KWARC is "politically correct".

Announcements
Ben announced a proposed evening tour of Raytheon, tentatively scheduled for the month of February. He suggested those interested "stay tuned" for further information.

The February club meeting will be dedicated to "Swap Night". The centre area will be cleared to make room for display tables.

The March club meeting will be a "Show-and-Tell" night.

Ben, delegated to investigate the impact of CTCSS tones on KSR, hopes he’ll have enough data to address the February club meeting. John VE3AMZ, will be investigating an inexpensive circuit that would allow those without CTCSS capability, access to the repeater.

The repeater VE3IXY is back on the air. The temporary antenna is reportedly giving good signal coverage. Ben is currently trying to locate a manual for the repeater; ICOM 38A220. Bill VE3WFR offered his assistance in finding a manual.

Paul reported that he has received an assurance from VA3LAW that, with respect to the club’s incorporation, everything is ok. The Incorporation is being brought up to date.

A motion to adjourn the meeting was proposed by Bill, VE3WFR and seconded by Ben, VA3BNY at 9:30pm.

John Holman VE3VRA secretary@kwarc.org