Central Toronto Amateur Radio Club Newsletter
April 2012
The regular monthly Club meeting was held on at on 2012-04-03 at the Leaside Retirement Residence, 10 William Morgan Drive, Toronto, Ontario. The Chairman opened the meeting at 19h34 EDT.
Members Attending:Richard VA3RBZ, Peter VE3EYI (president), Warren VE3WDE, John VA3JE (chairman), Jeff VE3PRX (secretary), Bill VE3RYE, Gary VE3NMI, Hugh VE3JNL, David VE3SB, Ward VE3WGK, Alex VA3XLO, Tim VE3IXN, Ray VE3UKO, Jean VE3WAD, Jay VE3EMP, Paul VA3PAW, Ori VA3XW, Bill VA3WTT (treasurer), Don VA3XFT, Al VE3HVX, Ralph VE3RWO (21) Visitors: Alison Honsberger, George Chapman VA3GJ, Harold Murray VE3VJJ, Bob Chandler VE3SRE, Don Hutton VE3AFE, Peter Dederer VE3JR (6)
Regrets: Natalie Howarth VE3URZ, Bruno Bourgoin, Ian VA3ODA, Ben VA3BLO (4)
Reading of the Minutes:
-The secretary read the minutes from the March meeting. There were no errors or omissions.
-A Motion to adopt the Minutes as read made by by Jay EMP, seconded by Paul PAW. Carried.
Business Arising from the Minutes:
-Peter EYI: The name tag project is still in the works.
-Ward WGK: Equipment owned by CTARC has been relocated from the OSC shack for eventual installation at VA3CTA.
-Don XFT: Spoke about the weekly GlobalNet360 held Saturday’s at 1400UTC on his repeater VA3XPR. A recent guest speaker was RAC President Geoff Bawden who gave an update about distracted driving legislation. For information about the Net click here: http://www.va3xpr.net/global360net/ Note: The Net will be moving to Wednesdays at 1930 Eastern Time.
-Ori XW volunteered to be an occasional controller for Don’s net
-The CANWARN training schedule is posted at www.va3cta.net
New Business
-John JE / Jay EMP: Noted that 60m (5Mhz) is now open for Canadians. An experimental license (VX9) is required to use this band. Cost is $52.80. Apply to Industry Canada. Jay holds a VX9 licence.
-Ward WGK is taking photos of Club members for LRR id cards.
-Harold VJJ (LRR resident) donated a shortwave radio to us. Thanks Harold!
President’s Report:
-We have made contact with our new LRR person. She is fully on board and now understands our needs for Room 430. We have been given approval in principle to run FD on the back lawn.
-A go-to person is required to coordinate the Club’s Field Day effort.
-In response to a Member’s question regarding holding bi-monthly meetings, it is not possible due to restrictions with LRR. Another consideration is the difficulty of arranging sufficient topics for presentation.
-Reminder that the Dayton Hamfest is on May 18! Dialog to be open on the website site for ride sharing.
-Brampton hamfest was all sorts of fun with several Members attending.
-The question regarding whether the Club should be getting a table at various local ham-fests will be a topic for further discussion.
Trivia challenge:
-What Canadian, in 1924, patented the system we now know as fax? (Answer in Floobie Dust)
Secretary’s Report:
-Changes and upgrades are in the works for our website. Once the Members tab has secure access it will contain forums and Members-only information.
-Anyone interested in helping out should contact Jeff PRX.
Treasurer’s Report:
-Our finances remain healthy and receipts have been distributed to new Members.
-Financial details are documented in the Minutes and available to Members upon request.
Club Station Report:
-If you have gear or items such as tables, chairs, bookcases, file cabinets, lamps, etc which you are willing to donate or provide on long-term loan to the Club please email va3cta@gmail.com. While we don’t have room to accommodate 100 cubic feet of stuff, having an inventory list will give us a good idea of what is available to work with.
Member’s On-air Activity:
-Don XFT: Is working on a 900Mhz crosstown data link for VA3XPR/r to improve the internet connection speed for IRLP/Echolink.
-Paul PAW: Worked Siberia on 20m using a vertical 20m and received a 55 report.
-Richard RBZ: Made some contacts on his 6m handheld. He said more people need to try 6m.
-David SB: Made an Echolink contact in NY state. He’s still not convinced that non-RF QSOs count.
Milestones:
-Paul PAW: Celebrates his 1st anniversary as a Ham.
-Ray UKO: Has been licensed for 20 years.
-Peter JR: Has been licensed for 32 yrs.
-Ori XW: has administered the licence exam for 60 new Hams!
-G. Marconi: celebrates his 138th birthday on April 25th. In lieu of presents stir the ether.
Future Presentations:
-The Chairman is always open to suggestions for, or offers to give, a presentation at a meeting. Contact John JE in either case.
Break:was called at 20:08. Thanks to Jean WAD for the munchies and LRR for coffee.
Presentation:
-At 20:39 Peter Dederer VE3JR gave a very interesting talk about the Titanic sinking and the role wireless played in the event. Along with many illustrations he showed a number of rare publications, including an operator’s manual from the era. He said there was a wealth of material available on the Internet for those who wished to know more about the tragic event of 100 years ago.
-After an opportunity for questions Peter EYI thanked the Presenter.
-The President declared the meeting adjourned at 2132 EDT
The Club meets at 1930 local on the first Tuesday of the month, unless it is a holiday, in which case the second Tuesday. Check in & out with Front Desk at Leaside Retirement Residence, 10 William Morgan Drive, in Leaside. Turn North off Overlea Blvd, West of Don Mills Rd. Parking on the West side of the building. Monitor VA3XPR 441.950+ p/l 100.0 or VE3TWR 145.410- on the drive in. Visitors are welcome.
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Floobie Dust: (A term first coined in the 1976 National Semiconductor Audio Handbook, defined as “a contemporary term derived from archaic Latin miscellaneus, whose disputed history probably springs from Greek origins (influenced, of course, by Egyptian linguists) — meaning here “a mixed bag.” )
From Jay EMP: Terrific Soldering Tutorial
From Paul PAW: Echolink Status Page
Things a new Ham should know
From Peter EYI: Early days nostalgia
The joys of CW
Kitchener-Waterloo ARCGmail Tap
Internet Linking Book (4 copies at Toronto Public Library)
Answer to Trivia Question