Central Toronto Amateur Radio Club Newsletter
March 2012
The regular monthly Club meeting was held on at on 2012-03-06 at the Leaside Retirement Residence, 10 William Morgan Drive, Toronto, Ontario. The Chairman opened the meeting at 19h34 EST.
Members Attending: Richard VA3RBZ, Peter VE3EYI (president), Warren VE3WDE, John VA3JE (chairman). Jeff VE3PRX (secretary), Ian VA3ODA, Bill VE3RYE, Hugh VE3JNL, David VE3SB, Ward VE3WGK, Tim VE3IXN, Ben VA3BLO, Jean VE3WAD, Cristo R, Jay VE3EMP, Ian VE3IJS, Paul VA3PAW, Ori VA3XW (course coordinator) , Bill VA3WTT (treasurer), Don VA3XFT, Al VE3HVX, Ralph VE3RWO (22) Regrets:David VA3WTX, Clayton Wozney, Gary VE3NMI, Fai VE3FAI, Bill VA3PPC (5)Visitors: Harold Murray VE3VJJ, Bruno Bourgoin, Ed Burns VE3EOC, Don Hutton VE3AFE, Ken Ström VA3KRS (5)
Ori XW, the Club’s course coordinator, announced the call signs of our newest Hams and presented certificates to those in attendance. Congratulations to: Ben VA3BLO, David VA3WTX, Richard VA3RBZ, Ralph VE3RWO, and Ahmed VA3VVA.
Reading of the Minutes:
-The secretary read the minutes from the January meeting as the Feb Meeting was canceled.
-A Motion to adopt as read made by by Jay EMP, seconded by Ward WGK. Carried.
Business Arising from the Minutes:
-Peter EYI reported that the Club is now RAC affiliated.
-Ian ODA asked if we want to find out who are RAC members so we can tell RAC and indicate same on the Members list. A request will be emailed to Members.
New Business
-Ori XW: Asked if there is any progress with name tags. An update will be tabled at the next meeting.
-Peter EYI read an email from Neil VE3NGS/ZL1NZ who congratulated the new Hams, expressed his disappointment and not being able to connect via IRLP during the January meeting, updated the group on his progress towards getting on-air from his new location and on his participation in Down-Under Field Day.
-Ward WGK reported that Neil NZ unknowingly bought a counterfeit iCOM radio which failed just prior to our planned IRLP QSO from the January meeting.
-Don XFT reminded the group about the regular 1400 GMT Saturday net on VA3XPR/r. Check www.va3xpr.net for details Global 360 net on the XPR repeater. Anyone with an idea for a topic or who can be an occasional control operator for the net should contact him.
-Paul PAW showed a Linux program that plots contest contacts on Google maps. -Uses Linux logging program for his contesting. Check his blog to see how it looks Contest results on Google Contact Paul if you are interesting in the details.
-Cristo asked if we should we meet more frequently. The president will take it under advisement
-Ward WGK said that CanWarn training is coming up soon! The schedule will be blasted when available.
President’s Report:
-Peter EYI presented a number of ideas for Club activities and put forth other strategic initiatives for discussion. The details will will be emailed to Members and feedback solicited
-Trivia challenge: What significant amateur radio first took place on 2 meters at 0503 July 15, 1950? Answer in Floobie Dust.
Secretary’s Report:
-The OSCARC website has been decommissioned. All content is archived at www.VA3CTA.net .
Treasurer’s Report:
-Bill WTT reported that our cash reserve is healthy and that he had processed several new memberships.
-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.
Members’ On-air Activity:
-Paul PAW worked 6 continents on 15m!
-Jay EMP worked Argentina on 20m using 30W and a vertical antenna.
-Ralph RWO worked FL and WA.
Milestones:
-Ralph RWO and Don XFT had a birthdays in February. Because there was no meeting, congratulations are overdue.
-Ward WGK has his birthday in March so on-time congratulations are tendered.
-David SB celebrates 10 years as born-again Ham. David had a lengthy call-free hiatus after a long period with one.
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 20:43. Thanks to Jean WAD for the munchies and LRR for coffee.
Presentation:
-At 21:15 Presentation: John JE presented a very interesting talk entitled “50 Years of Amateur Radio in Space Satellites”. He detailed the history of communication satellites designed and funded by Radio Amateurs and showed pictures of the various implementations. He wound up his presentation with a demonstration of the of the SatPC32 tracking software. John provided the following links: HamSat BasicsAmSat Website
Working OSCAR 7 (video)SatPC32 Website
-After an opportunity for questions Peter EYI thanked John for his presentation.
Motion to adjourn: was made at 2155EST by Ori XW, seconded by Ward WGK. Carried.
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.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 Paul PAWLots of Ham basics
From Gary NMIInflatable antenna towers
From Neil ZL1NZRe 500Khz allocation
Base jump @ Radio ArcalaMorse to Twitter
Hallicrafters Ham gear in WW2 Pt 1
Hallicrafters Ham gear in WW2 Pt 2
From Peter EYI
Morse key collectionHam remembers WW2 (Reprint from the February 1981 issue of TCA)
Answer to President’s trivia question: Moonbounce Lots of background, links and pictures.