Central Toronto Amateur Radio Club Newsletter
November 2011
The regular monthly Club meeting was held on at on 2011-11-01 at the Leaside Retirement Residence, 10 William Morgan Drive, Toronto, Ontario
In the absence of the Chairman, the President opened the meeting at 19h32 EDT.
Members Attending: Cristo Risteski, Ward VE3WGK, Gary VE3NMI, Ori VA3XW (Training Co-ord), David VE3SB, Tim VE3IXN, Jean VE3WAD, Alex VA3XLO, Bill VE3RYE, Paul VA3PAW, Jay VE3EMP, Ian VE3IJS, Bill VA3WTT (Treasurer), Jeff VE3PRX (Secretary), Peter VE3EYI (President), Ralph Welsh, Ian VA3ODA (new), Ray VE3UKO, Al VE3HVX (new), Richard Bozec, Fai VE3FAI, Ben Lo (22)
Regrets: Rob VE3ESC, Arun VA3UMA, John VA3JE (Chairman), Dave VA3ETE (4)
Visitors: nil
Reading of the Minutes:
-The Secretary presented the Minutes of the October meeting. There were no errors or corrections. A Motion to adopt the Minutes as read was made by Jay EMP, seconded by Paul PAW. Carried.
Business Arising from the Minutes:
-A Motion to adopt the new CenTor ARC Constitution, a draft of which had been distributed to all Members, was made by Ori XW and seconded by Jean WAD. Carried unanimously. The President and Secretary signed and dated the official copy of the Constitution, followed by all Members present. A soft copy of the Constitution will be emailed to all Members and the original hard copy will be retained in the files of the Secretary.
President’s Report & Trivia Challenge:
-The Club is still looking for logo submissions. Please email your ideas to pres@va3cta.net.
-Members not in good standing or who have retired from the club will only receive meeting notices.
-Which famous entertainment personality patented the idea for spread spectrum?
Secretary’s Report:
-The Club website www.va3cta.net is taking shape. Please report any bugs to secretary@va3cta.net
Treasurer’s Report:
-Renewal fees have been received from almost all of the current Members and several new members have joined the Club. Members can contact the Treasurer for financial details.
Club Station Report:
-Peter EYI says that the main space for our shack has been cleaned by LRR and the bathroom will be done shortly. The operating desk donated by Jeff PRX will be assembled soon. (If he can remember how it goes together.) Once workmen are finished we can begin to amass stuff in the space.
-Ward WGK reports that the typo in the VA3CTA station licence has been corrected by Industry Canada. He also has a used computer and UHF mag mount available for use in the shack.
-Jay EMP has offered a 30A power supply
-Paul PAW also has a computer available.
-Ori XW has a JRC NRD-525 general coverage receiver and a small lamp for us to use.
-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.
New Business:
-Gary NMI gave a recap/update of his 7-channel Bluetooth Linking Project
-Peter EYI gave an update on the state of Neil NL1NZ’s station, see the October newsletter for details. We will try to contact him via VHF IRLP at the January meeting.
-Tim IXN spoke about the plan for the Christmas dinner and the possible venues he had checked. After discussion the majority present agreed that the Dec/06 social dinner will be held at the Mandarin Buffet, 2206 Eglinton Ave East at 1930 local. RSVP to va3cta@gmail.com by Nov/25 so Tim can make reservations
-Ori XW reports that the students in the ham licence course are progressing steadily and are positive about the experience. He said there will be a short questionnaire at the end of the course asking for comments and suggestions.
Member’s On-air Activity:
- Peter EYI described good coverage for the VA3XPR repeater (441.950+ p/l 100.0) along the 401 from Morningside to Avenue Rd. The section from Avenue Road to Yorkdale Mall was a bit patchy due to the tall buildings to the south of the highway.
-Ian IJS said that he worked Sao Paulo, Cuba, on 10m and reminded us that the higher HF bands will continue to improve as the current sunspot cycle progresses.
-Ray UKO had a QSO with a German ham who had Ray in his log 2 other times going back 20 years!
Milestones:
-Paul PAW got his licence 6 months ago.
-Bill WTT and Cristo R both have birthdays in November. Congratulations.
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 2228. Unfortunately, due to an oversight by the fill-in Chairman, caffeinated drinks were not on the menu. The crowd was tolerant but resolved to avoid involving upper management in any future refreshment scheduling activities.
Presentation:
-At 2049 Ori XW introduced the Speaker, his friend, and new Member, Ian Gallimore VA3ODA. Ian displayed and talked about a wide variety of military radios from his collection, most of which are in working condition. Pictures from his talk are posted here.
-Peter EYI thanked the Speaker who offered to answer any questions about, and allow hands-on time with the gear after the meeting.
Motion to adjourn was made at 2133EDT by Ward WGK, seconded by Gary NMI. Carried.
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 PAW,
http://www.k3lr.com a serious contest station and their antenna system K3LR Antennas
From Jay EMP
http://www.reversebeacon.net/ AR-DX Cluster DX-Skimmer, Mostly CW
From Peter EYI
Scanner frequency source Aeronautical frequencies Broadcast and other frequencies
Ham news from CQ Magazine
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/
Answer to President’s trivia question.
Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 Surprised?
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 VE3TWR 145.410/r on the drive in. Visitors are welcome.