VE7PRC Penticton Amateur Radio Club
P.A.R.C.
251 Dawson Avenue, Penticton, B.C. Canada V2A 3N4

Minutes of the Penticton Amateur Radio Club  meetings as recorded, not yet approved and may contain errors and or omissions.

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Penticton Amateur Radio Club
251 Dawson Avenue
Penticton, B. C., V2A 3N4
Tel: 250-493-2335
Apex Mtn. Rptr: 146.920 - Campbell Mtn. Rptr: 147.120 + IRLP Node: 146.58 CTCSS DCS 123
www.ve7prc.ca

The regular monthly was held on December 14th, 2011 at the clubhouse commencing at 1935 hours local time. With Geoff Clarke VE7GXA in the chair and 13 members present. The meeting opened with the self-introduction of the members as follows:
VE7GXA, VE7MGY, VE7EBR, VE7DMZ, VE7WT, VE7WPH, VE7KLI, VA7GV, VA7AXG, VA7KV, VE7WHH, VA7QQ and VE7GH.

Reports of Sick and/or Injured Amateurs, and/or Silent Key(s)

VA7QQ, Al McNeil, reported that VE7DGB, Don Burg, residing in Vernon, had passed away early in December. Don was frequently heard on the 146,880 MHz machine out of Silver Star. Our sincere condolences go to his next of kin and friends.

Minutes of Preceding and/or Intervening Meetings

The previous minutes were noted, and duly accepted as recorded. (By then fill-in secretary VE7EBR, on November 9, 2011.) Moved by VE7MGY, seconded by VE7EBR – Carried.

Business arising from the minutes

Nil

Treasurer's Report

The Treasurer, Al McNeil, VE7QQ, presented his financial report. After a short discussion, it was moved by himself, and seconded by VE7MGY, that the report be accepted Carried.

VE7WPH, Bill, mentioned that the charge incurred for the club’s Webpage domain in 2011 was not for one year, but actually for two years. In other words, 2012 is already paid for.

Correspondence 

Nil

 Standing Committee Reports

Repeater(s):

1. Apex Mtn: The custodian, VE7EBR, Benoit, said all is well. The coverage seems to be identical to what it was before the repeater was moved into the SAR building, batteries replaced, coax to the Sinclair antenna spliced, cavities re-tuned, et cetera. (VE7OHR, for example, gets in from the Trans Canada Highway, in the east someone worked from Grand Forks, and Carlos put in a respectable signal coming off Sunday Summit the other day.)
2. Campbell Mtn: : Mike, VE7WT, reported that the repeater (and autopatch) is working well, with a good footprint from Oliver in the south to Westbank in the north.
   The following should actually be under "new business," but I decided to include it here. As we all know, someone, presumably using hydraulically operated shears, cut our locks on the repeater shack on Campbell Mountain. When Robin, VA7KV (with Bill, VE7BVO), arrived at the site some time ago, he found the heavy padlocks on the ground, but the door was still shut. Inside no damages or theft of equipment were evident. In the meantime the strong padlocks have been replaced. Benoit, VE7EBR, is contemplating re-installing the alarm, which would draw our attention if the door is being tampered with. A sign at the shack will give a contact telephone number now, which is the one of VE7WT.
   
3. PRC: VE7GH, Guenter, reported everything is o.k. The battery (backup for the 2-Meter rigs) is fully charged, and the electrolyte level is normal. He also connected the small antenna tuner to the HF Transceiver.
   Use the Tri-Bander (Yagi) for 20, 15 and 10 meters, and the Windom antenna for the lower bands.
4. IRLP Node: Benoit, VE7EBR, reported all is well with the node. He has remote access, and told us that he has "discovered" all kinds of hitherto unknown features in the system, some of which might be useful to us. (Three "on-off" ports, a.o.)
5. UHF: The UHF uplink to Apex also works well, as Robin, VA7KV, mentioned.

Field Day:

1. Benoit, VE7EBR, suggested that this year’s Field Day should be combined with a potluck dinner, overnight stay, campfire with wiener roast, star-watching, et cetera. It would be a great event for the young - and the young-at-heart, no doubt. There was some confusion about the grounds which we have been using up to now: Does it belong to the Moose Lodge Campground or is it a separate parcel altogether? VE7GXA will drive up there in the spring and ask the operators of the lodge. Whatever, let’s hope we get to keep this so wonderful spot. Some members also wondered if we could not host a communication event with the scouts, whenever they have some of their camp-out adventures or jamborees. Perhaps some genuine and long lasting interest in our hobby would thus be created. VA7QQ will see if anything can come about in this respect.

Course Instruction:

Nil

Annual Dinner and/or Awards:

1. Annual Dinner and Silent Auction 31 members/spouses each paid $ 25.00, with beverages being extra. The general consensus as to the success of the dinner and silent auction were favourable. Everybody liked the food – though one member had arranged for a different dish.
   However, in the end the pre-arranged price of $ 25.00 per person was insufficient, and Al had to fork out an extra $ 160.00 to make up the difference. The $ 100.00 cash prize was won by Edna, VA7EDY. What a lucky lady…….
   The silent auction had 46 items for bidding, of which 32 were taken. It was a crying shame, though, to see a perfectly functioning GPS unit to go for only $ 2.00, and a near-new car stereo/CD fetching lousy $ 5.00…. All in all, the auction brought in $ 234.50. This is dramatically down from past years, when the club twice netted over 500 Dollars!
   The not-sold items were either taken back by their respective donors or given away at this regular meeting.
2. Awards They were handed out at the Annual Christmas Dinner, but the following members could not be present, and were thus presented with their rewards at this meeting:
   Ham of the Year Award Plaque – Benoit, VE7EBR, for his tireless work on the Apex Repeater and the IRLP Node. He will also be immortalized on the plaque in the clubhouse, which already as an impressive list of names.>
   Appreciation Plaques – To Robin VA7KV, Dale VE7KSK, & Bill VA7WHH, for their valuable assistance rendered on Apex Mountain.
   Appreciation Plaque – Bill, VE7WPH, for his always up-to-date work on the club’s webpage.

Ironman Canada:

1. Nil Report

Peach Classic:

1. Nil Report

Coffee:

1. . At this time the following were announced also:
   Coffee donation of $9.00 – Mike, VE7WT; winner of the Christmas wine – Annette, VA7AXG; and winner of the exquisitely arranged cookie presentation – Murray, VE7MGY. Congratulations!
   And a hearty thanks to Bill, VE7WHH, for the donation of cookies, and tidbits from Tim Horton, which went very well with the coffee!

Net Controls:

1. Dec. 18th , Vern VE7VKS
2. Dec. 25th , No Net on Christmas Day
3. Jan. 1st , No Net on New Years Day
4. Jan. 8th , Geoff VE7GXA
5. Jan. 15th , Benoit VE7EBR

Club Webpage:

1. Bill, VE7WPH, reported all is well. The minutes of the meetings are posted immediately after being received from the secretary. Contact him if you want to post something else. (Recent photographs of club activities, amateur related matters, valuable items for sale or wanted, et cetera.)

General and/or New Business: 

1. Club’s Samsung Laser Jet Printer
   The printer now resides at the QTH of VE7GH, where it will only be used for printing related to the club. I was also given 500 sheets of white paper, plus 250 sheets of cover stock. So, anyone wanting to use the printer/or paper, please give me a holler.

Guest Speaker and/or Club Project(s):

Nil

Adjournment:

As there was no further business to be discussed, the meeting adjourned at 2035 hours local time.
As we stepped outside, there were two centimetres of snow on the ground!

Geoff Clarke VE7GXA President ::: - ::: Guenter Hoernig: Secretary VE7GH