Meeting called to order by President Luc VE3MND at 7:30 PM with 18 members and 2 guests present.
1. PM Financial:
Adoption of the Treasurer’s report, as submitted by Al VE3AOF and printed in the Volume 20, No. 09, October newsletter, was moved by Al VE3AOF, seconded by Roger VE3ZI. Carried.
2. Meeting Minutes:
Adoption of the Executive/General Membership Meeting Minutes of Tuesday, September 29, 2009, as submitted by Gord VA3GJJ and printed in the Volume 20, No. 09, October newsletter, was moved by Gord VA3GJJ, seconded by Pat VE3HZQ. Carried. There was no correspondence to report.
3. Goblin Patrol:
In the absence of Stiig VE3LBX, Luc VE3MND handed out the vehicle SARC/Greater Sudbury Police identification posters, to participating members, to be prominently displayed on the vehicles during the Goblin patrol on Saturday, October 31, 2009, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Note:
Even though the weather was not the greatest, enough amateur radio operators turned out for the Goblin patrol to blanket the City of Greater Sudbury area, coordinated by Ed VE3VPD and Doug VE3DNS located in the communications centre of the Greater Sudbury Police Services building on Brady Street in Sudbury, Ontario. There were no incidents to report and everything went smoothly. Kudos to all who participated. The Greater Sudbury Police Services appreciated our participation.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION/DEMONSTRATION
Subsequent to an invitation from S.A.R.C., Al VE3AJB and Rusty VE3WVA from the Manitoulin Amateur Radio Club, conducted a presentation and demonstration on “D-Star”.
D- Star stands for:
D – digital
S – smart
T – technology
for
A- amateur
R- radio
The goals of D-Star are:
1. The advancement of amateur radio as a hobby.
2. Spectrum efficiency.
3. Experiment with voice and data.
D-Star came to North America in 2003 with the first system installed in Dallas Texas, USA and was introduced at the Dayton, Ohio fair in 2005. By 2006 there were 48 users on gateway and by 2007 there were 539. Al VE3AJB indicated that the system has grown rapidly, world-wide and by October 2009 there were 17,326 users on 570 repeaters.
One of the advantages of D-Star, because it is digital, is that less spacing between repeater frequencies, is needed 10, 20, 30 etc. instead of the current frequency set up of 30, 60, 90 etc. D-Star also uses the internet so world wide communications are possible.
During their trip from Manitoulin Island to Sudbury for the meeting, Al VE3AJB and Rusty VE3WVA, engaged in radio communications with Bill VE3BEK using the D-Star Manitoulin repeater and recorded these communications for the presentation. The first set of communications were transmitted and received via D-Star, and were crystal clear with no interference or background noise at all.
The second set of communications, for comparison purposes, were made using analog FM transmission and receiving from the same repeater There was considerable noise interference and at times, it was very hard to understand the conversations.
The two sets of communications were played, back-to-back and the difference was phenomenal.
The Manitoulin D-Star repeaters are VE3RXR C on 145.310+ and VE3RXR B on 442.050+ .
There are currently various ways to use D-Star:
1. AMBE - converts audio to digital
2. DV - Dongle plugs into computer, now has D-Star
3. Compatibility through the internet.
The presentation included a power point presentation complete with various D-Star radios for hands-on demonstration. The presentation was very informative and Al VE3AJB and Rusty VE3WVA are very passionate about the D-Star transformation of the hobby and its future for amateur radio and ARES in particular. Two club members, Pat VE3HZQ and Bill VE3BEK are already into D-Star and are very satisfied with the results.
The club thanked Al and Rusty for a very informative presentation and the imparting of their expertise to our members. It sure sparked a lot of interest.
5. Hands Free Legislation:
Al VE3AJB, a Provincial Police officer on Manitoulin Island, gave an update on bill #118, the new legislation, passed on hands free driving, which came into effect on Monday, October 26, 2009, covering cell phones, I pods etc.
According to Al, the intent of the new law is mainly to target cell phone users who are the main concern at present. The police are not concerned about amateur radio, CB etc. operators unless they are causing problems with their radio activities. The new legislation gives amateur radio operators a three year exemption in the legislation, regulation 366/09 reg HTA, sections 13 and 14. Al suggested that all amateurs go online and print out a copy of this regulation and carry it with them, along with their license, in the event they are stopped by the police. Al indicated that not all officers are up to speed on the legislation and these documents would be beneficial to the amateur in avoiding a ticket or fine.
The police are currently giving a warning for a three month period which expires on February 1 2010. After that, tickets will be issued. Kudos to Al for the information.
6. Club Christmas Dinner:
Once again it is time to think about the club’s annual Christmas dinner in December in lieu of a general meeting. The Christmas dinner will be held on Sunday, December 5, 2009 at the Kings Buffet on the Kingsway in Sudbury, Ontario.Cocktails at 6:00 PM with the buffet dinner at 6:30 PM. I have to make reservations so I need to know how many members/spouses/guests will be attending. Please contact me via phone at 705-855-3602 (leave a message) or e-mail at gjacques@sympatico.ca. You can also let Dave VA3NCS during his weekly nets and he will pass the info on.
Due to the length of the D-Star presentation/demonstration (1½ hours) the balance of the club business was postponed to the November meeting.
Adjournment at 9:35 PM, moved by John VE3VGI, seconded by Art VE3COG. Carried.
–Gordon J. Jacques
–Secretary