UMARS General Meeting
October 19, 1994

Present: Craig Thomasson, Paula Ehn, Tom Tessier, Harry Lobo, Victor Lam, Bruce Haugh, Wayne Schellekens, Michael Markmann, Bret Wiebe, Andy Minkevich, Darwin O'Connor, Gordon Snarr, Arne Grimstrup, Dean Riegel and Giselle Riegel

Meeting called to order at 6:05pm in 530 University Centre.

1. President's Address given by Craig Thomasson

i. The analog multimeter currently owned by the club has finally become unfixable. It was motioned that the club should purchase a new multimeter which could handle at the very least 10 Amps DC and should not exceed $100.00 including taxes. Capacitance is not a necessary feature unless it does not cause the price including taxes to exceed $100.00. All present agreed. Motion passed. The executive will call around and find the best multimeter for the best price subject to the above restrictions.
ii.It was motioned that the purchase of Daiwa VHF/UHF SWR meter Model #CN-460M for approximately $140.00 plus shipping and handling. All present agreed. Motion passed. The executive will call around and find the best price before purchase is made.
iii. It was motioned that 2 1-1 baluns for approximately $35.00 each should be purchased by the club for the purpose of replacing the broken baluns for the 30m and 160m dipoles. Much discussion took place regarding the wish for an 18m dipole. The motion was amended to read that 2 1-1 baluns should be purchased and a solution would be made to include an 18m dipole before the antennas would be placed back into operation. All present agreed. Motion passed. The executive will purchase 2 1-1 baluns.
iv. Last Friday Craig Thomasson, Paula Ehn, Andy Minkevich and Eric Krievans installed UMSU's new TV antenna and splitter on the roof. The splitter was connected to UMSU's previous antenna cable feed and a new cable which was run into the club room for the club's TV. It was recommended to UMSU to purchase an amplifier to be placed in their cable before the switch box located in Side Pocket on the third floor. Our connection is working well.

2. Vice-President's Report given by Paula Ehn

i. The J-Pole seminar was a success making the club a 50% profit. Also there are still two completed J-Poles that can be sold for $15 each.
ii. An Open House has been planned for Wednesday, January 25, 1995.
iii. Sigpac had their first meeting on Thursday, October 13, 1994. They did not have quorum, so no new office space allocations was assigned. The next Sigpac meeting will be Tuesday, October 25, 1994. It was suggested that Michael Boyar, Director of Internal Administration and Sigpac Chairman, should be given a tour of the club room as it now stands to help Sigpac see how great our need of space is.
iv. Membership is now 50 including members from WARP, U of M Staff, and from the Manitoban.

3. Treasurer's Report given by Patrick Wong: none.

4. Technical Manager's Report given by Eric Krievans: none.

5. Committee Reports given by Tom Tessier

i. The World Wide Web site is really taking off with over 25 accesses a day from all over the world. Other student groups and UMSU would like our help in getting onto the Web and are looking at us for assistance. Tom has recently been given another 10Mb for the UMARS site.
ii. The new repeater equipment will be at least another month in arriving since a second estimate has not been found yet. Once the second estimate has been made, we should have the equipment shortly.
iii. The project with Akjuit Aerospace is well under way. Tom has found many prices for various weather telemetry/balloon launching equipment. Many prices are still outstanding but will be filled and an appropriate proposal will be written and submitted to Akjuit for consideration. Many things were discussed regarding the proposal including who would be liable for our balloon launches, who would launch the balloons, the method of equipment retrieval and what equipment would be involved. Tom will be looking into it.

6. Other Business

i. The election for the position of Campus Crimewatch Liaison was held and Tom Tessier was elected to the position for the term.
ii. The idea of a Technical Committee was suggested by Craig Thomasson. This committee would help the Technical Manager only when they are available for consultation or work effort. Wayne Schellekens, Gordon Snarr and Arne Grimstrup volunteered for the committee.
iii. Wayne Schellekens proposed that a roll of Silicone tape should be purchased to further weather proof all permanent connections on the roof. He further suggested that Burnaby Radio Communications Ltd. in B.C. has the best price of $5 per roll. It was agreed that it will be purchased with the SWR meter and baluns if bought from Burnaby.
iv. A Fox hunting and Pizza party has been tentatively scheduled for November 10, 1994 at 6:00pm here on Campus. It will be looked into whether the University will be closed and if a room can be booked. It is also a way to do some Campus Crimewatching. All present were available for this date.
v. Tom Tessier has inquired about the loan of a Sun Workstation to the club for purposes such as member logins, site for the World Wide Web and a secondary machine for the Packet-Internet Gateway. Negotiations are still going on.
vi. It was suggested that a map containing all of Manitoba's repeaters should be included in the World Wide Web site. It was also suggested that the map in the new blue book could be used and that Bill Bowman, VE4UB, should be contacted in regards to this. The executive will look into it.
vii. Wayne Schellekens suggested that Field Day preparations should start as soon as possible. Tom Tessier will seek permissions and take another member with him to insure that the same procedure is followed the following year in his absence. Wayne Schellekens also suggested that we should decide how we going to set up what antennas. It was suggested that the club should invest in a G5RV antenna to be used for all emergency and off-campus events. Wayne Schellekens also offered his telescoping tower for Field Day and other such events. It was suggested that a week or two before Field Day a seminar should be held to familiarize operating personnel on how to use the equipment and how to correctly enter information in the official log and dup sheets. Also a band plan and/or schedule should be made up a week before Field Day to reflect operating conditions. Also a PR person should be appointed to be present during the entire Field Day to talk to any visitors and press. All agreed and the executive will start planning Field Day 1995.

Meeting adjourned at 8:10pm.

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Last modified 11-09-95 by Paula Ehn

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