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Present: Scott VA6JSR, Renze VE6DC, Cory VE6COR, Gary VE6CV, Cory VE6CYT, David VA6SYS, Ron VE6PAP, Walter VE6XWG, Barry VE6BGR, Wayne VE6WEK, David VE6DRL, Kate (no call sign yet), Peter VA6ARI

Call to order by Dave DRL at 10:11 am, seconded by Cory COR

 

Reading of the minutes of November 22, 2025, by Peter.

• One correction: the tower company is Bestway not Waybest.
• Motion to approve minutes by Wayne seconded by Walter. All in favour.

 

Treasurer’s Report by David (VE6DRL)

• paid RAC insurance and web hosting.
• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Renze seconded by Dave SYS. All in favour.

 

Events Report by Renze:

• no events planned yet.
• Cory COR has volunteered to organize field day.

 

Repeater Committee Report by Cory CYT:

• Kenwood repeater is out at the site right now. Six hours of sunlight is not enough to handle the Yaesu draw. We will need to look at adding the wind turbine.
• also getting interference on the repeater on 146.290. Perry VE6NX is trying to record the interference.

 

OLD BUSINESS

1) Antenna Project

A) Fundraising

• we’re about half way to the goal.
• Barry will be sending out another plea to members who have not donated.
• Barry has prepared a letter to the counties which he passed around for feedback.

B) Sale of equipment

• nothing new to add

2) Gary’s training development: sunrise sag, grey line propagation, solar weather, etc. are in the works. Will coordinate with Peter to announce presentations.

 

NEW BUSINESS

1) Update on initiatives taking place at the LSCO radio club

• new executive is very supportive of getting the radio club back up and running. Waiting for LSCO club to present proposals, like a six-month no-LSCO fee. Is open Saturday mornings now. Other initiatives are also on the table. Also interested in developing the relationship between LSCO and SAARC.
• CJOC sponsorship of LSCO.
• Discussed doing a joint LSCO/SAARC flea market in April or May. Will also participate in joint events.

2) Request to have meetings broadcast.

• will table for now and discuss with the executive.

 

Next meeting: February 28, 2026

Motion to close the meeting by Dave SYS at 11:01 am.

 

Presentation by Barry: Process of determining expected signal strength on a radio path.

 

 

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This year’s CARA flea market will be on Saturday, April 11, 2026.

Location: Eastside City Church, 1320 – Abbeydale Dr. SE, Calgary, AB

Admission: $5.

Doors open at 8 am for vendors, 9 am for the public.

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Join Gary VE6CV and other locals as we discuss the concept of Mesh Networking in Lethbridge and surrounding areas. Think of this as an off-grid, non-cellular, non-Internet messaging platform for a new era of secure communications.

• Date: Sunday Dec. 14
• Time: 2 pm
• Link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/cd43a24c-a38e-48a7-8c15-ba072abe6764@c55943f6-d9b9-4073-a7c2-9f90aa933054

Hosts Nathan Schmidt and Gary Wheeler

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Present: David VA6SYS, Barry VE6BGR, Larry VE6WL, Wayne VE6WEK, Tyler VA6TI, Steve VE6SCL, Bill KJ7GNB/VA6VIV, David VE6DRL, Peter VA6ARI

Call to Order by Tyler at 10:13 am, seconded by Dave DRL.

Reading of the minutes of October 25, 2025, by Peter.

• No additions or corrections to the minutes.
• Motion to approve minutes by Larry, seconded by Steve. All in favour.

Treasurer’s Report by David (VE6DRL)

• Antenna Project donations received to date: about 40%
• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Steve, seconded by Bill. All in favour.

Events Report by Barry in Renze’a absence:

• Christmas brunch, 9:30 am, food served at 10:00 am, on Dec. 13 in Coaldale. $24.95/person, free coffee. RSVP to Renze.

Repeater Committee Report by Barry in Cory’s absence.

• Cory, Dave DRL, Barry, and Larry went out to winterize.
• may need a small wind turbine to supplement the power during cloudy days if the solar and batteries can’t handle the draw.
• need to add weatherstripping to door.

 

OLD BUSINESS

1) Antenna project

A) Fundraising

• • report by Wayne on Lethbridge and community support funds. Community Foundation of Lethbridge and S. Alberta provides funds for various projects. Mar. 15 is next application deadline. Wayne presented the antenna project. Eligibility: needs to be a registered charity, or needs to partner with one. Larry, Barry, and Peter will assist Wayne in developing the application. Dave DRL suggested Lions club and Salvation Army as potential partners.
  • report by Dave DRL on tower contractor costs. Ross uses Waybest, so no cost saving over current quote.
  • Motion by Bill that Barry contact Counties to request donations, seconded by Dave DRL. All in favour.

B) Sale of equipment

• • still have a couple of antennas, and the repeater. Will drop repeater price to $500.

2) RAC Memberships

• Cory is going to be sending in the insurance application toward the end of next week, so if anyone still hasn’t become a RAC member, please do so as soon as possible.

 

NEW BUSINESS

1) Gary VE6CV is working on developing training courses via Zoom.

 

No meeting in December due to the Christmas Brunch on Dec. 13.

Next meeting: January 24, 2026

 

Motion to close the meeting by Bill at 11:06 am.

 

Presentation by Dave SYS on VHF digital theory

 

 

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Present: Stan VE6SYS, Bill KJ7GNB/VA6VIV, Cory VE6CYT, Barry VE6BGR, Larry VE6WL, David VA6SYS, Kalvin VE6KRO, Renze VE6DC, David VE6DRL, Norm VE6NFW, Walter VE6XWG, Peter VA6ARI

Call to Order by Dave DRL at 10:10 am, seconded by Cory.

Reading of the minutes of September 27, 2025, by Peter.

• Correction: selling only one repeater.
• Motion to approve minutes by Dave DRL, seconded by Bill. All in favour.

Treasurer’s Report by David (VE6DRL)

• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Dave SYS, seconded by Walter. All in favour.

Events Report by Renze:

• Christmas brunch on Dec. 13 in Coaldale.
• Barry mentioned Steve’s suggestion to move Field day to Stirling.

Repeater Committee Report by Cory

• No issues with digital mode. Leave as is.
• Dave DRL sometimes has trouble getting a response when punching in the codes to record messages.
• Will be going out this week to button up the shack for winter: insulate the batteries, do some cleanup.

 

OLD BUSINESS

1) Antenna project

A) Donations

• Barry talked to Alan about the plans for the site: not original land owner, have no immediate plans to sell. Is happy to have us there.
• call for fund raising volunteers: no response
• call for donations: no response

B) Sale of equipment

• have sold the amp
• have items listed on Ham Shack
• Donation tracking spreadsheet has been set up.
• Dave DRL suggested seeing if we can find a climbing crew instead of the crane. He will talk to Ross.
• Norm suggested using a bucket truck to lift person and gear part way up.

2) Training

• Gary VE6CV is willing to do a grey zone 40-meter propagation session.

 

NEW BUSINESS

1) Donation of climbing belt

• SAARC has received a new climbing safety harness.

2) RAC membership benefits

• Barry outlined the RAC insurance benefits for the club and members.
• Club gets a ~$13 to $15 discount per person
• Fix club info on RAC site. Peter will contact Cory.

 

Next meeting: November 22, 2025

Motion to close the meeting by Dave DRL at 10:55 am.

 

Presentation by Dave SYS on modulation

 

 

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Present: Larry VE6WL, Cory VE6CYT, Steve VE6SCL, Jim VE6JMB, David VE6DRL, Stan VE6SYS, Barry VE6BGR, Blair VE6AGH, Wayne VE6WEK, Kalvin VE6KRO, David VA6IRE, Bill VA6VIV, David VA6SYS, Charlie VE6KN, Peter VA6ARI

Call to Order by Steve at 10:07 am, seconded by Kalvin.

Reading of the minutes of May 24, 2025, by Peter.

• Motion to approve minutes by Steve, seconded by Wayne. All in favour.

Treasurer’s Report by David (VE6DRL)

• Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Wayne, seconded by Cory. All in favour.

No Events Report by Renze who was away:

• Corn Roast was a great success; 35 people. Extra special thanks to Renze and Annetta for hosting and supplying all the food.

Repeater Committee Report by Cory

• tower anchors look good and should do for another 15 to 20 years.
• antenna crew won’t climb so will need a crane ~$4,000
• a little over $10,000 for antenna, heliax, connectors and crane.
• Barry read the information and quote sent by Dave Siggelkow. Quote: $9,858 (tax included).
• Dave IRE can pick up the antenna from Edmonton.
• Barry will ask Alan about the long-term plans for the location.
• thanks to all who have gone out over the summer to do work on the site. We’ll install the cooling fans next year.
• will put the batteries into insulated boxes when we winterize the shack.
• Cory asked if the group would like the repeater’s digital mode turned on. Everyone agreed to try it and see. He can lock back to FM if there are problems. The squelch tone is 110.9 CTCSS to block digital signal from breaking squelch on FM.
• Wayne moved that we proceed with the antenna proposal as outlined pending long-term plans on land use. Bill seconded. All in favour, one opposed.

OLD BUSINESS

1) Fund Raising update:

• we have $6K in the bank. Barry suggested keeping a $2K cushion, so need to raise about $6K.
• Barry will write a proposal looking for donations for the antenna project, to send out to the S. AB hams. Will run it by the executive.
• Blair asked about anyone in the club who might have a govt. contact. Steve suggested other groups who have had casinos. Charlie suggested partnering with CRA license agencies for a grant.
• Barry is looking for a group of 3 to 4 people to manage the fund-raising. Charlie suggested sending out an email asking for volunteers.
• Wayne moved that we keep a $5K float and tap into it if needed. Bill seconded. All in favour.

2) SAARC inventory sales

• we have 1 HF set and 1 VHF/UHF set we’ll keep for loaners.
• we have two repeaters we can sell. Charlie suggested Langley may be interested in the Kenwood.
• lots of antennas, post on web and email group.

NEW BUSINESS

1) Training

• Barry would like to get the business side of the meetings under an hour, allowing for a training portion of about 30 minutes, followed by time to visit.
• Dave SYS and the group listed some topics: SDR radios, FT8, C4FM, antennas, 4G and 5G, Hams over IP, ladderline, baluns, Meshtastic, rebuilding vintage equipment.

2) Field Day

• Steve suggested moving Field Day to a location more publicly accessible, where more people can come and see what it’s all about. Barry will talk to Renze about it.

Next meeting – October 25, 2025 (Room is not available on Oct. 18).

Motion to close the meeting by Steve at 11:43 am.

 

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At the meeting on Saturday, Cory VE6CYT asked if the group would like the repeater’s C4FM digital mode turned on. The group agreed to give it a try and see how it goes. The changes made to the repeater are:

1) Enabled auto mode select. This allows the repeater to use both FM and C4FM modes. Before, the repeater would convert any C4FM digital signal it received and re-transmit it in FM. It will now transmit in C4FM mode if it receives a C4FM transmission and it will transmit in FM if it receives an FM signal.

The repeater also uses a CTCSS tone on FM TX. This allows a user to set up a CTCSS tone squelch on their radio to prevent digital signals from breaking their radio’s squelch. The tone frequency is 110.9. You do not need a tone to access the repeater.

2) Reduced the FM squelch tail from 1.5 seconds to .5 seconds. This will allow for easier use as there is no courtesy tone available and will reduce some power usage over the winter. Digital mode will have a minimal squelch tail of approximately .1 seconds.

 

 

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Note to all hams in the Southern Alberta area that former Lethbridge ham Howard VE6FS and Walter have donated the last five years of ARRL QST magazines to the main branch of the library and are free for viewing. Please spread info to all clubs and nets.

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Present: Stan VE6SYS, Gary VE6CV, Milt VE6MLD, Steve VE6SCL, Larry VE6WL, David VE6DRL, Jim VE6JMB, Cory VE6CYT, Barry VE6BGR, Kalvin VE6KRO, Wayne VE6WEK, Peter VA6ARI

Call to Order by David (VE6DRL) at 10:04 am, seconded by Cory.

 

Reading of the minutes of April 26, 2025, by Peter.

Kalvin corrected the minutes to say that he was helping with the casino, not the senior support.

Motion to approve amended minutes by Wayne, seconded by Larry. All in favour.

 

Treasurer’s Report by David (VE6DRL)

• extra income this month from sale of equipment and flea market

Motion to approve treasurer’s report by Steve, seconded by Jim. All in favour.

 

Repeater Committee Report by Cory

• installed second battery and swapped batteries around. Batteries were very low yesterday but made it through the night.
• shopping for antenna.
• Gary suggested calling Doug in Calgary.
• looked at the guy point grounding and they look good, except for the ground points at the ends.
• will be looking for a 14″ solar-powered exhaust fan for cooling in the summer.

 

Events Report by Barry in Renze’s absence:

FIELD DAY, June 28-29

• at Ft. Maclead Lion’s Campground.
• Saturday Pizza on your own, Sunday breakfast provided by club.
• run on individual licenses.
• Renze will set up the sign-in board in the kitchen.
• no special events planned.
• will allow tail-gate flea market.
• Barry will ask Renze to contact the campground about the sites.
• email out the details.
• Gary available for tests but needs to know in advance.

 

OLD BUSINESS

Fund Raising update: Casino

• Barry suggests we table the casino idea for the moment. He went through the AGGLC forms and their criteria for eligibility is community-based, and may take a couple of years to get approved.
• if we want to replace the antenna by winter, then the quickest way to raise some funds would be through member donations.
• can also contact corporations for grants.
• We need a group to go out and beat the bushes.

Motion to approach members for donations by Kalvin, seconded by David (VE6DRL)

• include a goal.
• Barry will put together a draft for the executive comments and Peter will email the contact list.
• include a club membership for and non-members donating.

 

 

NEW BUSINESS

• Barry mentioned some SAARC inventory sales. Please call Barry if you need any equipment.
• Will have a work-bee to do repairs at the site, on July 26. Sandwiches and drinks will be provided.

 

No meeting next month due to Field Day

Next meeting – September 27, 2025.

 

Motion to close the meeting by Stan at 11:39 am.

 

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