Present:  
VE7LOC, VE7DNG, VE7CRJ, VE7KFR, VA7CSH, VE7NEK, VE7RWD, VA7BAJ, VE7MRP, VE7ECR, VE7JBE, VE7GSJ, VE7CZE, VE7DLR and VA7WN

‍Regrets. VE7CRX                                                

‍Guests: Nil

Meeting called to order:  at 2:02 PM by VE7LOC

‍Sick or injured amateurs:  Nil.  

Adoption of the agenda:  2 Additional items added under new business. Minutes adopted by consensus. Carried.

‍Correspondence:      NIL

‍Adoption of Minutes of Feb 10, 2018 meeting:  Motion by KFR, second by CSH. Carried.

‍Business arising from the minutes:-       Item C. Continued discussion with Terry Balan from the RDEK EOC about creating an outline for equipment update of the club station at the EOC for grant submission (possibility 20K). Lance spent morning with Terry helping Terry prep for his license.-       Item 4 Club equipment inventory in sea can—on going.-       Item 5) next social meeting will be a discussion of band plans.

‍Treasurer’s Report:  March 31, 2018 Balance 1361.911 term deposit 5067.00 Total 7395.28     Motioned by NEK for adoption of his report. Second GSJ. Carried                              

‍New Business:
‍1) Elections:  LOC opened the nominations, no further nominations received. All those nominated at the last meeting were elected by acclamation. The slate of officers for 2018-2019 are:  Lance Cuthill – President, Ken McDonald-Treasurer, Randy Miller – Vice President, Doug Newberry- Secretary. Lance declared elections closed.  Authorized signatures will be changed at the Kootenay Savings Credit Union to be any 2 signatures of the three officers: President, Treasurer and Secretary.
2) IRLP relocation and upgrade. LOC gave a brief history of the IRLP equipment and the challenges presented by the computer’s size and noise. LOC indicated DNG had agreed to have it set up at his QTH but cannot accommodate the size and lack of internet connect ability. NEK and DNG discussed the options available to upgrade the equipment. One option is MICRO-NODE, which offers various modes of operation, for $495USD, if has a .2 watt built in radio. DNG noted this may not be enough power for a reliable connection to the repeater. The other option is to go with the Raspberry PI unit  EAST KOOTENAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB MEETING Apr 14, 2018 offered by the IRLP people themselves. We would use the transmitter and power supply the club currently has and this unit would replace the huge computer and provide Wi-Fi capability. Its price is $329USD. GSJ noted it might be better to get the Micro-Node due to offering more modes. LOC asked for a motion from the membership whether to continue to operate an IRLP node. This motion was made by GSJ, Second NEK. Carried.  Further discussion was held and LOC asked for a motion to form a committee made up of members, CRX, DNG, NEK, GSJ and MRP and they could spend up to a maximum of $1000. Motion made by NEK, Second by GSJ. Carried.    
3) Discussion was held about RDEK EOC equipment upgrade. LOC asked for a motion to form a committee to explore what we need for the EOC station and upgrades for the club repeater system.  Motion was made by CSH, second by RWD. Carried. The committee will be made of MRP, DNG, JBE and CRX. The equipment requirements will used as a basis for the club plans and coordination of a grant application with the RDEK.
4) Refer to item 3.
5) Membership held a discussion as to the status of the decal/crest design. NEK will contact CRX and query if design is getting further updates.
6) Discussion was held regarding dates for June BBQ and August picnic at Wycliff park. ZIP will pick dates and report back.
7)  RDEK Emergency Operations Center Bi-monthly meeting. DNG attended and gave a brief report.
8) Rocky Mountain Road Rally, Invermere area. Rally will be held May 25-27, 2018. Volunteer amateur radio operators are needed, mobile units are recommended for Saturday operation. Fairmont repeater link will be off for this weekend. GSJ said it was a very worthwhile adventure. He took part last year. For further information contact GSJ.

‍Roundtable  Discussion was held about club participating in Field Day June 24-25, 2018. LOC will discuss with CRX. ECR talked about items she had for sale DNG said send him an email and he will send it to club members.

‍Meeting adjourned:  at 3:18 PM by KFR

‍NEXT MEETING:   May 19 social meeting about Band Plans at 2:00 PM for a social meeting at the Shop of VE7LOC