Category Archives: AGM

Annual General Meeting 2nd November 2022

The clubs AGM was held on 2nd November 2022 at 19:30
The main things to arise from the meeting are as follows
1, The club meetings will now go to one meeting a month. This will be on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.
2, Subscriptions fees will be waived for one year
3, New members it will be enrolled for free to encourage new members during this economic climate

Talks for the coming year

The CDXC and Dxing in general

FIELD STRENGHT CALCULATIONS
Ofcom EMC requirements

CHANGES TO EXAM SYLLABUS

Any specific subject members would like to cover, please contact any committee member. or email via web site


Dates for these talks will be posted on the web site and faceBook in the new year

Notice of 2021 Annual General Meeting 3rd November

The 2021 Annual General Meeting will now be held on Wednesday 3rd November at Hudswell Village Hall.

We will review the minutes of the last AGM in 2019, as no meeting was held during 2020, due to COVID restrictions. We will also review the club’s activities over the last two years, report on the state of the club’s finances, and elect members to the committee.

As part of the meeting, we will be discussing membership fees for 2021-2022. The cost of renting the hall for meetings is increasing from November, so membership costs may have to change accordingly.

We will be holding a free raffle for members attending the AGM, and the winner will receive a free copy of the 2022 RSGB Yearbook.

Club Quiz, Upcoming Meetings and AGM

Congratulations to Paul, G8PYX, for winning the club quiz on 2nd September. We’d also like to extend our thanks to Dave, G8YPN, for his role as quiz master, and also to all of the club members who came along.

On 7th October, Chris, G4FZN, will be giving a talk and demo on “The Sounds different things and different modes make.” So, the next time tuning around HF or VHF and you hear a mysterious signal, you’ll know exactly what you’ve found. We’ll also be challenging you to pick out call signs from a pile up, both with voice and morse, so come prepared!

On 21st of October, we’ll be holding the society’s Annual General Meeting. We hope to see as many members as possible, and we’d appreciate any suggestions for activities that can take place in a safe, socially distanced manner at future club meetings.

2019 AGM and related matters

The CRDARS Annual General Meeting took place on Wednesday 6th November 2019.

The following members were elected to roles on the committee:

Chairman Dave Lutman
Vice ChairmanPaul Hunt
SecretaryChris Kirby
TreasurerMartyn Vann
Additional Committee MemberPaul McGee

Ian Bell has agreed to shadow Martyn in his role as treasurer this year, and assist with duties where required.

We would like to extend our thanks to Irene Lyne for all her hard work as club treasurer over the years. Irene has served as treasurer since the club was founded, and we really appreciate her efforts behind the scenes to ensure that the club could continue to function.

Membership subs are now due, and remain at £20 per year for members over the age of 18, and £5 per year for under 18s. The club does not charge members for attending individual meetings.

It has been suggested that the club may not hold meetings in July or August 2020, as many of our members are on holiday during this time, and are therefore unable to attend meetings at this time of year. A final decision will be made closer to the time.

It has been suggested that we hold a club net on the GB3IR repeater on the Wednesday nights when no club meeting is scheduled.

Finally, the club has begun putting together the events program for 2020. If anyone has any suggestions for events or talks they’d either like see or offer, please pass your suggestions to the club secretary. Feel free to use the web site contact form if you’d like to submit a suggestion electronically.

Junk Sale and Annual General Meeting

Our events calendar has once again been updated with a few bits and pieces to tide us through the next few weeks.

On Wednesday 16th October, we’ll be holding an amateur radio junk sale. Whether you’re into building your equipment, or just looking to add a few extra bits and pieces to your shack, this is an opportunity to pick up a bargain.

The 2019 Annual General Meeting will be held on 6th November at Hudswell Village Hall.

The meetings page has been updated with the dates of the next few club meetings, but there aren’t any talks or events on the calendar yet. We’ll update the news and meetings pages once we have agreed our winter/spring schedule.

All meetings start at 19:30.

AGM and related matters

The CRDARS Annual General Meeting took place on Wednesday 3rd October 2018.

The following members were elected to roles on the committee:

Chairman Andrew Thornton
Vice Chairman Dave Lutman
Secretary Chris Kirby
Treasurer Irene Lyne
Additional Committee Member Paul Hunt

Founding members Colin Lyne and Chris Watkins have both stepped down from their committee roles this year. We’d all like to express our thanks to both of them for their work in making the club what it is today.

Colin has agreed to continue his work as the primary point of contact for new and prospective members, and Irene has once again agreed to continue as club treasurer. Thank you to both of you for all of your work in the background. It really is appreciated.

From October 2018, subs for members over the age of 18 will rise to £20 for the year. The £2 charge for the individual meetings will be eliminated. This should be simpler for everyone, and will result in an overall saving for members who attend more than five meetings during the year. Subs remain at £5 per year for under 18s.

We’d like to extend our thanks to AJ for the donation of a 2m mobile radio, and to Richmond School Amateur Radio Society for the donation of a 2m/70cm collinear antenna.

The club has reluctantly agreed that we are not in a position to run a JOTA station for the scouts this year, although we hope to be able to put a suitable team together and run a JOTA station in future years.

Colburn Village Hall is no longer available for us to use as an examination venue. Arrangements are currently being made to register Hudswell Village Hall as our new exam centre, so we should be able to offer examinations at Hudswell in the near future.

The club is currently exploring whether or not it’s financially viable for us to repair a donated Yaesu FT-757 transceiver. If so, this is likely to become our main HF radio. Thanks to Paul Hunt for taking the time to investigate this.

A working party has been arranged to erect the club’s HF antenna, on at least a temporary basis. Hopefully this will make it easier for our members to use our G5RV until both antenna and feeders can be permanently installed. Thank you to everyone involved for your time and hard work.

As the club now meets on the 1st and 3rd week in any given month, there is the possibility that the club may hold a second December meeting on the 19th, likely depending on whether there is any interest in meeting so close to Christmas. A decision will be made closer to the time, and details will be posted to the web site once we know one way or the other.

Finally, it has once again been suggested that we attempt to hold a short, regular 2m club net. In the past, we’ve found that Sunday evenings have been inconvenient for a lot of our members, so we’re trying to come up with an alternative day or time when the majority of members can get on the air for 15 minutes or so.

Planning, equipment and finances

At our last meeting on 16th May, some more discussion took place regarding the future of the club.

Finances have been tight lately, with the club making a net loss on many of our recent meetings. This is due to a combination of a more expensive venue, increasing costs and a slight drop in the number of members attending on a regular basis. It has been suggested that the cost per meeting be increased to £3 each, and there has also been a proposal to increase annual membership fees from October. Our Annual General Meeting is provisionally scheduled for 3rd October, and we expect to formally put these proposals to our members during the AGM.

We’re keen to have radio equipment available for use at our future meetings. To tide us over until Dave has chance to repair the Yaesu rig, Richmond School has offered to provide an ICOM IC-735 on loan. AJ has also offered the club a 2m radio, which should allow us to establish a regular presence on VHF.

Once we’ve got an antenna permanently erected, Colin is keen to do some more promotion of the club, through local media such as richmond.org and Richmondshire Today. Chris Watkins has offered to set up a YouTube channel, giving us both a promotional platform and somewhere to preserve footage of some of the club’s activities. Colin also intends to begin promoting Jamboree on the Air within the Scouts, and has suggested hosting the event up at Hudswell this year.

Finally, we’ve got a couple of presentations scheduled for the meeting calendar. A few members have expressed an interest in C4FM and HF digital modes, but aren’t really sure how best to get started. A couple of members have therefore offered to “have a go” at home, and provide some demos showing what they’ve learned. We’ve had a look at some of the more interesting capabilities of these modes in the past, but we’d like these events to be a bit simpler and more practical, in the hopes that we can get a few more people “over the hump”, and get them up and running with these modes. Dates are on the meetings page.

Annual General Meeting 2017

The CRDARS Annual General Meeting took place on Thursday 9th November 2017.

The following members were elected to roles on the committee:

Chairman Colin Lyne
Vice Chairman Andy Thornton
Secretary Chris Watkins
Treasurer Irene Lyne
Additional Committee Member Dave Lutman

Members have agreed in principle to a change of venue. We intend to trial a few club meetings at Hudswell Village Hall over the coming months. Mac and Dave are already planning to operate portable from the car park over the weekend, in order to test HF conditions at the site.

If everything pans out, it is likely that CRDARS will begin to hold meetings on Wednesdays in Hudswell. Further information will be posted here once we know more. Please assume that the existing meetings will proceed as scheduled in Colburn unless you hear otherwise.

The club finances were reviewed by those present, and are in good order. There is enough money in the bank to fund the purchase and installation of antennas at Hudswell if necessary.

The club has been discussing the possibility of replacing our existing HF radio, and a possible plan has emerged. The club has acquired a repaired Yaesu FT-757, kindly donated from the estate of Grahame Bentley (G3XHB). Richmond School Amateur Radio Society are offering to donate a matching power supply and automatic ATU, which would give CRDARS a fully functional set of HF equipment at no cost to the club.

Finally, as several members are likely to have family commitments in December, it was decided to change the date for our group meal from December to January. A pie and chips night has been provisionally scheduled for 11th January, and it has been proposed that members’ food be paid for out of club funds. Further details to follow closer to the date.

Annual General Meeting Agenda

The date for the 2017 AGM has now been set for Thursday 9th November. It will take place at 19:30, at our usual venue of Colburn Village Hall.

In addition to the election of the club’s officers, a vote will be held on whether or not the club should relocate to Hudswell Village Hall. There are definitely some pros associated with the proposed move, such as a higher, more radio friendly location, and the possibility of installing some permanent antennas on the building. However, Hudswell also looks like it’ll be a bit more expensive, and may be a less convenient location for some of our members.

Colin would appreciate it if our members can let him know whether or not they’ll be able to attend. If you’re unable to attend and would like to cast a vote in absentia, please contact Colin before Thursday 9th so that your vote can be counted in time.

We also plan to discuss plans for a Christmas meal this year. Last year, this took the form of a pie/pasty, chips and peas night, and was enjoyed by all who attended. We’ve scheduled in a Christmas meal for 14th December this year, but need to decide on the final arrangements.