At the request of President Bill Erwin/N9CX, the members of the projector
subcommittee (K8AX, KC8DJR, WA8LBZ, and KD8WK) met at Donatos Pizzeria
on Monday, 29 October 2007, for a second time.  Bill asked that the
committee prepare and issue a final report in time to be reviewed by the
executive committee and acted upon at the final general meeting of the
year, and further asked that two action items be addressed:

1. That the committee recommend a specific projector that would satisfy
   our requirements, and its cost if we were to make the purchase today.

2. That the committee recommend a course of action that does not involve
   postponing until 2008 the decision to purchase a projector, as was
   originally proposed.

For clarity and so as not to hold the reader in suspense, we'll address
the second question first.

Action item 2:

1. Everyone on the committee concurs that the club can afford to
   purchase a projector.

2. In the end, the committee voted 3-0 with one abstention to recommend
   the excomm immediately approve the purchase of a projector for the
   club.

3. This recommendation is based on the premise that the club will
   continue to hold six or more presentation meetings per year, and
   not revert to the minimum schedule permitted by our constitution,
   or a different meeting format, in the foreseeable future.

Action Item 1:

The committee feels that the requirements for a projector developed at
the previous meeting continue to be valid.  Namely, the projector should
have a minimum of 2000 lumens; XVGA (1024x768) resolution; VGA, S-video,
and composite inputs; and preferably be of an LCD design (as opposed to
DLP).

The following projectors meet these criteria, along with many others
(the prices were lifted from Tiger-Direct):

	Sony VPL-EX4		$699.00
	BenQ MP622		$899.99
	Epson PL822p		$919.99
	Hitachi CP-X400		$999.99
	Planar PR5020		$999.99
	NEC VT700		$1099.99
	ViewSonic PJ588D	$1099.99
	InFocus IN36		$1129.99
	NEC NP50		$1189.99
	NEC NP60		$1269.99
	Acer PD726W		$1399.99

1. The committee believes a suitable projector can be procured today
   for around $750-900.

2. We believe the best way to purchase a projector economically is
   when it is on sale.  The most suitable projector will likely come
   down to being the one which meets the above criteria and is priced
   most aggressively to sell at the time the decision is made to go
   ahead with the purchase.  Therefore, we think it is undesirable to
   select a specific projector model in advance without factoring in
   the final cost.

   Hence, the committee proposes that once a decision is made to go
   ahead with the purchase, and the funds allocated, the committee will
   then commence shopping for a suitable projector in that price range,
   and when one is found, will either make the purchase, if given that
   authority, or relay its decision to the president for approval,
   along with the deadlines for possible procurement.

3. The committee recommends that the projector be purchased locally
   as opposed to by mail order.

4. The committee did not reach a consensus as to whether it would
   be desirable to purchase an extended warrantee or "self-insure"
   the projector.  We believe that can best be determined at the
   time of purchase after evaluating any such offered plan.

Additional recommendation and concerns of the committee:

1. The committee recognizes that possessing a projector will lead to
   requests for its use for other non-club functions, and this in turn
   might be a cause for divisiveness within the club.  After some
   discussion, everyone on the committee concurred that if we proceed
   with the purchase of a projector, we should -- in the spirit of the
   ham radio fraternity -- strive to make it available to the greatest
   extent possible for other legitimate purposes.  However, we could
   not reach a consensus amongst ourselves as to what constitutes
   legitimate use, and elected to defer this to the excomm.  The
   committee does suggest that a moderate fee be assessed (perhaps
   $10-20/event) for non-club use, to account for wear and tear and
   bulb replacement, and that the excomm establish a clear set of
   rules for when and what purpose borrowing is permitted and what is
   expected by way of restitution in the event the projector is broken
   or damaged while on loan.

2. The committee recommends that it be made one of the duties of the
   Vice President to retain physical possession of the projector and
   to ensure it's availability at our meetings.

3. Finally, we feel our initial report contains additional details and
   concerns, and should be included as an addendum to this final report.

Rob Stampfli, for the committee