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