Past Meetings

• April 18, 2012 - John Stonier

  John Stonier presented Part 1 of his Boxster conversion. An impressive engineering feat considering that John's background is accounting. Also, Robert Shaw showed off the newest Prius plug-in conversion kit from Enginer.

• March 21, 2012 - Mark Ergetowski, Martin Waliszewski

  Mar 21 was about European name-brand e-bikes. Mark Ergetowski from Evolution Bikes showed BH Emotion ebikes in a complete presentation. Also, Martin Waliszewski from transportation-alternative.ca showed the Bullitt cargo bike. Betty Liang, a rep of new rugged hi-cycle, hi-capacity lead-oxide batteries (Firefly done right) also spoke. For the first time we broadcast our meeting live on Justin.tv.

• February 15, 2012 - Dave Elderton

  Dave Elderton talked up Sparky, his speedy GBS Lithium powered electric catamaran project.

• January 18, 2012 - Alec Tseng, BC Hydro

  Alec talked about active EV charging infrastructure projects in Vancouver and planned for BC. The main objective was to address the chicken-and-egg problem of EVs and charge points.

  A power distribution diagram was shown to identify the weak links in the chain when talking about mass adoption of EVs. Actually, the weak links are almost always at the neighbourhood level - transformers in the 50 kW range that supply a dozen or two residences. Thse are typically loaded to 200% due to conservative construction, cool ambient temperatures and little air conditioning usage in the summers.

  The psychology of charging was hinted at - most EV drivers will not likely use the public charge points in their own neighbourhood, with home and at-work charging comprising the bulk of the charging activity.

  The BC Government is funding the pilot to the tune of $11 million immediately. Vancouver's EV early adopter geo-distribution assumption is based upon the clustering of hybrid owners over the last several years. Maps of Vancouver and transportation corridors in the province showed more rigorous planning compared to the recent ad-hoc installation of charge points in the US cities and highways upon a recent federal initiative.

  A smart grid concept was shown. Of course most of the standards have not yet gelled which is why is was just a bit blurry in places. As an example, the plugs for DC fast charging have two camps currently - the Japanese CHAdeMO standard and the US/German version which integrates the AC charging J1772 standard into the same plug as DC Level 2.

  There is AC Levels 1 and 2 and DC Levels 1, 2 and 3. Some of these are not yet defined.

• December 21, 2011 - Justin Lemire-Elmore, Grin Technologies

  Justin shared some seven years of experience with hub motors for ebikes.

  Here's the hour-long video of the presentation.

  After having supplied several thousand ebike hub motors from multiple suppliers to enthusiasts all around the world, Grin Tech has learned a lot over the past seven years. Failure modes were presented along with troubleshooting/repair procedures.

  Of particular interest was a detailed experimental study on the nature of water ingress into apparently sealed hub motors, and some tips on how to mitigate failure caused by this.

  Then modelling and simulation techniques in his lab for accurate prediction of vehicle performance were shown.

  Also presented was the theory and the presentation of an assembled prototype already laced into a wheel of a new high performance lightweight direct drive / geared design which could be produced in the future.

  The hour-long presentation complete with hundreds of slides was quite engaging and understandable even for those without a technical background.

  A Dueck GM rep and VEVA member Phil Dayson showed not one but TWO Chevy Volts, with exhilarating rides in the empty BCIT parking lot. Also, VEVA member David Kronstein brought his new Nissan LEAF.

• November 16, 2011 - Casey Mynott, Delta Secondary School

  Casey Mynott presented in an in-depth slide and video presentation the exciting story of Delta Secondary's drag racing pickup truck and the amazing support he received from the school system and the many automotive, battery and other businesses in the lower mainland.
  

  Robert Shaw from Electric Auto Sports showed two new products, the EAS Lithium Upgrade, a two-way stackable lithium power building block, and the EAS Master Control Box (containing a Kilovac contactor and electronics) that can act as a safety shutdown for any reasonably sized EV pack up to 450 volts and 2000 amps.

• October 19, 2011 - Bradley Oldham, Azure Dynamics

  Bradley Oldham, head engineer at Azure Dynamics repeated his informative, quite technical and mainstream presentation straight from the EV2011 conference in Toronto. We got a good sense of the tradeoffs to consider when sizing components for a particular vehicle type, in this case, the Ford Transit Connect, a fleet delivery vehicle. You can buy the Transit Connect at your local Ford dealer now.

• September 21, 2011 - Robert Shaw, EAS

  In September we had look-and-ride in the Nissan Leaf courtesy of Morrey Nissan. Then Robert Shaw talked about GBS/Elite Power Systems complete battery subsystems for EVs. GBC is a former Thundersky factory offering a new plug and drive system complete with charger and cell-level management. Very neat and high tech look with integrated terminal covers and intelligent cell design for stackability.

• June 15, 2011 -

  It was Elections, then discussion on ElectraFest 2011 just past. We drew for the Motorino BTr electric trail bike provided by Greenwit and E-Ride. Entries were limited to those received onsite at ElectraFest 2011.

• May 18, 2011 - Gordon Dower, Ridek

  At the May meeting, Gordon Dower, the Ridek Corporation, talked about the Ridek III, a multi- patented SUV-sized electric drive platform that he has developed. The deck will accept variations in body subassemblies to suit different markets.

• April 20, 2011 - Greg Webster, karting promoter

  Greg Webster introduced us to the G-Zero Championship Electric Kart Racing Series. He plans to have a series of events in the lower mainland in 2012. See gzeroracing.ca

• March 16, 2011 - Nigel Fitzpatrick, Azure Dynamics

  Nigel Fitzpatrick of Azure Dynamics did a presentation on the hybrid and electric drive market for delivery trucks and net carbon reduction.

• February 16, 2011 - Stev Miloshev, E-Ride

  Steve Miloshev, E-Ride CEO had just returned from Zhenzhen, China and gave all a rundown on the latest news about 2 and 4-wheel EVs from the EVS conference/show there. China, with large hydro resources and a massive pollution problem is a leader in EV introduction. In addition, Stuart Kerr from ethicalbean.com did a slide presentation on a planned '73 BMW conversion. He was looking for a student group to convert a classic 73 BMW 2002.

• January 19, 2011 - Ricky Gu, UBC

  Ricky Gu talked about his 16-day cross-Canada trip in a Lithium powered 1972 VW superbeetle. Ricky and his UBC team designed their own BMS for the 53 kWh Thundersky pack using the well-known Arduino platform, and the Linear Technologies LTC6802 chip.

• December 15, 2010 - Mike Schuler

  Mike Schuler outlined some important interface considerations inside a typical EV charger made for J1772.

• November 17, 2010 - Justin Lemire Elmore, ebikes.ca

  The November meeting featured Justin Lemire-Elmore of ebikes.ca who spoke on his seven year odyssey with modern batteries. He outlined caveats and many practical details on the pitfalls of dealing with Ni and Li cells and in particular the problems that can be attributed to BMS designs. Very instructive.

• October 20, 2010 - Brian Lunt, Leviton

  The October meeting featured Brian Lunt from Leviton who showed their home EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) line. Brian indicated that as soon as the standard settles to the point where it makes sense, selected VEVA EV owners just might be able to beta test J1772 inlets courtesy of Leviton.
  

• June 16, 2010 - Mike Schuler

  Mike Schuler gave a lengthy outline of variablegrid, with hardware and software demos ; he is offering this tool - which provides modulated, rather than on/off load control - freely to utilities that wish to shorten their smart grid planning horizons.
  Bruce White gave a great picture show of his conversion in Australia and the off-peak grid usage scheme he himself convinced the utility to implement. One of the cleanest DIY conversions we have seen. And he is going for LiIon soon!

• April 21, 2010 -

  The AGM was held and 5 nominated directors were elected by acclamation. Since this is a volunteer organization, many people got the message that they were needed, so support from members at large is epxpected to increase. President Vincent Law listed a few committees for consideration. Also, Dave Koehn showed a 20AH lithium polymer cell from the X-Prize prototype eVaro.

• March 17, 2010 - David Feldhaus

  Dave Feldhaus presented on what EV organizations are up to these days, including Electric Mobility Canada and their big conference coming to the Vancouver Convention Center in Sept 2010. Then Ricky Gu (UBC Engineering EV Project) showed their VW Beetle EV and did a presentation about the car and future plans to compete in SolarTaxi-famed Louis Palmer's Zero Emissions Race to go around the world in 80 days.

• February 17, 2010 -

  (no meeting - BCIT closed)

• January 20, 2010 - Joel Lazardeux, Azure Dynamics

  Joel Lazardeux of Azure Dynamics did a 45 min. presentation this month on Azure's specialization in hybridizing delivery van fleets numbering in the hundreds of vehicles. They are working on the Ford Transit Connect EVan to be sold through Ford dealers.

• December 16, 2009 - Brian Beck, City of Vancouver

  Brian Beck of the City of Vancouver showed the City's new Mitsubishi i-MiEV and later gave almost everyone a drive or ride in it. Thanks for the opportunity, Brian! David Feldhaus has been to Nissan LEAF presentations in both Seattle and Vancouver and related his experiences.

• April 16, 2008 - Sandy Constable, Piotr Drozdz, Advanced Lithium

  Sandy Constable and Piotr Drozdz from Advanced Lithium Power in Vancouver gave a talk on various lithium chemistries and their characteristics. Key to their increasing momentum is their BMS development program and close partnership with another local company, E-Moli Energy who manufactures lithium manganese cells in EV-sized cells. These cells are completely safe. Key partners in the US are about to receive a limited production run of a few dozen PHEV-10 Ford Escapes powered by Advanced Lithium packs and battery management systems. In hybrid applications, the cycle life of these cells are measured in the hunderds of thousands and for PHEV duty perhaps 3,000. This translates to a battery life exceeding the shelf life of the cells. Their prototype PHEV-10 Ford Escape was present at the meeting.

• March 19, 2008 -

  Greg Murray from E-SUV presented the EXV4 electric mini-SUV from E-Ride industries. The shiny black vehicle he brought in for display that evening was very close to being licensed for BC roads. E-Ride Industries has shipped over 500 of these utility vehicles to airport authorities and various campuses.

• February 20, 2008 - Erik Hagman from Altoverra, Jurgen Borovica

  At the meeting the newly-converted dark blue GMC Sonoma pickup conversion was displayed. This EV features a good 80 km range, 156 volts, a Cafe Electric Zilla 1000 amp controller, Manzanita Micro PFC-20 3kW charger and Link-10 E-meter. The silent auction for the vehicle was won by Don Chandler. Four or five of the course participants told their stories from the course. There was nothing but praise for Randy Holmquist and how he made it possible to re-build the truck into an EV in just four days!
  Erik Hagman from Altoverra which represents LionEV vehicles and complete Lithium packs in Canada gave a short presentation.
  Jurgen Borovica, an serial personal EV builder, will showed his new Electric Moto racing electric trials motorcycle which now runs Thundersky lithium and competes quite well with gas bikes in the under-200cc class.

• January 16, 2008 -

  The 50 people that attended the January meeting were in for a real experience as president Don Chandler and vice president Robert Show, along with John Stonier reviewed a draft proposal for VEVA's policy statements and goals. Then everyone split into groups by region to network and perhaps try to duplicate a model already established where a small group meets many Saturday mornings to discuss EVs and how to get them into as many households as possible. They do this by planning VEVA activities and partipication in the community. After that, we reorganized again into areas of endeavour where volunteers could come forth to help the organization grow, again with the same aims. By the end of the evening, it became clear that if we are to change the world, members need to get involved!

• December 19, 2007 -

  The December meeting was a non-meeting because it was a social at Walter Wardrop's energy efficient house in West Vancouver.

• October 17, 2007 - Randy Holmquist, Robert Shaw, Gordon Day

  65 people attended the lively and fast-paced September meeting.
     VEVA president Don Chandler formally announced a two-weekend hands-on EV conversion course to be held the last two weeks of January at the Canadian Electric Vehicles facility in Errington, BC on Vancouver Island. Any VEVA member interested in the $300 course is encouraged to contact Haakon MacCallum at 604-527-4288. The course is now fully subscribed but Haakon is putting interested people on a waiting list in case there is enough interest for a second course ... (more)
     The main focus of the evening was an interview with Randy Holmquist of Canadian Electric Vehicles and Robert Shaw, e-bike conversion hobbyist. This interchange highlighted some of the unique issues of doing EV conversions as a business and the similarities of car and bike conversions. Watch for coming sound clips. The full audio podcast will be available in the members' area soon. Members will be notified by email when it is available.
     We had the priviledge of looking inside and under the hood of Gordon Day's AC-150 powered AC Propulsion eBox (a Toyota Scion xB frame-up rebuild). Gordon was an hour late getting to the meeting because his cobalt 18650 lithium pack was empty (and our meeting location is not easy to find on a stormy night!). A quick charge from the 240v at 50 amps in his garage gave Gordon the 8 kWhr it needed to make the round trip from Point Grey to BCIT and back. The car does a quick 0-60 mph in 7 seconds and has a comfortable 150 km range with 30 kWhr of energy onboard.
     We also were amazed at the Alé tri-wheeled custom low-production car which showed up. In its current incarnation it gets 92 MPG and does 0-60 in 5 seconds from a modified Honda engine and special custom pre-vaporized fuel system. The manufacturers are now interested in an electric drive model.
     As usual, there was much networking afterward. Thanks go to Don Chandler for the organization, Randy Holmquist for travelling four hours each way from Errington, Al Godfrey for helping with the transportation and Lawrence Harris for the audio.

• September 19, 2007 -

  Fifty people attended the lively and fast-paced September meeting. VEVA president Don Chandler announced a two-weekend hands-on car-to-EV conversion course currently in the planning stages. He also pointed to an article in the September 19 Vancouver Courier reporting on the City of Vancouver's plan for the installation of AC outlets for EV charging in new construction. This was directly on the advice of VEVA and other organizations and due also in part to recent annoucenments ofplug-in electric cars from GM and Toyota.

  Gordon World and Lance Hui, co-founders of E-Cycle gave a slide presentation on trends in the e-bike and e-scooter industry.

  A new member, Doug Campbell showed his California factory-converted Solar Electric Escort Wagon with 108 volts and GE motor. This vehicle was orginally owned by former VEVA member Eric Nielsen who was the Government Leader of the Yukon Territory before becoming a Member of Parliment and then the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. As usual, there was much networking afterward.

• June 20, 2007 - Diane Gratton

  Diane Gratton spoke and provided a slide presentation on the topic: Are electric cars dead? If not, where are they? She looked at some of the electric cars being developed today around the world, where they can be found and the conditions that enable the development and sale of electric cars.
  Agenda Items:
  It was decided that Al Godfrey, who put a bid to host the Enfield, would be given the change to work on it.
  It was decided to keep the Detroit at the Powerhouse and not allow the BC Museum to 'rent' it for a year for $10,000

• May 16, 2007 - Andy Frank

  Special Guest Andy Frank, noted engineering professor from UC Davis gave an almost two-hour presentation on plug-in hybrid and vehicle-to-grid research. The largest automaker, governments and power utilities are onside with his ideas. Click on "Andy Frank" at this link

  Streaming audio, 1:39:00 MP3 (23MB), as well as the set of slides in PDF, is available in the members area.

  Dr. Frank has had 35 years of hybrid concept conversion experience. His test vehicles that range from converted EV1s to 6000lb trucks have an engine 1/3 the normal size and get at least twice the factory mileage per gallon of gasoline. Astonishingly, they retain all the performance the consumer would expect in today's new cars.

  The surprise was the realization that plug-in hybrids in conjunction with micro-generation (a 1-2 kW solar array, wind or hydro power on your property) and bio-fuels can wean us 100% off fossil fuels - if indivuduals and industry comply with the concept.

  This appears to be the best solution to address declining fossil fuel stocks, stop our contribution to global warming, and get free power for our homes and cars - all at the same time! ... more ...

• April 18, 2007 - Don Chandler, Jeremy Whyte, Diane Gratton

  Don Chandler and Jeremy Whyte gave a talk and slideshow from the Skills Canada Solar Challenge from earlier in the day.

  Diane Gratton talked about Medium Speed Electric Vehicles and their consideration by two American states. MSVs are allowed to run to the legal speed limit on roads marked 40mph/60kmh.

  Robert Shaw's bicycle hub motor demo was shown.

  John Stonier announced the formation of various committees for Membership, Newsletter, Website, 1912 Detroit, Events and Governments Liason. Volunteers are encouraged to help on these committees. The members to approach for these committees are listed in the members area of the website. You need to be a member to access the site but send us an email if you are interested in working on a committee.

  John Stonier also listed a number of coming events which VEVA will either hold or take part in: Earth Day on April 22, REV on June 9, North Vancouver show on June 10, Canada Day on July 1, Delta on July 24, Langley Cruise-In, PNE car clubs day.

  Justin Lemire Elmore gave a slideshow presentation on automated battery pack testing for NiMH chemistries, the design evolution of the Drain Brain energy monitor/integrator and showed a new dual hub-motored skateboard design using strain gauges to read rider intent and handle safety conditions. The newest version Drain Brain with backlit LCD multiline display costs $140 and will handle pack voltages to 200v peak, read up to 2000 amps and work with both brushless and brushed motors. Inputs are motor/speedo tach signal, B+, current shunt inputs etc. See his web page at www.ebikes.ca

• March 21, 2007 - Ron Burton, David Kronstein

  Haakon chaired the meeting in his inimitable style. Business at the AGM ran at least an hour longer than expected due to discussions amending the bylaws to accommodate the automatic retirement of directors each year. A number of new faces were there and most endured the AGM portion of the meeting. At least one of them said the recent EPIC show was the reason for their attending. Others may have also come from that event but left during the AGM.

  A slate of eight directors was elected. Don Chandler is the new president, Robert Shaw becomes the Vice-President (a new position because we have to abide by the rules of the Societies Act) and John Stonier will be Secretary/Treasurer. Alan Cumberlidge, Dave Koehn, Gordon Wong and a new member (?) will also be directors at large. Lawrence Harris will continue as a director for the time being because he was out of the country at the time of the AGM and the new retirement rules do not yet take effect until written or registered. Past president Haakon MacCallum was nominated but he preferred to retire. John Foster will continue as membership secretary but not a director.

  Ron Burton entertained us with a 40-frame slide presentation on the history of electric cars from the 1890s to today, citing several reasons why they disappeared in the 1920s but are poised to make a big comeback as obstacles are removed for them while other obstacles appear for gas cars.

  John Stonier and Alan Cumberlidge gave a report on the progess of repairs for our 1912 Detroit.

  David Kronstein showed his work-in-progres, a 300-volt 300 amp inverter employing IGBTs for a brushless motor.

• February 21, 2007 - Adam Thorvaldson, the Provincial Program Manager of Skills Canada BC

  February meeting recap: Sixty people attended, of which half were new faces! This record attendance might have been due to the recent publicity from various events such as the "Who Killed the Electric Car" screening or perhaps the new awareness of climate change and new policies drafted by all levels of government in the last few months. Adam Thorvaldson, the Provincial Program Manager of Skills Canada BC, a not-for-profit agency that actively promote careers in the skilled trades and technologies for secondary and post-secondary students, gave a preview of a youth Solar Car Race to be held in April at Tradex in Abbotsford. The winning team moves on to the National solar vehicle event. They are looking for volunteers so if you can help, please contact Adam through Skills Canada BC at http://www.skillscanada.bc.ca

• January 17, 2007 -

  Over 30 people attended the January meeting, with 12 new faces. Nominations for the positions of President were suggested and will be voted on at the AGM in February, along with other positions. John Stonier made an announcement for the "Who Killed the Electric Car?" movie that VEVA is sponsoring. Don Chandler summarized the meeting he attended at the working group that is rewriting the Canadian Electrical Code that deals with electric vehicle charging.

• December 20, 2006 - Nigel Fitzpatrick of Azure Dynamics

  John Stonier chaired the meeting with Don Chandler assisting. New members were introduced. Ross Granger reported on the history of the nickel-iron batteries for the Detroit. Apparently, the alkaline solution was leaking at the battery tops as early as the Expo 86 display so they were removed shortly afterward.

  John reminded everyone that tickets sales were being promoted for the January screening of Who Killed the Electric Car? and panel dicussion along with the accompanying free outdoor display.

  Special Guest Nigel Fitzpatrick of Azure Dynamics gave a corporate overview of Azure. They are strongly research-oriented and the leading producer of hybrid bus and delivery truck conversions in North America. He also made a pitch about the non-profit Electric Mobility Canada organization which was formed a year ago in Vancouver to promote electric driven transport of all types. Members are federal, provincial, regional and local governments, energy providers, manufacturers and suppliers of vehicles and components for electric drive technologies, private and public fleet managers, organized labour, academic institutions, research organizations, consultants, etc.

  There was an announcement by Chris Eich, a member of the BCSEA Vancouver Chapter Steering Committee. He is organizing a "Transportation And Health" event slated to be held at the end of March, 2007 and currently in the planning stages.

  Don Chandler announced that an EV charging infrastructure was being considered by the City of Vancouver and that they will consult with Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) on details of implementation. A working group will be formed within VEVA which may influence the City's plans directly or via its existing membership in the EAA which is a member of EMC.

  Greg Fung volunteered to compile a map of currently available opportunity charging stations.

  Steve Burgess asked how he could add a gas engine to extend the range of his 1500 watt EVT-4000e for when he needed to go 100 km at a time. It was suggested that a direct drive arrangement (parallel hybrid) would be preferred over using a generator to charge the batteries as he drove (series hybrid) to avoid power conversion losses.

• November 15, 2006 -

  John Stonier chaired the meeting. Turnout was lower as November/December meetings tend to be. There were couple of new people but we forgot to ask who they were. John Stonier mentioned that he would speak on VEVA's behalf at the Saturday December 2nd Clean Air Auto Show event at Delaney's pub, 5665 Kingsway, 3-5pm. The Detroit will be there on display and perhaps some some other EVs in addition to the biofuel vehicles that the show was originally centered around.

  John is coordinating the Sunday, January 21 Ridge Theatre EV event. He showed a copy of the poster that Barry Shell the graphic artist has graciously created for us. Some volunteers for that day were found during the meeting. The event will be billed as a fundraiser for required repairs to VEVA's 1912 Detroit Electric car.

  Dave Koehn mentioned that the book by Darryl McMahon called The Emperor's New Hydrogen Economy is now out at $30 and VEVA members can get free shipping with a group buy. Dave annouced that he will have the 2007 calendars ready for the December meeting.

  It was decided to keep everything about the REV show the same in 2007 as in 2006, unless a better opportunity presented itself. Stephen Burgess brought his new red EVT-4000 1500 watt scooter again and got some good suggestions for mounting the charger onboard. A very impressive PowerPoint presentation created in a weekend by John Stonier, Don Chandler and Robert Shaw was shown to the group.

• October 18, 2006 -

  Another large turnout! The number of new faces this year at meetings is eclipsing the long-timers about two to one. On display by the proud owner was a brand new red EVT-4000 1500 watt scooter capable of 60 km/hr - definitely not classed as a bicycle. The nice thing about electric scooters is that they can be brought into a public cafeteria and not stink up the place!
  Robert Shaw and John Stonier co-chaired the meeting, with Haakon in the gallery. A motion was made (and passed) to co-sponsor a screening of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" with the BCSEA group at a local movie theatre. Funds were collected at the meeting for 35 of the 70 tickets required to waive the screening charge. The event will be billed as a fundraiser for required repairs to VEVA 1912 Detroit Electric car.

• September 20, 2006 -

  A dozen new faces! This is a record level of interest in electric drives! Is it saving money on gas and repairs, global warming, peak oil, our troops, health concerns, recycling, the tinker factor or learning about the future of personal transportation? People both old and new talked about themselves and what their interest was in electric vehicles. The small chats and Q&As went on for longer then the meeting!

• August 16, 2006 -

  22 people came to the August 19th Snalam BBQ! Thank you to the Snalams for another great BBQ! What a great day for a BBQ, and as usual the Snalams are great hosts. All of the food was great - and homemade everything including the potato salad. So much better than store bought! Lots of great conversation, a lovely setting in the back garden, a rousing game of bocce - what more could we ask for?!? Thanks again to the hosts for a great time, - Haakon, on behalf of all of VEVA.

• June 21, 2006 -

  Discussion centered around the recent REV! show and Detroit restoration.

• May 17, 2006 -

  So many new faces that we lost count. All kinds of interests and talents were represented. Interest in converting cars was high because of the rising cost of fuel. The final planning for the REV show took place. Haakon is hosting a learn-to-drive-the-Detroit field trip on Sunday May 21st for members.

• April 19, 2006 -

  A very short meeting due to unscheduled maintenance of the meeting room. Two new faces. Don Chandler reported that the REV!2006 show site will be the far west parking area on the beach at Spanish Banks near UBC. The date will be June 10th. He reported that it will be more of a static display because of the small size of the lot, but there can be on-road rides possible. Washrooms and food would be at the concession building to the east, about 400 metres. John Stonier has volunteered his Honda generator for onsite charging. John and Don also wanted to mostly do away with the paper newsletter. The members in attendance voted to make the newsletter delivery electronic, with an option for a mailed newsletter at membership renewal time.

• February 15, 2006 -

  A couple of new faces, and the FrankenPrius builders are back! The new executive and directors were elected, mostly by default, as volunteering for executive positions is not our strength. A team of four (!) people volunteered to plan REV!2006, with Don Chandler leading the charge (sic). Much discussion ensued afterwards about everything to do with electric drives.

• January 18, 2006 -

  Half a dozen new faces! The January meeting is always charged! (sic). On show this time, mostly from the visitors were ... a 100+ kW AC drive wheeled into the meeting area on a cart, a Ford Escape hybrid just outside and a home-built prototype brushless motor built for RC planes up to four foot wingspan. Lots of networking before and after the meeting.