Here is a brief summary of the TPC R&D video meeting on 14 March 2002.


                            Agenda
                            ------

1.-----Telephone or video meetings in future?
Since the video approach is rather heavy and requires special equipment,
we decided for the next time to try a telephone meeting with information
or talks posted on the web beforehand.  I had thought this would not be so
good if a large number (ca. 20, say) of people participate, but I had a
good experience with this recently (with the TRC):  the meeting has to be
well prepared and the participants have to be disciplined.  The big
advantage is all you need is a telephone and the web, so that anybody can
join.

2.-----Plans for St.Malo:
See http://alephwww.mppmu.mpg.de/~settles/tpc/stmalo.txt

3.-----Backgrounds in the TPC:
The backgrounds at Telsa have been estimated and are in the TDR
(Table7.1.6).  The numbers have to be firmed up, and we should estimate
where the "limit of pain" is, so that we see how much safety factor we
have.  I have been making back-of-the-envelope estimates, but we need
to back these up with more detailed simulation (also pointed out by Aachen
at the video meeting).  This will be an issue for StMalo, where some
numbers will be presented.

4.-----News from the groups:
We heard reports from
                  o Saclay/Orsay
                       Cosmics tests; CF4 tests.
                  o Carleton/Montreal
                       Tests of hexagonal pads; of 200MHz FADC; of charge
                       spreading using resistive foil.
                  o Aachen
                       Simulation work; tests with wires; with B-field.
                  o Karlsruhe
                       Building small TPC for 0-5T tests in Desy, test of
                       chevron compared with square pads.
                  o Munich
                       Discussions started toward prototype with wires
                       for 0-5T test in Desy.
                  o General
                       For prototype tests in B-field, we have a 2T
                       magnet in Saclay, a 1T magnet in Desy which is
                       ready and another 0-5T magnet in Desy which is
                       being prepared.

                       There is a setup of Star electronics in Saclay,
                       another one in Carleton and a third one planned
                       for Munich where it will be prepared as a portable
                       setup which can be circulated around the labs.

Since all of these groups will be showing their results with updates at
StMalo, I won't try to give a more detailed summary here.

5.-----AOB:
For the StMalo meeting, Paul reported that about 150 have signed up
already, so that there should be about 200 by the time the meeting rolls
around.