FEBRUARY 2010 NEWSLETTER GISBORNE
Alistair
The Official Newsletter , Branch 11, ZL2AA
Gisborne NZ.
8th February 2010
Welcome ,
Members , Associates and Friends to the first 2010 newsletter of the Gisborne Amateur Radio Club ( GARC ).
It has been an interesting start to the year with two relatively rare occurrences , notably a blue moon in January and a palindrome for the first day of the month of February.
A blue moon is when there are TWO full moons occurring within the same month.
A palindrome is when a mirror image of the day/month/ year happen. 01.02 2010 .
And if you are from the good o'l US of A , why then , it's groundhog day. That 's the time when you relive the same experience over and over each day . Sound familiar ?
Now that I have stunned you with these captivating pieces of trivia I will get onto something more relevant to yourselves and the club.
After all , the matter of Amateur radio as a hobby , is not a matter of life and death is it ? .
It is far more important than that !!
No doubt by now, you will all have opened your Chrissy pressies and been suitably thrilled or subdued , as the case may be !
DARRRRrLING ! , a new pair of socks / scarf , great , .. .....just what I need , says he / she mendaciously , while frantically rummaging through the wrappings looking for that paid up subscription to your favourite Ham magazine , / NZART / ARRL / RSGB , or that Cd disc with the latest software that allows you access to your favourite thingammyjig , or ........... Ces't la vie till , next Christmas !
Club night is MONDAY the 8th February 7.30pm , Bryce St. scout hall ...
Bring along your holiday experiences , tall tales , pics , or exhibits, as at the time of writing nothing has been planned for the night .
 Very handy, but check and keep spare
fuses.
Hi All and greetings for the New
Year. 2010.
Did your computer play up when it clicked over from
2009??? Those were the days...
I have just (Marilyn and
I) had a great get-away over the Christmas period..... Christmas
Day, Boxing Day and a drive around the East Cape to our usual camping
spot. Armed (just for show) with my Gisborne Amateur Radio Club magnetic
signs, and my usual array of antenna's. (All seven). I fitted all my
rigs into the cab of my truck. (3). Boy, a getaway for Christmas.......
Marilyn is going to love this!?
But! She is used to it by now, and when I have a screen
black-out from the sunlight, (she knows what frequency we're on), and how
to change a rig to another frequency. (Without me shouting at her!)
Hi.
The main reason for our trip away, was, (1). To get away
from it all as we both only had a couple of days off, before we were due
to start work again. (2). To finish a couple of good books that we
had taken up with us, (3). To try out our new tent, which we shouted
ourselves for Christmas. This gives us extra accomodation when we go away,
apart from the back of my truck. Very comfy, but getting a bit crowded
with some trips planned over the next month or so. (4). To sample some
very nice imported Irish ale and wine that we were gifted.
(Hic!)
Anyway, by the by. Below, is a quick run down
of how our trip turned out. It so happened that there was a fishing
competition on boxing day, and most of the boaties, longliners and rodders
were partying at our camping spot on Christmas day evening, ready for the
next day. My antennas drew some attention, along with the running
commentary of the OZ/Pakistan cricket match, live from Melbourne, courtesy
of the Yaesu 857d and the Trident™. Also, interest was shown in the UHF
and VHF capabilities of the Yaesu 7800r. Could I talk to their boats?
Could I hear them? Planes and boats and planes, space
station, they were informed. Just what COULD I
NOT HEAR? I have also just installed
a 26/27MHz GME-300 rig in the truck too, which covers the truckies on
the road and the boaties still on frequencies with local CB. Our
camping arrangements were scrutinised, what with my very large N120
battery, (which is now standard on-board in my truck) and our selection of
light/power fittings and adaptors. We run 2 x DC flouro (twin) lights,
plus 1 vehicle inspection light... magic, plus one kero/tilly/bug
lamp, which goes all night. We can read until late, or until the Irish
took over~~~~
Many friends were made on this trip, (I think/hope) and
a good time was had by all with much interest shown in my communications
set-up. Many questions were asked, and answered, and I hope some more
recruits for our hobby, even if just in the interests of safety. I
hope the photos below relay some of our "time out" with the Coast
.
Well, that was it, and a great time had by all. Most of
the adaptors as you all know, are simple to make and keep in an old DVD
carry case or such in your glove box, under a seat, wherever.
Remember, we have sponsors....... don't forget, if you need a plug,
socket, coax etc.... See CORY'S Electrical. You will get a discount.
Also, do you still all get/want info from Com-Centre.
Updates etc? Richard will bend over backwards to get you most of the info
you may be looking for. He just updated my list of scanning frequencies,
which if you have a spare minute to spin the dial, will amaze you!
Hear the wallies on UHF CB. Boaties, VHF-FM. Surf
patrols. Trampers. (D.O.C) etc. Railways, Sports, TV's, Cricket,
Golf, Auckland events.
Give it a go. Contact: c...@radioinfo.co.nz Copyright© Dec
2009
For now, best 73's.
Ric Coleman. ZL2RIC
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National System Award 2010 1 January—7 February |
Hamilton Amateur Radio Club
National System Award 2010 - Historic Places Award Notification
National System Award 2010 - Historic Places
, is presented by The HamiltonAmateur Radio Club, Branch 12 NZART in association with the New Zealand Historic
Places Trust. Based upon the original idea by Wellington VHF Group this is a
FUN award available to all amateurs to demonstrate the coverage and use of the
National System, to promote our history and category 1 Historic places.
The award will run from 1 January 2010 to 7 February 2010.
Points will be allocated for:
1. Contact any Amateur in each NZART Branch area (excluding Branches in
recess) via the National System
1 point.
2. Contact ZL1UX, official station of Hamilton Amateur Radio Club, Branch
12 via the National System
3 bonus points.
3. Contact any Amateur operating from a Category 1 Historic Place (as listed
in the Historic Places Trust Register, available from
www.historic.org.nzapprox 940 sites) via the National System
1 point.
4. Contact any Amateur whilst operating from a Category 1 Historic Place
(as listed in the Historic Places Trust Register, available from
approx 940 sites) via the National System1 point.
Points are cumulative and each site may only be listed once. Only one branch or
historic site may be logged per contact. As evidence of contact the log must record
the registry number of the site available from the Historic Places Trust Website
www.historic.org.nz. See accompanying document 'NS2010 Award Notes' foraccessing the Register available from
http://zl1ux.tripod.com/nsaward.htm.The Branch List being used for the Award is available from
http:// .Participants are requested to note the following key points:
•
A number of the Historic Places are private property; therefore participants MUST respect the private property. It is not necessary to enter any
private property to log the contact. Participants are expected to be in near
proximity to the Historic Place, not on the site.
•
There are no definitive boundaries between branches, so participantsneed to determine which branch they are in, to log the point. This dis
tance will vary for different parts of the country. Only one branch can be
logged per contact. Branches in recess DO NOT count.
•
Participants are encouraged to learn about the NZART branches and theplaces that define our history through visiting the Category 1 Historic
Places.
•
Have FUN, a safe and enjoyable holiday period.•
The award is available in electronic format or hard copy.Send a log of contacts with; date, time, Callsign and first name of contacted person,
NZART Branch name or Historic Places Trust Register Number of the site,
for each contact, and preferred award format (electronic or hard copy) to;
The Award Custodian
Hamilton Amateur Radio Club
PO Box 606
HAMILTON 3240
or E-mail <bran...@nzart.org.nz> with NS2010 in the subject. Applications
close 7 March 2010.
Te Puke Amateur Radio Club Inc
Annual “Junk Sale”
Paengaroa Community Hall
6th March 2010 (Saturday)
For more information please contact Syd Rowe (ZL1LWR)
7-533-1029 or sydr...@hyper.net.nz
Jock White Memorial Field Days
27-28 February 2010
Sat : 3pm-midnight
Sun : 6am-3pm
Digital Dividend
Latest news from the NZ Government is that all Kiwi Hams will be getting access
to 50-51MHz once the analogue television system is switched off in a few years
time.
The bad news is that we will most likely lose access to Ch39 for Amateur Television
(ATV). This may be replaced with an area just above 6m.
More news to come.
Grateful acknowledgement to Ham Hum for sharing this ...