November Spectrum 2014 - QSL.net Sec on George Ra ﬄes ZL1TUX 626 6944 021 735 361 [email protected] ZL1BQ Trustee John Dunn ZL1JD 473 9514 021 731 907

SPECTRUM h p://www.qsl.net/zl1bq 1 Vol 51 November

SPECTRUM November 2014 Vol. 51 No. 11

The Official Newsletter of the

Auckland VHF Group Inc.

Spectrum

AREC portable repeater installed on top of Auckland Hospital

See Page 16: Laurie Mathews Section Leader AREC BR66

SPECTRUM is the official journal of the Auckland VHF Group Inc. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect club points of view.

The closing date for SPECTRUM articles is by the 1st of each month. Articles to be submit-ted to the editor Steve ZL1TPH [email protected]

Office Name Call sign Home Work / Mobile E‐mail

President Peter Loveridge ZL1UKG 377 3398 [email protected]

Vice President Grant Taylor ZL1WTT 021 02 340 270 zl1w [email protected]

Secretary Adam Cumberlege ZL1CCA 410 8923 [email protected]

Treasurer Doug Cooke ZL1TTE 846 6075 0274 978 121 d‐[email protected] Commi ee Vaughan Henderson ZL1VH 418 1071 021 844 804

Merv Thomas ZL1SK 828‐7174 27‐499‐0262 [email protected] John Dunn ZL1JD 473 9514 021 731 907 [email protected] Dave Probine ZL1TND 6308044 AREC Sec on Leader Laurie Mathews ZL1ICU 634 5130 0274 817 463 [email protected]

Deputy Sec on George Raffles ZL1TUX 626 6944 021 735 361 [email protected]

ZL1BQ Trustee John Dunn ZL1JD 473 9514 021 731 907 [email protected] Repeater Trustee John Dunn ZL1JD 473 9514 021 731 907 [email protected] Klondyke Managers ZL1VH ZL1BK 690 Manager Dennis Seymour ZL1UET 532 8666

850/670 Manager Vaughan Henderson ZL1VH 418 1071 021 844 804 [email protected]

ATV/Beacons Grant Taylor ZL1WTT 021 234 0270 zl1w [email protected]

Spectrum Editor Stephen Hayman ZL1TPH 0274 732663 [email protected] Trading Table David Probine [email protected] Hon Auditor Rod Bradnam ZL1CD Webmaster Vacancy [email protected] Club Web Page h p://www.qsl.net/zl1bq ATV Interest Group h p://www.qsl.net/zl1qf/atvug/ATVusers.html

ZL1VHD Dstar gateway administrator; Laurie Mathews ZL1ICU 6345130 [email protected] Dstar gateway registra on URL:http://zl1vhd.dstar.org.nz

SPECTRUM h p://www.qsl.net/zl1bq 2 Vol 51 November 2014From the

Auckland VHF Group Inc. Branch 66 NZART

PO Box 10138, Dominion Rd, Auckland 1446 Clubrooms: Hazel Ave, Mt Roskil

Club News and Net:

The combined Auckland VHF Group and Auckland Regional Branch News and Net are held on 146.625 MHz and 439.875 MHz at 8.15 pm each Sunday or after the ZL6A National Broadcast on the last Sunday of the month. Club meetings are held at the Clubrooms at Hazel Avenue, on the second Monday of each month at 7.30 pm. For other details, listen to the News and Net each Sunday evening.

SPECTRUM h p://www.qsl.net/zl1bq 3 Vol 51 November 2014

President

Preparation for the AGM has been the main effort of my work this month. You will have seen the year in review in my report. My regular column here looks ahead to what is coming.

Over the summer there will be at least two working bees at Klondyke, probably starting late November. There has been some damage by winter storms to the HF dipole which is hanging down interfering with the performance of at least two Yagi’s on the NE corner of the tower plus some observed problems with other antennas.

The clubrooms will need some work over the summer to complete the HF 40/80 m dipole, update the trading stock list and do further work on the donated analogue TV equipment.

How do we fund the club activities? About 50% of the cost comes from subscriptions with the rest from Trading activities. TradeMe re-quires someone who can regularly answer the

questions that come in from potential buyers. It has shown to help trading sales and income by exposing our stock to a wider range of people. We state that we are fund raising for a non-profit organisation. If you have experience with TradeMe please offer to help in this area. It may help hold the Subscription cost down for the 2015 year.

After the AGM has been completed we will hear David ZL1TND presenting a topic from his store of experience to round out the evening.

Peter Loveridge 31 October 2014

________________________________________________________________


Auckland VHF Group (Inc) Branch 66

Annual General Meeting notice

10th November 2014 7.30pm, Hazel Avenue Club Rooms

(Located on left at the end of Hazel Avenue)

Agenda (1) Confirma on of the Minutes of the 2013 AGM

(2) Acceptance of Reports

(3) Presenta on of Accounts

(4) Se ng of the Subscrip on for the 2015 year

(5) Elec on of Officers

(6) General Business

6.1 To amend the Cons tu on clause 5(i) to reduce the Quorum to not less than 12 full members in view of the reduced number of full members of the club.

6.2 Any other business.

_____________________________________________

At the conclusion of the AGM there will be a short General Mee ng

The Evenings Subjects:

David Probine on a topic of his choice


David Probine will talk about his choice of experience from working in a variety of different fields in electronics.

Preparing for Field Day

The Field day coming in December usually results in a number of field and home sta ons far and wide compe ng to hear one another. A short discussion now will give you an indica on about who will be on air for the December Field Day Contest. This will give you an idea of where to point your antennas to take part in the best supported ac vity of the year.

For “Stop Press” listen to the Sunday night News and Net at 8:15 pm on 6625.

Another meeting not to be missed!

EVERBODY IS WELCOME

____________________________________________________________________________


AUCKLAND VHF GROUP Inc

PRESIDENT’S REPORT FOR AGM NOVEMBER 2014

This is my second Presidents Report. On being prepared to stand for the posi on one is gener‐ally elected by acclama on immediately. When you enter Parliament following a general elec‐on you promise to work for your cons tuents for a term of three years. You will see me giv‐

ing another person the chance to have this experience at the next elec on.

Major Events

The change of ownership of the Klondyke Forest land began to affect the Auckland VHF Group from July 2012. Communica on with the owner’s representa ves ramped up at the end of 2012 and legal advice was received that the Group should prepare a Lease to be submi ed to the owner for approval. John Dunn was the ini al point of contact for correspondence and has guided me in how “Site agreements” are supposed to work. The new Owner and his solicitor appear to see Repeater Operators as cash cows and have set the cost of being there high based on their success with an “essen al service” also present at Klondyke. Feed Through is the propor on of rent received by the VHF Group that must be paid to the owner. It took a while to realise that the argument that 25% as the high end of commercial rates isn’t a limit when the amateur service has so much donated labour. The language in communica on from the solicitor that we are a “not for profiteering” organisa on suggests that pro‐bono may be a concept they are not familiar with.

The next approach will use an assessment of the value of donated labour to illustrate why we should have 25% as the upper limit of the Feed Through that we should pay.

The Auckland Unitary Plan required by Central Government as part of crea ng a Super City overlooked our hobby of Amateur Radio. A simple submission (4036) was made to the “Dra Plan” referring to the North Shore City Plan where 15 metre masts were permi ed. Unfortu‐nately it may have warned the Planners that they didn’t have a simple solu on to the needs of our hobby. At the 2013 AGM Douglas Birt made a spirited presenta on to the members about the next step.

Amateur radio became a Restricted Discre onary ac vity in the Super City and amateurs had un l 28 February 2014 to make a submission (4498) to the “No fied Plan” to achieve Per‐mi ed status. Star ng from material that had been used at Tauranga and other loca ons a small team wrote a comprehensive submission that was posted on the ZL1BQ web site. This has since been used as a model in Has ngs. A “Further Submission” template was posted on the ZL1BQ web site to allow every amateur in NZ to support our cause. About 132 “Further Submissions” were received by the Council. A “Further Submissions Report” was produced by the Council in October. Sec on 16 contains a summary of the amateur radio support. We wont hear any more un l the Council no fies us of a Hearing Date to put our case in detail and an‐swer any ques ons the Commissioners and any objectors to our requests have. This is where the “Figh ng Fund” proposed by the Vaughan the NZART President will be required. It would be a shame to fail through not understanding planning procedure when we have a good un‐


derstanding of the technical material.

By now you will all have been through the experience of valuing your home for agreed cost rather than replacement insurance. Changes in the industry are being driven by “re‐insurers” wan ng to know the extent of their exposure and have now appeared in the Group’s insur‐ance policy wording. We will be valuing our buildings and equipment in order to get the cor‐rect coverage. It is expected that the cost of insurance will double because of the number of sites where our equipment is located. This is likely to have an effect on subscrip ons.

Mee ngs

The holiday atmosphere con nued in January with a BBQ in Arthur Falkner Reserve. With some scratching a program was set in place during the year. A endance at mee ngs has con‐nued to a ract an average of 15 to 25 people. This has helped to maintain the level and qual‐

ity of speakers. The Electronics Ins tute has con nued to support our efforts, and their dona‐on and assistance is greatly appreciated. The con nued liaison between the two groups is

proving beneficial to both par es.

February:

Laurie ZL1ICU told us about the development of D‐Star and how we come to have a service now based at Klondyke. This has been made possible by having an ISP as a tenant at Klondyke

March:

There is a Linux interest group mee ng at the VHF Clubrooms. We heard about the alterna ve to Microso from Grant ZL1WTT.

April:

Following the media interest in the loss of Malaysian Airlines MH370 David ZL1TND gave us his insights from Air Traffic Control days about what Radar and Transponders can do and how to disable them. The flying pa ern suggested deliberate evasion of tracking systems. Who knows when further evidence will be found.

May:

Considering Remits for Conference is tradi onal here and didn’t take much me this year. With the interest in Auckland in masts and antennas another look was taken at Radia on Safe‐ty as it is now posted on the NZART web site. The site has been updated since the first ar cle in the July/August 2003 issue of Break In with informa on taking the new power levels into account.

June:

It is good to see what our members are up to. The Show and Tell evening brought the mem‐bers up to date with the interests that are exci ng the members to advance their knowledge.

July:

The Analogue TV Shutdown resulted in a lot of surplus TV network equipment becoming sur‐


plus. From contact with BroadTech the VHF Group was offered equipment rather than see it dumped. It turns out that some value can be extracted for amateur radio use once the cases are discarded. In order to keep the moun ng pile from becoming a White Elephant a Working Bee was held at the clubrooms to start processing the dona on before it took over the clubrooms.

August:

Something that all of us should know is the regula ons that govern our use of Spectrum. Kevin Evere from Radio Spectrum Management gave us an insight into his work in maintaining or‐der in the Spectrum where signals don’t recognise boundaries.

September:

It is a while since we gained our call signs. How are newcomers to RF learning about the sub‐ject? Dr Boon‐Chong Seet from AUT told us about the teaching of the subject at AUT. The stu‐dents have prac cal projects using RF as part of their studies. For any members working in the RF field there may be “Work experience” available from students to do something for your employer while they gain experience for their studies.

October:

The Australasian Linux Users Conference is coming to Auckland in January 2015. Mark ZL1VMF came as a helper to the organisa on and evangelist for Linux to tell us about the Conference and what to expect if we were to take part in it. Mark was followed by a video about the Black Propaganda transmissions made from England during WWII to weaken the German will to fight. The psychology as well as the technology was covered.

Ubuntu Evenings:

The mee ngs run by Grant ZL1WTT have con nued at the clubrooms about this opera ng sys‐tem, showing and demonstra ng how to load and operate the system, and how to make prac‐cal use of it once it was in your computer.

Working Bees:

During Autumn 2014 the 2m/70cm radios and antennas at the clubrooms were serviced. It took some modelling with NEC2 to understand why the 80/40m dipole didn’t behave and now that it is understood, Spring will see HF capability at the clubrooms as well.

To promote the use of newly available 6m frequencies an antenna range was conducted in the Reserve next to the clubrooms. Four antennas were assessed while having a very sociable morning in the sun. The feeling was “Why don’t we do more of this?”. The results appeared in the May 2014 Spectrum.

Two addi onal evenings at the clubrooms were required to get the donated analogue TV equipment under control. Harry ZL1BK spent some me working on a conver ng a power amp to 2m but the conclusion was that the PCB was too frequency conscious.


Repeaters and Beacons

D‐STAR is now in place at Klondyke with the data connec on provided by Compass Communi‐ca ons as part of their tenancy agreement. The Auckland VHF Group pay only for the data us‐age. Laurie ZL1ICU is currently dona ng the cost of the Internet connec on to the club. Thank you Laurie.

The club needs to consider how the knowledge of sites like Klondyke can be passed along to younger members. We recognise that cell phones and the Internet compete for the short a en on span of younger people but they are needed for con nuity of the service we pro‐vide. Under‐studies are needed for Colin ZL1ACM and Dennis ZL1UET to benefit from their ac‐cumulated knowledge and experience.

A new repeater controller design is being worked on in the background to replace the original 1802 based controllers which a er 25 years and many dry joints and code modifica ons have reached their use‐by date. Implementa on will occur during the next year.

Licences for 1248 MHz ATV and 144.575 MHz Data at Whi ord specify a site now with no power on land that has now been sold and have been terminated. ATV is s ll wai ng for policy to be developed by Radio Spectrum Management in the Digital TV world. Related to this is the development of a high speed Data Mesh using surplus modems opera ng around 2.4 GHz that run Linux kernels which can have new applica ons loaded into flash memory. A possible alter‐na ve site at Ardmore Quarry Road has been found but there are some condi ons that will have to be met before it becomes viable to invest in developing the site for DATV. The licences will need to be re‐engineered for the new loca on and can be reapplied for.

Klondyke General:

The sustainability of Klondyke has been helped by the sharing agreement being made with Compass Communica ons. This arrangement has meant that the con nued financial support of this project is a lot clearer for the future once the new owner can agree to terms that we can live with. Access to the Internet is a benefit from this arrangement.

License Sponsorship Scheme:

I am pleased to report that the scheme con nues to be well supported by members. It is about to go through another renewal cycle, so please keep an eye out for the informa on on frequencies available. Many thanks to all the people who have stepped up to sponsor licenses, including the Auckland branches. It was a very pleasing result to which the commi ee says “thank you and well done” to all who par cipated in it. We look forward to your con nuing support in the years to come. If anybody wants to renew or par cipate in the scheme, contact Merv ZL1SK.

Trading Table

The trading table con nues to provide the funds for the repair and upgrade of repeater ser‐vices and other projects that the Group becomes involved in. Some of the analogue TV equip‐ment has already been snapped up at the Hamilton market. The last ever issue of the “Data Modes” CD from ZL1AVY (sk) is available along with the Microwave Update 2011 proceedings made available by Paul Wade W1GHZ when he was visi ng Auckland.


This year the trading table a ended three market days, the Radio Electronics Group, the Ham‐ilton Amateur Radio club and the Western Suburbs sales. The range of goodies taken was re‐duced to the more popular lines such as connectors and new items that the buyers haven’t seen before, but all sales returned a reasonable amount for the effort put in.

The Group became more ac ve on TradeMe in June and with be er informa on about what was in “Grab Bags” they became popular. Dealing with the public required more me than ex‐pected. The Group was asked to manage the estate of ZL1BKZ a founder member of the Group. A cheque was handed to the estate a er deduc ng a commission for the me and effort. One bad outcome occurred when an estate item was found to not be repairable and had to be refunded. The unsold balance of items was donated to the Group.

Our thanks go to Vaughan ZL1TGC, John ZL1JD, Peter ZL1UKG, David ZL1TND, Doug ZL1TTE for their direct assistance with these events and others who assisted with set‐up and the support‐ers who purchase our stock.

Web site

Hannes ZL1LW resigned during the year and Terry ZL1BPA has taken over as Web Master. He has the experience to recommend ways to dy up the organisa on of the site and make it eas‐ier to maintain. Doug ZL1TTE the Treasurer is the person who sends out the link for Spectrum.

Spectrum

Spectrum con nues to be enjoyed by our members as a source of useful informa on. The quality is excellent and is o en sought a er by people outside of our normal membership. Thanks must go to Stephen ZL1TPH in the excellent work he has done to maintain the high standard of appearance that Spectrum has reached.

This is no mean feat. Stephen has to search for material to keep our pages full when nothing has come in from our own members. It is disheartening to look at blank pages wondering what to put in to fill out space when there is nothing on offer. Stephen needs the support of the members with material, photo’s, news of ac vi es and projects. Amateur Radio works by sharing material – no ma er what – with Stephen.

A Thank You

There have been so many people involved that are outside of the commi ee that it is difficult to know where to start. Colin ZL1ACM, Dennis ZL1UET, Ian ZL1VFO, Harry ZL1BK, Vaughan ZL1VH are high on the list of volunteers and helpers who have given voluntarily of their me and effort to help get things done. There are a many others too numerous to list here who al‐so deserve our thanks. Without that assistance the group would not be in the healthy situa on it finds itself in today. Thank you all.

To ALL of the commi ee, many thanks for a job well done. Being able to share the load allows more to be done while enjoying your share of the work. It has not been possible to note every‐thing that everyone has done into this document – all I can say is thanks to all for your efforts.

I move that this report be adopted. —ZL1UKG END


Auckland VHF Group Inc

Minutes of Annual Geneal Meeting 11th November 2013

Attendance: As per attendance book

Apologies: ZL1VH, ZL1UEX, ZL1TUX

Minutes:

That the minutes of the AGM held 12th December 2012 be accepted - deferred as no copy was available at the time.

Presidents Report:

Peter ZL1UKG presented his report as it appeared in November 2013 issue of Spectrum No‐vember 2013 pages 5, to 12 inclusive.

ZL1UKG moved that his report be adopted. Seconded ZL1SK Passed

Finacial Report

Doug ZL1TTE presented his report and spoke to the dra accounts as circulated at the mee ng and spoken to by Doug. ZL1TTE moved that his report be adopted. Seconded ZL1JD Passed

ZL1TTE moved that the 2013 subscrip on remain at $30.00 as per last year. There was some discussion on the merits of whether it would be a benefit or a deterrent by raising the price slightly ie raise the sub to cover loss of support from Auckland City. Defeated, the recommen‐da on (from treasurer) being that we should concentrate more on increasing trading table sales. There should also be a drive to increase membership. Offer free sub to Spectrum to new hams (Br 29 courses) so that they see VHF/UHF ma ers as well.

Original mo on put to the vote: Seconded ZL1UKG Passed

Zl1TTE moved that ZL1CV (Rod Bradnam) be appointed the auditor for the next financial year. A younger Auditor is required.

Seconded ZL1JD Passed

Spectrum Editor Report

ZL1UKG spoke about the wishes of the current editor Stephen ZL1TPH as printed in December Spectrum.

Should be good for another year but he is looking to re re from that posi on.

A vote of thanks was given for all the work done.

AREC Report

As published in Spectrum November 2013 and spoken about by Laurie ZL1ICU. Laurie empha‐sised that we live in an ac ve volcanic region (Auckland) and as a consequence we should al‐


ways “be prepared”. Laurie has raised awareness and readiness of AREC by par cipa ng in various parades with helpers using handhelds communica ng via strategically placed quickly‐erected portable repeaters. A mee ng with Ak City re funding is due 28 Nov. Ques on: Should Ak VHF Group ask the city for support for Klondyke? Answer: Maybe.

Laurie moved that his report be adopted. Seconded ZL1CCA Passed.

ATV Report

Pending frequency allocation for Digital ATV - DataMesh network.

Repeater Report

Still in negotiations with land owner

Graham Baker used to monitor repeaters and record call signs. Could do this again.

Trading Table Report

ZL1UKG - emphasised need to sell more via our trading table. Saturday 14 Dec Clubrooms open for Trading Table working bee.

Correspondence Received:

Papakura Radio Club - donation of $300 received.. Doug ZL1TTE has sent reply email with scan copy of receipt

Treasurer’s Summary and Draft of accounts

Email from Vaughan Henderson ZL1VH re: Power Outages of 6 hours each - Counties Power

Musick Point Radio Group

Companies Office - Reminder of 2012 Annual Financial Statement Reminder

NZART - Subscription Reminder

ASB Internet Account

Doug Tennent ZL1AVY - Pack of DVD & Flyer - Data Modes and Utilities - Last before Xmas

Papakura Magazine

Musick Magazine

The 29’er

Election of Officers.

President.

Nominee Moved By Seconded By

ZL1UKG ZL1TTE ZL1SK


Vice-President.


ZL1WTT ZL1UKG ZL1JD

Secretary.


ZL1CCA ZL1TTE ZL1TOF

Treasurer.


ZL1TTE ZL1JD ZL1CCA

5. Spectrum Editor


ZL1TPH ZL1UKG ZL1MYL

6. Committee


ZL1VT/TGC ZL1TTE ZL1TCI

ZL1TND ZL1JD ZL1TCI

ZL1SK ZL1JD ZL1TCI

ZL1JD ZL1TTE ZL1SK

Head Repeater Trustee


ZL1JD ZL1UKG ZL1CCA

AREC Section Leader


ZL1CU ZL1TTE ZL1TCI

ZL1TUX (Appointed by sec on Leader)

General Business.

It was proposed that Doug Cooke be made a Life Member.

Unanimously carried


Tonight’s Topic:

A lively and passionate presentation was given by Douglas Birt, ZL1BFS who is secretary of Hibiscus Coast Club, on the Auckland Unitary Plan submissions

Meeting Close. 9.30 pm (approx)

____________________________________________________________________________

DATV

Today I saw an article in QST about a low cost Digital TV transmitter.

It requires a MPEG2 data stream and creates RF between 100 MHz and

2450 MHz. Output power is adjustable in 1 dB steps between -34 dBm and

+12 dBm at 1280 MHz. It modulates both DVB-S and DVB-T, so, will be

useful to NZ amateurs and TV repairers & installers. More info on

http://www.datv-express.com/

Regards, Graham Baker

__________________________________________________________________


The 2013-2014 audited accounts will be available at the AGM.

Treasurer’s Report 2013-2014.

The Trading Table income for 2013-2014 was a good result from sales at equipment sales, and clubroom sales.

Donations help to keep the Klondyke Repeater facilities operating. The main cost this year was power. An internet connection is also installed for the D/Star repeater. We wish to thank Lau-rie ZL1ICU and Marline ZL1MYL for their donation towards this cost.

Our legal fees towards negotiating a new Klondyke site agreement also contributed towards the costs. These negotiations are still ongoing. Considerable costs are expected to be incurred in the near future including legal fees (both ours and the landowner’s) and the possibility of high annual rents.

Brynderwyn is now in a better financial position with ongoing donations now being received to help cover the costs of power.

The Auckland VHF Group pays licence fees for each Repeater, Beacon, ATV transmitter and link frequencies. Donations are being received for sponsorship of licences which is assisting to pay these fees. A list of sponsors is published in Spectrum.

We thank those clubs and individuals who have been able to assist with donations towards run-ning costs and Licence costs over the past year. Without this financial support, we would not be able to continue those services.

Finally I would like to thank Rod Bradnam ZL1CD for his work each year acting as honorary auditor for the accounts. He is standing down as Honorary Auditor after completing this year’s account.

Doug Cooke ZL1TTE

Treasurer Auckland VHF Group Inc


Auckland VHF Group AREC report 2014

BRANCH 66 AREC remains on alert to help in the case of emergency. However our close co-operation with AUCKLAND CIVIL DEFENCE changed with the establishment of the super city. Whereas we had a personal memorandum of understanding with AUCKLAND CIVIL DE-FENCE, we have become covered now by a memorandum of understanding which covers all AREC sections in the super city area. This memorandum has only just been signed although the super city has been in existence over 3 years. The role AREC will play as a group in an emer-gency situation is not entirely clear.

Branch 66 is still helping out with community activities organising personnel and communica-tions helping out with parades, walks and all types of events where communication and organ-ised people are required. We are also talking with local community wards with the setting up of community response groups and infrastructure in case of emergency.

Events attended include three Christmas parades end of last year, St Patrick's parade in Auck-land city, two car rallies, two heritage walks where we provided communications between the groups and to a base station set up for safety. We also attended and provided safety and opera-tional communication for the Annual Pink Star Walk around Auckland Domain, through Par-nell, along the Waterfront into the CBD and back to the Domain. A distance of 10 kilometres. Fourteen operators took part in this event, with help from North Shore, Manukau and Franklin Branches.

A portable repeater was installed on top of Auckland Hospital to ensure good communication to hand held radios around the course. Not only did it do an excellent job around the course, but it was received all over the Auckland area and beyond, a good position in an emergency. A small diamond mag mount on a metal flashed parapet was used for the antenna (see photos).

Coming up at the time of writing this report are three Santa Parades in November.

Through the year I have attended all meetings and nets for section leaders. Next meeting is to be held at BRANCH 66 Thursday 20 November 2014.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Laurie Mathews Section Leader AREC BR66


AREC report continued with pictures

Laurie Mathews Section Leader AREC BR66

Pink Star Walk - Temporary Repeater Antenna


Pink Star Walk - Some of the 3000 Walkers

Pink Star Walk - View From Temporary Repeater Antenna Position


Pink Star Walk - another view From Temporary Repeater Antenna

Heritage Walk October 5th 2014


Heritage Walk October 5th 2014

END


The Fox hunting page

Amateur radio Direction Finding

by Wallace, ZL1WAL

Interbranch ARDF Hunt Cornwall Park 15 Nov. 2014

• The start point will be the Archery Club car park @ 1300 Saturday 15 November 2014

• There will be five foxes hiding (hi hi). Over 65 year olds need find only 4 foxes

• You will need a map, pencil and $10 (it covers cost of batteries) to buy a “control card” on which you write name, branch, call-sign and age. Please write this detail twice because we shall be keeping half of this card.

• Competitors start individually at 5 minute inter-vals. When you are ready, present your control card to the Starter who will write your start time (in unique ink) onto your control card; he will keep half of it to know who is still out.

• Even if you abandon the course, you must hand in the control card otherwise we will think that you are lost and we may send out a search party.

• Each fox broadcasts its identity in slow Morse code (on 144.700 MHz) for one minute each. That is, each fox is silent for four minutes until its turn to transmit again. The Morse codes are:

MOE sounds like “dah dah dah dah dah dit “ (listen for 1 dit)

MOI sounds like “dah dah dah dah dah dit dit” (listen for 2 dits)

MOS sounds like “dah dah dah dah dah dit dit dit” (listen for 3 dits)

MOH sounds like “dah dah dah dah dah dit dit dit dit” (listen for 4 dits)

MO5 sounds like “dah dah dah dah dah dit dit dit dit dit” (listen for 5 dits)

• Each fox appears at eye level, as an orange and white prism-shaped flag near the transmitter. Beneath the flag is a clipper / punch which you use to impress a pattern onto

your control card thus proving that you visited it, and thus scoring 20 points for each fox visited.

• Time allowed is 1 hour. One point will be deducted for each minute late in returning. As you finish, we shall record your elapsed time, check the control clips and compute your score. We will display your card on a clothes line so that you may compare your score with others, and discuss your respective strategies.


• We have some regenerative AM Direction Finding Radios for use. The fact that you do not hear the next fox simply means that:

You are too far away from the fox that is transmitting

There may be a hill between you and the fox, i.e. no line of sight. Wait until the minute has elapsed then listen for the next fox to start transmitting.

A hand-held radio works very well, provided you hold it close to your chest to shield RF from behind you.

When you are near a fox, use a paper clip as an antenna, to attenuate the signal, else directivity is lost.

Yagi antenna, for construction details, refer to our web page www.qsl.net/ZL1AA then click on Newsletters > 2012 > March, then scroll down to page 6.

Triangulation tip: This means, orient your map (if you have a compass, the top of the map is magnetic north), then plot the direction towards each fox that you can hear. Go further along the road to a corner, then plot another set of bearings. A third set of bearings from the next corner will give you a precise intersection of these plot lines to show where the foxes are. Then study your map to plan how to run around the area by the fastest / shortest route, visiting and scoring each fox as you go. This is better than bush-bashing towards each fox in turn. Remember to keep track of your time else you will have points deducted if you are late back.

Previous years’ winners:

2011 at Dingle Dell Franklin Branch by Tom McDonald ZL1TO and Rod Radford ZL1RK

2012 at Dingle Dell VHF Group by Vaughan Henderson ZL1VH

2013 at Churchill Park Franklin Branch by Rod Radford ZL1RK

73

Wallace ZL1WAL,

Secretary / Treasurer

Auckland Branch , NZART Inc.


NZART WRC-15 Travel Fund

Supporting our Delegate, Don Wallace ZL2TLL, to attend the 2015 (WRC-15) ITU Conference, in Geneva

Platinum: Donations $200 and over

Gold: Donations $100 - $199

Silver: Donations $50 - $99

Bronze: Donations $10 - $49

NZART is planning to send one Delegate to the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva, from the 2nd to the 27th November 2015. WRC-15 Agenda Item 1.4 will consider a possible new allocation to the amateur service on a secondary basis in the band 5 250 to 5 450 kHz.

The Association’s budget for next year will not cover the expected costs without reducing re-serves as happened in 2012. We ask our members to make a donation towards this vitally im-portant conference where Amateur access to the radio spectrum is decided.

This may be making a donation of your annual rebate, or a little more if you are able. All dona-tions will solely be used for attendance at an ITU-R conference.

Make your donation to NZART HQ and your Call-sign or Branch will be added to the Honour Roll list which will be printed in the September / October 2015 issue of Break-In. Some donors may wish to remain anonymous, provision for that is made.

Your Association is committed to the maintenance and expansion of the Amateur Service in New Zealand and having our ALO, Don ZL2TLL representing us at this conference is yet an-other example of our work in this area.

NZART HQ

Email: <[email protected]>

Postal Address: PO Box 40-525 Upper Hutt 5140


Radio Electronics Group Inc.

An invitation

To the opening of our new Club Rooms

To all those who assisted us, from the start we say a big Thank You.

We would like you to join us at our official opening, on Saturday 8th Novem-

ber 2014 at 1:30pm in Our Club Rooms followed by refreshment etc.

For catering purposes please reply to the Secretary, Trevor Service on 0211775710

SPECTRUM h p://www.qsl.net/zl1bq 25 Vol 51 July 2014

Amateur Radio Emergency Communication. Volunteers in radio communications.

Using our resources to help the community.

INFORMATION

The Auckland VHF Group has an active AREC section that works closely with Auckland City Civil Defence. They provide advice, resources and manpower to assist in times of need. The

Auckland VHF Group clubrooms provide a backup system to complement the existing systems maintained by Auckland City Council Civil Defence.

The AREC section is headed by Section Leader Laurie Mathews ZL1ICU.

From time to time the VHF Group has training sessions and exercises. Members also assist with

sports events, parades and Rally NZ.

For further information about AREC please see the NZART web site.

JOIN BRANCH 66 AREC

All members of the Auckland VHF Group are encouraged to join the AREC section. Your con-tribution, large or small is appreciated by all involved.

For further information about joining branch 66 AREC contact the Section Leader or his Deputy.

AREC: Section Leader; Laurie Mathews ZL1ICU 634 5130 0274 817 463 [email protected]

Deputy Section; George Raffles ZL1TUX 626 6944 021 735 361 [email protected]

*****

AUCKLAND VHF GROUP (INC)

SUPPORT THE EFFORTS OF THE VHF GROUP THROUGH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION

SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2014

THE SUBS GO TOWARDS;

Maintenance and on-going improvements to beacons, repeaters and linking systems for the national system, including the Klondyke repeater site.

Provides on-time and free access to spectrum magazine as soon as it is available.

Provides facilities for good speakers and lecturers at our general meetings

Discounted access to our trading table goodies

Access to test equipment and technical help when needed

FULL MEMBERSHIP $30.00

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP $26.00

FAMILY MEMBERSHIP ADDITIONAL $4.00

SEE ATTACHED MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM (next page)

REMEMBER TO KEEP US INFORMED OF YOUR INTERNET ADDRESS! OTHER-WISE WE CANNOT SEND YOU SPECTRUM!



NAME Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Christian or given Surname

Mr

Address

Phone: (home)

Phone: (work)

Phone (Cell)

Email

Occupation: Callsign

NZART Member Branch assigned

AREC Member Branch assigned

Category To pay

Membership Full $30.00 $

New/Renewal/Change Associate $26.00 $

Receipt # Family Add $4.00 $

Donations Auckland ATV $

Auckland/Klondyke $

Brynderwyn $

Data/D-Star $

IRLP $

Beacon/Repeater/Links/ATV Licences $

Other $

Total $

Payment

Circle one --> Cash Cheque Internet deposit

Invoice/Statement re-quired Please Advise Treasurer

Internet To account ASB 12-3020-0473626-00. Account name is: Auckland VHF Group Inc. Include your Name/Callsign for us to track. Note: this form needs to be returned to update records. FAX to 09 846 6075 or Email [email protected]

Post The Treasurer, Auckland VHF Group Inc., PO Box 10138, Dominion Road, Auckland 1446.

In Person Bring this form and payment to the next club meeting, 2nd Monday of the month or to the Committee meeting last Monday of the month.


The Auckland VHF Group Inc Branch 66 NZART gratefully acknowledges the sponsorship of Branch 66 Beacons, Repeaters

and Fixed Links license fees and the Group’s repeater operations by the fol-lowing radio amateurs and NZART Branches:

Doug Cooke ZL1TTE [email protected]

The Auckland VHF Group, Branch 66, would like to thank all those who came forward to sponsor the licence fee for our Beacons, Repeaters or Fixed Links for the period December 2013 to November 2014 or donate towards the Group’s repeater Operations.

Merv ZL1SK – [email protected]

Repeater frequency Repeater Sponsorship Amountand name location advised for 2014 paid

53.725 Repeater Klondyke Road Gwynne Rowe ZL1AAR $50.00

144.253 Beacon Nihotupu Stephen Hayman ZL1TPH $50.00

145.625 Data Rptr Klondyke Road NON-operational

145.650 Dstar repeater Klondyke Road Laurie Mathews ZL1ICU $50.00

146.625 Repeater Klondyke Road Laurie Mathews ZL1ICU $50.00

146.700 Repeater Ruaotuwhenua David Probine ZL1TND $50.00

146.900 Repeater Mt Puketutu Radio Franklin Branch ZL1SA $50.00

432.253 Beacon Nihotupu Vaughan Henderson ZL1VH $50.00

438.175 Dstar repeater Klondyke Road Laurie Mathews ZL1ICU $50.00

438.500 Repeater North Head Franklin Branch ZL1SA $50.00

439.850 Link Tx to Kaimai Klondyke Road Franklin Branch ZL1SA $50.00

439.875 Ak Nat Sys Rptr Klondyke Road Ian Robinson ZL2ATD $50.00

439.900 Link Tx to Egmont Klondyke Road Ian Robinson ZL2ATD $50.00

439.950 Link Tx to Brynderwyn Klondyke Road Ian Robinson ZL2ATD $50.00

1291.9 Repeater 217 Glenfield Rd Vaughan Henderson ZL1VH $50.00

Total Sponsorship $700.00

NZART Inc: Branch donations

Auckland Radio Club, Branch 02; NZART Inc: $100.00

Franklin Radio Club, Branch 10; NZART Inc: $50.00

Manukau Radio Club, Branch 21; NZART Inc: $100.00

Papakura Radio Club, Branch 65; NZART Inc: $300.00

Donations $550.00

Prepared by Merv Thomas ZL1SK and current as at 13/05/2014


TRADING TABLE

Currently our Trading Table is only open on meeting nights. Opening on Saturdays may re-sume later in the year so keep an eye out for announcements in Spectrum.

NEW – NEW - NEW

We have heaps of parts from dismantled commercial analog TV gear – transmitters, filters, cir-culators, patch panels, power supplies, cabinets. Too much to list individually, so come along to the clubrooms and have a look

And there’s

more….


SO239 UHF Adaptor :

Just what you need to make up a mobile an-tenna. SO239 socket and mounting nut. The tube on the side is a screw-in fit for RG58 coax cable. Just strip the outer sheath off and allow about 6 to 7mm of centre conductor, screw the RG58 into the side of the adaptor and solder the center conductor to the centre pin of the fitting. A small plastic cap seals off the back of the adaptor (remove it to do the soldering).

Our price: $3.00 each

If you want genuine made in the USA PL259

Connectors, then we have them!

Genuine Amphenol 83-ISA brand.

Brown phenolic insulation.

Suit RG8/RG213 50 ohm coaxial cable.

$3.50 each.

Type N connectors for use with RG58 coaxial cable. These are sol-der clamp type, just the thing if you don’t the right crimp tool!

Only $3.00 each – be in quick, we only have limited stock.

N-Type connectors for LMR-400

Crimp-on only. $5.00 each


Other coaxial connectors available from the Trading Table:

Please note we have sold out of TNC connectors – these are no longer available.

BNC plugs 50 ohm for RG58 coax (solder/clamp type) $2.50 each

BNC plugs 50 ohm for RG58 coax (crimp on type) $2.50 each

BNC sockets 75 ohm – single hole mounting $1.50 each

N Type male solder on suit RG213 coax $4.00 each

N Type male right angle, suit RG213 coax $4.00 each

N Type male crimp on suit RG213 coax ** $3.00 each

N Type socket crimp on suit RG213 coax ** $3.00 each

N Type male right angle, solder on suit RG213 coax $4.00 each

N Type male sliver plated solder/clamp on suit RG58 coax $3.00 each

N Type male crimp on suit RG58 coax ** $2.50 each

N-Type adaptor Male to Male $3.00 each Adaptor TNC Male to UHF Female $3.00 each

** Crimping service available for these at club meetings.

Heatsinks for TO-220 transistors: These are Thermalloy THM-6071 top hat type with cutout.

20c each

DATA MODES & UTILITIES CD

Version 12.09 has even more updates and new programmes on this latest release. This is an ex-cellent selection of software, notes, links to web sites compiled by the late Doug ZL1AVY and this latest edition has over 300 applications, refer-ences and notes. These cover all digital modes, useful software applications for your pc, contest logging and e-qso programmes, radio interfaces, software defined radio information, slow scan tv software, test equipment utilities, satellite track-ing software, and much, much more.

Still only $10.00


Insulation tape Black 18mm wide, 20m roll $1.00 each

SMD Quartz Crystals: In addition to our selection of leaded holders, now have 6MHz and 20MHz crystals in SMD style housings:

6.0000 MHz HC49S SMD package 20pF load capacitance $1.00 each

20.0000 MHz HC49S SMD package P/No. 7D20000183BSAF25Q3 1.00 each

Capacitors, Surface Mount – most are 1206 size. Packed in bags of 10 for 50c

NPO 50V working: 0.68pF, 1.2pF, 1.8pF, 2.2pF, 5.6pF, 6.8pF, 8.2pF, 10pF, 15pF,

22pF, 33pF, 68pF, 82pF, 270pF, 470pF, 100nF.

63V working: 10pF, 47pF, 100pF, 270pF, 330pF, 470pF, 1nF, 1.2nF, 2.2nF, 4.7nF, 10nF 10uF 25V electrolytic

Capacitors, Metal Clad Mica (Unelco, Semco) $2.20 each

Values (in pF): Or 10 up for $2.00 each

3.9, 4.7, 6.8, 10, 12,15, 20, 22, 24, 27, 30, 33, 34, 47, 51, 62, 82, 100, 120, 130, 150, 220, 240, 300, 360, 680pF Most are rated 350V working ±5% tolerance. Similar to illustration, tab does not have hole:

Mixers:

Mini-Circuits Model TFM-2-408-1: 5 – 1000MHz 6dB insertion loss, +17dBm LO drive, 40dB isolation $25.00 each

Note: some of these mixers are labeled TFM-2-408-2. They are identical to the TFM-2-408-1.

END

Documents

November Spectrum 2014 - QSL.net Sec on George Ra ﬄes ZL1TUX 626 6944 021 735 361 [email protected] ZL1BQ Trustee John Dunn ZL1JD 473 9514 021 731 907