NZART Headquarters Infoline Issue 225
06-MARCH-2011
NZART Website: http://www.nzart.org.nz/home/
*Message from Break-In Editor
*From The Business Manager ZL2DL
*FMTAG Notes For March 2011 HQ Infoline 225
*Christchurch Earthquake 22-February-2011
*The Christchurch New Zealand Earthquake Story Continues
*Proposed Changes to 27 MHz Amateur Band
*VHF Convention
*Report on Proposed Amateur Allocation Around 500 kHz
*Scientists Warn of Solar ‘Katrina’
*Branch Data - The Information on NZART Branches and Affiliates
*Web Update
*Kiwi Digital Modes Group
*NZART Amateur of the Year Award Rules
*NZART The Young Amateur of the Year Award Rules
*Arthur (Jumbo) Godfrey Award Rules
*Upcoming Events
*Contest News
==VHF/UHF/SHF Contest Notes
==HF Contests
*Housekeeping
*Attachment(s) for Branches: infoline-225.doc
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"The Break-In Editor John Walker ZL3IB has advised that he is assuming Break-In will be published as usual although it maybe slightly late. He would be grateful if columnists and others could get their copy to him no later than the usual deadline which is 10th March."
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Election results, will be advised to all candidates by the Returning Officer on at approximately 6pm on Monday 21st after which they will be placed on the NZART official web site.
Remits will be published in the March/April Break In. For those branches who have made their remits known to other members, when considering the remits, please remember that the number that you may be discussing will not be the Remit number that is assigned in Break In.
There are 13 remits in total, therefore I have had to renumber them in consequential order.
It's now time for all branches to be considering recipients of awards:
Amateur of the year, Young Amateur of the Year, and Arthur Godfrey Memorial Award.
Criteria for these awards are attached to this issue of HQ Info-line. Nominees names must be received here at HQ before 1 May 2011.
Talk soon...Debby ZL2DL
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Please click HERE to go to the FMTAG Applications Being Processed
Published in HQ Infoline and on the NZART website, inviting comments from members.
None this month.
Please send your comments and suggestions on the above matters and recommendations, and on any other FMTAG matters, by e-mail to: fmtag@nzart.org.nz
Applications for repeaters, beacons, digipeaters, point-to-point links, and so on, should be made on the latest version of FMTAG Form 10. The latest versions of FMTAG Form 10, and the explanatory Form 10A, are available on the NZART web site:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/fmtag/
Completed forms should be sent by e-mail to fmtag@nzart.org.nz
END
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There has been messages from amateur radio societies and individuals around the world. Please see these on the February news page at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/news/2011-news/feb-2011-news/
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Ham radio continues to be an important factor in rescue and recovery efforts in the wake of the earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday, February 22nd. Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, is several hundred miles to the North in Auckland with the latest:
ZL4FZ: "At this stage were still extensively supporting the Land SAR operation that's the more major component. Today with 300 searchers in the field we have deployed probably 50 radios to teams of operators and each of those teams has each got its own radios. There are about an actual 250 staff on foot in the field and all of that communications is coming back through AREC"
That's Richard Smart, ZL4FZ, who is head of the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications team explaining the role that his emergency communications group is currently playing in the aftermath of the 6.3 earthquake. A quake that as of airtime is believed responsible for at least 160 deaths and scores of injuries in and around the Christchurch area. According to Smart ham radio was on scene from the time the quake hit and right though the present:
ZL4FZ: "AREC involvement in the Christchurch earthquake has been to support Civil Defence directly with the welfare centers, initially at the temporary welfare center in Hagley Park. (This is) a small tent city where AREC provided effectively a complete communications terminal right through to the extensive support for the Land SAR operation which has been visiting every home in the Western suburb of Christchurch. To date a total of some eighteen thousand homes have been visited by the Land SAR teams and the AREC teams have provided communications for upward of 300 volunteers in the field at any one time."
Smart tells Amateur Radio Newsline that it's the ability of hams to quickly adapt and respond to any emergency that masks them valuable in situations such as this. He also says that those in charge of relief efforts are very satisfied with the AREC ham radio operations:
ZL4FZ: "I believe in this case that AREC has managed to provide a solution to unforeseen communications difficulties, and in the case of the Land SAR deployment particularly because it has become a linchpin to allow the operation to work.
"We have been told by the senior management for the Land SAR operation that basically it would not have been possible to achieve what they have achieved which is spectacular in its own right, without the assistance of AREC in that role."
So what role will AREC play as recovery efforts continue? ZL4FZ says that at this moment its hard to say:
ZL4FZ: "Its very difficult to tell at this stage and the difficulty is that there a number of significant issues that the city is facing and there are a number of agencies involved, obviously with specializations in different areas. One of the things the Civil Defence emergency management teams are working on is setting the appropriate team for the tasks that they have. And at this stage, while this tasking is drawing nearer to a close, we are waiting word as to what the next tasking may be."
The story of the Christchurch earthquake and the part being played by ham radio in post quake recovery efforts is far from over and we will have more for you in future Amateur Radio Newsline reports. From Auckland, on the North Island of New Zealand, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, reporting for the Amateur Radio Newsline.
It has to be noted that so far, this has been a VHF only operation. Word from the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters is that hams providing communications support in the aftermath of the quake are using only 2 meter FM. No High Frequency communications into and out of the Christchurch area has been found to be necessary.
(ARNewslineT, ZL2BHF, ZL4FZ)
The MP3 version of this text is available on the NZART Web as is a link to Amateur Radio Newsline. Please see:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/h-quarter/broadcast/
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NZART's submission on this topic can be found at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/council/policies/2011-rsm-cb-gul-review/
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The Wellington VHF Group invites you to attend the VHF Convention to be held in Wellington during Easter, 22nd – 24th April, 2011, at Tawa College in Tawa. Come and enjoy Lonely Planet’s 4th top city in the world to visit in 2011 and see for yourself why Wellington is the “Coolest Little Capital in the World".
On this occasion, the Convention is being held in conjunction with the annual Wellington Radio Expo - Wellington Expo-11. The Official Opening will be after lunch on Saturday 23rd April to enable out of towners and locals to fossick through the treasures at the Expo that will be seeking new homes.
VHF Convention offers a great programme for both the newcomer and the experienced Ham, and will include an exciting mix of speakers and events including technical presentations, VHF Forum, ATV, Satellites, Special Interest Groups and a forum for Repeater and Beacon Trustees and National System Trustee.
The nearest motel is Aotea Lodge, near the Police College and there are 6+ other motels in Porirua, none more than 5-10 minutes drive and 3+ in Johnsonville, 4-5 minutes drive from Tawa.
The cost will be $50 per person attending the Convention - includes afternoon tea on Saturday and morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea on Sunday. Arrangements are being made with a local restaurant for a pay as you go Dinner on Saturday night.Entry to the Wellington Expo-11 costs an additional $4.00, to be paid at the door.
More details on the programme will be published via Infoline as soon as they are finalised. Registration forms are available on the Wellington VHF Group website http://www.vhf.org.nz
Rob Wallace
Secretary
Wellington VHF Group
E-mail: rob@wallace.gen.nz
Registration Form
VHF CONVENTION – Easter weekend 22-24 April 2011
Registration | No. of persons |
Cost Each |
TOTAL Cost |
|
Convention programme |
Includes morning tea, lunch and afternoon teas as listed above. (Does NOT include dinner Saturday night).
|
$50 | $ |
Surname | Name for “Swinger” | Callsign | |
1 | |||
2 | |||
3 |
Please make your cheque payable to: “Wellington VHF Group” and post this form with your payment to:
Convention Secretary, VHF Convention 2011, 8 Thomas Hook St, Tawa, Wellington 5028
An indication of numbers for Dinner on Saturday night would be helpful.
Dinner Saturday night |
Approximately $25 per head payable at the dinner venue. Please indicate if you are interested. Partners are welcome. Changes can be made at time of registration |
Indicate # of persons |
The venue and payment for dinner will be confirmed at Convention Registration |
http://www.nzart.org.nz/assets/infoline/2011/vhf-convention.pdf
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I'm pleased to report that Document 175(Rev. 1) was adopted by Plenary this afternoon without meaningful comment or change. See attached. This completes the work of the CPM on Agenda Item 1.23.
Removal of the original Method A came about because there was no administration support for retaining it. Given that, it is just as well that it has been deleted in order to avoid confusion. I believe there is more support now for some form of amateur allocation below 487 kHz than there was at the beginning of the CPM.
Congratulations to all concerned and especially to Ken Pulfer.
Dave Sumner, K1ZZ
Full Report Available on The NZART Web at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/assets/pdf/2011/R07-CPM11.pdf-96 kB
John Lochhead ZL4QS Overseas/IARU Liaison Officer
ITU = International Telecommunication Union
WRC = World Radio Conference
CPM = Conference Preparatory Meeting
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Author: Clive Cookson in Washington
Source: FINANCIAL TIMES - http://www.ft.com
Date Published: 20th February 2011
The Sun and its activity plays an important part in amateur radio. What the events, described below, will do with the propagation of our radio waves, we will have to wait and see. It looks serious. EDITOR
Excerpt:
'....The sun is waking up from a long quiet spell. Last week it sent out the strongest flare for four years – and scientists are warning that earth should prepare for an intense electromagnetic storm that, in the worst case, could be a “global Katrina” costing the world economy $2,000bn.
Senior officials responsible for policy on solar storms – also known as space weather – in the US, UK and Sweden urged more preparedness at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington.
“We have to take the issue of space weather seriously,” said Sir John Beddington, UK chief scientist. “The sun is coming out of a quiet period, and our vulnerability has increased since the last solar maximum [around 2000].”.....'
To read the complete article see:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/67444b2c-3d13-11e0-bbff-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss
(you must register (free) to see the full article EDITOR)
Regards
73 de ZL1GWE John
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The format for advising the Call Book Editor about changes to Branch details has been changed to a more efficient CMS based system.
Please use the new form
http://www.nzart.org.nz/branches/branch-data/branch-list-report-form/
to advise changes to Branch details.
An update to the Branch list will be done early March and the old system of spreadsheet, Word document and pdf removed.
The new system has a menu 'BRANCH LIST MENU' and a simple database 'BRANCH LIST DATA'. The Branch List menu has a list of all NZART branches in alphabetical and branch number order. Branch List Data has 88 records with each record having 19 fields with the details of each branch.
For those that like their data in Excel format, instructions on how to convert the branch data is at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/branches/branch-data/#conversion
Lorne ZL2AHB Call Book Editor E-mail: callbook@nzart.org.nz
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A complete redesign has taken place from the opening page to the presentation of the links.
The links selection is now in two pages, broken into A to I and L to W. This allows descriptive menu names. The single letter has been removed and has been replaced with a name that relates to the main subject of the link. The name is shown on the opening page in a larger size bold type. Also you can see the other subjects that belong to the particular link with the separator between the names being the spade symbol.
In the level two menu, which is under the main menu, entries of L-W and A-I are found. These allow easy navigation between the two pages of the links section.
Also added is a menu heading of 'Feedback(1)'. Suggestions and notification of broken links can be done with very little effort.
A list of the links are clearly shown when a link page is opened, with the major list being closes to the Page Links menu column.
The Quick Navigation section on the bottom of each page, also shows the Links entries. I fitted it in where I could.
Have a LOOK: http://www.nzart.org.nz/links/
Just received the March Newsletter from Silverstripe and was surprised to see that the Open Polytechnic has gone live using SilverStripe for their CMS enrolment system. The Open Polytechnic is a distance-learning institute, with 25 000 students.
NZART is up with the big boys by using SilverStripe as its CMS!
Jamie Pye ZL2NN
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The third running of the Kiwi Digital Modes Group RTTY contest will take place in April 2011.
For full rules please see:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/activities/contest-rules/rules-kdmg/
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Presented at NZART Annual Conference
Award to be made to the radio amateur who in the preceding 12 month calendar year (January to December) has given outstanding service to Amateur Radio.
The President will decide on the Award allocation reporting the result to Council immediately prior to the Annual General Meeting. It is possible that in some years no award would be made even though recommendations were received.
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To Recognise The Young Amateur of the Year
Objectives of the Award is for NZART (and a co-sponsor) to demonstrate and encourage interest in promoting technological awareness and education in the field of radio and electronics by involving young people in Amateur Radio and to focus the activities of our younger Amateur Radio operators into achieving excellence in all aspects of the hobby, both individually and within the fellowship that belonging to Amateur Radio brings.
Requirements to obtain The Young Amateur of the Year Award
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The purpose of this award is to remember one of New Zealand's most well known radio amateurs, who fully supported NZART Inc and branch level activities, in the belief that strong branches meant a strong national organisation.
As there was/is a gap in this area of recognising branch level activities at a national level, this award has be instituted to not so much reward those who work at this most important level but to acknowledge to the rest of the amateur service the tireless work put in at the grass roots of amateur radio.
The Award is to be made to the radio amateur or non-transmitting branch member who in the opinion of the nominator(s) has given outstanding service to Amateur Radio at a branch level over a period of time that has not been recognized anywhere else.
Any branch that feels that they have members who would fit this criteria, please send their nominations to me before 1 December.
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VHF++ Low Band Contest (1st SAT APR 2nd if Easter) 02/03-APR-2011
THE VHF CONTEST RULES (http://www.vhf.org.nz/VHF-UHF-SHF-ContestRules)
PLEASE REPORT ALL DISCREPANCIES TO: zl2wa@clear.net.nz
Band Frequency Callsign Locator Points 6 m ZL4DK RE54fe 384 ZL1SWW RF73ir 85 ZL1HI RF73qs 35 2 m ZL1SWW RF73ir 1138 ZL4DK RE54fe 1087 ZL1HI RF73qs 442 ZL2UGL RE78js 106 70 cm ZL4DK RE54fe 1037 ZL1SWW RF73ir 641 ZL1HI RF73qs 407 23 cm ZL1SWW RF73ir 2908 ZL4DK RE54fe 830 9 cm ZL1SWW RF73ir 562 5 cm ZL1SWW RF73ir 3596 3 cm ZL1SWW RF73ir 1798 12 mm ZL1SWW RF73ir 374 TOTAL SCORES ZL1SWW RF73ir 11102 ZL4DK RE54fe 3338 ZL1HI RF73qs 884 ZL2UGL RE78js 106 BEST DX 6 m ZL1SWW - ZL4LV 1128 km 2 m ZL1SWW - ZL3CU 826 km 70 cm ZL1SWW - ZL2TAL 380 km 23 cm ZL1SWW - ZL2DX 559 km 9 cm ZL1SWW - ZL1TPH 104 km 5 cm ZL1SWW - ZL2IP 333 km 3 cm ZL1SWW - ZL2IP 333 km 12 mm ZL1SWW - ZL1TPH 104 km
ZL1ACM ZL1ADP ZL1AJY ZL1AKW ZL1BK ZL1BQE ZL1GTB ZL1HI ZL1RDK ZL1SWW ZL1TDU ZL1TO ZL1TPH ZL1TWR ZL1UET
ZL2DX ZL2FAE ZL2IP ZL2TAL ZL2UGL
ZL3ADC ZL3ADT ZL3CU ZL3LM ZL3MH ZL3NW ZL3OY ZL3PN ZL3PX ZL3THQ ZL3TY
ZL4DK ZL4IS ZL4LV ZL4PLM ZL4PP
EQUIPMENT USED (IF STATED)
6 metres
TS-680 + 60 W + 3-element Yagi
FT-897D 100 W + 6-elment Yagi
IC-746 100 W + 3-element Yagi
2 metres
TR-751 + 150 W amplifier + 2 x 9-element Yagi
IC-821H 35 W + 2 x 5-element Yagi
FT-897D 50 W + 7/7 skeleton slot
IC-706MKII + 140 W amplifier + 12-element LP Yagi
70 cm
TR-851 + home brew amplifier + 3.3 metre dish
FT-897D 20 W + 11-elment Yagi
TR-9500 + 130 W amplifier + stacked 7-element LP Yagis
23 cm
Home brew 10 W transceiver + 3.3 metre dish
VK5EME + PLL + 18 W + 56-element Yagi stack
9 cm
DXR740 5 W + 20-element patch Remec
5 cm
DXR700-768 5 W + 770 mm prime focus dish
3 cm
DXR700-710 5 W + 600 mm prime focus dish
12 mm
DB6NT mult + harmonic mixer 800 mW + 300 mm dish
The next contest is the Low Band Contest, 50 MHz to 440 MHz, on Saturday the 2nd and Sunday the 3rd of April 2011. The operating times are: Saturday 1700 to 2300 NZDST and Sunday 0700 to 1300 NZST. Note that Daylight Saving ends half way through the contest. NZ Local Time applies on both days of the contest.
The contest after that is the Hibernation Contest, 50 MHz and up, on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of June 2011. This is the weekend after NZART Conference. The operating times are: Saturday 1700 to 2300 NZST and Sunday 0700 to 1300 NZST.
All contest logs should be sent, to arrive within two weeks, to:
zl2wa@clear.net.nz
with Contest Log in the subject line, or by post to:
Contest Manager
Wellington VHF Group
P.O. Box 12-259
Thorndon
Wellington
Letters are:
Fifth Column: Operating category (A=Single Op Mixed Mode, B-Single Op Phone Only, C=Single Op CW Only, D=Multioperator)
Sixth Column: Power for single operator categories (A=QRP, B=Low, C=High)
Zone 60 New Zealand ZL2MM 2,261 35 19 B B ZL4NX (JM1CAX, op) 15,680 100 40 C B ZL3IO 1,540 25 20 C B ZM2B (ZL2BR, op) 197,736 542 77 C C ZL3TE (W3SE, op) 184,280 474 85 C C ZM4G (ZL2iFB, op) 349,885 613 127 D C ZL2JU (+ ZL2AGY) 216,360 528 90 D C ZL1T 78,070 255 74 D C Zone 55 Australia VK4AN 26,158 123 58 A B VK4LDX 5,720 58 26 B B VK4GH 17,507 105 41 B C VK4TT 17,056 98 41 C B VK4EMM 357,555 639 121 C C
See www.arrl.com for full results and what position you got in the contest.
Contest Name |
Date(s) 2011 |
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Next NZART Official Broadcast is on SUNDAY 27-MARCH-2011
Next HQ-Infoline e-mailed on SUNDAY 20-MARCH-2011
Headquarters-Infoline is a twice-monthly bulletin of news from NZART Headquarters. News and items of a general or technical interest are also included. These are obtained from various sources. The bulletins are e-mailed directly to Branches, the amateur radio packet Bulletin Board Service and to others that subscribe through the NZART Website at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/join/e-mail-lists/join-infoline-list/
Regards, Jamie Pye ZL2NN, Editor zl2nn@nzart.org.nz
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