NZART Headquarters Infoline Issue 249
13 Apr 2012
NZART Website: www.nzart.org.nz

In this issue:

• From the desk of HQ – attachment
• Invitation to Host HST World Championships 2013 – attached
• World Amateur Radio Day
• Inter Branch Fox Hunt, Auckland
• FMTAG Notes
• IARU Liaison Officer’s Report

 Debby says…There have been some ommisions from Break In and HQ Info-line, my sincere apologies for any inconvenience. Attached to this issue are:

Electorate Areas that should have gone with remit one.

The IARU Liaison Officers annual report.

 All members should all now have received the March/April Break In, I would like to draw your attention to the extensive information on included on pages 28 & 29 regarding the Nelson Conference in June.

 If you have any further queries, please contact the organising committee in Nelson directly, either by contacting the Branch President Paul Moffatt ZL2PO, or mail to the address listed on the registration form.

 Talk soon…Debby ZL2DL

Dear colleagues,
Oliver Tabakovski, Z32TO, the Region 1 HST WG Chairman has asked me to send
the attached Invitation to host the 2013 HSTWC to Region 2 and 3 for distribution to your Member Societies through IARU Region 1 Secretary.

73 de Ken Yamamoto/JA1CJP
Secretary, IARU Region 3

WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY 2012 – Wednesday the 18^th of April, 2012

On Wednesday, the 18^th of April, 2012, Radio Amateurs will celebrate the World Amateur Radio Day, on the 87^th Anniversary of the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).

This year’s theme for the World Amateur Radio Day is:

“Amateur Radio Satellites: Celebrating 50 years in space” in remembrance of the launching of OSCAR 1 on the 12^th of December 1961, and OSCAR 2 on the 2^nd of June 1962.

Note: OSCAR stands for Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio.

Branch 74, The Wellington VHF Group Inc., has been granted use of the special callsign ZL2WARD for World Amateur Radio Day.

ZL2WARD will be active on the National System, and other frequencies. A commemorative QSL card is available.

Inter-Branch ARDF 2m Fox Hunt competition

 24 Dingle Road, St Heliers, Auckland (at sea level); phone 575-6383 if you get lost.

 Saturday, 21st April 2012  

 BBQ at noon followed by a briefing at 1 pm.

 What to expect:

• In Dingle Dell Reserve there will be 5 foxes hiding (hi hi).  However they will be easier to find than at last year’s event.  The paths are gravelled and the streams are bridged; so it is not muddy underfoot.     

• Print the map of Dingle Dell’s 16 acres of bush and streams.  Get familiar with  the map’s orienteering legend, and/or visit the area beforehand.   Bring a compass, clipboard,  felt tip pen and $5.00 entry fee.

• Bring your own 2m hand-held rig and optionally look up construction details of a yagi antenna previously put on our web page at: www.qsl.net/zl1aa >Newsletter>2011>March>page6.

Alternatively, hold your hand-held close to your body to shield VHF being received from behind - the null is the direction to the transmitting fox.

• Competitors start individually at 5 minute intervals.  Their start time is written (in unique ink) onto their “clip card” – used to record each fox’s unique code.

• Each fox broadcasts its identity in slow Morse code on 144.700 MHz: MOE,  MOI,  MOS,MOH, and MO5 for one minute each in rotation.  That is, each fox is silent for four minutes until its turn to transmit again.

• Each fox appears at eye level, as an orange and white prism-shaped flag on which is a written a unique code.  As you find each fox, record this code, thus scoring 20 points for each.

• Time allowed: 1hour.  One point will be deducted for each minute late in returning.  As you finish we shall record your elapsed time, check the codes and compute your score.

FMTAG - NZART COUNCIL REVISES ITS LICENCE FEE POLICY

As mentioned in “From the President” (page 3 March/April Break-In), NZART Council has revised its Beacon, Link and Repeater Licence Fee Policy. Here are more details.

Council resolved to encourage the transfer of Repeater, Beacon and Link Licences from NZART to the equipment-owning Branches, and to impose a surcharge of $5.11 per licence, to offset NZART HQ costs, on those licences that remain with NZART.

The MED's Annual Administration Fee, for an Amateur Beacon, Link, or Repeater Licence, is $46.00, if paid by credit card via the MED's SMART website, or $51.11, if paid by cheque to the MED's Business Service Centre. The $5.11 surcharge recognises the cost to the MED of processing a manual payment.

Previously, NZART HQ requested payment of $46.00 from Branches and forwarded the full amount to the MED.

The NZART HQ cost of processing a manual payment are similar to those of the MED and, therefore, NZART Council decided to introduce the same $5.11 surcharge per licence for all Licence Fee payments made via NZART HQ.

Branches wishing to avoid paying the $5.11 surcharge for each licence need to arrange transfer of their licences from NZART to the Branch. To start the licence transfer process, please send an email to FMTAG:

fmtag@nzart.org.nz

NZART Council has confirmed that the revised policy does not apply to National System or International Beacon Licences.

FROM THE VHF-UHF-SHF CONTEST MANAGER

CONTEST TOMORROW AND SUNDAY

The Low Band Contest, 50 MHz to 440 MHz, is this weekend: Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th of April 2012. The operating times are: Saturday 1700 to 2300 NZST and Sunday 0700 to 1300 NZST.

THE NEXT CONTESTS

The next contest is the Hibernation Contest, all bands 50 MHz and up, on Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th of April 2012. This is the weekend after Queen's Birthday weekend. The operating times are: Saturday 1700 to 2300 NZST and Sunday 0700 to 1300 NZST.

The contest after that is the Brass Monkey Contest, all bands 50 MHz and up, on Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th of August 2012. The operating times are: Saturday 1700 to 2300 NZST and Sunday 0700 to 1300 NZST.

The Contest Rules are available at: www.vhf.org.nz/VHF-UHF-SHF-ContestRules

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

Please include your email address if you wish to receive the results as soon as they are available.

IARU Liaison Officer’s Report

Activities within IARU and IARU Region 3 have been directed towards WRC-12 to be held in  Geneva, Switzerland from  23 January to  17 February 2012.

The committee recommended to Council that Don Wallace ZL2TLL should be NZART’s representative on the New Zealand Administration’s delegation  to this very important  conference.  Council ratified this recommendation and also approved a budget of $16200 to   cover the costs of Don’s attendance.

I would like to sincerely thank Peter Lake ZL2AZ for all his efforts  in relation to past buildups and WRC conferences.

We all look forward to learning what decisions will be made at WRC-12 especially in the   472 to 479 kHz and also in the 5mhz band.

The 15^th IARU Region 3 Triennial conference will be held in Ho Chi Minh  City  in Vietnam , from 5th to 9th November 2012. The Committee has recommended a delegation of 3   to represent NZART at this important event. 

The committee is actively pursuing the preparation of papers for NZART to present to  this conference.

With the approach of the NZART AGM it is timely to review the make-up of the IARU Committee and look for expressions of interest from NZART members from throughout the four districts. While the committee recognizes the value of having a representative in the Wellington area who can easily communicate with our Administration, this is by no means essential.

I would like to thank all of the committee for your support over the last 12 months and I hope this support will continue as we move closer to the 15^th IARU Region  Conference  in November 2012

John Lochhead ZL4QS

NZART IARU Liaison Officer

Housekeeping

1. Break-In-Closing Date Reminder: Copy for the May/June 2012 issue of Break-In-closes on 10 May 2012.
2. Copy for Break-In: Copy is welcome in most electronic formats but word.doc files are preferred. Photos and other graphics should be send as separate discrete files (*.jpg preferred); not as embedded pix in the body of the text. Please ensure that suitable descriptive captions/legends are included with your copy.
   All received copy will be acknowledged to confirm receipt.
   Thank you for your cooperation.
   John Walker ZL3IB Editor.
3. Break-In: Early receipt of copy is much appreciated
4. Break-In-AREC Column: The close-of-copy date is the 5 May 2012 for articles for publication in the AREC COLUMN OF BREAK-IN. Photos, if available, to be on a separate floppy or CD (with captions), posted DIRECTLY TO US. Use the Call Book address. All other material can go to e-mail: 
   zl3qr@nzart.org.nz or zl3ov@nzart.org.nz
5. The ARRL and WIA Weekly News
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Next NZART Official Broadcast is on Sunday 29^th April 2012. Next HQ-Infoline e-mailed on FRIDAY 27^th April 2012. Closing date for this is Thursday 26^th April.