NZART Headquarters Infoline Issue 193
20-SEPTEMBER-2009
NZART Website: http://www.nzart.org.nz/
Greetings
Welcome to Headquarters-Infoline a twice-monthly bulletin of news from NZART Headquarters 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/lists/infolinelist.html
In This Issue
*Debby says....
*UHF ATV Spectrum -Last Chance For Input
*Jamboree on the Air 2009
*Monitoring Service Report-PIRATES
*Weird And Wonderful
*Contest News
==VHF/UHF/SHF Contest Notes
==HF Contests
*Upcoming Events
*Break-In and Infoline Information
*Dates for Official Broadcast (OB) and Head Quarter's Infoline
*Attachments for Branches:
NZART Headquarters Infoline 192.doc, br-20-sale-textuu.pdf and
*Attachment for all
*******
Debby says....
Sorry folks, you didn't hear from me last issue, because for once I had nothing to say!! :)
However, just a wee reminder that, subscriptions for 2010 are now due. Please pay before 30 November 2009 if you wish to take advantage of the $10 rebate. This applies only to Transmitting/Non-Transmitting and Family memberships. Not overseas, student, members paying by automatic payment or concessionary rated subscriptions.
In less than three weeks I will be away attending the IARU Region 3 triennial conference to be held in Christchurch this year. Therefore the office will be closed from Monday 12 October until Tuesday 19 October. If you have any urgent enquiries I may be contacted on my cell phone, otherwise please just send me an e-mail or leave a message on my phone.
John Lochhead ZL4QS, NZART Overseas Liaison Officer, Roy Symon ZL2KH NZART President, Fred Johnson ZL2AMJ Councillor, and possibly Don Wallace NZART Administration Liaison Officer will also be attending this conference.
It's almost time to get your heads together and start thinking about any remits that you may wish to forward to Council for consideration at next years AGM. I will be sending out a branch Circular to all secretaries in the next couple of weeks. If you are unsure the correct process in writing a remit I will be including guidelines for you, in this mail out.
If there is anything that your Branch may wish to circulate to other branches, please send to me, preferably electronically and I will include with head quarters information.
Finally I have been experiencing some issue with the HQ telephone, it appears like all things has almost passed it's 'use by' date, so I am in the process of buying a new one and charging it up. I do apologise if you think I may have cut you off, believe me it was the phone! :(
Talk soon...Debby ZL2TDM
*******
UHF ATV Spectrum -LAST CHANCE FOR INPUT
Don Wallace, ZL2TLL, the ALO, is currently putting together the NZART submission to the MED to answer the question in the recent MED discussion paper on the Digital (TV) Switchover Spectrum Allocation:
"Do you agree with the proposal not to provide for Amateur television services in the UHF band?"
As mentioned in Infoline 190, will members who have ideas for the NZART submission and/or plan to put in a submission themselves please contact Don (alo@nzart.org.nz) with their ideas.
NOTE: Submissions are due by 30 September 2009 so Don needs your input ASAP!
*******
Jamboree on the Air 2009
JOTA , Jamboree on the Air is held over the weekend 17 - 18 October 2009.
Members from the Papakura Radio Club inc. are running a JOTA station from our clubrooms over the Saturday 2pm - 6pm.
Scouts and Cubs from local groups have been invited to participate in the activity.
We will be running an orienteering course where instructions and a quiz will be run over radio using handheld radios. We will be showing examples of achievement awards that are available to us and examples of AREC activities we are involved in.
A couple of older laptop computers will be running Morse code and alongside that will be a couple of lamps that are connected to keys that have been used in past JOTA's.
On air, we will be on the local Klondyke repeater 146.626, the National System, EchoLink (Node 6504) and when possible 80m and 20m.
If other clubs or Amateurs are intending to participate or are available maybe you could let me know zl1dk@nzart.org.nz and I will make up a schedule of who's going to be active when, where and what you will be doing.
As we are going to be at our clubrooms we are going to be opening the activity as a public promotion.
*******
Monitoring Service Report-PIRATES
1) ZL3AK has reported the call sign ZL3TST being active on the NZ CB bands. Confirmed this call sign does not exist within RSM SMART registration list.
Apparently there have been some complaints. If anyone hears someone using the call sign ZL3TST on the NZ CB bands please report Date, Time, Channel, and relevant information.
2) The second reported pirate is ZL3T.
This one was reported by F5NBU, on 40m -this apparently is a YL operator who states that one should QSL via NZART. Apparently from the Tokelau area.
She has been heard previously within other DX clusters.
If anyone has further information, please provide reports.
So that reports can be passed to relevant RSM area.
Many thanks
John de ZL1GWE
*******
Weird And Wonderful
Sometimes older technology can be just as good or even better than new innovations.
A good example of that was the demonstration on television that Morse code is quicker than modern SMS texting on a mobile phone.
Now a technology that existed prior to the telegraph has come up trumps, as Jim Linton VK3PC explains.
"Paul Julius Reuter would be most pleased indeed on hearing news that a homing pigeon has been able to move data faster then Telkcom, South Africa's leading Internet service provider.
Reuter used pigeons in the 1850s to transmit financial market information between Berlin and Brussels, and on that was built the Reuters economic service and news agency that continues today.
The lack of broadband and its high cost is of concern to many within South Africa.
A company called Unlimited IT enlisted a pigeon named Winston, who took just over an hour to fly between two of its offices with a data card strapped to his leg.
Including the flight time the downloading of the card took over just two hours, while during the same time only four per cent of the same data could be transferred using a Telkom line.
Internet should become faster and cheaper when a new underwater fibre optic cable links southern and eastern Africa to other networks, just in time for the Soccer World Cup being held in South Africa next year".
With Thanks-From The WIA Weekly News
*******
Contest News
VHF/UHF/SHF Contest Notes
Microwave Contest, 614 MHz and up 3 October 2009 -1700 to 2300 NZT
4 October 2009 -0700 to 1300 NZT
Field Day Contest, 50 MHz and up 5 December 2009 -1700 to 2300 NZT
6 December 2009 -0700 to 1300 NZT
The rules are available at:
http://www.vhf.org.nz/VHF-UHF-SHF-ContestRules
Logs should be sent 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
====
HF Contests
CONTEST BRIEFS
2009 OCEANIA CONTESTS - ALL BAND CW
SSB Contest - 3 October 2009 and 4 October 2009 - 0800 - 0800 UTC
CW Contest -10 October 2009 and 11 October 2009 - 0800 - 0800 UTC
For details please see: http://www.oceaniadxcontest.com
2009 CQ WORLD WIDE CONTESTS
SSB Section - 0000 UTC, 24th October through to 2359 UTC 25th October
CWSection - 0000 UTC, 28th November through to 2359 UTC, 29th November
Contest Rules and Other Operating Information: http://www.cqww.com/
2009 STRAIGHT KEY NIGHT ACTIVITY
When - 1 November 2008 (SUNDAY)
Time- 2000 NZDT until 2300 NZDT
Band -80m (3.5MHz)Mode - CW Only
http://www.nzart.org.nz/contests/2008/2008-nzart-straight-key-night-rules.html
*******
Upcoming Events
Saturday 3 October 2009
Manawatu Amateur Radio Society Branch 20 NZART Table Sale at the Longburn Hall
For more information see attached pdf file (branch list only)
Saturday 10 October 2009:
Branch 03 Table Sale at Rosebank Rd primary School hall
Further details on the above can be seen at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/html/2010/sales.html
====
12-16 October 2009
NZART Annual Conference Auckland 5th - 7th June 2010
http://nzartconference.cjb.net/
There are links for the above two CONFERENCES on the NZART Web HOME page
====
The WIA Weekly News Bulletin and The Weekly ARRL Letter can be found at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/html/2009/wia-weekly-news.html
http://www.nzart.org.nz/html/2009/arrl-weekly-news.html
*******
Break-In and Infoline Information
Break-In - From the Break-In Editor John ZL3IB
1. Closing Date Reminder: Copy for the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER issue of Break-In closes on 10-NOVEMBER-2009.
2. Document File Format: Please do not send copy for publication as Word 2007.docx files; they cannot be processed. Please send in Word 2003 (or earlier).doc or *.rtf file format.
3. Early receipt of copy is much appreciated.
4. Break-In Contents Index from 1947 can be found at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/breakin/index/index.html
Copy for the AREC Break-In Column - From Geoff ZL3QR
The close-of-copy date is the 03-NOVEMBER-2009 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 Call Book address. All other material can go to e-mail: zl3qr@nzart.org.nz or zl3ov@nzart.org.nz.
====
Subscribe to and Un-Subscribe From Infoline
Please send an e-mail to the address at the end of this bulletin or see instructions on the NZART web page at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/lists/infolinelist.html
====
Dates for Official Broadcast (OB) and Head Quarter's Infoline
OBs FOR 2009=SEP-27 OCT-25 NOV-29 DEC-20
* Next NZART Official Broadcast SUNDAY 27-SEPTEMBER-2009, * and
* Next HQ-Infoline e-mailed on SUNDAY 04-OCTOBER-2009 *
INFOLINE 2009 SUNDAY=OCT-04-18 NOV-08-22 DEC-06-20
Infoline on the web http://www.nzart.org.nz/infoline/
Regards, Jamie Pye ZL2NN, Editor zl2nn@nzart.org.nz
Attachment For All
One Man's View-Foundation Licence or Cigna Funeral Plan?
Published with permission from Paul ZL4AX/G4XTA
Me, I'm only 54. So that makes me a `spotty youth' in terms of ham radio, I guess.
I still have my sense of humour about being so old, though. The other day some friends were discussing the huge amount of funds that a local ham club had accumulated in their bank account, and asked what they were going to spend it on. One wag immediately retorted... " Cigna Funeral Plan, maybe..? " , and we all fell about laughing. Apparently their average age was in the late 70's, way past the 'three score years and ten', and really in the waiting room for God's call.
So let's ponder. Where are our clubs going to be in another ten years time? And who will we be talking-to on the bands by 2020? And who's going to install and service the National System, repeaters and nodes after all the retired telecom engineers have `phased out' in a few more Christmases?
I rather think we'd better get a move-on. It's time to hurry up before it's too late to guarantee the future of the hobby into the remainder of this century! Time to give out FREE Foundation Licences. Time to pull in every Tom, Dick and Harry we can gather. Sure, we'll have to grind our teeth and pull out our hair, listening to the "roger dee good buddy" and "the personal here is Tom" for a while. But remember, we all had to start somewhere. These people are going to inherit our radio empire, and very soon. We've got a short time left to get them on board, weed out the good ones, and educate them, showing them the way to do it right. When we're gone, it will be too late!!
I'm sure I was a very poor operator when I got first licenced. So are some of the Foundation Licence holders I've heard overseas. And so are new licensees under the existing system. But give them a couple of years in the company of us important people (!) and they develop and improve. We MUST give them a hand up now, before we're gone. It's the only future that our hobby has.
Like it or not, times have changed. The world really needs ham radio as a nursery for the telecommunications industry, and the practice ground for it's techniques. Our legacy must be to put aside our prejudice and bring all and sundry on board now, even if it makes us wince. Lead from the front, and do it NOW.
Then at least, we can be sure to .."leave everything tidy when we go for good" as the advert says!
Paul ZL4AX