Next meeting Wednesday 15 April 2015

Don Beswick ZL2BL spoke on underground activities at Wrights Hill, the possibility of an underground tunnel complex in Mt Cook (under the former Dominion Museum) and the No. 10 set used at the end of the second world war (and which was installed in several locations around Wellington).   Under Wright's Hill, Karori Doug McNeil ZL2AOV noted in his report of the evening: "Don Beswick ZL2BL entertained and informed members with a wide range of photocopied images from the Wrights Hill project and the No 10 set – a valve-based eight-channel multiplexed voice transmission and reception system operating around 4500MHz. He also outlined his research into what the military and/or civilians built under the Dominion Museum building in Buckle St, Mt Cook. Don is convinced there are still tunnels down there; though public records point only to several air raid shelters. Don is writing a book on the topic – “there’s a lot more down there than we’ve been led to believe” and is seeking Massey University (the site’s occupiers) support to excavate spots on the site. Don’s talk, and members’ comments, extended to similar developments at Palmer Head and elsewhere in New Zealand."

Arduino uno An Arduino is a small computer, primarily used in controller applications. Arduinos are now very cheap to buy (from about $9 each for a clone on Trademe) and their application to Ham Radio can be quite varied. Mike ZL1AXG gave a brief talk about the Arduino. Bernard ZL2BD and Mike ZL1AXG then assisted members with a "hands on" project involving passing CW from one end of a long table to the other on 433Mhz, using an Arduino. Members found that working with arduinos wasn't as difficult as they thought. The powerpoint presentation and information on the project can be found here. Information on other arduino projects can be found here.

Marconi Centre, Poldhu, Cornwall We heard tales of trips "home" to Cornwall from Bob Morris ZL2AVM. There was a pirate mentioned... just one as it happens, but Bob ZL2AVM took us on a fascinating illustrated communications romp through parts of Cornwall over several centuries. From coast-top beacons, flag signalling, telegraph experiments and undersea cables he lured us into his world as a lad growing up. His family links with the area helped set the scene for a discussion of Marconi’s activities (with special reference to Poldhu and Porthcurno, and to the impetus the development of railways gave to electrical signalling requirements. There was even a glimpse of Goonhilly (further west) which began as a satellite telecoms tracking station, only to change its nature as reliable undersea cables and “stationary orbit” satellites became dominant. The site of Bob’s first amateur station G3KYB was disclosed, and he asserted that while he had been tempted, he never did run an antenna from the shack up the adjacent church tower.