Wellington Amateur Radio Club - ZL2WB

On Sunday 27 August the Wellingon Amateur Radio Club and the Cross-Country Vehicle Club combined forces on a special Cross Country event to check out radio operation in the Akatarawa ranges. Max (ZL2MXN) organised the event. Max was a graduate of the July HamCram. A total of 9 vehicles ventured out with a number of amateurs in the group (a combination of Branch 50 NZART and 4WD members). James ZL4JOCO reported: "A good day out, proving that the Mount Clime 730 repeater is the easiest of the repeaters to access from all sorts of locations.  I got contacts on Climie 730, Belmont 710 and Porirua ZL DMR.  I even managed Mount Clime from Orange Hutt which is pretty much in the centre of the forest and down at the bottom of a valley.   I also managed to get the HT to get an APRS position packet to the Ngaio digipeater.  That was from a ridge line under a pylon." Well done Max and team!

Branch 42 held a Junk Sale on Saturday 26 August at their clubrooms: Tireti Hall, corner Tireti Road and Te Pene Avenue, Titahi Bay, Porirua 5022. THis was well supported by Branch 50 members. Some bargains were to be had. The photo shows Daniel ZL2DTL pouring over a box of high quality used equipment and considering whether it was worth investing hard earned cash!

Branch 50 HF Net The club net is currently held every Sunday 9.30am local time, 7055 kHz LSB. Call sign ZL2WB. The current roster rotation to the end of August is: 09:30 Sun 6 Aug Bob ZL2AVM 09:30 Sun 13 Aug George ZL2AG 09:30 Sun 20 Aug Bernard ZL2BD 09:30 Sun 27 Aug Mike ZL2VMH 09:30 Sun 3 Sep Eben ZL2EF Wellington Region VHF Net Zane ZL1CZ has set this up a Wellington Region Weekly VHF Net on the Belmont 710 analogue repeater. The net is scheduled for each Wednesday at 2000 hrs. Spread the word, and feel free to join in!

On 20 August, from 1pm to 3pm, the Special Interest Group for DMR and Hotspots met at Mike ZL1AXG QTH. This was an opportunity to share knowledge about DMR Hotspots. Zane ZL1CZ gave a brief talk, and Mike ZL1AXG demonstrated his 3 hotspots. One was receiving Brandmeister TG91 and the other ZL TRBO on the DMR+ network.

We held our August meeting at The Collective Community Hub on 15 August. George ZL2AG provided a descriptive account of his trips (x3) to Antarctica and Sub-Antarctic Islands with former partner.   This was in his “heroic period” (about 20 years ago). Travel was via a Russian vessel.   He described the challneges of venturing out of the “roaring 40s” and down into the “screaming 60’s” before arriving at the “serene 70s” where the sea’s surface was like a mirror.   His first adventure was somewhat disappointing as the ship was unable to enter and berth in McMurdo Sound due to the breakdown of the icebreaker that was scheduled to precede their arrival.  However, this was achieved on the second adventure.  A third adventure didn’t proceed past the sub-antarctic islands.   The focus was on seeing the flowers earlier in the Southern spring. The passengers had pretty much a free roam of the ship, including the bridge.  George took pictures of the radio equipment on board and circulated to members.   This was of various origins, including Russia and Far East (Samyang). George also revealed that he had a large collection of Russian light bulbs, accumulated due to a mis-understanding with one of the ship’s…