What is amateur radio all about?

A special activity was held on Vintage Radio on Sunday 26 November from 1300 hrs to 1500hrs at the QTH of George ZL2AG (14 Vasanta Ave, Ngaio). George showed off his fascinating collection of valves, vintage radios, spy equipment, and undersea cable samples all beautifully presented with a museum style experience, and gave a brief talk on his interest in vintage radio. Registration was limited to 15 members, with 13 attendees.

Our first regular meeting of the year was held on Tuesday 18 February 2023 at The Collective Hub, 1/33 Johnsonville Rd. Mike ZL1AXG gave a presentation on the strengths and weaknesses of a range of entry-level Chinese mobile radios based on online reviews. This includes VHF and UHF analogue and DMR radios. A follow up talk in March (at our AGM) will look at various Chinese handheld rigs.

Wellington Branch 50 NZART club member, Bob Vernall ZL2CA, was awarded Amateur of the Year 2021 by NZART at the 2022 Annual Conference. Bob was instrumental in freeing up the 60m band for amateur radio use. Many amateurs will be grateful for opening up a new an interesting HF band for daytime use.