Breakout 2017 – 04 April

BREAKOUT

The Newsletter of the Hastings and Napier Amateur Radio Clubs

Hastings Branch 13 NZART – Napier 25 NZART   Volume 17, Issue 4   April 2017

NZART

Hastings Br 13 Club Calls
ZL2AS
ZL2QS

Napier Br 25 Club Calls
ZL2GT
ZL2G

IRLP Node
6793
147.250

Branch Nets
9.00 AM
Sunday Morning
3615 kHz
439.175 MHz

Editor
John Newson
ZL2VAF

http://www.zl2gt.nz/   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zl2as/

Emergency Call-in Frequencies: 3615khz and 670 repeater

KIWI
ZL
DX GROUP

Inside This Issue
Hastings Branch 13 Report   Page 2
Napier Branch 25 Report   Page 3
RCC/MOC Visits   Page 4
AREC Open/Training day   Page 5
For Sale   Page 5
Ethernet over powerline RFI   Page 5
It’s funny where hams pop up   Page 6
Historic Pics   Page 6

Photo caption – An overview of vessels beaconing throughout the world…some in the broad NZ area being monitored by MOC

Hastings Branch 13 NZART – Napier Branch 25 NZART   Page 2   Volume 17, Issue 4 April 2017

HASTINGS BRANCH 13
President:   Rob Leicester ZL2US   Ph 878 6381
Secretary:   David Walker ZL2DW   Ph 876 0518   email [email protected]
Treasurer:   Peter Keong ZL2PW   Ph 877 4529   email: [email protected]
AREC/CD   John Newson ZL2VAF   Ph 876 0370   email: [email protected]
AREC Deputy:   Robert Wallace ZL2SG   Ph 878 4993   email [email protected]

Committee   Ray Barlow ZL2RB   Ph 06 878 6068   email: [email protected]
Peter Moore ZL2HM   Ph   email:
Blue Smith 3TT   Ph 027 220 3724   email: [email protected]

Hastings QSL Distribution:   Wally Shuker ZL2MO   Ph 843 5497   email [email protected]
Magazine Editor:   John Newson ZL2VAF   Ph. 027 230 3642   email [email protected]
NZART License Examiners:   Peter – ZL2LF,   Dave – ZL2MQ,   Ray – ZL2RB
Club Call:   ZL2AS and ZL2QS

Club Nights: Fourth Wednesday each month at 7.30 pm Pakowhai Hall, Pakowhai Road, Pakowhai

From the COMMANDER

Well I have been doing a bit of truck driving…yes I went back into the work force for a few weeks, it was an interesting time considering that I hadn’t been an employee for many years. It all went well and the money will be very handy thank you.

In late March nine of us travelled to the Hutt Valley to visit the “Rescue Co ordination Centre” and the “Maritime Operations Centre” (both in the Avalon complex), in both cases our hosts were absolutely great and gave us plenty of their time to over view their activities. (See story and pictures elsewhere). We had a late lunch in Wairarapa and got home in good time. Another great Branch 13 visit under our belt.

Due to my work I haven’t been particularly active on air so haven’t got anything to report on that subject.

Cyclone Cook “breezed” through HB on Thursday 13 April and left it’s mark, I’m aware of one amateur radio aerial that broke and came down…what’s that old adage, “if it doesn’t come down in a storm then it’s not high enough” lol. It certainly gave the area a thrashing but there were no consequences for hams.

Our Pakowhai meeting hall is undergoing a repaint so be careful when you drive in.

At our next Branch 13/HBARC meeting we will deal with NZART remits, they all look pretty straight forward. Bring your copy of the March/April Break In along, it contains the remits and other NZART reports. The NZART financial report has just been released via Infoline and circulated via our ZL2AS reflector.

Our next meeting is at Pakowhai Hall, 7-30pm on Wednesday 26 April, all welcome.
73, Rob Leicester   ZL2US (President Branch 13/HBARC, Hastings)

BR13/HBARC, Hastings, office bearers,
Peter Keong ZL2PW (Treasurer),
Rob Leicester ZL2US (President),
David Walker ZL2DW (Secretary).

Hastings Branch 13 NZART – Napier Branch 25 NZART   Page 3   Volume 17, Issue 4 April 2017

NAPIER BRANCH 25
President: Dave Crook ZL2MQ,   02102969006   email [email protected]
Secretary: Karl Matthys ZL1TJ   845 4372   email [email protected]
Treasurer: Stan White ZL2ST   843 7236   email [email protected]
AREC: Mike Bull ZL2VM   843 6052   email [email protected]

Committee:
Michael Mullins ZL2MY   843 4210   email [email protected]
Revell Troy ZL2SS   0210742837   email [email protected]
Peter Breen ZL2CD   0274721527   email [email protected]
Wally Shuker ZL2MO   843 5497   email [email protected]
Paul Cavanagh ZL2HB,   843 1977   email [email protected]

Committee Meetings: 7:30 pm, 3rd Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September, November
Club Calls: ZL2GT, ZL2G
Club Web Site: http://www.zl2gt.nz/

Club Nights: First Wednesday each month (except January) 7.30pm at the Club Rooms: 123 Latham Street Napier

Napier Amateur Radio Club

Winter has signalled that it is on it’s way, so a good time for projects of the inside variety.

I am in receipt of a lump of Titanium in the hip area, so have been recovering, this seems to be going well, so should be up and around in a few weeks.

I have been spending my time working on the prototype of the Napier Clubs intended project for this year, this will be a SWR meter, and the ambitious specification I have come up with is as follows: sensitive enough to be a field strength meter, strong enough to handle a kilowatt, and a frequency range of 1.8Mhz to 450 Mhz, along with automatic ranging and power level display. I have ‘”researched” the project and we can have PEP metering at the touch of a button, as well as a nice feature where the box beeps slowly for low SWR and faster for higher SWR, this means you can set the unit up on a wire antenna and go to the ends and still hear the beeps as you adjust the length of the wire, or adjust a yagi Tee match or whatever else you might need this feature for. There will be a LCD display and it will require a battery or plug pack to function.

I have received my “crowd funded” LIME SDR receiver, but as as yet have had no time to play with it, it’s specification is pretty spectacular, so looking forward to using it. Google Limesdr if you want to know more.

Hopefully, I will be at the next meeting of NARC, and explain a bit more about the construction project.

Best 73
Dave ZL2MQ

Hastings Branch 13 NZART – Napier Branch 25 NZART   Page 4   Volume 17, Issue 4 April 2017

RCC/MOC visits

On Sat 25 March 9 of us made the van trip to the old Avalon (Hutt Valley) TV Studios, firstly to visit the “Rescue Co-ordination Centre” (RCC) and secondly to visit the “Maritime Operations Centre” (MOC)…very, very impressive would be a good description, you can consider yourself to be in good hands under these services.

Mike from RCC gave us a very good pre brief of the service and answered our questions about what happens when you set off your 406mhz ELB (Emergency Locator Beacon). We were then shown the control room and saw ELB’s actually “turning up” as an alert and what happens in support of them at the Co-ordination Centre.

Soon after we visited the Maritime Operations Centre, just across the yard from RCC. Some of you may remember that a wee while ago we visited the HF transmitting site on the Napier – Taupo highway for this service. It was great to see where it was all (remote) controlled from and again it was very impressive as a responding site for both HF and VHF voice and data services involved in Marine activities.

What was amazing was the size (the worlds second largest) of the area that both the RCC and MOC are responsible for and the resources that they have to call upon.

David (ZL2DW)

Presentation hall and operating positions at RCC, with Club members looking on

Hastings Branch 13 NZART – Napier Branch 25 NZART   Page 5   Volume 17, Issue 4 April 2017

Operating positions at the MOC

AREC Open/Training Day

10am Sunday 21st May – All welcome

FOR SALE
Icom IC-751A HF transceiver. Offers to Garry Rumbal ZL2GJ, Waipawa, CHB. Phone 08 8577174 or email [email protected]

The HF Interference Problem from Ethernet over Powerline Devices
­http://www.rtl-sdr.com/showing-the-hf-interference-problem-from-ethernet-over-powerline-devices/
(includes video showing HF reception with and without Powerline Ethernet operating)
Ross ZL2WRW

Hastings Branch 13 NZART – Napier Branch 25 NZART   Page 6   Volume 17, Issue 4 April 2017

It’s Funny where Hams pop up, even SK ones.

This morning (23/4/17) I received a weather warning for Raoul Island (I’ve never had one for there before). Prompted by this I looked it up on Google Maps and subsequently began surfing through the accompanying great pictures and came across one of Lee Jennings ZL2AL (SK) leaning against a sign post. Have a look for yourself and have a surf through.
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Raoul+Island/@-29.247763,-177.920494,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1shttp:%2F%2Fwww.zl2al.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2

A couple of historic pics of radio equipment from the 50’s

Mike ZL2CC