Wellington VHF Group, Inc: Online.

Participation and Teamwork

In my last month report I appealed to members to get involved in projects and activities.

I was pleased to host a working bee recently where a team literally got their hands dirty on the Ngaio Reservoir repeater project. This involved stripping down, cleaning, sanding, painting, and finally reassembling a rack cabinet that will house our repeater. (This rack cabinet was donated to us some while ago, and has been in storage).

Here’s a snapshot of the team at work on a sunny Saturday afternoon, l to r, Ross ZL2UAC, David ZL4TAC, Jim ZL1TYF, Henry ZL2TUQ, Peter ZL2VK, and Joanna ZL2TJB.

By the time that you read this, a second team will have carried out some heavy maintenance at the Belmont site, re-running the underground mains, levelling the shack, and fitting the replacement door and frame. I will have further infomation about this in my next column.

Together these two activities have started off our summer season of work at repeater sites. If you want to get involved in the fun, please contact Peter ZL2VK our coordinator.

Training Classes commence

I am pleased to report that radio training classes have commenced, with six teenagers and two adults registered. Thankyou to our keen mentors/tutors for their time and effort with this.

Supporting KiwiSAT and small-signal activities

Last month I reported our plan to manufacture a portable beam antenna suitable for use with KiwiSAT.

Your Committee have agreed to underwrite the cost of development, including tooling and manufacture of components, and I am pleased to announce that John Andrews ZL2HD has taken the lead on this new project. This project will result in the design and production of a kitset, dual-band, crossed yagi, portable antenna. Further details will be reported by the team as work progresses.

Digital ATV

Our strategy document for introducing digital ATV has been published. I wish to record my thanks to Ralph Sanson ZL2TV, and Doug Ingham ZL2TAR, for the effort they have put into this and for their knowledge and experience in one of our more high tech areas of amateur radio.

See the “Brief and Strategy” paper elsewhere in this issue, and please also refer to “Digital Amateur Television Transmission Standards” Q-Bit, July 2009.

Support for IARU activities

Your Committee has approved a subsidy of up to $3000 for our three members of the IARU Liaison Committee to attend the full programme of the 14th IARU Region 3 Triennial conference which is being held in New Zealand this time, at Christchurch on 12-16 October. The subsidy is to cover travel and accommodation expenses for Don Wallace ZL2TLL (NZART ALO), Fred Johnson ZL2AMJ, and David Andrews ZL2SX, who are all members of the IARU Liaison Committee.

In granting this, your Committee recognises the strategic importance of the work of the IARU Region 3 organisation in relationships with the regional telecommunications organisations, and the Intenational Telecommunications Union, and culminating at the World Radiocommunications Conference, WRC-11.

We are reminded just how important this work is in maintaining our spectrum privileges, especially at a time when our own privileges are under direct threat by our N.Z. regulator, MED.

73,
Dick Greenbank ZL2TGQ
President