VHF/UHF Antenna Construction Event
Regular Meeting – 15 April 2025 – Portable Operations Panel
22 April Social Group Meeting
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Become an amateur radio operator: Take a HamCram!
The Wellington Amateur Radio Club has now hosted five HamCrams (two in 2023, two in 2024 and one in February 2025). We try and make it easy to get to be an amateur radio operator. We have had a consistently high pass rate of over 80% at our HamCrams.
There is already a wait list for a future HamCram in July. Please write to Paul Brammer to be on the wait list for a HamCram. You won’t want to miss out!
Bernard ZL2BD explaining a technical point in the April 2023 HamCram
40m Band Plan
As users of 40 m will be aware, the 7000-7200 kHz band is one of the most dis-organised bands on a global basis. The main problems affecting the current 40 m band plan are:
- inconsistent IARU member society band plans.
- specific national regulatory conditions/constraints (e.g. the FCC in the USA)
- old band plan allocations that haven’t been revised following the band expansion granted at WRC2003 (prior to which the 40 m band was only 100 kHz wide)
In addition to these issues, there has been the shift in activity towards greater use of data modes, which has called into question whether the current 40 m band plan provides sufficient band space to support this level of activity.
The IARU Region 3 Band Plan Manager, Grant Willis VK5GR has put together a paper looking at the problems in the current 40 m band plan and potential solutions to them and NZART is looking to put in a submission on behalf of NZ users of the 40 m band.
Please have a read of Grant’s paper (especially the 8 questions at the end) and send any comments you have to me (Terry James zl1hognz@gmail.com) as soon as possible as we need to have the NZART submission completed by the end of August.
Terry ZL1HOG
NZART Counsellor
One of our members operates from Bletchley Park HQ
Laura ZL2LEP, one of our teen members, can be seen operating the GB3RS amateur radio station at Blechley Park in the UK. Bletchley Park is known for its work in breaking the German Enigma code during World War II.