Welcome to Branch 50 (Wellington) NZART
I warmly welcome you to this website and invite you to take a look over what our amateur radio club is up to in Wellington.
Regular Meetings
We generally meet on two Sunday afternoons a month, either in people’s homes or at The Collective Hub in Johnsonville (1/33 Johnsonville Road), with a Christmas Dinner event in December and a BBQ lunch in January replacing regular meetings. A social group also meets every 4th Tuesday of the month. Increasingly, we are organising Special Interest Group meetings, to support members with common interests (e.g. DMR hotspots).
Anybody is welcome to attend any of our meetings.
In 2020 we relaunched our trading table after many years of recess. The first item to be offered “on the table” was Bernard ZL2BD’s well regarded high voltage (5Kv) butterfly capacitor suitable for use with HF magnetic loop antennas. We also now have three books available to purchase for $25 a copy. Topics span Vintage Radio, Magnetic Loop Antennas, and Test Equipment.
In 2018 we inaugurated our monthly “Shed Workshop” events. These are normally held on the first Sunday of most months from 1pm -3pm in one of our member’s garages. Come along and get some more hands-on knowledge … whether that is calibrating your multimeter, or finding out about power supply designs, or building an SSB QRP rig or a magnetic loop antennas.
Around the middle of the month we normally have a presentation or activity that complements our Shed Workshops. This may include some formal club business as well, although we try to keep that to a minimum! Typically these involve a talk or presentation, but sometimes we will visit a site of interest. Once a year in October, members compete for the Blackwood Cup with their homebrew projects. These meetings have been scheduled for Tuesday at 1pm. This time is likely to change shortly to a weekend or evening to make these meetings more accessible for members who are working or studying.
Weekly on-air net
The club on-air net (callsign: ZL2WB) is on 7055kHz LSB on Sundays at 0930 hrs local time. There is also a members net on Tuesday’s and Friday’s at 0830 hrs on the same band and frequency. Members and visitors who are amateur operators are welcome to sign in. Listeners are always most welcome. Using the online KiwiSDR service (www.kiwisdr.com) can help with receiving stations and makes our nets accessible to non-amateurs.
Want to get into the hobby?
We have a programme to help people become amateur operators, to get the knowledge you need over a short period of time to get a licence and get your own call sign. Please contact Mike (our membership rep) for more information. In 2023 we have offered two weekend HamCrams. We will be holding further HamCrams in 2024.
Subscriptions
The subscription for the 2023/24 year was set at $10 (set in April through our AGM).
Our bank account is: ANZ Bank, Johnsonville, 06-0541-0859045-00
We encourage people to make payment directly into the above account. You should identify the deposit with your callsign (or your name if you are not yet licensed) and email the Secretary-Treasurer with notification of the payment. Payment can be made by cash to our Secretary-Treasurer at club meetings.
All members receive an emailed version of the monthly newsletter. Mail out of the newsletter is limited to those without computer access to conserve funds.
I want to personally invite you to attend one of our regular meetings or one of our scheduled activities. You would be most welcome even if you are not an amateur operator.
For twelve years the Quartz Hill User Group (QHUG) operated from the former Makara Radio Station under the callsign of ZL6QH. The call was widely worked and was seen as one of the premier Southern Hemisphere DX and contesting stations. QHUG was a regional effort, but initiated by Branch 50 NZART. In November 2016 QHUG was formally closed down and a new regional society – RemoteDX Inc – established, with members from all six local branches in the Wellington Region. This work incorporates what may be the largest amateur radio regional broadband radio network. If you are interested in either technical, construction, or logistical work you should contact the RemoteDX Inc Committee. Many of our members are active in RemoteDX Inc.
You will be sure to fit in
Our club has been going since 1928 so we have a long heritage and a membership with a diverse range of interests.
The radio interests of our members span CW to Phone, RTTY, high speed WiFi, radio construction, and search and rescue emergency services. I am sure that you will find a niche in our club. Come along and introduce yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you are a licensed amateur or not. We would like to meet you.
73
Malcolm ZL2UDF
Chairperson