Branch 50 (Wellington) NZART – Known as the Wellington Amateur Radio Club
Baluns and antenna tuners with our special Canadian guest, Dave McCarter VE3GSO
AND
Our annual Blackwood Cup shoot out for best home construction project.
Lutheran Church Hall, King St, Mount Cook at 7.30pm on Wednesday 15 October 2014
Supper will be served as always. Please feel free to join us.
As I mentioned at our last club meeting, I have been working on a paper that argues for a reconsideration of DX and contesting antennas for the low bands. This means that a smaller site would be required for any replacement station for Quartz Hill. I argue in the paper that phased vertical arrays make the most sense for 160m through 30m for a NZ DX location. Any site larger than about 1Ha would be adequate to build a collection of such arrays.
You can download the paper on the ZL6QH website.
Mike ZL1AXG
July’s “Chat ‘n Chew” meeting was an excellent night all round, despite the weather. Check the club meeting minutes for details. (The saussie rolls must have gone fast; none there when I looked!)
The August meeting, on Wednesday 20 August 2014, is an early-start (7pm) “Home and Away” event: the club will be doing a show ‘n’ tell at the Newlands Marae (Nga Hau E Wha O Papararangi, in Ladbrooke Road, Newlands) . Members who cannot make it are invited to come on-air about 7.30pm — 7050 LSB — and provide some input for our guests to be suitably impressed by. Glenn ZL2KZ will be picking up passengers at the Lutheran Church Hall, King St, Newtown, at 6.30pm; let him know if you need a lift.
The first draft of Auckland’s Unitary Plan (District Plan) would have been a nightmare for amateur radio operators wanting to put up antennas in their backyard. Effectively, hams would have been required to seek a resource consent costing $1000’s for every antenna system, and any change to that system. NZART and local branches of course have put in a submission.
The feedback report on infrastructure released by the Council following submissions from ratepayers and interested parties had this to say about amateur radio antennas:
“There were a number of comments seeking amateur radio structures and operations to be enabled. Divided views are evident between supporters and opponents of amateur radio operator masts and aerials. While operators suggest a height limit of 15 metres, those opposed suggest the adoption of guidelines from the legacy North Shore City Council which were much more restrictive.”
Town planning decisions in one district, ultimately impact on all other districts looking to update their district plans. Wellingtonians did not fare well when it came to mast height restrictions in our own District Plan. It is not too late to make a submission to the Auckland Council, but you must be in by Tuesday 22 July at 5pm. Glenn Kingston ZL2KT has been following this issue, so you may want to discuss the NZART response with him.
The lastest NZART Infoline has some information on the NZART submission, and the full text of the submission, additional background material and templates for responding to the Auckland Council can be found here:
http://www.qsl.net/zl1bq/page13.html