With well over half the club's financial membership present and several apologies the meeting re-elected all officers, received their reports and discussed general club activities and plans

A great talk by Bruce ZL2AKW now at Tokomaru Bay. He has worked in many parts of the world and been involved in many highly technical fields. Also discussion on the ongoing installation of the fibre optic cable up the coast.

A very enjoyable afternoon with a great meal, thanks to the secretary's wife who must have spent ages on the preparation. A good chance to discuss amateur and other topics in a pleasant relaxed setting. A fox hunt using handhelds and Peter's 'fox' provided a chance to test the theory out and much was learned abut additional requirements when the rough location of the 'fox' has been found
 The Wondertrak gear was able to be operated and more information about radio location shown by actual use

A wide ranging meeting covering many of the activities the club led by the committee is involved in.

There will be no general club meeting this month, November 2012. The NZART President is unable to visit the branch at present and several committee members will not be able to be present. The committee have had their monthly meeting and made sure that all club and NZART matters affecting the branch  will be attended to. Financial members have been kept informed by email and newsletter.

 

 As well as the normal club business the president displayed his transmitter interface and battery all neatly contained in a small old army type metal case. Test show that the high power output of the radio allows reception across town from a small whip aerial while lower power can be used for fox hunting in a smaller area.  The interface allows a very wide rang fox hunting type signals to be transmitted including morse identification and variation of times and duration of transmissions.  The treasurer displayed and explained the additional VHF aerials which he was constructing which allow handheld operation with these much better performing aerials (than the normal aerial on the radio) placed in the pack the operator is carrying. Disassembled and X rays of an existing aerial gave a good display of how they are made . The editor displayed his picaxe pump controller as per the last newsletter showing how simple a microprocessor controlled circuit can be.
 While attendance is low at some club meetings financial members are kept well informed of club activities by emails from the secretary and the branch newsletter. The committee meet every month and are in constant contact.
 The  new NZART call book is out and shows the great work of the unpaid volunteers who collect and then assemble the contents    ( Branch 11's president is Peter, call sign ZL2TRG and all inquires about branch awards etc, should be directed to the branch either via email or PO Box as per the the branch directory section for branch 11). The NZART web site is strongly suggested as the best source for up to date information about amateur radio in NZ.

Several club members took part in providing communications for Gisborne stages of the Rally of New Zealand. Held over two days with many stages (several repeated) this required members to put long hours to be at the required locations in the area. Much work also goes into preparation and sorting out equipment later.  However the rally appears to have gone well with no major accidents, good weather and all communication problems overcome by those involved.  The experience gained and work done by those involved will be useful  in the event of a future civil emergency which is one of the major reasons while amateurs are able to take part in these events.
 There will be no branch meeting in September, the committee has decided and they will continue to meet to take care of club business. The next club meeting is planed for October on the normal time and date
 Committee members are applying to charitable trusts for funds to upgrade the 685 repeater to improve the performance by replacing the aerial and batteries. This repeater was used during the rally and with it's wide coverage  (Hawkes Bay to Bay of Plenty) could be of great use in an emergency but is solar powered on a very high exposed site so the battery and aerial condition are very important

A great NZART conference including the AGM held in Nelson. The one hundred and seventy five people who registered and attended enjoyed a great weekend which showed the hard work which must have been put in by the organisers. A wide range of accommodation on site, good plentiful food, good prizes in the five main raffles and a very large number of prizes based on your registration number. Add this to most interesting forums and entertainment and the good weather added up to a most enjoyable conference
 May General Meeting
Held at an alternate venue and notified to members and others who may have been interested. Normal business and an interesting example of 3D printing was brought by one of the members
 June General Meeting
The committee decided that this would not be held as most officers of the club and committee were to be away . Members were notified by newsletter and all NZART members assigned to the branch for voting purposes who could be contacted, were so as to record how they wished to vote on the remits

As Monday the 9th is a public holiday it is planned to hold the monthly club meeting on the 16th of the month instead, in the Scout hall if available but if not somewhere else (to be advised)