November

 Have checked the updated repeater maps on the NZART web site and all Branch 11 repeater information appears correct and up to date.
Also in view of the reported MED $250 fine of a NZART branch for operating an illegal ATV repeater, have started checking that the Branch 11 repeaters comply with their licenses in particular, the position and radiated power. So far no likely problems have been found. Investigations are proceeding into possibly repeater telemetry.

October

It is likely that there will be a second tracker available without an aerial available for at Anzac Park at the end of this month so I have been constructing a four element beam for use if the tracker is available. Unlike the supplied one it will not fold away but at 300MHz it is not very large. Many emails exchanged regarding repeater details in the Call Book. Hopefully Peter's assistance will ensure the correct entries

September

The proposed equipment for the upgrade of 685 complete with prices was supplied to the committee so application can be be made for a grant to cover the cost.

August

As requested and with much assistance from others have been working out requirements to upgrade 685 (aerial, coaxial, connectors, batteries etc.)  so that any decisions can be made by the committee knowing the likely cost
 In reply to an inquiry from FMTAG have sent up to date information on the branch repeaters to assist with the data for the next call book.

July

The IRLP is working well on 680 and as well as several overseas stations calling in provides a means for branch members not in the 680 coverage area to talk to branch members and take part in the branch net. The guide lines for use are available on the net the main ones being the three second gap between overs as normal for repeater usage and the pause of round a second at the start of each over before speaking to allow the system to switch and thus preventing the loss of the first word of your transmission
 Prices are being obtained and planning is under way for the possible upgrading of 685. Batteries, coaxial cable and the aerial all require replacement.
 Now there are eleven Freeview HD UHF channels available in Gisborne there may be a lot of VHF tv aerials junked over the next two years due to the digital switch over.  The High band ones may provide a source of materials for the 70cm band or higher, aerials and the low band ones may be usable  as are for reception as the existing TV1 channel goes from 44 to 51MHz, especially as the full six meter band is to be available to amateurs after the television digital switch over

June

To see APRS  including weather stations, ships and IRLP nodes go to aprs.fi ( I just type aprs.fi in the address box at the  upper middle of my web browser page) on the web and then when the site appears type in gisborne nz in the location box in the upper right hand corner and click on search. You can then change the size of the map coverage  or look for particular stations, a great site


680 IRLP Node
 Now this node status appears on the internet there may be an increase in it's use especially with the correct location on internet
APRS sites My thanks to all those who have helped to allow this and to the supplier of the internet for the node

680
Two trips have been made to the site. The first was to reboot the irlp computer and check out the system.
The second was to replace the repeater as the irlp fault was found to be caused by lack of a squelch signal
from the repeater receiver to the irlp board. This was after many test and and checks carried out over the internet
It also shows the real advantage in having a spare repeater ready for installation. Apart from the repair of the
repeater which has been removed it was also found that the receiver modules cannot be swapped between repeaters
so this will also be investigated.
 The updating of the irlp node on the internet status page is still not being done so this is still being checked

IRLP problems  on the 680 repeater appear to be caused by three separate problems
The major Fault 40 problem was fixed by following the instructions on the IRLP site
The failure of the node to respond to DTMF tones on the repeater input seems to be a problem with
 the squelch of the receiver being not received by the IRLP board. Hopefully this can be overcome
  sometime soon by using the standby repeater
The failure of the Gisborne node to appear on the IRLP summary interet page may be due to a missing
file in the computer program. This may require reinstalling the complete program and will probably require
removal and then reinstallation of all the IRLP equipment
 To get to this stage has required much time and while I have identified by voice over the repeater while carrying out
checks some of the normal audio messages will not be heard as I am directly operating the node by typing in commands
 to the computer
 The internet site provides much useful information but it is a very steep learning curve

April 2011

While attending the VHF convention in Wellington (most enjoyable) I was given for branch use a complete set of Tait 300 UHF modules in a rack. This will provide a complete set of spare transmit and receive modules for the national system equipment, especially good to have the UHF transmit module as the one in the national system equipment damaged by we assume lightening is proving difficulty to repair and the module now in use is not the property of the branch
 The door of the hut which contains 685 I have been told has been fixed but the batteries, coaxial cable and aerial still require upgrading or replacement 

March 2011

 As on the news page 690 is now working normally at least over the last twenty hours with a shorter tail than before. The spare modules were installed as well as replacing the two compression type N connectors with crimp types. Showed the advantage of having complete spare modules allowing for rapid change so as to reduce faulty repeater time to a minimium especially when time is short at the site. As usual a large number of people deserve thanks for their assistance. Alan for arranging a key, the contractors employees who got the key to where I could pick it up and return it, the forest owners for supplying an access permit, the site owners for supplying a work permit, Roger who lent me his N Crimp connector (worked very well)  and Warren and Rob from Hawkes Bay who helped with on air tests to compare the sensitivity of the two receiver modules and the transmitted  modulation of the newly installed transmit module  

 On bench testing of the transmit module seems to show the problem in the power control circuitry. After cleaning and adjustment of the pots everything now operates normally. Before cleaning and adjustment power output was very reliant on the supply voltage but now the module performs to specification ie puts power out even when supply voltage is reduced to 10.5 volts. Receiver and  transmit modules are now set up for repeated testing with the receiver module fed from a modulated signal generator with the transmit module output into a dummy load

February 2011

Thanks to Alan was able to make a quick trip to check out 690. However everything was working normally on arrival. Removed remote control module as it could have been causing the intermittent operation. Also checked all supply connections to the repeater.  The aerial cable connector in the hut requires replacing, (unable to confirm it was the cause of the problem, also suspect the transmitter module). Will try to obtain a replacement connector and the correct tool for the next trip. Measured the voltage of the external batteries which had been replaced on the last trip. They read 0.5 volts and as they had been under continued charge, until they were disconnected, the replacement was needed. Also the digi has not reset since the battery replacement

Thanks to Roger I now have spare modules for 690 which can be used if required. Some checks and possible modifications are still needed especially the transmit module but Roger has checked  the sensitivity of the receive module and the transmit module puts out power and seems to modulate

 Further checks on the transmit module showed it to be 2KHz off frequency and with very low modulation. Adding a link on the audio input transformer and changing the taps on the oscillator coil seems to have solved the  problems but I will continue to work on both modules as time permits before possible installation.
Have installed good front panel from receiver module, with other parts removed in place of damaged one on 690 spare receiver module. Also have installed resistor and led to have green supply led operating on front of module. Also installed squelch relay from junked UHF receiver module into module as the original one had been removed 

Now both spare modules test as operating ok have installed them into the test rig, feeding into a dummy load, with a set up to trigger the gear as a  repeater with a modulated signal every so often. This should ensure that when the modules are installed they have been well tested. The modules are those purchased from Roger as spares for 690. The branch also owns another set of Tait T300 modules setup ready to be installed if required for 685. There is also a complete bin as spare for 680 containing Tait T200 modules and the IRLP interfacing. All the crystals in all the modules (a set for each repeaters) have been purchased by the branch to allow full bench testing of spare modules before installation at the sites 

So far the test set up of the spare 690 modules set up as a repeater sans duplexer seems to be working well. A good way of providing an extended test before installation.

17th SFSG

The committee has purchased a replacement battery for the 690 and digi repeaters at Whakapunake (already installed, see above). They have also purchased the set of modules obtained by Roger as spares for 690 (see above). This now gives the club a complete set of spare modules complete with crystals for each of the 680, 685 and 690 repeaters.

The original 680 repeater with IRLP interface, spare No 2 in operation.

The spare, No 2, 690 repeater set up to operate and be triggered by a modulated signal every so often).

January 2011

The spare 690 receive module on my test gear seemed to be not as sensitive as per the specifications. Borrowed the spare 650 receive module and it seemed the same. Test gear? Gave both modules to Roger so he can check out if both have poor sensitivity or my test gear is the problem. Much thanks is due to Roger from me for his continued assistance with the repeater equipment

Now the branch has a spare set of 690 crystals full testing and set up of the spare equipment will be possible, as a repeater, (excluding diplexer and aerials) when I have completed the connection of the modules sleeves containing the module matching sockets. With the cooler weather the repeater seems to not be operating much at all and hopefully by when at the site, with  the operating and set up spare equipment, 690 will be off all the time so we can be sure of the cause of the fault

Have removed relay from one of spare UHF receiver module and installed in VHF receiver module so it
can operate the PTT of the transmit module when a signal is received. Continued mechanical work on the sleeves which hold and connect the modules. Once done this will allow full check out of the spare 690 modules. 

Further tests on 690 show that the remote control will turn it on and off when it is working but would not turn it on last night when it was not working. (inconclusive as to the cause of the problem) Carrying out mechanical work on the module sleeves to allow the spare modules to be set up as an operating repeater on the workbench

The problem with 690 may be a continuation of the earlier problem when on a very hot day the repeater appeared to be retriggering it'self. However this did not appear to be an rf problem as sensitivity etc appeared normal. My belief is that it may be the remote control module which connects or interrupts, the receiver squelch to the transmitter PTT line. However will check out all the spare equipment so if necessary it will be available. Since replacement of the battery the digi repeater has performed normally with no resets so as the same power supply and battery supplies the digi and 690 it would seem to be unlikely to be a power supply problem and the old batteries questionable

Great to see so many of the local amateurs at the amateur radio day and special thanks to all those who worked so hard to produce the displays. If it is to be held at the same time next year then a location in the main street would I think  be seen by more members of the public. The very high VHF noise level received in the area would seem to require high gain aerials well up if any VHF apart from the local repeater is to be used. Also if HF is to be used a remote controlled  station in a quieter HF noise are may be required for best results. However maybe this is another use for Echolink using broadband mobile internet to overcome the need for fixed internet access

 Thanks to Alan I was able to go along on a very quick trip to Whakapunake which allowed me to install a new battery for the digi and 690. The 690 output was also adjusted to conform with the license. It was also noted that only a little soil has fallen on the side of the hut nearest the ridge and that from the damp spots inside the hut there are a couple of places where more Febsil should be applied to the outside of the hut.

December

Have started building low voltage cut out circuit. Probably a good idea to have one on the battery circuit which feeds the repeaters as otherwise any failure in the battery charging circuit will allow the repeaters to drain the battery. The 685 solar regulator to be installed has one built in but ones for the other three batteries in use may prevent the need for future replacement in the case of a charging fault

Have modified my DTMF microphone to produce the additional tones used for repeater remote control

Article in Break-In gives update on Kordia owned sites and the agreement with NZART. This affect sGisborne national system, 609 and the digi repeaters

Unless the Minister gives an instruction or another agreement is made the Whakapunake site of the above repeaters will have to be vacated by the 30 of June next year. This allows the club six months to investigate and carry out any actions required

Have purchased another folder to store all the Whakapunake repeater site information in. All other repeater info 680, IRLP and 680, stored in original folder. Much duplicate and out of date info found while filing

Installed 690 crystals in spare modules and wired up sockets in sleeves to allow testing of transmit and receiver modules. Missing relay in receive module replaced with resister to operate transmitter from receiver squelch

Have had to manually change PHG on ZL2AA-! several times as it keeps reverting to the value stored in the Eprom. This resetting of the digi is likely due to power variations. Both the digi and 690 operate from two original six volt batteries, charged by one of the invertor power supplies. When the lightening strike destroyed the pre-egulator to the invertors charging the batteries, all the four six volt batteries were completely drained and while the two feeding the national system were replaced the ones feeding 690 and the digi were not. Therefore when the power to the invertors is interrupted it may be that the 690 and digi  batteries are unable to take the load. This could also be the cause of the 690 problem which tests have shown not to be desensing or  recirculation. Therefor plans are to replace those batteries when possible

Good to see that internet connected amateur radio is ok with the RFS and that operation from an amateurs home is acceptable.

Interesting to see on the RFS web site spectrum licenses for ATV on 6125.25MHz, channel 39. All seem to be fixed term to end in 2013 and two of the three are for individuals. The branch one annual fee is shown as $357 and the others as as $408.  Wonder if any of them have an adjacent channel on 38 or 40?

November

BASIL ZL2UT

 Over thirty years ago I remember when Basil got his amateur licence. As one of his staff said he thought they might get the day off (I think they got a few beers instead). In no time at all it seems Basil had his morse and the tower went up at its first location in Rutene Road. Almost thirty years ago he had a teleprinter but in a very short time we were attempting to build a packet modem to operate from his Commodore 128 which had rapidly replaced the 64. How long it took to understand command mode to tell the programme to do something  like connecting to the Napier Digirepeater  and converse mode to actually send packets of information to someone. An FM aerial on the tower also allowed Basil to receive the FM radio station from Napier when Gisborne had two radio stations AM only

 But Basil was really into amateur digital radio, commercial equipment was it a Tono which could operate packet, ritty and Morse?. But much other followed both on HF and VHF, only names to me amator,  pactor etc.. Digirepeaters at Whakapunake and Arawhona with upgrades to software. The time when packet linked up the whole country thanks to the digirepeaters looking for the best path. A pity that Arowhana was the best north -south path by far so it was on almost continuious, not so good for a solar powered site. But while Basil was around one of the first in NZ to get into all the digital modes as well as a young family and a business radio wise he was very involved in branch activities   He was involved in planning and operating many field days, I remember  caravans on remote hill tops and in local domains as well as one overnight trip where the gear including a generator had to be transported by helicopter while we the operators walked/climbed in and camped overnight. and then returned the same way. In the days when the local amateurs had a shed at the showgrounds Basil painted it - useful having a professional painter in the branch with the equipment and leftover paint.. Basil also was the prime mover behind the Gisborne Branch's 2m skelton Slot kitset aerials. I remember him assembling the parts on the tables which he later used to make sheets of plaster for some of the houses he was involved in building.

At a time when satellites were only something you read about Basil had a 3.7 meter dish up and was receiving channels on C and Ku bands. He got the equipment for for several pay services and started a business for those who wanted to receive them such as CMT and overseas broadcasting services. A display at the A&P show  attracted much interest, who from those days can forget the free Indian channel. Basil was one of the first installers of Sky satellite systems in Gisbone in the days when sky had only one FM channel on satellite right through to when he was sorting out installation faults for sky on their multiple digital channel systems. He also did installations for the Freeview satellite systems. But digital was always there and Basil was first to be involved when an ISP started internet via satellite. Basil did courses on the computer side of the installation and when the present high speed satellite internet systems started he was doing installations for both systems which he continued up till very recently. It seemed to me that he had installed systems for most farms around Gisborne when I assisted him for a short time

September/ October

 Have dismantled my equipment used in the Ch 39 ATV repeater including the dead mouse and its calling cards and reassembled some of the equipment plus my modules to make a 24cm FM low power ATV repeater

3 Oct 2010

 Have got both my APRS systems working on both computers. Beware of the small plugs used for audio into and out of computers, sometimes the clamped connections are not reliable
. Thanks again to Jim who worked out that the Digirepeater path for Uiview is APRS,Wide2-2, (don't try a , in place of the - operation is not so reliable. Good to see all the stations on the APRS map, hopefully there should soon be a few more mobiles locally. Also APRS.fi is a good web site to see not only the non amateur weather sites but also the coverage, as you can go back in time and see mobiles passing through the area like the one the other day (no replies to calls on 680)

19 Aug 2010

 690 appears to be working very well and certainly was well used during the car rally. Comments have been made that the performance is still down on the national system repeater. 690 is licensed for an effective isotropic radiated power of 10dbW which the national system 9875 is licensed for 18dbW which as both repeaters are running as per licensed means that the national system should be received effectively as if it has 8db more transmit power. On receive the extra gain of the national system aerial should give 4db greater sensitivity than that of the 690 aerial and the RF noise at the site is far greater at VHF than UHF so the receiver squelches have to be set to allow for that making the national system repeater even more sensitive.                                                                                                                  The above does not take into account the rf paths from the repeater to the user or the users equipment. 

 

Good talks on IRLP and digital modes gave a good overview of these modes and I found very helpful, Cat computer operation was of less interest to me because of the age of my gear. The ARPS and VHF forums what I caught seemed to be were on techniques present and future including oscillators used on the microwave bands and VHF and UHF DXing. What I caught of AREC gave me the impression of a lot of hard working amateurs providing a major support to the hobby and the wider community but this now involved a great deal of paperwork. Loud and long ovation for the treasurer when before presenting the accounts he gave a few comments on NZART financial matters Association was technically insolvent when he took over several years ago, constant watch on expenditure has led to surplus each year to build up assets, this years was better than expected due to the lower costs than expected from the IARU meeting in Christchurch, he and members of the council are not rorting the association and do not have any secret funds hidden away and he hoped this would be made known

AGM finished over an hour early in spite of two remits requiring polling of members, possibly because there seemed to be a mood summed up by one person who has recruited many new amateurs - get out there and do it

• No free lunches ( but free morning tea for AGM only attendees) so if you want free ARC services not from NZART but join a branch like the Wn VHF Group for $25 and they are free along with all the other advantages of membership

Some rain and mist but not too cold for over 160 people at the NZART Conference and AGM over the last weekend in Auckland Very nice venue with plenty of room

• Very well catered with tons of food Thought the motel was costly but good with everything required and directly across the road from the venue, ideal for after dinner etc

Traffic on Friday very heavy, three lanes in both directions all full and walked along the road (had got lost) and I was moving much faster than any of the cars even when the lights were with them Not much traffic on the motor and express ways from when I left at round 0730 but saw 6 police cars three with stopped cars

• p.
  • As per breaking news the aerial installation is all ready . The aerials have had tails of about a meter added so the new connection point for the cable to the hut is outside the boom. That cable has been connected via the lightening protection and wrapped as per the instructions and then sealed with silastic for extra protection. This means that once the pole in in the new position only the aerials will need to be bolted on and the coax and lightening wire run down the pole. Lugs are on all the lightening protectors for both inside and outside the hut. The earthing cables have been crimped and sealed and most of the equipment is loaded ready to go when the weather allows and the volunteer operator and his equipment can relocate the pole.
    • 26.5.10

After many days of work the new aerial installation for 690 and the digi is starting to take shape. First the original aerials were dismantled and the cables connected to the aerial inside the aerial booms were undone. Very well wrapped, Denso, and PVC tape lots of both. However the water was all thought the top aerial connector wrapping. It had got into the coaxial cable going to the hut as the copper braid of at least half of the length of that cable is not bright shining copper but really black, all the signs of water having been got into the cable over an extended period. Also the connector on the cable to the hut had one of the fingers broken

• The wrapping of the coaxial connectors of the bottom aerial does not appear to have let water in at least half of the lower part of the cable from the aerial to the hut shows the same black signs of water ingress as did the spare coaxial cable from the hut to the aerial pole So new cable and connectors required. The actual aerials and the short length of coaxial cable appeared ok so were taken to Roger for testing. From the graphs they appeared to have a relatively poor return loss and to be cut to the wrong frequency. However a specification sheet showed that they were within the original specifications. Further checks were done from my back yard and while the SWR seemed to vary depending on the power input they remained within specification and allowed a good contact on 685 which is more than a 5/8 whip on the house will do.

1.4.10

• Had an interesting contact last might with Alister ZL2ATL in Hawera on 685. He was running 70watts into a 6db gain colinear 10meters above the ground. Very readable signal with only a little noise, he said he can not always access it but I thought it was pretty good for the repeater which didn't bleep once over the contact. I was using 2watts into an 11 element aerial,

• Thanks to a team of skilled amateurs including Jim ZL2IA the NZART web site is now hosted in NZ. I also notice that it has a continual upgrade of amateur news items. It seems the ARRL one is having problems with some changes

15.3.10

• Have got large rotator on yagi, took a lot longer than expected, when first installed only made grinding noises so up again in roof to remove same and dismantle. Al may not rust but the white oxide and the metal parts sure had gummed up the workings, still after 25 years outside and no used I guess you must expect problems. Lots of grease, new Stainless Bolts (snapped two) and it now moves the aerial However don't think Hawkes Bay want to hear from me again. When discussing the possible waves after the Chilean quake noted that the Hasting repeater via IRLP was very noisy just before it locked on. Heard later that the output was 14db down on normal and then when having a high quality IRLP contact with Warren on the UHF link mentioned that I could not hear their digi, now I hear it has been off since March the 8th, still they can drive to the site, hopefully on the weekend. Also found the Edgecumbe one on IRLP noisy between overs but I have heard there were some problems. Had a good contact with Ken in Australia, he was slightly noisy but said he was on Echolink, imagine the connections. He had been on a cruise ship only a few weeks ago but could not call into Napier due to the wave heights after the Chilean quake However made full use of the repeaters from the ship as well as using the national system about which he was very impressed

9.3.10

• Can now get into 685 with long Yagi. Now need to have a rotator on that aerial so can vary between 4575 digi 690 and 685. AGM am still on committee and repeater trustee. From general meeting Alan with my assistance is to write to Kordia and hopefully get a firm offer by the next meeting, If not acceptable plan is to remove equipment soonest next month after meeting. Winter is coming and removal of gear will take long enough. IRLP seems to be working well, interesting how many other areas have problems. Still our national system node is off air and most of the other repeaters need major work to allow full use. Other areas probably have just as good reasons for delays in maintenance

23.2.10

• Got my Alliance 20 year old plus rotator working to allow 5el 70cm beam to move between the local repeaters

Mechanical indicating and motor operating system all stopped from working by a stuck spring, still it is great to hear and see the clunk clunk as it moves in 10 degree steeps

• Thanks to Ross it now seems it is only the local repeater transmitter of the national system that is not working as well as it was installed. Hopefully we will soon find out the results of the NZART council meeting and know what the situation is with the Kordia site. IRLP now seems to be working with the received sound of good quality. Thanks to Jim for all the information but I won't mention how long it took me to work it all out. Still I know a little more about Linux and the system operation

17.2.10

• Good turn out in the end at a committee meeting. I think fruitful and informative. Good to hear Alex on the net even if his news was not so good. Believe he also went on the 160m net later. Emails exchanged about IRLP but it looks like there is no easy fix and we will have to work through possible solutions. Assumed a weaker national system signal was large tree in that direction but it appears it may be more general. Hopefully the face to face meeting of the NZART council next weekend will give a definite result on the Kordia siting agreement so the trustees can proceed with repeater maintenance and upgrades without the possibility of the time and money being wasted.

1.2.10

• Good to see a weather station on in HB last week but haven't seen it since. Different radio appears to give me reliable access of the ZL2AS digi, original one pretty poor. Put on beacon about 690 net but only one HB station came up, after net. Heard from Alan ZL2AOP there is an amateur now working up the coast

• Sent email to Alan in Hamilton (IRLP guru) to see if he can suggest changes or remotely alter settings before we try changing the sound card. No announcements about the Kordia agreement or further comments about the loss of the ATV channel a possible replacement or the six meter changes

24.1.10

• Went with Roger up to 680. Roger brought test equipment which allowed checking of the repeater and I had made up some gear to check the audio of the IRLP. Sound card output is very noisy so apart from checking the repeater operation no further IRLP checks were done on the IRLP system. Roger replaced the internet connection plug and secured the cable and Tom provide signals from his home for checking and to ensure the system was still operating before we left. A new sound card is being looked for . Took more detail pictures of the 680 equipment which I will put on the web site and the TV repeater as time permits. Nice to see an weather station at Napier on the Hawkes Bay digi. Seems to come and go. I get good reception of ZL2AS-3 since I installed my 11 element LPY on the roof If the amateurs definitely are to lose the CH39 television band then this will save some license fees and hopefully any allocation round 60MHz will have some security and will also be available to amateurs in other countries
  • Update
    • See Breaking News Front Page

9.1.10

• As it appears the future of amateur digital television in all but the microwave bands is to be round 60MHz I checked a friends LCD television set with a Freeview digital television receiver built in. It happily accepted and searched for digital televisions signal round 50 and 60 MHz. I also note that the Samsung set on digital can be set to 7MHz channels as used by the Australians on VHF High band or 8MHz channels the UHF digital standard

• Also his year the MED have to change the existing UHF TV licences to a general radio users licence. Wonder if that will affect the ATV repeaters ?

8.1.10

• See the NZART site for the likely future of amateur television. Lose channel 39 get the full 6 meter band for normal use plus just above for digital amateur television. Likely 3 to 5 years away but hopefully where television channel 2 is not in use amateurs can start digital television sooner. Wonder what the coverage will be, should be pretty good going on existing tv analogue coverage. Probably need downconvertors for receive and transmit. Hopefully a lot of amplifiers and aerials will become available

• Still playing with solar water heating on the cheap

5.1.10

• 20010 already, good to see high usage of IRLP over the holidays. The noise of the receive signal didn't seem to cause too many problems. Robert is to try and remote adjust it and I have made up an attenuator in case the problem is too high a level out of the sound card and it can't be adjusted in software. But it is being looked into as well as the double tails at times. A pity the original settings were lost with the computer failure but once the tweaks are worked out be assured many copies will be made.

• The wind generator got a good work out over the last few days but unless you have a reliable clear source of wind I think solar panels (may the price continue to drop) are a better way to go in built up areas.

27.12.09

• Probably won't make it to the BBQ today, hope there is a good turn out. Along with Tom and Roger helped move a tower for a wind generator mount, it will probably give better results than mine when up due to more wind out of town

24.12.09

• the usual suspects were involved in getting the IRLP going on 680 on Xmas eve. Much thanks are due to Roger who got the information required before the trip and getting settings changed at the last minute to allow operation, Tom for assisting at the site and cordinating all the emails phone calls, tests required, me for having the keys to get them in and most of all Robert who not only made three trips to the site during the evening but had the knowledge and ability to do what need to be done. Also he donated and installed a UPS which should provide continuation of service which would otherwise require a trip to the site after any mains variations to restore service

• The noise on the received signal may be due to the sound card in the computer or the fact that the system is operating on the original settings as supplied, as the settings tweaked for best results were lost with the computer failure. But this can looked at in the future. Both the repeater rack and the IRLP cabinet have padlocks on them now with use the same key thanks to I believe to Mike and Tom

19.12.09

• With assistance from Roger, Tom, Robert, Mike and me all the gear for IRLP is now installed in the new cabinet next to the 680 repeater, a neat job and only awaiting the information on the broadband connection for Robert to hopeful have it all operational next week. Had four on the net at 2100 hrs on 690 last week, hope for more especially those from the south, to be on this weekend but most people are rather busy..

• Funny sort of weather just hope the fine part continues till we are able to do some work on 690.
• 
  

  
  

• 9.12.09
• Really enjoyed the talk by the Radio Inspector. Very information and certainly a lot more interesting that gathering the information from other sources. And his gear!!! Things have sure changed over the years

• Slowly working on my solar water heating system, seems a pity to let all this sun go to waste. Most people who have been on the Sunday night net seem keen on the change of time, 690 will increase the coverage to some members and ex members who can not access 680. Some local amateurs can not access 690 but of those hardly any have ever been on the net. Anyone for linking repeaters ?. Got my Break-In, 100 less members than this time last year (soon should be 99, I consider the $10 to be a donation). Seems there will soon be a lot more 4575 APRS digis around soon or is that just more licensed. (As a charitable organisation does a branch or NZART qualify for a individual $250 infrigment from the MED for a breach of the radio regs or is it the corporate one of $1250 ? and as NZART now are the licencee of each repeater would they rather than the branches get hit and what about incorporated branches which do legally exist? I think it's easier to make sure we don't find out as even $250 could buy another battery for a repeater)

6.12.09

• 680 IRLP Cat 5e has been run in conduit at the repeater site with properly mounted connectors at each end

this will allow the broadband to be plugged in at one end when available and the IRLP computer plugged in at the other end when it is shifted, A separate metal cabinet has been mounted on the wall next to the repeater rack for the IRLP computer. The power supply to the pump is outside the metal cabinet but a power outlet and Cat 5e outlet are in the cabinet. The rack side has been secured and work is proceeding on a lock for the rack door

• Thanks to all those who helped both with materials and labour

• Got my Break-In, 100 less members than this time last year (soon should be 99, I consider the $10 to be a donation). Seems there will soon be a lot more 4575 APRS digis around soon or is that just more licensed. (As a charitable organisation does a branch or NZART qualify for a individual $250 infrigment from the MED for a breach of the radio regs or is it the corporate one of $1250 ? and as NZART now are the licencee of each repeater would they rather than the branches get hit and what about incorporated branches which do legally exist? I think it's easier to make sure we don't find out as even $250 could buy another battery for a repeater)

5.12

• Installed Tait T498 in vehicle with speaker. Works fine and allows me to use both scanner receivers in workshop. Installed mimic amplifier in workshop Tait improved 12 Sinad from 1.2uV to .4uV according to my old test gear, not that I'm into vintage radio it's just all my gear is over 20 years old. Have installed small pump and can now get water up to roof, one day I will have a solar heated pool. Having a small, read cheap, battery near wind generator appears to help rather rather than charging battery via 25 meters of cable

26/9 Have got two T498 radios working, old as the hills with poor sensitivity but synthesised so can put in channels as required by programming Eproms. Thumbwheel switch faulty in one so replace with DIL switches, how to count from 1 to 100 in binary. Circuit is reverse binary ie earth input to count, all done in original thaumbwheel switches. Still working on best system of receiving all APRS using old scanning gear and computers. learning a lot about packet and sound cards. Got broken very solid club 2m dipole from Roger , have repaired mechanical parts and now need to replace faulty balum. Not sure what it will be used for but could make a good repeater spare as it is so solid. Hope we get a good turn out at the next meeting with the RI to show active amateur interest in regulatory matters affecting amateurs. Tried using Kenwood tK705d as scanning receiver for APRS, turns out signal received from 144.7547 HB is under 1uV 5/8 whip on roof of house but long run of RG58 cable, guess what the squelch was set to, still working now and scanning receiver is now scanning FM voice channels. Looking at putting one of the T498s in the vehicle. Will do the job for local repeaters and the more modern one can go it for trips.

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• Using a scanner I can receive the HB digi on 144.575MHz, the local two on 144.650MHz and the ISS on 145.825. Very little APRS activity and receiving five digis , some via the above, the most number of amateurs seen has been five. Used to be said amateurs would not be happy until they had a repeater for every amateur but at least on APRS they are linked. ISS is interesting, they appear to be placing stations updates on the packet beacon, ie testing new treadmill and hatch doors unlocked

• With half a tube of silastic the roof vent should be waterproof while providing ventilation for the summer. 690 gave a SWR of 1.22 into the bottom aerial and 1.2 into the top aerial while producing the same power. This was only my HAM SWR meter but so far all seems OK with the repeater into the top aerial and the digi on the bottom. Noticed that the duplexer is followed by a band pass filter before the aerial so that should help The digi is on low power and could probably could go up to high power as now the national system and the 690/digi are on separate rectifiers, invertors and batteries
  • 7/11/09

Developing a 1296MHz Beacon

• When you are building a transmitter on that high a frequency a lot of things become very important like spurious outputs, random noise, frequency stability etc.

Digit NBTV (?NarrowBand TV)

• Sending pictures on the high frequency band using normal hf radios and a computer programme. Already in use in NZ

Antenna Design using 4Nec2

• See how an aerial will perform before you build it using a computer programme which will show you the effects on impedence, frequency and directivity of any changes. Displays a rotating colour 3D picture of the complete radiation pattern, different colours for different gain Wow Also included were discussions on the following topics

Please Note While several councillers of NZART were present I believe the convention can only make recommendations or suggestions to NZART. If you disagree with what follows please check I have got my facts right and use the normal channels you have available as a member of NZART to comment on their policy

• Re the remit on the use of packet on the national system the trustees present agreed to investigate if the amount can be reduced but wished to retain the capacity for possible demonstrations and use in emergencies APRS many of those present wanted 144.75MHz as a common channel in the North Island . Gisborne Branch members explained the local system and the possible ramifications of a change from 144.65MHz CTCSS A list of proposed frequecies is to be drawn up. When in use it will improve existing repeater operation and should have no effect on existing users. Should only be used on nodes of the national system and should not be transmitted via the links to other areas Kordia Siting of amateurs repeaters at their sites An agrement is planned to be signed in a couple of weeks. I understand that apart from the existing power charge for all sites (which is paid by NZART) only those branches with equipment on or in Kordia structures (not Gisborne) will be charged rent, Also that non NZART members will not be covered by the agreement and NZART third party insurance. The above is only what I took from two days of interesting topics which gave a good overview of the subjects covered. It is only what I recall and I take no responsibility for any errors of fact or what was actually meant.
  • Hamish ZL2HC