MINUTES OF THE NAPIER AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
Meeting on Wednesday 6 February 2019 at the Clubrooms 123 Latham Street
Chair: Dave ZL2MQ, the meeting started at 7:30 pm.
Present: Dave ZL2DW, Blue ZL3TT, Mike ZL2MY, Peter ZL2CD, Revel ZL2SS, Errol ZL2IT, Laurie ZL2TC, Stu ZL2XC, Paul ZL2HB, Peter ZL2HM and Karl ZL1TJ.
Apologies: ZL2VM.
Minutes of previous meeting: Read and confirmed to be correct: ZL2SS, ZL2CD.
Arising: Dave 2DW confirmed dates for the Kahuranaki and Taupo excursions. Kahuranaki participants must be NZART members. Booking is required.
Correspondence: A number of email exchanges initiated by Mike ZL2VM with Douglas Birt ZL1BFS, NZART local government liaison officer, regarding the forthcoming Napier plan revision.
A preliminary submission to Napier city Council requesting consideration for amateur radio needs.
Email exchange with Charities Services of Internal Affairs withdrawing our application for charitable status.
Finance: Treasurer’s report attached. Power account paid. All subs have now been paid.
General Business: Dave 2DW reported Branch 13’s efforts and success with the Hastings Council’s last planning update. The Council preferred a negotiated outcome over a costly court battle. Dave suggested NARC submits the documentation of this outcome to the Napier CC.
Laurie ZL2TC briefly went over some of NARC’s previous efforts and outcomes.
The club project: Suggested were 1) a horizontally polarized (halo) 2m/70cm aerial, 2) a simple radio / computer interface for digital modes, 3) a dummy load with or without power meter, 4) an active receive only antenna.
After some discussion the dummy load won. Dave 2MQ to do some research and report back.
Laurie 2TC reported that the Wanganui ARS (Branch 48) is installing a broadband aerial, SDR receiver and associated gear to provide an online service similar to the Northland one. To go live early 2020.
The meeting closed at 8:10 pm
And was followed by Errol ZL2IT’s presentation of part two of the 475 KHz story: Transmitters “class E design,build and test”, antenna tuner requirements and antennas for 475 kHz.
Errol’s investigation and experimentation resulted in a ‘home-brew’ functional 630m transmitter and antenna putting out 15 Watts. The single transistor class E amplifier is switched on and off by a square wave output oscillator. Close to a sine wave is produced through filtering. Errol used WSPR mode for contacts made so-far, some with VK land. Class E transmitters can be used for CW, AM, FM and most digital modes. Antenna construction: a base loaded vertical with bucket sized adjustable coil.
Errol ended his excellent slideshow presentation with an invitation to all interested in 475 KHz experimentation to visit his QTH for a chat and a cup of tea.
Karl ZL1TJ Secretary NARC.