Napier News – January 2013
First all the usual stuff about how everyone is all holidayed out and refreshed ready
to face another year all raring to go. All the New Year resolutions made with the best of intentions, like clean up the shack, finish all the unfinished projects, biff out all the junk, try and make it to more club meetings. Yeah, right, as they say. HF band conditions have been poor, so if you have been on a radio-free holiday, you haven’t missed much. However, predictions are for another peak in the present sunspot cycle later this year.
The only real DX over the Xmas/New Year period has been on VHF, with some spectacular 6 and 2 metre DX contacts from ZL and VK. Napier club projects for this year are a repaint, inside and out, of the Latham St clubrooms, and a working bee on 26th Jan to erect VHF and UHF antennas and paint the boarded-up windows. Also in the long-term plan is an antenna for 20/15/10 metres, probably a trap vertical or a tri-band beam. Re-vamping of the clubrooms shack continues, thanks to Lee, ZL2AL. (See photo in this issue). A VHF fox-hunt is planned for February, details to be in next Break-Out. You will need a 2 metre receiver, i.e a hand-held, and a suitable directional antenna. Transmit capability is not required, so you can still participate if you do not yet have a callsign.
Next Napier meeting is Wednesday 6th January. Also Te Puke Amateur Radio Club junk sale on 2nd March at Paengaroa, always a well attended event.
73, Laurie ZL2TC