The August general meeting will have two speakers:
Propper networking in the microwave bands: John ZL4JY will talk about professional microwave networking and why the mesh is not the answer to everything. John has considerable experience across the subject, and has provided the microwave link that brings internet services to Colonial KNob for the DMR repeater. What next?
At the SIG for July 2015 Code plug update and overview the new ZL-TRBO codeplug structure was presented by Jeff ZL2JG. These codeplug are now available at AREC.info Downloads for download.
A description of the various talkgroups are available at the AREC DMR Network page. Lastly some interesting links have been put up on the Event & Links page of the AREC.info website.
A further series of mobile field strength test runs along Stratton Street has been performed, and a report is being prepared for consideration by the interested parties.
An inspection of the BQ32 sheet of the Topo50 map series shows that some receive locations on Stratton Street are line-of-sight from Belmont and are heavily obstructed from transmitters using the adjacent 494 to 502 MHz and 510 to 518 MHz bands, potentially resulting in reception in these bands having an unfavourable signal-to-noise ratio, caused by any out-of-band radiation of the DATV transmitter.
Since the DMR system was set up at Colonial Knob, a number of enhancements and extensions have occurred. The code plugs determine the radio front panel channel setup, and changes have been made to make the radio easier to use when moving around the Wellington region, to support new DMR repeaters, and allow for the upcoming frequency changes. Support for the analogue channels has been made within the local zone, and plenty of channels added to make the radios usable in a number of situations.
The June general meeting will be a talk from the NZART President Stuart Watchman ZL2TW.
When commissioned in 1965 the Benmore-Haywards interisland HVDC link was a pioneering feat of electrical engineering. Stuart (a non electrical engineer!) will present the history of this link and how it fits into the NZ power grid.
Date: Thursday 25 June
Time: 7:30 pm Location: Tawa Community Centre
Links related to the presentation:
The May general meeting will include voting on the NZART AGM Remits followed by Show and Tell so bring along your projects.
Date: Thursday 28 May
Time: 7:30 pm Location: Tawa Community Centre
Two news items this month worth sharing. The first is a great story that appeared in The Dominion Post and available here:
The April general meeting will be a look at AREC and the modern amateur:
A look at the role AREC plays in amateur radio and the role radio amateurs play in emergency and public service communications.
We will cover:
Date: Thursday 30 April
Time: 7:30 pm Location: Tawa Community Centre
Using the Spark free WiFi zones for Internet access
Need a digital radio hotspot for an AREC operation, a demonstration at a branch meeting, or something like the recent VHF Convention?
Telecom, now Spark, operate a network of more than 1,000 WiFi access points conveniently located on many public telephone call boxes around the country. The commercial terms of the service are essentially free WiFi for Spark on-account mobile customers subject to a 1GB limit per day for up to five devices per account.
