A relatively early start for the troops on Wednesday; Rob ZL4ROB suggested participating in an AREC exercise, from MP. More of a check-in than an extensive exercise, there were 3 nominated frequencies on 80, 60 (near), and 40m, to be able to make contact on.
Rob, as ZK1EBR, kicked off branch 86’s participation and started on 40m using the club 7700 with the 40m dipole. Rob checked in with the Hawke’s Bay controller – no problem. The next time period was allocated to a frequency near 60m – 5320 kHz. We had two antenna choices, the T3FD as used on our remote HF or the V beam. A pre-exercise test of the two showed little difference in strength on an SDR in the lower part of the North Island. So we elected to leave the remote HF available to use the T3FD and use the V beam for the exercise. For 5320, we used Rob’s FT-991A. Despite an S9 on the SDR, we received a poor signal strength for the exercise contact. Maybe just a bad distance at the time, but more antenna evaluation might be performed. Depending on ongoing requirements for 60m, a suitable dipole could replace the currently under utilised 80/40 trap dipole that is centered across the tower.
Rob is keen to hear from any MPRG members who might be interested in joining the branch 86 AREC group. Rob can be contacted on email
Wally ZL1WE called in with a trailer in tow; he’d heard about out tidy up. Disappointingly, we couldn’t convince him to top the trailer up, but a few more things have found a new home. A couple of coffees and some SWR meter testing rounded out the day.