201303 March

Chairman: Gareth Parker
Secretary: TBA
Treasurer: Les Dixon
Web Master: Owen Dawe
Executive Committee
Dave Dingley
Peter Shaw
Ray Mankelow
Robert Houison
Bruce Grenville
Patrick Casey
Four th Executive Committee Meeting 201 2 /201 3
MINUTES
Held: Tuesday 26th March 2013
Venue: Auckland VHF Group Inc, Branch 66 NZART clubrooms, Hazel Avenue, Mt Roskill
Opened: At 19:38by Gareth Parker
Present: Members: Gareth Parker, Les Dixon, Ray Mankelow, Peter Shaw, Bruce Grenville, Eric Allen, Dave Dingley, Robert Houison, Patrick Casey
Guests: Peta Kirkwood (Station Manager Radio Owairaka 88.1), Carlos (Juan Carlos Rodriguez, FM Radio AustralNZ Director)
Apologies: No apologies.
Motion: That the lack of anyapologies be accepted.
Moved by Dave Dingley, seconded by Bruce Grenville.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Secreterial duties:With Ray back, Peter offered to take the minutes, which Ray graciouslyaccepted.
AGENDA
1. Approve minutes of previous meetings:
• Tuesday 27 November 2012 meeting (Les)
• 3rdExecutive Committee Meeting 2012/2013held 26th February 2013
Les advised that Ray had located his erstwhile missing minutes for Tuesday 27 November 2012 on his recalcitrant laptop, and presented them for tabling.
Motion: That the minutes for27th November 2012 (recorded by Ray) be taken as read.
Moved by Bruce Grenville,seconded by Peter Shaw.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 1of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
4. Matters arising out of the minutes of the previous meeting
Society Postal Address (Peter)
It was noted that the letterhead he had on file still listed c/- 6 Freshney Place, Hillpark, Manurewa,
Manukau City 2102. When Dave was the Chairman, it was c/- Spider FM, 2139 Great North Road,
Avondale 0600.
It was proposed to use Dave’s post office box for the address now that Owen has relocated to Lake Tawawera and is carrying out the web master duties for The Society.
Motion: That the Society address be:
P O Box 19187, Avondale, Auckland 1746, New Zealand
Moved by Bruce Grenville,seconded by Ray Mankelow.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Item 4: Transfer of the LPFM Web Site from the Latinum servers
Peter advised that Robert Dew had carried out a re-direct of the old Society URL from the Latinum
server to Gareth’s:
From: Robert S Dew <bobdew@BluePukeko.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:10:31 +1300
I’ve set an automatic redirect to www.lpfm.org.nz which should take effect reasonably quickly.
Robert S Dew
Director
Blue Pukeko Group Ltd
Gareth when asked stated that he felt that it would be desirable to keep the old url
http://www.lpfmnz.com/rather than go with the new one http://www.lpfm.org.nz/. At this stage the
former re-directs to the latter. This was agreed, and it was decided to ask Robert to straighten it all out when the domain renewal came up, thought to be in May.
Tennatron and a bulk deal for TX gear for The Society (item 6 “ Increasing Membership” from last meeting)
Robert H advised he had approached Steve Doherty at Tennatron and found him to not be very forthcoming! There was some possibility of obtaining equipment via the website (which one???)on an indent basis at 12.5% discount (check this!).
He also suggested asking Steve to come to one of the EC meetings, at a time when he was in Auckland (that is, sneak it on him).
Carlos stated that his FIRST TX was a Tennatron and it was NOT a good experience for him. He liked the NRG line of products.
Item 9. Rental of the Auckland VHF Group Inc
Les said that VHF Group rental was good until August 2013.
5. Approve the minutes of the last meeting
Motion: That the minutes for the 3rd Executive Committee Meeting 2012/2013 held 26th February 2013 be accepted.
Moved by Dave Dingley,seconded by Eric Allen.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 2of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
6. Correspondence
There has been no official correspondence received or sent since the last meeting.
7. Financial position From the Society bank statement, courtesy of Treasurer Les:
Opening balance: $4299.20
Closing balance: $4347.76 (26 March 2013)
There were two transactions bringing in $49.56: Flat FM joined the Society with full membership
($45.00) and there was an interest payment. There was no expenditure.
Motion: That the financial statement /position be accepted.
Moved by Les,seconded by Peter.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
AGENDA
8. Owen Dawe has been offered a great site at Lake Tawawera
It was mentioned that our Web Master Owen has been offered an old TV Translator site at Lake Tawawera from which to transmit, should he find the means to commence broadcasting in his new location.
9. Ruapehu LPFM station is up for sale on Trade Me (Les)
Some information of interest from Les…
At the time of writing, the auction has closed without sale:
106.2 FM RUAPEHU COMMERCIAL BROADCAST LICENCE
***RARELY AVAILABLE***
Start price: $17,500.00
No reserve No reserve
Closed: Thu 4 Apr 2013, 8:55 pm
Listing #: 576054692
Licence 217854
106.200 MHZ
Licence type : Full commercial
Fully transferable
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 3of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
This broadcasting licence right is currently for outright sale.
106.2 FM is currently being utilised by an independent broadcast operator and this lease is due to expire.
It is currently operating to licence conditions sited in central Ohakune and operating at 19DBW.
There is however engineering in place to have it relocated to Waipuna Ridge at 29DBW. Full details can be found on
S.M.A.R.T at www. rsm.govt.nz
The most recent licence sold in Ruapehu/Ohakune region in RSM auction 11 was 93.4 MHZ and was sold for $37,000.
With the FM BROADCAST spectrum now extremely crowded their is not likely to be much left to auction in the future…
nationwide.
This is a rare opportunity and would be perfect if you wish to network your brand into the region for the busy ski-season and
Summer season also.
There are a number of LPFM operators in the Ruapehu/central North Island, so here is your chance to have the real thing.
I have recently invested in another media organisation so this asset needs to go. Thanks for your interest.
10. Automated Society email service (scoops) – Gareth
It was noted that this is working OK, after some earlier hiccups.
11. Membership fees
Les re-iterated the decision made at the last meeting (Item 5) to “review the Society Membership
Fees prior to the next AGM” which is due in August (the inaugural meeting was held 4th August 2004).
12. PIRA Transmitters and Limiters(Les)
Les asked if anyone had any experience with these devices. It was mentioned that Pira analysers and
RDS modules are sold on Trade Me (see below).
No one present had tried the Pira TX gear.
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 4of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
13. The NRG project (Gareth)
Gareth stated that he had completed the PCB layout for the NRG Pro III 1-4 watt transmitter, and was still working on the compressor/limiter and stereo encoder. With the CAD design complete for the TX, he intends to have circuit boards produced (photo resist etching) locally.
He had also spent considerable time trying to source components. There aresome components that are proving very difficult to find, such as the 15 Khz tuned filter…Gareth also advised that he has the design for the NRG PRO IV LIMITER/COMPRESSOR.
Here are a few notes on the method used to make up the PCB layouts:
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 5of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
Gareth scanned a working PCB at 600 DPI and then used “Sprint Layout” CAD to process the scanned image (see http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/sprint-layout.html).
There is no question about it – Gareth is doing superb work for The Society.
There was some discussion on how Gareth’s PCBs should be named and it was agreed to re-visit this matter as his work progresses.
14. Glen in Howick on 87.9 has changed his transmitter to a Tennatron
Robert Houison had a call from Glen, who runs a Chinese programme. Having changed his transmitter for a Tennatron with good results, heis now being “knocked around” by Spice (88.0) in Papatoetoe.
Les mentioned that the recalcitrant Spice FM has a habit of “winding their TX up”, despite past indiscretions.http://radiospice.co.nz/
Glen is considering setting up a TX on 88.0 near them!
15. I.N.N. – Independent Network News not available over Easter
Robert H mentioned that this Invercargill based service was not being offered over the Easter Period.
INN usually provides a very good news and sports feed at no charge.
He also made on offer to help other broadcasters interested in subscribing to this excellent service link to it.
Provide a link to it?
16. THE FLAT (87.9)proposing to set up transmission from Sky Tower (Les)
http://www.flatfm.co.nz/
Apparently, Flat FM has stated their intention to set up a 1 watt TX from the Observation Platform of
the Sky Tower, most likely on 87.9 or 88.0.
Dave expressed his opinion that he did not expect them to be allowed to put in an LPFM station on the Sky Tower. He believes Broadcom would have something to say on the matter, and suggested that the whole matter may be a bit of a “wind up” to put the, err, “wind up” the Society. He further thought that it simply would not be economic for The Flat to do it! Ray thought that Radio NZ / Radio Networks may put pressure on the Sky Tower management to NOT allow it.
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 6of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
The Flat is currently transmitting from Glenfield on 87.9.
17. West FM has changed from 88.1 to 88.3 on Beacon Hill (http://westfmradio.com/)
Gareth was advised of this change via Doug (Station Manager???).
They have a good elevation from their new
location above the Whenuapai Air Base.
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 7of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
18. “Go Wireless” link
Gareth mentioned briefly that he was investigating a “Go Wireless” link for his own use.
This could present a good opportunity to develop something for the Society, as it is felt that many
LPFM broadcasters would jump at the opportunity to have a quality wireless link at an affordable
price.
Here is some information about the “Go Wireless” service:
http://www.unifiedsystems.co.nz/our-partners/go-wireless-nz.html
Go Wireless NZ Ltd is an online shop that provides quality wireless networking equipment.We specialise in long range high power Wi-Fi 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11a and 802.11n MIMO Dual
Polarization wireless antenna, coax cables, pigtails, connectors, High Power Wireless Access Points
and Point to Point Bridges. We supply quality, well priced Wi-Fi antenna, cable and accessories for
Wi-Fi computer networking, Wireless Hot Spots and Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) applications.
19. Society Projects –the LES DIXON NOTCH FILTER
Les elaborated on the simple FREQUENCY TRAP and ANTENNA TUNER*devices with which he has
been tinkering with lately. These are essentially RC traps that he brought in at the last meeting.
*to assist in “getting the station you want”.
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 8of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
Les described how these devices appeared to “peak” the frequency rather than reject the one you
DON’T want! Using such a device, he was able to tune out 106.7 completely (this being a
problematic frequency for him). So, the question then is:
– is it either tuning out 106.2 or peaking 106.7?
There was some discussion about how RC circuits worked, whether in series or parallel. Dave D
advised that he would try to dig deep into the depths of his grey matter, and recall the theory behind
it for the benefit of all and for the record.
Jaycar was mentioned as a supplier where a kit used to be available. Les has an old paper on it, the so called NOTCH FILTER. More to come on this.
20. Society projects – ANTENNA TUNER
This was mentioned in passing following on from the NOTCH FILTER. The ANTENNA TUNER is a device to improve SWR, albeit with some insertion loss. It was noted that theses are NOT as good as circulators or cavity filters.
Les is to provide details on this matter.
21. J-POLE antennas seem to be in short supply
Robert H is again on the hunt for a J-Pole and asked if there were any available, to which Les replied in the negative. He did, however, note that one had been seen for sale on Trade Me.
However, at the time of writing, the only antenna found on Trade Me was:
LPFM Professional Dipole Antenna Brand new item
Start price: $265.00
No reserve No reserve
Closes: Wed 24 Apr, 10:42 pm
Listing #: 583992641
Ideal for LPFM Broadcasting, this NZ made professional Dipole antenna is ideal for use with LPFM systems.
Mounted clear from obstruction, this antenna will provide a good Omni Directional pattern.
Featuring rugged Aluminum construction, pole mounting clamp (25mm OD standard,
38mm or 48mm outside diameters avail on request), professional RG58 Coax (10m
standard other lengths on request) and a N type fitted plug.
This antenna is a ‘rig n go’ solution ideally matched for our BW TX1 and TX5
transmitters.
Unlike J-pole type antennas, this antenna is broadband and requires no tuning.
22. Society Projects – WOBBLE STICK (Dave Dingley)
Dave apologised for not being able to bring his “Wobble Stick” to the meeting and advised that he would try to make amends at the next meeting.
He also requested that anyone who had a “spare” car radio, or even a portable radio that might have an RSSI pin on the chip to bring it in.
RSSI = Relative Signal Strength Indicator
This section needs more information.
23. Cathode Ray Tube MONITORS sought (Bruce Grenville)
Bruce asked if anyone has a spare monitor.
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 9of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt
Patrick suggested “Computer Recyclers”.
http://www.computerrecycling.co.nz/
Computer Recycling Ltd
3 Southdown Lane
Penrose
Auckland
Ph (09) 5255518
Cell 027 611 3582
info@computerrecycling.co.nz
It was also suggested to search for the Trade Me seller “Graeme3” (Graham Torkler), as he often
sells this type of thing–(unable to locate this seller on Trade Me!).
The next EC meeting is been planned for: Tuesday 23rd April 2013
The meeting was declared closed by the Chairman at 20:52
Appendices:
• APPENDIX 1: NIL
End
22/04/2013 06:53:39 PM Page 10of 10 20130326 TSOLPFMBI 4th EC meeting.odt