The search for a new DX site for ZL6QH is over . . . and the news is not good. A year ago we reported on a potential new home on the coastal hills above Pukerua Bay – a little over 30 minutes drive north of downtown Wellington. This site was clear of RF noise and had excellent takeoff in all directions for a big DX signal!
But further checks confirmed that the site proved to be too narrow and steep (dropping to Cook Strait on the western side) to accommodate the vee-beams we need to deploy. And the huge updrafts promised to destroy any Yagi we assembled there, just as they were damaged 20km south-west at Quartz Hill.
We invited clubs further north (in the Manawatu) to join us in developing a site further north, but there was insufficient interest, and with driving times in excess of two hours each way to suitable sites, it was clearly not on for Wellingtonians alone.
Closer to home, beyond the Kapiti Coast where the Tararua ranges are more distant from the coast, there is potentially suitable land – but it is 90 minutes’ drive each way, and the land is either being farmed or subdivided for the creeping lifestyle block owners moving ever northward. Our assets don’t run to buying the multiple properties needed for even a moderate-sized DX station, let alone developing and maintaining one. So, we have decided to abandon plans for a major DX contest site for now and dispose of the physical assets we have been holding.
The “cashed-up” group will then look to assist DX operations (those with a ZL component) with an eye to helping develop something better than a “home station” site should the possibility arise within the next few years. No decisions have been reached on how to manage this, but a “trust” model is being considered. Progress will be reported on this website.
Doug McNeill ZL2AOV
Mike Woods ZL1AXG