The Wellington Amateur Radio Club is dependent on subscriptions from members of the Quartz Hill Supporters Group and other donations to cover the ongoing costs associated with the future development and maintenance of the station facilities. These costs include rent, power and purchase of antenna materials such as aluminium, guy-wire, antenna wire, and other hardware such as bolts, shackles and thimbles.
Membership of Quartz Hill Supporters Group
The Quartz Hill Supporters Group is part of the Wellington Amateur Radio Club Incorporated (WARC), NZART Branch 50. Membership of the Group is open to anyone interested in radio and is subject to the approval of the WARC Quartz Hill Committee.
All members are encouraged to assist with the routine maintenance of the site, where this is feasible. This includes basic house keeping at the station itself as well as work on the antenna farm.
Membership of the Quartz Hill Supporters Group is by annual subscription. Subscriptions are due on 1 May each year. The current subscription is NZ$10.00.
To join the Quartz Hill Supporters Group, simply:
(1) Print out the the application form (Click)
(2) Complete the details and sign the form
(3) Post with a personal cheque to:
Quartz Hill Finance Manager
Wellington Amateur Radio Club
PO Box 6464
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
The cheque is to be made payable to 'WARC Inc Quartz Hill'. Note that the amount on the cheque can be in either New Zealand Dollars or a foreign currency (after allowing for the exchange rate).
Alternatively the payment can be direct credited to the Quartz Hill bank account as follows:
Account Number: 060577 0121800 03
Bank: National Bank of NZ
Branch: Wellington South, New Zealand
Account Name: WARC Inc Quartz Hill
For Electronic Funds Transfer, please quote the following information to your bank :
SWIT Code: ANZBNZ22 IBAN No: 060577012180003
Please send an email to Finance Manager to confirm the date and amount of any payment to the bank account.
Donations
If you do not wish to become a member but would like to make a donation, then please forward the donation in the form of a personal cheque or a direct credit to the Quartz Hill bank account, as explained above for membership subscription payments.
Other
Please note that all subscriptions and donations are gratefully received and will be acknowledged. Any enquiries should be addressed to the Finance Manager.
We held one final working bee at Quartz Hill on Saturday 19 June 2010. The main task was to clean up the area where the crane had got bogged down while moving the containers on the previous weekend. Everything worked out according to plan. Even the weather was kind, with only the odd spot of rain and a rather balmy 15 degrees!
Above: After the clean up at Quartz Hill
After completing the work at Quartz Hill, the team travelled to the RNZ premises at Titahi Bay. At Titahi Bay we helped Greg Lochmann ZL1ALH move the Marconi HR21 receiver from one of our containers onto his trailer. Greg is taking the receiver back to his QTH with a view to eventually restoring it to a working state.
Above: The Marconi HR21 receiver
While at Titahi Bay we also took the opportunity to restack our steel mast sections, in order to improve access to one of the hatch doors leading to the area beneath the building.
Many thanks to the team who came out on Saturday - Brian ZL1AZE, Bernard ZL2BD (and XYL), Sil ZL2CIA, Mike ZL2VMH and Col ZL2COL.
We moved our two 20 foot containers from Quartz Hill to the Titahi Bay RNZ premises on Saturday 12 June. Two large container trucks were used to move the containers. One of the trucks included a side-lifting crane for loading and unloading the containers
However, Murphy was definitely not on our side. What should have been a straightforward half day task turned out to be a complex full day project!
The first challenge was encountered when driving up Opau Road to the wind farm entance. Contractors were digging up the road to lay a fibre optic cable, so we had to wait for their machinery to be moved before proceeding. Then one of our two container trucks then got stuck in the soft soil that had been left on the road. The truck was eventually freed by using one of the contractors' digging machines to help tow it out.
Above: Our side-lifting container truck gets stuck on Opau Road
Above: A tow helps to get the truck moving again
The next challenge was encountered when trying to position the side lifting container truck alongside the containers. The containers were located on a grass slope with a gentle slope. The combination of the slope and damp ground meant that the truck could not gain enough traction and eventually became stuck. The cab from the other truck eventually managed to pull the side-lifting truck back to firmer ground, but not without a struggle including breaking the tow rope at least once during the exercise.
At this point (around 10:30 am) we decided that it would be necessary to seek the assistance of a hiab crane on a 4WD truck. After a number of phone calls we managed to track down and book a Franna 'all terrain' crane from NZ Crane Hire. The good news was that the crane could be made available in the afternoon and joined us on site at around 2:00 pm. The crane was brought onto the wind farm site via the South Makara Road entrance as Opau Road was still closed.
We initially tried using the Franna crane to lift the heavier of the two containers. The driver reckoned this container weighed 7.5 tonnes which put it right at the working limit of the crane. The crane did manage to move this container a couple of metres, but could not move it any further due to the wheels bogging down in soft ground.
Above: The Franna crane attempts to pick up the 7.5 tonne container - note the rear wheels lifting off the ground
We then decided to divert our attention to the lighter container. It turned out that this container only weighed 3.5 tonnes, and the Franna crane was able to easily lift and load it onto the truck without bogging down.
Above: The Franna crane makes easy work of picking up the 3.5 tonne container
A new plan was then developed to move the 7.5 tonne container. This plan involved using the side-lifting truck to pick up the container, and then using the crane to help tow the loaded truck up the slope onto firmer ground. Fortunately this plan worked, and without mishap!
Above: Using the side-lifting cranes to pick up the 7.5 tonne container
The loaded trucks were then taken out via the South Makara Road entrance as there was still uncertainly about the accessibility of the Opau Road route. We reached Titahi Bay at about 4:30 pm and the containers were finally unloaded at around 5:15 pm, just before darkness closed in!
We are very grateful to the NZ Van Line contractors (Shane Sampson and Grant Issac) for the provision of the container trucks and staying committed to the task when the 'going got tough', NZ Crane Hire for making the Franna crane available at short notice, and First Security (Marcus) for assisting us with the site entry and exit arrangements.
Thanks also to Malcolm ZL2UDF, Frank ZL2TTS and Brian ZL1AZE who assisted with the operations. Of particular note was Frank's work in sweeping and vacuuming the interior of our area in the Quartz Hill building, while the containers were being loaded onto the trucks.
Radio NZ has kindly agreed to the short term storage of our assets at its Titahi Bay premises, while we are still working on plans to move to a new site. The steel masts were moved to Titahi Bay on Sunday 23 May, and the two containers will be moved in June. Unwanted items and other rubbish at Quartz Hill were also transported to the tip on 23 May.
Many thanks to Malcolm ZL2UDF, Brian ZL1AZE, Mike ZL1AXG, Bernard ZL2BD, Stephen Robbins ZL2TEE, Bob ZL2GF, Frank ZL2TTS and Andrew ZL2ACG who helped with the 'heavy lifting' on 23 May. It proved to be an excellent workout – much better than going to the gym!
We are also grateful to Malcolm ZL2UDF and NZ Van Lines for making a truck available to transport the steel masts and rubbish.
We have investigated numerous potential new sites in the Wellington region, but finding a site that meets most of our criteria is not easy! However, we are progressing work on some potential leads involving telecommunications sites, and are also liaising with the Wellington Regional Council on the possibility of using an area in the Belmont Regional Park (near the old WW2 ammunition bunkers).
Below: Our steel masts stowed at Titahi Bay
