For Pacific Radio Amateurs

Conducted by Ex ZK-1-AC/VR-2-AK (Address notes to P.O. Box 179 W, Wellesley Street, Auckland, NZ.)

ISLAND HAMS: Let your Pacific

neighbours know you’re active by

checking in on your favourite band

with a CQ at 0100/0700/19002. Use

of a known time will help you— and them.

Your scribe—ZL-l-AlK—using an AKC > vfo., CW only at present, on 7 mc/s, (rill look for Islands calls from Hams irith contributions for this column at 0700 SMT most week-nights. • Most interesting signal of the month, ind most mysterious, was FOSAI, lurrently listed as belonging to French Iceania’s airway company, Air Tahiti, leception was generally poor in Auckland tut the station appeared to be operating rom an American-owned yacht lying at rakaroa, Tuamotus. At time of publica ion the name of the yacht is still un :nown, though the operator aboard is dieved to be W7HNK. That call is acant in the latest call-book, and is vidently now held by a new owner, first ame Jack.

This yacht came from the Pacific Coast y way of Honolulu and all the inhabited stands of the Marquesas, to its present |TH. Plans are to carry on to Tahiti i April, thence back to the States via

the Leeward Islands and Hawaii. FOBAI has been active on 14.3 mc/s (vfo) around 0600 Z, working KH6 and VK2. Medical advice for a sick Takaroan was being collected from a VK2 doctor on one occasion late March. The FOB call was causing plenty of interest with the card hunters. Details next month. • From Pitcairn Island comes a letter from Floyd, VR6AC, who left Auckland late last November with the declared in tention of appearing on 14 mc/s phone by Christmas. Floyd’s 5-tube receiver has “had it”. The transmitter is functioning OK and a new receiver will soon be going forward from Sydney, so perhaps by mid-Winter the rare VR6 call will make itself heard. We can picture the DX-men queueing already!

Meanwhile, with radio off the agenda, Floyd lately made the 75-mile open-boat journey, with a couple of surf boats, 25 Pitcairn men, seven women and eight children to uninhabited Oeno atoll, on a picnic jaunt for coconuts, clam shells and ornamental branches of coral for the curio trade. A few days were spent there, then the party returned after “a change and a real good time”. • Next came a letter from Phil Palmer,

VR3C, of Fanning:—whose middle name, so he says, is Radio but definitely not DX Radio. A ragr-chewer at heart, Phil is inflicted with a call of such rarity that every time he shows his nose on 14 mc/s his own and his prospective rag-chewing companion’s frequencies are swamped with the eager huntsmen. Result: Phil, “ham

strung”, is confined to the laboratory, attempting to develop an Automatic QSOer that will contact the DX-hounds on one frequency while he, on another, talks shoes and ships and sealing wax with his friends and others prepared to talk. • ZK-l-AB, Dough Cunnold, due to re turn to Rarotonga per March sailing of Maui Pomare, took another month’s leave to fully recover from a throat operation lie underwent since coming to New Zealand on leave. No news was available late March of the new ionisphere observer for ZK-1; and whether or not he’s a Ham. Max Armstrong, lately operating as ZK-l-AC at Aitutaki, returned to Wellington in March, his radio job com pleted. • Alan, VK9YY, expressed the belief here in February that he and VK9FM, of Madang, where the only two active T.N.G. stations. Perhaps this had its effect, for late March we heard Bob on Iwo Jima —KA-O-IJ, only Iwo Jima station—in 14 mc/s phone contact with Ron Chugg, VK9-RC, also of Madang. The VK9 was Inaudible in Auckland. • Nadi has another active 3.5/7/14 jmc/s Ham back on the job. Jack Paton, one of Fiji’s first post-war stations, should again appear with his old call -sign VR2AC. He took up a new three -years assignment at Nadi Aeradio early March. • New stations listed: J. T. Carr, VK-l-JC on Heard Is.; VK9DS, D. B.

Schroder, C/o D.C.A., Port Moresby; VK9MT, M. Tie, C/o D.C.A., Port Moresby.

Bob Black, VK2QZ, headed back for New Guinea late February, we understand, so he may be assumed to be active as portable VK9 by now. VK-l-RG, formerly of Macquarie Is., was understood to be returning there last February. VK-l-EM, who has been using the same gear, was to return to VK. • The W/VE contest during March indi cated that conditions may not be quite as

bad as they normally seem. Outside the contest period few 14 mc/s sigs were heard in Auckland. The best, as in recent months, were North Pacific-Japan, as beard during mainly early evening; listening. Stations heard or known to be active were: FOSAI, KA-O-IJ,

Ka2Fc/Hp/Jf/Us, Ka3Af, Kasst,

Ka7Sr, Kabab, Kg6Aay/Abn/Acs/Aej/

Aep/Fa, Kj6Ax, Kr6Lj, Kw6Bb/81,

9RC, ZM6AA. Wake Is., we note, is oming reorganised. Other sources re t VR-l-F as recently active—QTH iton Is. inal note: We recently heard an mds station remarking that an item It appeared in this column regarding station was “well out of focus”. ;es from all quarters are warmly corned and will ensure that we keep per cent, in focus.

English author Raven Hart, of ylon, left Auckland per March fua for Fiji. He planned to visit

; Yasawas and, later, Vavau, in

nga.