For Pacific Radio Amateurs

Conducted By Ex Zk-1-Ac/Vr-2-Ak.

(Address notes to P.O. Box 5179, Wellesley Street. Auckland, N.Z.)

ISLANDS HAMS: Let your Pacific

'leighbours know you’re active by

:hecking in on your favourite band

vith a CQ at 0100/0700/ 1900 z. Use if a known time will help you—

ind them.

Bound for Niue on November 24 per rOFUA from Auckland was Mr. E. Hick brd, lately of Wellington Radio, to take •ver the duties of Bill Scarborough, who eturned to New Zealand by the same vessel. Mr. Hickford, though not a ZL lam, plans to be on the air with a ZK2 all on 3.5/7/14 Mc/s, CW and phone, so iy the time these notes appear he should ilready have made himself known to lamdom with the 35-watt rig which he ook with him from Auckland. We ssume the call will be ZK2AC, though his was indefinite.

Claude Wight, ZL-l-CI, one of ZL’s lost active Hams, reported in November hat Roland d’Assignics, FOSAD, on Rapa as been putting an excellent 80-metre hone and CW signal into ZL in recent reeks. Doug, ZK-l-BG, contacted Roland » make his 80-metre tally up to 14 ountries worked. Two powerful Japanese ignals, giving QTH’s as Tokyo—but ossibly operating mobile maritime from shing or other Japanese vessels in the outh Pacific, have also been recently card on 80-metres in ZL.

Claude had a rumour that VR3C on anning, unheard on the air for a long ime, had been hit by a heavy storm, but here seems to be no other evidence to iibstantiate the story. It has been ecently reported that another YR3 signal lay shortly show up—none other than Id friend W7FNK/FOBAI wearing another Use moustache as he cruises the Pacific i his yacht GEMINI—at least we assume hat Jack and his yacht are both to be t VR3-land. Possibly he is heading south gain for French Oceania. GEMINI was ist reported at Honolulu north-bound >me months ago.

Mobile maritimers are not no popular ith the DXers but it could be that Jack ill set up station ashore. We have ritten to a contact man in Honolulu for arther details so there may be more to eport next month.

Another ZK-1 signal should soon appear N. R. Ashwell, lately of Auckland adio, NZ, carries out his announced lans. Though not a ZL Ham, his in entions were, on leaving Auckland per IAUI POMARE November 14, to become ne on arrival at Rarotonga. Friends at uckland Radio said he would use .5/7/14 Mc/s CW. Mr. Ashwell replaces •an Maher, not a Ham, who returned to ew Zealand after several years at Raro mga Radio, during which period he was istrumental in inaugurating the local idio press sheet for distribution to the üblic on Rarotonga.

Willie Schutz, formerly ZK-l-AL, and ecently skipper of the GEIC Government essel KIA KIA in the Gilberts, is ex ected in Auckland (without his ship)

in December to attend navigation school.

While there an attempt will be made to reconvert him to the ranks so that more might be heard of YR-1 in future, even if only a mobile station. Willie had the unnerving experience of having a Japanese bayonet slammed through the dial of his receiver as he transmitted the news of the Japanese wartime landing in the Gilberts. By playing the simple little boy—he wasn’t much more than that at the time—he somehow escaped a fate that met other civilian radio men there at the time.

No reports of VR-1 signals have been seen for a long time, though the American Call Book of a year ago lists eight licensed stations in the Gilberts and Phoenix Groups. News from the area is hard to come by—despite letters to likely quarters.

From “Micronesian Monthly” of August, just to hand, we quote the following des patch from Yap, Western Carolines: “The Radio Amateurs’ Club of Yap is now in session. If any of you visit us and see someone coming down the road jerking his head from side to side erratically, or mumbling to himself, he isn’t nuts, he’s just practising his CW . . . We have Hatch (Dick Hatcher, in charge of the local communications station) to teach us and we shall have about six people tak

ing Ham exams very shortly. In case anyone ever happens to be scanning the dial and hears KC6IY sounding off buddy, that’s us (Steve Spurlin). Dick, who has KC6AA, is the first Ham to operate from Yap ...” From which

it seems that there soon may be some more KC6 signals on the beginner bands ere long. The call KC6KU has recently been reported on 7 Mc/s.

Late November a report reached Auck land (see Smallships Notes) that Tom Davis—formerly ZK-l-AN and last heard on the air from his yacht MIRU as she battered her way eastward from Welling ton in June 1953—has lost his yacht, adrift from her moorings at Boston in a violent storm. Tom and family were re ported planning to sail back to their home island of Rarotonga.

A recent announcement by the Post Office in New Zealand that they are now accepting commercial traffic for Pitcairn Island seems to suggest that at long last Floyd McCoy has got something on the air. It seems just possible that he may also now appear on the Ham bands, as forecast a year ago when he departed from Auckland, under his callsign VR6AC. A VR6 will be good news for the DX men—and another possible country for that keen 80-metre huntsman ZK-l-BG, who is almost a neighbour.

We have written to Floyd for the latest news.

With the world’s DX men apparently keener that ever, it is surprising that they have not got together to finance the sending of an operator to the more out landish spots for a month or two to satisfy their QSL requirements. Volunteers for the job should not be hard to find.

Many a W would gladly pay a dollar or two for a VR6, CE-O, or even a VRS confirmed QSO. It’s just a thought!

fi Mr. R. R. C. Caten, Assistant Public Relations Officer in Fiji, resigned from the position and left the Colony in November to settle in W. Australia. Mr. Caten had been in Fiji Government service since 1924, in the Supreme Court Registry, Supply and Production Board as Secretary and, since 1948, in the Public Relations Office. His

place in Fiji has been taken by Mr. J. S. Thomson, recently in the Department of District Administra tion.

If Miss Hilda Billings, of Labasa, Fiji, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G.

Billings, has announced her engage ment to Mr. W. B. Davis, of Napier, NZ.