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

neighbours know you’re active by

checking in on your favourite band with a CQ at 0100/0700/1900z. Use of a known time will help you—and them.

By the time these notes appear there should be two more Cook Islands stations on the air.

In Rarotonga, Nat Bradley, who is in charge of the ionisphere research station there, was preparing a VFO for an ap pearance in early May on 80 metres CW —a band which has been actively em ployed by Doug Berry, ZK-l-BG, for the past couple of years, as probably the most active 80 metre station in the Islands. Nat’s call is ZK-l-BH. Though licensed for a long time past, he has not been active.

At Aitutaki Tony Aldridge, in charge of the aeradio station, was awaiting official confirmation of his license before appearing, probably on 20 metres, phone and CW, under his old call—ZK-l-AM.

N. R. Ashwell, at Rarotonga Radio, now seems unlikely to set himself up with a Ham station during his sojourn in the Cooks.

Doug—ZK-l-BG, with a steadily in creasing tally of countries worked on 80 metres CW, is keen to work other Island stations on this band. Usual hours of operation: 0600-0900 GMT, at the low end of the band.

From Roy , Taylor—VK9AU, came a newsy letter dated early April. After leave in Australia Roy was back on the air from Lae at time of writing, but ex pected to transfer to Wewak during April and remain there for the next 18 months, with 30 watts to an 807 into a dipole on 20, and a Windom on 40, using CW and phone on both bands.

Roy reports that Frank VR4AE, of Honiara, passing through southbound for Sydney, left news that VR4AB should be appearing on a 20 metre crystal frequency—l4,o4o kc/s—soon.

Roy also reports that FKBAE and FKBAO have been putting good signals into Lae—also VR3A at Fanning. ZK-l-BI at Rarotonga. VR2CG in Fiji, and JZ-O-KF—all on 20 metres.

Roy was told by PA-O-NU that his brother is JZ-O-YN. He wonders whether anyone has been hearing this latter Dutch New Guinea station.

Other interesting stations heard and worked include SMBBZU in the Swedish ship “Mirrabooka” who has been causing some excitement and annoyance by fail ing to append MM to his callsign, and the apparently illegal station X-l-NP, said to be operating from an unnamed yacht off the North Queensland coast, and very active. QSL’s to the latter can go via VK9YY, Alan Smith, who, incident ally, is one of the most active New Guinea stations, also based at Lae, Roy would like to hear some more 40metre activity in the middle of the day from Island stations. There are plenty of good signals on that band at night, bus QRN usually mars contact. Roy feels that some of the KG6 and KC6 stations, and others, might come through well dur ing daylight hours.

As reported in the “Smallships Notes,” the German yacht “Xarifa,” earlier re ported as heading westwards into the Pacific after calling at the Galapagos,

has now returned to Panama and the Atlantic.

A recent “Amateur Radio” contains an item of interest to Islands oldtimers, in reporting the death of Clyde de Vinna.

W6OJ, who, as chief cameraman for the filming of “White Shadows in the South Seas”, in French Oceania many years ago, and also “Treasure Island”, “Trader Horn” and “Eskimo”, operated under the call-sign FK6CR, FKfiBAM and K7UT while on location.

During the filming of “Eskimo” K7UT played the lead in one of the most extraordinary real-life dramas ever asso ciated with amateur radio. A New Zealand station in Morse contact with a lighthouse QTH, noted that his sending was becoming sluggish and eventually ceased entirely, and made an urgent call for any other Alaskan station. It happened th*t a station in Hawaii, which had a schedule with such another station, happened to hear this call, responded, made contact with the other Alaskan, who rushed to KIUT’s QTH some miles away, arriving just in time to save de Vinna from being fatally gassed by a stove in his tent. That was back in 1932.

If you’ve been hearing ZK4AC, “Paul”, who claims to be located at Penrhyn Island in the Northern Cooks, we can say that he’s not there. The call would in any case be ZK-1. This one is believed to be possibly an ex-American serviceman formally stationed there, and some believe he is identical with the ZK-I-AT pirate and possibly is the same man who was

using ZLSAA for a time. He has recently been active with the ZK4 call on iO metres CW.

We hear that Clipperton Island’s very temporary Ham appeared oh the air according to plan under call FOHAJ—with W-O-NWX behind the key—and closed

again, perhaps for ever, after a day or so. on April 25.

ZL-l-AJU, with the temporary call VK9OK. has been very active on 80 metres CW while on vacation at Norfolk Island: but will probably have returned to ZL ere this appears.

Little seems to have been heard of VR6AW. Anderson Warren, who showed up briefly on 3024 kc/s—outside the legal band—some time back. We understand from Doug—ZK-l-AB, however, that more will be heard of this Pitcairn station ere long.

Apia, May 21.

Apologies for incorrect information on Aitutaki in April notes. We were off the beam in reporting Bill Jones, former ZK-l-BD. as having returned there.

ZK-l-AM as here reported, is the new man at that location.

At Apia, Les Heid, late ZL-l-AJJ. of the Bank of New Zealand staff, has appeared with the call ZM6AS. ARC-.Vs on 40/80 metres CW are supplying the signals—and a fresh opportunity for the overseas CW DX men.

An April guess that ZM6AQ is ZMOAP’s XYL was also incorrect. AQ, Ivan, is Brian’s father, who has joined the newly established radio servicing business.

U Senator Roy Kendall, well known

in New Guinea, is an entrant in the

Australian Redex Reliability Trial.

He will try to drive a Rover 75

right round Australia.

<1 Mr. W. G. Johnson, managing

director of Messrs. W. R. Carpenter

<Fiji i Ltd., spent a busy two weeks

recently in Sydney, Melbourne and

Adelaide and returned to Fiji by

plane on June 1.