The Wairarapa Radio and Zello Enthusiasts [WRAZE] group’s recent club meeting was filled with awards.
WRAZE members Ian Real, Josie Howells, Matthew Campbell and Brian Hart each won Echo Awards.
Echo Awards celebrate a club member making ‘first contact’ with fellow radio and Zello enthusiasts in New Zealand or overseas.
“The first member to see that person come on and make first contact gets an Echo Award,” Shaun Evans, WRAZE Net administrator and coordinator, said.
Ian Real’s VHF Radio Echo Award was for making two international contacts in one evening.
“We set up a Ham radio actually in the club rooms”, Evans explained.
Using the radio repeater on Mount Climie in Upper Hutt, Real first made contact with a radio enthusiast called Shuddhasatwa in Weaverville, a small town in North America.
Shortly after chatting with Shuddhasatwa for about eight minutes, Real made contact with a fellow Ian [Able] based in Rotherham, England.
Matthew Campbell took home the Longest QSO Award for the second time this year, with his contact in Wyoming, America, lasting 22.5 minutes.
“QSO is Ham talk”, Evans said. “Q codes are Ham radio shorthand, and a QSO is basically a communication between two operators.”
“It’s got to be acknowledged because it’s one thing to make contact with a person; it’s another thing to keep the conversation going”
Campbell and his American contact, Sam, a truck driver, “discussed multiple subjects. Naturally, some of the conversation was about trucks and haulage,” Evans said.
Brian Hart was the winter seasonal Bingo Net Champion, while Tara Jack and Doron Vernon won the raffle.
WRAZE also welcomed two new members, Matthew Ogg and Doron Vernon, who will get their own callsign – “like a number plate for a person”.
Club membership now stands at about 15 members, Evans said, and the club’s focus is to raise awareness of what WRAZE does and steadily grow the group.
“Even though we use [cell phone] technology, there is nothing better than using your voice rather than playing on tech,” Evans said. “That’s what we are trying to do: promote voice, promote people talking to each other.”
For further information contact net admin Shaun Evans:
06 377 5064.
