New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters
Encyclopedia
The New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters, or NZART, is a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 of amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...

 enthusiasts in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. NZART represents New Zealand amateur radio operators nationally and internationally. NZART is a founding member of the International Amateur Radio Union
International Amateur Radio Union
The International Amateur Radio Union is an international confederation of national amateur radio organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union...

. NZART is an association of individual members, however those members are encouraged to form local branches.

Membership to NZART is voluntary. It is estimated that approximately 45% of New Zealand's licensed amateur radio operators are members. Members are represented by Councillors to the NZART Council, the executive body tasked with the business management of the association.

History

The New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters formed on 16 August 1926. In the same year, Gordon Smithson (Z1AF) made the first NZART broadcast. The first publication of Break-in, the NZART journal, was in 1928. In 1929 NZART became a more powerful organisation, joining the International Amateur Radio Union
International Amateur Radio Union
The International Amateur Radio Union is an international confederation of national amateur radio organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union...

 and successfully lobbying the New Zealand Government for a reduction in the compulsory licensing fees.

In 1934 the Association became an incorporated society and in 1982 their membership numbers reached a high of 4,397. The first NZART written submission to the New Zealand government was in 1989 and related to the proposed Radicommunications Bill. In 1998 the Association established the Radioscience Education Trust.

Governance

The NZART Council includes 12 executives. Three of these are the NZART President, Vice President, and Immediate Past President. Regional councillors are elected to represent different geographic regions of New Zealand: three from the Northern District, three from the Central District, two from the Midland District, and one from the Southern District. The number of Councillors in each district is roughly representative of the number of licensed amateurs that they are directly accountable to in their respective geographic areas.

The NZART Council works with an appointed NZART Business Manager. The Business Manager is the only person employed by NZART (20 hrs per week) and is tasked with the day-to-day business operations of the association, including manning their office, located in Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt is a satellite city of Wellington. It is New Zealand's smallest city by population, the second largest by land area. It is in Greater Wellington.-Geography:Upper Hutt is 30 km north-east of Wellington...

, near Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

.

Additional officers reporting directly to NZART Council include the National Director AREC, The Frequency Management Technical Advisory Group (FMTAG) and the Administration Liaison Officer (ALO), who is charged with liaison with the Radio Spectrum Management Group of the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development
New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development
The Ministry of Economic Development is a New Zealand public sector organisation tasked with promoting development of New Zealand's economy....

.

Relations with the New Zealand Government

The NZART has performed an advocacy function, commenting on policy and planning initiatives proposed by the New Zealand government in the areas of radio licenses, spectrum allocations for broadband wireless, and the future of digital communication. The Association also contributed to the creation of EMF exposure standards in their role as member of the NZ RF Standard Committee.

In 2006, the Ministry of Economic Development's Radio Spectrum Management division was assisted by NZART and the local Coastguard Boating Education Service in the creation of an update to the Spectrum Management and Registration Technology (SMART) which allowed people to search online for radio operator information including callsigns. In 2008, it was noted that there were some discrepancies between the SMART system and the callsign book produced by NZART.

Publications and services

The official journal of the NZART is Break-In, a bi-monthly publication containing articles of interest to the amateur radio community. Also, a bi-annual publication known as the Call Book provides an index of licensed amateurs in New Zealand by call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...

, providing addresses for the purpose of contact acknowledgement (QSL
QSL
QSL is one of the Q codes used in radiocommunication and radio broadcasting. A Q code message can stand for a statement or a question . In this case, QSL? means "do you confirm receipt of my transmission?" while QSL means "I confirm receipt of your transmission". Some also take it to mean "Query...

), as well as much other information useful to the New Zealand radio enthusiast. Other publications include Ham Shacks, Brass Pounders and Rag Chewers, a history of amateur radio in New Zealand, published in 1997 with assistance from the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs Historical Branch.

In 1980, NZART collaborated with author Jumbo Godfrey to produce a Basic radio training manual: a study course for the amateur radio operators.

The Association provides some educational services, such as providing demonstrative lectures on electromagnetic wave theory. Another service offered by the Association is to provide trained personnel and radio communications systems to Amateur Radio Emergency Communications, a group which liaises with the New Zealand Police and Civil Defense services in emergency situations.

Branches

Branches of NZART are generally radio clubs and related organisations, and are found across the country. The Branches facilitate the representation of individual members at a national level through the NZART National Conference. Most radio clubs are individually incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...

 and operate on a day to day basis independently of the NZART.

Southern District

  • The Otago Branch of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters Inc. Branch 30
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