The Ham Shack

12/06/2026

09/06/2026

See you tomorrow 10th on 7.085mhz at 2pm NZ time. We have not done [ZLP/CB-0704] Nunweek Park Recreation Reserve before and Rick 3RIK has said me might join us.

73's

Greg

07/06/2026

Just a heads up.

19th June to 13th July

We are moving home/premises and the factory shortly but due to some unexpected changes everything will have to be in storage for three weeks, this means that The Ham Shack's website will be online but no orders will be taken or processed during this time.

My phone is on and I will respond to emails as always, but please accept our apology for any inconvenience. We will be trading until the 19th of June and will be operational again from the 13th of July.

With all stock in storage we will be unable to undertake any deliveries between the 19th June and 13th July so please place your order before this time to minimize any disruption.

Since there are no alternatives at this time I have decided to take a few days off and go to NSW and do some POTA activations, so any hams around NSW please email me if you want to meetup.

73's Greg
[email protected]

Send a message to learn more

05/06/2026

We should be doing this.

Getting the kids interested in radio.

I went back to the Сhildren’s Summer Camp again.
It's not an easy task to explain what our multifaceted hobby means to children who have never heard of it. But I did my best. First I gave a Ham Radio slides-presentation. Then we moved straight to Ham Radio Portable practice.🤓

What surprised me: so many kids confidently answered my questions — about Radio, geography, even the ones where you had to build a logical chain. That truly warmed my heart 💚

But the most special moment… Watching them pick up the microphone and make their very first QSO, voices trembling. So touching!🤗

Incidentally, today we had a few brave guys who checked their first QSOs in English! Thank you so much to all the stations that responded!💓
Do you remember your first QSO? Why is it so exciting to have a very first radio contact?😉

04/06/2026

[INFO] VP0SG – South Georgia Island.

https://www.dx-world.net/vp0sg-south-georgia-island/

https://www.ardxpeditions.com/dxpeditions/vp0sg

03/06/2026

Birthday Donation

Morning

Since The Ham Shack has turned 1 year old and since I believe that babies can use any help they can get (I have been a pediatric blood donor for years) we have made a donation to an organization called HeartKids.

I keep all personal donations anonymous but I want the community to know we are trying to make a small difference to the kids born with heart defects.

Since we supply to both NZ and OZ this donation went to OZ. There is a guy called Nathans Lawns and Gardens who is pushing a lawn mower 45km to raise money for HeartKids and the fund is over $100k so I chose to support his efforts and HeartKids.

Lets all be the difference we want to see in the world.

73's
ZL1GUD

02/06/2026

It's time for some winter fun.

02/06/2026

All I am trying to do is make the hobby appealing and of interest to the public. With around 400 active amateurs in NZ (probably around 200) anyone who thinks that this is a money spinner is delusional.

The magazine has been very well accepted and after the weekend I realised there is a LOT more that can be done, and so my mission is to do all those things. I cannot work in an environment where everything has to be approved by a committee.

There are 2 new events with prizes which will happen in September and November, if all goes well a BIG event mid May next year and a ZL trip in 2027 to one of the International Hamvention events (not sure which one yet). The first three are free and the last one we will provide all the info and you can book yourself and join us on the adventure.

There will also be a DX-Pedition type event which will be open to some of the most active POTA enthusiasts. Again you pay your own costs to the airline/venue, etc. we don't want your money.