Amateur Radio Clubs
    Reports and News on Club Events and Meetings

St George Amateur Radio Society - Report on visit to the Mt Bindo Repeater site on Sunday 15th April.

Update 2007-04-22
          
      The St. George Amateur Radio Society erected the 2 metre repeater on Mount Bindo in the Western Blue Mountains in the mid 1970’s. They have maintained the repeater for over 30 years but now its future is in doubt. The Repeater is on Crown Land leased from the state government. In the last two years the effective rent has increased from about seventy dollars ($70) per year to almost a thousand dollars per year ($1000). This more than ten fold increase is causing the St. George Amateur Radio Society to rethink their continued support for the repeater. A number of options for the repeater's future are being considered.

             Last Sunday an expedition was held to the Mt. Bindo repeater site in the western Blue Mountains. As well as five members of the St. George Amateur Radio Society, there were also twelve other amateurs who made the trip. They came from Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Bathurst, Orange and the local Lithgow and Oberon areas.

           For some the visit to the site brought back memories of long ago VHF field days during blistering hot summer days, or freezing mid winter nights. For others it was their first trip up the mountain.

           The history of the Mt. Bindo repeater site was told, from its initial inception in the mid 1970's until the present day. This included two separate instances where steel towers carrying a wind generator were cut down, through to the move to the present compound and tower in 1990.

            The present day problems with the more than ten fold increase in the effective lease payments were also discussed. There was unanimous opposition from those assembled to any idea of closing the repeater and offers of support were made to help bring the repeater back to full operation. A number of problems were noted and a working bee will be organised for these to be dealt with.

          A rescue plan was discussed and details will be made available once it is finalised. The plan involved both the political pressure to lower the effective annual lease and raising money to cover what payments are needed.

         So while the Mt. Bindo is not in danger of immediate closure, there are still problems to over come.

         A big thanks again to all those who made the trek to the mountain top and for those who apologies for being unable to attend and those who wished us well on our way.

        So if you would like an input into the future of the Mt. Bindo repeater, or just like to see what it looks like, then come along next Sunday. For more information contact Peter VK2EMU at vk2emu@wia.org.au , perhaps also contact him and let him know you are coming, so that we know how many billys of water to boil up.

This news submitted by Peter O’Connell VK2EMU, Publicity Officer
St. George Amateur Radio Society
 

        After a cup of tea and a bit of a chat, Brian continued the evening with a discussion of the general progress in and how to get new recruits into Amateur Radio, he also stressed that retention of new members was just as important. On the board he built up a business plan to illustrate the process.

A very interesting evening and good to meet up with old friends.
Report by Brian VK2TOX
 

Hunter Radio Group - Information day and “get together” last weekend at the Luskintyre Airport. 

      Looks like the members and guests of the Hunter Radio Group had a good time at their information day and “get together” last weekend at the Luskintyre Tiger Moth Airport. 

     This day was intended to foster good will in our group and Ham Radio in general, particularly in the Hunter Valley region. It was an educational day for Foundation people with hands on fox hunting events, technical lectures and a tour of the Tiger Moth museum at the airport. 

      It was one of the most successful radio events in the Hunter Valley for many years, judging by the response received so far. Grahame advises that he has placed photos of the days events on a couple of websites:

http://www.noelbailey.bigpondhosting.com/ 
Noel VK2BNP has loaded up some photos of the event to this web area.

http://www.vk2fdav.spaces.live.com/    
David VK2HDC's site, just select the Hunter Group event for a good selection of photos

This report from Grahame O'Brien VK2FA
 

Hornsby and Districts Amateur Radio Club (HADARC) - "Smith Charts" by John VK2ZOI

Update 2007-04-01
      Last Tuesday evening ( 27th March 2007) your scribe took the trip to the HADARC meeting at Mt Colah. First part of the night was the regular official Club meeting in which awards were presented to the crew who operated over the John Moyle Field Day event. After a cup of tea there followed an excellent presentation by John Bishop VK2ZOI on Smith Charts. He started off with a general discussion of complex impedance and transmission lines to get us all “up to speed”, then followed with an introduction to Smith Charts. In this he covered the various parameters that can be plotted on one of these charts. He then proceeded to illustrate the use of the Charts by solving a couple of very practical antenna problems. Firstly he determined the complex impedance of an unknown antenna on the end of a known length of transmission line. Then we followed him through the determination of the position and length of a matching stub on the feedline to an antenna.

       Thank you John for a very interesting evening, I understand the Club will also be running some practical workshop sessions on the subject. 

Report by Brian VK2TOX
 

     Traders and Flea Marketeers were there at the crack of dawn, even before the official starting time of 8:30am the Flea Marketeers were doing a brisk business. This is fair enough as it would be the only opportunity most of the people manning Traders stalls would get to check out the "stuff".
     Judging by the crowds and the happy faces everyone had a great time, especially the CCARC members who organized the event under the guidance and efforts of the Field Day Committee.
     Final preparations began late Saturday afternoon with the placement of signs and notices. The arrangement of chairs and setting up the data and projector display in the new seminar area. The setting up of the Trader and Exhibitor area with trestles and distributing 240V mains to those who required means of powering their equipment took about two hours of steady effort.
     Sunday started with a not so bright but early start (it is still dark around 3am) for club members required for the early organization on the day. Traders, Exhibitors and Flea Marketeers started to arrive from 6:30 am and busily set about organizing their stalls and displays. Their efforts were largely completed by 8:30 am when the public were allowed into the trading area.
     Traders were pleased with the overall response of amateurs and the public visiting their stalls. The exhibitors also had a busy day describing their various services and interests and answering a wide range of questions. The future of amateur radio was well served by several exhibitors responding to inquiries regarding the new Foundation Licence.
    
     The new seminar venue met with approval by all who attended. People appreciated the greater amount of space, the air conditioned comfort and the clear view to the screens.

    The day's elusive foxes were vigorously pursued by a baying pack of hounds all eager to be the first to find the fox. Thanks to the foxes, Brian and Allan.

     By 3:00 pm the day was mostly over, the greater level of activity involving the Traders, Exhibitors and Flea Marketeers packing up for the trip home. CCARC members were still busy around 5:00 pm with final cleaning up and removal of signs etc. The die-hard collectors doing a last round of the Flea Market to find that last bargain and doing some real good deals on items the operators did not want to take home.

    To top off the whole effort for the day we had inquiries regarding Flea Market stalls for the 2008 Field Day !!

    Central Coast Amateur Radio Club hope you had a great day at the clubs Central Coast Field Day at Wyong and look forward to seeing you again next year.

This information is mainly from a report by
Col VK2ZCO, Chair, Central Coast Amateur Radio Club Field Day Committee.

 

Coffs Harbour and District Amateur Radio Club - Annual Field day Sunday 21st January 2006
      
        The Club are having their 2007 Field Day on Sunday 21st January 2007 at St Johns Church Hall, McLean Street Coffs Harbor. Runs from 8.30am to 3.30pm Rain, Hail or Shine. This is a new location with new displays and new events. It will feature Trade Displays and Disposal Tables.

Main events include: Home Brew Competitions, Lucky Door Prizes, Foundation Licence  "RF Scramble"
                                    Best RF Equipped Vehicle, Home Brew Competition "RF category" and also an
                                    " Audio and Test Equipment category", Open "RF Scramble", Technical Trivia Quiz 

BBQ will run all day with plenty of Hot Food and Cold Drinks.

       Lots of free parking outside the venue and for those who are traveling the Formula1 Motel accommodation is just across the street. City shops (open on Sundays) only a 5 minute walk away  

Major Exhibitors include:- Andrews Communications, OzSpid Antennas and Rotators, Radio Supply Pty Ltd,
                                            ALARA   Display, National WIA, Representatives from ARNSW plus others....

Major Brands for sale include Diamond, Comet, Yaesu, Icom, Hustler, MFJ, Alinco, Avair,
                                                             TET-Emtron, Andrews, Maldol.

      Admission $5.00 per person and Trestle Tables NO CHARGE for disposals. Plenty of space, so bring along all your disposal items and sell them on the free tables, 

      Do you have a special interest you would like to exhibit, such as Fox Hunting, Home Brew, Microwave, QRP, why not set up a table to display your special aspect of the hobby, no charge for table, just let Gary know with an e-mail or phone call so space can be set aside. Clubs are encouraged to exhibit as well, free entry for two members manning a club display and free table and power provided. Also free power for displays 

Talk in frequency on the local repeater 146.650 MHz (IRLP 6625) 

Help spread the word about this new field day - when on air let everyone know about it ! 

For more information, book a table or trade display call the Field Day Coordinator, Gary Ryan VK2ZKT by phone on 02 6655 2990 or 0422 216 773, or send an email to radiosupply@bigpond.com    

Tim VK2ZTM from ARNSW is going to this event so hopefully we will get a report.
 

   
      Thanks to the Committee and members this was a great night. A fair trip down from Sydney (almost to the Monastery), but we "car pooled" and had a good chat on the way down. A welcome cup of tea at the Club house before the meeting and check-in with the members and visitors from all up and down the coast. Met up with the guys from Mid South Coast ARC and a number of other clubs in the South Coast area who are also members of Illawarra. A few visitors from Sydney clubs including the Homebrew Group were also there.

    When we got there a whole lot of tables set out for the auction had only TWO items laid out. We all thought "this is gona be interesting" but fortunately just before start a bunch of guys turned up with boxes of stuff and proceeded to fill all the tables, "that's more like it" we all thought.

    After a brief official meeting where Maeva (Club Secretary) handed out new Club Badges to financial members we got stuck into the auction proper. The auctioneer and his helper ripped through the items in a very professional manner but along the way made a rule that if an item did not fetch a bid, it got "bundled" with the next lot, this made for some interesting lots. A very nice Kenwood ATU did not reach its reserve and was withdrawn. Numerous commercial hand helds with chargers and mobiles of all kinds snapped up by the eager buyers. With these the auctioneer was very informative on if and how to convert them for Ham use. An un-repairable IFR Test Set went for a reasonable price and SOMEONE took home a beaut 600MHz Frequency Counter for a friend of the family price. A big box full of partially converted FM900s did not fetch a reasonable price, so the owner took it home again to finish the project.

    A couple of young FL holders (harmonics of those attending) were having a great time snapping up 50c and $1 items. Wonder what THEIR shack will be like by the time they get married.

    Once the auction finished, see the Treasurer, tot up what you have bought and pay for it, then get your "stuff" into the car. A final cuppa and chat with the guys, then off home.

Again thanks to the Committee, Club Members and visitors, a great night, see you all again next year.

Reported by Brian VK2TOX (ARNSW Experimenters and Homebrew Group)
 

   
      Well this very active Club are at it again, this time it is the Annual Field Day at their Teralba Club rooms. As usual a well organized and attended meeting with visitors from all over the state. Along with the boot and table sales of pre-loved “stuff” by members, visitors and the Club, there was the usual Club Auction held around mid-day.
    The Ambulance Service and WICEN setup static displays, chatted with visitors and handed out information. Also at the event were Andrews Communications with a well attended covered area, displaying and hopefully selling some of their wide range of Ham gear, accessories and antennas.
     The Clubs "For Sale" table was piled high with a huge range of "stuff" from wire, unfinished projects, PCBs, PC cards and a rather forlorn old service CRO (did anyone get it ??, I was going to get it just for the knobs, but sanity prevailed, dratts !!). Even better the very reasonable prices which as the day progressed went from "paper money" to "a gold coin" to "what you reckon its worth". Colin VK2YP and his mates kept pecking away at you with their bottomless ice cream container. Incredibly nearly four hours after the table opened enthusiastic Hams were still scratching around in its depths for "just that little bit" of something, that "someone" might have missed.
    
    Then came the Auction, again ably run by Colin VK2YP and his mates, they sure moved that huge table of everything from a boxed steam and dry iron (which turned out to be a box of modems, Crikey !! we can get lots a money for them !!) through Ham and Audio gear, some good microwave stuff (judging by the bids), a few choice bits of Ham and Test gear. Perhaps only one bit of gear withdrawn from sale because (Crikey!! so and so will have my guts if I sell it for that).
    On the left is a view of the Auction table before everything disappeared.

    All the while it seemed that half the Club members were occupied in making sure the visitors were well cared for. The famous "Westlakes BBQ" did a brisk business despite the heat. The lady with the drinks esky could not keep it full or get enough ice to cool the continuous flow of drinks to thirsty customers.
    Something I noticed and appreciated was that a few of the more senior members of the Club took the time to walk around, introduce themselves to the visitors and have a quiet chat.

    While still very interesting the boot sales were a little subdued on previous years, however the lack of volume was made up for by the good value and mostly !! realistic prices being asked for. I am sure most would have left empty or at least severely depleted.
    Great fun, facilities were good and the shaded areas of the Club house were appreciated especially by us older folks as the day got hotter.  After the Auction people started packing up and leaving, but I noticed a few die-hards still checking out the Clubs "For Sale" table and its depleted contents looking for that final bargain. You needed to be quite creative to figure out a use for some of the stuff by then, even if it was almost free. Here are a few "happy snaps" of the event my mate "developed" them from his digital camera.

On the left is your scribes collection of "just a few bits" of "stuff" he felt needed a good home.

    As the Clubs own web site says "If you don't turn up you will never know what you missed.” definatly applies to this event which is "must do" on any Hams calendar.  I am sure all who attended appreciate the effort that  Frank VK2FJL (Club President) and his Team along with the Club members put into this event, see you guys next year.

Reported by Brian VK2TOX (ARNSW Experimenters and Homebrew Group)
 

Westlakes ARC - "Westlakes Cup" 80m event (Saturday 23rd September 2006).


Following report from
Paul Linsley P29PL/VK2BPL
Contest Manager Westlakes Amateur Radio Club

     The Club held their “Westlakes CUP” an 80m event for Ham operators and SWL’s on Saturday 23^rd September with logs for the event due by 31^st October. Reports indicate that the members had a great time.  It was great to hear Jessica, VK2FJES in the Contest. She obtained her Foundation Licence at the Club last year when she was nine years old and now at the grand old age of ten has provisionally taken out First Prize in the Foundation Licence Section. Vince VK7VH holds provisional First Place in the Standard or Advanced Class.
     The contest went off very smoothly. When I enquired of my 'spy' as to anyone whom he had heard departing from the rules he dropped his head and said sadly ' You were the only one Paul who I heard not QSYing from your frequency after a Contact'. I was publicly 'whipped' last Saturday up against the Club's tower.
       It was also good to hear my old friend Vince VK7VH/P29VH in the Contest. We had a good conversation in Tok Pidgon before the Contest. Vince and I have spent a number of years together in PNG and often throw things into total confusion by breaking into PNG "Tok Place" with the slightest reason.