Broadcast - 30 July 2023
As this item was penned late on Friday, the NTARC Safety Communications crew has already travelled to Lebrina, encountering a deluge of rain, to prepare for Saturday’s Equine Endurance Ride. We have established our Ride Base, set up a 2 meter repeater for voice communications and trialled communications to field check points in readiness. If it is Sunday when you hear this then hopefully we have packed up and are making our way back to Launceston.
The annual RSGB Islands on the Air contest is this weekend.
This international event is being held from 12:00 UTC Saturday to 12:00 UTC Sunday on HF bands.
Tasmania’s “Island Stations” ID is OC006 - Oscar Charlie Zero Zero Six.
Seeing that we are an island then one could assume VK7 could provide some “sought after” contacts. If you are listening to this on Sunday then you still have another twelve hours or so to go.
This reminder came from Peter VK7KPC, so we have a fair idea what he will be up to after the broadcast. HiHi
Further developments on Nic VK7WW’s “Cent” 1 Watt CW Transmitter project. There is now a VFO project which makes an excellent addition to the original crystal locked design. The new pdf has been added to the NTARC Website under “Projects”. It has been tried and tested and works very well using easy to find parts. Construction is still low stress and quite achievable. One can only wonder what Nic’s next instalment will be with this Centenary project. Watch this space.
Tech Night has arrived again and Peter VK7KPC, brought in his latest acquisition. Made in Australia by Traeger Transceivers Pty Ltd in Adelaide South Australia. It is a Type-SSB50 Transceiver, circa 1970 and came with full schematic diagram and alignment manual. However, like most obtained paperwork it is not the exact version of the model that you have in front of you and there is no overlay diagram of the actual position of the pots, capacitors or coil slugs that you need to adjust. Let’s face it, it adds to the fun, especially if it needs some repair work. Operating mode is switchable between Single and Double Side Band and the unit operates in the HF band. One of the manually selectable channels in this unit was 4010 KHz for the Royal Flying Doctor service. Internally the unit is totally modular with plug in Printed Circuit Boards. These boards utilise the actual copper at one end of the board etched into tracks or fingers, and the board is then pushed into a McMurdo edge connector receptacle to complete the connections. A solid state unit with a valve final and a couple of the original circular integrated circuits thrown in for good measure.
Hopefully Peter, the restoration process will be simplified if you can lay your hands on some overlays identifying component placement.
If Traegar Transceivers don’t ring a bell to you, then I will digress briefly. Traeger Transceivers Pty Ltd was founded in 1927 by Alfred Hermann Traeger OBE. He was also an amateur radio operator VK5AX. Within the first year Traeger had developed a pedal powered transceiver for the Rev Dr John Flynn, of the Royal Flying Doctors fame. The company continued to gain recognition for its ground-breaking work in developing an uncomplicated radio communication system tailored for individuals in remote outback areas. This backbone was utilized by the Australian inland Flying Doctor service and the rest, as they say, is history.
From restoration of the old to a new build with old parts. Colin VK7ZCF had a requirement for Lithium batteries with tabs, so rather than buy new batteries he thought of an alternative idea that could be more fun. That was to build a spot welder from parts he had lying around and use that to attach some tabs. He did just that! And brought the rather nifty spot welder in for us to peruse. The heart of the unit is a second hand microwave oven transformer. He removed the secondary winding and wound on some very substantial conductors for a few turns, this provided the grunt. Flexible leads were provided that went to an elegantly constructed wooden handle. This in turn held two solid 4mm copper rods that were the welding electrodes. They were filed to a point at the ends to provide the actual contact when spot welding. Colin incorporated a push button switch in the handle assembly that started a 200 milliseconds ON timer to energise the transformer via a relay. All this was very neatly enclosed in a newly cut and bent up home-made case, from a piece of scrap sheet metal. Now isn’t that true home-brewing? Well done Colin.
Andre’ VK7ZAB had his “Tiny SA” Spectrum Analyser with him, not on display but to display a brand new RF signal in the Launceston area. The new signal is in the 206MHz area and is the testing of the ABC’s new Digital Audio Broadcasting Plus service for the Launceston area, or DAB for short. This was later backed up by the actual test channels audio being listened to on a car radio in the car park. Looks like the new service will be rolled out in a few months.
An excellent night and as usual the equipment pictures are available on the NTARC Web site under “Blogs” for this broadcast. Now back to the house keeping.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The TestNet and TechNet session - Wednesday the 2nd of August. TestNet/CW course on 3.580MHz from 7pm till 7.30pm…. and a TechNet on 3.567MHz from 7.30pm till about 8.30pm. Your host for the evening will be Nic VK7WW.
Coffee Morning - held every Friday in the NTARC Club rooms. Time is from 10am to noon and we look forward to seeing you all there. Why not pop in and join us for a cuppa, there is endless tea and coffee along with biscuits available for a donation.
The Club Technical night - The next session will be on Wednesday the 9th of August and will commence at the new winter time of 6.30 pm. That’s a one hour earlier start and running through to about 10.00 pm, at the Club room Archer Street, Rocherlea.
Club General Meeting - Saturday the 12th of August at 2.00pm. Held at the NTARC Club Room, Rocherlea Scout Hall, Archer Street, Rocherlea. If you have items you would like added to the agenda please email the secretary at: secretary@ntarc.net no later than Friday the 11th of August.
FINALLY - A reminder to all members that if you have any items of news you would like added to our weekly roundup, no matter how trivial, then please email them to the Secretary at the following address news@ntarc.net all items to be received no later than 5pm on the Friday prior to the Broadcast.
That’s all folks,
73 from Stefan, VK7ZSB, Secretary NTARC Inc.
