Broadcast - 25 April 2021
This news is coming to you on Anzac Day, a national day of remembrance in both Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". So to those amateurs listening and particularly to those veterans among you, we wish you all the best on this day of remembrance.
Again, another great attendance at coffee morning last Friday. This is great to see, considering that the weather is turning and winter is fast approaching. Thankfully Skywarmer is doing his job beautifully and keeping us warm.
Last Wednesday 21st April 2021 was Tech Session at the club rooms so I will hand it over to Idris VK7ZIR to provide a rundown of the night’s activities;
“Another chilly evening as winter approaches, but as the room filled up with warm bodies, and the fire was lit, it was all rosy. The coffee helped too.
Ross VK7ALH brought in a Yaesu FTV-901R VHF/UHF transverter with 2 modules and mains powered, so no power supply needed. Ross also showed us a Band Pass Filter board from an Icom IC 9100 he was repairing. The board had a lot of SMD components and Ross suspected a tiny IC with 6 ports. He now has to reinstall the board and attach some equally tiny wires to the board for testing. Good luck Ross!
Peter KPC had 2 military radios on the 6 metre band, one standard size made by Sentinel Electronics, and one very small set of German origin. With the covers removed, we all admired the solid modular construction, designed for quick repairs in the field. The accessories are always a fascinating part of these radios and there were different antennas and telephone style handsets. One interesting accessory was a flexible antenna designed to be mounted on a helmet. Peter is now looking for compatible NATO style helmet. Thanks Peter.
Congratulations to Ian who informed us his callsign VK7IG has appeared on the ACMA database. Lewis still waiting for his results and callsign verification.
While collecting an item from downstairs in the big hall, Idris VK7ZIR noticed that everything was in a bit of a mess. It transpired that a possum had come down the chimney and was wreaking havoc. It had taken refuge in our component store, no doubt looking for that hard-to-get part. The hall doors were opened and we left it to its own devices. After checking later, the possum had exited of its own accord. Now for the cleanup!
Peter ZPE showed a tiny Yaesu VX-1 dual band handheld. It had been dropped and damaged the battery compartment. Peter had fixed it by moulding some epoxy over the damaged area, so now it works perfectly. Such a tiny radio made more useful with a speaker/mic.
Towards the end of the evening, Bernie VK7BR held a discussion on the properties of light, touching on quantum physics. Very interesting.
That’s all folks until next time.
73, Idris AX7ZIR”
And now over to Nic VK7WW who has repurposed the TestNet and TechNet sessions and he says;
“As from next week, starting Wednesday 28th April, I am going to run a “Slow Morse Course”, probably for two months if the interest is there...as a Club project under VK7TAZ, or my own call, as appropriate.
Usual times and frequencies same as the TestNet and TechNet.
Participants should learn TWO Letters of the alphabet each day....and be able to “say them” in dits and dahs, a good way to do this is looking at car rego plates, for example the letter ‘D’ is “dah di dit”
By the end of each week, between Morse Course Sessions, participants may have learned 12 characters. Then it’s time to practice them on air.
I will be explaining “how to have a contact” and the procedures and protocols. For those who may want some extra help, this website is reported as being very good. www.morsecodeclassnet.com
73, Nic AX7WW”
Item of interest – the following is courtesy of Peter VK7KPC;
“As you are activating your AX7 callsign today please keep an ear out for stations calling CQ AMRO. This is the Australian Military Radio Operators weekend running from Saturday through till Monday evening.
Amateurs will be attempting to contact others using their ex-military radios, some dating back as far as WW2. Modes will be CW, AM, SSB (possibly upper sideband on 80 and 40m) and maybe TTY. Many military radios only had upper sideband, so be prepared to switch if necessary.
Further info can be obtained from the VK5WT website or the link in the text version of the broadcast, http://users.on.net/~tosty/AMRO/AMRO-2021.htm
Regards, Peter AX7KPC”
UPCOMING EVENTS
SLOW MORSE COURSE – First session Wednesday 28th April, your host and teacher will be Nic VK7WW. Usual times and frequencies, same as the TestNet and TechNet. So why not tune in and give it a try.
TECH NIGHT – Wednesday 5th May at the NTARC Club rooms 19:30 hours until whenever. Continuous tea and coffee will be available, although a gold coin donation for the evening would be appreciated
TECH NIGHT – Wednesday 19th May at the NTARC Club rooms 19:30 hours until whenever. Continuous tea and coffee will be available, although a gold coin donation for the evening would be appreciated.
JUNE GENERAL MEETING - Saturday 12th June commencing at 14:00 (2:00 pm). Further information on this meeting will be advertised in forthcoming weekly broadcast news.
COFFEE MORNINGS – currently held every Friday in the NTARC Club rooms. Catch up time is from 10.00 am to noon and we look forward to seeing you all.
These coffee events in the past have been normally a good opportunity to collect your QSL cards. Currently we have a few cards awaiting collection from past deliveries.
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 me at the following address ntarc.emails@gmail.com, all items to be received no later than 17:00 on the Friday prior to the Broadcast.
Your continued cooperation in this regard will be greatly appreciated.
We will bring you all such contributions next Sunday morning.
73, Yvonne AX7FYMX, Secretary NTARC Inc
