AREG July 2025 Meeting – “Contest Station Planning and Design” by Grant VK5GR

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The next AREG meeting will be held on Friday the 18th of July at the Fulham Community Centre – Phelps Court, Fulham. (Not at last month’s venue in St Peters – we’ll probably be back there at a future meeting!)

This month’s presentation is from Grant VK5GR, on considerations around setting up a station for a large worldwide amateur radio contest!
Grant will take you through various considerations when designing a HF contest station, starting with HF Propagation analysis and station location selection (and how to use the ARRL HF Terrain Analysis package). We will then take us through some station design ideas intended to maximise your ability to be heard at the right times and on the right bands to maximise your competitiveness. Ways of operating multiple HF transmitters from one location will also be discussed, as well as the types of gear to consider. Finally, he will take a look at contest logging systems and show how easy it is to record your QSOs. During the evening, Grant will specifically work through the planning that has so far taken place around the AREG effort to activate VL5X in this year’s 80th Oceania DX Contest during the October long weekend.

Doors open at 7.00pm and the presentations kick off at 7.30. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you’ve never come along to one of our meetings, we’d love to see you there, all guests are welcome. For our remote members, the meeting will be broadcast via Zoom, and the talk will be recorded for later viewing on Youtube.

After the talks we’ll all be given an opportunity to have an eyeball QSO among ourselves whilst enjoying a tea or coffee and a biscuit.

73, Mark VK5QI

Next Project Horus Launch – Horus 64 – NOW 13th JULY 2025 – TELEMETRY & WENET ONLY

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Update: Thanks to everyone that helped out with this launch! A full writeup will be published in the coming weeks.

AREG’s High-Altitude Ballooning sub-group, Project Horus, is planning their next launch for Sunday the 13th of July, with a planned launch time of 10 AM ACST.

This launch is currently planned to be performed from the Mt Barker High School Oval with the launch team arriving on site from around 9:30 AM. Note that access to the oval is via Stephenson street, and parking near the oval is extremely limited. We are expecting significant wind gusts at the launch site – be prepared!

TRACKING LINKS

Details of the frequencies in use on this flight are:

  • Wenet Imagery on 443.5 MHz. (Now receivable using a web browser! See below!)
  • Primary Horus Binary telemetry on 434.200 MHz – callsign ‘ITSWINDY’

On this flight we encourage new listeners to try out our new web-browser-based decoding software for Horus Binary and Wenet – find out more about this further below!

During the flight, all the payloads can be tracked lived on the SondeHub-Amateur tracker here!

Primary Telemetry – Horus Binary 434.200 MHz – HORUS-V2

Reprogrammed RS41The primary tracking telemetry will be transmitted on 434.200 MHz using the Horus Binary 4FSK data mode. Amateurs in the Adelaide and Central SA region are also encouraged to get involved with the flight through receiving and uploading flight telemetry from our 70cm band tracking beacons. Every piece of telemetry data is valuable to the flight tracking and recovery teams so if you can help join the distributed receiver network to collect that data you will be making an important contribution to the project!

If you try receiving the telemetry from this flight, you’ll need a SSB-capable 70cm receiver (or a SDR), and the Horus-GUI telemetry decoder software. A brief guide on setting this up is available here: https://github.com/projecthorus/horusdemodlib/wiki/1.1-Horus-GUI-Reception-Guide-(Windows-Linux-OSX)

Note that you will need to use a USB ‘dial’ frequency of 434.199 MHz for the 4FSK signal to be centred in your receiver passband and hence be decodable.

Horus Binary telemetry can now also be received using your web browser, using either a SSB receiver or even a RTLSDR!

Click this link to start up a browser-based receiver:

WebHorus – 434.200 MHz

We’ve also got a guide on how to use this here: https://youtu.be/VrgqF7ly-mU

Wenet Imagery – 443.500 MHz

Imagery on this flight will be transmitted via the Wenet downlink system, which uses 115 kbit/s Frequency-Shift-Keying to send HD snapshots. Reception of the Wenet imagery requires a RTLSDR, and a 70cm antenna with some gain (a 5-element Yagi is usually enough).

Wenet can now be received on almost any modern computer, and even some newer android devices, using the new WebWenet software! This operates entirely within a web browser. Information on how to get setup to use this is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euo4BGB6wUU

Click this link to start up a browser-based receiver:

Wenet Web Receiver – 443.5 MHz – ‘Classic’ Mode

This payload will be alternating between standard Wenet transmissions and an experimental new version of Wenet which runs at a slightly lower baud rate and a narrower bandwidth. The transmitted mode will change between images, so if you aren’t decoding anything immediately, be patient and wait for the next image!

You can try out receiving the new version of the Wenet signal using WebWenet at this link:

Wenet Web Receiver – 443.5 MHz – Experimental Wenet ‘v2’ Mode

 

Wenet imagery from Horus 62

We encourage new listeners to try out the WebWenet software for decoding signals on this flight – however you can also still receive the signal using the Linux-based decoder, with details on this available here:

https://github.com/projecthorus/wenet/wiki/Wenet-RX-Instructions-(Linux-using-Docker)

Please note the transmit frequency of 443.5 MHz, which may require listeners to re-configure their Wenet setup. 

During the flight, the live imagery will be available at this link: http://ssdv.habhub.org/

AREG June 2025 Meeting – “ESP32 – A magic microcontroller that can do anything!” by Adam Jenkins – NOTE DIFFERENT MEETING VENUE!

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This month’s presentation was recorded and is now available on Youtube here:

The next AREG meeting will be held on Friday the 20th of June at a new meeting venue we are trialing – the St Peters Youth Centre, on Cornish Road, Stepney, within Linde Reserve.

This month’s presentation topic will be from Adam Jenkins, on ESP32 Microcontrollers!

ESP32 Development Boards Review and Comparison - Maker Advisor

Adam will discuss the possibilities inherent in the ESP32 microcontroller for communications. With built-in Bluetooth, WiFi, and a dual-core CPU, the ESP32 is changing the maker world and opening up new possibilities that will enhance radio projects—from remote station control and APRS beacons to digital mode interfaces and portable logging tools. Adam will discuss the capabilities of the ESP32, programming basics, and how it can interface with RF hardware.

Doors open at 7.00pm and the presentations kick off at 7.30. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you’ve never come along to one of our meetings, we’d love to see you there, all guests are welcome. For our remote members, the meeting will be broadcast via Zoom, and the talk will be recorded for later viewing on Youtube. After the presentation we will be holding a Special General Meeting to vote on a special resolution for updates to the AREG constitution. AREG members please check your emails for information on this!

After the talk and meeting we’ll all be given an opportunity to have an eyeball QSO among ourselves whilst enjoying a tea or coffee and a biscuit.

How to find us this month!

The St Peters Youth Centre building is located at the end of Cornish Road, Stepney, with the main entrance off Cornish Road. You can find

Parking is available at:

  • Cornish Road, Stepney
  • The Linde Reserve Carpark, off Nelson Street, Stepney (including a Jolt EV charger!)
  • Even more parking in the other Linde Reserve carpark, off Stepney Street; and
  • Parking across Nelson Street, in The Avenues Shopping Centre.

73, Mark VK5QI

May AREG Meeting – “The Four Sides of a Triangle” by Graeme VK5RE

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The next AREG meeting will be held on Friday the 16th of May at the Fulham Community Centre – Phelps Court, Fulham.

The Four Sides of a Triangle, by Graeme Wilson VK5RE, is a guest lecture on how he drove 521,000 km around Australia in six and a half years checking mobile phone coverage, and how he developed driving techniques to do “Efficient Driving” and  seeing and photographing many interesting “things” along the way.

Doors open at 7.00pm and the presentations kick off at 7.30. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you’ve never come along to one of our meetings, we’d love to see you there, all guests are welcome. For our remote members, the meeting will be broadcast via Zoom, and the talk will be recorded for later viewing on Youtube.

After the talks we’ll all be given an opportunity to have an eyeball QSO among ourselves whilst enjoying a tea or coffee and a biscuit.

73, Mark VK5QI

New 2m repeater added to VK5RSB Adelaide

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AREG is pleased to announce that we have finally completed the long planned 2m repeater project at our Summertown repeater site. This now completes the full set of repeaters for all amateur bands from 6 m (53 MHz) to 23 cm(1273MHz).

The new repeater, which operates on 147.175 MHz (+600 kHz) and has been on test for a number of weeks, received its final antenna over the weekend. The antenna was also relocated to the top of the tower. So far, signal reports have been excellent right across Adelaide and the greater central South Australian region. We are getting great signal reports  from mobiles and hand held operators alike all over Adelaide, including the southern suburbs (Christies Beach), Eastern foothills (Rostrevor/Newton) and the Northern hills face suburbs (like Hillbank) as well as further afield from Murray Bridge, Normanville, Renmark and Port Lincoln.

Operating via VK5RSB 2m

Stations using the repeater should be aware that the system is set up a little differently to other Adelaide repeaters. When you access the repeater, you will hear a courtesy beep 1 second after the end of your transmission, (which signals that the 5 minute time out timer has been reset), followed by the repeater tail transmitting for a further 4 seconds. During the remaining 4 seconds, you are free to key your transmitter and continue your conversation without waiting for the repeater transmitter to shut down. This reduces the “crash bang” squelch break noise you might be used to on other systems.

To access the system you do need CTCSS transmit capability. The repeater responds to a 91.5 Hz sub-tone for activation.

VK5RSB 2m Predicted Coverage

If you would like to send us a signal report, please email vk5arg @ areg.org.au. We would love to hear from you!

Our other repeaters at VK5RSB

If you would like to try some of the other bands, you will also find VK5RSB on:

  • 53.750 MHz (-1 MHz  offset)
  • 439.900 MHz (-5 MHz offset) (with 91.5 Hz CTCSS)
  • 1273.500 MHz (+20 MHz offset)

Future Plans

Future plans also include adding an APRS repeater on 145.175 MHz (AX.25) and connecting the VK5RSB 70cm repeater to the central SA repeater network as the replacement Adelaide network hub (given that the VK5RAD 70cm and APRS repeaters at Crafers are expected to cease operation when that site is closed in August 2025).

AREG April Meeting – Good Friday Park Picnic / Foxhunt / HF Activation

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For April’s meeting (on Friday the 18th of April, the Good Friday public holiday), AREG will not be holding a meeting at the Fulham Community Centre. Instead, we’ll be trying something a bit different and meeting up in a park for a BBQ lunch, HF activation, and some fox-hunting!

We’ll be meeting at the lower section of the Morialta Conservation Park from around 11AM with parking available off Moritalta Falls Road. We’ll be near one of the BBQ areas, so look out for a red AREG flag!

We’ll have a HF station going to activate the Morialta Conservation Park (VKFF-0783) so listen out for VK5ARG on the bands! There will also be a fox-hunting (amateur radio direction finding) course set up around the park, with plenty of equipment available to borrow and give fox-hunting a go.

If you’re coming along, we suggest you bring a chair, drinks, and food for lunch (the club will provide some basic BBQ fare too).

Hope to see you there!

AREG March 2025 Presentation: RADE – Machine Learning for Speech over HF Radio

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At our March meeting we had an excellent presentation from David Rowe, VK5DGR, on the new Radio Autoencoder digital voice mode! Thanks very much to David for giving the presentation, and pushing the state of the art in Amateur Radio!

This presentation was recorded, and is now available for viewing on Youtube:

Next Fox-Hunt – Friday 7th March

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AREGs next car-based fox hunt will be held this coming Friday the 7th of March. We arrive at the start location around 6pm, and depart at 6:30 PM.

We are also looking for volunteers to hide the foxes each month. If you would like to give this a go, please contact Mark at vk5qi@rfhead.net

Our start location is the Beaumont Road carpark, off South Terrace in the southern CBD Parklands. 

We’ll have three foxes deployed around the Adelaide area, on both the 2m and 70cm bands, so come along and have a go!

Area where the foxes might be hidden.

The frequencies will be:

  • 145.300 MHz (1W transmit power)
  • 144.390 MHz (100mW transmit power)
  • 439.400 MHz (50mW transmit power)

As usual, liaison will be on the VK5RSB Summertown 70cm repeater which operates on 439.900 (-5MHz) 91.5 CTCSS. Please come up on the repeater so we know who is out hunting, and how you are faring throughout the evening! If we don’t hear from your, we may recover the foxes before you find them!

We also have a mailing list, and a Facebook Messenger group – please contact Mark VK5QI (vk5qi@rfhead.net) if you would like to be added to this!

The event is open to anyone with radio direction finding equipment, with the foxes hidden within the bounds shown on the above map. We would love to see you there!

73

Mark VK5QI