Category Archives: Club Activities

Club Activities or Events

Next Project Horus Launch – Horus 56 – Sunday 1st May – NOW TELEMETRY ONLY

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Update Sunday 1st May: This telemetry-only launch was a great success, with many new stations contributing telemetry! There will be a separate post with information on the flight. We are still planning to perform the imagery flight next weekend, hopefully avoiding Mothers Day.

The AREG’s High-Altitude Ballooning sub-group, Project Horus, is planning their next launch for Sunday the 1st of May, with a planned launch time of 10 AM.

Updated Saturday 30th April

Due to adverse flight path predictions and cloud cover forecasts, the full imagery launch will not occur on Sunday the 1st of May, and will be postponed to the following weekend, (the exact day TBD) conditional on better weather forecasts.

However, since we have a NOTAM (NOtice To Air Missions) approved for the 1st of May, we will make use of it and do a telemetry-only launch, flying a single 70cm telemetry beacon. We are aiming for a maximum altitude of around 27km.

This is a great opportunity for those who have never tracked a Project Horus launch before to get setup to receive telemetry prior to the full-scale launch the following weekend. See below for information on how to receive the telemetry payload.

Live tracking for the flight will be available on the new SondeHub-Amateur tracker, at: https://amateur.sondehub.org/#!mt=Mapnik&mz=9&qm=1d&mc=-34.91286,139.36396&q=HORUS-V2

We will now be launching from the Mt Barker High School Oval, with the launch team on-site from approximately 9:30AM. Visitors are welcome!

The current flight path predictions have the payload landing to the east of Purnong:

Primary Telemetry – 434.200 MHz

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 ‘dial’ frequency of 434.199 MHz for the 4FSK signal to be centred in your receiver passband and hence be decodable.

Tracking Details – Imagery – 443.500 MHz

This payload will not be flying on Sunday the 1st of May. We hope to fly this on our backup launch date of Sunday the 8th of May.

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

Imagery received via the Wenet payload from a previous flight.

A guide on how to get set up to receive the Wenet signal is available here: https://github.com/projecthorus/wenet/wiki/Wenet-RX-Instructions-(Linux-using-Docker)

During the flight, the live imagery will be available at this link:

http://ssdv.habhub.org/

Next Fox Hunt – Tomorrow Night!

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AREG had hoped to hold a combined foot based hunt and picnic in a park for our January hunt however due to the current COVID saga in Adelaide, the committee has decided not to proceed with this, so we have decided to hold our usual car hunt instead – apologies for the late notice.

The hunt will commence from the usual meeting place at the southern end of the car park at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre. Hunters usually meet from 6.15pm and the hunt begins at 6.30pm.

Liaison will be via the Summertown UHF Repeater on 439.900MHz (-5MHz Input with 91.5Hz CTCSS).

As usual, everyone is welcome to join in on the fun, you don’t need to be a member of AREG to participate. We hope you can make it!

December Fox Hunt & Upcoming January BYO Picnic Foot Hunt

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Members and friends are advised that our next monthly fox hunt is scheduled for the evening of Friday the 10th of December, kicking off at the car park of the Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

Participants usually meet at the southern end of the car park from around 6.15pm and the foxes (hidden transmitters) are activated at 6.30pm.

Our usual three foxes will be deployed. Two transmit on the 2 metre band and one on the 70cm band.

As usual, participants are free to liaise on the club’s 70cm VK5RSB repeater on 439.900MHz (-5MHz input with 91.5Hz CTCSS).

With the weather warming up, we have also planned a BYO picnic and foot-based hunt for Sunday the 16th of January, at Felixstow Reserve, kicking off at 12pm. For those new to fox hunting who would like to give it a try, there will be equipment available on the day to use if you don’t have your own. Please stay tuned for more details.

UPDATE: Due to the current COVID situation in South Australia the foot-based hunt has been cancelled and been replaced with a car-hunt on the evening of Friday the 14th of January, starting at 6:30PM at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre. The car-based hunts present a considerably lower risk profile than a foot-based hunt and picnic where equipment would need to be shared.

As always, everyone is welcome to join in on the fun, members and non-members alike, so we look forward to seeing you there.

Next fox hunt: Friday 10/09/2021

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Our September fox hunt is scheduled for the evening of Friday the 10th of September, kicking off at 6:30pm from the southern end of the car park at the Adelaide Aquatic centre.

As usual, this event is open to all participants and you don’t need to be a member to join us.

This hunt will again see our usual two 2m foxes in use as well the 70cm fox. Our little biscuit tin fox has had an upgrade to a green army ammo tin and SLA battery, donated by Kim VK5FJ. This has increased the Baofeng/Arduino powered fox run time from 3.5 hours to 11+ hours.

Last month’s hunt saw eight of us join in to locate the three foxes. The biscuit tin, deployed by AREG members Chris VK5CP and Gary VK5GRY, was clevery hidden under a witches hat/street cone on Halifax St in the city. Hunters knew they were close when they spotted Chris and Gary seated outside a nearby hotel enjoying a beverage whilst watching the hunters drive up and down trying to locate the transmitter.

The 70cm fox stuck was to the back of a street sign off Greenhill Road, in the Adelaide Parklands whilst the second 2m fox was hidden by the banks of the Torrens River at Grange.

Mark VK5QI’s newly designed TDOA doppler system with car Head Up Display worked extremely well. A video of it in action can be seen here.

Once again, hunters are encourgaed to liaise on the night on the club’s VK5RSB 70cm repeater.

We look forward to seeing you on the night.

 

August Meeting: Amateur Radio Contesting with VK5ARG

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VK5ARG: Tarlee Contest Site – Remembrance Day Contest 2021

The next meeting of the Amateur Radio Experimenter’s Group will be held this coming Friday, 20th August. The topic will be Amateur Radio Contesting with VK5ARG. During the meeting we will explain the basics of Amateur Radio Contesting and how we apply them during “Contest Month” up at our remote site west of Tarlee.

The aim will be to demystify how to get involved with contesting and explain the basics. We will also talk a bit about contest strategy, band awareness and operating styles, so you can get a feel for how to make contacts in a contest environment. After the initial presentation, there will be time for Q&A.

For anyone who would like to get involved in Contest Month during September/October for the first time, know that we will be working to introduce newbies at the event with each new operator having a mentor to help them get into the swing of things!

Michael VK5ZRN – First time contester – Remembrance Day Contest 2021 @ VK5ARG

The presentation this Friday night will start at 7.45pm. Doors open at 7.15pm and the venue will be the Fulham Community Hall, Phelps Court, Fulham! Visitors are welcome – see you there!

AREG Members note: the meeting will be simulcast on Zoom for members who cant be there in person, but there will be no YouTube stream this month. We will be observing the current COVID restrictions at the hall as well and will ask everyone in attendance to wear a mask in accordance with current health guidelines. Check in at the door will be mandatory. If you are unwell, please stay home and join the proceedings via Zoom!

August Fox Hunt: Friday August 6th @ 18:30

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Our next monthly fox hunt is scheduled for the evening of Friday the 6th of August, commencing at 6:30pm.

Hunters are invited to meet from 6:15pm at the starting location, being the southern end of the car park at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre, Jeffcott Road, North Adelaide.

This hunt will again see us hunting a couple of 2 meter hidden transmitters throughout the Adelaide metropolitan area and one 70cm fox.

As usual, we will liaise to discuss our progress throughout the night on the club’s VK5RSB 70cm repeater.

This event is open to all interested parties, members and non-members so we hope to see you all there.

If you don’t have any fox hunting equipment but would like to get a taste of what it’s all about, feel free to send us an email as sometimes out hunters have a spare seat in the cars for others to tag along.

AREG Foxhunting Activity in June/July – Get Involved!

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AREG members are having their interest in Fox-Hunting rekindled thanks to the efforts of Theo VK5IR. Anyone can participate and you can use some fairly simple equipment too. The hunts are conducted on both 2m and 70cm at present and are usually held on the 2nd Friday of the month.

Keep watching the AREG Website for details!

Report: River Paddling Marathon 200 – 2021 Radio Safety Support Event

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The Amateur Radio Experimenter’s Group, in conjunction with the Riverland Radio Club, has for many years now provided support to the Marathon Canoe Club’s 200km long River Paddling Marathon down the Murray River held over the June long weekend each year.

After being interrupted last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was back this year, running again from Berri to Morgan across South Australia’s Riverland region.

Devlins Pound 100km event Start Day 2 – Photo courtesy Ivan VK5HS

AREG & RRC assist this event by building and running three radio networks aimed at tracking the participants through the course as well as monitoring the event progress downstream through the position of the safety boats. Over 25 volunteers man positions along the river Murray from Berri through to Morgan over the full 3 days of the annual June long weekend.

THREE-DAY

The networks are:

  • Network 1: – 147 / 439 MHz Amateur Radio based voice network using either the regional VK5RLD 2m repeater or VHF/UHF simplex frequencies. This connects 21 checkpoints to the safety comms bus with the volunteer amateur radio operators acting as spotters and trackers monitoring the progress of each canoe down the river.
  • Network 2: – 162 MHz Commercial VHF – as radio amateurs are not aboard the individual safety boats, a separate commercial VHF network is established across the event enabling the command bus to maintain contact with the 4 full time safety craft that manage the river closure and render assistance to the paddlers as required
  • Network 3: – 145 MHz APRS – unmanned tracking beacons are installed on each of the safety boats so that the safety team can keep tabs on the location of each of the safety craft over most of the event.

Over 1100 hours of volunteer effort is contributed to the event each year with AREG & the Riverland Radio Club combining forces to ensure the safety of the event participants. This is one direct way that the Amateur Radio service can directly provide a benefit to the public.

Communications Command Bus – provided by Peter VK5KX

The event has numerous obstacles to overcome including muddy bog-hole checkpoints (eg New Residence on day 1) and River Locks (the 200km event passes through three of these on its journey downstream).

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Lock 4 team marshaling the paddlers through the lock on Day 1

From a radio perspective, much of the event is in very challenging terrain with coverage required at water level at the bottom of 20-30m canyons for much of the trip. Extensive use is made of both portable repeaters and manual relay stations to get the messages through.

Portable Repeater installations across the event

Most of all everyone who participated just enjoys being out in the countryside counting canoes in the sun (and fortunately again we didn’t get any significant rainfall during the event).

Checkpoint Operators by the banks of the Murray River

This year was also notable for AREG in that for only the second time since the club has been providing support did one of our own members receive the Marathon Canoe Club of South Australia’s David & Sue Speck Volunteer Award. Matt VK5ZM was the recipient this year. As lead organizer and volunteer safety officer, Matt has championed AREG’s involvement in this event since 2015. A very deserving recipient indeed! Congratulations Matt!

Matt VK5ZM receiving the Volunteering award from Andrew Stoodley, MCC President.

All up this was another very successful event, and a very enjoyable one too for all of the participants. We look forward to seeing the team join us again in June 2022!

We must say a special thank you also to all of the members of both AREG and the Riverland Radio Club who turned out to support this event. Your contributions combined to ensure the safety of over 100 participants again this year. Well done!