Category Archives: Meetings

Next Meeting: Parks ‘n’ Peaks Operations with Paul VK5PAS

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AREG is always looking for avenues to encourage amateurs out into the field to operate their stations. One of the unique ways to do this is to go and operate from a conservation park. Several awards systems have been established to promote this type of portable operation. These have been very effective in stimulating activity on the HF bands domestically particularly during daylight hours on 20 and 40m.

There are various forms of these awards including Summits On The Air, World Wide Flora and Fauna and other National Parks awards both in Australia and abroad. Paul VK5PAS has been a major champion of this type of operation and in particular is the founder of the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award.

http://www.vk5parks.com/about-the-award.html

Sample VK5 Parks Award Certificate

At AREG’s next meeting on Friday June 17th, Paul VK5PAS will give a presentation on the Parks ‘N’ Peaks movement and the VK5 award in particular.

Everyone is most welcome to attend. The meeting will be held at:

Reedbeds Community Hall
Phelps Crt, Fulham

The doors will open at 7.45pm and the presentation will get underway at 8.00pm sharp.

After the meeting a short debrief will be given on the outcomes from the River Paddling Marathon that many AREG members are involved with this weekend.

Log Book Of The World

In addition to Parks n Peaks, Paul is now able to assist with the certification process for LogBook of the World. We hope to hear more about how to become registered for LOTW from Paul during the meeting as well.

Next Meeting: Transmitting Magnetic Loop Antennas for 160-40m

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The AREG is pleased to announce that our guest speakers for our next regular monthly meeting will be Steve Adler VK5SFA, Leigh Turner VK5KLT and Paul Lawson VK5SL. They will be talking about their work on Transmitting Magnetic Loop Antennas for the lower HF bands including both the theory and practical aspects of their operation and construction.

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VK5SFA 160-75m Transmitting Magnetic Loop Antenna

Steve has been using one very successfully on 160m and was kind enough to loan the AREG SPDX RTTY contest team his 40m one for use up at Morialta this past weekend.

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VK5SFA 40m TMLA (used by AREG in the SPDX RTTY Contest)

These are fascinating antennas in the way they work and in the way they perform. Their noise immunity is something in particular to consider in urban environments where amateurs are space and electrically environmentally challenged.

Full details of how to build these antennas and the theory behind them are available via Steve VK5SFA’s website.

When and Where?

You can meet Steve and the team who designed and built them in person at our next meeting on Friday May 20th, starting at 7.45pm (for an 8.00pm start). You can find details of where the AREG meet on the contacts page.

Visitors are most welcome to come along! A short business meeting will be held after the presentation.

Next Meeting 15th April: HF Communications for New (and old) Hands

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The next monthly AREG meeting is coming up on Friday April 15th, starting at 8.00pm.

Our presenters for the evening are Chris VK5SA and Andrew VK5AKH. They will jointly be talking about HF communications, giving insights into how the HF bands work, and how to get the most out of them from your everyday station.

April-2016

Africa in 1997 – Chris will talk to this

Chris VK5SA’s segment is primarily targeted at for Foundation members who are struggling to understand HF propagation, and also Z-calls who have finally embraced these frequencies 🙂 He originally gave it in Kenya nearly 20 years ago for native African NGO radio operators who needed to be shown what frequencies and antennas did what.

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Grant VK5GR (ex VK5ZWI’s) new shiny HF Antenna (now how to I talk to someone on these bands?)

Chris will explaining what you need to do to reliable HF communications and relate how this was explained for an operator sitting by his ‘phone in Cape Town.

Andy VK5AKH will follow that with a practical guide to getting started with HF operation. Topics covered will include what band, what mode, what time and for those lucky enough to be putting up a new hex beams what azimuth!

Andy will also discuss some tools to make life easier with identifying band/Dx activity, so that you can make the most of your work/ham radio/life balance.

Meeting Location

Our meetings are held at the:

Reedbeds Community Hall,
Phelps Crt
Fulham

Doors open at 7.45pm with the meeting starting at 8.00pm

Visitors are always welcome, so this month, in particular if you are one of the newly licensed foundation calls, why not drop in and meet the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group!

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Practical Moonbounce – Next AREG Meeting 18th March

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The next general meeting of the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group will be held on Friday 18th March at 7.45pm. The presentation for the evening will be given by Wayne VK5APN. Wayne will give us a practical guide for how to get started in 2m Moonbounce operation (EME), taking you through the basics of what you need in terms of equipment and also the operating techniques you need to use to complete successful EME contacts.

VK5APN-EME-Array

VK5APN Portable EME 2m Array

Visitors are also most welcome! You will find our clubrooms at the Reedbeds Community Hall, via Phelps Crt, Fulham. Talk in is available via the club’s 70cm repeater VK5RSB on 439.900 (-5MHz 91.5Hz CTCSS).

AREG Next Meeting: 19th Feb – Reviving Packet Radio

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As previously mentionedSRLPP9~0 in the blog, one of the AREG members, Grant VK5GR has set about reviving a Packet Radio BBS system in Adelaide!

At the next AREG meeting, Grant will give an overview of the system and how it was built, taking a look at how all of the different modules within the Linux operating system are fitted together to provide a FBB Packet BBS, DXCluster Service and an Internet linked NET/ROM network node which allows you to connect with other similar systems across the globe.

The basics of packet radio and AX.25 will also be discussed and some tips for accessing and using the system from your SN7NW1~Yhouse will also be given including how to use the Packet BBS and also the DX Cluster.

Meeting Time & Place

The club meeting will be held on Friday February 19th at the Reedbeds Community Hall. Enter via Phelps Court, Fulham.

Doors will open at 7.45pm

All are welcome! The presentation will be followed by a short business meeting. Tea and Coffee will be available also, so come on down and meet the members of the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group!

For more information about the packet radio BBS system in Adelaide on 147.575 take a look at the previous article here!

 

January General Meeting

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Happy New Year to everyone from the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group, we hope that your projects and DX activities are fruitful for the new year.VK5GR portable VHF Field Day Jan 2016_4

AREG has started the New Year with the club station VK5ARG actively participating in the Summer VHF Field day contest this week, as well as Matt VK5ZM and Grant VK5GR going roving in the contest (VK5GR mobile 6m, 2m & 70cm, multiple grids on York Peninsula).

15th January General Meeting

AREG’s first general meeting for the new year is this coming Friday 15th January 2016 at the Reedbeds Hall, Fulham, doors open at 7:30 pm.

This meeting will be a business meeting followed by open general discussions, where you can enlighten the group on your latest ham radio related endeavour or project.

The invitation is open to everyone interested in ham radio activities, so come along and meet the AREG members, put a face to those you may have had QSO’s with over the last year and enjoy the evening with an active outgoing group of technically minded people.

Coffee, tea and cake will be on for a light supper to round off the evening.

 

AREG’s General Meeting for December

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Well it’s that time of the year again, when the active Ham starts to think about what he would like to find under the Christmas Tree?K3 under Xmas Tree

A K3, or KX3, maybe even the KPA500? Well one is allowed to dream is one not?

AREG’s next General Meeting is this coming Friday night, 18th December.

This will not be a business meeting but a get together of interested amateur radio operators in a social evening where they can recount and discuss experiences and events of the last 12 months.

Everyone is most welcome to come along and visit the AREG meeting, meeting members, many of whom you have probably spoken with over the last 12 months so now is the time to come along and meet those from the other end of those QSOs.

The meeting will be at the Reedbeds Hall, Fitch Road Fulham, doors opening at 7:45 pm.

Coffee, tea, cake and other nibbles will be on for a light supper.

This coming Friday the 18th December, 7:45 pm, so come along, everyone most welcome.

20th November Meeting: VHF/UHF Contesting

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VHF/UHF Spring Field Day - VK5ZM 2015

VHF/UHF Spring Field Day – VK5ZM 2015

Have you thought about trying any of the VHF/UHF field days?  Do you still have fond memories of being a “Z-call” when the lowest frequency you could operate on was 29MHz FM?

Well a few of our members thought it would be fun to head out and participate in the Spring VHF/UHF Field Day on the 14th and 15th of November.  For some of our members it had been more than 17 years since they had done one of these events.  This was also a welcome break from the usual HF contesting our members have been doing lately.

So this month we’ve asked these enthusiastic members to put together a short series of 10 minute presentations about what they did, how it went and was it still fun to be a “Z-Call” again.

So if you’d like to hear more about what it takes to participate in a VHF/UHF field day then come along and I’m sure there will be something there for everyone.  It should be a good night out and if the enthusiasm of our members who participated this year is any indication, this could be infectious.

The meeting club rooms will be open at 7:45pm with the presentations starting at 8pm.   This will also be the last formal presentation/meeting for the AREG in 2015.

As well as the formal presentation there will be ample time to meet with AREG members and talk about any and all things Amateur Radio. Visitors are most welcome, so please come along all and say hello! If you need help finding the hall, call on the VK5RSB 439.900 repeater (91.5Hz CTCSS).

Coffee, tea, cake and 2m LFA designs will be supplied as a light supper.

73, Matthew VK5ZM