Category Archives: Club News

Club News Summary

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.

AREG Participation in the SPDX RTTY Contest: Report

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CQ SPDX TEST DE VK5ARG VK5ARG KK

The AREG team tried something new on Sunday April 24th 2016, operating portable from the Morialta Conservation Park just east of Adelaide hexbeamin the Polish Radiovideography Club’s SPDX RTTY contest . A lot of fun was had by those members who operated and visited us during the activation. 29 valid contacts were made including 5 out of 17 Polish provinces. Andy VK5AKH provided the bulk of the station equipment and was assisted by Grant VK5GR, Dennis VK5FDEN, Gary VK5FGRY and Mark VK5QI in setting up the station in the early afternoon.

By the time we were ready to go, long path Europe was already open, and the first station we called answered on the first try. We were running an IC7600 at about 90W FSK power with the HexBeam and the Fl-Digi software for RTTY. We also experimented with the GRITTY software which has some advanced decoding capabilities.

vk5akh-working rttydx

40m Loop Antenna

40m-loop-vk5sfaSteve VK5SFA also brought along his new 40m magnetic loop antenna for us to experiment with. We were very impressed with it’s noise performance and efficiency for such a small antenna. While we were working 20m RTTY long path EU, Matt VK5ZM, Gary VK5FGRY and Mark VK5QI experimented with the loop. Contacts on it were had across SE Australia, including 10W to 10W to Chris VK5CP who was portable in Parachilna in the Flinders Ranges.

(Stay tuned – a talk is planned at the next AREG meeting on these very unique antennas).

Contest Progressed

As the RTTY contest progressed, the team attempted 15m as well with limited success before returning to 20m to close out the EU LP opening.

We were then treated to the “AREG Catering Service” in the form of Sharon VK5FSAW who brought up baked potatoes and condiments, which were very welcome considering it was getting quite cold as the sun went down.

Finally we dropped down to 40m and put the loop to use on RTTY. We picked up a contact with the USA – after spending a while learning how to tune it! (It is only ~3-4kHz wide).

40m-rtty-cq

Who we worked

While we were not competitive we had a lot of fun working RTTY stations in Europe, and we are sure we helped a few polish stations with a continental multiplier. The stations we worked were:

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This has certainly whetted our appetite to try another attempt at RTTY later in the year (perhaps the CQ WW or CQ WPX RTTY contests).

A big thank you to everyone who participated and in particular to Andy VK5AKH who brought his portable HF station.

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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AREG develops kit which allows real time display of Antenna radiation pattern

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The Amateur Radio Experimenters Group, one of  Adelaide’s leading Amateur Radio groups is pleased to advise that after months of research and experiments at a secret location, it has developed and perfected a process whereby the radiation pattern of any HF antenna can be displayed visually, full size in real time.RfPatternSmoke-AprilFools

The kit includes a canister of particles which are sensitive to E and H field radiation. The particles are suspended in harmless nitrogen gas which, once released near an antenna will align to show you the radiation pattern of that antenna whilst it is transmitting. When the particles are charged by the E and H field radiation they become opaque, arranging themselves along the lines of maximum intensity of the emitted electromagnetic field. The end result is a real time ‘Smith Chart’ like representation of the Antenna radiation pattern.

The deluxe version of the kit uses a laser, guided by a PC controlled mirror arrangement, to display a grid pattern for calibration purposes, which will allow you to take a photograph for storage and future analysis.

A patent application has been prepared for lodgement, after which time the proposal will be presented at the April Monthly meeting. Kits will be funded through the “StartKicking” process in due course.

Dateline: April 1st 2016
Contributors: VK5CP, VK5ZM, VK5FGRY, VK5GR

VK5ARG Entering CQ WPX Contest 2016

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26411_413791857215_2242077_nA number of AREG members have headed to the 2nd QTH of Chris VK5CP to activate the club callsign VK5ARG in the CQ WPX SSB Contest this weekend!

The WPX Contest is based on an award offered by CQ Magazine for working all prefixes. Held on the last weekend of March (SSB) and May (CW), the contest draws thousands of entries from around the world.k21092304

For details of the contest, the rules, background and other information, go to the CQWPX Website.

 

The MonstIR Yagi

The MonstIR Yagi

VK5ARG Results

Now that the contest has concluded, VK5ARG can report that they have worked 957 contacts for a total of 1,660,662 points. By band the results are:

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The following members were involved in the event:

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All up a worthy effort from VK5ARG. Best of luck in the rankings guys, but most of all we hope you had a lot of fun!

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Theo VK5MTM: Operating the AREG Club Callsign like a boss in the WPX

Photo Gallery from the weekend

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 to manage VK5 QSL Bureau

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QSL cards come in to the VK5 QSL Manager from the WIA National QSL Bureau around every 3 months. Upon arrival, they require some sorting and then forwarding out to the various VK5 clubs. Stephan VK5RZ has been admirably performing this role for a number of years. He has, however, had to resign from the position due to commitments he has with study. AREG commends Stephan on the effort he has put into the bureau and wishes to express our appreciation for the work he has put into the role.

AREG Accepts the Challenge!

The members of AREG, many of whom have an active interest in HF DX operating and QSL cards, decided that this was a function that the club ought to take on as a service to the VK5 amateur radio community. As a result of a motion at the last AREG general meeting, AREG has indicated it’s willingness to accept the task to the WIA board.

Please note: as soon as the administrative tasks are completed to effect the transfer, new details for the bureau will be announced here and in all relevant amateur media. Until then, please hold off making inquiries as we are not yet in a position to respond.

AREG QSL Gallery

As VK5ARG itself gathers more cards, the club is maintaining a QSL gallery of cards it has received on it’s website for members to see the results of their  handywork! Why not go and check out the AREG QSL Gallery while you are here?

 

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!