Good luck to all of the AREG members venturing to the South East Radio Group convention this weekend to go fox hunting! The rest of the club wishes you well and looks forward to hearing of your exploits in the future!
Next Meeting: Parks ‘n’ Peaks Operations with Paul VK5PAS
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.
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.
River Paddling Marathon 2016: Operator Briefing 8pm Thursday 2nd June
Matt VK5ZM running the 162MHz commercial net
The River Paddling Marathon 200 is about to be held again in 2016 over the June long weekend. The Amateur Radio Experimenters Group in conjunction with the Riverland Radio Club is pleased to again be offering communications support to the Marathon Canoe Club of South Australia. Preparations are almost complete and it is now time to have the final operator briefing.
This year the briefing will be held on Thursday evening, June 2nd, at the Reedbeds Community Hall in Fulham (Adelaide). The start time will be 8.00pm (due to prior hall bookings). All operators are asked to attend if at all possible.
There are changes to some of the procedures for this year’s event that you need to learn about. We will also be distributing your checkpoint information and logging packs and will discuss the communications protocols for this year (including the trial 6m packet AX.25 score collection system).
Martin Finn – Race Director
We will have representatives from the Marathon Canoe Club present and time permitting there will also be a controlled net communications exercise held across the hall (bring a handheld).
If you have any questions, please contact either Grant Willis VK5GR (logistics) or Matthew Cook VK5ZM (Safety Officer).
Next Meeting: Transmitting Magnetic Loop Antennas for 160-40m
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.
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.
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 Member Training Day for the RPM200 Comms Event – This Saturday!
The Radio operator training day for the River Paddling Marathon 200 event which AREG supports in June, will be held on the eastern banks of the Murray River, just north of the Swanport Bridge by the boat ramp on Saturday April 30th 2016! This training will coincide with the running the Marathon Canoe Club’s Back-To-Back event held along this part of the river each year.
The operator training day will pitch checkpoint team against checkpoint team to see who can spot the most valid number of canoes.
Operators will need to get to the river by 12.00pm. The first paddlers are due around 1.00pm . (It is typically only an hour’s drive up the freeway).
Everyone will be broken into teams of two. You will need to bring “optical magnification” apparatus, pens and something hard to write on (folding table and chairs recommended). You will be presented with paddlers from the Marathon Canoe Club’s Back to Back paddling event and will be asked to track paddlers, numbers, descriptions and will be graded in friendly competition with your fellow spotters spread out over the boat ramp park.
Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy a day by the river watching (intently) the world float by! It is recommended that participants bring binoculars, chairs, snacks and insect repellent. There is not much shade, so umbrellas, hats or marquees will make the day more pleasant.
Just Visiting?
For those who don’t want to spotting canoe’s but want to come for the social day, there is room to also set up HF portable by the river!
Evening BBQ at Swanport Sailing Club
At the end of the event, we will adjourn back to the Swanport Sailing Club for a BYO BBQ dinner and a chat/de-brief with the Marathon Canoe Club. It is just a short drive back over the Swanport bridge.
Please note: No dogs allowed at Swanport Sailing Club, so please leave the hounds at home!
Conclusion
If you are participating in the RPM200 in June, we would very much encourage you to come along on the 30th of April as well! Accurate canoe spotting is an important aspect of providing the safety net at the RPM200 so this training/practice is vital to improve the way AREG supports the main event in June. Hope to see you all there!
AREG Participation in the SPDX RTTY Contest: Report
RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY 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 
in 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.
40m Loop Antenna
Steve 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).
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:
[table “” not found /]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.
VK5ARG to participate in SPDX RTTY Contest this weekend!
Several keen members have asked to activate the club callsign, VK5ARG in this weekend’s Polish RTTY DX Contest. Andy VK5AKH and Grant VK5GR will be setting up portable from the Morialta conservation park, at the end of Moores Rd.
The plan is to arrive around 1pm and have the station operating before the EU Long Path opening around 3pm on Sunday April 24th. The contest finishes at 9.30pm ACST Sunday night.
This is Andy and Grant’s first attempt at a RTTY contest so mayhem and pandemonium will most likely eschew, but we will have a lot of fun trying! If you would like to come and pay us a visit, give us a call on 439.900 (VK5RSB).
You can find us here: [wpgmza id=”8″]
WIA VK5 Inwards QSL Bureau – New Operational Details Announced!
The Amateur Radio Experimenters Group is 
pleased to announce that it has finalized the new arrangements for the WIA VK5 inwards QSL bureau. Grant VK5GR is the current volunteer VK5 bureau manager from AREG. The club will be following the existing WIA QSL policy and will continue to encourage all amateurs that use the QSL Bureau to join the WIA.
Specifically, the arrangements will be:
Outgoing QSL Bureau
- All outgoing WIA member QSL cards are to be sent to the national outgoing QSL address (the AREG will not be handling outbound cards):
WIA Outwards QSL Bureau
P.O. Box 66
Boolaroo
NSW 2284
Incoming QSL Cards to the VK5 Bureau
- Incoming cards for WIA members are to be sent to the national incoming QSL address (not the AREG PO Box as previously advised by the WIA)
National Inwards QSL Bureau
P.O. Box 2040
Bayswater Vic
3153 Australia
Information for VK5 WIA Members
- VK5 WIA members will continue to receive cards in the mail once a year to their registered WIA membership address. To update this address, please contact the WIA National Office
- VK5 WIA members can nominate an affiliated WIA club to receive their cards for distribution on their behalf. This will likely increase the frequency that cards will be distributed.
- VK5 WIA members can also arrange an off cycle collection of their cards at an AREG club meeting by prior arrangement (please give at least two to three weeks notice so that we can ensure that your cards are at the meeting for collection). Email vk5bureau@wia.org.au if you wish to pick up your cards at an AREG meeting this way
Information for WIA Affiliated Club members
If you are not a WIA member but you are a member of an affiliated WIA club in VK5, you can still receive your QSL cards via your club secretary.
The individual club secretaries are responsible for keeping the VK5 QSL Bureau manager up to date with your club membership status. Every time a club mail out is planned, the bureau manager will check with the secretary for their latest membership lists.
Information for non-members
Non members of the WIA or an affiliated club who have QSL cards arrive here at the bureau need to make sure they are collected at least once per year, or they will be destroyed. Once a year, cards will be taken to an AREG meeting in Adelaide for non-members to visit and collect them. Cards will also be made available at the yearly AHARS Buy’n’Sell event.
If non members wish to have their cards posted to them, they must forward a self addressed pre-paid 5kg mailing satchel or if there are less than 20 cards in the bureau, they must send a self addressed heavy letter stamped ($3.30 at time of writing) envelope. No other form of non-member collection is accepted by the VK5 bureau. Email the bureau manager first to confirm the volume of cards to be collected.
Ideally, non-members are encouraged to become members of the WIA to help cover the cost of their incoming use of the QSL bureau.
Andrew VK5XFG, Sharon VK5FSAW, Gary VK5FGRY and Andy VK5AKH sorting cards with Chris VK5CP and Grant VK5GR