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QNEWS APRIL 06 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? DARLING DOWNS DID and they promoted REDCLIFFE --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 180.150.53.59/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) VK4NOE FRED WHITE 29/01/25 (vk4eht) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi, I'm John VK4JPM Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and this is QNEWS for Sunday 6th of April. We didn't pull any April Fools pranks this year, but someone did a great job of promoting a small nuclear reactor claiming that it was available at a certain national electronics chain. Batteries not included, but I've put a link in the text version of this news: facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=1066457412185085&id=100064625084926 Quick reminder that next weekend is busy for club members and guests. If you're on our mailing list - which would include members of course - in the last few days you should have received by email a newsletter containing lots of important info about upcoming events and club activities. If you didn't, then you might not be on our list. You don't have to be a club member to stay in touch: just drop us a line to secretary@... and we'll put you on the list. No obligation. And if you didn't get the email, here's a quick summary of next weekend. On Saturday morning 12 April, a group of us will be attending Redfest. Come up and say hi if you see us - we'll be the people with bright yellow badges. On Sunday 13 April, we're holding our bimonthly club lunch at the Withcott Hotel. That's a relaxed opportunity to catch up friends you've never met, and yes: there are food items that come with ham. Guests, non-members, significant others and harmonics are welcome. Check the menu and location details from our home page at www.ddrci.org.au While you're there, you'll also find the invitation for our club meeting on Monday 14 April. We're at the Toowoomba Library for this one, from 1900. Come and enjoy a cuppa and a tim-tam while Cam VK4CSS explains all about RADAR and LiDAR, and how they can be used separately or together to find out where things are. Cam will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both technologies, and explain when it's good to not trust either... with the suggestion that autonomous vehicle have many layers of protection, but speed traps might be less robust. It's all info that you need, and you get to ask questions. We're hoping that we will be able to bring this meeting to those of you who are a bit unable to travel to be with us live. Check the website for details of how to connect remotely... if we can do it, we will. Finally look for some construction articles from Bruce VK4MQ, and start planning to join us for the Annual Foxhunt and BBQ in May... it's only four weeks away now. If you missed any of this, then you can download QNEWS text or audio files via the WIA website, or with links from the DDRCi home page. And it's always OK to drop a line to secretary@... or use the contact form from the website. Until next week - 73s from all of us here in Toowoomba - I'm John VK4JPM, Darling Downs Club Secretary, and I'm looking forward to saying hi in pe

QNEWS MARCH 30 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? DARLING DOWNS AND RECLIFFE DID. --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 180.150.53.59/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) VK4NOE FRED WHITE 29/01/25 (vk4eht) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi, I'm John VK4JPM Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club on QNEWS for Sunday 30th of March. We are officially one quarter of the way into 2025 and the club is just getting started. In celebration of that, a short one this week with the pointers that you might have missed if you weren't listening to last week or the week before. And it's important to know because in two weeks we have a run of three events back-to-back, and everything is different. Here we go. On Saturday 12 April, many of us will be heading to Redfest. You'll recognise us thanks to the bright yellow badges, so come and say "hi". And now for something completely different. As you've heard, this year Redfest clashes with our regular bimonthly club lunch date. So we've moved lunch to the next day, on Sunday 13 April, and we're going to try a new location a bit down in the valley. Come along and meet the gang at the Withcott Hotel, just at the bottom of the range. We'll be at the front dining area, probably near the fireplace, and we won't be hard to spot. The Withcott is conveniently located on the highway, has a ton of parking, and has a reputation for a good meal. This is an informal gathering, so just turn up. Bring a mate or the family, and you don't need to be a member. And closing the trifecta on our three club events in a row: Monday 14 April is our next member meeting and will be held at the Toowoomba Library at 1900. Our treasurer, Cameron VK4CSS will talk about RADAR and LIDAR. Cam will present about radar and lidar speed measurement, including the history of radar and lidar; give a brief chat about over-the-horizon radar; explain how radar speed measurement work including videos to demonstrate, and he'll talk about when radar or lidar doesn't work. And why would you want to attend? Well, you might even learn something about both technologies that could save you being accused of an action that can't be proved or where the measurement can be shown to be inaccurate. Got it? The date again: 1700 on Monday 14 April at the Toowoomba Library - where the parking is plentiful and under cover, and once again we welcome members and non-members alike. Finally: calling all Fox Hunters. Saturday 10th of May is our inaugural annual Club Fox Hunt and BBQ day. It's all been mapped out; we'll shortly tell you the starting location for participants, and the lunch location for people who just want the BBQ. In between starting line and lunch we'll be making it easy for first time FoxHunters, and interesting for those who have done this before. Start thinking about pulling a team together. And members of other clubs are welcome to join us, especially if you think you can teach us a thing or two! As always: all this info, along with any updates, is on our website at www.ddrci.org.au. Just select All Events from any of the calendar entries to se

QNEWS MARCH 23 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 180.150.53.59/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) VK4NOE FRED WHITE 29/01/25 (vk4eht) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* Ipswich & District Radio Club http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/IpswichAndDistrict/ Web – www.vk4wip.org.au Email - vk4wip@... For a full list of repeaters - www.vk4wip.org.au QNEWS 16 March 2025 In news from Ipswich and District Radio Club, WICEN volunteers will be heading out in the field for the Brisbane Trails Marathon on April 27. It’s never too late to offer your services on the day. A minimum of 14 operators are required most with a 4WD and radio equipment to operate in a remote location. Ipswich WICEN also welcomes the support from other amateurs in southeast Queensland. Please contact Paul McDonald at VK4PMCPaul@... Currently the club’s training officer is seeking expressions of interest for the next Foundation course expected to start sometime in April. A minimum of two and up to six people are needed. If you know anyone interested, including yourself, please contact Greg via email VK4GJW@... Classes are usually held Tuesday nights over a period of eight weeks. The final night being the ACMA theory and regulations exam and practical assessment. Reporting from Ipswich this is Allan, VK4HIT. DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... It's the 23rd of March and this is QNEWS from the Darling Downs Radio Club. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Club. The Management Committee is busy at work sorting out a few items that need to be addressed - we'll tell you about that at the next meeting, which will be on Monday 14 April. More about that in a second. The John Moyle Field Day was a heap of fun and thanks to all those who came along to help the club get into the history books. It will be a while before we know how we did, but in raw terms we ran for six hours with four teams across 10, 15, 20 and 40 metres. Given the commercial nature of the site we were on, we also attracted a bit of attention from the public and had more than a few people come over to find out what we were doing. Explaining Amateur Radio to onlookers is one way to increase our numbers. We also had some underbubblers drop by for a squizz: there are members of our club who are on the road to a Foundation Licence, and what better way to get a feel for what structured operating is about than to watch a team of people calling "CQ Contest"? Thanks to Dougal, VK4EKA for being team captain and arranging the main setup - a centre-fed longwire flown between trees; to Wayne VK4ARW with his quick-erect rotator dipole; and SAM VK4SAM with a most interesting multiband-vertical and an impressive ground plane. The Field Day also gave us a chance to shake out the club's self-contained trailer, designed quite effectively to operate in a mains-free environment. Fortunately we had good sun and the batteries stayed nice and charged. OK, what's coming up next? Many of us will definitely be at Redfest on 12 April, and the hunt is on for the perfect venue for the informal Club Lunch on Sunday 13 April. It will definitely be some

QNEWS MARCH 16 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? REDLIFFE SUNSHINE COAST AND DARLING DOWNS DID. --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 180.150.53.59/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) VK4NOE FRED WHITE 29/01/25 (vk4eht) Fred White VK4NOE became a silent Key on 29th January 2025. Fred was a member of the Mount Isa and Districts Amateur Radio Group when it was formed in 1979. He was known around Australia as an active member of the Royal Navel Amateur Radio Society. He was a regular participant of the RNARS net held on 15 meters on Sunday mornings in the early 80's. Fred passed away January 29 in Townsville hospital after a short illness. (vk4eht) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* Redcliffe and Districts radio club. http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/RedcliffeAndDistrictRadioClub/ Greetings from the Redcliffe & Districts Radio Club VK4RC. Robert Thomson VK4TFN here. REDFEST 25 "Adventures on HF" will be held on the 12th April 2025. Gates open at 9:00AM. Our new venue will be The Deception Bay North State School, Old Bay Road, Deception Bay. Our new venue is filling up with vendors. There's only a few tables left. Hurry and book your table. Don't miss out. Tables are $15 each For table bookings email: redfest@... Don't forget your raffle tickets for the ICOM IC-7300. It has HF and 6m. Tickets $5. Buy as many tickets as you want. redclifferadioclub.org.au/redfest Bye for now and 73's from The Redcliffe & Districts Radio Club VK4RC. DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Welcome to QNEWS for Sunday 16 March. I'm John, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club and what a week it's been. And who expected such a confluence of events that all demonstrated how useful Amateur Radio could be in a time of stress and emergency? As this segment goes to air, the John Moyle Memorial Field Day will be in its final block. The field day celebrates readiness and willingness to operate portable, without connection to mains power, and to provide training for emergency conditions. And like the universe playing a massive prank, ex-tropical-cyclone Alfred showed us all how exactly ready we would be to deal with an actual natural event, a week before the competition and at least one WICEN training exercise had to be cancelled while we dealt with the civil emergency. Alfred gave our club a chance to experiment; we tested out a new location and for the first time ran the meeting interactively over the net. It can only get better from here. And we had an opportunity to restructure the management committee with some appointments to backfill vacant positions. Check that out on the website: go to the Committee page, to see the rogues gallery and meet the leadership team. You'll probably get a few surprises. With Alfred and its aftermath now a diminishing memory, let's have a look at what's coming up in the next few weeks for Darling Downs Radio Club. The second weekend in April is going to be exceptionally busy for members and guests of the club. Many of us will be travelling to Redcliffe for Redfest on Saturday 12th of April, so we have shifted our regular informal lunch to Sunday 13 April. The location is

QNEWS MARCH 9 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? SUNSHINE COAST, DARLING DOWNS and TOWNSVILLE DID. --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 180.150.53.59/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* SUNSHINE COAST http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/SunshineCoastAmateurRadioClub/ Maleny VK4RSC 146.850 and 438.075 VK4RSN 53.7 Noosa Heads VK4RSL 146.825 and 438.175 SCARC is having a car boot sale on March 22nd at the clubrooms 85 Godfreys rd Bli Bli. Entry and traders tables are free but we do require bookings to secure a traders spot. It will be located in the grounds of the clubroom so if you need shade apart from the few large trees, you will have to organise something yourself. There will be Egg and Bacon rolls and drinks for sale as well as some great bargains to be had. Traders can setup from 8am and general entry from 9am Details of how to book a traders spot are on our website - vk4wis.org (Gordon VK4VP) DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - I'm John, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club and this is QNews for Sunday 9 March. I'm sure you all know the phrase "we live in interesting times", and this time is spectacularly interesting. QNews is assembled on the Thursday before broadcast, and written prior to that... so as I record this segment pretty much everything I say is going to be a best guess. Cyclone Alfred is already being felt through preparation for an event with which many of our clan have no experience, and with potential outcomes that nobody can predict beyond likelihood. So the first mantra for today is: whether or not we can predict an event and its outcomes, an event only becomes a disaster when preparation is inadequate, or the situation totally overwhelms resources available to cope with what's happening. The key is planning. Most of what I say from here on is going to be speculative if you're listening on Sunday the 9th, but if you get the text edition that is distributed on Friday you could be ahead of whatever curve is being thrown at us. At this stage, the club meeting on Monday 10 March will go ahead. Simon VK4TSC and Alan VK4AL from the Brisbane WICEN group are coming along to talk about emergency preparedness and WICEN: what WICEN is; what WICEN is not; how WICEN operates in our region; what you'd learn from being involved with WICEN, and how you can get involved. All great topics and extremely relevant to dealing with emergencies. It's still possible that Simon and Alan won't be able to make it from Brisbane, in which case we will either have a natter night at the Toowoomba Library Meeting Room, or we will send an email on Monday afternoon to cancel the meeting. The home page of our website will be updated with latest status, so keep a check. Assuming of course that we can still update the page. Still in in the nature of preparedness, next weekend is the scheduled John Moyle Memorial Field Day event for 2025. Our club is planning to operate in 6-hour mode from the rear of the Danish Flower Art complex on New England Highway just north of Highfields. The rules require that all operations - including battery recharging

QNEWS MRCH 2 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 180.150.53.59/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - welcome to Sunday 2 March, the start of Autumn and already we're half way to winter. Welcome to QNEWS - I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and here's news from the club for this week. First, to everyone who isn't a member of a club: this broadcast comes to you because clubs exist. Without those clubs - and the WIA is a club of sorts - much of what's good about our hobby simply wouldn't happen. So: support your club. One simple way to do that and show your support is: just be a member. If your membership has lapse: sign up. Then get involved. Trust me, it’s worth the effort. It will come back to reward you in spades. Second: everyone is welcome at DDRC events, and if you're a member of another club, why not drop round to one of our meetings or join a net? We encourage non-members too. Seriously: what can we do to help you enjoy the hobby more, and can you help us do a better job for our members? So: what's happening that's exciting and involving? Quite a bit in the repeater and net space. The work **is** now completed on the VK4RTQ UHF repeater/. RTQ UHF is both running on -7Mhz offset and is linked with the other repeaters in the group: VK4RZA and VK4RZB with a few more coming. The online browser-based Repeaterbook listing now shows correct parameters for the repeaters, but it's taking a little while for the updates to be pushed through to the Apple and Android apps. Don't forget the VHF and UHF nets: * 2m VK4WID club net on Sunday mornings at 1000 via VK4RDD 146.750 * 70cm Revival net Monday evenings at 1930 on VK4RTQ UHF 438.025 MHz (with the -7megs offset and net controller Don VK4FAX * 2m New Horizons net Tuesday evenings at 1930 on VK4RTQ VHF and relays: 147.050 on the Downs Details of frequencies, offsets, CTCSS, times, and all the other stuff is on our website. Other events: 8th of March for the Hip Pocket Challenge WICEN event at Southbrook, and the club is assisting the Brisbane WICEN group with that. 10th of March for our next club meeting at 1900 local in the Toowoomba Library meeting rooms: topic is again WICEN, with Simon Chantrill along to help get us across what WICEN is and isn't. Oh, and we're going to draw a mud map of how the repeater interconnections work, so don't miss that meeting. Saturday 15 March sees the club out at the Danish Flower Market for the John Moyle Field Day. We'll be doing the six hour option, hope to do lots of contacts in that time. and there will be plenty for all comers to do. Did you know that the club has a portable radio trailer? No? Come and find out what's in it. Saturday 15 March. As always, all this info is on our website at ddrci.org.au, and the WICEN info is also on brisbanewicen.org.au. If you can't find what you're looking for, use the club's website contact page to get in touch. And membership is half price right now, so what better time to renew or become a member for the first time. U

QNEWS FEBRUARY 23 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? DALING DOWNS and BRISBANE AREA WICEN DID. --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 180.150.53.59/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and it’s Sunday 23rd of February. Here's what's coming up for the club over the next few weeks - and it's a packed program. On Saturday the 8th of March The Brisbane WICEN group is assisting with the Toowoomba Endurance Horse Riders Association's Hip Pocket Challenge. That's being held in Southbrook, south west of Toowoomba and WICEN is providing checkpoint assistance. The event runs from 1400-midnight on the 8th, and club members and guests are invited to come along on the day and find out what running a WICEN event is all about. We'll give you more information next week, but the brisbanewicen.org.au site has a bit of info. And while you're there you can read all about last year's event. We’ll continue the theme on 10 March with our monthly member meeting. Simon Chantrill VK4TSC from Brisbane Area WICEN group is joining us, hot off the heels of the weekend event. Station readiness is vitally important, and amateur radio operators have so much to offer when there's a real emergency. Simon will give us background to WICEN and what it is - and, indeed, what WICEN is not. For those who didn't make it to the Hip Pocket event, he'll do a bit of a debrief, and talk about some of the upcoming events in our region - and tell you how you could get involved. Finally, on 15 March the club is going bush for the John Moyle Field Day. Actually, we'll be in the relatively comfy confines of the Danish Flower Market complex just outside Highfields, but we'll be fully compliant with the John Moyle Field Day rules: the aim is to operate fully portable and literally in the field, which is training for emergency situations - as well as the opportunity to get an award for the club. Plan to come along and help us: we'll be doing the six hour option, and there will be plenty for all comers to do. Did you know that the club has a portable radio trailer? No? Come and find out what's in it. Saturday 15 March. And just ensure that Saturday 10 May is in your diary before there's a clash with something much less important. More info to come, but it's the date of our first annual Club Fox Hunt and BBQ. Fox Hunt will start from a secret location, and finish at another secret location with - you guessed it: a barbecue. As always, all this info is on our website at ddrci.org.au, and the WICEN info is on brisbanewicen.org.au. If you can't find what you're looking for, use the clubs website contact page to get in touch. And membership is half price right now, so what better time to renew or become a member for the first time. Until next week, 73s from John, VK4JPM for the DDRCi. Redcliffe and Districts radio club. http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/RedcliffeAndDistrictRadioClub/ Greetings from the Redcliffe & Districts Radio Club VK4RC. Robert Thomson VK4TFN here. REDFEST 25 "Adventures on HF" will be

QNEWS FEBRUARY 16 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... It’s Sunday 16th of February. I’m John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and welcome to a bit of a QNews special. This past week I’ve been in Fiji taking part in the Pacific Media Partnership Conference and especially a session on disaster readiness and risk management for Broadcasters. Response to a hazard is about preparation, which is one of the areas where Amateur Radio operators have always played and continue to play a very important role. We are known to excel at supporting disaster communications. And in recognition of that, our club is stepping up focus on areas of our hobby where a bit of prep will pay off in a big way. So here are four upcoming club activities with which you can get involved. Firstly, our next meeting. Historically in Australia, the amateur radio group focused on natural hazards has been the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network, or WICEN. At our March meeting on Monday 10th, Simon Chantrill VK4TSC from Brisbane Area WICEN group is joining us to talk about the role of WICEN; what WICEN does across the country and in Queensland; how you can deploy those highly useful skills that you developed when you worked towards your license, and how you can use those skills to help the broader community. Fortunately not every WICEN activity is an emergency and it’s better if WICEN never gets deployed in anger. Many events are peaceful, community oriented, and how we learn the skills we need when a hazard goes pear-shaped. As Simon says: WICEN is a state of mind and being ready is everything. So write that down: 10 March at the Toowoomba Library for our March Technical Meeting and member night. But wait: there’s more. On the weekend immediately before Simon’s visit, he’ll be working on a WICEN event to support the Toowoomba Endurance Horse Riders Association’s Hip Pocket Challenge, being held in Southbrook. The team will be setting up on Friday 7 March, and the event runs from 1400-midnight on Saturday the 8th. WICEN provides checkpoint and safety controls, and assists the organizers to ensure that incidents are managed and don’t turn into disasters. All club members are welcome to come along, see how it’s done, and skill up. Maybe even participate at a checkpoint. You don’t need to have a license for this one, but you can definitely treat it as part of your training if a ham licence is your aim. Then on weekend of 15/16 March you can join us at the Danish Flower Art Complex on the New England Highway for the club’s contribution to the 2025 John Moyle Memorial Field Day. The point of the field day is to learn now to be ready for totally portable operation. That’s one of the likely situations when a hazard becomes a disaster, and the combo of radio and life skills becomes a winner. We’ll tell you next week how to get involved. And it’s an easy one to work: this year we’ll take the multiple operator six hour option. Even though ever

QNEWS FEBRUARY 09 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Good morning, good evening, good night, good day and good grief. So many repeats on this news that I hope you get it before the club meeting this coming Monday. Hi; I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club and this news will be fresh if it's Sunday 9th of February. Most importantly, tomorrow night Monday 10th is our February club meeting, where members, guests and others will find out lots about the Amateur Radio take on the Fox Hunt, and how you can have massive amounts of fun and learn useful stuff at the same time. The meeting will be hosted by Bruce VK4MQ, who has been beavering away over the last two months to construct a heap of projects to show you how a Fox Hunt works. Actually, you might not know what Fox Hunting is all about, so here's the gist: the person assigned as the fox takes a small transmitter of sufficient power - which might not be very much - and hides it somewhere. The hunt participants then use a receiver and a directional antenna to locate the fox. That could be really simple - for instance if the fox is hidden in a back yard under a garbage bin it won't be hard to find. Or it could be tricky and tough, for instance if the fox is hidden up a tree on the other side of a river. Or somewhere even more challenging than that. We're wondering if someone has though of hiding a fox on the international space station. Hey, it could happen. Bruce is going to show you Fox Hunt equipment designs that you can make really cheaply and simply. Let's start with the obvious item: a hand-held directional antenna. Bruce has designed a portable antenna that works wonderfully and can be built in under an hour using conduit and coathangers or any other wire you have around. Next, how about a signal strength meter, so that you can see how close you are to the fox? Bruce found a cheap Chinese module that gives a useful expanded meter display, and that would set you back for well under ten bucks. I've seen the prototype and it has more than 70dB of linear scale on a real meter, and it looks gorgeous. Finally you might need a 2m filter for your handheld, and Bruce has created one of those to get rid of other noise that might confuse your receiver... and you. The Fox Hunt meeting special, and indeed all the projects, has been designed for those of us who have no experience with Fox Hunting and no particular skill. That makes it a meeting that's ideal for newbs and young'uns, so bring the kids and let's get them started with our hobby? Plus it will get you started on the path to our planned club Fox Hunt day in May. The meeting starts at 1900 in the Toowoomba Library in Herries Street near Grand Central on Monday 10th of February, and it's in a meeting room on level 3. That's easy to find, and there's plenty of free offstreet parking. A reminder of events in the future: Stand by for details of the club's plans for the John Moyle Field Day over the weeke

HERE IS YOUR WIA AUDIO + QNEWS ADVICE for FEBRUARY 2 2025. UNLESS YOU RECEIVE THIS WEEKLY EMAIL TO ADVISE NEWS IS READY NEVER DOWNLOAD WIA OR QNEWS UNTIL 0400 UTC SATURDAYS ------------------------------------------------------------------- WOULD ALL RECEIVING THIS POST PLEASE CHECK THAT THE BROADCASTS YOU LISTEN TO ARE CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED ON THE WIA PAGE The WIANEWS audio mp3 file is ready for you to download from www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/wianews/ National news is 30.00 QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au QNEWS this week is 8.00 BACKUPS:- PLEASE ALWAYS DOWNLOAD NEWS BY MONDAY 1001 UTC IF USING BACKUP SITES. QNEWS backup thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ WIANEWS backup thanks to Brendan VK4BLP can be found on www.wiaq.org.au BACKUPS OF THE BACKUP!! www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ PLEASE DOWNLOAD NEWS BY MONDAY IF USING BACKUP SITES. VK1WIA Wireless Institute of Australia's Weekly News Broadcast NOW IN HD VIDEO AVAILABLE FROM SUNDAY FOR YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBERS tinyurl.com/WIA-News-Videos Any questions on news contact nationalnews@... Callback reports are to be sent to callbacks@... and as long as they are received by Saturday evening they will be included in the callback report that goes out every Sunday morning. Don't forget to email us your new or updated imagistic/promotion of where you listen or transmit this news on details at https://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ How do I leave this REBROADCASTERS List? (unsubscribe your feed) Open mail program which sends mail from the address you want to UNSUBSCRIBE from. Send unsubscribe to the list unsubscribe address vk1wia-broadcasters-leave@... You will be sent a confirmation mail and must follow the instructions given in that mail to complete the unsubscription. Once your unsubscription has been processed, you will probably receive a message confirming your unsubscription from the list and at that point you should stop receiving messages. How do I join this REBROADCASTERS List? (subscribe for an automatic feed.) Email to vk1wia-broadcasters-join@... from the email account that you wish the emails to go to. PLEASE DOWNLOAD NEWS BY MONDAY IF USING BACKUP SITES.

QNEWS FEBRUARY 02 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? REDCLIFFE AND DARLING DOWNS DID --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* Redcliffe and Districts radio club. wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/RedcliffeAndDistrictRadioClub/ REDFEST 2025 Adventures on HF Update. Greetings from the Redcliffe & Districts Radio Club VK4RC. Robert Thomson VK4TFN here. REDFEST 25 "Adventures on HF" will be held on the 12 th April 2025. Our new venue wil be The Deception Bay North State School, Old Bay Road, Deception Bay. We will raffle a very nice ICOM IC-7300. We're sorting through our shed and so the Redcliffe Club tables will be overflowing with all manner of pre-loved bargains as will the vendors tables. Go too: www.redclifferadioclub.org.au for more information. Bye for now and 73's from The Redcliffe & Districts Radio Club VK4RC. Thank you Robert VK4TFN 0428 044 992 DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hello and welcome to the weekly update from the Darling Downs Radio Club. I'm Secretary John VK4JPM. It's GroundHog Day, so I've checked with Punxatawnie Phil and we're either in for another four weeks of Queensland snow, or this segment will replay over and over again until the next Club meeting on Monday 10 February. Speaking of which: Bruce, VK4MQ is preparing for the session on Fox Hunting with ever more interesting do-it-yourself tools. He has just completed a signal strength meter that you can build for almost nothing - seriously, since the key expanded meter component is a Chinese module costing $6 or less. Bruce also promises to describe how you can make a directional antenna in one hour with easily available parts for under $5, and he's worked up a seriously high-Q 2m filter at a similarly unbelievable price. The message here is that you can get into Fox Hunting without spending a lot of money; you can have a heap of fun in an only slightly competitive field, and learn so much about radio and electronics in the process. That's a really important reason for our hobby, and Bruce is keen get you up to speed. Come along and plan to have your horizons expanded, because that's what club meetings are about. That, a beverage or two with friends and some timtams. It's on the 10th of February starting from 1900. We meet in the Toowoomba Library, level 3, with tons of undercover parking in the basement, so even if it did snow in Queensland you won't get wet. At Darling Downs Radio Club we believe that being social is an important part of amateur radio, so a reminder about our bi-monthly informal lunch this coming Saturday February 8th. We'll be meeting at Cafe Inferno in the Southern Hotel on Ruthven Street Toowoomba, just a bit south of the CBD. All very relaxed, and the menu still includes the great value Six Super Saver Specials menu. Highly alliterative, and very tasty. You can't go wrong. Again you'll find address and more details on the club website, and it would help if you register via email to lunch@.... Now, a few upcoming events. There's a WICEN event in Southbrook on 8/9/10 March; the John Moyle Field Day over t

QNEWS JANUARY 26 2025 - AX4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DESJARDINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) --------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hello - and here's the QNEWS contribution from the Darling Downs Radio Club for Sunday 26 January. I'm John VK2JPM, Secretary of the club. Coming up: the next club meeting is on the evening of Monday 10th of February in the Toowoomba library at 1900. This month's topic is Fox Hunting, and Bruce VK4MQ is going to do his darndest to show you the two most important outcomes that you can get from our hobby: have a REALLY good time, and develop great technical and life skills. Fox Hunting isn't complex. Someone takes a small transmitter, which could typically be on 80m or 2m, and puts it where it can be found. Then people - the hunters, working individually or in teams - try to find the fox using whatever techniques work for them. That could be a simple antenna and a Chinese handheld, or it could be a very sophisticated. So... part of the fun is in the chasing and finding, and part of the fun is in developing better tools and techniques. For instance, here's something you might not have thought about: the same techniques used in ham fox-hunts can be - and are - used to track and find livestock, and to rescue humans who have triggered an emergency beacon. This could truly be a life-changing or life-saving meeting for you to attend. We're planning a club Fox Hunt event in late March or April, and Bruce will show you how to be prepared for not much money and only a small amount of effort. That date again: Monday 10 February at 1900 in the Toowoomba Library. If you're coming to the meeting and you've been busy constructing over the holidays, why not bring a bit of show and tell? Do you have to be a member of the club to attend our meetings? Absolutely not. Anyone can come, and all are welcome. Meetings are what we do to spread information about our hobby, get people together, and have a better time because... well, that's what a club is about. While we're on the calendar: anyone is welcome to join us at our next informal lunch... we do these on the second Saturday of every even month, so the next lunch is on the 8th. All the details are on our website at www.ddrci.org.au and you get to meet some of the gang in a convivial atmosphere... that's PR talk for have an enjoyable lunch with a friendly group. I'll update you next week on some of our future plans - the John Moyle Field Day is coming up in March, I've mentioned a scheduled Fox Hunt, and there will likely be a group of us heading to Dayton Hamvention in May. If you missed any of the info in this bulletin: it's on the website, or if you have questions about anything at all - like, who can I ask about why my radio doesn't work? - drop us a line. Secretary@... will get our attention, and someone will get back to you pretty quickly. 73 from John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. As I sat down at

QNEWS JANUARY 19 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DES JADINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) --------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi, I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club. It's Sunday 19th of January and welcome to the QNEWS for this week. It's already only 22 sleeps away from our first member meeting of 2025, on the second Monday of February. Bruce VK4MQ has a passion for Fox Hunting, and he's champing at the bit to show you why and how that happened. Not only is Bruce bringing along some of his home-brew foxes so that you can see what one looks like up close and personal, but he's a big fan of the cheap DIY directional antenna. There's lots more to fox hunting than just a transmitter and a receiver - although those are a big help. It's also helpful to have a bit of technique, both as a hunter or as the fox, and Bruce will let you in on hints, tips, and winning strategies that you can use in either role. This is how Bruce gets to talk about the nuns and the beat-up sedan. Bruce has promised to bring along some raw materials and will build a directional antenna on the spot. Here's another tip: Bruce did some investigation on a couple of 3.7Volt LiPO cells that were showing the dreaded 0volt reading, and discovered something rather remarkable. You can come along and find out what he did, which was a big surprise even for a major sceptic like Bruce. All this takes place at the Toowoomba Library on Monday 10th of Feb starting from 1900 local time (or 7pm if you're having problems with 24-hour finger-maths). Plenty of free and secure parking, and you'll find us on the upper level when you get in the lift. Also with plenty of parking: our next social lunch is on Saturday 8th of Feb. From around 1130 you'll find us on a table at "Fire and Ice" = that's the northern bar of Toowoomba's Southern Hotel in Ruthven Street. The club meetings and the lunches are open to anyone - just come along and get involved. We love saying hi to new attendees, and help you get connected with people who share your interests. It's so easy for fascination with hobby-level electronics or a ham licence to turn into a very solid career, as many of us have found. Coming up: the John Moyle Memorial Field Day will be held in March, and we've just been told that Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club's REDFEST 2025 will be held on Saturday 12th of April. All of this information and more is on our website at ddrci.org.au, in QNEWS online, or send email questions to secretary@... Thanks for joining us - I'm John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. (J) Redcliffe and Districts radio club. http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/RedcliffeAndDistrictRadioClub/ Greetings from the Redcliffe Radio Club VK4RC. Robert Thomson VK4TFN here. REDFEST 2025 will be held on the 12th April 2025 The Theme will be "Fun on HF" We have a new venue. REDFEST 2025 will be held at the Deception Bay North State School in Old Bay Road Deception Bay. We will Raffle a very nice ICOM radio TxRx. Go to redclifferadioclub.org.au for more information.

QNEWS JANUARY 12 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DES JADINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) --------------------------------------------------------------------* ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi, and welcome to the second QNEWS for 2025 - I'm John Maizels, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club and it's Sunday 12th of January. First up reminder is that if you're listening to this on Sunday morning and in range of the club's repeater VK4RDD on 146.75, then the regular 2M Net is at the top of the hour at 1000 local time. Pretty much that's the same time as the rest of Queensland, so if you're listening to this on Sunday evening then you've missed it. If you are around, then please join in with the gang any Sunday - you don't have to be a club member - and meet the locals. Also something for which you don't have to be a member: our next club technical gathering is on Monday 10th of February when you can come and learn some ins and outs of Fox Hunting. In fact, you can read all about the meeting and Fox Hunting on our website right now - go to www.ddrci.org.au and check the calendar entries at the start... where you'll be reminded that we don't have a meeting in January. Also on the website: the latest club bulletin courtesy of our editor Len, and some interesting videos. Here's a tip: you should scroll down to the bottom of the home page and check out why being involved in ham radio is a good thing. You should play the RSGB video - it's a few years old, but you'd never know: the message is really fresh and it paints a great picture of our hobby. And when you watch it, note who appears on screen. The Darling Downs Club aims to be every bit as inclusive as the video suggests. No questions are too silly, no age or gender distinction is important, and we have lots of people ready to help you take your technology interests further. Maybe you can help us set a few records: we've been told about a YOTA operator who is only 8, so we're looking for the 7-year-old technologist who wants to get started! Drop us a line so that we can provide en Other reminders: our next club lunch is on Saturday 8th of February, and the 80m Club HF Net is Saturday nights at 1930 on 3.65 plus/minus QRM. If you missed any of the words or dates: it's all in QNews online, or check our website. And if you have questions: secretary@ ddrci.org.au will find us. Until next week, have fun on and off-air, and catch you down the log. 73s from John VK4JPM and the team at Darling Downs Radio Club. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. As we move into a new calendar year it seems right to wonder what the direction of amateur radio is taking. There has been a tradition of maintaining practices which were foundational to the pursuit of AR. Over one hundred years ago, the wireless enthusiast was largely a home constructor. Morse code had been around for several years and its use in railway, shipping and military areas meant that it was the logica

QNEWS JANURY 5 2025 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DES JADINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) --------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Here's a Happy New Year to our listeners all over Queensland and beyond - coming to you from the Darling Downs Radio Club in Toowoomba. I'm John VK4JPM, secretary of the Club, and welcome to 2025. It's Sunday 5th of January, and time for a good look forward to what's coming up this year - all of which you can check on our website. This is a good time to remind you that our activities are open to anyone who is interested in any aspect of our hobby - including just being social - and from wherever you might be travelling. Darling Downs is a really lovely part of the country with so much to see, do and eat. Oh yes, some of the best food in the country. Here's a thought: why not combine a social, business, or activation trip with one of our meetings? You can pop the dates in your diary now - grab a pencil and jot this down. As always, January is a no-meeting month, when we let members get on with it. For the rest of the year, our meeting cadence is pretty easy to follow: on the second Monday of each month, at 1900 local, we meet at the Toowoomba Library for a tech topic session. You'll find details on the website calendar. And if it's an EVEN-numbered month we meet for a social lunch on the second Saturday. Next one of those is 8th of February from 1130 - make the opportunity to come to town and join us. And if you decide to hang around for the weekend, you could be in place for our next member meeting on Monday Feb 10th. Bruce Boardman, VK4MQ, has some great ideas about fox hunting, both from the hunt and homebrew construction. We agree with Bruce that Fox Hunting combines a great way to learn practical electronics and to sharpen analytical and diagnostic skills - perfect positioning to help high school students work towards high ATAR scores. February meeting on Monday the 10th. If you want more info, check the website at www.ddrci.org.au or drop a line to secretary@... and we'll get back to you. That's it for this week; 73 from John VK4JPM, and the Darling Downs Radio Club team. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. It seemed a happy co-incidence that our Sun joined in the earthly celebrations by providing not one but two solar storms to mark our arbitrary New Year. The fireworks looked spectacular on the TV and the solar winds must have provided entertainment and frustration to radio users around the world. The significance of New Year is not whether it is correct by the laws of physics and mathematics but the mental prompt it gives we humans to refocus and align our thoughts and actions to priorities that may have slipped from view. For each of us, it marks a new beginning to a new time period and the mental stimulus can guide us in new directions and away from patterns that have become routine, is another way of putting it. This small segment, in the weekly news service, is primaril

QNEWS DECEMBER 29 2024 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DES JADINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) VK4RG RON GRANDISON 22/12/24 (vk4hit) Following a QNEWS report from Ipswich on December 8, very sad news to report is that Ron Grandison VK4RG passed away 2am on Sunday December 22. Ron was one of the originals of the Ipswich and District Radio Club. He helped build the clubhouse in in the early 1960s and participated in many events. He was the morning voice of the 8am net which started in 1986. His last was only on November 25 this year. When you heard Ron's voice you knew it was 0800 hours precisely. Ron had a positive presence in many lives. Funeral details will be published on the Ipswich club's FaceBook page and emailed to all members. Vale Ron Grandison VK4RG. (vk4hit) --------------------------------------------------------------------* ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - I'm John VK4JPM, secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and this is our final club update... for 2024. It's Sunday 27nd of December, and Ho, Ho, Happy. Yes, it's that moment between two public holidays and another one; the time when the euphoria hasn't quite worn off, but you don't know what you're going to do next week. Whether you had a religious experience, or your break was purely secular, did you manage to acquire a few more toys for the shack or do some electronics activity? There are two reasons that I'm asking. Firstly, it's time for some show and tell activity. Our next meeting, which will be the second Monday in February - is on the topic of fox hunting. Necessarily, that translates into a bit of home-brew experience, which is one of the many threads for which ham radio operators are renowned. So between now and February - and don't worry, we'll remind you about the date often enough - think about what you might bring along. That's one reason. The other is info experience with a few of the remarkable Chinese e-commerce website that will sell you anything from a tagged 4/5A Nicad battery to a pair of underpants. My experience so far has been overwhelmingly good, but one of our members uncovered a real lemon of a product, and we'll be talking about that in the coming weeks. It's New Year's Day on Wednesday... best wishes for the coming year from all of us at your Club - and all clubs; be safe; try to avoid fireworks in the shack, and good luck with that elusive contact on-air... seems a few of the bands have been remarkably open at just the right time for the holidays. Do you have a presentation topic that you'd like us to cover in a meeting next year? Tell us. In particular, what might appeal to younger people? Drop a line to secretary@..., and check out our website at www.ddrci.org.au. 73 from John VK4JPM, and from the entire team at the Darling Downs Radio Club. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Well the wrapping paper and remnants of Christmas feasting have past us by and the mid-night reverie of New Year is almost upon us. What a strange ending to this

QNEWS DECEMBER 22 2024 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DES JADINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - I'm John VK4JPM Darling Downs Radio Club Secretary with the club update for Sunday 22nd of December. Wow - hasn't the year gone quickly. We're already thinking ahead to next year's technical sessions, and we have an interesting list of topics lined up - look out for presentations on Fox Hunting, Overvoltage protection, how to get the best from Chinese handhelds, clever antennas, and more. If there's a topic that you'd like us to cover, why not make the suggestion? And even better, if there's a topic you could present, we'd like to know - and if you're listening to this from out of region, don't be put off. We love to host out-of-towners. Either way, drop a line to secretary@... In the something different department, a couple of us have been thinking about whether we could get a group to Dayton Hamvention. Hamvention - the world's biggest hamfest - will be held from 16-18 May next year, and next year is only ten days away! We'd like to know if Hamvention might be on your bucket list and if you'd like to be part of a smallish group for - say - a two week tour with organised side trips to see some tech and transmission that you wouldn't otherwise get to experience. And you'd always be free to travel before and/or afterwards under your own steam if you felt like a longer stay. Right now it's just an idea that we're testing but if you have any interest at all, let us know so we can get an idea of potential numbers. If enough people are willing, we'll put a trip together. More about this in early January. National News and QNews will keep running over the summer festive season, and we will too. Check out our website at www.ddrci.org.au, and watch for our updates across the break. Have a happy holiday season, whatever that brings. And that's it for this week - 73 from John VK4JPM for the team at the Darling Downs Radio Club. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. We are in that frantic time before the great days of celebration and feasting. Whether you mark the occasion by attending church or enjoying a secular holiday, Christmas is a time of bustle and activity. The traditions that people bring to this time of year tend to reinforce family and friendship bonds and unhappily for some, refresh painful memories of people and places. It can be hoped that everyone can find comfort, support and a rewarding fellowship to mark this time. Whether we share the days with others or relax alone we can be certain that millions of other people are taking part in similar traditions as we are. Funnily, over the years of listening for the sounds of new presents being put on air, there seems to be a habit that people do share the celebration of Christmas Day and so much so that I have normally got no incentive to hit the airwaves as the bands usually appear deserted. As this holiday has embraced new traditions over time, such as the givi

QNEWS DECEMBER 15 2024 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DES JADINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) --------------------------------------------------------------------* ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - I'm John VK4JPM Darling Downs Radio Club Secretary with the club update for Sunday 15th of December. Nice and quick this week, and as we move towards the end of the year our scheduled regular club activities take a break until the beginning of February. But don't lose track of the dates: Saturday 8 February for our next club lunch social, and Monday 10 February for the members meeting and tech topic. More details on those in coming weeks. Speaking of tech topics, we had a great session with John VK4JBE discussing Software Defined Radios. John gave us a cheatsheet to help with SDR selection, and has kindly provided some followup materials to help get started. That info will be on the website in a bit, and was sent round to everyone who is a member or who is registered with us for emails. If that's not you, drop a line to Secretary@... and we'll add you to the list so that you don't miss out. Not taking a break: the weekly club nets will continue: 2m on VK4RDD at 1000 local on Sundays, and 80m on Saturday evenings. You might also be interested in a new 80m net that's coming out of Warwick, where Mark VK4OY will host the Boundary Rider net every Monday to Friday on 3.675MHz at 2000 local time. Check out our website at www.ddrci.org.au, and watch for additional news as we do some updates over the break. But that's it for this week - 73 from John VK4JPM for the team at the Darling Downs Radio Club. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Only ten more days and children and the not so young will be enjoying the festivities of Christmas. Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Many of the things that I remember from my childhood are still part of the items that are still common today. The events are still followed but the things that are used have been modernised. I can remember a genuine tree being cut and mounted in the house and then adorned with suitable decorations. These days there is the convenience of store bought manufactured trees and trinkets which aren’t necessarily valuable enough to wrap in tissue paper and store until the next year. When I first caught the bug of radio, I made my first logbook. It was nothing more than a school exercise book that I ruled up and labelled the columns for the date, time and call signs etcetera. These days, a quick internet search will bring you many styles of logging from apps to printable styles, from records you can save on your electronic device to creating a permanent paper memento. That brought me to thinking about how we can make available stored information for use both within the shack, out in the field portable of course, and in our club activities too. Certainly a printed form of reference is preferred by many of us but the convenience of electronic memory has a lot to recommend it. The amount of storage that is now cheaply available on

QNEWS DECEMBER 8 2024 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DES JADINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) --------------------------------------------------------------------* CLUBBING ---------------------------------------------------------------------* Ipswich & District Radio Club http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/IpswichAndDistrict/ Web – www.vk4wip.org.au Email - vk4wip@... For a full list of repeaters - www.vk4wip.org.au (audio: Ron calling in stations) And that’s the familiar sound of Ron VK4RG recorded in 2012 calling in the Ipswich morning net. This is Allan VK4HIT with news from Ipswich and District Radio Club. Ron has been calling in the Ipswich morning net since July 1986. That is an incredible 38 years and must be some kind of record for hosting a daily net anywhere in the world. Put another way it’s almost 13,800 morning nets – give or take holidays here and there. Here’s Ron, again in 2012, recalling when and how the net started with a former workmate at Mount Crosby Water Treatment Plant. (audio: Ron recalling start of morning net) For Ron it has been a labour of love and for the rest of us listening or taking part in the net, he has been a constant – the voice of reassurance in a world of change. Sadly, Monday November 25 was the last time Ron made the regular call for stations owing to a change of home address which doesn’t permit a base station setup. VK4RG was first licensed in 1956, and is hopeful his trusty handheld will enable him to call in from time to time. VK4RG, we salute you and thank you for your service to the club and amateur radio. Reporting from Ipswich this is Allan, VK4HIT. DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - I'm John VK4JPM Darling Downs Radio Club Secretary with the club update for Sunday 8th of December. Before I remind you about the tech meeting tomorrow night - yes, tomorrow night - a bit more detail on the club's end-of-year BBQ on Saturday 14th... that's next Saturday if you're listening to this as part of the broadcast. The BBQ social will be held at Webb Park in Toowoomba. If you've never heard of that location - Webb Park that is; we're pretty sure you know where Toowoomba is - it's easy to find on the map applications, and just as easy to find in reality. We can't promise that we'll be alone, or that the weather will be perfect, but we can tell you that there are four hotplates under cover, more than one picnic bench, reasonably good parking, a gentle walk down the hill to the main area, and an absolutely spectacular view. You'd be looking east towards Brisbane, and FM propagation will be excellent. It's not a POTA park, but there will be plenty of opportunity to test out anything that will run on batteries, and there are lots of trees to hang the long wire. All welcome, families and young people particularly, and it's the standard deal for this type of gathering: BYO everything. Maybe even a spare chair in case others grab the tables first. We kick off at 1130, and the day will run until the last person leaves. Full details can be found on the club website at www.ddrci.org.au. Talk-in probably via the club repeater VK4RDD on 146.750 with a 91.5Hz tone. And speak

QNEWS DECEMBER 1 2024 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS thanks to Tony VK7AX can be found on www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ 203.31.7.19/wianews/ QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* VK4 SILENT KEYS @ WIA YEAR FROM MAY 6 2024 SK CALL SK NAME DATE ADVISED BY VK4PS ALAN STEPHENSON 23/05/24 (vk4zz) VK4FANG ROGER HARNDEN 22/07/24 (vk4zz) X/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4TE ALEX McDONALD 27/09/24 (vk4ra) VK4NL NOEL DES JADINS 16/10/24 (vk4vp) --------------------------------------------------------------------* ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - I'm John VK4JPM Darling Downs Radio Club Secretary with the club update for Sunday 1st of December. We'd like to know if these updates are useful. Drop us a line to secretary@... to give us good or bad news. There's been a lot of interest in the next tech meeting, to be held on Monday 9 December at the Toowoomba Library, starting from 1900 local time. John VK4JBE will be our expert guide into the exciting topic of Software Defined Radios. As mentioned, this is where the traditional circuitry of LCR front ends in mixers, filters, amplifiers, mod/demods, detectors, and all manner of RF signal handling is replaced by software and some embedded electronics. There are a couple of good online articles about how SDR started, and the information in Wikipedia is worth a review. This will be a practical session in which John will show and demonstrate real hardware and available online solutions to help you understand what you can and can't do. Did you even know that there are SDRs available online? Yep, you can control or interrogate hardware remotely through a browser session. That gives you access to online SDR sites all over the world. Most of us will be using either SDR hardware built into off-the-shelf HF and higher-band radios, or you might have your own dongle like the RTL SDR. John will talk about how you can control such hardware in the shack, and what you can and can't achieve. If you have your own dongle or hardware, feel free to bring it along. If you're thinking of buying one, then you're in luck: John has some good comparative information to help you make a choice. That's all happening on Monday 9 December at the Toowoomba Library, level 3, and tons of free secure parking under the building. Now to social activities, and the end-of-year BBQ/picnic/live ragchew and family day will be held on Saturday 14 December. Location is up now on the website: we're meeting at a park in Toowoomba that has great facilities, and - weather permitting, because all parks are outdoors - will provide a neato setting for some actual ham activity should you feel inclined. Check the club website at ddrci.org.au for details of location and how to register. I'll give you more information next week, but it's the standard deal: no charge, BYO everything. Starting from 1130, and running until people leave. Should be tons of room, but you might want to bring a chair in case all the tables have gone. Finally, don't forget the 2M club net on VK4RDD every Sunday at 1000, and the 80M net on 3.650 ± QRM every Saturday at 1930. If you missed any of the detail in this bulletin, don't panic. It's all on the website. www.ddrci.org.au, and you can drop a note to Secretary@... if you want to get on the mailing list. But once again: Monday 9 December for the SDR tech session, and Saturday 14 December for the BBQ. That's it for this week - 73 from John VK4JPM for the t