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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

QNEWS NOVEMBER 24 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 - John VK4JPM Darling Downs Radio Club Publicity Officer with the club update for Sunday 24th of November. Before we start with next meeting, pop Saturday 14 December in your diary. That's the planned date for our annual outdoor club lunch and barbecue, which will be held in the Toowoomba area. Details coming, but weather permitting it will be a day for everyone: hams, YLs, YOTAs and most likely with a few actual activities to show what our hobby is about. And a certain amount of eating and social activity will take place. Our next club meeting tech session on Monday 9 December will take us into the exciting and very accessible topic of Software Defined Radios. 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. As a result you can do amazing things in very small packages. John VK4JBE will be our expert guide into the SDR world to help you understand what you can and can't do. This could be as simple as browser access to online SDR sites all over the world, or you could use your own dongle with Windows, Mac, Linux or Raspberry Pi front-end. John is bringing a heap of hardware to demonstrate, and we're going to allow extra time if you bring your own hardware along. Speaking of which, if you want to buy an SDR dongle, check the websites for the well known online outlets. For under $100 you'd have just enough time to get one delivered ahead of the meeting if you order today - and if that's the sort of thing you might do, look on the web for RTL SDR V4. Many of the Chinese sites and local suppliers are comfortably able to deliver to Darling Downs in under two weeks. By the way, Dave VK4DN's talk on balloons was fascinating, and has resonated with a number of members. Are you interested in doing something yourself or getting the club involved with such a project? Talk to us! Secretary@... will find us. Don't forget the 2M club net on VK4RDD every Sunday at 1000, and the 80M net on Saturdays at 1930. If you didn't write down any of that, check the website. It's all there, and you can click through the calendar entries for more detail. Plus you can read this month's newsletter, and get access to all our other good info. Finally: if you haven't renewed your membership, now would be a good time... think of it as your Santa's gift to the club. Membership is only $30 per year, and less for concessions. Your membership helps fund activities, and lets us know you care. The membership form (for joining and renewals) is on the website. And if you just want to get on our mailing list, that's fine too. Drop a note to Secretary@... and we'll make things happen to keep you informed. 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 team at the Darling Downs Radio Club. VK4

QNEWS NOVEMBER 17 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) --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. We like to be able to identify and put a face to bodies with which we associate. At times the face is that of a person who has power to influence outcomes and at other times it is a willing spokesperson, a media face. Within our club structures, the group that forms the executive is usually supporting the leader or chair person in public statements. Unlike politicians we don’t and can’t justify having a media spokesperson in a not-for-profit body. But at times the very important role of publicity officer is the unsung hero who gets the message out to the membership, the TV and print and broadcast media and, of course, to other clubs and enthusiasts. Normally we don’t get to see or hear much of publicity officers except for perhaps their name on the bottom of a post or news release. Yet it is this person who can provide a wide range of support to our body not only with the necessary dispersal of information but making sure that the name of our club is “out there”. These days there are many platforms which people use for sourcing news and information. Once we depended on books, libraries and newspapers but these days the internet gives us instant access to many opportunities. To this end, do you know what your membership turns to for entertainment, news and messaging? Once it was web pages that carried the traffic but these days we have numerous social media platforms and they tend to be used by different segments of the community. Has anyone gone to the trouble of finding out what club members are using regularly or what family members are chatting with from school ages through to grandparents? I bet you will find that many households are represented on several of these apps. Then naturally we have to include our specific avenues which are dedicated to supporting amateur radio. We have club pages on net platforms, the bi-monthly Amateur Radio magazine and of course our weekly news service provided by the WIA. As a regular listener have you taken the time to count the number of clubs who provide material to QNews? The regular number would probably amount to the fingers of one hand with maybe two or three appearing more than a couple of times each year. This is why I believe the publicity officer is the unsung hero because they take the time to answer those questions I have asked and they endeavour to get their messages out on all the appropriate platforms. It was whilst I was at school that I started listening to the weekly news broadcast and I continued doing so as I became a shortwave listener and then a licensed amateur. If my experience stands for anything, it is that we never know who is listening and with the world wide spread of amateur radio and the internet we never should be surprised where these listeners are. We are a community of enthusiasts and we should know how to speak to each other and include those we don’t know as well. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think….how about you? ---------------------------------------

QNEWS NOVEMBER 10 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 - John VK4JPM with the Darling Downs Radio Club update for Sunday 10th of November. Let's start with the reminder for tomorrow's member meeting. These run on the second Monday of every month at the Toowoomba Library starting from 1900 local time. You'll find us on level three: enter from Victoria Street; tons of free parking underneath; take the lift up and keep turning right after the doors open. You can't miss us. This month the topic is balloons, and specifically those that go half way to outer space - maybe even three times as high as jet planes. Dave Nebe, VK4DN was part of a team from Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club when they did two High Altitude Balloon Experiment launches and he'll be along tomorrow to tell us the full story. There are so many parts to an experiment like this, and it's what hams do best: we come up with ideas and make them work. Dave will be able to talk about the preparation, payloads, the launch, recovery, and what the experimenters learned - from both successes and failures. Bring your questions and your experiences. And who knows - maybe this is an opportunity for the Darling Downs club to do something similar. Speaking of the Club, over the last month we supported JOTA in Goombungee, and soldering training in Bundaberg. It might seem like small activities, but this is butterfly wings stuff. You just don't know who is going to be influenced and how. Coming up: in December our meeting topic is Software Defined Radios, and what you can do with some pretty cheap and easily available hardware. Plus we want to talk to you about ideas for club development and where we might head in the next five years. The committee has a few ideas floating around and we'd like your input and thoughts. It's YOUR club! All this is on the website at www.ddrci.org.au, and if you're a member you should have received an email with the latest news and reminders. If you can't find info or you have a question, drop a line to secretary@..., and if you didn't get to write that down just use your favourite search engine for darling downs radio club. You'll find us. But mostly we'd like to find you so here's a final reminder: tomorrow night, Toowoomba Library, 1900 Eastern time, and join us for the meeting, a cuppa, a natter, and a bit of brain food. And don't forget club net on VK4RDD every Sunday at 1000. 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. This past week has seen some notable happenings. The Melbourne Cup was run and won by a Queensland trained horse. The Reserve Bank held the interest rate constant. An inland town was evacuated because of strong fire activity and the Sun has assailed us with solar flare action once more. However, the thing that has captured the media attention has been the electoral joust in the USA. It would

QNEWS NOVEMBER 3 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 - John VK4JPM with the Darling Downs Radio Club update for Sunday 3rd of November. I'd like to start with a question. Are you a member of a radio club - ANY CLUB - and why would you join us? Let's look at a few good reasons for being involved: * you get to meet like minded people who can help you when it counts, and you can always get great advice and guidance. We're a community. * we run activities, club meetings, and social events - don't forget how important it is to connect to chat and have a good time * we focus on education and training, and we can help you develop tech skills that will be highly useful in your day job and home life. Trust me, that's a promise! So think about your club as putting you in touch with a broader involvement - no matter who you know, the group will connect you with more knowledge and helpful people when it counts. There are active ham radio clubs all across the country. Check the WIA website to find one near you, or drop a line to Secretary@... and we'll help you find one locally to you. The Darling Downs Radio Club serves the entire region from the plains right through the granite belt. If you're listening to this and not currently a member, what does it cost to join Darling Downs Radio Club? Only $30 a year, and less for concessions. Six cups of coffee for the whole year. Plus if you're just getting started or young: we can and will help you get going because that's what clubs do. Our next regular meeting on 11 November covers a really great piece of experimentation, which is what amateurs do best. Put 11 November in your diary and come along to here the story about the Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club's High Altitude Balloon Experiment. David VK4DN is coming up from Brisbane to tell us how it went down - and up. You'll learn a bit more about ham radio, and some useful stuff about atmospherics and driving. Never know when that would come in handy. Monday 11 November at the Toowoomba Library starting from 1900 local time. But you don't have to remember all that, because it's all on our calendar of events on the website at ddrci.org.au Repeating the important stuff: the club net on VK4RDD every Sunday at 1000, ddrci.org.au for the website, and 11 November at 1900 for the next meeting. Ok, I think that's enough repeats. Until next 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. As we rush through Spring the rising temperatures and the more frequent storms are a reminder that we have entered the official cyclone season. As I prepare this segment, the ceiling fan is valiantly chasing the warmth out of the room and allowing the body to feel closer to comfortable. November is really the start of the Summer season for buying presents for the Christmas celebrations. I have been noting that overseas events are having the inevitable e

QNEWS OCTOBER 27 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) --------------------------------------------------------------------* Gordon VK4VP Secretary of the Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club with some very sad news. One of SCARC's former members and Presidents has sadly passed away - Noel Des Jardins VK4NL passed away last Thursday October 16th. Noel made his first appearance at SCARC in 2003 when he was VK4ADJ, I met him at JOTA and he was in his element showing the Scouts and Guides just what radio was about with so much enthusiasm it was contagious. He also donated some copper tube to be used in making cavities for a 6m repeater which unbeknownst to us he was a real fan of the 6m repeater and he used to run the 6m net AKA the backblocks net every Friday night until he left for greener pastures in Hervey Bay. Noel was a committee member in 2004, Vice President in 2005 and 2006 and then President of SCARC from 2007 to 2011. He was always happy to help out and push things along. A lot of SCARC's activities during his reign were solely due to his encouragement and his ever smiling cheerful nature. SCARC had its highest recorded membership numbers when Noel was President. Who can forget Noels Nutty Campers where he organised a group of radio amateurs to go caravanning for short weekend trips to various places around SEQ. He knew by leading the way and organising things the people would follow, such was his magnetic personality. He put in a huge effort maintaining SCARC's big yellow comms caravan at his house and making sure it got noticed. We mustn't forget the Noosa Cycle rides where we provided comms support, there were so many activities that the club became involved due to his desire to help out and support the community. He was also part of Noosa Councils Local Disaster Management Committee providing advice and carrying out regular communications checks with all of the associated Emergency Services Noel was also an operator for the 20m travellers net for quite some time and it was always comforting to hear his voice on the radio when you were far from home. One of his favourite sayings was "You can never have enough aluminium and wire in the sky" Mate, you be sadly missed but never forgotten. Vale Noelly, Poppy Noel, Noel Des Jardins VK4NL ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - I'm John VK4JPM with the Darling Downs Radio Club update for QNEWS Sunday 27th of October. Last Sunday saw the end of the POTA Coast-to-Coast week with the band opening up nicely on Sunday Afternoon. On 20m contacts were made into the Canary Islands, Germany and Austria. Even if you're not registered with the POTA Website, if you had a contact with a POTA operator this weekend it's possible that there's an Award waiting for you when you do set up an account. Why not come along to the next club meeting, and find out from Dave VK4JPS how to set up an account? The Club's regular tech meetings are on the second Monday of every month in the Toowoomba Library at 1900 local time. Looking right forward, in December on Monday

QNEWS OCTOBER 20 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) --------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi - I'm John VK4JPM with the Darling Downs Radio Club update for Sunday 20th of October. In a sec I'll let you know what's coming up, but wow - what a week we just had. The bimonthly lunch was excellent and well attended - watch out for a special lunch event in December on Saturday the 7th. It was great to see so many DDRCi members make the trip down to Nerang for the HamFest - thanks to GCARS for a wonderful day of information, HAM-appropriate bargains, and yummy stuff from the hotplate. Well done for the event. And it's worth a big raspberry if you missed Steph Piper talking about 3D printing - lots of very useful information about plastic types, how the slicer works, and some useful tips about what to expect from different printers. And Now, coming up we have a packed schedule of Local and travelling expert presenters for the Club's regular tech meetings - that's second Monday of every month in the Toowoomba Library at 1900 local time. On Monday 11th November Dave Nebe VK4DN is travelling up from Brisbane to talk about a High Altitude Balloon Launch - from which was received some amazing imagery. In December on Monday 9th John Bews VK4JBE is also making the trip to talk SDR's - software defined radios - and how to get the most out of them. And in February we'll be talking Fox Hunting. If you have some time today, it's not too late to jump in to the "AU/NZ Coast to Coast POTA" - it's Support your Parks Weekend. And also it's the last day of Jamboree on the air, and our club is supporting a group to help them get the best out of the experience. Finally, the Sunday 2M net will be on the club repeater - VK4DDR 146.750 at 1000 local time - everyone is welcome. If that's all a bit overwhelming, don't forget that we have an updated calendar of events on our website at ddrci.org.au Got it? Hope so! If you missed it, read the end of QNNEWS where you'll get the drum on how to download the audio or text versions of this segment. Catch you next week 73 from John VK4JPM for the team at the Darling Downs Radio Club. GOLD COAST AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/GoldCoastAmateurRadioSociety/ IRLP Node 6702 And that's a wrap, For another year at the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society's annual HamFest. It was a cracker .. * over 50 tables of goodies * over half of these were commercial providers with all the major brands represented * 7 dozen bacon and egg muffins * 150 sausages and more people snapping up bargains than we have seen for years. I would like to send a thank you to our committee who arrange the event, and we look forward to seeing you all next year at the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society annual HamFest. In the meantime, if you are up this way, drop into 85 harper st Nerang on Saturdays at 1:30pm and say hi! So until next time, for GCARS, that all from me, Aidan VK4APM. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. . I recently watched an interesti

QNEWS OCTOBER 13 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) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* CLUBBING ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi. I'm John, VK4JPM with an update from the Darling Downs Radio Club. Our monthly member meeting makes moments tomorrow night, Monday 14 October - at 1900 in the Toowoomba Library. The topic is 3D printing, and in one hour we'll do a bit of an overview for those of us who have only seen one once, in the presence of a master who can answer the curliest of questions. Toowoomba's Maker Queen Steph Piper, Head of the UniSQ Maker Space, a leader in Australia's wearable electronics maker community is joining us for the evening, and it promises to be a real springboard for the Do-It-Yourself experience. It's amazing both how cheap 3D printing can be, and also what a range of templates already exist for download from the interweb. From brackets, to knobs, to clips, to complete cases to... well, all kinds of parts that might be broken in your favourite transceiver or antenna mount. Some replacement parts can even be created to be stronger or better than the original. The meeting will be preceded by an update from the club, and we're setting time aside to get your input about upcoming activities. It's a good opportunity to help the club's committee engage in the way you need as a current or potential member. While I'm here, a couple of future dates: social/tech meetings are second Monday of the month. In November on the 11th, Dave Nebe VK4DN from the Bundaberg Club will join us to update us on the Club's High Altitude Balloon Experiment, and in December on the 9th the topic is Software Defined Radios. More about those in upcoming segments. If you have questions, or want to have a natter: the club 2 metre net will start on VK4RDD at 10 this morning... in about 25 minutes. Details of the net, and tomorrow night's meeting will all be found on the website at ddrci.org.au, or just search on darling downs radio club. You can't miss us. I'm John VK4JPM, and you can drop me a line by sending a note to Secretary@... - we're here to help. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Solar flares and thunderstorms seem to be the marker of the past week. Contesters, over the long weekend, seemed to suffer the vagaries of space weather with contacts in some areas being significantly poorer than last year and others attaining record scores. On the other hand parts of the Sunshine State have been decidedly less that sunny with both acoustic and atmospheric noise reaching new highs for this season. Overseas we have seen parts of the southern USA suffer the effects of not one but two weather events, namely Hurricane Helene and then Milton. One effect which in its way is a bizarre beneficial outcome has been the attention the services of amateur operators has been receiving from, particularly, the TV news. Making the public aware that there are means of contacting authorities and families outside the commercial services o

QNEWS OCTOBER 6 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) --------------------------------------------------------------------* Alex McDonald VK4TE passed away on 27th September Alex's radio interest as a boy came from the humble crystal set, this was followed by six years in the RAAF as a radio technician, during this period he gained his amateur limited licence followed by the unrestricted licence about four years later. Alex was secretary of the Queensland branch of the WIA for many years until it was absorbed into the current national WIA, also during this period he was instrumental in the recording of morse practice tapes and sending hundreds of them to Queensland radio amateurs who wished to upgrade their limited licence. In his early years Alex was mainly interested in the competition side of the hobby, he achieved his DXCC and loved radio field trips with his family. After a 45 year period of not using CW he regained proficiency and focused on CW contacts until his passing. Amateur radio was a significant part of Alex's life, it gave him great entertainment and created many friendships. ---------------------------------------------------------------------* CLUBBING ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi. I'm John, VK4JPM with this week's update from the Darling Downs Radio Club. Check your diary now for the two upcoming club events in October: It's social lunch month, and next Saturday the 12th we meet at the Southern Hotel in Ruthven Street Timing is 1130 for a 1200 o'clock start. Everyone is welcome including YLs and YOTA types. You'll find us at tables around to the right as you come in from the carpark. The next club meeting is on Monday 14 October in the Toowoomba Library at 1900, and we're all about 3D printing this month, with Steph Piper from USQ's Maker Space and 3D printing lab. And, I hear you ask, how is that relevant to ham radio? OK, use a search engine to look for "3D print ham radio" and you'll find over 10000 3D models on the Yeggi site alone. Remember that pesky Baofeng belt clip that broke? Yep, it's there, and Steph will show you how you could print a replacement quick smart. Our website at ddrci.org.au has everything you need to know: on the home page click through the View Detail buttons under "upcoming events". And check out the newsletter and other club info while you're there. That URL again: ddrci.org.au Catch us on 12 and 14 October, and if you're listening to this on Sunday morning, the club Sunday 2M net starts in about 30 minutes. I'm John VK4JPM. You can drop me a line by sending a note to Secretary@... and I'd love to help you get your Garden City award. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. The images of destruction from various parts of the world seem to have been proliferating in the past few weeks. Sadly the news doesn’t seem to be improving with wars and natural disasters claiming headlines. It has been a feature of the amateur community to offer assistance to the community in times of distress and follow

QNEWS SEPTEMBER 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) --------------------------------------------------------------------* ---------------------------------------------------------------------* CLUBBING ---------------------------------------------------------------------* GOLD COAST AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/GoldCoastAmateurRadioSociety/ IRLP Node 6702 GOLD COAST AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY – 2024 HAMFEST Hi there! It’s HamFest season, and have we got a HamFest for you! Not all hamfests are the same. The Gold Coast HamFest is renowned for the variety of businesses and other suppliers attending, not to mention the eclectic range of fellow amateurs with great gear to show and sell, plus other ham radio clubs. You know what they say about real estate? Location! Location! Location! This HamFest is on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the hub of ham activity in this part of the world. Sunday, October 13 is the date. I repeat – Sunday, October 13. Location is – Country Paradise Parklands at 231 Beaudesert Nerang Road, Nerang. If you’ve been before, you’ll know that location. If the Gold Coast HamFest is a new one for you, just google the location. Too easy! Entry tickets are five dollars, the same as it has been for years. Doors open to the public from 08:30am. There is on-site parking and everything is under cover. Coming early, or coming late, you’ll need a snack. Once again we are having the very popular bacon and egg muffins, as well other items from the BBQ. To book a table, and for other info, go to gcars.com.au and look for the HamFest tab, or email hamfest@... See you at Nerang on Sunday October 13. This is Aidan VK4APM for the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society. DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi. I'm John, VK4JPM with an update from the Darling Downs Radio Club. The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is still in full swing until 7 October, so it's a perfect time to try for your Garden City award. Check out the rules on the club website at ddrci.org.au, and you'll see it's pretty easy to get - especially if you come up on the club's VK4WID Sunday net at 1000. That's the biggest hint I can give you, so what are you waiting for? You can also make personal contact with club members at our October lunch, coming up on Saturday 12th at the Southern Hotel. We kick off at 1130, and it's open to everyone whether you're a member or not. At our regular monthly member's meeting on 14 October - at 1900 in the Toowoomba Library - we'll find out how to get the best from 3D printing. If you've never met one of these devices, be prepared to be both impressed with what they can do, and be surprised at how easy they are to use. Most amazingly, you'll find that many objects thought to be made of unobtanium can be printed from freely downloadable templates, and might even be stronger and more usable than the original part. Is it time to finally replace that cracked knob on your favourite rig? We'll be guided by Toowoomba's Maker Queen Steph Piper, Head of the UniSQ Maker Space, a leader in Australia's wearable electronics maker community. This is not only a session for established players, but you can bring along some younger players and he

QNEWS SEPTEMBER 22 2024 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? DARLING DOWNS AND IPSWICH DID --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING QNEWS 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) eX/VK4TC Terry Harding Cain 30/07/24 (vk4zz) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) ---------------------------------------------------------------------* CLUBBING ---------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi. I'm John, VK4JPM with an update from the Darling Downs Radio Club. The 14 October meeting from DDRCi will feature another "how to do it" session. We're talking "Makers". A Maker is Defined as "a person who experiments with creating, constructing, modifying, or repairing objects especially as a hobby" - which makes ham radio operators amongst the very original Makers! This meeting we look at the world of 3D printing, and ask: how can that help with our hobby? To answer that question, we've invited Toowoomba's Maker Queen, Steph Piper - Head of the UniSQ Maker Space, and a leader in Australia's wearable electronics maker community. Steph will show us how 3D printing works, and what we can do with it. Steph Piper is one of an emerging breed of technologists. Steph is focused on how to merge creative arts and electronics, and she's passionate about passing important skills to kids. She designs multicolour circuit boards, teaches 3D printing and modelling, is a wiz with Arduino, and has lit the Storey Bridge. Steph also creates Soldering kits that help introduce people to the world of electronics. You might just take away an inspirational idea for a birthday or Christmas present for the younger people in your family. Come along to the Darling Downs Radio Club's next monthly meeting at 1900 on 14 October at the Toowoomba Library - everyone is welcome. You can get all the details on the club website at www.ddrci.org.au, where you'll also find the open invitation to join us for our next very social lunch on Saturday 12 October at the Southern Hotel. That URL again: ddrci.org.au and all the detail is on the home page under Coming Events. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and I'd love to say hi to you at the meeting. (inputs) 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 This is Allan VK4HIT with news from Ipswich and District Radio Club. The club’s annual general meeting was held Saturday August 24 with 24 members in attendance including one online. In a part refresh of the executive committee members welcomed Alan VK4AJG as secretary and John VK4JBX as vice-president alongside president Peter VK4SIR and treasurer Ian VK4LIP. Before the AGM former long-serving secretary and WICEN coordinator Greg VK4GJW indicated he would step down from both rolls after eight years. Mark VK4SMA also stepped down as vice president. From the annual WICEN report it was noted these events are a big part in keep the club afloat. A sincere thank you to all members who gave up their time to provide communications services and support the club. Your efforts provide a safety net for the competitors in areas where no other communications coverage is reliable. There’s now more members trained on the various functions of these operations. This inclu

QNEWS SEPTEMBER 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) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) --------------------------------------------------------------------* CLUBBING ---------------------------------------------------------------------* 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. Toowoomba is known for many things, and one of the most famous is the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. The 75th Carnival kicked off last Friday and it runs through to 7 October. You can check out what's on the program at the website, tcof.com.au. There's something for everyone, and much of the program is no-charge and open to all comers. If you're coming into town, let us know by coming up on the club NET held every Sunday at 1000 local on our VHF Repeater VK4RDD, or give a call on the repeater when you get here. We're a friendly lot in the Darling Downs, and very proud of the Carnival which is at least as good as Floriade and much closer! While you're thinking about Carnival, have you checked out the Club's "Garden City Award"? It's very attractive, and not hard to achieve - so just perfect as one to aim for if you've just got your licence or you are getting started with our hobby. And it's open to both transmitters and SWLs. All the details are on the website at ddrci.org.au and click on "awards" at the top of the page. One for the diary: our next club meeting and presentation is on Monday 14 October. Also for the diary is our bi-monthly lunch, on Saturday 12 October - come along and meet the gang. We'll give you more details in a forthcoming bulletin and on the club website: www.ddrci.org.au Dates again: Monday 14 October for the meeting; Saturday 12 October for lunch; Carnival on right now; Garden City award at any time, and details at ddrci.org.au I'm John VK4JPM, and thanks for listening. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. As the northern hemisphere prepares for winter and all that it can bring, we in the south are finding the Spring weather is consolidating with the promise of what Summer will bring. The long range weather forecasts paint picture of warmer weather and variable rain fall so in one perspective, outdoor activities seem promising until the end of the year. We can hope this is true as the Wet Season is projected to start early in the top end. It will be interesting if the crocodile nesting season coincides with the computer modelling this year. For the avid tourists to the various major gatherings around the world, the climax has been the Tokyo Hamvention which saw a number of Aussie amateurs attending. The major news has been the release of new radio models from the three largest Japanese manufacturers and the prospect that samples will be appearing around the world at smaller events. There has been some tentative pricing information on a flagship model but with Australia suffering an economic sickness, I suspect very few sales can be expected here. What is interesting is that the radio from Yaesu, apart from its innovative design features, is that it fits the pattern of the shack in a box. Of course, this is not a new segment for this manufacturer but it is a slot that m

QNEWS SEPTEMBER 08 2024 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? DARLING DOWNS DID. --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING QNEWS 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) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) --------------------------------------------------------------------* DARLING DOWNS RADIO CLUB http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/DarlingDownsRadioClub/ vk4wid@... Hi. I'm John VK4JPM with a reminder from the Darling Downs Radio Club about tomorrow night's tech meeting. Monday 9 September is the second Monday of the month, and that means we gather at the Toowoomba Library. The theme of this month's session is "How to get control of EVERYTHING in your shack", which you can do using easily available home automation technology. We'll get you across some of the very powerful apps and extremely cheap technology that can help you run your shack, control your antenna farm, and manage your ham-cave and workshop. You can turn things on and off, monitor power consumption and atmospherics, integrate arbitrary bits of gear, and instrument signal and operational flows. All it takes is a bit of imagination, and a leg-up - which is the aim of this session. If I say "home automation" you've probably thought we mean Google and Alexa, but you don't have to use those. In fact, you don't even have to use the cloud. What we will do is introduce Tuya ecosystem - that's the one of the most common technologies, and one that sits behind Matter, Grid Connect, Deta, and a lot of smart home devices from Aldi. To make life interesting, we'll set up a complete system from scratch at the meeting, and if you bring a smart device you'll be able to join in and test it for yourself. If you're like me, it won't take long before you're hooked and working out how to make your home lighting and electronics do all kinds of useful and interesting things. A warning: we're not up to streaming or recording yet, so if you miss it - you've missed it. OK, the details again: we meet tomorrow night, Monday 9 September at the Toowoomba Library from 1900 - that's 7PM. Tons of free well-lit, secure under-cover parking. The meeting is open to members and guests; there's no charge, and we'd love you to join us for a natter and a cuppa. Check out all the detail, and upcoming club events, at the website: www.ddrci.org.au. www.ddrci.org.au. You can also find us via the WIA website, or just search for Darling Downs Radio Club from your favorite search engine. 73 from John VK4JPM and I'm looking forward to seeing you at the meeting tomorrow. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. It was distracting hearing the squelch breaking on the 2m repeater on 146.800Mhz and then faintly came a female voice. It was obvious that ducting was having it’s fun with us, along the S.E. coast of Queensland but it wasn’t until I read a post that the full impact became obvious. From the Gold Coast to various parts of the coast signals from New Caledonia were being received. It is over 25years since I heard this and made a successful contact so I live in hopes that this summer season we can experience international VHF contacts with better results. Sadly, I had a poor experience on social media during the past week. A group popped up in the “you may be interested category” and as I have been seeking to finish putting together a small set-up for camping and

QNEWS SEPTEMBER 01 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) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) --------------------------------------------------------------------* CLUBBING ---------------------------------------------------------------------* 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. We thought we should remind you about our regular meetings. On the second Monday of each month we gather at the Toowoomba library for a committee meeting, followed by a social and technical meeting on a special topic. I'll tell you about the September meeting in a sec. And on the second Saturday of even months, we meet for lunch and an in-person chinwag. You can find all the info about the club and our activities at ddrci.org.au along with how to become a member of the club, details on club repeaters and nets, how to contact us, and how to qualify for the Club's Garden City Award, available to hams and swls worldwide. The September tech and social meeting is at 1900 on Monday 9 September, and the topic is "How to get control of EVERYTHING" in your shack and beyond using home automation tools. The session will introduce you to how the TUYA system actually works, tell you where you can get cheap hardware from online to Bunnings, and introduce some REALLY clever devices you can use to make your hobby more interesting. To make the session even more exciting, I'm planning to bring a bucket of toys and set up a complete remote controlled lighting and power switching system in front of your eyes. Details on the session, location and times are on the website: ddrci.org.au There's no charge; you don't have to register; and we'll have a cuppa and bikkies available. Those details again: the Darling Downs Radio Club, meeting Monday 9 September in Toowoomba, and go to ddrci.org.au for all the info you need. I'm John VK4JPM and I'm looking forward to meeting you at the session. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Well this year, Spring didn’t just peek over the windowsill but it blustered in stealing part of Winter with above average temperatures in the Sunshine State. Welcome to the blooming of all the various native plants that perfume the bush-land and bring us the misery of hay-fever. Welcome to the beginnings of all those lovely outdoor operating opportunities and the smell of campfires and insect repellent. I was a little surprised, a few days ago, whilst watching a video to have the presenter reference other video material on a particular antenna and state his presentation would just be about the use in the particular location with whatever band conditions were present that day. Why should I be surprised, you may ask? There seems to be a bevy of ham radio influencers, many of whom derive income from their activities, who have created personalities to draw the viewer into their web. This is fair enough when the purpose is to simply entertain but so many of these people are contriving scenarios where they are promoting items which have been supplied by manufacturers, wholesalers or retailers to ostensibly provide unbiased, independent reviews but in fact if you stop and think they are giving a prom

QNEWS AUGUST 25 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) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. One of the treats of amateur radio is to take part in the recognition of special interest groups. Sometimes it is a contest with certificate as a memento and sometimes it is just knowing you were there on a special day. This weekend has been one of these events and the special interest group is a small one which aims to unite others in promoting and enjoying the spirit of amateur radio. Of course, I refer to the Ladies Amateur Radio Association. After the broadcast you still have the opportunity to log a few contacts in the 44th ALARA Contest. Pop over to the website and look at the rules under the contest heading. Remember you can use contacts on Echolink if you are unable to get on air. Amongst the general community, there is a perception that radio amateurs are sweaty older men playing with strange things in their man caves. ALARA is a group that proves that this pursuit is one that all people who can hold licence can get joy out of being a ham. Its great to show the flag, so to speak, and we can certainly show our support for the members of ALARA dot ORG by joining in the contest. It is almost frightening to think that it is the cusp of Spring and that heralds a new period of operations on shortwave with the increased temperature comes different modes of radio propagation. Although reports at the moment are showing various bands are alive and kicking and giving good global contacts, particularly with the grey line. There are suggestions that the estimated peak in solar activity for this Cycle 25 was reached earlier this month. If we have reached the peak, according to the observations, going by past experience we should still have another 2 to 3 years of good radio conditions ahead of us. So with Christmas not too far in the offing, it might be time to look at some of the interesting gear coming on the market. The Christmas elves are very inventive and you could find a nice surprise under the tree, this year. I would like to remind listeners that a great addition to the WIA News Service is the video adaption by Bevan, VK5BD. You can watch on YouTube and get the full broadcast quality audio with graphics to play at your convenience. Recently there have been issues in my locality with no rebroadcasts on 2M so having this as a further alternative has been a boon. This is not to forget that the text and audio is available for download from the WIA dot ORG dot AU website. I have been subscribed to the news in text for many years, even back in the heyday of packet radio. Being able to listen can bring out things that might be missed if you a reading when rushed, distracted or tired. So it is Good luck in the Contest and 73. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think….how about you? -------------------------------------------------------------------* Social Scene SUNFEST Saturday September 14 at Coolum Civic Centre. (vk4vp) GOLD COAST HAMFEST OCTOBER 13 at Nerang Country Paradise Parklands 231 Beaudesert-Nerang Road Nerang. (vk4DMH) TO SUPPLY QNEWS ITEMS:- Send SCRIPT to qnews@... send audio to http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/upload/ QNEWS Tips to g

QNEWS AUGUST 18 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) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) --------------------------------------------------------------------* ---------------------------------------------------------------------* 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 This is Allan VK4HIT with news from Ipswich and District Radio Club. Club members are reminded the annual general meeting will be held Saturday August 24 from 10am. To be eligible to vote at the AGM members must by financial prior to the start of the meeting. Please check your emails for payment details in the July minutes. Current secretary and WICEN coordinator Greg VK4GJW indicated he will be stepping down from both rolls after eight years. Nominations are open for all positions with Greg also encouraging new eyes and new blood on the executive. From the WICEN report – the Guzzler Ultra marathon was held on July 20 and 21. Communications went well with the 50 km and 100 km events covered. This is the biggest event of the year with 731 runners. A total of 23 volunteers (operators, helpers and feet on the ground from other clubs) made it happen and funds raised contribute to the running costs of the clubhouse. And commencing Tuesday night September 3 will be another Foundation course. There’s room for four candidates, and so far one person has registered. So it’s first in best dressed. Register your interest with the club’s training officer Greg VK4GJW. (VK4GJW@...) Reporting from Ipswich this is Allan, VK4HIT. Redcliffe and Districts radio club. http://www.wia.org.au/clubs/vk4/RedcliffeAndDistrictRadioClub/ Redcliffe Club Carboot Sale Quick Reminder Greetings from the Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club VK4RC Robert Thomson VK4TFN here. The Redcliffe Club Carboot Sale is on Saturday 24th August at 9:00 AM at our club house in MacFarlane Park in Klingner Road, Kippa Ring in the City of Redcliffe. Go to redclifferadioclub.org.au for more information. Thank you and 73 from the Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club VK4RC. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. As the last hurrahs have died down and the athletes have made their way home, the next major calendar event is, of course, the Paralympics. It is significant that we celebrate this band of sports people because they exemplify what can happen if you deal with what is real and follow your dreams as to what is possible. Just as the Invictus Games provide meaning to military veterans in redefining their sense of self and gain confidence in achievements in a new facet of life, so other bodies with positive outlooks can give support. Perhaps, I can take the ethos of these movements and apply it to our own pursuit of Amateur Radio. As life’s events overtake us, we can find ourselves in circumstances that we never dreamed of in our younger years. Many of us will have explored the “self help” industry in its various marketing forms but I am not equating a positive outlook with unrealistic expectations for people. Various studies, of real world situations, have shown t

QNEWS AUGUST 11 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) VK4CWJ GORDON WEBSTER July 2024 (vk4vp) VK4SWR JOE SEBAST5IANI 03/07/24 (vk4zz) Silent Key - Joe Sebastiani VK4SWR A big shock to the Amateur Radio Community and most Radio Nets, sad news has been received via Ray/VK4OIL that long time member of The Townsville Amateur Radio Club Inc, antenna experimenter and avid radio net participant Joe Sebastiani VK4SWR went Silent Key after a horrific domestic accident. Joe had slipped on wet tiles at his home at Burdell North Queensland a couple of weeks previously and rushed to Townsville University Hospital with injuries to his skull and brain so severe that doctors put Joe into an induced coma in an attempt to help his body heal. A week later Joe was taken out of the induced coma but soon lapsed into another coma from which he did not recover. Joe passed away in hospital around 5pm Saturday 3rd August. Joe grew up in Mount Isa, worked for a long time for Mount Isa Mines and attained Amateur Radio Callsign VK4LED thanks to training provided by members of the Mount Isa and District Amateur Radio Club. Joe was a keen DXer on the 27MHz CB Band and soon had prolific contacts on the Ham Bands but found the power limits of the Novice Licence restrictive. He was persuaded to upgrade to Advanced and was successful in attaining VK4SWL, then converted to VK4SWR while still in Mount Isa. More DX ensued, not only on HF but also on VHF and UHF. With work prospects in the Isa starting to shrink Joe moved to Townsville and proceeded to set up an even better DX setup than he had in the Isa. Joe also found he had a talent in fault finding and fixing power supplies, those fault finding skills extending into fixing transceivers that had a discrete component build. Joe was also an accomplished clay target shotgun marksman with regular participation as a member of the Townsville Gun Club in regional and state-wide tournaments. We pass on sincere condolences to wife Imelda, son Joe Jnr. and surviving family. Joe's sudden passing is as much a shock to us as it is to you. Vale Joe Sebastiani VK4SWR, Silent Key. With thanks to Iain/VK4IGM and Ray/VK4OIL for assistance in getting this incomplete but heartfelt tribute to Joe together. Gavin Reibelt/VK4ZZ, Secretary, The Townsville Amateur Radio Club Inc. Now for some more sad news. One of the Sunshine Coasts Amateur Radio Club's members has sadly passed away - Gordon Webster VK4CWJ passed away last week and the funeral was held last Thursday August One. Gordon worked for the OTC in Martin Place Sydney and the DCA in Port Moresby during the 60's and 70's and he also travelled many times to Thursday Island. He was a keen operator in many HF competitions around the world. Gordon also had some issues with interference at his QTH in Pacific Paradise that caused him no end of grief to his HF activities. Vale Gordon VK4CWJ I'll be back in a moment here on QNEWS with news of our clubs HamFest. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Great things are happening in the world of sports as our fellow Aussies strive for medals in the Olympic Games in Paris. Regardless of the purity or otherwise of the waters of the Seine through the city of lights, there appear to have been no fatalities as a result of playing in the possibly