WELCOME TO SARC
Serving the Northern Rivers of NSW
Members are reminded that club fees are now due. Details of payment options are here: https://sarc.org.au/membership/
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
As per the notice below, the Annual General Meeting of the club will be held on February 8, 2026. We would encourage all members to consider standing for a position on the club’s Committee. It is not essential that any person so interested lives locally. The Zoom software is used for every meeting so that everyone on the Committee, regardless of where they live, can participate in the Committee meeting.
SUMMERLAND AMATEUR RADIO CLUB – Notice of Annual General Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Summerland Amateur Radio Club will be held on Sunday 8 February, 2026 at the Clubrooms, 412 Richmond Hill Road, Richmond Hill at 1.00pm. Nominations for positions on the Committee of the Summerland Amateur Radio Club must be made on the nomination form. The nomination form can be downloaded from the club’s website:
https: //sarc.org.au/forms-brochures/
On the Club website: the drop-down menu – For Anyone – Forms and Brochures.
Nominations for positions must be received by the Secretary on or before Sunday February 1 (7 days prior to the Annual General Meeting). Following the Annual General Meeting, a meeting of the new Committee will take place during which club positions appointed by the Committee will be made.
Paul McGuiness, VK2AMT, Club Secretary.
Here’s another great image from Jeff VK2WSR’s All-Sky Camera. Orion can be seen near the top, just left of centre and the sun’s recent CME event produced an auroral glow around the horizon.
STEVE SHARP VK2ARS (SK)
The funeral service for Steve Sharp VK2ARS(SK) was held on January 14th at 1pm at the Tweed Heads Memorial Gardens Chapel . Steve was a professional fireman and served at quite a few fire stations around the state. His service was attended by family, friends and colleagues. The Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society and the Summerland Amateur Radio Cub had members in attendance to show their respect. Many senior members from Fire and Rescue NSW and the SES were in attendance. It was appropriate that a fire engine was there too. There were a number of tributes read detailing Steve’s service to the community which extended over many years, including a fine tribute from Geoff Gray VK2DLA. The fire engine led the hearse for a circuit of the grounds, through a saluting guard of honour formed by his colleagues and friends from the organisations he served so well. A moving tribute to a fine man who was taken from us far too soon. Rest in Peace Steve VK2ARS (SK) “Sharpie”.
The image above shows Andrew VK2XI’s great setup above Byron Bay for the Summer VHF-UHF Field Day, just completed today (Sunday 4th) complete with microwave gear. All the equipment worked very well, including the microwave setup, so well done Andrew. There will be another report from the VK2SRC club station as well.
SARC CHRISTMAS PARTY 2025
The SARC December Committee Meeting was held at 10.20am and the party followed afterwards. There was a good number in attendance. The weather was quite warm but not unpleasantly so. President Ross thanked Jeff and Julie plus Duncan and Paul who spent Saturday afternoon cleaning and tidying the clubrooms. A very pleasant day.
What’s behind the front panel of a Tait TB8100 Repeater?
Well, the photo above shows it. From left to right, an AC / DC Power supply, two PA’s (power amplifier modules), and two transceiver modules. All these are able to be accessed and controlled via software on a computer. Ross very kindly showed Jeff VK2WSR and Paul VK2AMT at the clubrooms the basics of accessing the repeater’s modules. Totally fascinating and I’m thinking that there will be more sessions involving repeater maintenance. Thanks to Ross for a fascinating session. While we were there, Jeff also plugged in and connected to one of his All-Sky Cameras running on a Raspberry Pi mini computer, via the club’s modem. de Paul VK2AMT.
PLEASE NOTE: all details and tributes to amateurs who have gone silent key are now listed as separate sub pages under the heading SILENT KEYS.
VHF UHF SUMMER FIELD DAY 2026
The Summer Field Day is this coming weekend, VK2SRC will be portable from Vista Point QF69FU covering 6m through to 3cm (10ghz). The Field Day runs from Midday Saturday 3rd until Midday Sunday 4th January, with repeat contacts in 2 hour on each band. It is also now possible to work multiple contacts on different modes (Phone, Digital, or CW) with the same station on the same band.
EG VK2SRC works VK2AMT on 23cm on phone, then Q65 digital followed by CW; this then can be repeated 2hrs later. There have been a few other changes to the rules & categories this time, I suggest you check the WIA web page for full details.
https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf
Pat & I will be traveling to site Friday and plan to be set up for testing on most bands Friday night. I will also be available for digital contacts on 23cm through to 10ghz preferred mode Q65.
Pat will be operating 6m
50.150 – 50.200 USB
52.150 FM on request
Pat will be operating 2m
144.150 – 144.200 USB
146.500 – 146.550 FM
Pat will also be operating 70cm
432.150 – 432.200 USB
439.000 – 439.050FM
Graeme will also be operating 23cm, 13cm, 9cm, 6cm, and 3cm
1296.150-1296.200 USB, and digital, FM on request.
2401.150 – 2401.200 & 24003.100 – 2403.200 USB & digital.
3398.150 – 3398.200 USB & digital.
5760.150 – 5760.200 USB & digital.
10368.150 – 10368.200 USB & digital.
Let’s hope the weather isn’t too bad, but the forecast is rain again. If you can spare some time give us a call.
Cheers Graeme VK2QJ
SPRING VHF-UHF FIELD DAY 2025 REPORT
SARC members Pat VK2FAAD & Graeme VK2QJ met at Junction Hill before making our way to Vista Point, arriving just before 11am, unfortunately Graham was unable to make the trip. Pat and I soon set about putting together our stations before breaking for lunch, we missed the usual treats supplied by Graham. Pat set up the 6m, 2m & 70cm station, while I completed the 23cm, 13cm, 9cm, 6cm & 3cm bands. Unfortunately again due to work commitments, David VK2JUB was unable to make it for this event, leaving just Pat & myself to cover all eight (8) bands.
Despite the forecast, we were blessed with great weather during setup Friday afternoon, things soon changed after nightfall with fog & light rain setting in and temperatures dropping to 11c .
We woke to thick fog Saturday morning, visibility was less than 100m, the fog hung around until shortly before the start of the event. The weather remained very overcast with showers on & off during Saturday, with wind & very heavy rain Saturday night into early Sunday morning, the thick fog set in again Sunday morning.
Fortunately the weather cleared for pack down after the event. Despite the limited number of operating stations, things started well with several locals & the odd VK4 station, late Saturday few portable stations had to shut down due to poor weather & thunder storms which slowed things down overnight.
My 23cm amp also failed from to water ingress due to the extremely heavy rain Saturday night, fortunately I was able to bypass it to get 23cm back on air with low power Sunday morning Contacts were made on all bands from 6m through to 3cm with 3cm performing the best, with the other microwave bands not far behind.
The outstanding contacts were on 3cm, VK4IF/P BVHF Team at Bunya Mtns S9+20 @ 371km (videos available on the BVHF Group FaceBook page ( https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ASsyRX1T4/ )), also VK4UV/P at Crows Nest S9+ 20 @ 326km, both contacts were via with rain scatter, unfortunately this was Col’s last contact for the event as he was hit by a microburst storm just as we were changing modes for the next contact, luckily Col was not hurt & his equipment is repairable, while his camping gear wasn’t so lucky.
Stations worked were VK4AFL, VK4IF/p, VK4UV/p, VK4CZ, VK4WIE/p, VK4AML, VK4CRO, VK4IBR, VK4RR, VK2AMT, VK2ELH, VK2KCM, VK2VL, VK2XI/p, VK2YLO, VK2ZB/p and VK2ZDR, sorry if I missed anyone. The overall number of stations were well down due to poor weather & storms.
We managed 260 contacts, given the conditions our score wasn’t too bad , we managed our highest ever FD score, we’ll await the final results to see how we fared. This was also Pat & my first event using N1MM to log the contacts, all in all it went OK. We packed down Sunday after the end of the event, improvements to both stations are making it quicker & easier to pack up. Pat & I headed off the hill just after 2:30pm, I made it home around 17:30, with Pat arriving home around 18:30. As always, it was a great weekend on a hilltop, flying the flag for SARC, & doing what we enjoy, we are looking forward to the Summer FD, 3rd & 4th January 2026. Thanks to all who made contact with us during the event, without you it would be nothing.
Regards Graeme VK2QJ
PS, Due to the poor weather we never took any external photos, I have included one from the Winter FD.
2026 JOHN MOYLE MEMORIAL FIELD DAY
Dates: March 20-21, 2026 from 0100UTC to 0100 UTC. The rules for the JMMFD have changed, there are no bands allowed above 70cm. The new rules are here, so download the pdf and have a read:
https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/johnmoyle/documents/JMMFDnewRules2026.pdf
Another detailed summary of the new John Moyle Field Day is here: https://www.vkcc.com/2025/11/16/john-moyle-memorial-field-day-2026/
2026 VHF-UHF CONTEST DATES
Summer: 1st full weekend of January.
Times: 0100 UTC Saturday through 0059 UTC Sunday (0400 / 0359 in VK6).
Winter: 3rd weekend of June
Times: 0100 UTC Saturday through 0059 UTC Sunday (0300 / 0259 in VK6).
Spring: 3rd weekend of September
Times: 0100 UTC Saturday through 0059 UTC Sunday (0400 / 0359 in VK6).
The excellent Aurora image above was taken by Andrew VK2ZAG, son of Barry VK2VBG. Andrew has an impressive website displaying his photographic prowess: https://bfvmedia.com.au/ The Aurora image is under the Skywatching tab. Andrew said that the Aurora appeared as a mist on the horizon. The red colour was only apparent when photographed. Human eyesight is fairly poor at the red end, compared with yellow and green. Have a look, you will be quite impressed. Thanks to Andrew for giving approval to place it here.
New equipment cabinet
The new equipment cabinet being set up, Ross, John VK2YLO, Duncan and Paul were there with Ross and John doing most of the wiring work.
Andrew VK2XI set up at St Helena on 26-10-2025, working 23cm with the new yagi and also microwave, 2.4GHz
Today I packed the Prado and travelled down the highway to St Helena in the hills above Byron Bay to take part in the Microwave Activation Day or MAD organised by the Brisbane VHF Group. The objective was simply to test out my new, to me, 1.2, 2.4 & 3.4Ghz transverters and new 1.2Ghz 36 element Yagi. The location is well known for its clear path North to the Gold Coast and Brisbane as well as South to the Northern Rivers and importantly to Vista Point. The setup was right on the edge of the road and took longer than expected to erect as it was all uncharted waters. With the 1.2Ghz Yagi beaming South I quickly made contact with Grahame VK2QJ at Vista Point and we received 10 to 20dB over 9 signals each way, this was a very pleasing result from the new Yagi with 30W. I then swapped over to the 2.4Ghz 25W Transverter fed into 24dBi Gridpack and again made contact with Grahame with received signals around S3, another pleasing result. Unfortunately attempts to make contact on 3.4Ghz were not successful so I have some work to do there before next outing to work out why.
The expected contacts into VK4 did not eventuate either due to a poor turnout and those that did operate were working higher bands. This was disappointing but the location excites me as I will take the full station and caravan there for the Spring VHF Field Day in 4 weeks time. I hope to hear you calling CQ Field Day soon.
de Andrew VK2XI
2025 Winter VHF-UHF Field Day Results
The results are in for the VHF-UHF Winter Field Day, click on the link below. Outstanding performance from the SARC Club Station and individual club members. We really do show the way when it comes to commitment and support for the club station. The results are on the vklog checker website.
https://www.vklogchecker.com/Contests/Results/e29898ae-603c-4ce0-bf5f-a453d3c22198
The painter has been!
A few photos of what he has done, the place is looking great. Showing the southern wall, the ceiling in the main area and the ceiling in the kitchen. The blue colours on the doors and frames pick up the main colours used in the club logo and the club metal sign, currently in the store room. The closeup shows the carpet sample there to give an idea of what a difference it makes.
LATEST TOWER WORK
On Sunday morning the 12th, before the Committee Meeting, one job on the list was getting the tower ready for raising by the crane on Wednesday. Quite a few of us put some time in getting the three runs of coax cable terminated where necessary and the new cable clamps installed in the cable tray. Tony VK2RI, Duncan, Ross, Jim and Paul all put in some time helping to get the tower ready. Thanks to all.
IT’S UP! the tower is back on its slab, the next job is to fit the antennas and complete the coax cable connections.
SOME NET REPORTS FOR WEEK ENDING JANUARY 18, 2026
Dawn Patrol numbers for the week were 12.
Just a reminder, the Dawn Patrol commences at 7.00am NSW time and 6.00am Qld time soon. The time and frequency changes from 3.604 MHz to 7.115 MHz on Monday 6th October.
Monday January 12, 2026 Joining Paul VK2AMT as VK2SRC were: Duncan VK2DLR and Barry VK2VBG. Topics on the net inluded the reminder that club membership fees are now due and that the Annual General Meeting is on next month.
Tuesday January 13, 2025. – The Diginet
Joining Paul VK2AMT as VK2SRC were Duncan VK2DLR and Barry VK2VBG. We had our normal couple of overs on Parrots Nest 2 metres before Duncan and I QSY’d to 80 metres, 3.590 USB for another session with Fldigi and Olivia 8-500.
We were joined by Jeff VK2NU and Fraser VK4FRZ. Band noise at my location was only S2. Duncan had S9 +20dB noise at his place from an unknown source. Duncan and Jeff were both S8 and +13dB or so S/N. Fraser was S5-6 and +9dB. Fraser was using a new balun for his End Fed Half Wave and it was a full S point stronger than last time, so that’s good. One topic mentioned was the service that Duncan, Ross and I attended for our late member Steve VK2ARS (SK). One possible project discussed was a Raspberry Pi Zero as a WSPR beacon. We use 3.590 because it is separated from the digital part of 80m and the start of the voice section, above 3.600. We did do a QSY to 3.600 for the final over before the 73 one. There was no problem locally. The possibility for a SSTV net was discussed also. Fldigi could be used as a go-between if we used SSTV. Another excellent night and thanks to all for participating.
Cheers from Paul VK2AMT
Wednesday January 14, 2026
Paul VK2AMT as VK2SRC on the 70cm Parrots Nest Repeater was joined by Barry VK2VBG and we discussed memories of recently deceased Steve VK2ARS and also, the use of air horns on motorbikes.
Wednesday January 15, 2026
Paul VK2AMT on the Woodbuwn 2 metre repeater was joined by Barry VK2VBG, Shaun VK2DSL and Dave VK2DIZ. Topics included eye tests and the performance of the Mt Nardi repeater. Parrots Nest 2 metres was working quite well into the Ballina area.
Friday January 16, 2026. The After Dark Net.
Dave (2ZDR) was the net controller as usual, running under the call sign of VK2SRC. We ended up with 10 all up this week, so it was nice to have 3 ‘newbies’ joining us. 2YHP Jim, 4SD Danny, 4PI Peter, 2WSR Jeff, 4GCR Ralf, 2CVD Steve, 2QRT Bruce, 3AML Chris & 2VCO Jason logging into the After Dark Net. QRN did cause quite a few issues, “crashing” right when we were trying to get the call signs & names from the 3 new stations. It also just so happens that these new stations were all running QRP. (15-20, 10 & 7 watts all up)
Many of us really enjoyed this week’s net & we all agreed on that. hihi 🙂
The net closed at 21:09 (NSW time)
Cheers
Dave
VK2ZDR
the ZuluDoctoR
A trip to the western division
Ross VK2ARD, Lachlan VK2FOOD, Duncan VK2DLR and Paul VK2AMT paid a visit to Julie and Jeff VK2WSR at Coonabarabran. We were all given a wonderful warm welcome by Julie and Jeff. On behalf of all of us I thank them for their hospitality. These visits are normally planned to coincide with the Open Day at the Siding Spring astronomy site. The Open Days are strongly recommended for anyone with half an interest in the night sky. Quite a number of the numerous observatories on Siding Spring Mountain are open to inspection. The site is now managed by the Australian National University in Canberra and there were quite a few ANU students on hand to explain what is happening. We also attended a lecture at the Coonabarabran Golf Club on Friday night called Science in the Pub. Four young scientists explained their fields of research to the enthralled audience. Their youthful enthusiasm for their fields of study was wonderful and they all conveyed a summary of their work in such a way that a person with average intelligence could understand their work.
On Saturday we drove up to Siding Spring and spent some hours exploring the observatories there. The instruments are normally not available to the public and it is marvellous to get up close to them and get a summary of the work done.
The image above shows just one of the great views from Siding Spring. The astronomy site is surrounded by the volcanic peaks of the Warrambungle National Park. I strongly recommend doing some of the walks into the Warrumbungles if you can. There are quite a few to chooose from. The whole region contains much to explore. Other areas of interest in the area include Mount Kaputar National Park and the radio telescope site near Narrabri named the Australia Telescope Compact Array. There are more details here:
https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/mount-kaputar-national-park
https://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au
I can only recommend a visit to the region. It is an easy day’s drive from the Lismore area. Sincere thanks to Julie and Jeff for their hospitality.
de Paul VK2AMT
RADIO EQUIPMENT SALE
| Item | Description | Price | |
| Yaesu FTDX3000 | HF/6m Transceiver | 1500 | |
| Yaesu FT450D | HF/6m Transceiver | 550 | |
| Yaesu MD-90D | Microphone | 125 | |
| Yaesu FT-7900 | 2m/70cm Mobile | 150 | |
| Realistic Pro-2035 | Scanner | 75 | |
| Radio Shack DX-394 | Scanner | 75 | |
| Kydera CDR-300 | 2m/70cm Mobile DMR | 125 | |
| Uniden UBC355XLT | Scanner | 50 | |
| Alinco DR MD-500 | 2m/70cm Mobile DMR | 250 | |
| TYT TH-9800 | Quad band FM Mobile | 150 | |
| Sawtron 999 | UHF CB | 100 | |
| BJ BJ300 Plus Amplifier | HF Amplifier | 50 | |
| TYT MD-380 | UHF DMR Handheld | 100 | |
| QJE QJ1928SW PSU | Power Supply 50A | 100 | |
| Avair AV-600 | SWR Meter | 100 | |
| QLS 2800s DDS Sig gen | 5mhz Function Generator | 50 | |
| Yaesu ATAS-100 Antenna | HF Antenna | 120 | |
| Protec 430-450 Yagi | 70cm Yagi | 40 | |
| Cobra 139XLRA | HF CB Base | 150 | |
| Electrophone TX-840 | HF CB | 10 | |
| DSE Comms Receiver | Receiver | 10 | |
| Realistic 40 channel hh | HF CB Handheld | 20 | |
| MFJ-260C Dummy Load | Dummy Load | 50 |
All proceeds of equipment sales go to XYL of recent SK Bryan VK2BT.
Equipment is believed to be in good working condition but is sold “as is”.
Prices are firm, no offers please.
All inquiries and further information via email to Tony at
There will be a number of smaller items available at the upcoming car boot sale on 9th August.
SOLDERING CIRCLE – RF PROBE
The SARC Soldering Circle came together on Sunday 17th August with the idea of making some RF Probes. As normal, A lot of time was spent on general techno-centric conversations.
At some stage we turned to working on the RF probes. What’s an RF Probe? It’s a very small gadget that takes an RF signal that your multi-metre can’t measure and turn it into a DC signal that it can. Why bother measuring an RF voltage? If you can measure an RF voltage then you can calculate power levels and power losses.
Who designed this? The N5ESE design and many similar variations that have been around for years. There are some references listed below. Is it accurate? It’s good enough for day to day Amateur radio use. If you’re in a battle with experts and laboratory certified measurements then you’ll be down in the “better than nothing” category. A Fluke 85RF probe will set you back about $600. This one is made for less than $10 junk box parts.
References:
https://www.qsl.net/g3oou/simplerfdetectors.html
https://www.n5ese.com/rfprobe1.htm
https://www.n5ese.com/rfprobe2.htm
http://qrpkits.com/files/RF_Probe_How_To.pdf
https://ftp.elecraft.com/K2/Manuals Downloads/E740001_K2 Owner’s Manual Rev I.pdf
de VK2DLR
SARC PLANNING MEETING
On Sunday 13 July at 10am a number of SARC members gathered at the clubrooms to discuss improvements and upgrades at the club building, tower and grounds. The summary below is a dot point explanation of the result of the meeting.
Tower:
Work to proceed as planned this Tuesday.
Agreement on antennas going back on the rotator will be as follows:
6 metres. 2 metres & 70cm with a multiband vertical on the top of the new pole.
New cable tray to be fitted, 300mm wide tray similar to that used at Parrots Nest site.
2 HF dipoles to be raised on new rigging.
All tower hardware to be stainless steel fittings unless otherwise specified.
Radio Room:
Re-sheet eastern wall as discussed onsite.
Frame out the northern wall ready for sheeting.
Re-locate power outlets to suit the new set up.
Re-locate the solar inverter onto the western wall along with isolators.
DB to be brought out onto the new wall once sheeted.
Remove several bricks to allow for a bulkhead plate to be fitted.
Radios:
Retain the current IC-9700 and IC-7300, add a second IC-7300 to the system as discussed.
Club Main room & associated rooms:
Remove toilet cistern & hand basin, line 2 walls with villaboard & re-fit toilet & handbasin, fit new architrave around door & paint.
Plaster works in the main room to go ahead with new cornice fitted all the way around, all vertical joints to be plastered up ready for painting.
Quote for internal ceiling access and 3 quotes for the new front doors into our clubrooms.
Grounds:
New frame to be constructed for our club sign as discussed onsite, this will be a galvanised frame for strength & longevity, to be constructed by club members inline with our current builder.
Start earthworks on the southern side of the main building to allow for a block retaining wall.
The Wednesday night net previously run on Mt Nardi 70cm is currently being run on Parrots Nest 70cm, 439.950. The net will return to Mt Nardi 70cm when that repeater is on-air again.
MADness at Vista Point
On Sunday 6th April, Graeme VK2QJ and Graeme VK2BWC headed to the hills 70Km west of Woolgoolga to take part in the Brisbane VHF Group’s April MAD (Microwave Activation Day) Vista Point. They regularly use this location for the John Moyle and VHF/UHF Field days, I met the two Graeme’s here just after they had setup. Graeme QJ’s Ute tray mounted station. They were preparing to make contacts with the other portable and home stations taking part in the MAD. Other stations were active from. Apologies to those I may have missed.
- Hummock Lookout Bundaberg – Kevin VK4UH and Colin VK4UV using VK4IF/p
- Kamarun Lookout Lamington National Park – Scott VK4CZ – observing were Ralf VK4GCR, Eddy VK4TJE, Scott VK4MGL, Dennis VK4DWN and AdamVK4GHZ
- Toowoomba – Martin VK4HMD
Vista Point is a wonderful take off point at 1310 meters ASL and is a perfect location for one end of the record attempt planned for today. 587.2 Km North, just out of Bundaberg at Hummock Lookout Kevin and Colin were setting up their impressive station with the aim of jointly setting new distance records.
The path from Vista Point to Hummock Lookout
I was fortunate to see firsthand Graeme’s skilfully engineered slide-on slide-off Ute mounted station consisting of a self-designed and built 4.2-meter tilt-over, extendable and rotatable tower. Both the tilt and extension are achieved with 12v actuators via a wireless pendant. The rotator is a Create RC5-1 and can achieve bearing adjustments down to 0.5 degrees. Aluminium toolboxes are mounted on either side of the tray, storage on the driver’s side and the station equipment on the passenger side. The station that covers all microwave band from 23cm to 3cm has been custom built by Graeme and consists of 2 x IC-905 and an IC-705 with automatic amplifier switching, this also incorporates temperature, current and reflected power monitoring.
Graeme’s efforts were well rewarded with a series of awesome contacts that set one personal record, one New NSW WIA record and New WIA National record as listed below.
- 23cm voice to VK4IF at Hummock Lookout Bundaberg 587.2km (personal best 23cm contact).
- 23cm digital to VK4HMD at Toowoomba 291km
- 13cm digital to VK4IF at Hummock Lookout Bundaberg 587.2km (New WIA NSW 13cm digital record)
- 9cm digital to VK4IF at Hummock Lookout Bundaberg 587.2km (New WIA National 9cm digital record)
- 6cm no contacts
- 3cm CW contact to VK4VU Brisbane 300km, one-way contact as Rod had RX only. It is hard to believe that this very impressive configuration was completed less than 18 hours prior to this event. The full list of equipment comprises.
Station setup
4.2m high Ute mounted rotatable tower,
1.2GHz-23cm
IC905 #1
|Mast mounted 180w amplifier & 20dBm preamp
|2 x 35 element M2 Yagi’s
2.4GHz-13 cm
IC905 #2
Mast mounted 120w amplifier & 20dBm preamp
1 x 900mm Gridpak
3.4GHz-9cm
I C905 #2
Mast mounted SGLabs transverter, 100w amplifier & 18dBm preamp
1 x 900mm Gridpak
5.7GHz-6cm
IC905 #1
Mast mounted 50w amplifier & 28dBm preamp
1 x 600mm prime focus dish
10GHz-3cm
IC705
Mast mounted Kuhne G5 transverter, 20w amplifier & 24dBm preamp
1 x 600mm prime focus dish
587.2km North at Hummock Lookout Bundaberg VK4IF/p the station comprised
1.2GHz-23cm
Antenna 1.2m prime focus mesh dish. Multiband feed
|ICOM IC9700 + SSPA [120W]
Battery supply 12v
2.4GHz-13 cm, 3.4GHz-9cm and 5.7GHz-6cm
Antenna 1.2m prime focus mesh dish. Multiband feed
Separate transverters on each band Kuhne Electronics modules and PAs
Power 2.4GHz = 25 watts, 3.4GHz 120 watts, 5.7 GHz 100 watts
IF transceiver ICOM IC705. Battery supply 12v (and 240AC from 12v inverter on 5.7GHz)
10GHz-3cm
Antenna 600mm prime focus solid dish, Shepards Crook feed
Transverter, PA and receive preamplifier – Kuhne Electronics modules constructed entirely in wave-guide. 60 watts output.
IF transceiver ICOM IC705. Battery supply 12v
At Kamarun Lookout Lamington National Park – Scott VK4CZ station comprised
1.2GHz-23cm
ICOM IC-910H + PE1RKI 150w amp
45el DL6WU Yagi (and 240AC from 12v inverter)
2.4GHz-13 cm
SG-Labs tvtr + Spectrian PA [30W]
24dbd Gridpack
IF transceiver ICOM IC705. Battery supply 12v
3.4GHz-9cm
GARC panel + Stealth amp [30W]
900mm offset dish with
IF transceiver ICOM IC705. Battery supply 12v
10GHz-3cm
Kuhne G3 transverter + DEMI amp [4W]
600mm dish
IF transceiver ICOM IC705. Battery supply 12v
VK4IF/p log was as follows
I was very fortunate to be there and see the records set and record this piece of history and be able to report on this MAD. Thanks to the two Graeme’s for allowing me to be part of the day.
73 Andrew VK2XI
The 2 metre repeater at Parrots Nest is available and the 70cm repeater is available too but the signal is a bit low. The 6 metre repeater is not available at present.
Flu precautions : update 1 August
Please stay away if you have a cold or flu-like symptoms.
We are still asking people to sign in as they arrive, using the book on the table at the door. Use of hand sanitiser and social distancing are still sensible things to do.