Past

Issues

Translate

View this email

CQQRS

in your browser

RagChew

Edition 08/2026

T
4

oe
*

Stephen ZL3ABX near Nelson on the South Island with his home-brewed transceiver
and the IC-705 used on this week’s CQQRS Slow CW Practice QSO Net.

Link to our

Reporting

e A Budgie

Form

Chewed

Through

Keyer Cord

- sure it did Keiran!

A Low-Noise Antenna
QRZ?

Adam

VK4IM

Practice Audio

Courage

on VBand

Horizontal

Morse Training
VK5-CW
Mount

Adapters
Hourglass

Group
Barker Buy,

Silent Key - Gary
John

Portable Antenna

Net

Moyle

Swap

Liljegren W4GAL

National

Musings

of a Retired

Battery

Re-Use

Kenwood

TS-50

How About

& Sell

Field Day
GP

Repair

QMB?

Elecraft KH1 Touch

Paddle

Looking

for Something?

Prosign

of the Week

Di-dah-di-dah-dit
About the CQ QRS

Group

/ VK6GAL

RSS

Would you believe we had 73 stations reported on Tuesday’s CQQRS
CW

Practice QSO

listening in.

net?

Slow

And we had at least 55 of our team on air or

Yet another new world record for our team!

40m

really

strutted its stuff and our little 20kHz segment was chockers.

A fantastic

outcome - thank you to everyone who had a go or had a listen.
| was really pleased to see receive-only reports from Phil ZL1PB,
VK6KD,

Wayne VK6NW

and Keiran VK3BTV;

Keiran went so far as to advise

that he couldn’t get on air because he-deg-ate-hishemewerk
had chewed through his keyer cord (sure it did Keiran!).
our UK-based SWL Adam

his budgie

| also know that

was trying out some of the European

and listening to the DXperiment team.

David

KiwiSDRs

We figure that we may have as

many listening on our net as transmitting, so I’m really pleased that those
who listen-only are now starting to send in reports via our web form fantastic!
| also noted that our Floridian member Jeff WB2GDZ
VK2IOW

on 40m

was worked

by Patrick

on Tuesday - some great grey-line propagation, and | was

pleased that Jeff’s very early morning efforts were rewarded!
But speaking of Floridians, | was saddened to hear of our good mate and
honorary Sandgroper Gary Liljegren W4GAL / VK6GAL

passing away.

Gary

was a very strong advocate and mentor for CW, and a wonderful supporter
of our QRS efforts.

See Other News

below for more.

Also below you'll see an article by Stephen ZL3ABX from Nelson about the
success he’s had with a low-noise antenna.

Using a feed-line made from a

pair of cheap TV coax lines, this shielded balanced feed may be just what
the doctor ordered for those of us suffering from high noise levels due to
the myriad of switch mode

power supplies in our homes.

| hope to hear

from others who might give this a try (hint hint Sava!).
This week we also meet another of our new family members

- Adam VK4IM

from North Lakes Brisbane.
So this will be the last newsletter from beautiful Port Albert in South
Gippsland - where this morning we saw yet another huge stingray cruising
leisurely around under a wharf with the outgoing (3 metre!) tide.

The ray

glided around the pylons of the jetty, folding its wing-tips to manoeuvre;
we measured the gap between the uprights - 8 feet!
Just don’t stand on one buried in the shallows!
somewhere

Unbelievable beauty!

Next week, we’ll be

else on our public transport-only travels.

Website
If you'd like to find out a bit about our net, or would like to pass information
to others about our Tuesday get-togethers,

here’s the link to our website.

bit.ly/COORSWebsite
So here we go - on behalf of the CQQRS
newsletter.

dit-dit

Marl

Darema

Editorial team, please enjoy the

VIGIN

DUDSIIIAa

VK2KI / VK6QI
Beautiful South
Bowning NSW

cagrsnet@gmail.com

Patrick
VK2IOW

John

Milthorpe NSW

VK2RU
on a track
somewhere

Richard
VK6HRC
Padbury WA

Lance
VK7TO
Margate TAS

non impediti ratione cogitationis

Nigel
G4RWI
our other grey
nomad

Reports

& Comments

Here’s this week’s

Last Tuesday’s

reports.

Group

With thanks to Nigel G4RWI’s clever software, and John VK2RU’s

new and

improved - and very clever spreadsheet work, here’s the 73 stations heard
by 55 members
CQORS

Team

Member

of our team on Tuesday - look at ‘em all this week - wow!

Qso 1

Qso 2

Qso 3

aso 4

qaso5 | aso6 |

DL3YZ

Heard 20m |

VK2IOW

MONNK =

|Worked 20m)

VK2IOW

MONNK

Tried 20m

VK2KI

VK/G4RWI

[Worked 40m)

VK2S5B

VK3KLE

VK7TO

VK7TA

VK/G4RWI | Heard 40m |

VK2ARZ

ZL1TN

VK3CM

VK4PNF | VK3ECH | VK2ADT

~=DL3YZ

G3NKQ

MONNK

VK1CT

Heard on air

VK2ASB

Heard on air

VK2GN

Heard on air

VK2GR

Heard on air

VK2ZIOW =| Worked 20m}
VK2IOW

Qso7 |

Qso8

Heard 20m | ZL/KD6XU

VK2ZIOW

| Worked 40m)

VK2KI

Heard 40m |

WB2GDZ
WK3VB

VK3CMV

VK3YE

VK3KLE

VK2KI

Heard 40m |

VK2ASB

VK3DRQ

VK3XU

VK5AO | VK6KHZ|]

VK2KI

Heard 40m |

VK3KJJ

VK5PL

¥K3ECH/MN

VK2KI

Heard 40m |

VK6PZT | YBINWP |

7N2XSB

VK2KI

Heard 80m |

VK3ACU

VK3ADX

VK4PN

VK2KJJ

Worked 40m}

VK3KLE
VK5A0

VK2ASB

VK2KJJ

Heard 40m

VK5PL

VK2RU

Worked 40m}

VK3KLE

|VK2RU/3|

VK6@GX | VK6XC | VK3MI
VK6FN |

VK7TA

|VK3BWN

VK4BRO |

ZL3ABX | VKSKFG | VK3DBD | VK4PN

VK2GR

KD6XU

VK2RU

Heard 40m | VK3ADX

VK4PN

VK2WP

Worked 40m}

VK3AVA

VK4PN

VK3DRQ

VK3ACU

|Worked 40m]

VK4BRO

VK4EV

VK5AAR

VK3ACU

| Worked 80m}

VK3ADX

VK3SADX

Heard on air

VK3BSE

Heard 40m |

WVK3KLE

VK2ASB | VK3DRQ |

VK5AO | VK3DBD]

VK2KJJ

VK3BTV

Heard 40m

VK3JFR

VK3XU

N1FG

VK3MJ | VK2ASB | VK5A0

VK3KLE

VK3DRQ

VK3CMV|

|VK3CMV|

VK3MJ

VK3BTV

Heard 40m |

VK3BWN-

[Worked 40m)|

VK7TA

VK6FN

VK3BWN

Heard 40m |

VK3M)J

VK3ECH

VK5SAO |

VK3DRQ | VK3KLE | VK3DBD |} VK4BRO |} VK5PL

VK3BWN

Heard 40m

VK4PN

VKVZJZ

VK2ASB

VK5AO_ | VKSKFG

VK3CLD

Heard 40m

VK3CMV

Heard on air

VK3DBD

Heard on air

VK3DRQ

Heard 20m

VK3DRQ

Tried 20m

DL3YZ

VK3DRQ_ =

[Worked 40m}

VK2WP

VK3AD

VK3DRQ
VK3ECH/MM

Heard 40m |
|Worked 40m]

VK3AVA
VK3MJ

VK4PN
VK5PL

Heard 40m |

VK2KJJ

VK3KLE

VK3ECH/MM |
WVYoIirp

Unsaed

ale

DL3YZ

Vnhaurn

nearu un an

VK3KLE

Worked 40m]

VK3VB

Heard on air

VK/G4RWI |

VK3ADX

VK7TA

VK6PZT

VK5PL

VK5AO

VK4AW

Heard 40m

VK4PN

VK4BRO

Worked 40m

VK5PL

VK4EV

Worked 40m|

VK3ACU

VK4EV

Heard 40m

VK3MJ

VK3ECH

VK3XU

VK5FA

VK4IM

Heard 40m |

VK3DRQ

VK2ASB

VK3ADE

VK3KLE

VK4PN

Worked 20m|

SQ7BDV

IKILBL

VK4PN

Worked 40m

VK2SB

VK2WP

VK5PL

VK6PZT

VK5A0

Worked 40m]

VK3JFR

VK3ADT

VK3XU

VK3KLE

VK5FA

Heard on air

VK5FD

Worked 40m|

WK3KLE

VKSFD

Heard 40m |

VK2ASB

VK2KJJ

VK3DRQ,

VK3XU

VK5KFG

Worked 40m|

VK3DRQ,

VKSPL

Worked 40OmWK3ECH/MM

VK4BRO

VK5PL

Heard 40m

VK6PZT

VK6HRC

VK6FN

Heard on air

| VK3DBX |} VK2KJJ | VKSFD

VK7TA |

VK5A0 |

VKICT

| VK3DRQ

VK5A0 |

VK5FA

VK4PN

ZL3ABX

VK3DRO

VK5KFG | VK3DBD |

VK3MJ

VK6GX

Heard on air

VK6HRC

Worked 40m|

VKO6KHZ

VK6PZT

VK6MTF |

VK3DBD

VK6HRC

Heard 40m

VK6WE

VKO6RE

VK6GX

VK6XC

VK6KD

Heard 40m

VK6P2ZT

VK6HRC

VK3DBD | YBINWP |

VK6DU

VKG6HRC

VK6FN

VK3KLE

VK2JJ)

| YBINWP

VK6KHZ

Worked 40m)

VK6MTF

Heard on air

VK6NW

Worked 40m|

= VK6XC

VK6ENW

Heard 40m |

VK6HRC

VK6ENW

Tried 80m

VKAPN

VK6P2T

Heard on air

VK6Ol

Heard 40m

VK6GX

VK6XC

VK3CMV

VK3MJ

VK2ASB | VK3DRQ|}

VK6QI

Heard 40m

VK7TA

VK3BWN

VK3KLE

VK2KJJ

ZL3ABX | VK4PN | VKGPZT

VKAPN

VK6RR

VK6GX

VK3DBD | VK6PZT

VK6Ol

Heard 80m

VK6RR

Heard on air

VK6WE

Worked 40m|

WK6GX

VK6XC

Worked 40m|

VKGNW

VK6XC

Heard 40m

VK5A0

VK7JZ

Worked 40m|

WK3MJ

VK7TA

Worked 40m)

VK3KLE

VK3CMV | VK/G4RWI|

VK7TA

Heard 40m

VK6FN

VK6KHZ

VK3DBD

VK7TA

Heard 40m |

VK3ADX

7L2GEO

7L1CJB

VK/JTO

Heard on air

WB2GDZ

Heard on air

ZL1ICJB

Heard on air

ZL1PB

Heard 40m

7L1CJB

VK2ARZ

ZL1PB

Heard 40m |

VK3ACU

VK5AAR

ZL3ABX

Worked 40m]

WK3MJ

VK5PL

ZL3ABX

Heard 40m |

VK3DRO.

VK3JFR

ZL3ABX

Tried 40m

VK3JFR

VK6KHZ |

VKGFN

VK3BWN

N1FG

VK2IOW |

VK3XU |

VK5A0O | VK3DRQ}

7L2KE

ZLAKX

VK3MJ

VK3EV | VK2WP | VK3DRQ

VK2GN

VK3JFR

VK2ASB

Comments:
The spreadsheets above show the known stations heard or worked on last
Tuesday’s CQQRS

Net;

the comments

(submitted via our webform

in the team

members’

bit.ly/COORSNET ) follow.

compiled for us by the clever software built by Nigel G4RWI
was perfected by Patrick VK2IOW.
for the work, and to every team

eondy

at Stuttgart

racovered

nicealv from

and the layout

member who submitted a report -

[20m]
The

were

Thanks again to Nigel, Patrick and John

From Mike DL3YZ

reports

The comments

vesterdav’s

oy ere

disturbances, so | had a great chat with Pat - VK2IOW.

It’s

always a great feeling chatting around the world. Have a
great week,

Mike.

From Ross

MONNK

portable near Exeter UK

[20m]
After weeks of rain, my Portable location was a

sea of mud so the only place | could park was in a
field gateway next to a steel gate and close toa
power line. Not the best. Just before my
DxXpedition slot opened

| thought | could hear a

ZL station maybe calling me, but | got no
response to my reply. After only a few "CQ VK" calls, Pat VK2IOW
splendid Yagi antenna. He was weak but readable and

came

up on his

| copied every word he sent.

But | think he found my feeble 20 watt signal a struggle. Nevertheless, his sterling
efforts made

my day so "Thanks, Pat". Later | tried calling Mark VK2KI

Monitor showed

when the DX

that he was listening but | wasn't surprised to get no reply. Roll on,

the summer

(still another 2 months to go for that though).

From Adam

VK4IM

at North Lakes QLD

[40m]
| really need to work on my receive, took me a few goes
to get the callsigns with far too many gaps in the
conversation; PLUS

the pro-signs threw me - man

I'm

rusty been away for far too long.

[80m]
No antenna for 80m (yet).

From Patrick VK2IOW

between

Mika
_

Bathurst and Orange

3Y7

had

strana

sinnal

nrnhlame

convina

both ways.

After we finished, Clive G3NKQ,

near

Cambridge

England called me — we moved

off Mike’s

frequency and had a QSO.
MONNK

Then | listened for Ross,

as he was due to start, however there was a

strong station, ZL/KD6XU calling CQ on his frequency.
Checking

his QRZ

page,

it appears he was operating

from a sailboat in New Zealand.

After Ross moved

bit we had an enjoyable QSO, though
station signal was

up a

his portable

low and fading in and out — satisfying

to get there in the end though.

[40m]
Conditions seemed good with plenty of signals showing on the waterfall.
WB2GDZ

replied to my CQ.

gave me only 339.

His QTH

remote station in Georgia.

Jeff,

He had a good signal (I gave him RST 549), though

is in Florida, however he said he was operating a
After that | had a listen to various QSOs,

then hit the sack

early.

From David VK6KD

at Ballajura WA

[40m]
40m was quite active with many stations but

not too many sending QRS.

| found myself

stumbling from one fast QSO

to another.

When

checking a selection of SDR

receivers |

found my CQ and TEST calls were reaching
z
SA, North QLD, NSW, Tasmania and New Zealand on 40m @ a0Watts.
tonight but great decoding practice. 73s all.

No QSOs”

[80m]
Wasn't much

heard at my home QTH

on 80m tonight however to be fare, | hovered

around the 40m band most the night as there was so much activity happening.

From Dave VK5PL

at Barossa Valley SA

[40m

Condx were a bit noisy at my QTH,
yacht and my first CW

From Jordan VK3ACU

QSO

| worked

a station ona

with New Zealand

at Meredith

[40m]
After working Mark VK2DI
activation | decided
made

during the day at his POTA

| better make

up a portable doublet, |

up a 9m length of ladder line and put it up very quickly

as an inverted V; not long after that the rain started, very
happy to have some
shack.

rain; | packed up and operated from the

Next step is to build a portable Balanced

L antenna

coupler. | was intending to do a POTA activation with the
hope of working VK4BRO

P2P

KH-1

to KH-1

but the wind

and rain held that idea away for another time.

From lan VK7TA

at Latrobe
[40m]
| heard VKG6 for the first time in a while. They were busy so |
moved

up a little and called CQ, and was surprised to geta

call from N1FG.

From Stephen Coote ZL3ABX

at Nelson New Zealand

[40m]
This

was

firet COORS

ninht

| didn't

start

listanina

Pee

wwe

ree

Mee

POMS

ere

eer een

until 10:20 UTC as I'd been out trying to do some

pest

control (mainly looking for Aussie Brushtail possums,
but didn't see any).

| only listened to the 40m

band.

While | like to use my experimental home-brew gear,
| used my factory rig last night. | only get 2 or 3 Watts
from the current home-brew, whereas
black box.

| had two QSOs.

| can go to a full 10 Watts with the mysterious

The first was with Mark, VK3MJ,

hearing me... he gave me a report of 339, whereas

but he had trouble

he was 569 at my end.

understand that Mark isn't an official member of the group but it was good to work
him anyway.

The second

QSO

was with Dave, VK5PL who reported that | was 359.

Because of the time difference (and summer daylight saving time) | may not be too

active on Tuesday nights, but I'll see how things go. While daylight saving is great for
some folks, | wish we'd just stick to NZ standard time all year round.

From Wayne VK6NW at Bridgetown
[80m]
80m was very noisy. tried to work Sava but the noise prevented

the QSO.

From Phil ZL1PB

at Tauranga

[40m]
Just listening here but conditions on 40 not too

bad

From Nigel VK/G4RWI at Bowning (HQ)

[40m]
Maybe conditions were better, but tried my EFHW for 40m in preference to HQ's
antenna. Although the EFHW
noise. This made

was very close to the house, there was almost zero

listening a real pleasure. Something for our CEO

to think about

when he finally returns.
Dl

From Keiran VK3BTV

ala ahaa

eel

at Lilydale Victoria

[40m]
Didn't transmit because the budgie chewed
keyer(?). N1FG

From Daniel VA6WE

the cable off my

was an unusual one.

at Cottesloe

[40m]
There

were

several

verv

weak

sinnals

whan

tuned in; none of them readable by myself or the

decoder in my KX3.

My CQ was answered by

Phil, VKGGX with a good clear signal. | was rather
pleased as our last contact was in September so

we had a short QSO before signing off and trying for other contacts.
answered
was a VK6.

quickly but the signal was very weak and fading.

My CQ was

| could only make out it

| sent a no copy message with apologies and ended

my session soon

after.

From John VK3BSE

at Beechworth
[40m]
The CW from Mark VK3MJ
Farnsworth.

was a good pace and fairly

Good for some extra think time. Thanks

73 John

From Richard VK6HRC

at Padbury

[40m]
A big thank you to David VK3DBD

for his patience with my

requests for repeats !

From your editor Mark VK2KI at on holiday at Port Albert VIC via the VASPH

KiwiSDR at Ironstone Range near Adelaide.

een

(lO

Mark.

(GB Welshpool

This week Elizabeth and

| were still

holidaying at Port Albert Victoria, using the

.
‘oint

VKSPH

KiwiSDR

Range.

Nothing heard from Edi DL2EMR

network at Ironstone
on

15m this week, despite his new antenna;

may have been too late.

[20m]
uO

ate

| managed to miss the early part of the
DXperiment when

Mike DL3YZ was on.

the time | tuned in, | think Ross MONNK may
have turned into a hedgehog;

there was one

very weak signal heard at one stage, but | didn't catch a callsign... may have been
Ross.

[40m]
40m had a slow start - not much around at 0600z but slowly the signals started
appearing;

before long the band was full of goodness!

Great to hear Michel

VK3CMV from Chiltern who apparently wasn't scared-off from last week's first net
QSO.
By around 0900z the band was opening nicely across from the East to WA

- both

ends were enjoying the conditions that 40m turned on.
Also great to hear another new team
chatting to Rob VK3ECH/MM

lakes from me, then Scotty VK4BRO
family members,
the Tasman

Stephen ZL3ABX

with just 4 Watts!

member,

at Metung

Dave VK5PL

having some fun

at the other end of the South

up in Brisbane.

Gippsland

Then yet another of our new

had stayed up late to make the distance across

What's more, Stephen was also coming through to

WA, albeit only Q2.
| rounded-out my list of 27 people heard on 40m with good signals from Nyoman
YB1NWP
who

from

Indonesia.

Unfortunately, he missed his brother Ketut (VK3BWN)

had been on earlier in the evening.

All in all, with 27 different 40m stations in my log (er, the inside of the envelope that |
used last week),

| was very pleased with the evening.

[80m]
Jordan VK3ACU

got on 80m

early (before it opened across the Bight) and was

having a nice rag chew with Merv VK3ADX,

just 40km away at Ballarat.

They were

both coming through nicely into the Ironstone Range
Later in the evening, Sava VK4PN

KiwiSDR

near Adelaide.

in Brisbane tried, tried, and tried again.... but from

what | heard, no-one else was hearing him, despite the band being open across the
country at that late hour.

Bad luck mate - but like fishing, you need to have a line

the water to catch anything worthwhile!

Also from your editor Mark VK6QI at holidaying at Port Albert Victoria and listening
via the Southern

Electronics Group VK6SEG

KiwiSDR near Northam WA

[15m]
No luck with Edi DL2EMR on
15m

into the Southern

Electronics Group's Hoddy's
Well KiwiSDR in WA this
week.

[20m]
Just one very weak signal
popped

Port Albert

up at the end of Ross MONNK's

scheduled appearance;

| didn't catch the

callsign so we'll never know.

[40m]
As | said in my VK2KI
was

report, 40m

opened

nicely from the East to WA

lots of activity from the Sandgropers as a result;

Carp circulating in a Japanese Garden somewhere!
good later in the evening to hear the 4000mW
across the 5000km

- and there

| have a vision of hungry Koi

Terrific fun hopefully.

from Stephen ZL3ABX

And really

coming through

- how many hops | wonder?

From Manny VK3DRQ at Blackburn
[40m]
Nice

first tima

OSO

with

Merv

VK3RAD

all the

wav

from

Ballarat!
OM

Wal VK2WP

after a very long time, | couldn't remember

his name!

Also another well-enjoyed QSO as always, with OM Mait
VKS5AO.

[80m]
On 20m OM

Mike DL3YZ was heard only on SDR.

answer came

back. At one stage | could hear him calling VK2IOW

| called him several times but no
but nothing else

came my way.

From Sava VK4PN

at Mount Ommaney

Brisbane

[20m]
Spent a lot of time on 20m scanning for EU QRS contingent
but no luck, couldn't hear anyone from this end calling either.

Couple of EU stations came back to my calls with
reasonable 569 signals so the band was not completely

dead.

[40m]
Very interesting night on 40m, working QRP

again. Conditions must have been very

good as | could see my carrier at Ironside SDR flickering red most of the time.

Several traces of others on 40m could be seen as well. Tuned to each to check the
status, most were engaged in chatting QSO but VK2SB was calling CQ so |
responded.
only 5W.

Gus came

back and to my surprise he gave me 599 report. Strange

| was

My report for him was 579 despite the noise at my QTH. Well Gus surprised

me again when

he told me he was running only 4W.

decent chat both ways QRP.

crystal locked transmitter from Bathurst, and VK5PL
were 567 at my QTH.

It was really exciting to have a

Two more contacts followed, VK2WP

| confused Wal with RSN

Wal running

Dave from Barossa Valley. Both

of 567 as he asked

me what

was

wrong with his tone. His tone was perfect but it seems that a lot of hams do not use

RSN. Well the last QSO on 40m was a real gem, Rich VK6PZT. Reports both ways
were 339. This is my QRP distance record on QRS net thus far.

[80m]

By the look of the waterfall at lronside SDR | was the only station on 80m. | kept
calling for at least 30 min and almost at the end of QRS time slot | could see a faint
trace responding to my CQ but couldn't copy the signal as it was buried too deep in
noise.

From Jim Semmens

VK/7JZ at Hobart

[40m]

Just a short entry to the net this week, nice chat with Mark VK3MJ on 40m, glad |
was able to keep up. | learnt that it had been particularly hot in Melbourne and as |
was on the key what had been a warm Tasmanian evening | was able to report light
rain starting to settle in. The rest of the evening occupied by CWA class - hoping that
soon | can show off some improved head copy skills (yes Mark, | know that means
you will push me harder, it's OK.)

Reporting
After next Tuesday’s Group, please remember to send me a
worked

list of who you

and / or who you heard using our web form here:

bit.

ly/COORSNET

Even if you didn’t hear anyone, we’d still like to know that you had a go.
And to make your report more interesting, please consider sending a
photo to be attached.

If you have a photo (compressed

if possible) that

you'd be happy to include, please email it to:
cgarsnet

mail.com

So, please help attract new and old team
submitting your report each week.

members to have a go by

Submissions close 1300 (Eastern

Australian Summer time) on Thursdays.

VWIMIMIIIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV

Post Morsum 18" February 2026
By

Richard VK6HRC

Six on the VK6RLM

rpitr and AllStar/Echolink hub.

VK6KD

David

VK6QI

Mark

VK6FN

Max

VK/G4RWI

Nigel

VK6HRC
VK6MRB

Mulligan swil

Mount Dale Lookout WA

David got on 40m later in the evening and heard YB11NWP VK6DU VK6PZT and
VKS3DBD also made use of various kiwi sdr nodes as far away as ZL.
Mark still in beautiful Port Albert also got on later using the Kiwi sdr network
heard a weak signal on 20m maybe Ross MONNK ? Nothing on 15m heard 27 on
40m and was most pleased to hear new call signs through the evening.
Max worked four on 40m and as propagation improved missed a few due to
QRM. Max also let us know that Gary VK6GAL/W4GAL from Florida is now SK
he will be missed as he was regular on the VK6 morning net and the QRS net
utilising the Southern Electronics Group remote at Jandakot.
Nigel in beautiful South Downing experimented by erecting an end fed antenna
and to his joy zero noise ! Bonus five contacts in the log.
| worked some local stations on 40m and then David VK3DBD when it opened up
to the East, | had no trouble with his QTH Yackandanda but his callsign eluded
me until he introduced some Farnsworth spacing which helped me out, thank you
David.
Thank you to all on last night and this morning
73
Richard

This Week’s Topic of
Interest
A Low-Noise
Balanced

Coaxial

Feed

by Stephen

Here is some

info about the antennas

Antenna

- Leaving
ZL3ABX

the Noise Outside

near Nelson

| have at home.

When | first renewed my licence in 2023, | just had a simple fan dipole for three bands.
had a lot of local noise however, and OM Stan ZL3TK, introduced me to a low noise

antenna wnicn

| tooK advantage

orf.

It nas a twin Coax Teed.

| used cheap TV coax

with a copper plated
steel core for the

to |Om

var
ied es ss steel

feeders, and | used 1mm

stainless steel cable

‘|

(from Bunnings) for the
radiating wires. | used

| ae Roe

wires.

EFHW antenna
for

| took care to reduce the

20m

chances of water getting

inside the coax by
having the top end

hanging downwards

sealant around the end

;
“

Because of my narrow

ee.

ped et Cables
ogeThowe

cut the antenna wires to
suit the 40m band and
above; | didn't have
enough room to erect a
decent 80m version.

el il
Sill

back yard, |decidedto

eal 4
olumene

rae

where it connects to the
radiating elements. |
also applied a lot of

of the coax and the
connections.

Falley

screw connectors for the

—

jaa

Jeord

{30mm alloy tube

yo a

| found that the new
antenna made a
significant improvement in lowering the noise level on 40 metres.

After a while | missed

having an 80m antenna, so | hastily rigged a long end-fed half-wave below my main

antenna. | had to sling it from several poles to make it change direction so it would stay
within our property. At one end it is supported by the house. At the far end it slopes down
to the top of a wooden fence.
| have a tunable matching unit for the multi-band antenna in the shack.

The matching unit

for the 80m antenna hangs under the house eaves, so | have to rush outside to alter the
tuning if necessary.

60m EFHW
~@QTH ZL3ABX
\

Th 6
gp ted

hele

usin

cheap

| have three aluminium poles, and one

bamboo pole. I've found that bamboo is
quite durable and it works well. | don't
i

nave any guy wires on my poles.

Me
ea nes
ta.
win
Wee) back yard.
\ ie

The centre pole is made from a four metre
length of 38mm diameter aluminium tubing,
with a two metre extension of a slightly
smaller tube which fits inside the bottom
tube. The poles are simply lashed to either
a wooden post or the wooden boundary

¢ fence.

First of 3 poles

™

| have taken down the antenna when we've

had strong winds... the poles bend to a
| worrying degree, and the wires whip about
wildly. However last time we had a storm |
| left the aerials in place and nothing bad
| happened.

In the past when | used a single,
insulated, tinned copper wire for the

radiating elements, the wire broke within
the insulation near where it was

connected to the coax feeder.

I've had

no trouble with the stainless cable, and

the insulated single-strand copper wire
end-fed antenna has lasted well. | don't
have purpose made insulators at the
ends of my wires. | used monofilament
fishing nylon to connect the wires to the
fastening points.
My 'shack' is in a small room at the front
end of the house, but my multi band
antenna is in the back yard. So the twin
coax feeders, which are laid in the roof

space, are about 25 metres long.
Here's a link to the magazine article that

Stan told me about, describing how to

| counterpoise

make the antenna.

wire

aaa

Cheers from New Zealand

Stephen ZL3ABX

lf you have an article or two that you think might be of interest to our
readers, please let me know so we can share more thoughts and ideas.
Alternatively, what’s going on on your workbench?

If you have an article or

two that you think might be of interest to our readers, please let Mark
VK2KI know;

email to

caqqrsnet@gmail.com

For guidance on writing for RagChew,

see Articles below.

QRZ?
Who’s
This

week

calling

- Adam

me?

VK4IM

Who’s
from

on the other end?

North

Lakes

Brisbane

| stumbled

across the VK Slow CW

FacePlant

page and saw a reference to the CQQRS
there.

| also came

Net

across the Post Morsum

while

North

linked into the VK6 repeater network via AllStar
a while back while working from home.

| stumbled across the VK Slow CW FacePlant page and saw a reference to
the CQQRS

Net there. | also came across the Post Morsum

while linked into

the VK6 repeater network via AllStar a while back while working from
home.
| was fist licenced in 1996, | did the Morse to get my licence all those years
ago and kept it up for a while too, but | was never a solid CW op. | could
receive maybe

8-lLOwpm at a push (enough to pass the test back then). My

sending was good but receive was below par.
Some time after, | left amateur radio due to work and family commitments
and it all fell in a heap.
| came

VK4IM

back in 2020 and have

been building my station since, |
still work for a living. But I’m
looking forward to getting back to
some of my other interests. I'm
relearning the code and hopefully
| can master it a bit better this
time round... head copy would

nice because | write slow :-)

As an aside, | see you have
a few Hamfests advertised
in RagChew. You might like
to include REDFEST in one
of the upcoming

issues, Its

run by the Redcliffe and
Districts Radio Club here in
Brisbane in April. See this
page https://redfest.org/
for info.
Thanks for adding me to the RagChew

newsletter list.

Cheers
Adam

VK4IM

QRZ?

Who’s

on the

other

end?

So, would you be willing to share some thoughts about yourself?
Mark VK2KI know:
RagChew,

cggrsnet@gmail.com

see Articles below.

Please let

For guidance on writing for

Practice

This year we're using Aesop’s Fables for CW audio practice. These are
short moral stories, often using talking animals, that illustrate simple truths
about human

behaviour and character.

Aesop’s Fables originated in ancient Greece, traditionally attributed to the
storyteller Aesop who is thought to have lived around the 6th century BCE.
The fables are generally smaller files of two to three hundred words that
have been recorded at 15 wpm

and run for about 15 minutes. If 15 wpm

a bit quick for you, load it onto your phone and set the playback speed at
0.75 X or even 0.5 X - whatever works for you. 0.75 X will play the MP3 at
a bit under 12 wpm.
It is suggested that you read the text file before listening to the audio file.
That will make

it easier to follow the audio file and prepare you for any

unusual words.
Any punctuation that is not usually used with CW has been removed.
This week’s fable is ‘The Frogs Who Asked For a King’, and the MP3 and
TXT files are attached

here -

AESOP’S TALES

THE FROGS WHO ASKED
FOR A KING

If you prefer a different speed or tone you can create your own MP3 files by
converting the text file with the Ebook2CW

app -

https ://fkurz.net/ham/ebook2cw.html.
You can either play the MP3 files in any media
into the Ditto CW:

player, or load the text file

Morse Player app - https://dittocw.andro.io/.

Both options work well, however Ditto CW gives you complete control over
all Morse settings, while a normal

media

player only allows changes to

playback speed, and does that in steps (e.g. +1.25x,

Other
Other things we’ve

News

received
readers.

Courage

1.5x, 1.75x).

from

our 240-plus

From

Richard

VK6HRC

Really enjoyed this video, reinforcing the advice
to just have a go:
https://youtu.be/tDWZUAW-6V8?
si=xyp5fj40 B/7/ymYHAnd yes, the CW is in English (et oui, la chaine
CW est en anglais)!
Di-dit
Richard
VK6HRC

VBand
From

Adapter

Chris VK5FR

Dave
Weandi Anewers Take Tac

Toad

In RagChew 6/2026, David VKSPL and

Sle

Fieri aay

Ross MONNK

previous RagChe

both provided answers

reader

==.

& Mark,

Great article in the newsletter Dave,

aetewsnaen Pe

VBand

has been

such a help for me.

to the previous question about VBand

- what is it and how is it used?

pon bas tar

Chris Chapman VK3QB

Well this week, David has provided

onto a ~$20

more information about this interesting

option for CW QSOs and practice via

the Internet.

coe

Arduino
;

put the group

board

from
;

Jaycar and Arduino code to build the
VBand adapter to connect your own

VBand

- continued

From David VK5PL

paddle

When using Vband, apart from not needing a
a key!

to VBand

via your

licence or a radio, you also don't need

Hiiven how aml going to’send cadey" you ask?

For your consideration.

In paddle mode, use your computer keyboard:
- the [ key for dits and
* the] key for dahs.

7 3

Left and right control keys can be used in place of the [ key and the ] key.

Chris

VKSFR

Hourglass Antenna

Design

From the other VK1 Andrew... VKLAD

Roman

DL3TU

has shared his

construction method
2m

of a portable

Hourglass antenna, which is

an excellent lightweight candidate
for portable operations requiring
horizontal polarisation.
httpos://di3tu.wordpress.com/2026/02/1
5/the-hourglass-loop-antenna-for-2metres/

The design was originally
published in ARRL QST Dec 2018.

Peter VK3YE

has published a

similar design at his YouTube
channel.

for Portable

Ops

Owrn) PC.

Regards
Andrew VK1AD

Morse Training

Net

Our team

Nic VK7WW

member

every Wednesday

at 7pm

runs an on-air Slow Morse training net

EDST on 3580 for 30 mins. He uses the callsign

of the Northern Tasmania Amateur Radio Club VK/7TAZ on that net.
Many of our team

learned Morse code with the

Support of Nic, and the weekly training session
comes

highly recommended

for anyone who

wants to learn the Code, or simply brush up.
Everyone’s welcome - 3580kHz at 7pm
time every Wednesday;

Eastern

you'll hear lots of the

CQQORS team on that net. Jordan VK3ACU has

cm
copii. ania

i...

recorded the complete set of lessons which you
can

now

find here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLHSQmZz6fBXO/swAfbTmutrbbELl
7fUQL
Contact Nic VK7WW

for more info nicholaschantler@hotmail.com

how to join the NTARC

DISCORD

including

group to follow the action, or just come

along and join in on Wednesdays.

VK5-CW

Group?

| was wondering the other day whether the VK5-CW Group was still going?
The group used to have a weekly on-air get-together (Wednesdays from
memory?), frequent coffee mornings and had a fairly active email group.
Dave VK5PL tells me that he hadn’t seen any emails since 2023;
anyone

know if it’s still going?

UBS
=
ae

ee os

cqgrsnet@gmail.com

eee te
“2

does

_—

—umr J

Saturday 7" March 2026
+

11.00am - 3.00pm (Sellers from 9.00am)

Frost Park (Mt Barker Racecourse)
McDonald Ave, Mt Barker
Entry: $5.00 for buyers & sellers.
Sellers reserve your table by emailing reservations@hamradio.org.au
before 28 Feb 2026
“ Food & Drinks are available at local Mt Barker cafes & bakery (900
metres) and support local businesses.
Call in on VEGRAA Mt Barker 70cm repeater — 439.950MHz (-7.00MHz offset)

Southern Electronics Groupinc.

Silent Key - Gary

www.hamradio.org.au

Liljegren W4GAL

vkG6sr@hamradio.org.au

/ VK6GAL

| was saddened to hear fron Rob
VK6LD that our old friend Gary
Liljegren W4GAL / VK6GAL

has

passed away in the past few days.
Gary was a wonderful advocate
of the gentle art of CW, having
started on CW as

WNOZAQ

back

in 1955.

Gary has been an honorary Sandgroper and regular attendee on the daily
80m

Shaver's’ Net for many years via the Southern

VK6SR Remote station.
CQQRS

Electronics Group

He has also used that Remote to come up on our

Net, and the various contests we've held over the years.

also one of the keen participants in Richard VK6PZT’s

He was

International Morse

Code Day quizzes, held on April 27th via Zoom.
A mentor to many (including his son who is now licensed), Gary has
encouraged

many to give CW a go, and has also been an ARRL examiner,

testing and supporting new entries into amateur radio from his home
Florida.

We’ll certainly miss Gary on the CQQRS

net - please join me in pausing for

a moment to remember our old mate, Gary W4GAL.

i
Coro

he =.

Eastern & Mountain District Radio Club Inc

vaace et 3

et ed SY
Lf

Wire

ea rie

Promoting the science, practice, experimentation and enjoyment of amateur radio!
THE RADIO BULLETIN
eS

SOM

CLT

MAE Le Lede hee

han 7am OY RATA
ee

ye
ZaigCTT
o

14/10/2025
f

EOS IEE

ye
ANA Maps,
/ PVOSPChOUS
y,

New

Updating Articles

ah ed ea

Year
,
,

i
%
eae

aie.

;

- 3:01

USB Rig

programming cables

5
and Windows
11

21/04/2024 - 7:57 PM
tee

Subaru Coax Install

ae,

Portable Power

15/04/2024 - 8:04 PM

10/11/2023

- 10:56

John

Moyle

National

Field Day Contest

John Moyle National Field Day Contest is on
again soon.

This year it will be held on

Saturday-Sunday March 21-22.

You'll find the

‘iy

ee
a eye

YSZ

contest information here.

eae

ino

eed

Tae

‘

If we were clever about this, our CQQRS

family

could have quite an impact on the CW
category!

Musings

of a Retired

From Donald VK6JDM

near Esperance

Hello Mark.

Retirement number three feels

permanent.

,<
aldton*_

It is good to be able to get

asonm— {eur meee

on with things that used to keep being
put off.

At 77, | was finding the 800 km return

trip to Kalgoorlie every two weeks, with a
packed week of work each time | went
up, a bit tiring.

eth

Loss of the old academic

§ “oO Fitzgerald River,
|
National Park

values made separation from the
teaching phase of my career easy.
| did not get on air this week.

Anne (who has also retired) and | went to

Perth to buy more solar panels to add to our arrays.

We were totally

ripped off and had to pay $20 each for 265 Watt panels that were nearnew.

$420 for 21 panels seemed

| am shocked

a bit steep.

at how many good panels are taken off roofs when

increase the size of their solar systems.

people

There is no technical reason why a

second system of the same voltage cannot be added via its own charge
controller. The contractors seem to want to maximise their profits at the

cost of good

panels going to scrap.

To see 5 year old panels selling for less

than 10 cents a Watt offends me.
We have some of the original BP solar panels that finally started to
deteriorate after well more than 40 years. Half of them still put out their
rated current and voltage. Some

later panels are over 30 years old and put

out their rated power, they will shortly be powering a solar water pump at
our soak to keep the garden tank full in fire season.
In Perth now there is a business selling second

life solar gear. We need

more efforts of that type.
We have a 5 kW array that charges the EV. It is angled to optimise power
produced

in winter. However that angle results in a reduced output in

summer.

Extra panels will ensure it produces adequately in summer.

some of the panels will go to the EV charging array. The rest will be used to
boost the output of the home

panel array. That array has just managed

recent times as we have added a freezer and other things we seem to all
feel the need for these days.
For others thinking about solar power systems,

may | suggest you use

Victron gear as it is nearly radio silent. It also is reliable and not expensive.
So my excuse for absence from the net this week has been presented,
as you can see, | have been suitably punished

but

by being roundly ripped off

on the cost of solar panels.
QSO

next week

73,
Donald VK6JDM

Battery

Reuse

And speaking of recycling solar panels, this from Pickles (the automobile
auction house).

How the Sunshine State is Building a Circular Economy with Batteries
With EV adoption increasing year on year, the desire for salvaged EV batteries has
naturally risen with it. Over the past few years a new wave of buyers has emerged in

LI eee ae

Cea

mere enced vent Se

cat

Wee

Rear
Bn

See

2 PP

LLL

the second

nand

Market,

Sspeciically targeting

Writlen-OTT electric VENICIesS

(EV)

TOr

their batteries. The opportunity for renewal and reuse, combined with Australia's shift

toward sustainability, has seen a boom in battery demand due to their electric vehicle
and energy storage applications.
Queensland is leading the charge on this front, with battery recycling taking a hold in
the Sunshine State. Seen as a vital step toward building the foundations of a circular
economy, battery reuse offers an alternative to securing material supply chains in the
decades to come. Read on to learn why Queensland is geared up to become
Australia’s hub for renewable energy.
r
—

How Queensland
is Embracing
Battery Reuse

As the world

decarbonises,
Queensland has
focused on
delivering clean
economy jobs in
battery
technologies and
manufacturing.
Though the state is
known for its

commitment to
adopting eco-

friendly initiatives,
the Sunshine State turbocharged their push to be Australia's green powerhouse
when announcing their $570 million investment into a significant battery reuse

strategy.
Debuting in February 2024, the strategy marked a concerned effort by the state to
recognise the potential of second hand batteries and has led to the adoption of a

variety of schemes since. The five-year action plan is part of the state's broader plan

to become a globally competitive investment destination.
Since then, initiatives such as the Ch
r Home Batteries
Program have
encouraged Australian households and small businesses to add battery storage to
their rooftop solar systems. As a result, the high upfront cost of batteries is no longer
an obstacle for Queensland residents, making batteries more accessible to more
households and businesses.
Within a month of its introduction from 1 July, over 1,700 Queenslanders were
reported to have used the federal rebate to install a battery. Now, one in 24

households have a battery connected to the solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. These
batteries are multi-purpose, and have the capacity for storing solar energy for grid
stability and helping households reduce bills, avoid blackouts and lower emissions.

Queensland's Electric Future

Success in implementing the battery reuse strategy will allow Queensland to position
itself as a reliable participant in global battery value chains and, crucially, an adopter
of low future energy costs from renewable energy. In addition, the state's proximity to
Asia and emphasis on strong environmental, social and governance (ESG)
credentials gives it the foundations to connect its investment to the world market.
The state's
established world
class critical
minerals resources
and mining
expertise means it
is well-positioned

to become a
leader in the
battery reuse
space. Not only
does Queensland
hold some of the
world's largest

vanadium deposits

(vital in producing
Vanadium Redox

Flow Batteries), it

has committed to investing $10 million into an Australian-first commercial-scale
vanadium

electrolyte facility in Townsville.

Though EVs are commanding the most battery demand, as of 2025 ongrid stationary
storage has become the fastest growing segment within the battery market with 37%
annual growth across the decade. Ultimately, wherever they are utilised, repurposing
used EV batteries into new stationary storage systems ensures that valuable
resources remain in circulation far beyond their first application. As Queensland
strives for an electric future and energy independence, it is anticipated the rest of the
couniry will follow suit.
With demand for used EVs on the rise and Australia's electrified fleet rapidly
expanding, Pickles’ reputation for transparency, innovation and trust in the auction
industry will be important going forward as sustainability reshapes how we commute
with EVs and understand EV use.

Kenwood

TS-50

Repair

From

VK3DBD

at Yackandandah

David

| wonder if you know of
anyone who Is capable and willing
to do a repair on my TS-50?

couple of years ago | found a
repairer in UK (when
with the radio )

| was there

There was no

Shortage of repairers there!

The fault was in the filter unit,
Is dead again.

and it worked

afterwards of course but now

| am not incapable of doing many

repairs but the unit

construction of the TS-50 (miniaturisation in its day (circa 1996?) when
that rig transformed

mobile for me.

them... other does work....

| rather like it (in fact | have two of

| just filled in a report form on the 17th Feb QRS evening, as | heard and
worked several VK6 stations - rare for me to even hear VK6 on any band.
But trying to follow the instructions on the form to complete - might have
worked or might not.

Funny things happened

whilst doing so.

There must

be a simple way!
| did hear the cat-sitter QRV, but did not work Nigel that evening.
| checked

20m

73 from

VK3DBD

Although

as usual nothing doing there at all.

David in Yack City
[Thanks David;

glad to hear you

made it home from your New
Zealand visit.

On the Kenwood

TS-50 - | also own and love one
(especially with the CW filter
now!).

Mine developed a memory

fault (easyish fix), a display fault Challenging leaky capacitor which
ate-out one of the many platedthrough holes on a printed circuit
board (tricky
but really satisfying to repair), but now has an ALC fault that has beaten
me on several open-heart surgery attempts.
transceiver that I'll persist.

However,

But it’s such a terrific

it sits on a huge pile of un-started /

un-finished repairs and projects that is getting higher faster than I’m
ageing... so! can't offer helo you myself unfortunately.
However,

Is there any of our readers who’d like to challenge of helping

David with this interesting project?

You’ve Tried QLF
From Adrian VK2WE

- How

cggrsnet@qmail.com if so.]

About

QMB?

- hobbling around Talong

Slipped over on ice in the US - broken bone.
know

the bone

was

broken

since

Didn't

last week!

Tyre tracks in snow make slippery ice!
[Trying to keep up with Jordan perhaps Adrian?]

Elecraft

KH1

Touch

Paddle

From Scotty VK4BRO

New toy - KOARK touch paddle for the KH1.
Haven't tried one of these

before.

Looking

for Something?

Recall reading something

in our RagChew

newsletter, and want to find It

again?
Thanks to the work of Lance VK/TO

and Nigel G4RWI,

back issues of the

MailChimp versions of our RagChew

newsletter are available on our

website:
bit. ly/COORSWebsite
Seo iat
mess Eneescoati

lf you're looking on your computer, in the top
right corner of the screen click on the
magnifying glass and type in a word or words
that my have appeared in the article. When the
menu (shown here on the left) opens, click on

Noreauteinthistab
=

Embedded files and you'll see the results of the
search

lf your words don’t come

of our archived

newsletters.

up with an link, try other words.

If you still have

no luck, that may mean that what your looking for may have been in the
newsletter as an image rather than text (the weekly reports and many
articles are actually inserted as images rather than text for a number of
reasons).

Our software team are working on making these searchable -

but for the moment,

only the text can be searched.

In that case, your best option is to go back to the home screen and click on
the word

Home,

and then RagChew News/etter
in the drop-down

Scroll all the way to the bottom and you'll find the RagChew

menu.

Archive where

you can open each individual back issue.

lf you've read something that you think might be of interest to our readers,
please let me know.
below.

For guidance on writing for RagChew,

Please email material to Mark VK2KI:

see Articles

cqgqrsnet@gmail.com

Prosign/Character/Sig
nal of the
See

if you

can

Month

use this one on Tuesday!

Prosign:

Meaning:

Stand

[Suggestion - put it on a sticky note near your key as a reminder for
Tuesday.

Tell us how you went!]

Di-dah-di-dah-dit
Here we

So back to the CQQRS

Next Tuesday’s

Slow CW QSO

go.

practice net.

Net

Our CQQRS

Group will be on as always on Tuesday from around 0600z until

about 1200z;

see https://bit.ly/COORSWebsite and navigate to the Net

Details page for details.

Vaylight

Saving

Coordinated
OPA Dd,

Pee

en ee ed

Timetable

Spring

Universal Time

eee

0600z to 1200z

(NOE

= 4UIT

WV APEIIMENtS

Australia

StI

al a ONPeErent UME

i required)

Western Australia Time

UTC + 8 Hours

1400 to 2000

Central Australian Time

UTC + 10.5 Hours |

1630 to 2230

Eastern Australian Time

UTC + 11 Hours

1700 to 2300

Queensland Time

UTC + 10 Hours

1600 to 2200

NZ Time

UTC + 13 Hours

1900 to 0700

New Zealand

Frequency

06002 to 09002

20m

14039-14051 kHz

Note - 20m times and frequencies will be allocated by Mike DL3YZ prior to the net.

0600z to 1200z

4om

TO20KHz - 7O40KHz

—

3535kHz - 3560kHz

160m

1855kHz (-SkHz for QRM)

TOoO0o

To20
I

40 mi

QRO

3500

160 m

CO ORS Net

3535

80 m EF
1800

Sle

7046
]

ORO

CO ORS Net
1655.

Thanks to Lance VA7TO for the COQRS

Se
3560

=
1875

band-plan

e
22002 - 2300zZ
(Tuesday UTC)

Wednesday (VK/ZL)

nae

WA FM AllStar Network
(Use AllStar to connect to Node 42482 or use
Echolink to connect to VK2KI-L)

Doesn't matter whether you’re brand new and want to try just exchanging
callsigns and RST reports, or you’re ready for a good old rag chew.

We'll

have fun.
There's usually people around until after 1200z - so keep calling in the
segment of the band designated
someone.

in the table below until you catch

| should be on as usual from home

in NSW or via the Remote at

Bedfordale WA, and I'll also be watching the proceedings using the VK6QS
and Tecsun SDRs in WA and NSW

Reports

respectively.

Hope to hear you there.

& Photos

Please let us know via our Reports form bit.ly/COORSNET who you work or
hear on Tuesday’s Group.

The report form closes at lunchtime (Eastern

Australian time) on Thursday.
And how about helping to make the reports even more interesting by
sending a photo?

If you have a photo that you’d be happy to include,

please email it to:
cqarsnet@gmail.com

To make it even easier for our Reports editor Patrick VK2IOW,

see if you

can reduce the size of the image (to less than 100KB file size by
preference).

No problems if your computer or phone can’t do that - just

send it through anyway please.
And of course, I’m always on the lookout for more photos for the
newsletter, so if you have something that might be of interest aside from
the reports, please send it through as well - | always enjoy the photos that
our readers send - and I’m sure our readers do too.
cggrsnet@gmail.com

Email them to

please (reduced size if possible - but whatever you

send will be great).
Oh and by the way, | recommend
website open

that you don’t keep the Reports Form

between submission of reports from one week to the next.

you’re unlucky, there’s an undocumented

feature in the software that

could cause your current week’s report to be combined

with your previous

report - it’s happened to your editor several times - much to the chagrin of
our Reports editor

Post

Morsum

Richard VK6HRC

will run our phone Post Morsum

on the South West AllStar

net (via repeaters and hotspots all over WA) from 0600 WA time, then from
0700 WA time on 80m

(3605 LSB).

See https://bit.ly/COORSWebsite and

navigate to the Net Details page for details of how you can connect via
Echolink or even possibly via your local FM repeater.

Articles
The newsletter is interesting to readers because of the material
contributed by so many people - be it the reports each week or the various
articles.

Could you write a short article or articles for RagChew?

Writing not your strong point?
much

You bet!

Don’t worry, I'm very happy to help as

or as little as needed.

Here’s a thought - although our readers will much
perhaps have a go at using a Large Language
tool such as ChatGPT,

prefer your own writing,

Model Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini to check your

writing or even to actually draft the whole article in a relaxed easy-to-read
manner!

You can find out more about how to do that on the Newsletter

page on our website bit.|ly/COQORSWebsite. Our website also includes a
suitable prompt (the command
want).

you feed to the Al to make

it do what you

Please remember though - you must fact-check anything that an Al

tool drafts for you because Als ‘hallucinate’ - ie if an Al can’t find what
you're looking for, it will make up an answer and present it as a fact!

This

is one of the dangers of using Als - it’s quite probable that the tool will
create a very readable and convincing draft that is 100% wrong!
the submitter are responsible for fact-checking.

You as

But it’s a learning

experience - please let us Know how you went if you had a go with this new
generation of tool.
And by the way - | am very concerned

about our future in a world of Al -

but I’m pleased to see that school and university curriculums now focus on
understanding the risks - for instance, kids are now learning critical
thinking something that used to be taught mostly at post-graduate level.
When the typewriter was invented,
handwriting;

when the word

people predicted the downfall of

processor was invented, the art of writing was

thought to be on the way out - ditto for the spreadsheet and arithmetic,
AM, SSB and FT-8 for amateur radio etc.

We can ignore Al and hope that it

just goes away... or we can learn to handle it through experimentation

and

USe.

Oh, and one more thing (actually two) - copyright material:
e

please use your own images - don’t use images copied from the
internet unless you have the producer’s permission, or they’re
marked

‘Creative Commons’

or similar;

if you include other peoples’ written material, unless you have
permission, you may only include small snippets (unless it’s marked
‘Creative Commons’

or similar), and you'll need to site the source and

author.
For more guidance on writing for the RagChew

newsletter (including help

with using an Al), head to our website bit.ly/COQORSWebsite then click the
menu

on the top right and then click RagChew News/etter.

Material
A reminder;

if you send me any information by email, our report form or

WhatsApp - unless you specifically state that material is not to be
published, I'll assume that you're happy to see your thoughts in the
RagChew

newsletter.

Teamwork
Thank you so much to our team of 40 contributors:

DL3YZ,

MONNK,

VK/G4RWI, VKLAD, VK2K]JJ, VE2RU, VK2WF, VK2WP, VK3ACU, VK3BSE,
VK3BTV, VK3BWN,
VK4AW,

VK3CLD, VK3DBD,

VK3DRQ,

VK3ECH/MM,

VK3KLE,

VK4BRO, VK4EV, VK4IM, VK4PN, VK5FD, VK5FR, VK5KFG, VK5PL,

VK6FN, VK6HRC, VK6JDM, VK6KD, VK6KHZ, VK6LD, VK6NW,
VK6XC, VK7JZ, VK7TA, WB2GDZ,
you to our editorial team,

ZL1PB and ZL3ABX.

Nigel G4RWI

VKOWE,

And a special thank

(head of software development),

Patrick VK2IOW

(reports coordinator), John VK2RU

Richard VK6HRC

(Post Morsition) and Lance VK7/TO (software advisor).

Great work all!

€Y CW on Tuesday,

Mark Bosma
VK2KI / VK6QI
Beautiful South Bowning

cqarsnet@gmail.com

NSW

non impediti ratione cogitationis

fi “iG

e
ME : i vit ihe

‘.

™

(spreadsheet guru),

hes ae NY
Vy boy Rs

&
Oe

Vie

About

the CQ

Here’s where
For the current schedule

and

QRS

Net

you'll find the details.

information

about the CQQRS

net,

please go the the Net Details page on our website:

https://bit.ly/COQQRSWebsite

The opinions expressed

in the RagChew newsletter are those of the individual
contributors.
The opinions do not necessarily reflect that of the editor or of the CQQRS Group
members.
Any material and images received from members by the editor or published on the
CQQRS WhatsApp groups may be published tn this newsletter unless specifically
requested otherwise.
The RagChew newsletter is considered to be exempt from the Australian
Government’s ban on social media for under 16 year olds because It is a service that
has the primary purpose of enabling users to share information about products or
services, engage in professional networking or professional develooment services or
of supporting the education of users per the Australian Government eSafety
Commissioner FAQ webpage “Which platforms have been excluded from the age
restrictions” dated 10Dec25.
The values, doctrine and guidelines for the Group and for the newsletter are published
on the Principles page of the group’s website https://bit.ly/COORSWebsite

Our mailing address Is:

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You

can

update

your preferences

or unsubscribe