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cell yy
2
o
AY
Isn’t this a beauty? Simon MOKB)’s beautiful new 1970s vintage Kenwood TS-530SP, as used
successfully on the CQQRS net on Tuesday. Everything’s right - microphone and gain controls are
where
they should
be, narrow
filter selected...
woo
hoo!
And
thank you
to Jo for that beautiful
key
as well!
Link to our
How
Reporting
Form
to Do Your First Parks on the Air Activation.
An Arduino VBand
Simon’s
Callsign
Home
Brew
QRZ?
On
CW
Adapter
Badge
Gear
the
Ollivetti
- Mark
Florida to Australia on 40m
Last Week
VK3IL Touch
Paddle
Wednesday’s
Morse Training
Mount
My
VK2DI
Practice
PC Boards Available
Barker Buy,
Double
Net
Sell & Swap
Mountain
Goat
- March
7th
Paddle
Local Oscillator DX!
CWops
Update
Prosign
of the Week
Di-dah-di-dah-dit
About the CQ QRS
Group
Dah-di-dah-di-dah
Another great week for our CQQRS
members
Practice QSO
net - at least 48
working 66 different stations - bloody amazing
Slow CW
despite the band
v
RSS
full of static crashes in the East!
logged seven stations on 40m
Phil VEK8MC who was portable in SA even
using a simple Tecsun
PL-330 portable short
wave receiver.
Aren't conditions great at the moment?
Jordan VK3ACU
at Meredith (South of Ballarat) reports hearing his Pixie
And how’s this....
40m transceiver’s local oscillator on Paul VK5PH’s famous
Ironstone Range
KiwiSDR network, just East of Adelaide;
report below.
see his YouTube
Great to see the proliferation of QRP QSOs and attempts again this week;
this is what CW
is all about!
| suggest to improve your chances of being
heard, if you’re calling CQ using QRP, consider putting a post on our
CQQRS
WhatsApp Alerts group - sometimes
people will hear you but may
not try because they think you won’t hear them - or they may be tuning
around quickly and miss your signal.
Actually, the same goes for any QRS
CQ call (both during and outside the net) - a quick Alert may bring you
success... and may also encourage others to listen in for some
And speaking of QRP - Jordan VK3ACU
practice.
has written a little article about
getting out and having a bit of CW fun in a Park.
His bottom
line is the key
- don’t do what | do - over-prepare, over-pack and over-think)... just get out
with a transceiver, battery, key, note paper, a bit of antenna wire and have
some fun!
Too complex and hard to submit logs etc for the various
xxOTAs?.... True, you can do that, and have a huge amount of fun with the
various challenges.... or you can just get out and have some fun!
submitting an xxOTS
log the same as naked CW
Is not
perhaps?
This week we also have another take on a VBand
adapter - this one by
David VK4JM - sorry mate - | missed your email, lost in my Spam folder!
If
you'd like more info or a board from David, send me an email and I'll put
you in touch.
And speaking of home-brew,
check out Stephen ZL3ABX’s
project - and he claims only limited knowledge of electronics!
lots more to read;
And there’s
please enjoy.
And speaking of enjoying - check out the reports from our operators last
Tuesday - terrific reports - thanks one and all.
And also great to see it’s
not just people who have QSOs - SWL reports are great.
So Ms Elizabeth and | are nearing the end of our three week pub-packing
journey around the South East of Victoria by public transport, staying in
pubs etc.
This week’s newsletter was started when we were in hippie-
central - Fish Creek in South Gippsland, continued
in Leongtha, then
Broadford, and is now being finished in Holbrook NSW.
thank Jo and Nigel G4RWI
who when visiting CQQRS
I'd like to really
Headquarters,
offered
to eat house-sit for us when our usual house-sitter’s plans changed at the
last minute. Thanks guys and | hope you had fun.... and best wishes for
the next stage of your largely un-planned travels around the East;
fingers
crossed with the various selling and buying endeavours.
New
Team
Members
Welcome this week to Graham
Brisbane.
Graham
VK4CEG
who lives at Logan, South of
heard about our net from Scotty VK4BRO,
PARKS & SOTA operator, enjoying the peace and quiet.
during a previous Don Edwards
and is a keen
I’d worked Graham
Memorial Slow CW Contest and he has also
joined in on our Tuesday adventures a couple of times.
Welcome
Graham,
and | look forward to hearing or chatting to you, and also getting your
Tuesday reports.
And welcome
also to Eliot VK2OAG
who lives at Orange and was introduced
to our group by Patrick VK2IOW from nearby Millthorpe.
on air in another month
or so.
Eliot plans to be
Welcome to our family and the CW journey
Eliot.
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
Editorial team, please enjoy the
newsletter.
dit-dit
Mark
Bosma
VK2KI / VK6QI
Beautiful South
Bowning NSW
John
VK2RU
Patrick
VK2IOW
Milthorpe NSW
cagrsnet@gmail.com
on a track
somewhere
non impediti ratione cogitationis
Nigel
G4RWI
our other grey
nomad
Reports
& Comments
Here’s this week’s
Last Tuesday’s
Lance
VK7TO
Margate TAS
Richard
VK6HRC
Padbury WA
reports.
Group
With thanks to Nigel G4RWI’s clever software, and John VK2RU’s clever
spreadsheet work, here’s the 66 stations heard by 48 members
of our
team on Tuesday:
CQORS Team
ca
aso
DL/MONNK
Worked 20m
DL3YZ
Worked 20m
MOKBJ
Worked 20m
VK1CT
Heard on air
VKIWA
Heard on air
Member
1
Qso
2
Qso 3
Qso 4
VK2IOW
VK4PN
VK2IOW
VK3ADT | VK3DRQ}
VK4PN
JI2MED
VK2IOW |
VK4PN
asos5
Qso6
DL3Y7 |
VK4PN
Heard on air
VK2GAS
Worked 40m
VK3ACU
VK2IOW
Worked 20m
DL/MONNK
VK2IOW
Worked 40m
VKONW
VK2KI
Heard 20m
VK2IOW | VK3DRQ|}
MOKBJ
VK2KI
Heard 40m
VK3ACU
VK2ASB | VK2GAS|
VK5CZ | VK5A0 |
VK2RU
Heard 40m
VK3WOW
VK2IOW | VK3KLE | VK3DRQ)
VK3DGE | VK2GAS |} VK3KLE | VK2WP | VK2TM |
VK2WP
Heard on air
VK3ACU
Worked 40m
VK3SCMV
VK3ACU
Worked 40m
VKAEV
VK3CMV
Heard on air
VK3DRQ
Worked 20m
DL3YZ
VK3DRQ
wvanDpn
Heard 20m
\WWarkad AN
VK4PN
VE OAAIONAT
MOKBJ
DL3Y7Z
VKIWA |
VKAICT
VIET AT
aso
8
DJ2GS
VK2ASB
DL/MONNK |
aQso7
VTTN
VK/7TO |
VK3FC |
VK5SFA
VK5A0
VK7EE
VK5C7
Wnsuny
weurnce tun
vnowuyy
wnse
VK3DRO,
Heard 40m
VK5KFG
VK6GX | VK4NP
varie
VK3ECH/MM |
Heard on air
VK3KLE
Heard on air
VK3DA | VK5A0
VK3TBR
Heard on air
VK3WOW
Worked 40m
VK3DRQ.
VK4CEG
Worked 40m
7L3ABX
VK4CEG
Heard 40m
VK3ACU
VK4CEG
Tried 40m
VK3KLE
VK4EV
Worked 40m
VK3ACU
VK4EV
Heard 40m
VK3WOW
VK2ASB | VK3KLE | VK3DRQ|
VK4IM
VK4PN
Heard 40m
Worked 20m
VK2GAS
DL/MONNK
VK3MJ | VK4PN
DL3YZ
VK2GUS | VK3MJ
VK3KLE | VK3DRQ)
ZL3ABX | VK2ASB | VKIWA |
VK5AAR | VK5A0
VK4PN
Worked 40m
VK5KFG
VK5A0
Worked 40m
VK3 WOW
VKS5SAAR | VKGGX |
VK5SAV
Heard 40m
VK3CMV
VK3ACU | VK6KHZ | VKGWE | VK5CZ | VK5AO |
VK5SAV
Heard 40m
VK3KLE
VK3DRQ.
VK5CZ
Heard on air
VK5FA
Heard on air
VK5FD
Heard 40m
VK5FD
Heard 40m
VK5FR
Worked 40m
VK5GG
ZL4KX | VK7TO
VK1ICT
VK7TO | VK1ICT
VK7JZ
VK3ECH/MM | VK3WOW | VK2IOW | VK2ASB | VK3DRQ)
VK3DA | VK5AO |
VK5FR
Heard 40m
VK3KLE
VK5KDO
Worked 40m
VK3KLE
VK5KFG
Worked 40m
VK6GX
VK4PN
VK5KFG
Heard 40m
VK2IOW
VK6NW |
VK5KFG
Worked 80m
VK6KD
VK6GX
Worked 40m
VK6MTF/P |
VK3KLE | VK2ASB | VKSKFG |
VK6GX
Heard 40m
VK3DRQ
VK5FR
VK6HRC
Worked 40m
VK6MTF/P |
VK6KHZ | VKGNW |
VK6HRC
Heard 40m
VK2IOW
VK3ACU | VKSKFG | VKGWE | VKS5SAO | VK6GX
VK6GX
VK3DRQ. | VKSAAR | VK5AO
| VK5GG
VK5A0
VK7TA | VKSAO |
N4QR
VK6RR
VK6HRC
Worked 80m
VK6KHZ
VK6JDM
Heard 40m
VK2IOW
VKGHRC | VK3KLE | VK3ACU | VJGNW | VKSER | VK5GG |
VK6JDM
Heard 40m
VK5KFG
VKIWA | VK4PN | VK6GX
VK6JDM
Tried 40m
VKG6KHZ
VK6KD
Heard 40m
VK6MTF
VK6KD
Worked 80m
VK5KFG
VK6NW
VK6KHZ
Worked 40m
VK6MTF
VKGHRC | VKGWE |
VK6KHZ
Worked 80m
VK6HRC
VK4EV
VK5KFG | VKGGX
VK6MTF/P
Heard on air
VK6NW
Worked 40m
VK2IOW
VKGHRC | VK6RR
VK6NW
Heard 40m
VKG6KHZ
VK6WE
VKENW
Worked 80m
VK6KD
VK6P2ZT
Worked 40m
VK3MJ
VK6PZT
Heard 40m
VKAPN
VK6QI
Heard 20m
VK2IOW
VK6QI
Heard 40m
VK6MTF
VK6WE
VK6RR
Heard 20m
DL/MONNK |
VK2IOW
VK6RR
Worked 40m
VK6MTF
VK6RR
Heard 40m
VK5RC
VK6WE
Worked 40m
VK6MTF
VK7JZ
Worked 40m
VK3DRQ
VK6RR
VK3DRQ
VKG6HRC | VK6KHZ | VK6ENW
VK6KHZ
VK7JZ
Heard 40m
VK2IOW
VK7TA
Worked 40m
VK3TBR
VK7TO
VK6GX
VK7TA
Heard 40m
VK3KLE
VK3DRQ | VKSAAR}
VK3FC | VK5FA | VK5A0
VK7TO
Heard on air
VKSAO |
VK7WW
Heard 40m
VK3CMV
VK3KLE | VK3ACU}
VK8MC/5
Heard 40m
VK3DRQ
VK3ACU | VK3KLE | VK7TO | VK5A0O |
ZLICJB
Heard on air
ZL3ABX
Heard 20m
ZL3ABX
Worked 40m
DL/MONNK | VK2IOW | VK3ADT)
VK4CEG
7L1CJB
ZL3ABX
Heard 40m
VK2GAS
VK3ACU | VK3KLE
VKACT
VK7TA | VK6GX
DL3YZ
Comments:
The spreadsheet above shows 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.
reports
The comments
were
also compiled for us by Nigel G4RWI's software tools and the layout was
perfected by Patrick VK2IOW.
the work.
Thanks again to Nigel, Patrick and John for
And thank you very much to every team
to submit a report for our reading pleasure.
Hu
member who took time
From Mike DL3YZ
at Stuttgart / Germany
[20m]
Today we had an almost perfect day. Condx were on our
side, bands up here quiet and the signals from VK were easy
to copy. Thanks for all the nice chats, it was a pleasure
beeping with you around the world again :-) Have a great
week ! 73 Mike
From Ross
DL/MONNK
at Exeter UK via Stuttgart Germany
[20m]
Se
The weather forecast was wrong and so | could have gone out
Portable after all. But Mike DL3YZ
has a great radio that | can
access over the internet so it all worked out fine for me. There's no
mistaking the strong signal from Pat VK2IOW
- only 90 watts but |
had to turn the RF Gain down! Sava VK4PN
had a weaker signal but
his good fist made for an easy copy. Thanks, chaps.
From Nic VK7WW
at Legana,
TAS
[40m]
Vy bad QRN
hr 25+
!
[80m]
Very strange wide band ‘interference’ or transmission
picked up on the VK6
Mt Barker SDR.
Several MHZ wide!
Different tones to be heard, no matter what fx you tune
to....Any ideas?
From Chris VK5FR
EE
|
at Adelaide
——
#1.
in the
CW
loa
(anart
fram
same
doadav
camniiter
bk
A
ee
ey ee
generated/decoded
Graeme, VK5GG
Chris VK3QB
QSO's
egy
Seep
quite some time ago) was
about 5km's from me! Big thanks to
for running the CW
year and if Lyn, VK4SWE
this.... THANK YOU
Academy
CSE this
and Bob W9KNI
ever read
for your determination...| got there
in the end!
From Phil VA8MC/5
at Lincoln National Park
[40m]
Camping
in Lincoln NP in SA. Listening on a Tecsun
PL-330 portable using its whip antenna. Surprised by
how many stations | heard. Good conditions
combined with a low noise location.
From Jim Semmens
VK7JZ
at Hobart
[40m]
| was a late starter this week tuning in after conclusion of the
CWA course tonight.
was a bit of QSB
| heard Patrick VK2IOW calling but there
for me on his signal, sometimes
clear, other times nothing.
fail, | moved
on.
his call was
Rather than bother Patrick and then
| picked up on the end of a QSO
between
is
Manny VK3DRQ and Lance VK7TO. | then called Manny, who
noted | had been a little absent and was nice | was on the net, we had a good chat
about the benefits of CW
CW class.
practice and
| explained
| amon the home stretch now.
| have been a little absent due to
Pleasingly while | did not get every word, |
got enough that | did not have to ask for any repeats which is a bit of a milestone for
me.
Anyway, Manny was suffering crashes, | was suffering a high noise floor we
sent our 73s and | took the headphones
From Adam
VK4IM
off.
A really enjoyable QSO
- thanks Manny.
at North Lakes, Qld
[40m]
Came
VkaIM
hnme
late fram
work
so
not
many
tadav
:
[Red
G
r
|
From Greg VK5KFG
at Willunga
[40m]
Good
chat with Phil and Sava despite pretty poor conditions.
Sava was QRP.
Graeme
was very quick and definitely not QRS.
[80m]
Good
to hear him but David’s signal fought a losing battle with
conditions here tonight on 80.
From Richard VK6PZT
at Dalyellup Beach
[40m]
Late start for me tonight,
long day at work.
40m
15m
tonight, tried 80 and
From Wayne
VK6NW
Noisy on
but no luck.
at Bridgetown
[40m]
For
nance
40m
saamed
ton he
in annd
eonditinn
in the
SON
ee
ee
ge
eo
west but there seemed to be lots of QRN
eastern SDRs
ee
in the
due to the plethora of storms that
seem to pervade the eastern side of the island. Oh
well, you will live there....
[80m]
Great to catch up with David on 80m, nice QSO and the 80m band was behaving
itself by being reasonably quiet.
From David VK6KD
at Ballajura WA
[40m]
Apart from the early stations at around
1800hrs,
40m was very quiet at my location until much
later around 2248 WST.
From the speed of the
CW on 7.0415 and higher | don’t think they were
QRS participants hihi.
[80m]
There wasn't much
heard at my QTH
calls were coming in well.
eliminator has chosen
on 80m
My QRM
As an interim solution, | switched off the
eliminator power just before transmitting.
significantly from 15W to 9OW.
| think my Tx power came
up
Wayne VKGNW came in so strong | thought he was
parked in the street outside my QTH,
hihi.
Greg VKSKFG
due to noise floor level but yet another great QSO.
From lan VK7TA
else on the band.
not to like 80m and decided to cause a problem with SWR
when using anything above 20W Tx pwr.
QRM
however stations responding to my CQ
Just couldn't hear too much
was a lot harder to hear
73s all.
at Latrobe
[40m]
| didn't hear so many stations this week.
No storms here, but some
QRN.
From Graham
Vayro VK4CEG
at Logan city
[40m]
Yas
| aninved
it
| am
thrilled
ta qet
7l
3ARX
Stanhen
at
Nelenn
Ne
ye
using my QCX
re
er
gr
ep
5 watt HB rig.
[40m]
| might not be a regular
participant on Tuesday
nights, but this is an
enjoyable activity and |
know that participating must
help my Morse fluency.
transmitter was set to 7 Watts.
My
Thanks everyone.
[80m]
| didn't hear any CW
on 80m.
| called CQ a few times but got no response.
whole band looked totally abandoned
away, an SSB conversation
segment.
on the local internet SDR.
took place right in the middle of our recommended
So it appears the band was working well enough sometimes.
that though,
my 80m
The
Then, blow me
CQs were not spotted by any RBN
band
Having said
station.
Se
From Roy VK6RR
at Geraldton
[20m]
Unable to hear MONNK
on 20m
[40m]
Due to phone calls and a booked 6pm
time. Great to QSO
with the ones
Zoom
| worked.
meeting only | could be on for a short
From your editor Mark VK2KI at Leongatha Victoria via the Snowline KiwiSDR at Dry
Plain.
[15m]
Not a sausage
heard from Edi DO2EMR
despite his new antenna.
on 15m this week,
| knew he was on air via Mike
DL3YZ's reporting system.
Keep trying Edi - one day you'll
surprise yourself and 15m will burst in to life to Oceania.
[20m]
| could just about feel the pleasure that Simon
having, having a go with his new toy, a nice 1970s Kenwood
Plates on the 6146B Wolverhampton
MOKBJ
TS-530SP.
was
Dipping the
shack warmers, etc was producing a
reasonable RSN
3271 signal into the Snowline KiwiSDR as he chatted away with
Patrick VK2IOW
at Millthorpe.
RSN
Further down the band, Mike DL3YZ was a decent
541 from Stuttgart while chatting to Manny VK3DRQ
at Blackburn
(which we
were passing on a coach as | wrote this on Wednesday.
After the change of shift, Ross MONNK
at Budleigh Salterton was heard using Mike's
remote chatting to Patrick then Sava VK4PN
up at Mount Ommaney.
[40m]
| listened-in on the Snowline
KiwiSDR at the start of the net using my phone;
of thunderstorms was passing through Victoria and Southern
NSW
waterfall display looked like a box full of resistor colour codes.
noise, | heard
lan VK5CZ
calling CQ at a hair on fire pace.
a band
- the SDR's
Anyway, despite the
Jordan VK3ACU
(who |
think had more hair) responded matching his pace and away they went;
a pleasure
to head-copy for me (I couldn't write that fast).... applying Ross' MONNK's
Guessing
Game paradigm of course.
Next | heard Arthur VK2ASB
nibbles unfortunately.
from Wentworth
Falls calling CQ - nice signal but no
Following that Armin VK2GAS
called CQ from
Norwest and
had a chat with Jordan.
To round out my listening pleasure,
| heard
Maity VKSAO
calling and Rex VK5FA
chatting to VK3FC before | headed over to 20m to see what the DXperiment team
were up to.
Also from your editor Mark VK6QI at Leongatha Victoria via the Southern
Electronics
Group's Hoddy's Well KiwiSDR near Northam WA
[15m]
No luck from Edi DO2EMR
into WA this week.
[20m]
The propagation gods weren't smiling on the pea-
gravel of Northam this week;
signals from the East
were good, but there was nothing heard from our
European
area colleagues this time.
[40m]
Daniel and Morgan VK6WE
at Cottesloe and VK6MTF/P
at Bakers Junction Nature
Reserve near Albany were putting good signals into Northam this week.
However, after dinner Ms Elizabeth and | concentrated on arranging the next legs of
our public-transport only pub-packing adventure.
We're surprised at how few and far
between budget pub accommodation along the tracks between Melbourne and
Albury has become.
the challenge.
And teeing-up travel from some of the smaller towns also part of
Anyway we opted for an early night this week, which had its rewards.
From Phil VK6GX
at Gidgegannup
[40m]
| was
late starting, so good propagation to the east
coast, but no ZLs heard. N4QR from NC called in, 35W
HB Tx, Drake 2B Rx, Ant low EFHW/, close to his SR,
549 on my east Beverage. A good session with some
oul
very enjoyable longer QSO's, despite east coast
stations suffering from QRN.
East Beverage (201 metres)
From Peter Dann VK3WOW
at Blackburn
[40m]
Got
a
hit of a
init whan
Graame
VVKSGG
answered
mv
er
18 wpm
Was
Ne
CQ at 25 wpm,
ee
rr
oy
but rather surprised myself.
able to increase my paddle speed
(and, more
importantly, brain speed) to match for a briefish QSO
that was
more than just an exchange of the basic, and
didn't make a complete fool of myself. Nice to see the
work I've been putting in on my Morse
lately (after enrolling in CW
Academy
course)
paying some dividends, even if | still certainly have quite a few ‘off’ moments.
From Manny VK3DRQ at Blackburn
[40m]
Had not much free time on my hands, so only managed
QSOs
three
but, yes all of them very enjoyable.
[80m]
Was
very happy to hear OM
Mike all the way from Stuttgart
but his signals were only RSN 332 QSB at Blackburn.
From Simon
MOKB4J
at Wolverhampton,
UK
[20m]
| picked up a beautiful 1987 Kenwood
530SP for £150 (285AUD)
TS-
last week and have
had lots of fun learning how to use a hybrid rig
(valves in the transmitter amplifiers, solid-state
receive). | hadn't operated it on 20m or at full
100W power until today, so didn't quite know
what to expect.
7 TS-530SP -
| got a reply, but not from Australia. Manabu
He's in the town of Shima,
JI2MED
is my first Japanese contact.
Mie prefecture, which is only about 100 miles from the
factory in which my Kenwood
was made.
Manabu
has proved what can be done with
investment into antennas. He pushes 500W into a self-built loop-fed array Yagi. This
would explain why he did better to receive me than | did to hear him. We
tha
OSQO
with
ma
lictanina
throiiqh
the
Atietralian
wah-SNR
managed
\Wla aychannad
amaile
RE
No
Pe
Pe
REA
Re
WA
A
OV eR
Se
eA
ge
and Manabu confirmed that he was beaming on the long path. That means that my
signals reached
him after a 19,000-mile (30,000km) journey from my half-size GSRV
antenna. That's a new distance record for me - about three-quarters of the Earth's
circumference.
Old friend Patrick VK2IOW joined in the fun and was very clear copy: a good 559
signal with no fading. He was using his yagi antenna and amplifier.
| finished up with Gerhard
From Sava VK4PN
DJ2GS
in Feldberger, Germany.
at Mount Ommaney
Brisbane
[15m]
Spent a good
15 min on 15m scanning and calling between
21048
and 21050 but no luck. Reverse Beacon reported decodes at ZL
and JA and quick check of the FT8 slot showed few EU stations
working southeast Asia so the band was open. 09:00 UTC seems
too early for EU VK working.
[20m]
Managed
to work both Mike and Ross but both QSOs were at the end of their
respective slots so QSOs
were relatively short. Although the same equipment was
used by both of them, Ross was coming through at much
the time difference between QSOs
lower level than Mike and
was only about 30 min. Maybe some
issue with
remote control.
[40m]
Got on air just after 07:00 UTC and 40m was noisy with no signals in the QRS
Scanned
slot.
around the band for about 10 min then gave up for a good while. On return
from sessions on 20 and 15m at around
10:00 UTC there was some activity on band,
managed only 3 contacts all QRP at my end so | am grateful to VASKFG, VK3MJ and
VK2GUS
for doing a good job to copy my puny signal. | always struggle for time on
40 and 80m; by the time the EU DXperiment slot is finished and my compulsory
evening walk, not much time is left for lower bands.
[80m]
Total flop! | could see my carrier at Ironside SDR quite strong but the noise was
horrendous, deep green or orange hardly any blue. There were a few faint traces
though which | tuned on, but couldn't decode anything at my QTH.
From Patrick VA2IOW between Bathurst and Orange
[20m]
| enjoyed QSOs with Mike, Simon and Ross.
station had the stronger signal.
Mike's
[40m]
The band was noisy with static crashes.
| had a few
QSOs and listened to others.
From Peter VA5KDO at Encounter Bay SA
[40m]
| heard Paul VK3KLE calling so | replied.
Received a 599 from him at Stawell. Attempted
to reply but VSWR suddenly jumped and TX
power dropped in response. By the time |
located and replaced a dodgy coax lead and
tried calling again, Paul seemed to have
changed freq. Been a while since | was
participating so | had better recheck everything
before next time. Cheers, Peter
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.
VIMIIIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV
Post Morsum 25" February
From Richard VK6HRC.
Six on the VK6RLM
VK6FN
Max
VK6NW
Wayne
VK6QI
Mark
VK6KD
David
rpir and AllStar/Echolink hub this morning.
VK6HRC
and swl VK6MRB
Mulligan.
Max was in SWL mode, hearing the locals to start with and as conditions
improved more from the Eastern states.
Wayne was already out walking his dog caled in with his report, he worked three
on 40m and then finished up with David VK6KD on 80m.
Mark called in from Leongatha Victoria in the midst of packing up getting ready
for the next step homeward bound now. Using the VK6SR and Snowline Kiwi sdr
nodes heard nine on 40m and six on 20m. Our DX crew Simon,Mike and Ross
were there enjoying the better conditions as well. Ross was making use of Mike’s
remote set up which is working well.
David tuned around for a while, caught up Wayne on 80m later on for a chat and
generally enjoyed the evening.
| had four contacts on 40m and one on 80n,, fairly quiet to start with but much
better once we started hearing our Eastern states friends as conditions improved.
Thank you to all on last night and this morning
73
Richard.
|
A=
,
F
uN
a.
a)
frais
3
VHF field day set up Reabold Hill Perth
This Week’s Topic of
Interest
How
to
Do
Your
(POTA)
Just have
some
CW
First
Parks
on
the
Air
- don’t over-think
It!
Activation
Fun
by Jordan VK3ACU
Have you been thinking about getting out portable but weren’t sure where
to start? Parks on the Air (POTA)
is one of the easiest and most enjoyable
ways to get active on HF. You don’t need an expensive station or 100
Watts. In fact, a small radio, a battery, and a length of wire is often all you
need.
1. Receive-Only
Unless You’re
Licensed
Goes without saying - you need a valid amateur radio license to transmit.
Make sure you operate within your licence conditions.
2. Create an Account
on pota.app
and
or parksnpeaks.org
¢ Go to https://pota.app or https://parksnpeaks.org/
e Create
a free account
3. Choose
a Park
e Pick a park a map can be found at hitps://pota.app/#/map
e Checking access using google maps
Is helpful
Start simple — a local park if you have one nearby Is perfect.
Remember you'll need that park number when
logging and notifying others
of your activation.
4. Basic
Equipment
(Keep
It
Simple!)
You do NOT need an expensive
radio.
You can activate with:
¢ A small radio
¢ A battery
e Asimple
length of wire or dipole
e A tuner or balun (If needed)
e A way to log contacts
paper or
the fantastic free PoLo application
from HAM2k
If you operate CW, even better —
low power works brilliantly.
A 10-20 metre wire in a tree can
absolutely get you contacts.
5. Optional
- Put a Spot Out
Before or after you start calling:
¢« Log into pota.app, www.parksnpeaks.org, the iparksnpeaks app or similar
e Self-spot your frequency and mode
Spots tell hunters you’re on the air. Without a spot It can be slow.
With a spot, you might get pile-ups immediately.
6. Call CQ
POTA
Example on CW:
CQ POTA DE VK...(your call) (your call) K
On SSB:
“CQ Parks on the Air, CQ POTA, this is VK (your call) activating AU-1234.”
Stay on frequency and keep calling.
7. Log at Least 10 Contacts
You need
10 valid QSOs to qualify as an activation.
Log:
¢ Callsign
e Signal report
e Time (UTC)
e Band
e Mode
lf you don’t get 10, plan on returning for the rest.
$. Upload Your Log
After you get home:
e Upload it through
pota.app (webpage)
e Wait for it to be processed
Then you're officially an activator!
A Few Tips
e Put a spot out — it makes a huge difference.
I'll tell you about this in a
follow-up article.
¢ Don’t overthink antennas to start with — wire in a tree works.
e CW
+ low power = magic.
e Start simple.
e Just go and try it.
Give
It a Go
Your first activation doesn’t need to be perfect.
Throw a wire in a tree. Call CQ. See who comes
back.
You might be surprised how addictive it becomes.
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;
guidance on writing for RagChew,
material to Mark VK2KI:
On
caqgrsnet@gmail.com
Adapter
at Upper Mount Gravatt
| Saw your request for info on VBand.
Attached
iS a presentation
District
| gave
to the Bayside
AR Society a few years ago, that summarises
VBand
for
Please email
My Workbench
An Arduino VBand
From David VK4JM
see Articles below.
and what is required.
There’s no such thing...
In the WhatsApp
—
Alerts last Tuesday
What is this? How do | join? Wt
night, ragchew
{ditional prog’
on Vband
quip
was
mentioned
do |
d? What
VBand
m
- Internet Virtual CW
VBand - Build your own USB Interface
Band
Website that allows code to be sent with a keyboard (Ctrl Keys)
=
Dedicated channels allow QSO’s
m
Good option to practice sending a receiving CW without a radio, licence etc.
USB interface can be used to plug into the computer to send with an actual key /
paddle instead of the keyboard.
Buy a USB interface for USD 65 or....
m
VBand - Build your own USB Interface
m
KiCad - design the board
{te
= JLCPCB - print the board
|
m= Assemble
m
What you need
-
3.5mm TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) socket
-
Arduino with ATMega32U4 chip
-
Some code (Arduino sketch)
-
USB cable
-
Morse key/paddle
The Arduino monitors the morse paddle and then sends a keyboard stroke to the
computer via usb.
VBand - Using the USB interface
=
[aieeels
fies
“ah
Program the Arduino
| made
an adaptor using a TRS socket, Arduino board and pcb.
I'm sure
I've got a few pcbs left that | would be happy to distribute if anyone is
interested.
Also have copies of the Arduino code, pcb design etc that I can
Share.
Regards
David
VK4JM
[Thanks David.
Apologies for the delay in publishing your work - this one
was lost in my Spam email folder.
Amazing
what you find there
sometimes!
So for readers:
e
Click on the top left image above to see the full-sized presentation
and the bottom right to load the I/ink.
e
/f anyone would like one of David's boards, please let me know
cggrsnet@qmaill.com |
Simon & Jo MOKBJ
i
Harvey
Finished my little callsign badge project
Click above to have
8:41am
a look-see.
Home-Brew Gear
From Stephen ZL3ABX
The aspects of amateur radio which most interest me are Morse and seeing what can
be done with simple, homebrewed equipment that can be
made relatively cheaply from
readily available components.
| appreciate what sophisticated
factory rigs can do; | have a
nice little lcom which sits on the
shack bench, works well and
enables me to test and calibrate
the gear | experiment with.
I've
attached photos showing both
my latest home made
transceiver and a pile of stuff
indicating how much solder I've
melted lately.
My understanding of electronic
theory and calculations is very
limited and fairly basic.
However | think I'm learning
slowly.
I'm very grateful for the help I've
had from hams who actually do
understand what goes on inside
a radio and who have either
helped me in person, or who
have published books or uploaded info to the internet.
My latest transceiver is a 40 metre singlebander. It has an output of maybe 2 watts.
<< The receiver uses ideas | got from Peter
- VK3YE, Eric ZL2BMI and Todd VE7BPO
and | think it is the nicest home brewed
direct-conversion receiver I've listened to so
far.
The receiver uses an LM386 audio
amplifier chip, but it is connected in a lower
amplification mode that is less likely to
scream and pop in your headphones.
The VFO is fairly darn stable.
It is based around a JFET and has its origins in ARRL
publications.
Ihe transmitter is an OXO (designed by OM George GM3OXxX), but
instead of using a crystal, | fed the output of the VFO into the place where the crystal
should be. | bought some salvaged 2SC1971 power transistors, and | used one of
them in the OXO, although other transistors will work including the cheap BD139. |
use a double-pole, double-throw switch to switch the antenna and the power between
transmit and receive.
| like to keep a modest stock of components for experimenting. | have been given
some components, and I've bought a lot from various sources including TAYDA and
Aliexpress. In a fit of FOMO (fear of missing out), | recently hit the buy button on
over a hundred tiny surface-mounted (now obsolete) 5486 JFETS. | prefer to work
with big discrete components and I'm a bit stuck in an eighties mentality, but |
grabbed these miniature JFETS because they are meant to be good for the type of
thing | do. | also bought some adapter boards | could solder them to and give them
‘legs’. And | got an illuminated magnifying headset to help ensure that | solder them
effectively.
| would be very happy to provide more information on the various circuits I've used if
anybody is interested.
Cheers from NZ...
Stephen ZL3ABX
reoot
mail.com
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
email to
cgqrsnet@gmail.com
For guidance on writing for RagChew,
QRZ?
Who’s
calling
know;
me?
Who’s
see Articles below.
a
on the other end?
From a slightly younger Mark VK2DI
Mark
Adam
Is
- VK2DI
Salmon
- VK4IM
it lust me
Jaroszuk
or do
others
find
it aasier
to tvne
the
characters
thev
ee
ee
ee
ee
ee
ee
ey
receive rather than write them down? | feel like what | am receiving
is just a bit quicker than | can write affectively/ legibly (and cause...
Immediately transcribed with the trusty Olivetti typewriter - how
=
QRZ?
From
we used to do it in the coastal radio service back in the day ...
6:58am
ue3
Who’s
on
the
other
your editor Mark VK2KI
end?
/ VK6QI
Key to the success of our net is helping to make
people enjoy returning to each week.
it a get-together that
But when you're on the key, it’s
really hard to find out a bit more about the person you're chatting to.
I’m really keen to share the backgrounds of some of our team
it’s really nice to Know who’s on the other end of the QSO.
So
members
-
How did they
come to amateur radio and when, and what on earth was the motivator
that got them
planned?
interested in CW?
How’s the journey been so far, and what’s
Perhaps, what they get out of the net and the newsletter, and
how it can be made
better?
So, would you be willing to share some thoughts about yourself?
Mark VK2KI know:
RagChew,
cggrsnet@gmail.com
Please let
For guidance on writing for
see Articles below.
CW
Practice
This year we’re using Aesop’s Fables. 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
is
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 wom.
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 Donkey in the Lion’s Skin’, and the MP3 and TXT
files are attached here -
If you prefer a different speed or tone you can create your own
converting the text file with the Ebook2CW
MP3 files by
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
1.5x, 1.75x).
News
received
from
our 230-plus
readers.
Last Week’s
40m
From Jeff WB2GDZ
QSO
with
in Seminole Florida
| wanted to mention that my 40m
nravs
Lina
OCOD
writh
Patrick VK2IOW
\V/IZDIONAL
lact
YyIsy mic QWou win
week ended
vINgIUWY FasL
in stress on my end.
| was using the N4GYN
remotehams.com
remote on
in Georgia
which is an Elecraft K4 with
KPA1500
amp.
I had the amp on
and it was putting out 1300 watts
(the power could not be adjusted).
| had it tuned up | believe
correctly and all of a sudden while
transmitting during the QSO with VK2IOW the high SWR warning started
flashing on the amp
(the whole amplifier panel seen on my computer
screen started flashing "HIGH SWR!").
| was concerned and stopped
transmitting immediately, tried re-tuning and then continued sending.
Pretty soon it started flashing again.
sending it flashed again
QsoO.
| tried re-tuning, and after a bit of
| just stopped sending and could not continue the
| don't know what VK2IOW was thinking about all of this but that is
what happened.
I may not use that remote again at least on high power
because maybe the duty cycle for CW is too high for the setup.
Others
that use the remote usually use it for SSB which overall has less of a duty
cycle.
| also wanted to mention that I had a bit of a dilemma
during the QSO with
VK2IOW.
As usual, | had a KiwiSDR in Australia up at the same time as the
remote.
This time, because | was transmitting from Georgia
instead of the
VK6CRO
remote | signed WB2GDZ
| gave
instead of VK6/WB2GDZ.
VK2IOW an RST of 339 because that was how he was listening to him from
Georgia.
On the other hand
he was 579 into the KiwiSDR in Australia so |
actually listened to him mainly using the KiwiSDR because it was a better
copy.
Obviously this is a bit of cheating if | am mainly listening to him right
in Australia.
This remote thing sure can be a conundrum!
In fact, if | could
not hear him at all on the remote but he could hear me, that would count
only as a one way contact from me to him, but not from him to me
because | was listening in Australia.
| never could explain to him what was
going on because the amp was going haywire.
Going forward | am going to mainly use the VK6CRO
remote during the net.
If | do try to transmit from the United States | will probably use either the
W8R]
remote in Michigan which has no issue with the amp on (900 watts).
| may also use the KC7C
remote in Spokane, Washington which is around
300 watts and also has no issues on CW as well.
Thanks again for the nice net and newsletter.
VK3IL
Touch
Paddle
PC
Boards
Jeff Pohl (WB2GDZ)
Available
From David VK4JM
David VK4JM
Thurstun
David VK4JM
Thurstun
Jordan VK3ACU
Clarke
How do you like it David, I've not yet tried a touch paddle
tla
wears
eRliabklaA
bait
Dien
inna
ta
a
oaielar
RaAadalaA
nm ARRAN
AA
Io
VELy
PCNlavWIe
VULITT!
USeU
LW
gd
WIUC!
YPaUUIe
sVabllliu
osu
requires a bit more hand movement. The pads sometimes
get a little sticky. Very lightweight robust backup to have in
case the main paddle doesn't work.
11:30am
Mark
- VK2DI
Saimon
I'll second David's comments. Not my preferred paddle but
they're a great lightweight backup. Gotta slap it from side
to side a bit I've found 4»
11:32am
a
David VK4JM Thurstun
I've probably got enough parts for 2-3 builds if anyone is
interested.
11:32am
Yesterday | was using my VK3IL touch paddle.
7:28pm
3
Jordan VK3ACU
Clarke
How do you like it David, I've not yet tried a touch paddle
7:45pm
Morse Training
Our team
Net
member
Nic VK7WW
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;
CQQRS
Eastern
you'll hear lots of the
team on that net.
Jordan VK3ACU
has
cm
Course
—_<—
Le
NCU EM IFN] ecm RTS fe)
Poe Cy
93
view:
recorded the complete set of lessons which you
can now find here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLHSOmZz6fBXO/7swAfbTmutrbbEL1
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.
Southern
Electronics Group
- Mount
Barker Buy,
Swap
&
Sell
From
Rob VK6LD
Just a reminder that there is less than two weeks to go until the SEG Mt
Barker Car Boot Sale - Saturday 7 March 2026.
lf you wish to request a sellers table, please do so before 28 February
2026.
Look forward to seeing you there.
Rob VK6LD
reservations@hamradio.org.au
SOUTHERN ELECTRONICS GROUP
a cr |
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.
*
@
|
wwe.hamradio.org.au
|
vk6srathamradio.org.au
X Eastern & Mountain District Radio Club Inc.
WwW
Home
ClubInformation
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Links
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|
ee |
Se
j
i reg
ur
Pa
a
practice, experimentation and enjoyment of amateur radio!
Monthly Meeting - Smart Telescopes - Marc
VK30HM
& John VK3WMF
6th March - Friday 8:00pm - Club Rooms Burwood & Zoom
With the emergence of "Smart
Telescopes” it is now possible to
do photos of deep sky objects for
well under $1000. These devices
are tiny, fully featured, and require
no specialist knowledge to use.
This presentation is for beginners,
and documents
TRE. RSDIO-BOETENN
@
Updating Articles
14/10/2025 - 3:01 PM
#
USB Rig
programming cables
and Windows 14
21/04/2024 - 7:57 PM
Subaru Coax Install
15/04/2024 - 8:04 PM
¥
my progression
Portable Power
10/11/2023
over
60 years from a basic 'toy’
- 10:56
AM
telescope, through a serious
astrophotography setup, to my
current smart telescope.
This is a typical image of the Horse Head Nebula. Two types of smart telescope will
be on display, and a case will be made that there is now a cheap way to get into
astrophotography that requires little skill, and little outlay.
EMDRC - IMPORTANT
DATES
MEMBERSHIP
World First Amateur Networking Project - VK
Yaesu IMRS Network
The Club repeater VK3REC is‘a dual mode system supporting analogue FM and
C4FM that Is linked via the internet to the world through WiresX protocols to many
other Nodes around the world. If you would like some back ground, try this link at
https://www.emdrc.com.au/wires-x-the-bible/ For those with the Yaesu C4FM
radios, you will hear the repeater in that mode on occasions.
Lately an alternative to WiresX Is becoming popular - YSF (Yaesu System Fusion)
which has been developed to provide inter connectivity to WiresX and other digital
modes. The Club will be exploring this branch in due course.
JOIN NOW
Cee
A
FORM ®
eee
ET
KernWi-Fi
feWireless Solutions
KernWi-Fi - Refer a friend
$50 Credit Code:
lan - VK5CZ
My long time CW buddy gave me this as a 2x “wa ‘wy for SOTA.
It's a great paddle
4:57pm
Local Oscillator DX!
From Jordan VK3ACU
(click below to view)
Jordan VK3ACU
Clarke
> MAM:
| didn't even press the key...
and they heard me 600km...
®&
youtube.com
|
6:14pm
&)
Check this out. | can hear my pixies local oscillator 600 km
away
6:14 pm
£
Peter VKSWOW
Dann
Poxy Pixie?
6:17 pm
PD
Incidentally the ART13
oscillator can be heard
on the sdr also but a LOT
about
CWops
25 February
louder.
| think its LO is
5w on the ART-13
2026
From Chris VK3QB
Hello Mark,
Happy (belated) New Year. I’ve been off-line for a few months with
holidays, Christmas, New Year, visitors and all the activities which
accompany that time of year. Sliding in right behind that was CW
Academy,
which began on 5* January 2026.
So, I’m back to it, and very busy with CWops Academy
Classes. This
January and February I’ve been delivering classes for Beginners,
Intermediate and Advanced
level students. Weeks are very busy but it’s a
rewarding experience and I’m sure there will be some stories to share in
the coming weeks. | know Peter VK3WOW
feedback
in the QRS
has already shared some
newsletter.
With just one week to go, all students are reporting tangible improvements
in their skills, which is a testament to the material and techniques CWops
have developed over the years. | have three Advanced
Intermediate students, and eight Beginners.
students, three
It takes up a fair bit of time,
but the results are worth it.
In other news,
FISTS Down
Under, the VK & ZL chapter of the Morse
Preservation Society has kicked off a weekly activity, the Wednesday
Wrap. This replaces the Friday night QSO
fresh energy.
Everyone
Party which was up for some
is welcome and you can read more here:
https://www.fdu.org.au/events/
FDU publishes a monthly newsletter which contains articles which may
interest everyone. Joining FISTS Down
Under is free and easy - just head to
their website and follow the links. Members
automatically receive an email
when the newsletter is published. All newsletters can be accessed on the
website as well.
https://www.fdu.org.au/
Next month there will be an interesting article on VBand,
the CWops
Newsletter, Solid Copy.
newcomers
and those looking for some
republished from
I’m sure this will be of interest to many
resources to assist with learning.
That’s it for now.
| hope to get back to a reasonably regular contribution
now things are a
little less hectic. Next week I'll provide a summary
Academy
of CW
and what’s in store for the rest of 2026.
73, Chris VK3QB
vk3qb@hotmail.com
Celebrating the unique
art form of Morse Code
If you’ve read something that you think might be of interest to our readers,
please let me know.
For guidance on writing for RagChew,
see Articles
Or do you have a question or two that are worth sharing?
How about a
below.
discussion-starter?
Please let me know cqgrsnet@gmail.com
and /’// pass
them to John VK2RU for compilation each week. ]
Prosign/Character/Sig
nal of the Month
See
if you
Prosign:
Meaning:
Stand
can
use this one on Tuesday!
mm”
ee
by
[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.
Coordinated Universal Time
——
.
0600z to 1200z
(Note - 20m DXperiments will start at a different time if required)
Australia
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 07100
New Zealand
06002 to O900z
20m
14039-14051 kHz
Note - 20m times and frequencies will be allocated by Mike DL3YZ prior to the net.
-
7020KHz - 7040KH2
=
3535KHz - 3560KHZ
160m
1855kHz (-5kHz for QRM)
0600z to 1200z
7o00
40 m/=
7o20
I
=
|
ORO
)_
|
l
l
3500
160 m
|
l
|
l
CO ORS Net
l
l
3535
80 m =
1800
Sle
7O40
|
ORO
|
|
!
|
Thanks to Lance VK7TO for the COQAS
ee
3560
l\e&
|
!
CO ORS Net
1655.
=
|
=
1875
band-plan
e
Wednesday (VK/ZL)
eae
22002 - 2300z
(Tuesday UTC)
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
in the table below until you catch
someone.
| 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
If
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
e
‘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/COORSWebsite then click the
menu
on the top right and then click RagChew Newsletter.
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 39 contributors:
DL3YZ,
VK2DI, VK2GAS,
VK3QB, VK3WOW,
VK2IOW,
VK2RU, VK3ACU, VK3DRQ,
MOKBJ,
MONNK,
VK4CEG, VK4EV, VK4IM, VK4JM, VK4PN, VK5A0O, VK5AV, VK5CZ, VK5FD,
VK5FR, VK5KDO,
VK5KFG, VK6GX, VK6HRC,
VK6LD, VK6NW,
VK6PZT, VKORR, VK6WE, VK7JZ, VK7TA, VK7WW,
WB2GDZ
G4RWI
and ZL3ABX.
coordinator), John VK2RU
and
Patrick VK2IOW
(spreadsheet wrangler),
Lance VK7TO
€U CW on Tuesday,
VK8MC,
And a special thank you to our editorial team,
(head of software development),
Morsition)
VK6JDM, VK6KD, VK6KHZ,
(resident softie).
Nigel
(reports
Richard VK6HRC
Great work all!
(Post
mb
Mark Bosma
VK2KI / VK6QI
Beautiful South Bowning NSW
cqqrsnet@gmail.com
| |
i} |
I
||
;
eta
ped
i
Tl
i]
|
non impediti ratione cogitationis
An Ode
to CW
- thanks
to David
VK3RU:
In days of old, when ops were bold,
And
sideband
was
not invented,
Words were passed by pounding brass,
And all were quite contented.
- Unknown
About
the CQ
Here’s where
For the current schedule
and
author
QRS
Net
you’ll find the details.
more
information
about the CQQRS
net,
please go the the Net Details page on our website:
https://bit.ly/COQORSWebsite
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 in this newsletter unless specifically
requested otherwise. Please provide only original photos, or those not otherwise
copyrighted.
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 development 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/CQORSWebsite
Send
comments
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CQ QRS. All rights reserved.
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