1

Sep/Oct 2009 Vol 11 Issue 4

- QRM -

The Bi-Monthly Magazine of the

Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club Inc

Amateur Radio Stations

VK4RC & VK4IZ

REDCLIFFE and DISTRICTS RADIO CLUB Inc

PO Box 20 Woody Point

Queensland 4019

Repeaters

VK4RRC 146.925, 438.325

Inside this issue Club News //////////.1

Gippstech //////////...2

Goochi Hamfest ///////....3

Broadcasting from the WIA ///.4

Braincare //////////.5

Redcliffe Radio &DC jota 2009 /..8

Notices and Classified //// .9

Club News

John VK4YJB, with the assis-tance of Andy, VK4KY and Pe-ter, VK4EA have designed a new antenna for the Redcliffe repeater site. Over the past 3 years, the repeater site has suf-fered a number of different prob-lems with the 2 metre side of its repeater antenna. This time with a much better design and certainly a lot cheaper than the commercially available anten-nas, John has built a 2 and 70 cm corner reflector style an-tenna. The new antenna has been installed and is working well. There are some excellent QSOs including working to a station in Gladstone with 4UMS and 4FLAE. Well it is finally finished. The club house now has a complete concrete path around the out-side of the building. This project

has been completed with the help of so many club members, it is not possible to mention eve-ryone who has helped but spe-cial mention should be given to John VK4YJB. Without the use of his crane truck a small grader and his technical expertise, much of the work would not have been able to be com-

pleted. Thanks John!

During the concrete pouring the club’s tri-band antenna was also removed as its rotator needed to be replaced. After an initial in-spection it was decided that the beam also need an overhaul. There are also plans to build a new mast to house the club’s emergency communications an-

tennas.

There is a reminder about some of the popular club nets. On Wednesday Trivia quiz is con-ducted at 7.30pm – 438.325 – 1hr please remember the 91.5 CTCSS tone. Thursday – CB net is 27.205 Lower side band or channel 20 starts at 8pm. Also on Thursday CW net / training on 3.535 @ 8.30pm. Please check on 2m repeater for changes. Sunday 7pm – 2m repeater 146.926 and also on Sunday 7.45pm HF – 3.618 +/- QRM On an unhappy note, Peter VK4TAA advised that recently

items sold from the club at basement price turned up on EBay at a few thousand % mark up. Please do not on sell do-nated items for personal profit. Items provided are donated to the club for both club and mem-ber activities and club revenue raising. Such actions although legal are not in the best interest of the club and will reflect on fu-ture generosity of members and other donors

Gippstech 2009 One fine, cool, Friday morning in July, Mal (VK4UMS), Kevin (VK4UH) and Peter (VK4EA) head off to Victoria, The Latrobe Valley to be precise, to attend a 1 and half day symposium on VHF/UHF and microwave sub-jects. Although, Mal was unable to go due to a booking error through the travel agency for the wrong date. Kevin met up with his Mt Gambier compatriots, much frivolity and a huge meal at the Morwell “top pub”. The conference started at a re-spectable 9.00 am, starting with a very interesting presentation by Dale Hughes (VK1DSH). Dale had built a 2m SSB trans-ceiver, utilising a Direct Conver-sion, phasing type design. Very impressive example of home-brew, where he made his own PCB’s, he wrote the firmware and refined the circuitry fairly much all himself. The phasing

2

type detector is nothing new, that is, cell phone towers use the same techniques, however this design has not been used so much in Amateur radio. An impressive display of home-brew. Followed was a very entertain-ing talk by Roger Harrison (VK2ZRH) concentrating on Sporadic E and VHF propaga-tion, which opened my eyes to the complexity of what is hap-pening in the sky. I never knew about atmospheric tides, tropo-sphere bubbles, meteor dust decimation and how these fac-tors contribute to ionosphere behaviour. Alan Devlin, VK3XPD, other-wise known as Steptoe, it seems to be a prerequisite for being a ham (editor) gave an entertaining talk on what to look for in surplus microwave equip-ment. Alan has an unique ap-proach to recycling unwanted microwave equipment, which he found at scrap metal dealers, which were fully operational re-quiring minimal modifications to operate in the 5.7, 10 and 24GHz amateur band alloca-tions. Doug McArthur, VK3UM, Kin-glake/Tiridala bushfires gave a sometimes heart rending ac-count of his time in the bush-fires. Doug has an unique per-spective given his heavy in-volvement with the CFA. His observations of the communica-tions systems in place were very informative. Russell Lemke, VK3ZQB, talked about modifying Qual-com boards for 10GHz, clever bloke that Russell, resurrecting ex semi-trailer tracking system equipment from the USA. The

modifications required to pro-vide a working transverter for 10GHz are startling simple. Andrew Martin, VK3OE, pre-sented the all important topic of tower safety. This was some-what focussed on the Victorian regulations, that is, what is re-quired for approvals. The sec-ond part of the presentation concentrated on tower safety, particularly climbing safety. Roger Harrison, Vk3RZH, solar cycle, “Are we there yet?” Again, entertaining and detailed analysis of the solar cycle. Roger’s tip is a bumper season, starting soon, apparently. Russell Lemke, VK3ZQB, Qual-com modifications, second in-stalment for modifying Qualcom boards, this time using the older version, with good results. Roger Harrison and Andy Sayers (VK2AES), square sec-tion transmission lines. A very technical analysis of using alu-minium square sections, where the target project is the con-struction of a log periodic an-tenna. Very complicated mathematics applied to arrive at a predictable theoretical out-come. We hope to see the re-sults of the analysis at next year’s event. David Smith, VK3HZ, USB rig interface. David presented a delightfully simple adaption of off the shelf components, to provide a single USB connec-tion for audio and PTT control. This is one project I shall be emulating this year. Doug McArthur, VK3UM, soft-ware updates. Doug is the au-thor of a very comprehensive EME calculator, not having

seen this application before, a little overwhelming. Andrew Davies, VK1DA, 2.4GHz transverter. A newbie to 2.4GHz, Andrew explained his experience with building a 13cm transverter. The impor-tant fact he explained, was to get into it, not just think about it. Chris Skeer, VK5MC, the mon-ster dish. Incredible, that is the only word I can think of. Chris built an 11 metre dish, from scratch, using mostly recycled materials. It took him some time, but he did it, and operates EME 1.2GHz on a regular basis using modest amounts of power. That is, once he re-moved the feathered attenuator from the feed horn! He told the story of being disappointed with the dish performance once he had finally finished, after much investigation he found a bird had nested in the feed. Once removed has worked the world with less than 100W. Neil Sandford, VK2EI, Coax band pass filters and wideband noise source. Peter Freeman presented Neil’s papers, illus-trating simple methods to con-struct band pass filters using hardline. Overall, the weekend was bril-liant, and has inspired us to in-vestigate the world above 70cms. Next year’s event is al-ready in the calendar, who else is coming?

Hamfests. The hamfest calendar was greeted with a new event at Goochie/.. yes Goochie. Where the bloody hell is Goochie?. It was somewhere

(Continued on page 3)

3

between Brisbane and Bunda-berg so I scheduled my diary to attend this new event. I entered the details into my GPS which showed the usual flat map with the bullseye and chequered flag, so off I went. Finally, north of Gympie the GPS said turn left in 800m etc so I slowed down much to the annoyance of the Bdouble 5mm from my rear bumper and turned left into this dirt goat track. The GPS continued to blurt out instructions to follow various dirt roads road (I was sure it was putting on a brave face) and much to my surprise came to a CWA hall in the bush with large numbers of vehicles with antennas. I wasn’t lost after all! There was a good contingent of Redcliffe club members com-plete with 4WD in the parking lot. The SES had an excellent dis-play, and there was the usual country hospitality with food and produce sales along with the usual tables of second hand treasures. The CWA had an ex-cellent feast of home cooked country goodies to eat and David 4DC was heard to say to me “don’t let my wife see me eating this or she’ll kill me!” as he tried to conceal from the camera large plate of cream and strawberry covered scones. Roger 4TV and 4ICE were there with the usual excellent displays of their ham wares. Overall the event was well run and I won the raffle which was a high quality dummy load ele-ment. I had a great time and will be attending next year.

As a footnote Dawn (ALARA and major organiser of the event) has been very unwell and we all wish her a speedy

recovery. The Sunshine coast club held its’ annual Sunfest at the Woombye hall. The crowd was

quite large and there were ta-bles of new and second hand equipment. Kevin and John 4WX were seen to be enjoying the moment in spite of his nasal surgery. It was an interesting day and as usual I came away with another piece of gear to help fill up more space in my shack.

The next Hamfest is at the Gold Coast on the 14th November. See you all there!

Broadcasting the WIA News from days gone

by.

At home the other Sunday morning I went out to the radio shack as usual getting ready to listen to the WIA News. Think-ing it must start soon I looked at the clock it was 9:04am no news on the local 2m repeater so I went to 80m still no news to be heard I thought to myself “ok ” so I did a couple of other things in the shack and after a while I went back into the house. The wife said that I had an email from Peter Broadband something about your Sunday news thingy and they were looking for someone to broad-cast it. My first comment was “Been There – Done That!” looking over my glasses at her from the kitchen while making a cup of coffee. When I started reading the email and it brought back some of my memories on

how I use to get Q-News to air. Now it’s computers, editing soft-ware, downloading 30MB files from the internet and a hard wired link between the PC sound card and the radio, how

4

technology has advanced over the years.. It was back about the mid 90's after passing of Jack (VK4AGY) Alan (VK4URD) was doing the news broadcasts, after a few years and Alan was looking to take a break. Being on WIAQ Council at the time I took over the broadcasts from Alan. From my fading memories Alan told me that after the news was ready Graham (VK4BB) would play the broadcast over the tele-phone line to Alan and with the use of a simple audio modem Alan would record the news to a Cassette ready for Sunday morning. In my time on the job come Friday afternoon I would drive my Mitsubishi L300 van (The Fox Hunting Bus) from my home at Margate to the TAB building in Albion where Gra-ham would put the finishing touches to the news then re-cord the half hour broadcast to an audio cassette. The news was put together in one of the broadcast studios of 4TAB. Back in my shack I had two 2m rigs, an FM-828 rocked for the 147.000 Brisbane repeater and an Icom 2m rig on 146.675 for the Bunya Mountains repeater. Armed with a cassette deck and a Tandy audio mixer panel from my mobile disc jockey equip-ment I feed the audio into the two radios. (I also had a stu-dio mic input into the system) To make both the rigs transmit at the same time I used a double pole relay. Oh by the way I fi-nally found a use for that thing in the corner of the shack called a “Morse Key”. (It made a great PTT) hi hi. To keep the radios cool I had an old valve blower fan pushing cool air over the heat sinks. FM-828 was running on a 5/8 verti-

cal and the Icom was run-ning low power into my 12 ele-ment 2m beam pointing at the Bunya Mountains. The Gold and Sunshine Coast and the HF sta-tions that relayed the news would take their audio from my feed to the repeater or the out-put of the 7000 repeater. On Sunday morning after 8:30am the HF Relay Stations would check in on 2 Metre ready for the Q-News transition. Be-fore the news I would with a Yaesu handheld and button push the 7000 repeater with a CTCSS tone to turn off the time out. Then just before 9am with a timed lead in I locked down the Morse Key and with head-phones on I would sit back and get comfortable in my modified lounge chair on wheels in the shack and listen to the broad-cast. Once after a late night or early morning out with friends I started to doze off and woke up just minutes before the end of the news. Lucky! After the broadcast was complete and before the call backs started I would then reset the time out on the repeater for another week. Not even the John Moyle Field Day Contest could stop the news going to air. The Radio Club was set up at St Mi-chael's for the weekend and Sunday morning thanks to Charlie the news went to air on time from YZ’s Shack. In reascent times I turned away from the hobby even to the point of almost letting my call sign go. But still when I was able I would listen to the Sunday News Broadcast. With one parting comment, over the years Gra-ham (VK4BB) has done a out-standing job and deserves a medal, going from strength to strength with a leading news

service. For me it was a pleas-ure and experience to have played a small part in getting the news out to our fellow amateurs around this vast state in days gone by. Darren J Holznagel. VK4DJH

Braincare

When people think about staying

fit, they generally think from the

neck down. But the health of your

brain plays a critical role in almost

everything you do: thinking, feel-

ing, remembering, working, and

playing – even sleeping. The good

news is that we now know there’s a

lot you can do to help keep your

brain healthier as you age. These

steps might also reduce your risk of

Alzheimer’s disease or other de-

mentia. Simple lifestyle modifica-

tions also would have an enormous

impact on our nation's public health

and the cost of healthcare. If you

make brain-healthy lifestyle

changes and take action by getting

involved, we could realize a future

without Alzheimer's disease.

Make brain-healthy life choices

Like other parts of your body, your

brain may lose some agility as you

get older. It can deteriorate even

more if you don’t take care of it.

Science is unlocking many of the

mysteries of the brain, but we don’t

have all the answers yet. You can

do everything “right” and still not

prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

What’s offered here is the best and

most up to date information avail-

able so that you can make your own

decisions about your health. Mental

decline as you age appears to be

largely due to altered connections

among brain cells. But research has

found that keeping the brain active

seems to increase its vitality and

may build its reserves of brain cells

and connections. You could even

generate new brain cells.

5

Low levels of education have been

found to be related to a higher risk

of Alzheimer’s later in life. This

may be due to a lower level of life-

long mental stimulation. Put an-

other way, higher levels of educa-

tion appear to be somewhat protec-

tive against Alzheimer’s, possibly

because brain cells and their con-

nections are stronger. Well-

educated individuals can still get

Alzheimer’s, but symptoms may

appear later because of this protec-

tive effect.

Keep your brain active every

day:

Stay curious and involved —

commit to lifelong learning

Read, write, work crossword or

other puzzles

Attend lectures and plays

Enrol in courses at your local

adult education centre, commu-

nity college or other community

group

Play games

Garden

Try memory exercises

You don’t have to turn your life

upside down, or make extreme

changes to achieve many of these

benefits. Start with something

small, like a daily walk. After a

while, add another small change.

Research shows that people who

are regularly engaged in social in-

teraction maintain their brain vital-

ity. But again, the combination of

physical and mental activity with

social engagement — and a brain-

healthy diet — is more effective

than any of these factors alone.

A recent study reported that leisure

activities that combine physical,

mental and social activity are the

most likely to prevent dementia. In

the study of 800 men and women

aged 75 and older, those who were

more physically active, more men-

tally active or more socially en-

gaged had a lower risk for develop-

ing dementia. And those who com-

bined these activities did even bet-

ter.

Other research found that sports,

cultural activities, emotional sup-

port and close personal relation-

ships together appear to have a pro-

tective effect against dementia.

So stay socially engaged in activi-

ties that stimulate the mind and

body:

Stay active in the workplace

Volunteer in community groups

and Causes

Join clubs, dancing clubs or

other social groups

Travel

Physical exercise is essential for

maintaining good blood flow to the

brain as well as to encourage new

brain cells. It also can significantly

reduce the risk of heart attack,

stroke and diabetes, and thereby

protect against those risk factors

for Alzheimer’s and other demen-

tias.

Growing evidence shows that

physical exercise does not have to

be strenuous or even require a ma-

jor time commitment. It is most

effective when done regularly, and

in combination with a brain-

healthy diet, mental activity and

social interaction.

Aerobic exercise improves oxy-gen consumption, which bene-fits brain function; aerobic fit-ness has been found to reduce brain cell loss in elderly sub-jects. Walking, bicycling, gar-dening, tai chi, yoga and other activities of about 30 minutes daily get the body moving and

the heart pumping. Physical ac-tivities that also involve mental activity – plotting your route, ob-serving traffic signals, making choices – provide additional value for brain health. And do-ing these activities with a com-panion offers the added benefit of social interaction. According to the most current research, a brain-healthy diet is one that reduces the risk of heart dis-ease and diabetes, encourages good blood flow to the brain, and is low in fat and cholesterol. Like the heart, the brain needs the right balance of nutrients, including protein and sugar, to function well. A brain healthy diet is most effective when com-bined with physical and mental activity and social interaction. Manage your body weight. For

overall good health of brain and

body keep your weight within the

recommended limits. A long term

study of 1,500 adults found that

those who were obese in middle

age were twice as likely to develop

dementia in later life. Those who

also had high cholesterol and high

blood pressure had six times the

risk of dementia. Adopt an overall

food lifestyle, rather than a short

term diet, and eat in moderation.

Reduce your intake of foods high

in fat and cholesterol. Studies

have shown that high intake of

saturated fat and cholesterol clogs

the arteries and is associated with

higher risk for Alzheimer’s dis-

ease. However, HDL (or “good”)

cholesterol may help protect brain

cells. Use mono- and polyunsatu-

rated fats, such as olive oil, for ex-

ample. Try baking or grilling food

instead of frying.

Increase your intake of pro-tective foods. Current research

suggests that certain foods may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and appear to pro-tect brain cells. In general, dark-skinned fruits and vegeta-

6

bles have the highest levels of naturally occurring antioxidant levels. Such vegetables include: kale, spinach, brussels sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, beets, red bell pepper, onion, corn and eggplant. Fruits with high anti-oxidant levels include prunes, raisins, blueberries, blackber-ries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, red grapes and cherries. Cold water fish contain beneficial omega-3 fatty acids: halibut, mackerel, salmon, trout and tuna. Some nuts can be a useful part of your diet; al-monds, pecans and walnuts are a good source of vitamin E, an antioxidant. Not enough infor-mation is available to indicate what quantities of these foods might be most beneficial for brain health. For example, it is not clear how much fruit would have to be consumed to have a detectable benefit. However, a study of elderly women showed that those who ate the most green, leafy and cruciferous vegetables in the group were one to two years younger in mental function than women who ate few of these vegeta-bles. Vitamins may be helpful.

There is some indication that vitamins, such as vitamin E, or vitamins E and C together, vita-min B12 and folate may be im-portant in lowering your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. A brain-healthy diet will help increase your intake of these vitamins and the trace elements neces-sary for the body to use them effectively. What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s (AHLZ-high-merz) disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities. As Alzheimer’s pro-

gresses, individuals may also experience changes in person-ality and behaviour, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or agi-tation, as well as delusions or hallucinations. Although there is currently no cure for Alz-heimer’s, new treatments are on the horizon as a result of accel-erating insight into the biology of the disease. Research has also shown that effective care and support can improve quality of life for individuals and their care-givers over the course of the disease from diagnosis to the end of life. Dementia

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, a group of conditions that all gradually de-stroy brain cells and lead to pro-gressive decline in mental func-tion. Vascular dementia, another common form, results from re-duced blood flow to the brain’s nerve cells. In some cases, Alz-heimer’s disease and vascular dementia can occur together in a condition called "mixed de-mentia." Other causes of de-mentia include frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, Creutzfeldt-Jakob dis-ease and Parkinson’s disease. Progression of Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease advances at widely different rates. The duration of the illness may often vary from 3 to 20 years. The areas of the brain that control memory and think-ing skills are affected first, but as the disease progresses, cells die in other regions of the brain. Eventually, the person with Alz-heimer’s will need complete care. If the individual has no other serious illness, the loss of brain function itself will cause death. Some change in memory is normal as we grow older, but the symptoms of Alzheimer’s

disease are more than simple lapses in memory. People with Alzheimer’s experience difficul-ties communicating, learning, thinking and reasoning — prob-lems severe enough to have an impact on an individual's work, social activities and family life. The Alzheimer's Association has developed a checklist of com-mon symptoms to help you rec-ognize the difference between normal age-related memory changes and possible warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease. There’s no clear-cut line be-tween normal changes and warning signs. It’s always a good idea to check with a doctor if a person’s level of function seems to be changing. The Alz-heimer’s Association believes that it is critical for people diag-nosed with dementia and their families to receive information, care and support as early as possible. Warning signs of Alzheimer’s Disease Memory loss. Forgetting recently learned in-formation is one of the most common early signs of demen-tia. A person begins to forget more often and is unable to re-call the information later. 1 . W h a t ' s n o r m a l ? Forgetting names or appoint-m e n t s o c c a s i o n a l l y . 2. Difficulty performing famil-iar tasks. People with dementia

often find it hard to plan or com-plete everyday tasks. Individuals may lose track of the steps in-volved in preparing a meal, placing a telephone call or play-ing a game. What's normal? Occasionally forgetting why you came into a room or what you planned to say. 3. Problems with language.

7

People with Alzheimer’s dis-ease often forget simple words or substitute unusual words, making their speech or writing hard to understand. They may be unable to f ind the toothbrush, for example, and instead ask for "that thing for my mouth.” What's normal? Sometimes having trouble finding the right word. 4. Disorientation to time and place. People with Alzheimer’s dis-ease can become lost in their own neighbourhood, forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home. What's normal? Forgetting the

day of the week or where you were going. 5. Poor or decreased judg-ment.

Those with Alzheimer’s may dress inappropriately, wearing several layers on a warm day or little clothing in the cold. They may show poor judgment, like giving away large sums of money to telemarketers. What's normal? Making a

questionable or debatable deci-sion from time to time. 6. Problems with abstract thinking.

Someone with Alzheimer’s dis-ease may have unusual diffi-culty performing complex men-tal tasks, like forgetting what numbers are for and how they should be used. What's normal? Finding it chal-lenging to balance a cheque book. 7. Misplacing things. A person

with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places: an iron in the freezer or a wrist-watch in the sugar bowl. What's normal? Misplacing keys or a wallet temporarily. 8. Changes in mood or behav-

iour.

Someone with Alzheimer’s dis-ease may show rapid mood swings – from calm to tears to anger – for no apparent reason. What's normal? Occasionally feeling sad or moody. 9. Changes in personality. The personalities of people with dementia can change dramati-cally. They may become ex-tremely confused, suspicious, fearful or dependent on a family member. What's normal? People’s per-

sonalities do change somewhat with age. 10. Loss of initiative. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may become very passive, sitting in front of the TV for hours, sleep-ing more than usual or not wanting to do usual activities. What's normal? Sometimes feeling weary of work or social obligations. If you have concerns contact your healthcare professional.

Editorial help provided by the Alzheimer’s Association. Article reprinted from The Queensland Freemason with permission. Disclaimer: This article is for

general information only and is not offered as advice in any form whatsoever. You should consult an appropriate profes-sional practitioner if you have any concerns as to your health or wellbeing.

Jota 2009 Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club

Jota 2009 started many weeks before the event with the logis-tics of planning once again for a significant event in the year of Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club. This event is where the club is able to promote the hobby to a new generation, and return the support, time and effort of the local community. With the courtesy of the Scout-ing Association we take over camp Site 6 at the Murrenbong site each year. This site has many things going for it. It is the highest site in the area and has an unobstructed radiation elevation to the world. No power lines and very little local interference. It also grows its own antenna poles and there is no council objection to the amateurs using them!! Friday starts the setup with club members appearing on site and preparing the venue. It starts out as a bare site but this rapidly gets transformed into a number of cove

8

red areas for activities such as electronic kit building, Morse code, Transmitter Tents for 2, 20 and 40 metre operations withIRLP and various other forms of digital radio technology. The Morse tent was provided by members of the Redcliffe Radio and Districts club who are also representatives of the Telstra Technology Museum With the aid of an adult sized catapult the dipole antennas were placed upwards of 30 me-tres above ground level in the gum trees. The tent may have been bare on the Friday but by end of day on Saturday some 140 kits had been constructed. The scouts had the choice of building a Fog Horn (Boys No 1 Choice), Crys-tal Radio Set, or a set of flash-ing Green and Red lights. We are looking for a kit that generates a high frequency Fog Horne – up around 20 KHz; then none of the constructors or other adults will be worried by the noise!! It was really most gratifying be-ing part of the tem that helped build the kits. The expression of wonder on the faces was some-thing to be experienced when they powered them up for the first time

Club President David VK4DC gets a close up view on assist-ing a would-be electronics ex-pert in the finer arts of kit build-ing. Soldering for Lefties and Righties was taught regardless of age. The instructors learnt very quickly how to safe guard their own fingers from hot sol-dering irons.

Assistance from Richard Atkin-son VK4ZA of the Brisbane Digi group was along for the day helping would be amateurs get to grips with communications around the world. Over the day contacts were made with amateurs around the world. This included truck driv-ers in Texas USA, and amateur in Chile, and Nelson New Zea-land, who was very upset about the cold and rain. We almost had to explain to the visiting scouts what rain was, as there has been almost none for some months. The camp site could have done with some of the rain

Scotty VK4FLAE caught in a re-flective moment. I think the camera caught him a moment of little on-air activity

Morse seems to fascinate the younger generation. It is the next favourite activity after kit building. They have a great deal of fun with absolute concentration as they stumble through translating their names into code. There is always something intriguing in trying to make something secret and it was a great surprise to find out it was not as secret as they had thought, especially when told what they have sent!

9

Energy for communications was derived from solar power charg-ing some significant lead acid batteries which the club pos-sesses.

I think it’s called reliving the events of the weekend – or bragging about the Scout that got away – and even thinking about how we would do it differ-ently next year!! Notices and Classified On a learning curve. If you know of anybody looking for a training course in the Foundation, Standard or Ad-vanced courses details can be obtained by contacting the secretary at the email address below Visitors

Visitors are welcome any Mon-day evening at the club rooms in Klinger Road Kippa Ring

President David Close VK4DC president@redclifferadioclub.org.au Secretary Peter Richardson VK4TAA secretary@redclifferadioclub.org.au Treasurer Sam Benson VK4MAS treasurer@redclifferadioclub.org.au Vice President Peter Schrader VK4EA vice1@redclifferadioclub.org.au Vice President Scott Meredith VK4FLAE vice2@redclifferadioclub.org.au Webmaster Shaun O'Sullivan VK4FY webmaster@redclifferadioclub.org.au Echolink IRLP Sysop Shaun O'Sullivan VK4FY echoirlp@redclifferadioclub.org.au Education Officer Alan Jenner VK4KZ education@redclifferadioclub.org.au QSL Manager James Fleming VK4TJF qsl@redclifferadioclub.org.au

ALCHEMET Pty Ltd

3 Ceccato Drive, Murrumba Downs, Qld 4503 Doug McDonald (VK4KET)

Ph 07 3480 5861, Mob: 0417 915 111

alchemet@smartchat.net.au

www.alchmet.com

Engineering, Chemistry, Geology, Metallurgy