NERG NEWSNorth East Radio Group Inc

PO Box 270, Greensborough, VIC 3088www.nerg.asn.au ABN - 19 340 249 865

Incorporated 1985 Victoria Reg No A0006776VAffiliated with the WIA

WHAT'S ON THIS MONTH?Monthly meeting

Thursday 10 th May 2018 8:00pm –

Now I have my amateur licence what do I donext?

We will be having a forum for newlylicenced amateurs suggesting all the thingsyou should or could do to get on that air andhave some – fun, after all that’s why webecome amateurs in the first place.

Thursday 24 th May 2018 7:30pm -Coffee Night

Tuesday 22 nd May 2018 – GainfullyUnemployed Group Lunch at the

Greensborough RSL 11:00 am for coffee and12:15 for lunch in the bistro.

Radio Café

Every Thursday afternoon commencingat 2:00pm

Come along and have a chat, operate theclub station or show off your latestconstruction project. And of course have acuppa.

May 2018

NERG Net moves to VK3RMHNERG NETS now run on the club's 70CM

repeater VK3RMH 433.325MHz in,438.325MHz out (8.30 – 9.30 pm Non-meetingThursdays). Feel free to join the discussions. NOTE: The repeater requires a 91.5Hz

CTCSS tone to activate. The same tone isincluded on the output in analogue mode sothat analogue users don't have to listen tothe digital noise when C4FM is in use – justset your radio to send and respond to91.5Hz CTCSS tones.

For members who have one of the AWART85 commercial radios that the NERGreprogrammed for 432MHz There is anEPROM available that enables these tones,talk to Mark VK3BYY or Greg VK3VT.

John Moyle resultspublished

The results of the John Moyle Field Dayhave been published and the NERG effortwas rewarded with a third place in the allband phone section. It should be noted thatwe had the most QSOs, by quite a margin, butobviously others stations made more higher pointVHF/UHF QSOs.

Results can be seen at :

https://tinyurl.com/y9vb9qnm

Well done to all those involved in this year’seffort, pencil in the date for next year – the thirdweek end in March 2019, that’s the 16 th and17th .

NERG NEWS May 2018 Page 1 of 6

FOXHUNT NEWS

The April fox hunt was was run on Friday16th. With Five teams of hounds present. TheVK3OW Team (without Ewen and Henk) leadthe hounds on a merry chase with all hunts on2M. A full fuel tank was a necessity with huntsranging over some long distances. The finalresults were VK3FOX first, VK3FAST andVK3BLN equal Second, VK3CI Third andVK3MZ were in fourth. An excellent supperwas provided at the home of StephenVK3SLH in Glen Iris . Many thanks toStephen VK3SLH, Dianne VK3FVXN andtheir helpers for a great night.

There will be no May hunt as the VictorianFoxhunt championships will be held onSaturday 19th May commencing at noon inGreensborough. the fox will be the VK3FOXteam. Hunts will extend into the eveningfollowing Dinner.

73

Greg VK3VT / VK3FOX

Gippsland LakesCoastal Park and

The Lakes NationalPark WWFFActivations

John Griffin VK3CU(Photos By Victoria VK3LT or John VK3CU)

During the ANZAC Day week we (VictoriaVK3LT and John VK3CU) spent a week atParadise Beach to take in a bit of surffishing and WWFF activity. The surffishing didn’t live up to expectations butthe weather and our WWFF activations did.

Our first activation was on the afternoon ofANZAC day in the Gippsland Lakes CoastalPark which basically surrounds the Golden

and Paradise Beach seaside villages. Being apublic holiday we were hopeful that we wouldget the required 44 contacts to get the WWFFpark qualification. The park is easily accessedby vehicle in many places and we were able tofind a suitable location just a short distancefrom where we were staying. Based on our lastouting we went straight for the 40m inverted Vas the antenna of choice, but in this casemounted on the squid pole at the 8m point forits rigidity, as the local Tea Trees wereinsufficiently tall for the purpose. We were ableto lash the base of the squid pole, sleeved inPVC tube to prevent crushing, to a treated pinepost. As before we were using our Yaesu 857Dwith the 130Ah deep cycle battery allowing usto operate continually at 100W and now with aportable digital clock set to UTC.

We were up and running just before 04:00UTC as planned and as we had posted on theParks and Peaks Alerts page, operatingcontinuously for nearly 3 hours before wecalled it a day quite tired from the intenseactivity and with 62 contacts each for ourefforts, well above the required 44 contacts. Itwas also nice to speak with fellow NERGs TonyVK3TP, Greg VK3VT and Paul VK3DIP. Clearlya successful outing.

Buoyed by our successful outing anddisappointed with the poor fishing we decidedthat we would try another activation on Fridaybefore we headed home on Saturday. Being aweek day we didn’t have high expectations ofgetting more than the 10 contacts for the VKFFpark qualification.

The Lakes National Park was our choice forthe second activation being about a 30 minute

NERG NEWS May 2018 Page 2 of 6

drive up the coast from us and just beyondLoch Sport. This park is also readilyaccessible by vehicle and our setup wasbasically the same as for ANZAC Day with theexception that we had to use our tripod for thebase of the squid pole which we securely tiedown to a board placed under the wheel ofthe car to prevent the squid pole and tripodtoppling over should the wind get up. As wehave found out, it doesn’t take much breezewith the leverage gained from the height ofthe squid pole to topple the lot over asevidenced by having repaired the top sectionof the squid pole 3 times already from suchaccidents.

We started operating just after 04:00 UTCas planned and much to our surpriseoperated continuously again for nearly 3hours but at a more leisurely pace with more

time for a chat with the Hunters before wecalled it a day with 50 contacts each for ourefforts, again well above the required 44contacts. Truly we had greatly underestimatedthe number of retired Amateurs who enjoylooking out for and contacting the parkActivators. Clearly another successful outing.

Reflecting on the activations we feel we nowhave a good setup and game plan. Howeveras we started typing up the logs for submissionon Friday evening we considered that perhapsthe next thing we need to explore is anelectronic logging program.

73

Victoria VK3LT and John VK3CU

Discounts from Suppliers

Club members can get discounts from twosuppliers:

Altronics. (Australia Wide), Mention you arefrom the North East Radio Group or give ourcustomer no - 64429. Discount will be minus 10%up to 45% off depending on the item. (Actualdiscounts depend on the product type andquantity purchased). There is No Minimum Spendin store to receive the discount. For on-line orphone Sales there IS a Minimum spend of $25.00inc GST but NOT including Freight. In thecomments section put “64429” to receive thediscount. http://www.altronics.com.au

Having used this recently I discovered that DavidVK3UQ gets an email, that you may not get,detailing delivery of your order. So pop him anemail when you order and he will be able totrack which email belongs to you. We hope tohave a method of dealing with this soon.

Jaycar Electronics stores by mentioning youare from the “North East Radio Group” Youneed to spend a min $25.00 to receive a 10%discount. http://www.jaycar.com.au/

NERG NEWS May 2018 Page 3 of 6

May 2018PLANNED DXPEDITIONS

Start End Entity Callsign

May 01

May 03 Wake I KH9

May 02

May 04 Ogasawara JD1BLY

May 02

May 15 Mozambique C8T

May 02

Jun 01 Hawaii KH6

May 04

May 06 Panama 3F6IC

May 05

May 09 Mozambique C98RRC

May 05

May 12 Malta 9H3JI

May 06

May 11 Aland Is OH0KA

May 07

May 11 Turkey TC0AX

May 08

May 11 South Cook Is E51KMR

May 08

May 13 Aruba P4

May 10

May 15 Curacao PJ2

May 11

May 16 Rodrigues I 3B9RUN

May 11

May 18 Lord Howe I VK9LI

May 12

May 13 Liechtenstein HB0

May 17

May 21 Gibraltar ZB

May 24

May 31 Malta 9H3SV

May 26

May 29 Svalbard JW8DW

Jun 01 Jun 09Sao Tome & Principe

S9ZZ

Jun 06 Jun 16 Bermuda VP9

Jun 07 Jun 11 Costa Rica TE6DX

Jun 07 Jun 17French Polynesia

FO

Thanks to http://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html

May 2018CONTESTS

You could try a quick contest this month, theHarry angel Sprint, runs for just 106 minutes,on 80 Metres May 5 at 8:00pm local. There aresections for everyone, Phone, CW, Mixed andSWL. Logging software is VKCL or N1MM+with a UDC from VK4SN (Talk to Greg VK3VTfor details).

For the CW ops and those wanting to catchsome new countries there is the CQ WPX CWon the 26th and 27th May, this is one of the bigtwo CW contests in the world so lots ofcountries will be on. Remember to copy theactual callsign and not rely on DX spots, thecalls are often wrong!!

Contest Times & DatesHarry Angel Memorial Sprint

1000Z May 5 to 1146Z May 5.

ARI International DX Contest

1200Z, May 5 to 1159Z, May 6

VOLTA WW RTTY Contest

1200Z, May 12 to 1200Z, May 13

CQ-M International DX Contest

1200Z, May 12 to 1159Z, May 13

Portuguese Navy Day Contest

0900Z, May 18 to 1700Z, May 20

UN DX Contest0600Z-2100Z, May 19

NERG NEWS May 2018 Page 4 of 6

NZART Sangster Shield Contest

0800Z-1100Z, May 19 and 0800Z-1100Z, May 20

Aegean RTTY Contest1200Z, May 19 to 1200Z, May 20

EU PSK DX Contest1200Z, May 19 to 1200Z, May 20

His Maj. King of Spain Contest, CW

1200Z, May 19 to 1200Z, May 20

Baltic Contest2100Z, May 19 to 0200Z, May 20

CQ WW WPX Contest, CW

0000Z, May 26 to 2359Z, May 27

SEANET Contest1200Z, Jun 2 to 1200Z, Jun 3

`Many thanks tohttp://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/contestcal.html

REMOTE STATION

Update – we now have a ICOM IC 7410 asthe remote radio.

This is available to members, you will need:• A Standard or Advanced Licence.

(Foundation Licensees can receive only.)• A windows computer with sound card

connected to a speaker and a microphone. A PC headset is ideal.

• OR an android tablet or phone and are prepared to pay for the app (less than $20)

• Download the client from RemoteHams.com install it on your machine and register with RemoteHams.com using your callsign.

The android app is called RCForb and is available on google play.

• The NERG station is “VK3CNE” Connect to it and request “club” membership and TX capability. Then wait until your membership is approved and away you go!

• Transmit Usage privileges will only be available to financial NERG members with VK callsigns.

Advanced Course - 2018

This will be starting very soon. If you knowanyone that may be interested please havethem contact Greg VK3VT (at) nerg.asn.au

EDITORIAL

Many people are complaining about the poorHF conditions. I agree they have not beengood, however, by using some of the newermodes there are still plenty of contacts to bemade. I note Simon VK3SIM has worked 176countries this year and five other NERGs haveworked at least 50 countries each.

At almost anytime of the day there is trafficon the FT8 portion of at least one band andsometimes four. The other evening I noted lotsof FT8 signals on 17, 20, 30 and 40 Metres withNorth American stations on the lowerfrequencies and Europe and some Africans onthe higher bands.

There are a number of people around in theclub who can help you get on FT8, just ask at aclub meeting. You will need a computer nearthe radio!!

Norbet VK5MQ is spending the winter onMacquarie Island and will be operating asVK0AI, a few of us have already worked him.

Trips to Macquarie Island are very rare thesedays so here is a chance to work a new countrythat is reasonable easy for us.

73

Greg VK3VT, Editor

NERG NEWS May 2018 Page 5 of 6

Members Discounts

Mention you are from the NERG andreceive a 10% Discount (Family membersincluded)

Margherita Pizza ph 9434 498089 Main Road, Lower Plenty, Vic 3093

web www.margherita.com.au

Margherita's Still Sponsor the NERG andprovide the excellent suppers that we havecome to enjoy. Order your next Pizza dinnerfrom them and tell them you appreciate theirsupport of the club.

NERG NEWS ARTICLES

The NERG is always happy to receive news,articles, and member’s wanted or for saleadvertisements for inclusion in the newsletter.Please contact the editor atnews{at}nerg.asn.au

THE NERGThe NERG Inc. Reg No A0006776V

http://nerg.asn.au The North East RadioGroup, Inc. is an amateur radio club devotedto encouraging members and others to enjoythe hobby of amateur radio. It tries not to hangon ceremony and endless reporting but ratherparticipate in the fun aspects of thisfascinating hobby.

WEB SITES

The NERG is on Facebook – A group hasbeen established and can be found at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/nergamateur/

Members are encouraged to join this group

WEB Sites: http:// www. nerg.asn.au andhttp://www.qsl.net/vk3rmh

MEMBERSHIP FEES Due in August: Full: $35 Family: $50

Concession: $25

COMMITTEEPresident David VK3UQ

Vice President Greg VK3VT

Secretary John VK3XD

Treasurer Margie VK3VOJ

Committee Members

Mark VK3BYY Chris VK3AWG

Matthew VK3BKT Grant VK3GWS

Don VK3KDT Anthony VK3BNR

MEETINGSMain Meeting: 2nd Thursday of each month at

7.45 PM (not Dec & Jan)

Coffee Shop nights: 4th Thursday eachmonth. Briar Hill Community Hall, 126 MountainView Road, Briar Hill (Near Sherbourne Roadintersection) Melway map ref 21-C3

Radio Café Every Thursday afternoon from2pm - Come along and have a chat, operate theclub station or show off your latest constructionproject. And of course have a cuppa.

NETSNERG NETS run on the club's 70cM repeater

VK3RMH 433.325MHz (91.5Hz CTCSS) in,438.325MHz out (8.30 – 9.30 pm Thursdays).Please join the discussions.

146.575MHz is used as a general Netfrequency by a number of NERG Members andis often used by the DX chasers in the clubwhile hunting DX. Foxhunters use this channelfor liaison as well on the third Friday of themonth.

NERG NEWS May 2018 Page 6 of 6