Radar presentation and meeting

Brian Richardson VK3CCR gave a very informative presentation about radar covering both ground based and military plane mounted systems. He explained how it works, how interference and unwanted reflections are mitigated and recent developments which have allowed the power to be reduced while improving accuracy. The club had two new members in attendance for the first time, both are interested in getting their licenses. Rather than using the projector and portable screen we took advanta...
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Radio Old Timers AGM enjoyed by members

The Radio Old Timers Club annual general meeting and lunch was well attended by members of MRARC. Peter VK3RV, Jen VK3WQ, Ray VK3ACR and Peter VK3TPM were there to represent our club. First the meeting kicked off with the annual general meeting which was conducted efficiently by Jim Gordon VK3ZKK with some members on Zoom. Next a hearty lunch was served. Mick VK3CH gave a detailed presentation about microwave operation. Futuristic technology was on show from VK3BIG who h...
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50 Years of G-QRP Book review

Australian QRP and home brew enthusiasts typically subscribe to two fine newsletters, the local Lo-Key from the VKQRP club and the British SPRAT from the G-QRP club. Both are A5 format newsletters packed full of interesting projects and ideas. They are of sufficient quality to stand many re-readings over the years but it's sometimes hard to find an item that comes to mind in the pile. Lo-Key has an index and SPRAT sells back issues on CD or USB key. When I heard of the publication of ...
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New radios announced by Icom and Yaesu IC-7760 & FTX-1F

It's rare to have radios announced by two of the major commercial transceiver companies. Yaesu has announced the FTX-1F which looks to be a competitor to the IC-705. Covers HF, 6m, 2m & 70cm. It is portable and has a Lithium-ion battery pack that will power it for 9 hours of reception on HF. More specifications here. The IC-7760 is an HF basestation in two parts. The control head can be connected with a cable or via ethernet. It comes with a 3m cable but is compatible with st...
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Annual General Meeting report

The annual general meeting was well attended despite some wet weather. Joe, VK3MAB, gave the committee's report and all positions were declared vacant. It's been a good year for the club with a series of interesting presentations, numerous coffee meetings, membership is growing and the finances are in a good position including some money in a term deposit earning interest. During the meeting, Barry, VK3BRT, our treasurer called in from Las Vegas to assure us that the books are in goo...
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Wireless in the sky

Wireless in the Sky, a presentation by club member Peter Wolfenden traced a number of aspects of early amateur radio involving early civilian aviation, leading up to and including Australia’s first major air race in 1929. It also looked at some key people involved with amateur activities at the time including mention of the embryonic Wireless Reserve and the WIA (Vic. Div.) Aero Section. Some of the amateur leaders then, included Howard K. Love OA3BM (later Kingsley Radio), Ross Hull OA3...
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Military medals including the Victoria Cross

At today's meeting, Graeme VK3CDO, gave a fascinating talk about military medals and ribbons. Graeme, VK3CDO, first got interested in the subject of medals and ribbons when he was fairly young and served in the Air Training Corps in the Air Force. When he did his NCOs course he had to do organisations, administrations, drill and many other subjects. Part of this was about rank and the badges that go with it. Also medals were covered. In talks to school kids, Graeme finds that they lis...
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