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VK7AX > BCAST 13.07.22 11:55z 494 Lines 23357 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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VK7 Amateur Radio News 10Jul22
Text edition:
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VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS BROADCAST
FOR SUNDAY 10th July 2022
--------------------------------
Welcome to the VK7 Amateur Radio News for the 10th July 2022. At the mike of VK7WI this week is Idris, VK7ZIR.
This broadcast goes out on repeaters all over VK7 and on digital radio - DMR Talk Group 5 and D-Star Reflector 91C by Clayton VK7ZCR.
We go out on medium and high frequency courtesy of the following rebroadcast stations:
On 1.862 MHz by Graham, VK7GS
On 3.670 MHz by Peter, VK7TPE
On 7.140 MHz by Ross, VK7ALH
On 14.130 MHz by Garry, VK7JGD and
On 28.525 MHz by Dale, VK7DG
We also go out on UHF CB Channel 15 thanks to Mark VK7FMAC in the Hobart area.
You can hear this broadcast again on Tuesday night at 8:00pm on repeaters VK7RAA in Northern VK7 and VK7RAD in Southern VK7.
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Radio Software News
AccessibleGD77 New Version Release
Joseph, VK7JS has just released the latest version of AccessibleGD77, the alternate firmware for the Radioddity GD77, GD77S, Baofeng DM1801, 1801A and RD5r radios.
This release adds the following new features:
Channels can be sorted by name, frequency or codeplug order from the radio,
Contacts can be sorted by name or codeplug order right the radio,
Talk groups and dialled DTMF contacts are now associated with each channel. This means that if you choose a talk group on one DMR channel, when you revisit that channel, that talkgroup is automatically reselected (you will need to key up to ensure your repeater or hotspot is synchronised). On analog channels, when you dial a DTMF contact from the contacts list, it is automatically saved for that channel. If your node has disconnected, press long hold sk2+hash to redial the channel's saved DTMF contact. You can clear the DTMF contact for a channel using SK2+red, which for DMR channels clears a private call.
a new Custom Prompt Review mode for making it easy to add, edit and manage custom voice prompts.
The temperature can now be viewed in both Fahrenheit as well as Celsius.
DTMF rate can be controlled from the radio,
The Reverse feature is now a proper toggle (long hold Hash),
Lots of fixes and enhancements for GD77S to bring it closer to GD77 functionality.
This can be downloaded from the address on the email edition of this broadcast or from GitHub directly.
www.blindhams.com
He has also been working with the OpenRTX team to bring full voice prompt accessibility to the Tyt MD380, 390, UV380, UV390 and other radios, so look out for this in the coming weeks.
73, Joseph, VK7JS
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AccessibleGD77 July Release
A full list of the features in AccessibleGD77 which are not present in OpenGD77 follows:
Sort channels by name, frequency or codePlug order right from the radio,
Manually reorder channels from the radio,
Delete channels from the radio,
Add, edit, delete, and sort both DTMF and DMR contacts by name from the radio,
Channel specific DMR and DTMF contacts are remembered,
Add and edit custom voice prompts from the radio, ability to associate a custom prompt with text, (autotrim and manual trim of silence),
On-the-fly voice rate adjustment on the radio,
Relative voice prompt volume adjustment,
Three levels of voice verbosity,
Full channel and VFO summary readout,
Both regular and Phonetic character announcement options, and better support for announcing capitals, symbols and spaces when editing,
More consistent editor throughout the interface, including alphanumeric/numeric toggle,
More beep flexibility,
SK2 Function latch,
Replay last few seconds of a DMR transmission,
Associate a user’s voice tag with their DMR contact,
Auto DMR ID announcement,
Caller/callee submenu from DMR contacts,
DTMF dialing latch,
Add pauses to DTMF contacts which wait for the carrier to be dropped before continuing (good for sequencing allstar node commands, etc),
Up to 60 (instead of 32) DTMF contacts,
Adjust DTMF volume and rate from the radio,
CTCSS/DCS tail management,
Dual watch, Priority scan, and multizone scan,
Priority channel support including shortcut to jump to priority channel,
Auto Repeater offset feature for both VHF and UHF,
Reverse repeater feature,
Return to original channel if scan is cancelled,
Busy channel lockout option,
Temperature announcement in both Celsius and Fahrenheit,
Enable Auto-zones for Marine, UHF CB, FRS, GMRS, MURS, NOAA, PMR446, USRail, etc,
Enter boot screen text etc. from radio via User Information screen,
Audio signal level for DMR mode from RSSI screen,
Full virtual keyboard and two VFOs on GD77S model, including commands to manage channels and contacts,
Full access to 80 channels per zone on GD77S,
Channel contact autodial for GD77S,
Lots of other conveniences and bug fixes.
73 Joe VK7JS
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Wanted
The Australian Antarctic Division is looking for station Comms Tech and Senior Comms Tech positions that have been readvertised for 22-23 as they are somewhat low on numbers.
Further details about the roles can be found at the links in the email edition of this broadcast.
https://jobs.antarctica.gov.au/jobs-in-antarctica/telecommunications/communications-technical-officer/
https://jobs.antarctica.gov.au/jobs-in-antarctica/telecommunications/senior-communications-technical-officer/
If you are interested or you know someone who may be interested then please forward this information.
For more information you can contact the Station Telecommunications Team Leader - Sangeeta Lall on 03 6232 3420 or email sangeeta.lall(at)aad.gov.au
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Statewide News
Thursday Night SSTV Nets
Last Thursday we had a huge number of people on the net transmitting and receiving pictures.
There were also many new callsigns seen including: VK7s ZGK, EV, ZAB, DW, PD, ZCF, GS, FGGT, HSC, HHS, TW, HXT, PAK and KPC
The images can be viewed on the NTARC Blog page thanks to Andre VK7ZAB and the link can be found on the email edition of the broadcast.
https://www.ntarc.net/blogs/1u6lzeqdjj85rnz66jnkqkvi7nr6i9-txhff-8x8gj-n8l6n
There were also a few new modes – with Martin 1 and 2 along with Robot36 and Scottie 1 and 2.
Of special note was some images from the Hobart Hacker Space VK7HHS. With Brian VK7BM and Ken VK7DY behind that station and great to hear the Hacker Space on air.
https://www.hobarthackerspace.org.au/
It was great to have a short on-air conversation with Leo from the Hacker Space who is studying for his amateur radio licence.
A huge night of SSTV that I think finished up about 9:30pm!
It’s a great way to dust off your rig and get those digital interfaces working and send a few pics.
A reminder in Southern Tasmania, VK7RAF (146.650 -600kHz) can be used both locally and linked to VK7RJG by using different CTCSS tones. 123Hz for local Southern operation and 141.3Hz for linking RAF to VK7RJG (438.55 -7Mhz). When using VK7RJG you need a 141.3Hz CTCSS tone to link with VK7RAF.
We will continue these nights so why not join in and share some pictures. It’s a great way to test your digital interfacing. We get underway from around 7:30pm.
73, Peter VK7PD and Justin VK7TW
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Contest News
Winter VHF and Above Field Day Logs
https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/
Reminder that tomorrow is your last chance to get your log in for the Winter Field Day.
At the time of writing there were at least 11 VK7 logs that had been uploaded and a reminder that once you upload your log, please check that your filename appears in the list of uploaded logs.
The deadline for uploading logs is before midnight EAST, Monday 11 July 2022.
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NEWS FROM THE NORTH
SOTA Activation
What does a group of radio amateurs do on a midwinter’s day when rain is threatening? A SOTA activation of course!
Wednesday July 6th saw the intrepid trio of Al VK7AN, Rodney VK7HAM and Peter VK7PD traveling east to Scottsdale under heavy cloud and the occasional light shower. One suggestion was to spend an extended lunch break at a local café instead. However, on arrival at the Mt Stronach car park, no rain was encountered, so equipped with wet weather gear and the essential radio equipment, the 3 began the ascent. Several light showers were encountered on the way.
The track up Mt Stronach is quite a steady grade through dry sclerophyll forest; in clear weather the high points afford views over Scottsdale and Bass Strait.
At the summit, the weather obliged by turning on some cloudy sunshine which lasted the duration of the activation.
A light lunch was consumed by some, while checking out a suitable tree for holding the link dipole.
A rock was skillfully hurled over a branch with halyard attached then the dipole positioned in inverted vee formation and the IC-705 connected. Stations started to pour in as soon as
7090KHz was selected.
A total of 12 stations were worked in VKs 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 then the weather started to look threatening again so the gear was hastily packed away and the descent begun.
Light rain started falling just as the car came into view. Some serious rain was observed from the comfort of the aforementioned café.
Mt Stronach had been activated only twice before; it is a picturesque granite mountain that affords magnificent views.
Photos and, thanks to Rodney, a movie clip of the event can be seen on the VK7 Amateur Radio Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1472093859714691
73, Peter, VK7PD
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SOTA/WWFF PARKS GROUP
The Summits On The Air/World Wide Flora and Fauna parks group meets twice weekly – Mondays and Fridays 10.30AM till 12.00 at the Glebe Gardens Cafe, Henry Street, Launceston.
For more information contact Al on 0417 354 410.
73, Al, VK7AN
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Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club Incorporated
www.ntarc.net
Over the past few weeks there have been many expressions of interest in the up and coming club rooms working bee. There will be inside and outside jobs (weather permitting), including a big garage clean out, HF Antenna replacement and miscellaneous inside jobs. Needless to say tea and coffee will be provided but BYO lunch. A date will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
Mug Order – the ones that have our club logo on one side, personalised with your name and call sign on the other. There has been an unbelievably fast turnaround, thanks to Anne VK7ANN, the order has been fulfilled and delivered. They are now available at the NTARC club rooms. If you have ordered one but can’t get in to pick it up drop a note to the Secretary and we will see what we can arrange. Because of the large order, we received a very favourable discount this time. Your final price is only ten dollars. If you want the handle attached it will be extra……. Only joking. HiHi
Thursday night, state wide SSTV Net. Any interested operators can view all images decoded from the output of VK7RJG on the NTARC website under ‘Blogs’, or follow the link in the text version of this broadcast.
https://www.ntarc.net/blogs
This will give you a valuable tool as to how you are being received, including signal strength and any noise or interference that may be present. Also over the month you can see subtle atmosphere effects exhibited on the UHF Radio Link that is connecting VK7RJG and VK7RAF. This will show up on any Southern originated SSTV images also included in the NTARC “Blogsö.
Did anybody notice the “Aunty Jack Showö SSTV image going through last Thursday night?
As the ABC is celebrating its 90th year of broadcasting it seemed an interesting piece of trivia that the picture was from the first ABC television show that contained a colour segment that went to air, and it introduced colour to the ABC audience. This was on the 1st of March 1975. It was a special edition of the “Aunty Jack Showö and was filmed in colour, but the majority of the show went to air in Black and White. The final colour segment was created by overlaying the colour image in a gradient fashion to create the sense that the characters were gradually being saturated with colour. The colour was shown as a rising tide of water that could not be stemmed, eventually flooding the show. From this point on colour was considered the normal and within five years of colour starting almost eighty percent of Australian homes had a colour TV set.
Included in the text version is a link to an interesting article on the ABC introduction of colour.
https://www.naa.gov.au/learn/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/society-and-culture/arts-and-fashion/first-abc-television-program-broadcast-colour-aunty-jack
UPCOMING EVENTS
Club Technical night – Wednesday 13th July. Held at the NTARC Club rooms, 7.30pm until whenever.
SSTV Net - held every Thursday night on the 70cm repeater, VK7RJG and linked to the South via repeater VK7RAF. Conducted from 7.30pm till about 8.30pm. These SSTV images will be available on the NTARC website under ‘Blogs’.
Remember, to be able to link with VK7RAF you must enable a CTCSS tone of 141.3 Hz.
TestNet and TechNet – Wednesday 20th July. TestNet/CW course on 3.580MHz from 7pm till 7.30pm….and a TechNet on 3.567MHz from 7.30pm till about 8.30pm. Your host for the evening will again be Nic VK7WW.
Coffee Morning – held every Friday in the NTARC Club rooms. Get warm while you catch up, time is from 10am to noon and we look forward to seeing you all there. These coffee events represent a good opportunity to collect your QSL cards and recently delivered Mugs. We currently have cards awaiting collection, so why not pop in and check the QSL box and join us for a cuppa and chat.
FINALLY – A reminder to all members that if you have any items of news you would like added to our weekly roundup, no matter how trivial, then please email them to the Secretary at the following address news(at)tarc.net all items to be received no later than 5pm on the Friday prior to the Broadcast.
That’s all folks,
73 from Stefan, VK7ZSB, Secretary NTARC.
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NEWS FROM THE SOUTH
WICEN Tasmania (South) BBQ and AGM
WICEN Tasmania (South) will be having their annual BBQ and AGM on Sunday the 17th of July, at the residence of Peter Henry VK7TPE and Maureen, at 30 Haigh Road, in Snug. All are welcome to attend, so if you're in the neighborhood then why not pop in, have a drink and a sausage, and catch up with some of the WICEN amateur radio contingent.
The BBQ starts at mid-day, and the AGM will follow at 14:00. BYO food, drinks, and XYL's!
For queries and directions, contact the secretary at VK7WCN @ wia.org.au
WICEN committee
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Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania
https://www.reast.asn.au/
https://www.facebook.com/reasttas/
https://www.youtube.com/reasthobart/
Ham Radio Trivia Night
https://fb.me/e/2sUlj73f2
This Wednesday night the 13th July 2022 from 7:30pm REAST will be holding a Ham Radio Trivia Night.
This will be a fun filled night that will be a hybrid event held in person at REAST’s Queens Domain clubrooms and online.
Don’t forget to bring your smart phone device along for the night.
See you there.
73, REAST Committee
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Ham Radio Fox Hunt Morning
https://fb.me/e/2xwfHjZtu
REAST will be having a Fox Hunt day on Saturday 23rd July meeting at the Domain from 9:30am
Get your yagi antennas and attenuators ready for a fun morning of searching for our Foxes!
There will be prizes to be won on the day for finding the Fox too! We'll have a lower powered trial Fox Hunt on the Domain followed by a city wide hunt!
The Fox will be hidden somewhere within the Greater Hobart area on the 2 metre band.
Get your friends together and form a team to try and track down our elusive Fox.
We currently have a **very limited** supply of tape measure yagis at the clubrooms so might be a good opportunity to hit up Bunnings and start building!
https://www.instructables.com/The-Tape-Measure-Antenna/
At this stage we're also planning to have a BBQ too, so come along and have a fun filled day with us at the Domain clubrooms.
More info to come!
73, REAST Committee
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Training and Assessments
REAST’s next Foundation Licence training and all licence assessment day is Saturday the 30th July 2022. Please note this has been moved back one week to not clash with the Fox Hunt Day.
If you are thinking of coming along then please let Reg Emmett VK7KK REAST Learning Organiser know by phoning 0417 391 607 or email assessor(at)reast.asn.au.
Check out the REAST Foundation Licence Training Videos that can be found on the REAST YouTube Training and Assessment playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsnsP_zjw831mdC6sY4XqavRUY-53ZWUn
And checkout the REAST Facebook page events for further details.
https://fb.me/e/1YiYqV2wC
73, Reg, VK7KK
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REAST August Presentation
AccessibleGD77 Software
Our August presentation will be given online by the software developer Joe Stephen VK7JS who lives at Exeter on the Tamar River.
For those who don’t know, Joe is totally blind but instead of this holding him back he has developed a reputation developing software for the vision impaired. Joe has developed many pieces of software including the very popular JAWS screen reader software that enables blind people around the world to access computers, including reading webpages, interacting with spread sheets and much more, using speech and Braille feedback.
As heard earlier in this broadcast Joe has developed the AccessibleGD77 firmware to replace the standard GD77 firmware to make the handheld much more friendly to visually impaired with lots of benefits for non-visually impaired people as well.
Joe will take us through this development and the features he has built into the AccessibleGD77 firmware.
As an interesting note to the presentation - it will be coming via the low-orbit StarLink system that provides much lower latency than the high-orbit NBN Skymuster system.
Thanks to Joe for this Presentation.
73, REAST Committee
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DATV Experimenter's Night
https://fb.me/e/3oJDUBwuY
We started last Wednesday night with Richard VK7ZBX who was featured in the Netherland’s Microwave and EME Magazine following a 10GHz EME contact between VK7ZBX and Jac PA3DZL. Thanks Richard and Jac.
Garry VK7JGD then continued his series on the configuration of the Yaesu FT-897. Garry homed in on what is available in the area of noise reduction and digital signal processing or DSP.
Garry was very impressed by the DSP capability after experiencing significant powerline interference on an ILLW field day that his Kenwood TS 130 could not handle. Suffice it to say Garry now has the FT-897 he is demonstrating. Garry also demonstrated some little known function where you can learn Morse code. Thanks Garry.
Ron Cullen then bought his radio controlled Spitfire aircraft that is made from 6 cardboard beer cartons. Room described its construction and the neat power unit that is a standard size and mounting that can be transferred between different RC models. Thanks Ron.
Justin then quickly showed the RIDEN RD6018 - 60 volt 18 Amp fully configurable power supply. Justin demonstrated some of the basic functions and talked about his experience with the RF interference created by the PSU.
We finished off with a reminder of future events.
We go into recess for a fortnight as this week is the Ham Radio Trivia Night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX-bvkWt6w8
73, Justin, VK7TW
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Regular VK7 gatherings and events over the coming months:
Regular gatherings:
Sewing Circle Net – Daily on 3.640 MHz commences at 5:00pm AEST.
SOTA/WWFF Group – Meeting Mondays and Fridays 10.30-12.00 midday at Glebe Gardens Cafe, Henry St, Launceston.
NTARC – Friday coffee session – Rocherlea clubrooms Launceston from 10:00am
NTARC - TestNet and TECHNET – Wednesday 20th July - TestNet/CW course on 3580 from 7pm till 7.30pm and a TECHNET on 3567 from 7.30pm till about 8.30pm.
NTARC Technical Night - Wednesday 13th July from 7:30pm in NTARC clubrooms
NW VK7 – Wednesday from 8:00pm local – NW Tassie Amateur Repeater Group Net on VK7RMD
NW VK7 - Thursday commencing at 8:30pm local) - N.W. Tassie 2m DX Net 144.190 USB (upper sideband).
REAST – MICROWAVE QSO Party – following after the Sunday broadcast on 1296.15 MHz FM.
REAST – WAGS – Wednesday Afternoon Group meet in the Queens Domain Clubrooms from 12 noon.
REAST – DATV Experimenter’s Nights from 7:30pm live in the club rooms also on DVBT RF and YouTube Streaming
VK7 - SSTV Net - held every Thursday night via the North/South Link on VK7RAF/VK7RJG from 7:30pm. In the North and North West - VK7RJG on 438.55 -7MHz and in the South - VK7RAF (146.650 -600kHz) CTCSS tone 141.3Hz to link RAF North-South and on VK7RJG a 141.3Hz CTCSS tone to link with VK7RAF.
Events:
REAST - 15 July - Ham Radio Trivia Night - in person at the Queens Domain clubrooms and online from 7:30pm.
WICEN Tasmania (South) - 17 July - WICEN BYO BBQ and AGM at VK7TPE QTH from Noon.
REAST - 23 July - Fox Hunt day start at the Queens Domain clubrooms from 9:30am
REAST - 3 August - AccessibleGD77 Presentation with VK7JS - Queens Domain Clubrooms from 7:30pm.
VK7 - 5-6 November - Save the Date!
--------------------------------
A reminder to those people rostered for next week’s broadcast:
Newsreader: VK7FB
Repeaters: REAST, NTARC and in the NW thanks to N W T A R C, West Coast Radio Group, Cradle Coast Radio Amateur Radio Club, VK7AX, and VK7DC
160m: VK7GS
80m: VK7ALH
40m: VK7JGD
20m: VK7DG
10m: VK7VKT
UHFCB15: VK7FMAC
DMR: Talk Group 5 and D-Star: Reflector 91C VK7ZCR
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You can hear this broadcast again on Tuesday night at 8:00pm on repeaters VK7RAA in Northern VK7 and VK7RAD in Southern VK7.
A huge thank you to all people and organisations that assisted with this broadcast.
--------------------------------
That concludes our VK7 Amateur Radio News Broadcast for this week.
You have been listening to or have just missed VK7WI. Next week the National WIA news can be heard at 0900 followed by the VK7 Amateur Radio News around 0930 hours.
Items for the broadcast can be emailed to vk7arnews(at)gmail.com
Further information about the broadcast can be found at the VK7 Amateur Radio News Groups.IO Group.
https://groups.io/g/vk7arnews
The deadline for items is 21:00 on Friday prior to the Sunday of the broadcast.
VK7WI is now closing but will reopen shortly for callbacks and relay reports. Callbacks will be taken on the frequency to which you are listening. Relay stations will use their own callsigns during the callback.
On behalf of the VK7 Amateur Radio News Team we hope you have a great day, 73 and stay safe from Idris, VK7ZIR.
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(Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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