Following the presentation of John VK5JA (sk) home brew equipment at our last Activity Night, the club had a day-time excursion to visit the Port MacDonnell Maritime Museum, where more for John’s home brew equipment was on display.
The tour guide was Trevor, son of VK5JA, who gave a very informative tour of the museum. After 2 hours, it was closing time, & there was still more to see, so some will need to plan a return visit one day.
For those who were unable to attend, may I recommend this display as one of the best of its kind.More information about the museum can be found here.
Ian, VK5NBL, has kindly researched the current cost of Club clothing items from Hip Pocket here in Mount Gambier. Thank you Ian.
BUCKET HAT. (Style 3929) HiVis. Approx. $15.00 ea
BASEBALL STYLE CAPS. $17.60 ea. (Includes cost of Logo)
POLO FLEECE. $21.95. (Cost of Monogram is extra)
HAT BAND. $5.50. (Cost of Monogram is extra)
Ideally we should all have the same design and colour for Club clothing as it does not look very good if we are all wearing different colours and designs.
A small group of S.E.R.G. Club Members assembled in our Clubrooms to watch the live Stream of Trevor, VK5NC’s Funeral Service.
The service commenced on time and was a very quiet and dignified, yet simple, service as befitted the man.
Present, in no particular order, were Dale, VK5DA, (very kindly bought along by Gary, VK5JR), Chris, VK5MC and Josie, Colin, VK5DK, Tom, VK5EE, Owen, VK5HOS, David, VK5DG, Ian, VK5NBL and Col, VK5HCF.
Club President, Peter, VK5BE, had intended to be there but was called away for work and, unfortunately, was not able to attend. No doubt many watched from the comfort of their homes as Trevor was a very well liked and highly respected man.
Anyone who missed the service may do so at any time in the next 90 days by scrolling down to the post with the link on it and clicking on the link.
The Day was cloudy and cool but that did not deter the 20 plus hardy souls who attended our Annual Christmas BBQ.
Held at the home of Life Member Greg, VK5ZGY and wife Gabi we were pampered with an undercover paved area well sheltered from any weather. A very BIG “Thank you” Greg N Gabi.
Ample BBQ facilities made cooking easy and all present enjoyed an excellent afternoon of social interaction.
Tom, VK5TA, (VK5EE), bought along his newest power supply. (A switch mode unit which, when slightly modified can deliver 13.8 volts at 60 + Amps), and a very need foldable 60 Watt Solar Panel complete with regulator, stand and all necessary connections.
Chris, VK5MC, bought along a 1989 Edition of the Clubs Magazine which proved to be very interesting and nostalgic.
Some of the gathering.John, VK3VAH, Ian, VK3DNQ and Nick S. having a deep and meaningful.Master Chef’s at workTom, VK5TA and Chris, VK5MC – Show and Tell.Conversation stopped time.
At the 2021 Annual General Meeting President Peter, VK5BE, had great pleasure in awarding the Presidents Trophy to Tom, VK5EE, for his outstanding contribution to the Club by being there for every Sunday morning Broadcast for the year, including also the Friday Night sessions during which he has presented the A.R.R.L. Podcasts.Working in a cramped shack with no heating Tom has been on time for every broadcast and has proved to be as reliable as a Swiss Watch.Well done and a big “Thank you” Tom.
The Centre Tower is where our antennas used to be. Highest marked antenna is the Receive unit which is believed to be faulty. The lower marked antenna is the temporary transmit antenna.“Old hut on the left. “New” hut on the right.The cabinet in the “New” hut.From left to right. Site Superintendent. Tom, VK5EE Norbert, VK5MQ Dylan. Gambier Electronics. A very big “Thank you” fellas.
It just goes to show that “when in doubt JUST DO IT”
Sunday 6th. December was shaping up as a disaster for a BBQ, with high blustery wind and numerous showers of varying intensity. Not a day for an outdoor gathering for sure.
After finishing off the Sunday morning Broadcast and the Call backs Tom, VK5EE and VK5HCF, set off for Millicent.
Numerous showers were encountered along the way with the occupants of the “Shopping Trolley” questioning their sanity.
On arrival at Lake McIntyre we found a few of the Members already there.
Most notably Chris, VK5MC, and wife Josie to whom we owe a big vote of thanks for arriving early in order to secure the site against marauding tourists.
Also to John, VK5DJ who organised for the area to be roped off with bunting to assist in pointing out to potential interlopers that the site was reserved.
This year we had the site at the top of the hill nearest to the toilets, (but not too near. 😄)
Referring back to my opening statement.
This site proved the above saying by sheltering us from the vast majority of the wind so that we barely noticed it, and we only really had one rain session that caused us to seek shelter for a few minutes. The rest of the afternoon was, in fact, quite pleasant which just proves that sometimes you get lucky.
Colin, VK5DK, John, VK5DJ and James, VK3JBM having a deep and meaningful.
18 Club Members were in attendance including James, VK3JBM, who came all the way from Horsham in Victoria to join us. Well done James and it was great to catch up again. It was also great to see Trevor, VK5NC, who is temporarily trapped here by the W.A. Border Closure. It was lovely to enjoy your Company for a short time “Niv”
A very pleasant afternoon of socialising.
A few of the regulars were missing because of other commitments which was a bit sad but it is very hard to organise these events to include everybody.
The Members who like to engage in a bit of Portable Operating set up their radios and David, VK5HDW’s new Hi-End Fed antenna which covers 6 metres to 40 metres, (I think?).
The “Portable Gang”
Unfortunately there was horrific noise on some of the bands and after looking around we suspected that it was coming from a four wheel drive parked on the road opposite our site. The Unit had a solar panel on the roof and we suspect, a refrigerator running inside. Obviously the Solar Panel regulator was a “crook” one as when the 4wd left, so did the noise, but by then the crew had packed up the gear as it was almost time to head home and the bands were almost completely “dead” anyway. “Life was not meant to be easy.”
Glad the 4wd is not our next door neighbour.
As usual the day turned out to be quite pleasant and all who attended enjoyed a few hours of banter and a good feed.
Our secretary Col, VK5HCF, sent James VK3FJBM an email to see how he was getting on in Horsham with all the Covid19 surrounding us all.
Here is his reply.
“Hi Col,
Thanks for your email! 🙂 Yes, the COVID situation has definitely thrown a spanner in the works this year.I’ve been just treading water with the workload in …………(deleted)………………. as we have transitioned to and from Remote Learning twice now.However, if there is a positive in all this it has been the few extra moments I have gotten to play AR over the past 6 months. I have invested in a couple of projects. One has been the purchase a Yaesu 857-D unit, associated Automatic Antenna Tuner and a 10mtr squid pole as a Portable HF setup.Through this setup, I have been able to perform some HF and SSTV contacts.Must say I’m not sure if I will ever enjoy the ‘noise’ of HF compared to 2/70. The other project has been setting up a Digital Repeater for the Horsham area.I’ve purchased a very nice outdoor cabinet for the project, got power and 4G Internet-connected, programmed up some Repeater Builder boards and a Motorola MTR unit.I’ve worked with City Council and got a contract for me to use an un-used (previously Ambos) tower which has a bunch on antenna’s on it perfect for AR.Through some inspiration from reading VK5DJ’s blog, I have programmed up a temperature sensor on a Raspberry Pi to automatically turn the cabinet’s inbuilt fan kit on/off as required.Hopefully, this will be completed in the next fortnight and I can put together a blog post about it.I have attached a couple of pictures of the cabinet, the repeater is yet to be installed and some cabling to be tidied up yet. I wish that the restrictions to travel into SA were lifted so I could help out with SERG’s upcoming events, but I’m not sure that is going to happen anytime soon.Even if we have no cases in Regional Vic. Hope you are also going well and enjoying some sunny days. Thank You again for the email Col, it made my day!Also thanks to both yourself and other members of SERG for making me feel welcome at events.Without SERG, AR would not be a hobby of mine. See you soon. Cheers,James Mutch
Soon to be VK3JBM!😄 “
It was good of James to fill us in on what he has been up to, and by the sound of it, he has been very busy trying to stimulate activity in the Horsham Area. He is hoping to stand for office at the Horsham Club’s upcoming A.G.M. and, if successful, trying to generate some enthusiasm and activity into their Group. We wish him luck and thank him for the very nice email.
