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VK7AX > BCAST 28.12.25 11:16l 519 Lines 26132 Bytes #13 (0) @ WW BID : 7087_VK7AX Subj: VK7 Amateur Radio News 28Dec25 Path: JH4XSY<JE7YGF<LU4ECL<IW8PGT<HB9CSR<IK6IHL<IK7NXU<HB9ON<DK0WUE<ZL2BAU< VK3AT<VK7AX Sent: 251228/0201Z 7087@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.AUNZ LinBPQ6.0.24 VK7 Amateur Radio News 28Dec25 Text edition: VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS SUNDAY 28th DECEMBER 2025 Seasons greetings and welcome to the almost 2026 edition of the VK7 Amateur Radio News for the 28th December 2025, your gateway to what’s happening across the airwaves in Tasmania and beyond. Coming to you from the Tasmanian Amateur Radio News Desk is Justin, VK7TW with the latest updates, stories, and insights from our amateur radio community. We’re broadcasting far and wide thanks to our dedicated team: DMR Talk Group 5 & D-Star Reflector 91C via the Digital Group HF relays: 1.862 MHz – Graham VK7GS 3.670 MHz – Ross, VK7ALH 7.140 MHz – Garry VK7JGD 14.130 MHz – Any Takers 28.525 MHz – Tony, VK7DG And locally in Hobart on UHF CB Ch.24 and HF CB Ch.24 (11m) with Mark VK7FMAC. Missed it live? Catch the replay Tuesday 8pm on repeaters VK7RAA (North), VK7RHT, and on UHFCB24/HFCB24 (South). Stay tuned, and enjoy the news! -------------------------------- Silent Key KEVIN NORRIS - VK7HKN (SK) It was with great sadness that we were informed that Kevin Norris VK7HKN had passed away on the evening of the 18th December 2025 at Aldersgate Nursing Home, Launceston. Kevin was widely known and respected through-out the Tasmanian amateur fraternity. He had an early involvement in electronics and communications prior to arriving in Tasmania and becoming involved in Amateur Radio in Burnie. Kevin obtained his standard class amateur radio license about the year 2000, which gave him about nine years of North West operating before moving to Launceston in 2009. He joined NTARC in 2010 and was successfully nominated for a position on the Committee in 2011. During his seven years of continuous committee service he also held the position of Treasurer for a year. He also found time to manage our QSL card distribution for quite a while as well as being a stalwart of NTARC’s annual involvement in JOTA. Kevin was the first to identify the possibility of NTARC taking up lodgings in the Rocherlea Scout building and it was largely through him and XYL Lyn, VK7FROG, that we developed such a good relationship with the Scout Commissioner at the time. This led to the lease being completed and NTARC finally having a home, now for more than a decade. After his all-important family Kevin did have a few other loves. The love of VW Combi campers and camping, the love of Light Houses and the love of QRP radio. If for some reason they coincided, for example an annual Light-House / Light-Ship weekend competition, well that was all the better. Hi-Hi He was very keen in conducting portable activations, possibly even before POTA became more common than it is today. Myrtle Park was one of his favourites as he could also camp with friends and family. Also as an avid experimenter he fostered the Club's flowerpot antenna build-a-thon. This was for 6 metre and a combined 2 metre and 70 cm PVC tube and fittings version of the antenna. He always made himself available for mentoring and helping with electronic projects and kits. In particular his involvement in the BITX family of projects with their demonstration and presentation back in 2013. Kevin was always a happy and enthusiastic radio operator. One very small thing that he did was give the early morning weather forecasts every day after he had dropped one of his children off at sport or work or after he had checked his post office box. I am not saying they were always “spot on”, but they were humorous. After Kevin moved into full time care at Aldersgate there was certainly an “on-air” vacuum left…… There will be a funeral service held on Tuesday the 30th. December 2025 at the Car Villa Crematorium Chapel at 11:00 am. Please, no flowers or cards by request. After the service the family will be gathering at the Commercial Hotel in Launceston. Lyn has passed on that all are more than welcome to join the family and share memories. The service is unable to be streamed live but a link will be available later. Vale Kevin VK7HKN now Silent Key. From the NTARC Committee. -------------------------------- WWFF, SOTA, POTA and IOTA Weekly Wrap Up As 2025 draws to a close, it is a great time to reflect on what has been an outstanding year on the air. VK7 operators have once again shown strong participation across multiple award programs, with plenty of activity, contacts and portable operations to celebrate. A look through the end of year statistics highlights just how busy the year has been. POTA activators certainly kept the momentum going throughout the year, completing 105 activations and logging an impressive 2,229 QSOs. Of these contacts, 45 were made using CW and a further 58 using digital modes. Hunters were equally active, with VK7 operators successfully hunting 2,011 parks, a fantastic collective effort by all operators involved. VKFF also enjoyed a solid year, with 64 activations completed across the state. Activators logged a total of 1,811 QSOs, while VK7 operators hunted 1,155 parks. These figures reflect consistent support for the program and plenty of time spent enjoying portable operating from our local flora and fauna reserves. SOTA continued to challenge and reward those willing to carry their gear uphill. During the year, 86 summits were activated, resulting in 1,204 QSOs. This total included 50 summit to summit contacts, always a highlight for both activators and chasers. Chasers were kept busy as well, successfully chasing 211 summits. Overall, the numbers tell the story of a very active and enjoyable year across all programs. Congratulations to everyone who activated, chased and hunted throughout 2025. A big shoutout to all the VK7 program representatives / administrators who dedicate countless hours to supporting these programs behind the scenes. Have a fantastic Christmas and New Year. Catch you on the air in 2026! 73, Matt, VK7MAT -------------------------------- QSL News Inwards QSL Bureau Information The current updated list of QSL Cards held by the VK7 Inwards Bureau as at 19 December is in the email version of the Broadcast. Do you see your callsign in the list of QSL cards held by the inwards bureau? Do you want these Cards? Please advise Herman either way by email so he can tidy up and remove cards that may be for Silent Keys and have been held for some time. Send me your QTH address so I can either mail them out (If enough Cards to make it cost effective) or deliver on an opportunity basis. Email to westyh(at)ozemail.com.au Wishing you all the best and great DX over the festive season. 73 Herman VK7HW Manager WIA VK7 Inwards QSL Bureau -------------------------------- Sorted Cards held at 19 Dec 2025 ( Any errors in the listing are mine, I sometimes miss culling a call sign) AA, AAC, AAD, AAE, AAH, AAP, AAR, AB, ACG, ACN, ADE, AED, AG(2014, 2016), AGC, AHT, AIJ, AIR, AJC, AJP, AKK, ALZ, AM, ANC, AO, AP, APZ, AQ, AS, ATH, AXZ, AY BA, BB, BBB, BD, BEN, BO, BPV, BT, BU, BYE CA, CBK, CBR, CC, CH/T, CJ, CK, CL, CMV, CTV, CV, CWB, CX DAN, DBX, DHT, DI, DM, DN, DO, DQ, DR, DT, DV, DW, DX, DY, DZ EE, EG, EI, EKA, EM, ER FAA, FADZ, FALX (alx), FAZZ, FCIA, FG, FGGT, FKLW, FLAR, FMI, FPRN, FRJ, FRJG, FTAS, FTR G, GA, GC, GEL, GGZ, GL, GM, GOP, GR, GS, GU, GZ HCH, HDE, HDM, HDX, HL, HOB, HPD, HRS, HSA, HSE, HSJ, HSO HZ IAN, ID, IK, IR, IS JA, JAB, JAZ, JB, JCR, JGD, JOK, JON, JP, JS, JW, JX KAC, KAM, KBA, KD, KE, KDO, KJ, KK, KKR, KL, KO, KRJ LA, LDH, LL, LLL, LM, LT, LVH M, MA, MAD, MAG, MBD, MEL, MET, MI, MJ, MS, MV NA, NB, NC, ND, NEC, NFI, NG, NIK, NJB, NRF, NRT, NRX, NSE, NSS, NTE, NVH OB, OO, OW PAF, PBD, PD, PDJ, PKJ, PO, POL, PRN, PSH, PSJ, PSZ, PW RA, RB, RG, RW SD, SG(vi7SG), SIX, SN, STO, SV, SW, SZ TA, TCE, TED, TK, TM, TO, TUX, TX UJ, UT VA, VAC, VAO, VAZ, VDC, VEK, VH, VIP, VM, VR, VTM WA, WC, WL, WO, WUU, W (VJ7W), WX, WZ XTC, XV Y, YN ZA, ZJJ, ZK, ZM, ZR, ZT REAST QSL Card Box 17 Dec 2025 - AZ, BEN, DG, HH, HVK, ID, MAT, STO, WN, ZBX -------------------------------- Statewide SSTV Nights A quiet Christmas Day net that saw VK7s – TW and ZAB both share twenty photos. The main themes were: Season’s greetings Plants blooming for Christmas 20 years of the “Elf on the Shelf” tradition An Elf filling sample bottles and another diving into the “Vortex of Death” Noddy on the Vodka Other highlights were: Sometimes it takes me all day to get nothing done A useful Christmas Day service from the Covid lockdown times A medieval wine measurement called a “Buttload” Not pouring enough coffee, was once a reason for divorce The universal recognition of the term “He’s an Idiot” The real composition of the Universe There are more airplanes in the oceans, than submarines in the sky A time when Humans were free of phones And 73 from Santa with his rain beers Note - Ken VK7KRJ’s and Steve VK7OO’s fully automatic 24/7 monitoring sites allow anyone who has sent SSTV pictures the ability to check them on their pages almost immediately, any time, both South and North Tasmania. If you missed the net there are archives of these SSTV nights on Ken’s and Steve’s websites or on NTARC’s website under blogs. https://vk7oo.tasme.com/vhfsstv/ https://sstv.vk7krj.com/scrolling%20web%20gallery.html https://www.ntarc.net/blogs https://www.qsl.net/vk7ax/sstvgate3/index.html 73 from Andre’ VK7ZAB -------------------------------- NEWS FROM THE NORTH WEST NW Wednesday repeater group net, festive break. The weekly Wednesday night net, will take a break during the festive season, with no net on Wednesday 24th and Wednesday the 31st of December so we can spend time with our family and friends. The net will return on Wednesday 7th January, Merry Christmas 73, Eric, VK7EV Net Controller -------------------------------- NEWS FROM THE NORTH 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 -------------------------------- Northern Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club Incorporated www.ntarc.net As mentioned last week an E-mail has be sent out to all members regarding membership renewal options. By all means feel free to renew your membership. But importantly if you haven’t received the e-mail and you have checked your Junk folder, then drop an e-mail to the secretary with your preferred e-mail address and I will update any address discrepancies. The Annual General Meeting of NTARC will take place on Wednesday the 11th February 2026 at the NTARC Club Rooms, Rocherlea Scout Hall, Archer Street Rocherlea commencing at 19:30 hours (7.30 pm). I know it is still only 2025…. well just! …… but please start thinking about who you would like nominated for the new 2026 committee. Club members are reminded that they will need to be 2026 financially current to be able to nominate or vote at the Annual General Meeting. Nomination forms are available from the NTARC website in the member’s area for download. For your convenience the forms will also be available from the NTARC club room from Friday the 9th January 2026, our first day of opening for the coming year. Well it’s almost the end of another year and certainly a break from club activities. But a few thanks are in order and very much deserved: Nic VK7WW is taking a well-earned break from the Morse code training and radio tech session that he hosted every Wednesday night throughout the year. On the odd occasions that Nic was unavailable, we have been lucky enough for Phil VK7ZPD and Rick VK7HBR to stand in to fill the rather large boots of Nic as Net controller. Thank you to Phil and Paul VK7KPA for supporting the Discord side of things to compliment these on air Nets. Phil also provides a very useful audio feed of the on air proceedings via the Discord channel, for all logged in. A big thank you to Roslyn for the opening up and preparing the club rooms every Friday morning for the ever popular and well attended club morning teas. They certainly have proven to be a very important part of the social side of club member’s interactions. Regardless of wide ranging views and ideas the overall friendship of club members certainly shines through. On a slightly different note, over the years some club members find it hard or impossible, through failing health, to make it to morning teas or technical nights or even be on air. A big thank you must go to Brendan VK7VIP for his “Keeping in touch visits” with a number of these Amateurs on a regular basis. With the recent loss of another club member being no exception. Hopefully see you all in 2026! UPCOMING EVENTS The TestNet and TechNet session - is in recess until Wednesday the 7th January. The Discord channel is still available for chatter and pictures. The Friday Coffee Morning - is in recess until Friday the 9th January. The Club Technical night session - is in recess until Wednesday the 21st January. Finally - All club room events are still in recess, but the broadcast soldiers on, so a reminder to all members that if you have any items of news you would like added to our weekly roundup then please e-mail them to the Secretary at the following address news(at)ntarc.net. 73 from Stefan, VK7ZSB, Secretary NTARC Inc. -------------------------------- NEWS FROM THE SOUTH Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania https://www.reast.asn.au/ https://www.facebook.com/reasttas/ https://www.youtube.com/reasthobart/ REAST Over Festive Season REAST over the festive season will see the WEGs taking a break until Wednesday 7th January 2026 and the WAGs will be meeting at lunchtime on the 31st January 2025. The REAST Committee wishes everyone seasons greetings and have a safe and festive entry into 2026. 73, REAST Committee. -------------------------------- Wednesday Experimenter’s Group https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsnsP_zjw831-VOfvOCwPIHKiCSAsDfkm&si=6dwbeMEqYykGHrlB It is timely to do a review of the WEGs nights in 2025. We had over 30 WEGs night with 23 of them including a stream program from the DATV studio which can all be viewed on the REAST YouTube WEGs night playlist. We had an eclectic and diverse series of articles, presentations, demonstrations and guests in the studio during the year. We saw a huge improvement in the streamed video and audio quality with the renovations of the clubrooms and studio technology. We now stream in true high definition and all videos on the YouTube channel and now available in both standard and high definition. A huge thank you to Sean VK7WTF, Hayden VK7HH and Anders for all their work on these improvements. We will be continuing our programs into 2026 and continuing to improve our programs, content and presentations. Thanks to all our viewers out there in YouTube Land for another great year - we look forward to seeing you all in 2026. The YouTube analytics for 2025 show a good improvement and we had 18,805 views for a total of 2,826.8 hours. We attracted an additional 145 subscribers, made 311,712 impressions and had an impression click-through rate of 3.0%. All these show a definite improvement over 2024 stats so, we must be doing something right! Seasons Greetings and see you on Wednesday January 7th, 2026. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsnsP_zjw831-VOfvOCwPIHKiCSAsDfkm&si=6dwbeMEqYykGHrlB 73, Justin, VK7TW -------------------------------- January 2026 - Huge Carboot Sale and BBQ https://www.reast.asn.au/event/huge-carboot-sale-sausage-sizzle/ REAST will be holding a huge amateur radio carboot sale in the Queens Domain compound from 11am on Sunday 18th January 2025. Want to sell something – it will cost you $10 to setup your carboot then you can sell as much as you want – all profit goes to you. There will be a Sausage Sizzle on the day with Snags and Bread at $3 and Burgers and Bread at $5 – Soft drinks available $2 per can. No need to book – just turn up. https://www.reast.asn.au/event/huge-carboot-sale-sausage-sizzle/ 73, REAST Committee -------------------------------- February 2026 - Interpreting Propagation Tools and Space Weather Reports https://www.reast.asn.au/event/february-presentation-interpreting-propagation-tools-and-space-weather-reports/ Is space weather and propagation a bit of a mystery to you? Our February 2026 presentation night brings us Roger Harrison VK2ZRH who promises to enlighten us about Fe, f, foE, MUF – all that ionospheric stuff. With decades of experience, including his time at the Ionospheric Prediction Service (IPS), now Space Weather Services, Roger brings significant expertise in this space (pun intended). This presentation will unpack the mysteries behind ionograms, TEC maps, Es, GRAFEX, PCAs, solar indices and more, plus online tools and data sources you can use. Whether you’re chasing DX, planning portable operations, experimenting with digital modes or trying to understand why your favourite band just vanished, this session may give you the skills to read the sky like a geek bro. This session will be in person and streamed from 7:30pm in Queens Domain clubrooms. https://www.reast.asn.au/event/february-presentation-interpreting-propagation-tools-and-space-weather-reports/ 73, REAST Committee -------------------------------- February 2026 - Annual General Meeting https://www.reast.asn.au/event/2026-annual-general-meeting-and-bbq/ The Annual General Meeting of the Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania Inc. will be held at 11am on 15th February 2026 in the Queens Domain clubrooms. The AGM will be followed by a free BBQ for members. Nominations close on 7th February 2026 and the nomination form is available from the REAST website. Nomination form. The ordinary business of the annual general meeting is to be as follows: to confirm the minutes of the last preceding annual general meeting and of any general meeting held since that meeting; to receive from the committee, auditor and servants of the Association reports on the transactions of the Association during the last preceding financial year; to elect the officers of the Association and the ordinary committee members; to vote on an amendment to the REAST Rules; to appoint the auditor; https://www.reast.asn.au/event/2026-annual-general-meeting-and-bbq/ REAST Committee. -------------------------------- REAST Training and Assessment Update https://www.reast.asn.au/information/amateur-licence-assessments/ Are you looking to join the world of amateur radio or upgrade your license? REAST has you covered with regular Training and Assessment Days for all license levels! Key Dates: Foundation Training and Assessment Days: Held every two months with the next one on 22nd February 2026. Standard, Advanced, and Regulations Assessments: Held on alternate months, next is on 28th March 2026. Check out the full schedule on the REAST Events Page. https://www.reast.asn.au/news-events/upcoming-events/ Do you need to secure your spot or ask a question - email: reast.assessor(at)gmail.com and your inquiry will go directly to the Learning Organiser, who be in contact. We have learning resources available including our Foundation Licence Training Videos that are a must-watch for beginners. Find them on the REAST YouTube Training and Assessment Playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsnsP_zjw831mdC6sY4XqavRUY-53ZWUn Practice Makes Perfect so, prepare with the WIA Foundation Trial Exams and the link can be found on the email edition of the broadcast. https://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/onlineexams/foundation.php Whether you're starting your journey or leveling up, REAST is here to guide you every step of the way. 73, Reg, VK7KK -------------------------------- Space News New 'radio map' of the Milky Way reveals where stars are born and die A new view of the Milky Way has been revealed by capturing different radio frequencies, showing where stars are born and where they are dying — details not normally visible to the naked eye or through astrophotography. The GLEAM survey, short for Galactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA, is a radio astronomy project that mapped the entire sky visible from Western Australia using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope. The survey looked at radio waves from space to study galaxies, stars, supernova remnants, and other cosmic objects that cannot be seen with regular telescopes. Silvia Mantovanini is a PhD student at Curtin University's International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. She spent 18 months and more than 40,000 hours using supercomputers at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre to process data from the GLEAM survey and create the image. "It's 20 mosaics, with slightly different frequencies overlaid one on top of the other," Ms Mantovanini said. "It's a different way of looking at the Milky Way compared to what we see by eye." The orange and red areas show dying stars that have exploded, known as supernova remnants. Ms Mantovanini said they gave off special radio signals made by charged particles moving around magnetic fields. "The blue areas show places where new stars are being born," she said. The image is made by combining 20 different images taken at slightly different frequencies, revealing the final moments of old stars and the birth of new ones. Ms Mantovanini said stars were dying and being born all the time. "We always have new stars that are merging with others or interacting with other objects in the sky, and then slowly they go to die," she said. Ms Mantovanini said the image was a reflection of the past from a long time ago. "Because light takes time to travel through space, everything we see in the sky shows us the past," she said. "So when we look at stars or galaxies, we're actually looking back in time, seeing how things once were, not how they are today. "Even when you look up from your own backyard, you're seeing into the past." Ms Mantovanini hopes people will find the data useful for prompting new discoveries and to help better understand what is happening within our galaxy. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-11/milky-way-radio-map-shows-where-stars-live-and-die/105976276 Written by Chris Lewis and sourced from the ABC Science News website [Editor Note] Grote Reber a famous radioastronomer and amateur (W9GFZ) moved to Tasmania in the 1960s and lived at Bothwell. He built a large elliptical square kilometer array at Dennistoun North East of Bothwell. The valley provided a natural parabola and shielding from external radio sources. Grote used 0.5 to 2.1MHz frequency range to radio map the Milky way from his large array of dipoles. Pictures of this array can be seen at the Grote Reber Museum that is located at the UTAS operated 26m radio astronomy dish at Mt Pleasant in Southern Tasmania. -------------------------------- Regular VK7 gatherings and events over the coming months: VK7 Regular gatherings: Sewing Circle Net – Daily on 3.640MHz commences at 6:30pm AEST. Statewide 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. Plus VK7AX International SSTV Gateway connected to VK7RJG for the duration of the net. State-wide – MICROWAVE QSO Party – following the Sunday broadcast call-back on 1296.15 MHz FM. One group in the greater Hobart area and another in the greater Launceston area. Then North-south digital contacts on 1296.2MHz using Q65-60B. Stations in the Launceston area transmitting on the odd minute. Southern stations on the even minute. REAST - 6m AM Net on 53.1MHz Everyday from 4:30pm SOTA/WWFF Group – Meeting Mondays and Fridays 10.30-12.00 midday at Glebe Gardens Cafe, Henry St, Launceston. NW VK7 - Thursday commencing at 8:30pm local - N.W. Tassie 2m DX Net 144.190 USB VK7 Events: REAST - 18 January 2026 - Huge Carboot Sale and BBQ from 11am after broadcast in the Queens Domain Compound. REAST - 4 February 2026 - Interpreting Propagation Tools and Space Weather Reports with VK2ZRH from 7:30pm in QD clubrooms and streamed. NTARC - 11 February 2026 - Annual General Meeting from 7:30pm in the NTARC Club Rooms, Rocherlea Scout Hall, Archer Street Rocherlea. REAST - 15 February 2026 - Annual General Meeting and BBQ from 11 AM AGM and 12 noon BBQ - Queens Domain Clubrooms. -------------------------------- A reminder to those people rostered for next week’s broadcast: Newsreader: VK7TW Repeaters: REAST, NTARC and in the NW thanks to NWTARC, WCRG, NWCRRA, VK7AX, VK7JH and VK7DC 160m: VK7GS 80m: VK7ALH 40m: VK7JGD 20m: VK7DG 10m: VK7VKT UHFCB24 & HFCB24: VK7FMAC DMR: Talk Group 5 and D-Star Reflector 91C - Digital Group 2026 Roster - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XZinZmm0i-JViKRevDFe-zw_6FVyLoCM/view?usp=drive_link -------------------------------- A big thank you to everyone who contributed to and supported this week’s broadcast of the VK7 Amateur Radio News. That’s it for this week! If you missed the live transmission, remember you can always catch the rebroadcast Tuesday at 8:00pm on VK7RAA in the North, VK7RHT, and UHFCB24/HFCB24 in the South. Got news, stories, or updates to share? We’d love to hear from you! Send them to vk7arnews(at)gmail.com by Friday 9pm. You can also join the conversation on our VK7 Amateur Radio News Groups.io page. groups.io/g/vk7arnews Stay tuned now for callbacks on this frequency, with each relay station using their own callsign. On behalf of the VK7 News Team, this is Justin, VK7TW, wishing you a relaxing entry into 2026, 73, good DX, and a great week ahead! -------------------------------------------------------------- (Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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