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VK7AX > BCAST 22.02.26 14:38l 642 Lines 32911 Bytes #24 (0) @ WW BID : 8826_VK7AX Subj: VK7 Amateur Radio News 22Feb26 Path: JH4XSY<N3HYM<W9GM<N6PNK<VE3CGR<VE3QBZ<VK3AT<VK7AX Sent: 260222/0527Z 8826@VK7AX.#ULV.TAS.AUS.AUNZ LinBPQ6.0.24 VK7 Amateur Radio News 22Feb26 Text edition: VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS SUNDAY 15th February 2026 VK7 AMATEUR RADIO NEWS SUNDAY 22nd February 2026 Welcome to the VK7 Amateur Radio News for the 22nd day of February 2026, your gateway to what’s happening across the airwaves in Tasmania and beyond. Coming to you from the Tasmanian Amateur Radio News Desk is Peter, VK7PD 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 – Dale, VK7DG 7.140 MHz – Ross, VK7ALH 14.130 MHz – Justin, VK7TW 28.525 MHz – Garry, VK7JGD 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! -------------------------------- WIA News WIA Board Election Information Please note the candidate statements for the up-coming WIA Board Election are available on the WIA Website at the link on the email edition of the broadcast. Voting is currently open until the end of February 2026. https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2026/20260108-1/index.php -------------------------------- Tassie Statewide Events Meet the Voice The Meet the Voice, will be on Sunday 29th March 2026 commencing at 11am in Ross The Meet the Voice trophy will be awarded. Car boot sale, bring any items you want to sell It’s a BYO everything event, bring your barby, your food and drinks and socialise, meet the voices you talk to on the radio. Any queries contact Al, VK7AN on 0417 354 410. 73, Al, VK7AN -------------------------------- Tassie Ham-E-Con Radio Conference - Save the Date Planning is well underway for the 2026 Tassie Ham-E-Con. The theme group has done a fantastic job and come-up with the following theme for 2026: Hack the Ether: Education, Ingenuity, Connection Hack the Ether celebrates the experimental DNA of amateur radio—where education meets invention and community meets curiosity. The 2026 conference invites participants to push beyond nostalgia and build the hobby’s next chapter through practical learning, creative collaboration, and purposeful leadership. This is not just a conference; it’s a living experiment. Attendees will work their way through 1½ days of keynotes, workshops, poster sessions / talks, and hands-on sessions designed to connect makers, communicators, and educators. The conference will again be fully catered. Tassie Ham-E-Con 2026 is the meeting point of experimenters, educators, and storytellers. It’s where education becomes exploration, ingenuity sparks collaboration, and connection builds the future. There will be four focus areas to the conference: 1. Hack the Mind focusing on Education and Learning Futures 2. Hack the System focusing on Ingenuity and Experimentation 3. Hack the Culture focusing on Engagement and Connection and 4. Hack the Future focusing on Leadership and Purpose WHEN: Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th of November 2026 – Conference and we are planning pre and post conference events. Location will be the UTAS Sandy Bay Campus. Keep your eye on the conference website as details unfold. https://www.reast.asn.au/news-events/tassie-ham-radio-conference/ 73, Conference Organising Group. -------------------------------- Contest News Young Ladies World Wide Award The YL-WWA 2026 is an international amateur radio event running for a week from Monday 9 March through Sunday 15 March 2026, aimed at bringing together as many young women radio amateurs as possible from around the world. It’s part of the broader World Wide Award family and is organised on the HamAward.cloud platform, which supports real-time logging and live score tracking for both activators and hunters. The event is free to enter for all licensed operators, whether taking part as a YL activator or as a hunter chasing contacts during the week. To earn awards and rankings, participants make valid QSOs across the HF bands and favourite modes, with scoring and results managed through the HamAward system. The rules encourage worldwide participation and fair operating practice, and there are categories for different modes and achievements. Hunters compete to work as many activators as possible, while YL activators aim to get on air from their locations and rack up QSOs. Detailed rules, scoring, and live contact listings are available on the YL-WWA page of the site. https://hamaward.cloud/wwayl Sourced from the Interwebs. -------------------------------- John Moyle Memorial Field Day The John Moyle Memorial Field Day is approaching again, running from 01:00 UTC on Saturday 21 March 2026 to 00:59 UTC on Sunday 22 March 2026. The contest is structured into eight three-hour blocks, with stations able to be worked again in each block. Following rule changes introduced on 18 January 2026, the event now includes all amateur bands up to 241 GHz, excluding the WARC bands. Phone contacts are worth one point, CW contacts two points, and multipliers apply for each call area in every three-hour period. With distance-based scoring removed, only serial numbers are exchanged, starting at 001 and incrementing for each contact. For logging, N1MM has effectively become the standard platform for VK contests, with configuration details and custom UDC files available via vk4sn.com. An Excel file can be used to prepare logs for submission through vklogchecker.com. VKCL can also be used, although scoring and Cabrillo formatting may require manual correction. Accurate log formatting is essential, and the contest manager should be contacted if assistance is needed. There are multiple entry categories across bands, modes, and operating durations, whether single or multi-operator, home or portable. With favourable weather still on our side, it’s an ideal opportunity to head portable, boost VK7 participation, and make sure a few more Tasmanian callsigns appear in the logs. https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/johnmoyle/ 73, Richard, VK7ZBX -------------------------------- Statewide SSTV Nights A quiet net night that saw the following participants, VK7s – ZGK, ZAB, AX, ZCF and OO all sharing forty five photos. Highlights were: A steam train in Tasmania and Wee Georgie at Tullah The model railway at Evandale Model boats at the Bass & Flinders Maritime Museum in George Town A Dutch “good morning” and have a cup of coffee with some cute cats The Greenwich Time Service at the Royal Observatory The East Cliff Lift, a funicular railway at Bournemouth in England Acoustic aircraft locators that were used before radar Getting in trouble for plagiarism And Peter Dutton’s Atomic Energy Lab Again Tony VK7AX interconnected VK7RJG to his SSTV International Gateway and VK7s exchanged photos with PC1K and PE1NMM in the Netherlands. Please remember to leave a 30 second break between transmissions to allow the European countries a chance to send photos. Note - Ken VK7KRJ’s and Steve VK7OO’s fully automatic 24/7 monitoring sites that allows anyone testing, to send a picture and the ability to check their transmission on these 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/sstvgate/index.html 73 from Andre’ VK7ZAB -------------------------------- WWFF, SOTA, POTA and IOTA Weekly Wrap Up Parks on the Air (POTA) now includes more than 85,000 registered parks across 236 DX entities, with over 84,000 registered operators. In 2025 alone, participants completed 15.2 million POTA QSOs. With this continued growth, several updates to the program are on the horizon, aimed at delivering meaningful improvements for users. Planned enhancements include live user statistics, upgraded certificates, expanded administrative controls, improved mapping tools, log upload improvements, and an improved spotting system. A recent change provides easier access to your VK7 mapping representatives. If you have questions about a park, would like to request a new park, or have a general POTA enquiry, you can email au-tas@parksontheair.com All messages sent to this address go directly to Hayden, VK7HH, and Matt, VK7MAT, and they will be happy to assist. For news closer to home, several activations took place over the past week. Travis, VK7VXT, activated both Rodway Range Summit and The Needles Summit, logging six SSB contacts from Rodway Range and four QSOs from The Needles, including two on CW. His callsign is becoming a regular sight on the spotting apps. Jim, VK7JZ, headed out to Rosny Hill Nature Recreation Area with his CW key for an activation, enjoying good conditions and adding more contacts to the log while operating portable. David, VK7ACE, completed the first activation of Long Reach Conservation Area near George Town. After some pre activation research to identify the best operating location, he was rewarded with 32 contacts. David worked operators on 40m, 20m and 10m. Ian, VK7IAN, had a very successful outing at Conningham Nature Recreation Area near Snug, logging an impressive 73 contacts during the activation. Al, VK7AN, and Peter, VK7ZPE, set up at the scenic Redbill Point Conservation Area, located on the Tamar River, which offers excellent views across the surrounding bays. Meanwhile, Lance VK7TO was in the process of activating Rodway Range Summit as this wrap up was being prepared. Details of the activation will be shared in next week’s update. 73, Matt, VK7MAT -------------------------------- QSL News Inwards QSL Bureau Information The current updated list of QSL Cards held by the VK7 Inwards Bureau as at 20 February 2026 is in the email version of the Broadcast. Do you see your callsign in the list below? 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 or are unwanted and have been held for some time. Send Herman your QTH address so he 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 73 Herman VK7HW Manager WIA VK7 Inwards QSL Bureau -------------------------------- Sorted Cards held at 20 Feb 2026 ( Any errors in the listing are Herman’s, he sometimes misses culling a call sign) A, AA, AAA, AAC, AAD, AAE, AAH, AAP, AAR, AB, AC, ACE, ACG, ACN, AD, ADE, AED, AG(2014, 2016), AGC, AIJ, AIR, AJC, AKK, ALARA (QP), ALZ, AN, ANC, AO, AP, APK, APZ, AQ, AS, ATH, AXZ, AY BA, BB, BBB, BD, BEN, BO, BPV, BT, BU, BYE C, CA, CBK, CBR, CC, CH/T, CJ, CK, CL, CMV, CTV, CV, CW, CWB, CX DAN, DBX, DC, DD, DG, DHT, DI, DIK, DM, DN, DO, DP, DQ, DR, DT, DV, DW, DX, DZ EA, EE, EG, EI, EM, ER, EV FA, FAA, FADZ, FALX (alx), FAZZ, FCIA, FG, FGGT, FKLW, FLAR, FMI, FPRN, FRJG, FTAS, FTR G, GA, GC, GEL, GGZ, GH, GL, GN, GOP, GR, GS, GU, GZ HCH, HCK, HDE, HDM, HDX, HH, HL, HOB, HPD, HRS, HSA, HSD, HSE, HSJ, HSO, HVK, HZ IAN, ID, IK, IR, IS JA, JAB, JAZ, JB, JCR, JGD, JOK, JON, JP, JS, JW, JX KAC, KAJ, KAM, KBA, KD, KDO, KE, KJ, KKR, KL, KO, KPB, KRJ LA, LDH, LJ, LL, LLL, LM, LT, LVH, LW M, MA, MAD, MAG, MBD, MD, MEL, MET, MHZ, MI, MJ, MK, MOO, MR, MS, MV NB, NC, ND, NEC, NET, NFI, NG, NIK, NJB, NRF, NRT, NRX, NSE, NSS, NTE, NVH OB, OO, OR, OW PAF, PBD, PDJ, PKJ, POL, PRN, PS, PSH, PSJ, PSZ, PW QK, QP RA, RB, RG, ROY, RW, RY SD, SG(vi7SG), SIX, SM, SN, SV, SW, SZ T, TA, TCE, TED, TK, TM, TO, TS, TUX, TW, TX UJ, UK, UT VA, VAC, VAO, VAZ, VDC, VEK, VH, VM, VR, VTM, VZ WA, WC, WL, WN, WO, WUU, W (VJ7W), WX, WZ XTC, XV, XX, XY Y, YN ZA, ZBX, ZGK, ZJJ, ZK, ZMS, ZR, ZT, ZTA Cards in the box at REAST on 28/1 - AZ, HVK, ID, MAT, MRS, OO, STO -------------------------------- NEWS FROM THE NORTH WEST Video Version of VK7 AR News A reminder for listeners that the VK7 Amateur Radio News Broadcast is also available in video with a video adaption version encoded by Tony VK7AX. It includes video where possible of activities and events within the amateur fraternity of vk7 that I have permission to share. For instance photos exchanged on the weekly SSTV Tassie Net. Club activity is also included when possible where I have permission to share. It is relayed via video stream at 9.30am on Sunday Mornings and archived to YouTube sometime on Sunday. Links to the video stream and YouTube archives can be found on the Text version of the broadcast. Video Stream: http://batc.org.uk/live/vk7ax YouTube Archives Channel of VK7AX: https://www.youtube.com/@tonybedelph8985/videos Enjoy, 73 Tony VK7AX. -------------------------------- North West Tasmanian Amateur Radio Club Memorial Silent Key Event On Saturday 14th February 2026, we held a Memorial event, initiated by Shirley VK7HSC’s daughter Paisey, who wanted the club to use funds from the sale of her gear to fund it. We welcomed Paisley and her husband Bee to this event, as well as Loretta, wife of Kev VK7KEV SK, and Lynne VK7FROG wife of VK7HKN Kevin SK. We were joined by other amateurs from the North West and Northern Tasmania The event commenced with the roll call of Clubs Silent keys as follows: VK4CCC Graham 2023, VK7BY Bob 2023, VK7BV Terry 2023, VK7NX Neil 2024, VK7KEV Kevin 2025, VK7HSC Shirley 2025, VK7BYL Anne 2025 and VK7HKN Kevin 2025. A minute silence was held. We had a small display of some of Shirley VK7HSC radio memorabilia, which included her original licence, paper work from ACMA, her study books, WICEN jackets with Targa badges, and printouts of some Shirleys packet radio messages, and other memorabilia. Paisley made a brief speech about her Mum - Shirley and her radio days Terry VK7JAI spoke re the Silent Keys, with his military ode, in the morning and in the evening, we will remember them. Eric VK7EV spoke briefly, in relation to the clubs six silent keys. We then commenced the celebration, with Brenton VK7HP serving up numerous homemade dips and bickies and light refreshments while we reminisced about our members. Then Brenton VK7HP excelled himself, serving slow cooked beef steak and pork rolls, as well as seven different homemade salads, and in case we were still hungry, three homemade desserts. This was all washed down with light refreshments, or cordial etc. A wonderful event to remember our members, a scrumptious array of food and great weather. -------------------------------- AGM Meeting Details The Club held its AGM after the Memorial Silent Key Event. The President’s report indicated the club is financially in a good situation, and this recognised in the yearly fees, which have remained the same as previous years. Careful financial management has contributed to this success. He advised us that we are not a club, but a small community of helping people. Giving community support, from the love we have of our hobbies, Amateur Radio. An Important milestone, was the finalisation of the Mt Duncan Lease, and new equipment purchases. We sadly lost a few members this year, but their legacy and memories, and contributions to the club will never be forgotten. The Elections saw the following people appointed President & Public Officer Andrew VK7XR, Vice President Brenton VK7HP, Secretary Eric VK7EV, Treasurer Mark VK7MAR, Committee members Mike VK7TM and Rob VK7ARG, Membership and News Officer Eric VK7EV -------------------------------- Bimonthly General meeting report After the AGM the general meeting was held and the club welcomed visitors - Nigel VK7NA, Graeme VK7KT and wife Tanya, Idris VK7ZIR, Stefan VK7ZSB, Andre VK7ZAB, James VK7JDO and Lynne VK7FROG. ARISS / NASA Planners have contacted the club, to advise the ISS contact to Geneva Christian College Latrobe, will occur between the dates 8th to 14th June 2026. VK7EK donated 3 Handhelds to the Club, for use with Scouts and JOTA, which the club is grateful for. The club received a substantial donation from the estate of VK7RN Peter, which the club is very grateful for. Leven Districts Scout Commissioner Eunice Horne, attended the meeting to award JOTA badges to 4 club members, and 3 other amateurs who assisted at JOTA 2025, Eunice indicated, they would love to continue their partnership with the club, allowing us to use their facilities for meeting and training, and for us to continue supporting JOTA, and Scouts obtaining Amateur licences. Unintentional interference on the Mt Duncan UHF CB repeater has been resolved, through speaking to those involved who were happy to rectify it. The unauthorised use of the Mt Duncan repeater, and use of Channel 50, has been tracked down, thanks to the efforts of the Club, and North West amateurs. A meeting with the company involved, and its associates has rectified this situation. We had seven amateurs join the club at the meeting, they were Nigel VK7NA, Graeme VK7KT, Idris VK7ZIR, Stefan VK7ZSB, Andre VK7ZAB, James VK7JDO, John VK7ATX The Club is to negotiate with the Central Coast Council, re a memorial plaque to be placed for Shirley VK7HSC. 73, Eric VK7EV, News Officer, NWTARC -------------------------------- 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 Do your lips tingle when they touch your microphone when you key up? Does the Ethernet or USB connection to your radio drop out when you start transmitting? Does this sound a bit fishy?...... well it’s the advertising hook from a small business called Halibut Electronics and where Colin VK7ZCF obtained a couple of items that he brought in to last Club Room Technical Night. Halibut Electronics is a small one person business based on the Central Coast of California, run by Mark Smith - better known to many hams as Smitty, N6MTS, and among other things he puts together kits and pre-assembled items for amateurs. Colin went for the kit versions of Mark’s Common Mode Current Choke, or CMCC testing Rigs. The RF CMCC test rig interface is equipped with BNC, SMA, SO-239 and Type-N connectors and the Digital CMCC test rig version has non-RF type connectors like Ethernet, USB, 3.5mm Audio, and Anderson Powerpole connectors. The kits included the printed circuit board and all components to make them functional. Both kits had been fully assembled by the time we saw them at the club rooms. Colin decided against a standard type of enclosure and opted for designing and 3D printing a pair of “book end” type plates to hold the board upright but leaning back about fifteen degrees from the vertical regardless of which side of the board you are looking at. Not only does this allow for good visibility but has an added bonus of being quickly flipped around, which allows quick access to the five slider switches for calibration and test mode selection, plus the two SMA connectors for attachment to a VNA. In Mark Smith’s own description of his Common Mode Current Choke test rig he says that it “allows a (Nano)VNA to measure the common mode response of a device. Usually, a VNA generates differential mode signals and intentionally rejects common mode signals from its measurements. This makes it difficult to measure things like the effectiveness of a common mode current choke. CMCC is a test rig that routes the signal that a VNA is measuring to the outside shield of coaxial cable to measure its common mode response.” To simplify Mark’s concept, it allows you to perform Test and Measurement so you can quantify the attenuation and resistance of a choke, instead of just blindly trusting the wisdom of the internet and crossing your fingers. Hi-Hi. A link is included in the text version for Mark’s “simplified” presentation in YouTube on CMCC. Measuring Common Mode Chokes The only other notable happening in the previous couple of weeks was the NTARC Annual General Meeting held on the 11th of February. The AGM saw a good attendance of voting members. Extensive reports were presented by the President and Treasurer, followed by each of the club activity leaders and the all-important Auditor’s statement. All were tabled and each was well received by the membership. The elections saw the return of Idris VK7ZIR as President, Ian VK7IH as Vice President, André VK7ZAB as Treasurer, Stefan VK7ZSB as Secretary and Roslyn as committee member. Roger VK7ARN our Internal Auditor and Stefan our Public Officer were both incumbent and are continuing in their respective positions. All the club activity co-ordinators were again appointed to their respective positions; Tony VK7YBG as Repeater Officer, David VK7JD continuing his role as Project Manager for Mt Arthur, with both being assisted by Paul VK7KPA and Andrew VK7DW as Assistant Repeater Officers. Other club activity coordinators agreeing to continue in their roles for 2026 were Peter VK7PD as the Education Officer, Ian VK7IH as our new JOTA/JOTI Coordinator, Andrew VK7DW QSL manager and Roger VK7ARN as our Safety Communications Coordinator. So there you are folks, you now have the NTARC Committee and Coordinators for 2026. As always pictures will be available on the NTARC Web site under “Blogs” for this broadcast. NTARC Blogs https://www.ntarc.net/blogs UPCOMING EVENTS On Air Test and Technical Net session - Every Wednesday night, Test-Net and CW course on 3.580 MHz from 7 pm, then a Technical Net on 3.567 MHz from 7.30 pm till 8.30 pm. Your host for the evening is Nic, VK7WW. Club Room Technical night - The next session will be Wednesday the 4th March and will commence at the usual time of 6.30 pm at the Club Room Archer Street, Rocherlea. Coffee Morning - Held every Friday in the NTARC Club rooms. Time is from 10 am to noon. Finally - If you have any items of news please email them to the Secretary at the following address news(at)ntarc.net all items to be received no later than 5 pm on the Friday prior to the Broadcast. 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/ Annual General Meeting The AGM of REAST was held on 15th February with the following committee members elected - President Hayden VK7HH, Vice-President Justin VK7TW, Secretary/Public Officer Dave VK7CB, Treasurer Greg VK7GM and Committee members Richard VK7ZBX and Simon VK7FAF. Our many ex-officio office holders were also thanked and elected for another year and these can be seen on the REAST Website. https://www.reast.asn.au/about/committee/ We also voted unanimously to change our REAST Rules to increase the audit threshold inline with the Associations Incorporation Act 1964 changes. The AGM celebrated a fantastic year for REAST and we all look forward to 2026. Members then enjoyed a BBQ lunch. Thanks to all who came along and those online. REAST Committee. -------------------------------- Wednesday Experimenter’s Group (WEGs) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alVNIglNGhE Last Wednesday night saw us starting with a REAST AGM update then into the K3NG Keyer now sporting some additional interfaces and a keyboard. https://github.com/k3ng/k3ng_cw_keyer Justin VK7TW demonstrated the functionality using the keyboard and then showed an experimental CW Decoder using an Arduino Uno and demonstrated its functionality with the K3NG keyer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goertzel_algorithm http://www.skovholm.com/cwdecoder We then had a blast from the past with Hard Disks throughout the ages. We finished with an Australian Space Weather Report, future training sessions and events. This Wednesday night we continue with an eclectic mix of future, present and past amateur radio items. Wednesday evenings kick off early, with members drifting in from about 6pm, many armed with takeaway containers or home-cooked dinners they fully intend to eat while pretending to discuss RF propagation. The DATV Studio broadcast begins at 7:30pm and goes out live on the REAST YouTube Channel. Around it unfolds the usual controlled chaos: lively debate, hands-on experimenting, gear tinkering, coffee consumption at industrial scale, the hatching of elaborate “cunning plans,” and the kind of wide-ranging amateur radio mischief and global problem-solving that somehow only ever truly makes sense inside the clubrooms. https://www.reast.asn.au/news-events/live-stream/ https://www.reast.asn.au/special-interest-groups/amateur-tv/ https://www.youtube.com/c/ReastHobart/ Please note we are currently not broadcasting on DVB-T RF. See you there or on the stream. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alVNIglNGhE 73, Justin, VK7TW -------------------------------- March Presentation Night Meshcore Communications Platform https://www.reast.asn.au/event/march-presentation-meshcore-communications-platform/ Heath VK3TWO/VK6TWO will be taking us on a tour of Meshcore. Remember Packet Radio in the 80’s well Meshcore is a modern equivalent on the 900MHz ISM band so, you don’t have to be a licenced amateur. MeshCore is developed by HAM’s, but available to all and is a decentralised text-based communications platform. It is designed to run on commodity, affordable development boards and uses LoRa radios to create a meshed network. MeshCore works well over long distances and sub-optimal RF conditions due to the underlying LoRa radios. It uses flea power and has a small physical footprint. It is ideal for out-of-band communications that don’t rely on traditional telecommunications or electrical infrastructure to support it. Great for the Preppers out there! Messages are sent from a Companion device, which are then relayed through Repeaters to reach the destination node. Guess what – there are even Bulletin Boards (BBS’) out there…LOL! Many of the Meshcore repeaters are stand alone solar powered so, look Mum no internet required – when all else fails the Meshcore nodes (like the cockroaches) will survive! Oh and for those hard-core packet radio users – you can run APRS over LORA on Meshcore! There are many different meshcore setups available and prolific documentation so, Heath will be decoding where and what information is available. When - Wednesday March 4th from 7:30pm - QD Clubrooms and Streamed https://wiki.meshcoreaus.org/ https://www.reast.asn.au/event/march-presentation-meshcore-communications-platform/ 73, REAST Committee -------------------------------- March Forum Night – 2m/70cm Transceiver Testing https://www.reast.asn.au/event/march-forum-night-2m-70cm-transceiver-testing/ This forum night will be a little different – we will have some HP & IFR Communication Service Monitors and Power Supplies available for testing your 2m/70cm radios and Allstar/DMR nodes. We are looking to cover the following tests (these may be subject to change) - Frequency, Power output, Deviation, SINAD, distortion, Receiver sensitivity, DTMF Level (if available) and Audio level. Have a suggestion for some other tests – let us know. Due to time constraints – we will only be testing and letting you know where things might need some attention and it is the responsibility of the owner to make these adjustments. We hope to see you along with your radios. When - Wednesday March 11th from 7:30pm - QD Clubrooms https://www.reast.asn.au/event/march-forum-night-2m-70cm-transceiver-testing/ 73, 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: Standard, Advanced, and Regulations Assessments: Held on alternate months, next is on 28th March 2026. Foundation Training and Assessment Days: Held every two months with the next one is next Saturday the 21st April 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 -------------------------------- 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. NTARC TestNet and TechNet session - Every Wednesday, TestNet/CW course on 3.580MHz from 7 pm, then a TechNet on 3.567MHz from 7.30 pm till 8.30 pm. Your host for the evening is Nic VK7WW. NTARC Technical night session - Wednesday 4th March from 6.30 pm at the Club Room Archer Street, Rocherlea. NTARC Coffee Mornings are held every Friday in the NTARC Club rooms. Time is from 10am to noon in the Rocherlea Clubrooms. NW VK7 – Wednesday from 8:00pm local – NW Tassie Amateur Repeater Group Net on 2M VK7RMD and Allstar Node 56780 NW VK7 - Thursday commencing at 8:30pm local - N.W. Tassie 2m DX Net 144.190 USB VK7 Events: REAST - 4 March - Presentation - Meshcore Communications Platform with Heath VK3TWO in the clubrooms and streamed REAST - 11 March - Forum night - 2m/70cm Transceiver Testing in the clubrooms. VK7 - 28 March - Meet the Voice BBQ from 11am in Ross Caravan Park VK - 7-8 Nov - Tassie Ham-E-Con Amateur Radio Conference - UTAS Sandy Bay -------------------------------- 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: VK7JGD 40m: VK7DG 20m: VK7ALH 10m: VK7VKT UHFCB24 & HFCB24: VK7FMAC DMR: Talk Group 5 and D-Star Reflector 91C - Digital Group 2026 Roster - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iTod4MGlJRjXxi2vuDrHngoytZebSMph/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 Peter VK7PD, wishing you good DX, and a great week ahead! -------------------------------------------------------------- (Posted to the packet network courtesy Tony VK7AX)
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