Q-News AR News from Queensland

I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club and this is QNEWS for week following Sunday 26 July. And... I can hardly contain myself with excitement: only four sleeps to go until our Annual General Meeting on Thursday 30 July. The AGM is important for a heap of reasons. We've proposed some amendments to the constitution to streamline our further registration as a not-for-profit association. And we're going to talk about what it might take to settle in to a permanent clubhouse, possibly the first time in the club's history. And we have some fundraising exercises to discuss, a bit of gear to sell, and most importantly: elections for four of the committee members. You might remember that last year we changed the constitution so that half the committee retires each year, and this is the first test. Nominations have now closed but there is one committee position to fill and nominations will be called from the floor. It's your club, so why not pitch in to help run it? Details of the AGM are on the website and all are welcome, but only paid up members of record will be permitted to vote. If you've been incredibly... um... delayed in getting your membership renewed, there's still a few seconds to press the red button and renew your membership, and we'll still love you. Don't forget to fill in the part of the form that asks also if you're a WIA member, so that we can get the good insurance deal. And if you really can't attend please send an apology to [email protected] so that we can officially show that you care. Nice. Next Month's club meeting on Monday 10 August is in advanced planning stages, but you'll have to wait a couple of days to find out - we'll have it locked in by the AGM and in next week's QNEWS. Or check the website, where most things are nicely up-to-date. On Monday 27 July - that's probably tomorrow - the first national test of the Ausalert system will happen. Stand by your phone at 1400, and wait for the message. I'm hoping it will be the Lotto numbers for Thursday, although it's not clear what would happen if seven million identical entries actually won first division prize: $1.23. Most of us should receive a sample "critical alert" which is the highest class of alarm. A critical alert punches through, so your phone will vibrate and make a noise even if it is in silent or do-not-disturb mode. The only way to NOT receive the alert is for the phone to be switched off, or in aeroplane mode. Be warned: if it's inappropriate for the phone to sound, turn off or disconnect from network. The club repeater, VK4RDD on 146.750 has now had its audio blueprinted and is back in service with CTCSS tone 91.5Hz working perfectly. See if you can notice the difference? We'd love your comments on the club net that follows QNEWS at 1000 on Sunday morning. As we move into week 31 of 2026, two things happen: the days are just enough longer that you might be seeing some decent solar generation, and the Ham Challenge page is due for an update. At time of writing it stopped at week 30. But for the moment we'll remind you of the week 30 challenge which is meet a ham personally you only know from the bands. I'm sure we all have besties who are on air but never met in person. Well, here's a tip: come to the AGM on Thursday, where there's bound to be someone there who you've never met in person. We are just so social! That's all a lot to take in so the reminders: Next Thursday 30th at 1700 for the AGM. Monday 10 August for the club meeting, with the location to be divulged. Monday 27 July for the first national test of Ausalert. And the club net on VK4RDD follows at 1000 today. We're always listening for your questions or comments via [email protected], and everything that's important is on the website at ddrci.org.au

From Toowoomba, centre of the universe, comes the Darling Downs Radio Club's contribution to QNEWS for Sunday 19 July. I'm John VK4JPM, and I've just reconfirmed why it's a bad idea to eat chocolate before you record the news. Thanks to all the people who sent positive feedback after last week's piece in National News. We now know what caused the Telstra outage: a clock that went backwards to the wrong epoch, and then told all the downstream servers they were wrong. Even though things can't possibly fail with networks, they do. That's why being a well-prepared amateur radio operator is so important - we won't go out when a server spits the dummy. The club meeting last Monday with Di Main VK4DI was wonderful, and Di was her usual high energy self. She provided some really good tips for contesting, and if there's interest we plan to run a weekend workshop on contesting at a future date. Also in the not too distant future, but dates not set, we are going to schedule some upgrade assessments for Foundation to Standard and Standard to Advanced - plus we're always available to help Foundation applicants to get to their first rung on the ladder. For both of those, drop us a line to [email protected] and we'll put your name into the planning list. Coming up in the next two weeks: the first national Ausalert test is at 1400 on Monday 27 July. This is going to send a text to every phone in the country to confirm that the system works, and will work in an emergency - provided there's no clock failure. One thing that is important: if you have a mobile phone that you don't want to be heard, ensure that it's off or silenced for the test. This is probably going to be a bit like those science fiction movies where the aliens ping everyone at the same time. If you see a spaceship during the test, it's probably a coincidence... but see if you can bounce signals off it while it's there. There's no truth to the rumour that aliens rely on 2m handhelds. The other important event is the Club's Annual General Meeting at the Guide Hut at 1800 on Thursday 30 July. All the details are different from last year, but the AGM packet has gone to all members of record. If you haven't renewed your membership, you have less than a week before we draw the line ahead of the meeting. And if you're a member and you didn't get the AGM packet, please send a note to [email protected], and we'll sort out why it didn't appear. Membership renewal is via the big red button on the home page, and we have proof that the process can take less than five minutes and is secure. Week 30 of the 52-week Ham Challenge starts tomorrow, and it's still antenna month. You can read about it at hamchallenge.org, where you'll find that the aim this week is to "Build the cheapest antenna you can, and make a QSO with it". My money, and I'm really cheap, is that an unbent dry cleaning hanger is the go if you can still find one. Would certainly work on 2m or 70cm, and you can practice tuning radials at the same time. Probably won't work so well on 20m, but worth having a try anyway. What could go wrong? Hoping that all the repeaters are working this week, and thanks for listening. I'm John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. This is Gareth VK4GED You would have heard in a recent WIA National News broadcast about the WICEN Nets that are held on HF every week from VK4 and every month from VK2. Let's not forget the Brisbane Area WICEN Group has also been running its VHF Net every Sunday evening for several decades: Commencing at 7.30 pm local time, the net has been on VK4RBN but is now on VK4RES; The repeater's output frequency is 147.225, the offset in your transceiver is 600 kHz up, with a tone of 91.5; Net Controller is Gary VK4ZGB who will welcome all newcomers.

I'm Gareth VK4GED, and for QNEWS I'm standing outside the Disaster Coordination Centre in Atherton here in far north Queensland. This is where disaster specialists from Tablelands Regional Council meet when there are significant weather or other disruptive events; And it's from here that Radio Amateurs will be called to help in times of community need and where they'll be setting up a radio base at short notice. It's also where the Tablelands Radio & Electronics Club meet every month to discuss and train on matters of communications resilience. I've singled out the Tablelands Club and Council because they have one of the best emergency comms relationships in Queensland. If you have a look at the Tablelands Council's website, you will find pages dedicated to radio communication and the involvement of the Tablelands Club. Search online for "Tablelands resilient communications sub-plan" or click on this link: trc.qld.gov.au/download/resilient-communications-subplan/ The takeaway from this is that legislation makes each Queensland Council responsible for its own area's disaster response. So, if you're a Queensland Radio Amateur and you want to contribute as a communications volunteer in YOUR Council area: Make yourself known to your Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Disaster Coordinator, because they will be the ones to talk to before and during an event; Ask to be involved in your Council's disaster communication exercises and let them know your station's capability, readiness and availability. It's Sunday 12 July; we're starting to come out of the depths of winter, and the one thing that we can predict is that there will be weather today. Hi - I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and it might be worth having a pen ready just in case the interweb and phone network doesn't work. This has not been a good week for technology. Let's start with tomorrow night, which would be Monday 13 July, and in this case the 13th is unlucky for nobody. Our Monthly meeting for July features Contesting, which is Amateur Radio incarnated as a sport. In five weeks the Remembrance Day Contest will be with us, and in just over 24 hours Di Main VK4DI will be along to tell you how to win the RD. As one of Australia's foremost Contesters, Di has had a go at pretty much all Contests on all bands, and under all conditions. She is one of our hobby's Elmers - that's a person who acts as a recognised mentor to help other Hams get started and progress. Di has already mentored the Darling Downs Club, by providing a bit of coaching that enabled our club to take out our category in the John Moyle Contest last March. The RD Contest is looming, and the club has a chance. Di's presence is perfectly timed to provide some support, and your presence is warmly requested to provide some support in return. We're meeting at 1900 at the Guide Hut in Harristown, with all details on the website and also pasted into the text edition of this QNEWS, available from your friendly WIA website. Tea, coffee and timtams, and the hut is going to be comfy warm. We will have an impressive amount of gear to sell, as more of the club's stash has been moved to the hut. Our vice-president Sam VK4SAM has been very busy organising a sale, and in recognition we're having the club's first SAMFest at the same time as the club meeting. Monday 13 July from 1800 for access to the gear. The club's annual general meeting will be held at the Guide Hut at 1800 on Thursday 30 July. Note the time, date and location: all different from last year! The AGM packet will go our shortly, and it's mostly standard business. We will be electing a vice-president, treasurer and two committee members. If you're interested in standing for Committee, the information on how to nominate will be in the AGM packet.

Wayne Gooda VK4YWG went Silent Key in Townsville University Hospital on Friday 19th June following a protracted battle with spinal cancer. The expert and considerate care he received in the Palliative Care Ward, along with being with family members ensured his peaceful passing. Wayne was a committee member and past Club Technician with The Townsville Amateur Radio Club Inc. and was also a member of the Wireless Institute of Australia. Amongst many activities on Amateur Radio, Wayne was a long time Packet Sysop maintaining a 2400 baud FBBS on the 6metre band and also established the first high power DMR Node in Townsville. Along with wife Cate he was also very active in supporting the Flinders Region Guides with the Jamboree On The Air activities, regular club communication support activities and social events. In his working life Wayne hit big goals when, as a Telecom Australia (and eventually Telstra) technician, maintained telecommunications infrastructure across Central, North and Far North Queensland, before moving into project management with jobs such as the Townsville to Tennant Creek Optical Fibre Project in the 1990s and the Mumbai Optical Fibre Network Upgrade Project in the early 2000s. Wayne's gregarious outlook, expert help and extensive technical knowledge will be sorely missed by Radio Amateurs and the community he was involved with. Vale Wayne Gooda VK4YWG, Silent Key. If you're listening to this live on a ham radio channel, it's most likely Sunday 5 July and the fireworks on the other side of the earth are about to happen. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and one day I'm going to try to bounce a VHF signal off a spinning Catherine wheel... because it's worth a try, and there might be a contest category that I can win by doing it. Dianne Main VK4DI. The detail for the meeting on the website right now at ddrci.org.au, along with a timeline of contests, and a bit about Di who discovered amateur radio while she and husband Bill were in Western Australia. Less than a year later she entered the Remembrance Day Contest to help some scouts get a leg up and they won the WA section. Di was hooked. From there she has taken challenge after challenge, including running JOTA in Kalgoorlie for five years, getting her US Extra licence a couple of years back, and the ultimate challenge of being one of the WIA's contest runners. Di promises to spill the beans on how you can be a better contester, how you can keep better score, how to pick the right categories, and how to have an enjoyable time doing all that. Monday 13 July at the hut in Harristown, with all the details and how to join the webcast if you can't make it tucked away on the home page at ddrci.org.au and check the calendar scroller. Two important bits of housekeeping. Users of the club's VK4RDD will need to have a 91.5Hz CTCSS tone on the transmission from this coming Tuesday 7 July. No tone, no kachunk, so be ready. We have lots of activities coming up, and as a member you'll find out first. Coming up in August: our next freebie education class to turn you from nadio into radio - yes, we'll plug you full of enough stuff that you can get your foundation licence or upgrade to a higher class. Further info about that from [email protected], and you can ask about dates and times. We'd love to help get you on air or doing more. And speaking of which, the club has a heap of gear for sale, some of which will be available at the club meeting on the 13th. If all of this has been too quick, too garbled, or too much like speed morse, then check out the website or send an email to [email protected] and we'll help.

Greetings from the Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club VK4RC. Robert Thomson VK4TFN here. With regret we have to announce that there will be no carboot sale this year. We would like to thank all of you who have supported us in the past. Our carboot sale will return next year in 2027. Thank you and 73's from the R & DRC VK4RC. Hi. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and I'm here to tell you just how much I've enjoyed the extra 14 seconds of daylight yesterday compared to last Tuesday. It's a miracle. This week the club has been busy working on some future and long term projects, but nothing so important that it's going to get in the way of the next club meeting on 13 July. The topic of the month is Contesting, and as always we're calling on an expert to tell us how to do the best job. Di Main, VK4DI not only has the world's best callsign, she has one of the best contesting records because she's serious about what she does. Di runs a five acre station setup down in the hollows of the Lockyer Valley, somewhere around QG62EM. From there she spends lots of time DXing, antenna building, and being competitive on-air. At only $40 full rate, and with plenty of discounts for older and younger folk, this is a real bargain. And your membership supports the work of the club. Don't wait until the AGM comes round: renew now. It's as easy as going to the website and clicking the big red button. And it would be reasonable to ask what we've been doing: well, look at the meetings we've run over the past year; the events that have been held, and the way that the club is getting recognition with our Council and beyond. That's all because you've supported us in the most important way possible: as a member. We love your encouragement. And you'll need to be a member to vote at the AGM, so you might as well do it now. ddrci.org.au and it's the big red button. By the way, there's a serious discount for new members and people who haven't renewed for a few years... and that will only be in place until the AGM so you don't have long. The 52 week ham challenge continues and we're up to week 27. The next few weeks are designed to encourage you to do something with antennas, as you'll see when you check the site at hamchallenge.org. This week is intriguingly referenced as "something something satellites". No really, that's what it says, possibly the most amusing challenge since Grosreinemachen. The challenge is to make contact with a satellite, or possibly make your own. Or do some cool software. Wait... did they really suggest building your own satellite? How on earth... ah no, it wouldn't be on earth. OK, have to think about that one and it might be a good topic for a future club meeting. Something something satellites indeed. Ham radio is nothing if not interesting. We're also getting ready for JOTA/JOTI. If you know some younger folk who would like a bit of training in the ways of radio, and who could use some encouragement to join activities, why not drop a line to [email protected] to let us know. We're planning some training days maybe around the end of August and it would be great to find some willing starters. [email protected] and our education officer Dave will get back to you. Reminder that VK4RDD will turn on its 91.5Hz CTCSS filter on Tuesday 7 July - tone access only after that date. And if you're a user of the ACMA's frequency lookup service, that changes from 29 June. Details on the ACMA website.

Good morning, good evening, or g'day - depending on when you're listening to QNEWS and from where. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and this week we're brought to you by the letter "S" for "solstice". It's half-past 2026 already and from here the days get longer and the sun gets higher. Good news for anyone who bought a solar system a few months back and is wondering where all the energy went. The big news from the club is our next meeting. The topic is "contesting", which is a major thrust in Amateur Radio and one of the tools we have to keep the hobby relevant and very much alive. Make sure you put 13 July in your diary, and plan to attend either in person or by telepresence. Why? Our special guest, who will be with us in person for the evening, is Diane Main. Di is one of Australia's most prominent contesters. [She is] A contesting machine. Di brings organisation, passion, and a relentless focus on bringing MORE operators into field radio." You can expect lots of helpful information, encouragement and tips. Check the website for more information and details of the location. www.ddrci.org.au Now something slightly different, and here's an invitation from a sector adjacent to ham radio. Once upon a time pretty much every broadcast engineer had their ham ticket as well, and was active in the hobby. We all know that broadcast radio is a technology business, and community radio especially - without the mostly volunteer techs that keep stations running then nothing would happen. Technorama is the peak body for community radio technologists, and on 25 July Technorama will be running the Queensland leg of this year's roadshow in Broadbeach - intriguingly titled "Crisis Averted". It's a day of information, how-to sessions, discussions on how to avoid disaster, and a heap of social networking. The cost of attendance is so low that you're going to have to check the site because you won't believe me - less than $90 even if you're not a member of Technorama but cheaper if you are. Hams can play a very important part in running radio stations, and where else would be allowed to play with transmitters ranging to 10kW or more? And you probably have, or could learn, lots of skills that are really useful. Check out their website at technorama.org.au and follow the dots. What do you have to lose? 24-26 July, in the heart of the Gold Coast, and lots of fun. Check technorama.org.au for all the detail on that. This week's challenge in the 52 week ham challenge is so challenging that I wonder what they were thinking. It reads "Open a repeater... without using dedicated features of your radio for opening repeaters". The most important dedicated feature is the transmit button, and I assume you are allowed to use that. The hint shows emojis for a megaphone and someone whistling. OK, that's weird. Even with a megaphone, I don't know anyone who could whistle at 91.5Hz. But... maybe they want you to find or build an external CTCSS generator, and that could be very useful both as a project and as a way of rejuvenating an older transmitter that doesn't support access tones. Have a go. And speaking of which: the club's repeater VK4RDD will require a 91.5Hz tone from 7 July - that's soon; it's just a bit over two weeks. We've updated all the documentation to say that a tone is required, so don't get caught out if you're a regular user of the repeater. 91.5Hz CTCSS needed on VK4RDD from Tuesday 7 July. For all info in this bulletin, and many things not mentioned, your moment of truth is at ddrci.org.au and look for interesting entries on the scroller at the top of the page. That's it for this week. Club 2m net coming up on VK4RDD at 1000 on Sunday mornings, and dead silence in the evenings. I'm John VK4JPM, and I'll be back next week with more from the Darling Downs Radio Club. See you then!

SunFest 2026 is on its way, same location as last year at 25 Peachester Rd Beerwah on Saturday September 19th at the Beerwah Community Hall. Here is your chance to grab a bargain, catch-up with folks you haven’t seen for a while for an off air rag chew, or just enjoy the atmosphere. Tickets this year are the same cost as last year at just $5 for general entry and $10 for a traders ticket that includes 1 general admission. We are also having some technical information sessions. There will be raffles and door prizes with some great items on offer. We will have a printed program of the day events so you will know when things are happening. There will be bacon and egg rolls, beef and gravy rolls, tea, coffee and soft drinks for sale as well. There are nearby shops and it’s only a short 500m walk from Beerwah train station. You could even make it a full day by bringing the family and spending the afternoon at Australia Zoo. Open for trader entry from 8AM, while doors for general admission open strictly at 9:30AM. As we confirm traders we will list them on our webpage and have links to their webpages. In other news the club had a POTA and picnic day on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago. It was a great day in the sun with about 20 members turning up and over 30 contacts were made. Well that's all for now, this has been Gordon VK4VP. Coming to you for Sunday 14th of June 2024 is this week's instalment of travels with the Darling Downs Radio Club. I'm John VK4JPM, and I'll be your driver for the next section of track. And what a week. We started last Sunday with a spectacular outing at Bunnings, followed by Monday with our club meeting in what we hope might become a permanent location. We had some great discussions about the club itself. The big question is: where should we be in one, two, five and ten years. And if you have a suggestion - a polite one, anyway - please drop us a line via [email protected]. The new location gave us the chance to show off some of the gear that the club has accumulated, much of which is going to be for sale to members at good prices. Over the next few weeks we'll develop a catalogue and a pricing policy, so watch this space. A major decision by members is that we're going to put CTCSS on the club 2m repeater, VK4RDD. Work has started, and both WIA and Repeaterbook now show that a 91.5Hz tone will be required, and that will be effective from 7 July - and we'll keep reminding you of that requirement over the next three weeks. We've also determined that this year's annual general meeting will be held on Thursday 30 July. Pop that date in your diary and we'll be announcing details in due course. 2026 is an even numbered year, so the Vice President and Treasurer positions are due for election, along with two of the committee positions. In other news, congratulations to club member Ray VK4NH, whose 23 hours of activity in the 48 hour CQ World Wide WPX contest earned him number 2 place in Australia as a Single Op Lo, and 38 out of 400 in Oceania in the same category. He was up against 4000 other participants across the world, and came 108th in Oceania against some pretty heavy multi-multi highs and multi-op distributed, some of whom clocked 48.0 hours of operation. Well done Ray! Until next week, thanks for listening. I'm John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. dah-dah-di-di-dit di-di-di-dah-dah. ADSB Support: https://adsbsupport.com/ for information or applications to host a receiver, which is free if you're approved! And you'll get free access to some really interesting online stuff as a result. VK4RDD is located southeast of Toowoomba on a high spot. Output frequency 146.750 with -600kHz transmit offset and no tone (although CTCSS won't hurt).

From downtown uptown intown Toowoomba, the epicentre for the Darling Downs Radio Club. Right off the bat comes the important action item. If your watch tells you that today is Sunday 7 June, then hot-foot down to Bunnings Toowoomba North in Ruthven Street and help us make our BBQ fundraiser a brilliant success. We're there from now until 1530, and our sausage sangers are way more edible than RG8. Hi - I'm John VK4JPM Secretary of the Club, and I'm here to invite you to COME ON DOWN because THE PRICE IS RIGHT! Seriously, your warm body at Bunnings can help us in at least three different ways: we might still need a person or two to help with the roster. Hard to tell right now because QNEWS is filed days ago. But look, a bit of extra help never hurt. we definitely want you to buy a sausage sanger or two, and the price IS right! * when you turn up, you can smile and help tell everyone what a great club the Darling Downs Radio Club is. There's nothing like a personal recommendation. Sunday 7 June from 0800-1530 local time, which is most likely today if you're listening to the morning live broadcast. Tomorrow night is our club meeting, and we're doing something both important and special. Firstly, we're meeting at the Guide Hut in Harristown. Hut makes it sound way smaller than it really is. This is a bit of a test and we'd like your input. Three important items on the agenda for the meeting 1. we're bringing some of the stuff that has been gathered, and we'll be selling it on the night. There will be a couple of pretty good ICOM transceivers, some mixed electronics, cables, and whatever else we pull out of the storage space. Plus you can bring your own gear to add to the sales effort. 2. it's time we had a discussion about future plans for the club. All good, but your committee thinks it would be helpful to have a one, two, five and ten year outlook so that we can make strategic decisions on your behalf. What do you think the club should look like in five years? What activities would we regularly be doing? Is the monthly meeting format the right way to go? What education and training should the club deliver, and how often? What would your ideal meeting topic be? These and more questions need answers, and it's your club so we can go in any direction that you can support. and 3. bring along your latest toys for show-and-tell. Always fun. We'll have tea, coffee, timtams, and lots of good cheer. It's at the Guide Hut at 18A Memory Street in Harristown, with tons of parking. And if your street memory isn't so good, check out all the details at the website: ddrci.org.au and click through the calendar entry for the meeting. VK4RDD is located southeast of Toowoomba on a high spot. Output frequency 146.750 with -600kHz transmit offset and no tone (although CTCSS won't hurt). This is Kevin VK4UH. With Glenn VK4GMI I am the manager for the Harry Angel Memorial 80m Sprint. The “Harry Angel” is an annual 80m contest event, first established in 1999, to commemorate the life of Harry VK4HA who at the time of his becoming a Silent Key, at the age of 106, was the oldest licensed amateur in Australia. The contest has three sections, Phone, CW and Mixed. Certificates are awarded to the three top-scoring entries in each section. Place winners are also eligible to claim points towards the WIA Peter Brown Contest Champion Trophy. This year 36 logs were received which represents a consistent participation rate over recent years. This is particularly gratifying as this year’s contest clashed with the WIA AGM and Conference in Albury and a number of other significant sporting events on the same weekend..

Hi there - This is John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club and I hope this week finds you in good spirits. Next weekend the club has two really important events - some might even say critical events - that you need to know about. Firstly next Sunday, the 7th of June. That's our day to shine at Bunnings North in Ruthven Street Toowoomba, where we'll be doing the sausage sizzle. We're hoping that the sun shines too, because people prefer snags to be dry. Regardless, it's our first big fundraiser for the club for this year, and in a moment you'll see why it's so important. Your club has one of the lowest membership fees in the country, and that's because we believe that cost should not be a barrier to entry. But hey, it still costs money to run meetings and pay for insurance, and deliver training. You can help us to continue to exist by offering a few hours next Sunday to help cook snags, wrap bread, take money - that's the fun part - and generally support the club. Tell us when you're available by sending a note to [email protected]. Seriously: just a few hours each,spread through the day and the task is done. And by the way, if you're not a member of our club, or if you're a member of another club: no problem. We'd still welcome your contribution. And you'll get fed. Go to email right now, and tell [email protected] when it is that you're available. And now a reason to help with fundraising. For the last year or so we've been quietly hunting for a permanent clubhouse to support the work that the Darling Downs Radio Club has been doing. And we know that a lot of our members live in communities where antennas can't be erected easily. A permanent clubhouse would create all kinds of opportunities for on-air sessions, member gatherings, project work, regular training and licence assessments, and generally being social. And we'd like your opinion on one of the options. So write down this address. The club meeting on Monday 8 June from 1900 will be held at the Kanyana Guide Hut, 18A Memory Street in Harristown. Come and join us for a discussion about how to ensure the future of the club. What do you think a club like ours should be doing? Where should we invest, and where do you think we should head? We have some other projects to discuss; we'll have a general natter; there might be some gear for sale; there will almost certainly be a show-and-tell, and there will be tea, coffee and timtams. For this meeting bring your thoughts, and bring a chair or something to sit on. That's at the Kanyana Guide Hut in Harristown, and all the details are on the website right now. And on Sunday 14 June the bimonthly informal lunch will be a BBQ at Peacehaven Park in Highfields, followed by a family-friendly fox-hunt. This is one for the harmonics, the subharmonics, the XYL, the YL and anyone who feels like a feed and some fun is what you do on a weekend. Details on the website at ddrci.org.au. Hamchallenge week 23 is upon us, and a quick squiz at the site shows that unbelievably the challenge this week is "organise or participate in a fox hunt". It's almost as if the Hamchallenge organisers are chasing down the Darling Downs Club... even though we're running our hunt in week 24. It still counts. We've received some info about incoming magazines and publications - check those out on the website, with news items heavily disguised as calendar entries. Just look for the obvious headings and you won't get lost. And to other clubs: don't forget the standing offer. If we can help you get on-air with QNEWS, drop us a line via [email protected] Till next week warm 73s

Kevin Crandell VK4VKX went silent key on the morning of 14 May this year. He injured his head badly as a result of a fall, and never recovered. Those of you who knew Kevin know that we have lost someone special. Kevin was a member of the Darling Downs Radio Club for more than 25 years, and forged many lasting relationships since he moved to Toowoomba from Roma. Kevin contributed solidly to the success of the club. He served for nine years over two terms on the Management Committee as treasurer, and was a member of the Steering Committee for a further nine years. He was active on VHF and HF, although more recently his on-air had to be curtailed due to the requirements of the retirement community in which he was living. Kevin was known by many for his role over the last ten years as Net Controller for the Club’s weekly 2m Sunday Net. He was irrepressible and highly committed, and his presence as Net Controller will be missed. The Darling Downs Radio Club extends our condolences to his wife Jean, his family, his friends, his service mates, and the community that knew him on air. Vale Kevin Crandell. A celebration of life for Kev will be held at 1200 on Monday 25 May, which will be tomorrow for most of you listening. Details are on the club's website at ddrci.org.au ( John VK4JPM President and Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio club ) Unsurprisingly, last week's 2m net on VK4RDD was very well attended. The importance of the repeater to the club is not lost on any of us, and I'm pleased to report that the club has started some facilities upgrade work. It's a little early to release details, but we've embarked on a project which will improve the amenity and accessibility of the repeater, so watch this space. We've updated the VK4RDD repeater and VK4WID club entries in QRZ.com. Check those out, and if you don't have a QRZ entry now might be a good time to create one so that on-air contacts can find you. The 52week Amateur Radio Ham Challenge is entering week 22, and the challenge of the week is labelled "Show and Tell: your manpack". And what's a "manpack" It's the collection of portable equipment that you have ready to go at a moment's notice, so that you can grab/run/be on-air very quickly. Sound perfect for POTA activations, civil emergencies, or those moments when the rain finally stops. You might already have a pack like that, with transceiver, power, backup logging, antennas, and a container. That's just described Mr POTA's permanently setup car, ready to go right now. Telling people about your stuff isn't boasting; it can be inspirational and aspirational. Important hamwords! And that's what the 52Week Challenge is about... a bit of encouragement. Check it out at hamchallenge.org, or see the club website. Coming up: I won't give all the dates this week because there's a calendar on the website at ddrci.org.au, but two important reminders. Please volunteer to assist with our fundraising Bunnings BBQ on Sunday 7 June. Just a couple of hours of your time will help build the club coffers so that we can keep membership fees down. And we're looking for licenced club members to join the roster for the 2m net. If you have a Sunday morning hour every couple of weeks we'd love to have you on the team. Both BBQ and Net offers can be sent to [email protected] and we'll be in touch. The 2m VK4RDD net follows the Sunday morning broadcast at 1000, and if you're listening to this in the evening how about jumping on the callback to register your presence. Every bit helps. Until next week, I'm John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. 73.

Hello and welcome to a special AX edition of the DDRCI contribution to QNEWS. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and it's my job to spread good tidings. Ho Ho Ho. So as you listen live, it's most likely Sunday 17 May, and you've probably heard that today is World Telecommunications Day. Under a long-standing agreement between the ACMA and the WIA, all VK licenced amateur radio operators may use the special AX prefix today, running up to 2359 tonight. Why not come up on the callback as AX? If it's Sunday morning, then why not also join us at 1000 for the club net on VK4RDD, and we're activating today as AX4WID. We love hearing from DX stations and members of other clubs. If you can hear this you already have the gear, so you just need to be in range of Toowoomba. If you missed the club meeting last Monday, you missed something rather special. Guy Martin from ADSBSupport in Denmark explained a bit how ADS-B works; how to get global coverage to track planes; and what interesting information can be gleaned and displayed. A number of club members have applied to support ground stations, and I know of at least two club members who have been accepted as ADSBSupport builds its network. If you're interested in supporting a ground station, and if you missed the meeting, drop me a line to Secretary at DDRCI.org.au and we'll tell you how to get in touch. Coming up, the diary dates for a very busy June: Next club activity: we're at Bunnings Toowoomba North on Sunday 7 June. You can help support the club in a really meaningful way: we need Sausage Twirlers, bread-stackers, drink-stockers, ice-blockers, onion-whackers, and money-takers. No experience needed; just a few hours of your time between 0800 and 1600 would help massively. Send your immediate acceptance to [email protected] so that we can put you on the roster. Next club meeting will be the day after Bunnings on Monday 8 June, and watch for some special news. The following weekend on Saturday 13 June we're running a BBQ lunch up at the wonderfully named Peacehaven Park on Kuhls Road, Highfields. And following the lunch, there's a definite threat of a foxhunt to take you through the afternoon. Facilities at Peacehaven are brilliant. Details of all these dates, and quite a bit more will be found on the website at ddrci.org.au. It's always a source of truth. Coming into Week 21 of the year we've been handed another bonza opportunity in the 52 Week Ham Challenge. And get this: the deal of the week is: "Read your transceiver's manual and use a feature you've never used before". Clearly this was written by someone who owns a Baofeng handheld... I'm still looking for the repeater reverse button; maybe it's in there. If only I could get the scanner to find active planes. So much fun. Read all about that and all the challenges at hamchallenge.org, or find it from our website. Finally an offer to other clubs. Getting on QNEWS is easy and helpful to the community. If you'd like to know how it's done, or if you'd like some help getting there, drop me a line. [email protected] will do it, and our operator is standing by to take your call. And your club's call. And your words for QNEWS. As we've found out many times, people all over the state are interested in what your club is doing, and if your club meetings are being held online there's an audience waiting to be told what and how. [email protected] and let's talk about how to get going. Until next week, I'm John AX4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. 73.

This is Allan VK4HIT with news from Ipswich and District Radio Club. The club is currently seeking expressions of interest from Foundation amateurs or those who don't yet have a license but might just want to jump straight into it; for an upcoming Standard license training course in the Ipswich and West Moreton region. The course will be held at the Ipswich & District Radio Club with a tentative start date of Wednesday 20th May, with the course running over about five Wednesday nights with a sixth night focused mainly on Standard & Advanced regulations. If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact our training officer Greg via email [email protected] or you can find out more via our website ipswichradioclub.org.au Club member Robert VK4KHW has reminded me about two big horse endurance events which Brisbane Area Wicen Group is providing safety communications. Details are:- This event is held at the Kilkivan Showgrounds and Equestrian Centre. Dates are Saturday 16th May 2026 and Sunday 17th May 2026. The other big event is called the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, being run out of the Stirlings Crossing Equestrian Complex, Imbil. Dates are 4th & 5th July 2026. The event runs for 24 hours. Robert will be asking for volunteers for Imbil after the Kilkivan event. Contact Robert via email [email protected] It's Sunday 10 May, and only a week away from the last chance this year to use the AX Prefix with your call. Hi, I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and here's our bit of QNEWS for the coming week. And starting with our meeting to be held tomorrow night, on Monday 11 May. Last weekend in Albury we made contact with an ADSB Support, an organisation that is creating a network of receivers to map plane movements in a different way. They are also doing some work that is directly of interest to ham radio operators. We thought that was too good an opportunity to leave hanging, and they have agreed to be our special guests at the meeting. Their global tech support manager, Guy Martin will be joining us from Denmark to explain how the network operates, what it does, and how maybe you could be involved as host of a receive point. Check the website for details. If you're not in town, or simply out of town, then you can attend remotely via Zoom and we'd love to have you. You don't need to be a member to join us. But if you do come to the Scout Hall in person, rest assured that we'll have tea, coffee and timtams ready to greet you. A couple of dates for the future: * lock in 7 June, which is just a month away, when we will be doing some much needed fundraising at Bunnings. If you can spare some time on the day - a couple of hours would do it - then could you let me know via the email address [email protected]. * it's way into the future, but lock it in now: on the weekend of 7/8 November, the Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania will be running Ham-E-Con. This will be a similar but different event to QTECH that you might have attended last year in Brisbane. It's in Hobart, so already it's different! You can link details from our website at ddrci.org.au, and even though it's a while off maybe you want to book the travel this week while there are some specials on? This week's entry in the 52 week ham challenge: Build the cheapest antenna you can and make a QSO with it. We're not sure what counts as cheap. You have to buy metal coat-hangers these days, but an old 2m mobile base screwed into a tin can would be pretty and cheap, so pretty cheap. The website is at hamchallenge.org and right now nobody has logged a toot. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club.

News of a Silent Key Brian Winterburn VK4BOW 15th August 1944 - 21st April 2026 Sad to report that one of the founding members of the Bowen Radio Amateur Group went Silent Key April 21 , 2026 Brian passed away on Tuesday 21st April after a long fight with kidney disease.. Brian was an accomplished Morse Code Operator, yachtsman, musician and technician, helping establish the Gem of the Coral Coast, 95.1MHz GEM FM and maintaining the systems of the broadcaster until ill health curtailed the activity. For a number of years Brian was a regular operator on the 3599kHz Gnarly Net and was also a former member of the Townsville Amateur Radio Club. The Amateur Radio community in Bowen, indeed in North East Queensland is measurably poorer with Brian's passing. Vale Brian Winterburn VK4BOW, Silent Key Hi there: coming from the Darling Downs Radio Club, this is our QNEWS segment for 3 May 2026, and it's the heading-to-WIA edition. I'm John VK4JPM secretary of the DDRCi. By the time you hear this, the WIA AGM will be over; we've had a great dinner, and everyone who is in Albury will be enjoying the VK Summit 2026 geekfest with presentations and hardware - a perfect match for a weekend. First up, our club's big news. If you haven't already discovered, the results are out for the 2026 John Moyle Memorial Field Day... and if you haven't found them, go to the WIA website (wia.org.au); find "for Members" at the top, then contests, and finally on the left: John Moyle Memorial Field Day. Then scroll down to the bottom. There's a report and winners document, and a file with certificates for winners. And I have to say, what a wonderful rollup it was, and congratulations to all the winners across so many categories. I'm in awe of VK3GJG who blitzed 46,842 points across a single operator home 24 hour effort, and I suspect he achieved that by supergluing himself to the chair. So how did our club go? It's time for a big smile, because we did pretty well. Despite crashing QRN, on-off rain, and a last minute discovery that the amenities block had been fenced off - I mean, what could possibly go wrong? - for the second year running we managed to pull off a convincing win in our category - which was the HF Multi-Multi 6 hour. And there was lots of learning from the effort; we ran a licence assessment, and several of our participants were contesting for the first time. As they say, We'll Be Back. The 52-week challenge at hamchallenge.org is up to week 19... and this one's really creative. They want YOU to come up with a ham radio challenge and share it with the organisers. Our team here thought maybe there's a way to establish over-the-horizon communication using a bratwurst sausage and a can of tuna. Can you make a morse key using inkjet printer parts? Or how about building a short wave receiver from tin-cans, homegrown crystal, and discarded car batteries? It worked for Hogan's Heroes and Gilligan... are their plans still around? Do a bit of thinking and get back to the team. hamchallenge.org for the website. Finally, if you're not a member of DDRCi and you join now, you will get a bonus two months of membership because new memberships go through to end of June 2027. Go to the website and click on the big red button to join, and - trust me on this - everything you need to know and do is online in the website. If it's not: tell us. We might even give you a discount for pointing out a problem.

Howdy-doody. You're possibly expecting the Darling Downs Radio Club QNEWS segment for the week of 26 April, and this would be it. Thanks for listening, and coming up some reminders: next weekend is big activity in Albury activity; we will be there and I'd love to have a chat to committee members from other clubs. now that ANZAC day is over, the last AX prefix opportunity for the year is four weeks away today is club lunch day, and we'd love you to join us whether you're a member of DDRCi or not and if it's still morning, then the club 2m net starts at the top of the hour and you're invited to that too Firstly a note to people from other Queensland clubs. The WIA AGM is next weekend in Albury, and you will have heard all about it on National News. Some of us are heading down because we can and should, which is going to create an opportunity between clubs to exchange ideas about how we run our hobby. If you're in Albury next weekend, please find me. I'll be wearing club clobber with my name and callsign, so I won't be hard to find. Lots to discuss. If you're coming and you'd like to set something up, drop a line to [email protected] as an alert. Last week's club meeting on the topic of FreeDV exceeded every expectation. Thanks to everyone in the room, to all those who came along virtually, and to other clubs who spread the word. Peter VK3TPM provided an incredibly good insight into the project, with some very compelling demos of how well the coder works. He's also give a list of tips and tools to help you get started, and those appear in the text edition of this QNEWS bulletin. We're going to keep an eye on the project and bring you updates from time to time, and it will be the subject of future meetings. If it's Sunday morning, then after QNEWS, and after the club 2m net, we're off to the Southern Hotel in Toowoomba for our informal come-and-have-lots-of-fun bimonthly club lunch. Check the Fire and Ice cafe, and there will be a table reserved for the club. All the detail is on the website at ddrci.org.au, and we kick off sometime after 1130. Family, friends, harmonics, bits of gear, and tall tales are all welcome. We'll probably hang around until 1500 so there's no rush, and food is available all day. There's still a moment to RSVP to [email protected], but that's only so that we can ensure we have a big enough table. Nobody gets locked out. This also fits nicely with this week's ham challenge, which is to get together with others for an in person radio activity - the lunch qualifies, and I noticed that the website has zero toots against the challenge. So there's an opportunity. We're coming into week 18, for which the challenge is "Complete a project no matter how big or small and write it up". Here's our offer: if you write up a project, no matter how big or small, we will publish it to DDRCi members. Hints and tips are good. Things to do are good. Bits of clever circuit are good. How you got the transmitter with missing parts to work: yes, that's really good. Let us know so that we can spread the love. General reminders: * if you'd like help getting or upgrading your licence, send an email to [email protected] * to contact the club, drop a line to [email protected] and if you missed out using your callsign with the AX prefix yesterday, the last opportunity for the year is on World Telecommunications Day which is always 17 May. This year that's a Sunday, and we'll be doing our 2M net on that day with the AX prefix. I'm John VK4JPM, secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club.

Vernon Crabb VK4FVC - December 1939 - April 2026 It is sad to report that Vern Crabb VK4FVC has gone Silent Key in Townsville following a long battle with cancer. Despite doctors saying that he would not make Christmas 2025 Vern proved them wrong making it past that and able to celebrate his 52nd anniversary of marrying Nell before he was taken from us. Vern was a long time member of the Wireless Institute of Australia until illness forced him to cancel his membership. Vern was also a long time member of The Townsville Amateur Radio Club, using his morse skills to support the on-air Slow Morse training net for many years before it was disbanded. Vern was also a participant in the 3599kHz Gnarly Net Morse section right up to the final days of his life. Vern was a Morse Man! Vern grew up on the family farm near Woodstock North Queensland, with the family then moving to Rollingstone to farm pineapples. Vern attended and matriculated at St Teresa's College Abergowrie and eventually took over running the pineapple farm with Nell's help. Vern was always keen to learn how and why things work, which was a much needed skill in farming life where most repairs were done onsite. He also garnered an interest in Amateur Radio, wanting to experience diverse cultures world wide without having to leave the farm. Eventually erecting a tower and installing a steerable log periodic antenna, Vern chased DX from 20metres to 6 meters and made many friends on-air. The big tower and antenna soon became known as a local landmark to the locals, who still call the quick bend in Balgal Beach Road as 'Crabb's Corner'. Vern and Nell were deeply involved in the local community both serving on the local Progress Association and P&C committees. Vern became proficient in Italian and Spanish, enabling him to have an edge when snaring rare DX. Vern was a very proficient orator and vocalist, performing for years with choirs during the Ingham Italian Festival, plus the occasional private group performance. When eventually retiring and selling the farm, Vern and Nell traveled to Mexico, Italy and Spain staying with ham radio friends from years gone by. Vern and Nell also obtained a Rainbow Bus, converted it to a mobile home called 'The Crabbpot' which they used to tour Australia. It was during this time that Frank/VK4CAU (SK) enlisted Vern's help in mobile trials and development of new models of Barrett HF transceivers with the Crabbpot being an ideal testing vehicle for the new models of radio. A catastrophic failure in insulation on the lithium powered auxiliary power system caused complete destruction of Crabbpot Mk2 during a tour through the Sunshine Coast hinterland, with Vern and Nell escaping with just the clothes on their backs. Help from locals and nearby family members soon had them back home with the necessity to rebuild their finances and eventually Crabbpot Mk3 was acquired and more little trips to relatives transpired. Vern and Nell attended Amateur Radio communications support events when they were in the local area, supported local amateur radio clubs in the area with their attendance at social events and kept traveling as long as they could, until Vern's illness curtailed the travels. Vern was taken from us on the 11th April 2026, with his passing we lose someone who could really diagnose faults and provide easy fixits as he took the time to truly understand how things worked. We also lose a master in Morse Code operating. Sincere condolences to Nell and family in Vern's passing. Vale Vernon Crabb VK4FVC, Silent Key.

Brad Donald Johnson of MacGregor, VK4BRA whose old call was VK4AIR passed away on 25 March 2026. Brad VK4BRA had been in radio from 1976 as many of us were , as a CBer. Brad passed with a full licence in Amateur Radio in 1979 and worked as a light and sound engineer in his own business. He is survived by 2 sons. The next Ipswich WICEN-supported event is the Brisbane Trail Marathon on April 26 held in the South D’Aguilar National Park. It features the ultimate trail running challenge. Start and finish is at Enoggera Reservoir, The Gap. This is a big event so I’m sure the club’s WICEN coordinator will not turn away any additional volunteer radio operators and supporters to work the various safety check points along the trail. If you have never participated before, you will be paired with an experienced operator. To volunteer please contact Paul at [email protected] I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club. By the time you hear this, RedFest will be over, and I know there will be people we met who have forgotten our email address already, so here it is: [email protected] and the home page is at ddrci.org.au, which is where you'll find all the details on what follows. This week reminders that our next club tech and chat meeting will be streamed and in person, and for this month is a week later on Monday 20th of April. No doubt those who return from RedFest will have a bit of show and tell - so bring stuff along - and we have some tech discussions following our outing at John Moyle. And watch this space: there could be a surprise guest. the next bimonthly club lunch is due and that's going to be on 26 April at the Southern Hotel in Toowoomba... south, down Ruthven Street. We've booked the table, and festivities start from 1200. By the way, the hotel has erected a massive solar array which doubles as over-cover for car parking. Quite clever. * last week I mentioned that we're doing another run of licence assessments, and you don't have to be in Toowoomba to work with us. We have four ACMA-accredited advanced assessors, which means we're qualified to take all kinds of special conditions into account, including remote delivery. If you are thinking of getting or upgrading a licence, please talk to us, and start by sending an email to [email protected]. * Personal admission: life has been hectic and I didn't get to this week's QRP transmitter project even though I have a cupboard full of Raspberry Pi boards. And I'm still trying to get to Großreinemachen which is the big magic cleanup. But... while you're waiting for me to claim success, why not try this week's challenge which is "operate in an uncommon digital mode". There's a hint on the website at hamchallenge.org, and scroll down to week 16. We love hearing from members and anyone interested in amateur radio. To do that, and to be added or removed from our mailing list, drop a line to [email protected]. Everything we do is on the website at ddrci.org.au, and you can trust that to be correct. So the reminder: why not come and say hi to us at the club meeting or club lunch in a week. BIG hint: that's a way of achieving the challenge from week 17. Simples! And the club net follows the Sunday morning edition of QNEWS on VK4RDD at 1000 actual time. Until next week, I'm John VK4JPM. 73 from Darling Downs Radio Club.

this is Laurie VK4BLE from the Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club, with another Redfest 26 update. Have you got your table booked? With only 6 days to Redfest you need to get in quick to book a table or two. So go to the website Redfest.org and book that table so you don’t miss out. There is plenty to enjoy at Redfest, especially for the ladies. Pick up a gift for Mother’s Day as there are plenty of tables with Quilting, Candles, Jams and Jewellery on offer. So, remember to bring the whole family and make it a day out for everyone to enjoy. Have you got tickets in the Redfest raffle? If not go to the website Redfest.org and grab some. Remember our major prize this year is the Icom IC7300 MK2 transceiver. You could also win a Xeigu X6200 or an Anytone AT-D90UV plus many more great prizes on offer. So, don’t forget to grab your tickets. QSL Comms and Elite Communications will be at Redfest. Mad Dog Coils, VK Direct, Radio and More and Garage Art will also be there and not to forget Icom Australia, ALARA and the WIA QSL Bureau. So, remember to come and collect your QSL cards. There will also be heaps of preloved equipment, so grab a bargain. Keep an eye out for the clubs’ famous bacon and egg rolls and have a coffee with friends from the coffee van. We are having some great technical presentations this year at Redfest. Peter VK3TMP from FreeDV will be presenting a technical background to software as well as practical advice about digital communications on HF bands. Glen VK4NGA will be giving a great presentation on how to use Digital Nodes, with a practical demonstration. Icom Australia will be presenting a talk about their latest developments in Amateur Radio. Peter VK4EA our WIA director will be talking about D-Star repeater functionality as well as updating us all on the WIA. So, heaps going at Redfest. So, go to the website redfest.org for more information on all the tech talks and times. Put the date in your calendar, Saturday the 11 th of April, at the Deception Bay North State School, 33-49 Old Bay Rd, Deception Bay, doors open at 9am. See you at Redfest. Hi there for Sunday 5 April and best wishes from Darling Downs Radio Club if you're celebrating Easter, Passover, or just a long long long weekend. I'm Secretary of the club, John VK4JPM. Some important updates this week. Our next club member meeting has had a change of date thanks to some unforeseeable circumstances. It's now on Monday 20 April, just a few days before Anzac day. We'll remind you several times closer so that you don't forget, but please change the date in your diary now. Monday 20 April at the Scout Hall in Newtown, and all the details on the meeting are on the website. Next weekend we're at RedFest on Saturday 11 April, and we'll have a club table. If you're making the pilgrimage, come and say hi. We love meeting people in person. If you have gear that you would like us to sell on your behalf you have until end of Sunday to let us know so that we can mutually arrange to get it to our trailer for transport. Drop a line to [email protected] if you'd like to reserve a spot. The next club lunch has also been held over so that it doesn't clash. We're going to catch up on Sunday 26 April, and the venue might have been posted on the website by the time you hear this - we're just waiting to confirm the space. As always, 1130 for 1200 start. We're looking for candidates for foundation licensing or for upgrades to Standard or Advanced licences. The club has four licensed assessors, and did you know that potentially you can arrange to do the assessment remotely. So if you can't get to Toowoomba, or wherever we happen to be, we can virtually come to you. For more info or to book a time, email to [email protected] I'm John VK4JPM. 73s.

Hello, I'm John VK4JPM secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club. Today's news comes to you courtesy of the letter "A" for Activity, something of which we've had a bit in the last week. Congratulations to everyone who came out for the John Moyle Memorial Field day. The Picnic Point location exceeded our expectations and provided a very convenient basecamp with parking, tables, barbeques, and lots of trees suitable for longwire antennas. While slightly marred by a few short rainshowers, and a fenced-off amenities block, we also had enough sunshine to keep everyone happy. The team ran multi/multi in the six-hour category, and logged lots of interesting stations. Despite almost continuous crashy QRN for the whole day, we logged lots of stations on 40 and 20metres including all VK, some ZL and even an FK. In total the club made 132 contacts which was a good showing. It wasn't all flat chat. As you know our club is very focused on education and training, and we were able to hand the mic to operators who had never come close to competition work so that they could get a feel for how to operate under load. You really only learn by doing, and our field day operation worked very well. Thanks so much to all the stations who participated in the John Moyle Memorial Field Day, and thanks for your contacts. We should also congratulate member Andy who sat his Foundation licence during the John Moyle Field Day and passed with flying colours... it was a very good day for the practical test, since many of the questions could be answered by pointing at a bit of gear in use. And since Wednesday Andy is now VK4ODN. Listen out for him, and say hi. Would you like to get or upgrade your licence? Clearly we can definitely help and we'd love to do that. No charge for the assessment, just a bit of your time. Ask away by sending email to [email protected] and our helpful team will get back to you. This is Week 14 of the 52 Week Ham Radio Challenge and it's UHF/VHF time - specifically, make 10 contacts on a UHF or VHF calling frequency. Or both. Nobody says you can't line things up in advance, so maybe this is a nice relaxing opportunity for the coming week? Our club's 2m Sunday Net follows the morning edition of QNEWS on VK4RDD, and there will be no shortage of people who would be willing to talk simplex afterwards if you come up and connect. 10 contacts in a week is roughly one every 20 hours, so plenty of time between soccer practice, shopping expeditions, and recreational trips to the local servo. Coming up: * we're going to RedFest on 11 April and if you have gear you'd like us to put on the table on your behalf: now would be a good time to tell us. If you wait until the day before, the chances are we will already have left. So... let the club help you: send an email to [email protected] right now to give us a headsup and we'll set some space aside. By the way, we're planning to take our club trailer down and depending on space we might even be allowed to show it off a bit. the next club meeting is Monday 13 April at the Scout Hall in Victory Street Newtown. and as always all the announcements are on our home page in the calendar section. You can click through to find out what's going on, or send an email to [email protected]. I'm John VK4JPM secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and if you're within radio range I'd love to be one of the people saying hi on the club net that follows the morning edition. Details on the website! 73!!

This is Laurie VK4BLE from the Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club, with another Redfest 26 update. Just a reminder, if you are still wishing to be a part of Redfest 26 and want to book a table or two, go to the website Redfest.org, that is Redfest.org. So, get in now as there is only 19 days till Redfest. Digital communications, what is this new technology you ask, then come to the presentation by Peter from FreeDV. What about digital nodes, well Glen VK4NGA will be giving a great presentation on how to use them. Icom Australia will be at Redfest 26 and is going to talk about their latest developments in Amateur Radio. How about D Star, well Peter VK4EA our WIA director will be talking about D-Star repeater functionality as well as updating us all on the WIA. So, heaps going at Redfest 26. So, go to the website redfest.org for more information. Remember our major prize this year is the Icom IC7300 MK2 transceiver and all the other great prizes on offer. So, don’t forget to grab your tickets QSL Comms and Elite Communications will be at Redfest. Mad Dog Coils, VK Direct, Radio and More and Garage Art will also be there and not to forget Icom Australia, ALARA and the WIA QSL Bureau. So, remember to come and collect your QSL cards. Keep an eye out for the clubs’ famous bacon and egg rolls and have a coffee with friends from the coffee van. There is plenty to enjoy at Redfest, especially for you wife or partner. Pick up a gift for mother’s day as there are plenty of tables with goodies for the ladies. So, remember to bring the whole family and make it a day out for everyone to enjoy. Put the date in your calendar, Saturday the 11th of April, at the Deception Bay North State School, 33-49 Old Bay Rd, Deception Bay, doors open at 9am. See you at Redfest. Hello from the Darling Downs Radio Club; I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the club and it's Sunday 22 March if you're listening to QNEWS live. Last Sunday I reminded you about the benefits of being a WIA member and this past week we renewed our insurance. Thanks for helping! A short block of news this week because we're all very focused on prep for John Moyle Memorial Field Day. By the time you hear this our contribution to the Field Day will have happened, but if you're reading the text edition before 1100 on Saturday 21 March, then take this as a reminder that we'd appreciate if you could give us a shout on air between 1100 and 1700. The reminders this week: we're definitely taking the club trailer to RedFest, so if you'd like us to put some of your gear on the table for sale please get in touch so that we can reserve space. RedFest is only three weeks away, and getting closer all the time. If you're planning to attend and you'll arrive on the Friday night, why not send an email to [email protected] and we'll let you know where we're having dinner on Friday 10th. * also if you want to sell stuff locally, let us know so that we can add items to our mailouts. If you're not on our mailing list, or you think you're not receiving emails, send a note to [email protected] so that we can sort things out for you. our next club meeting will be second Monday of the month - in April that's the 13th, which is the Monday after Redfest, and details will be on the website at ddrci.org.au. If you have any questions, send an email to [email protected] or if you forget that you can shout out via the contact page on the website. Thanks for listening - I'm John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. The weekly Club 2m net follows the Sunday morning edition of QNEWS at 1000 on VK4RDD, and we love hearing from distant stations. 73s.

Kevin Dalton VK4WA at age 74 has passed away after being in a nursing home with dementia for some time. Kevin Dalton, now Silent Key, had been an enthusiastic long time member of the Brisbane Amateur Radio Club over many years, serving in most club committee positions. VK4WA had a passion for building kit and homebrew projects. He was always keen to start many and varied projects including the club parrot repeater, a club beacon which morphed into the WSPR Beacon and the installation of old and new repeaters at Rochedale, serving as the officer in charge. His radio interests were varied, covering the full spectrum from the 2200m band through to microwave bands. He was also working on the leading edge of LED transmissions and with VK4EBP Jan Oskuita successfully transmitted signals from the Rochedale club to Redbank Plains, then co-wrote a published paper on the findings that drew interest from England and across the world. In his later years, Kevin found travelling to the Rochdale club shack taxing, and so he joined the Ipswich and District Radio Club for a short time, before convalescing at home. His funeral will be held at Mt Gravatt Cemetery & Crematorium Chapel at 620 Mains Road, Nathan on Monday 16 March at 12:30PM. This is Laurie VK4BLE from the Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club, with another Redfest 26 update. Just a reminder, if you are still wishing to be a part of Redfest 26 and want to book a table or two, go to the website Redfest.org So, get in now as there is only 26 days till Redfest. Do you want to know more about digital communications, then come to the presentation by Peter from FreeDV. Do you know how to use digital nodes, well Glen VK4NGA will be giving a great presentation on how to use them. Icom Australia will be at Redfest 26 and is going to talk about their latest developments in Amateur Radio. Peter VK4EA our WIA director will be talking about D-Star repeater functionality as well as updating us all on the WIA. So, heaps going on and you won’t be disappointed. So, go to the website redfest.org for more information. Remember our major prize this year is the Icom IC7300 MK2 transceiver second prize is a Xiegu X6200 HF transceiver and 3rd prize is a Anytone DMR transceiver plus many more prizes on offer. If you are the lucky winner and not at Redfest, your prize will be shipped to you, no matter where you are. If you are looking for new equipment, then catch up with QSL Comms or Elite Communications. Mad Dog Coils, VK Direct, Radio and More and Garage Art will also be there and not to forget Icom Australia, ALARA and the WIA QSL Bureau. So, remember to come and collect your QSL cards or just inquire about the service. Update your information with the bureau as you may had an address change or callsign upgrade. Catch up with friends you haven’t seen for a while. Keep an eye out for the coffee van and clubs’ famous bacon and egg rolls on the day. There is plenty to enjoy at Redfest, especially for you wife or partner. There will be plenty of tables with goodies for the ladies. Grab a ticket in the Mother’s Day raffle, they will love it. So, remember to bring the whole family and make it a day out for everyone to enjoy. Put the date in your calendar, Saturday the 11th of April, at the Deception Bay North State School, 33-49 Old Bay Rd, Deception Bay, doors open at 9am. See you at Redfest. Thanks for joining the Darling Downs Radio Club for our QNEWS segment on Sunday 15 March 2026. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the club, and this week's info is sponsored by the letter "W" for "WIA". Are you a member of the WIA? There are SO many good reasons to be a WIA member, but here's one that's important to our club. Every year we have to pay an eye-watering public liability insurance bill to protect the club in case something goes wrong. That bill would be substantially higher, except that the WIA has arranged a massive discount..

Hello, and welcome to Sunday and QNEWS. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, where lots is happening, starting at lunchtime today when we're heading to Picnic Point to do some more practical work on antennas. And you're invited. We heard a rumour that some of us are a bit scared of HF operation, and haven't had enough experience tuning random long wires. So... we figured that now is as good a time as any to go and learn a bit. Check out the website at ddrci.org.au and look for the calendar entry on the home page for 8 March - that's today. All the details for how to find us is in that article, but essentially, we'll be just over the hill from the Picnic Point cafe. Between 1200 and 1630, we're going to be lobbing wires, tuning, testing transmitters, talking a bit, testing some more... lot of "t" words, apparently. Between tests and QSOs, we'll have some coffee and a bit of BYO picnic lunch. Also, Picnic Point is a POTA location, so you can get on air and rack up a few contacts. If you let us know in advance, we might be able to run a licence assessment because everything will be in place. Send an email right now to [email protected] so that we know you're interested. This is all in aid of preparation for the John Moyle Memorial Field Day, which is the major topic for our monthly club meeting tomorrow night. This is a natter and prep night, so we don't have a guest speaker. Just come along at 1900 at the Scout Hall in Newtown, find out what the club is doing, and have a relaxing cuppa and some timtams. Then we'll discuss our plans for the John Moyle field day, which is in only two weeks. The Zoom will be available online from 1900, so look for the link on the website and join us even if you can't be in the room. The John Moyle Memorial Field Day itself runs over a whole weekend, but traditionally our club enters for the first six-hour block on Saturday 22 March from 1100-1700. It's a whole-of-club activity, and we need your help and participation. Last year was fun, relaxing, educational, and successful. We need to defend our honour for this one, and you can read all about that on the home page too. So did you get all those dates down? Today at Picnic Point for a practical field antenna setup session; tomorrow, Monday 9 March, for the monthly Club Meeting where we'll talk about what we learned and do some planning for the John Moyle Field day, and Saturday 21 March for the actual field day exercise. Two other quick items. The club will be represented with a table at Redfest on 11 April, now only a month away. We're taking down some gear to sell, and if you can't attend but would like us to sell some gear on your behalf, send a note to [email protected] and over the next few weeks, we'll work out how to get the gear transported. Lastly, have you checked out the 52-week Ham Radio Challenge at hamchallenge.org? This week's entry is simple and delightful: it's what the Germans call "Großreinemachen", which literally translates into English as "great magic cleaning"... Großreinemachen is the week 11 challenge, where you are tasked to tidy up all the cables in the shack - what a lovely idea. It's optional to unscramble the collection behind your desk, and the fearful spaghetti behind the TV. So much easier than whistling CW. Check the club website at ddrci.org.au for links, and send an email to [email protected] if you have questions. Until next week, thanks for listening - for the Darling Downs Radio Club, I'm John VK4JPM. If it's Sunday morning, the club 2m net follows at 1000 AEST. 73s!

This is all the people whose lives you’ve touched transmitting. Greg, if you copy, hold the frequency. It feels like absence, like space where a voice once was. Signals do not disappear. They continue. And what a person builds on air in wire in people does not simply stop. You never lived by the rule that comfort equals peace. You lived by the rule that comfort is the first thing to question. You believed headwinds are not personal. Crosswinds are not unfair. And lee winds — that sudden drop, that shaking frame — are not a sign to quit. They are a test of trim. You adjust. You steady. You climb. You believed complacency is the real danger. Not risk. Not boldness. Not standing out. Complacency. The quiet drift downward when we stop paying attention to lift. You believed connection matters. If you can reach someone reach them. Build the antenna. Make the call. Transmit while you can. You didn’t just build antennas. You built reach. From Mobile One to a garage that hummed again because purpose does not retire, you proved that usefulness is not seasonal. If your hands still work build. If your mind still sparks design. If your voice still carries speak. Unapologetically. You believed fitting in is vastly overrated. So you didn’t. You never entered quietly, not rooms, not conversations, not lives. Joy first. Volume second. Standing on your toes as if the ground were optional. You ruffled feathers. You challenged comfort. You made rooms adjust to you instead of shrinking to fit them. And yes not everyone understood you at first. But you never measured yourself by first impressions. You measured yourself by whether you were real. You believed people are more than the worst thing they’ve done. So you forgave early. You forgave often. You saw past the noise to the signal underneath. And that belief changed people. And made the world a better place You wrote poetry like you flew — direct, deliberate, aware. Warning of sleeping dragons. Warning of drift. Reminding us that lift is earned by those who stay awake. You believed joy is not indulgent. It is oxygen. That laughter is not noise. It is energy. That love is not soft. It is structural. And so very necessary in this world You believed life is not meant to be lived carefully around the edges. It is meant to be entered fully. Fully loud. Fully flawed. Fully alive. Unapologetically And here is what you leave us — Not just memory. Not just stories. A mandate; A way to live, A way to love, A way to give, That keeps your memory alive Do not live small. Do not lower your voice just because the room is timid. Do not mistake comfort for safety. When the air drops — trim. When the frame shakes — hold. When the rotor hits — climb. Headwinds are not personal. Crosswinds are not unfair. Lee winds will shake you. But lift is still there. Always there. If we pay attention. If we stay awake. If we refuse complacency. If we live wide instead of careful. If we love before we are certain. If we build something that reaches beyond us. If we forgive without score, If we give from our hearts when we can, If we transmit what matters, We too can make the world a better place. Then your signal does not fade. It strengthens. It is amplified. It hums in the way we show up. It hums in the way we speak truth. It hums in the way we stand taller, even when the air feels thin. And one day, when someone asks why we refused to shrink, why we dared to live louder, why we chose joy over fear — We will say: Because we knew a man who would not live half-life. A man who climbed when the air fell away. A man who taught us that lift is always there, if you’re willing to rise into it. Explorer-hearted. Unfiltered flame. Generous spirit. Greg — you mattered. This is all the people whose lives you’ve touched here. Signal strong. Altitude rising. Bandwidth wide. We are not descending. We are climbing. We rise in lifting others. Final 7-3 VK4BBX, Clear.

Welcome to QNEWS for week 8 of 2026. I'm John VK4JPM, secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, with our contribution. One of the real charms of a club is when it can provide some social activity between birds of a feather, and the Darling Downs Radio Club does that on the even months of the year. So here it is February and today at lunchtime (if you're listening on Sunday 22nd, of course) you can come and join us. You don't have to be a member of the club, and it doesn't matter if you don't know anyone because we're really friendly. We'll be hard to miss, because we're in the club shirts with our names in bright yellow letters and club caps. Very hard to miss. The February lunch is a very social barbeque starting from 1130 or so, at Peacehaven Botanic Park on Kuhls Road just south of Highfields. Stan Kuhl - that's K U H L was a dairy farmer who used to own most of the land in the area, and in 2005 he donated 4.7 hectares of land to be developed into a botanic park. The council has even expanded it a bit since then, with a plant sales area that will be open from 0900 on the day. We're going to be at the barbeques on the western side... plenty of parking on-street close to the BBQ area, or actually off Kuhls Road which is slightly a bit more of a walk but good exercise and very pretty. And there's tons of seating and undercover tables so you only need to bring what you plan to eat and drink. The location is good for HF and VHF so bring a radio if you feel like it. We'll be listening on VK4RTQ repeater and 146.500 simplex in case you get lost, and we'll answer to VK4WID. All the details are on the website at DDRCi.org.au. You don't have to register, but we'd love to get an email to lunch at ddrci.org.au to let us know you're coming. Next: More good news on the licence front. Club member Perry decided that it was time to do the Foundation Assessment and sailed through the theory and prac exams. By the time you hear this he might even have his call. Well done Per. We'd love to help you get started or do an upgrade, and there's no charge for that. Just drop a line to [email protected] and let's have a chat about how to make your ham aspirations a reality. This is week 8 of 2026, and if you're following the international ham radio challenge at hamchallenge.org you'll find that the week 8 challenge is to do some experimenting with APRS. That's the Amateur Radio Packet Reporting system, and there's a pretty good Wikipedia article that explains what APRS is all about. If you haven't ever played with APRS, it's not too hard to get started and there are plenty of resources available to help. Even looking up the history on the web is interesting, and there's a VK APRS site hidden in there with some useful local tips - helpful, given that APRS is designed as a real time protocol for local material. Let us know how you go. And finally: lock in the date of 9 March for our next club meeting. We'll tell you more about that next week. Wrapping up: the bi-monthly is Sunday 22 February (most likely that's today) and all the details are on the club website at DDRCi.org.au. Turn up a bit early if you'd like to buy some plants at the nursery, and it's a BYO everything event. As always we're listening, so if you have an idea for a meeting or activity, want to check any of the info I've just provided, or just make contact, drop an email to [email protected] and as Perry will tell you: we respond very quickly. I'm John VK4JPM secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club. Our 2m weekly net follows at the top of the hour on VK4RDD. Till next week, 73 and good packeting!

Wherever you are, welcome to QNEWS for Sunday 15 Feb. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club. Firstly, what's coming up. Seriously, you should check the website because everything you need to know is there and it's the most accurate source of dates and information. But... OK, you can twist my arm a bit and we'll fill you in on-air also. Following the morning national news at 1000, please join us for the weekly gathering on VK4RDD at 146.750 with no tones. Net control is VK4WID and if you can hear us, why not join in? Dates for the diary: our next club lunch, which is open to all (because we're just so social) and is a DIY BBQ on Sunday 22 Feb at Peacehaven Park - that's just south of Highfields and really easy to find. Yum. the next club meeting, which is also open to all and will be on Monday 9 March. Details on the website. on Saturday 21 March you can join our team for the John Moyle Memorial Field Day. Not only will you help the club defend our honour, but it's a great way for foundation and inexperienced operators to build skills really quickly... just like a mega-training event we'll be at RedFest selling gear and representing the club on Saturday 11th April. * and can you help us on Sunday 7 June? it's mid-year, which might seem like a long way off, but it will leap up sooner than you think. Bunnings was so impressed with us last year that they've invited us back, and we had sucha good time that we've decided we're up for the challenge. There's a forward-events item on the sliding calendar right now if you go to our home page at ddrci.org.au Speaking of which: we've been doing some work on the website under the hood. You can help us by checking it out and feel free to go through ALL the pages if you like. Then let us know what's old, wrong or broken so that we can fix it. ddrci.org.au - you can enter the https:// and/or dubdubdub but it's not necessary. Then send what you find to the contact page or directly to [email protected] At last Monday's club tech meeting we had a truly interesting night focusing on antennas. Much thanks to Sam, Geoff, Bruce, and Bob for stellar contributions. If you attended, can you tell us what you thought by sending a quick email? If you missed it, there won't be a recording but we will be putting some reference material on the website for Ron. That's later ron. Finally this week's ham challenge is both easy and delightful: it's "Thank a fellow ham radio operator". So easy, but so important. We all like to know that those around us appreciate our work, so tell someone today. Details at hamchallenge.org If you missed anything I've just mentioned check the website, and if you're still confused then email to [email protected] might help. Or it might not, but give it a go anyway. For the Darling Downs Radio Club, I'm John VK4JPM. Do the ham challenge, and tell another operator that you appreciate their work.