I have had a camera in my hands for as long as I can remember. I spent many hours trackside photographing race cars in New Zealand. I started to get serious about my photography in Sydney back in 2001.
Over time I purchased several digital cameras, stepping up as the camera capabilities, and my skills, progressed. I really decided that portraits and landscapes were my preferences. With landscapes I decided that I should have some sort of off-road vehicle to explore this path.
This was around 2008 (we had moved to Canberra in 2007) and I had 2 serious DSLR cameras, a large bag full of lenses and a desire to see more. Enter the first Land Rover - a 2002 Discovery. I quickly decided that I wouldn't like it damaged or scratched off road so I started to look at older Land Rovers. Enter the Old Land Rovers.
The photography was put on hold while I investigated and played with the old Land Rovers. About that time I found that camping while outback would be preferable to day trips so camping became another distraction.
Of course, the issue of contactability while bush came to mind and I recalled my early NZ days as an Amateur Radio operator - you can read more about that in the amateur/ham radio history pages. I proceeded to attain my Australian license and accumulated some radio and test/lab equipment. That will be detailed here.
In the late 1970's I was a very enthusiastic radio ham in Wellington, NZ. I was a member of NZART Branch 74 - the Wellington VHF Group.
My first transmitter was a Pye Cambridge - converted to 2m FM - crystal channel selections.
Supplementing the Cambridge was a 'Wellington Walkie" - seen as the 3rd handheld from the left:
I eventually imported an Icom 211 from Japan, converted it from 144MHz-146MHz to 144MHz-148MHz and off I went into the SSB world:
That was a beautiful radio and I wish I still had it. I used to enjoy hearing that the 'skip' was on to Australia - I would load up my car and head for the nearest hill top :)
Wellington was also the platform for a foray into the microwave frequencies with experiments on 13cm. Before I left Wellington I purchased a 70cm ATV kit from the then enthusiastic group in Lower Hutt. I was still assembling and testing this setup when I moved to Auckland in late 1979 and became ZL1UAG.
Auckland was a fairly busy time with Ham Radio and, amongst other things, I found myself broadcasting morse code every week-night - speed ranging from 5wpm to 12wpm - to help other amateurs attain their full call. Along the way I acquired a Yaesu FT-7:
In 1988 I moved my station to the Bay of Islands where it eventually became a memory of my past. There were neighbours who objected to the asthetic graffiti created by my long-wire antenna from my rooftop to my fence (In spite of the fact that the neighbour over the road had a full HF tribander in their direct view of the bay in front of them). Consequently, I donated all my HF, VHF and UHF equipment to a local ham and temporarily retired from the hobby. I have had a dislike of pedantic school-teachers ever since. :)
In September, 2017, in Canberra Australia, I attained my Australian foundation license, having decided to re-enlist in the ham community.
The above two Land Rovers have been moved on to new owners and the one below is the currently owned vehicle. It is a 1980 V8 powered 'Stage 1' Land Rover.
Does the much expounded ideal of a group of friendly, helpful hams exist? and...
... how well does the educational and shared experiences side of Ham Radio work in Australia?
(The generalities expounded here are my own, only, and may be biased.)
In general, none of the above really exist fully. There are exceptions.
Clubs recognise that there is a need to teach and support new entrants to the hobby (afterall, it is a dying hobby - literally) and, in many cases, they go the extra mile to spend time teaching and assessing neophytes to ensure they have the skills to hold the most basic of licenses; the Foundation license. Once done, however, the F-calls are let out onto a slightly restricted world with little in the way of resources and assistance. Education officers who are unfocussed are often made to look good by a small group of stalwarts - pockets of the friendly, helpful...
In putting the next section on a www page let it also be known that there are a few Standard and Advanced calls in my region who will help if asked - but there is a higher number of crusty old bastards who are no help at all - and rude with it.
Who really knows where their problems come from - it is whispered that they have the shits because the morse component has been dropped as a requirement for a license. They perhaps have the shits because new licensees haven't been on the scene as long as they have (hierachal seniority, you know, based on tenure). Maybe they think it was too easy to get a Foundation or Standard license. Maybe they feel that the Foundation Call 10 watts is getting in the way of their 100+ watt QSO - live with it - you call the same people every day at the same time - 30 seconds for an F-call isn't really an imposition - and, guess what - >>NEWSFLASH<< - you don't own the frequency. But whatever the reason for it, there is no need for them to be the rude old men they portray. Here is a message for them: Remember your roots - you weren't brought up to be a rude prick - your age generally identifies the era you came from - unless you are gen-Y (much younger than you) there is no excuse for rudeness. (And if you are identified as a rude gen-Y: go blame your parents - everyone else already has).
And, not age-related: If you want to be a 'know it all' and cannot offer an opinion without a heavy lacing of condescension - then STFU. Some people buy cheap equipment because it fits their budget. Learn to help them improve that equipment or... STFU. People want to learn. You may feel that passing on knowledge in a clear and pleasing manner is below you - so just STFU and go.... - let someone with knowledge AND human-skills teach them.
In saying the above, it might just be a Canberra thing - I have contacted and met many hams from other regions (and, in fact, all over the world) who are not cast in that mold.
Anyway - rant over and I will leave it there until, or if, it can be proved that I am wrong...
If you wish, you can use the CONTACT link to let me know of your experiences. Please be assured that all negative comments will not just be locked away and forgotten but will be passed on.
Australia has a 3-tiered license structure for Amateur Radio:
Foundation license
Standard license
Advanced license
At Foundation level the amateur is an operator; restricted to 6 bands, a few modes and was commercial equipment only however recent (2019) changes in regulations have changed things. We can now build equipment (see Item 11) and are now allowed digital modes. Catch me on FT8 :)
The Standard license holder has access to 11 bands and is deemed to have sufficient proficiency in radio theory and regulations to be able to build, repair and operate his/her own equipment across all modes.
The Advanced license holder has access to all (23) bands and modes.
All Australian ham licenses are prefixed by the letters 'VK' unless there is an exemption whereby the prefix 'AX' or 'VI' can be used. 'AX' prefix exemptions include Australia Day, Anzac Day and ITU Day. 'VI' prefix exemptions are reserved for occassions of state or territory significance.The next character in a callsign is the prefix that denotes the licensees region. Australia is 'divided' into regions that are identified by a regional prefix. ACT, for example, is VK1; NSW is VK2. The map is an award map but it shows the Australian prefixes by region:
Possibly easier to read:
The suffix to the callsign can be 2, 3 or 4 letters that will signify the type of license held (Advanced, Standard or Foundation). A recent change by ACMA has closed off new allocations of 'F???' callsigns and Australian foundation class amateurs may now have 3 letter suffix calls. Currently a 45 working day wait for this from AMC, the new license examiners and call sign allocators.
26/10/2020 My new callsign was approved by AMC after a 61 working day wait and we now await news from ACMA that it can be used.
28/10/2020 - ACMA have been paid and have granted the new callsign.
Much has already been posted with regard to the equipment in use. Further to that, I operate my home station from the garage at my residence in the northern suburbs of Canberra. Why the garage? I have a fridge, satellite TV, a fully equipped workshop, my computer equipment, storage racks and a pretty good electronics lab all within arms reach. The downside is the temperatures in the garage. Winter is OK - I have heaters - a lack of aircon means the 'shack' becomes an oven in summer.Location-wise the residence is not good for Ham operations. It is in a valley and the surrounding homes are fairly modern with a high content of electronic equipment. Between the locally generated noise (LED downlights are AWESOME at radiating) and the surrounding hills there is little opportunity for distance communications.Sunspot and tropospheric conditions help, of course, but I have been limited, so far, to sporadic contacts with Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. The inclusion of digital modes in my license via WSJT-X and FT8 have certainly changed that experience!ANTENNAS:I use an inverted 'L' antenna 6m above ground level for HF operations - not good on 80M but fair to pretty good on 40 through to 10M. As I am only allowed 80, 40, 15 & 10 in the HF spectrum it's not too bad.For VHF/UHF I have several antennas: On the 6m pole I have a vertical 2m/70cm vertical Yagi pointing south, a 10 element 2m horizontal and a 10 element 70cm horizontal yagi mounted on a rotator. There is a 2m vertical attached to the house gutter.With my 10 watt limit, distance communication is really 'luck of the draw' so I also use an app called AirScout that plots aircraft in an effort to 'bounce' a signal off the aircraft, thereby helping to 'push' my signal that much further. It certainly makes a difference to received signals however COVID-19 certainly affected this capability.
I have already posted about my desire to 'go bush' for photography reasons in my 4WD. I also mentioned that being 'off grid' was my motivation to get back on the Ham waves. To be at all useful, the vehicle has to be setup. At this point in time (December, 2017) I have the following in the 4WD:
Dual 110AH batteries for camping (and radios) that are separate to the starting battery
Solar power to keep the batteries online
70L fridge for - refreshments :)
80-channel UHF CB unit already mounted in the vehicle with its own antenna on the side of the vehicle.
VHF/UHF vertical mounted at the rear of the vehicle
Tapped vertical for HF that can be mounted at the rear of the vehicle
All connectors and cables have been installed for the above antennas
7m 'squid pole' and mounting hardware to support a linked dipole on 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m & 10m
All the wires, power cables, earth cables, stays, tentpegs, rope, etc for the transmitters and antennas
Rollout awning, table and chairs for comfort.
UPDATE (2020). Having broken one squid pole and not at all inclined to break another there is now a 6m 'telescopic' pole that mounts on the back of the Land Rover - see the video in the Old Land Rovers page.
The current plan is to take the transmitters from the garage when embarking on mobile and portable excursions. Maybe, in time, dedicated tranceivers for the mobile/portable operations can be provided.
The mobile operations have been tested fairly successfully but not often enough :)
So.... what are the plans for the future? Given my fixed location, I have limited options at the 'base station' but I would like to experiment with the following:
transverter for 23cm SSB - need to upgrade the license - or buy a 23cm transceiver ;)
WSJT-X FT-8 transmission - DONE! Hams in over 60 countries contacted!
SSTV - UPDATE - now licenced to try this under the LCD :)
data/digital modes - UPDATE - working!
Control the transceivers from the computer with apps like Ham Radio Deluxe - DONE - and ALL QSO's are automatically logged and logs shipped to QRZ.com
I guess my future should have some study and an exam in it.
This next one requires an Advanced license because of the frequencies used but I don't think it is used much in ACT so is probably a step too far.
ATV - I owned and operated ATV equipment in NZ. Recent (2020) discussions in Canberra suggest this may be possible on 70cm.
These ones below are all currently 'possible' with my current license.
QRP - low powered operations (yeah, lower than current levels)
SOTA - maybe - want to transmit and receive in clear and noise free locations. Would rather drive up the hill than walk up though... so maybe Park Activations instead of SOTA
Satellite communications - I have searched for and heard AO91 and ISS - now I want to talk to them
Things I want to buy or make that are possible with my current license class:
minimum 10 element yagi with a rotator for SSB work - DONE!
hand held antenna (yagi) for directional satellite work
experiment with magnetic loop antennas
maybe find a way to put up a better HF antenna - DONE!
Sometime I would like to update some of my equipment to take advantage of some of the newer features.
Contesting: In 2017 I participated in the OCDX contest (Oceania DX) and was well pleased. The rules were simple (and understandable) and, although I wasn't seriously participating - just giving out a few numbers, I was really happy to contact Queensland and Victoria with my meagre equipment. As for other contests? Who knows - if they can keep the rules simple and promote FUN rather than BS then I would like to be a part of it. Portable, on a hill somewhere, with my camping setup... Personal opinion: Sadly, the attitudes of some contest participants are not conducive to assisting contest 'newbies'. Let me just say, that one person on VK4 certainly does not own any one frequency.
So.... where am I going? At the moment I am enjoying FT8 mode via WSJT-X. See my FT8 Awards link in the Links setion. So far I have found some excitement in contacting other peoples computers via the radio waves in over 30 different countries - including a much coveted contact with a UK station - on 10W. In addition, my logbook reports I have made contacts with the following Australian states and territories:
Herein I provide image detail of my Australian Ham Radio equipment.
As a foundation license holder I am restricted to certain bands. At this point, I am a licensed 'operator'.
We all have to start somewhere and this image shows my HF receiver and preamp neatly sandwiching the antenna tuner kindly donated by Pete - VK1SIG.
It wasn't long before I expanded the equipment list. Desktop/mobile/portable VHF FM comms are addressed by 3 imported low cost/average quality sets.
Then - along came the SSB set (location noise is a problem):
This is a necessity these days, especially with the cheap equipment which has little in the way of operator indicators:
HF is handled by the Icom IC-718 (you can see the noise problem experienced in this city on HF):
HF/VHF/UHF all-modes is handled by the Yaesu FT-857D:
FT-857 antenna tuning is handled by the Z-100Plus Autotuner:
VHF/UHF FM on the bench may handled by the recently acquired Yaesu FT-7900R/E. You get what you pay for and this is a really cheap and nasty build - but it does get good signal reports:
VHF/UHF FM in one of the vehicles will be handled by the QYT-8900D:
VHF/UHF FM in the other vehicle will be handled by the QYT-8900:
I didn't need these, but when they came available, I had to have them:
New QTH so changes...
New rotator (this one from Yaesu). New yagi and appropriate cables...
I didn't need these, but it was time for a change.
(On most browsers the following links will open in a new browser.)
There are a lot of websites that cater for the RasperryPi and Ham Radio. I have a few RPi devices in the shack, the most prominent is running HamClock - an app from the good people at Clearsky.
I have also watched the progress of Jason - KM4ACK - as he developed a full application suite for Ham Radio on the RPi. See here for the videos.
Born in New Zealand many years ago, I have travelled extensively to Australia, the USA, Fiji, Samoa, Singapore & Malaysia to name a few. (I first came to Australia in 1978 for work related business and eventually settled in Sydney in May, 2000 and moved to Canberra in 2007.)
I initially sat and passed my Ham exam in Wellington, New Zealand in 1977; receiving the license ZL2TNH and, after moving to Auckland in 1979, ZL1UAG. With work, travel and personal issues and pressures I stopped experimenting with HAM radio around 1990. In 2009, to retain my position with the Australian Federal Government, I gained my Australian citizenship.
I recently looked at radio again and having lost my original station license and exam results over many relocations and not wanting to even contemplate the issues that would arise from requesting the details from official channels in New Zealand, I decided to start from scratch again in Australia.
In September 2017 I sat and passed the Australian Foundation course and chose the callsign VK1FXNZ - kind of a homage to my roots.
In October 2020 I was given the opportunity to change my callsign and chose the callsign VK1JTX.
You may occassionally hear me on the VK1 repeaters - there is usually one idling beside me in the evenings or while mobile and, if I can get an HF antenna to work above the QRM in Canberra, you will find me playing in the HF bands - primarily on 40m but also enjoying 10m and 15m - especially on FT8. I also have a desire to explore 2m SSB again - you may find me on 144.2 between 2100z and 2200z UTC on the weekends.
When the radio gear can be all safely mounted in the Land Rover I'll be back into the travel side again.
The ham license brings me full circle (see the Intro page) and I am now in a position to get back into the travel and photography.
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i = 0;
while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
print 'Iteration ' + i;
deck.shuffle();
i++;
}
print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';
