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WHO: Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club WHAT: Hamfest WHEN: Saturday, July 5 2025 WHERE: Longwarry Community Hall in Longwarry On Saturday, July 5 the Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club will be hosting a Hamfest sale. the venue is at the Longwarry Community Hall in Longwarry, approx 60km East of Dandenong, Vic. The venue is easy to find. It is just 3 km South of the freeway interchange, 150 metres South of the Longwarry train station and level crossing. Tea / Coffee and sausage sizzle will be available on the day. OTHER DETAILS: For Buyers: at 1:30pm. Doors open at 10:00 for buyers. Entry fee is $7 Entry includes a ticket for a Door Prize drawn For Sellers: Doors open at 8:30 for stall holders. Fees are $18 per table. Tables are approx 1.8 x 0.8m Tables must be paid for in advance of the event via EFT. A maximum of 30 tables are available. Table hire includes entry for two persons. EFT use BSB 633000 Account 146016746 Bookings are not confirmed until a booking number has been issued by the booking coordinator. No trading before 10:00 am please. Direct enquiries to lan Jackson VK3BUF via: hamfest@ggrec.org.au or call 5644 3118

Join the Bendigo Technology Festival, hosted by the Bendigo Amateur Radio and Electronics Club. This exciting event will bring together enthusiasts, experts and hobbyists from all over to celebrate and explore the world of amateur radio, electronics, and technology of all types. Event Information Date, Time and Location Sunday May 4, 2025.Gates open at 10:00 AM. Fosterville Gold Pavilion,Prince of Wales Showgrounds, Bendigo, VIC 3550.Google Maps: 777F+3F North Bendigo, Victoria Admission is $7 per person, sold at the gate. NO food or drink is permitted on-site. Outside vendors will be accessible on the day. For more information, email techfest@barec.net.au , or phone our secretary, Peter VK3PWJ on Click to reveal, or Mark VK3PDG on Click to reveal. Vendors Tables are $25 and this fee includes 2 admissions. Additional persons required are available at $7 each.Table bookings are processed in the order they're received. Powered tables are limited so please ensure to register as soon as possible.Table booking will only be confirmed when payment is received. Vendors registration click here: Bendigo Technology Festival Vendor Table Registration Form .

EMDRC Car Boot Sale When: Sunday 30 March 2025 10am-1pm Where: EMDRC Clubrooms, 13a McCubbin St Burwood East From the EMDRC EMDRC is holding the ‘pop-up’ mini ‘hamfest’ / car-boot event at our clubrooms. Sellers must register for an inside table or car spot to park and sell their wares, surplus kit and parts. This event is an opportunity to dispose of surplus items. If you would like details on registering for a table or car space to sell, click here . Free pedestrian entry via McCubbin Street or Rees St, Burwood East.BBQ – sausage sizzle, drinks, cold and hot tea/coffee available for purchase first thing! Other: Parking for visitors  –  off site  in surrounding streets. Please ensure you park safely and in accord with the Rules in the residential streets. Some light use shopping complex parking may be an option to the east of Middleborough Rd – cross at the traffic lights at Burwood Hwy. Indoor tables – upstairs.   Unfortunately we cannot offer disabled access upstairs due to building limitations. Pedestrian access  – via Rees St path or McCubbin St (stars on map) – some limitations exist due to uneven/sloping grassed area and stairs to the second level. No onsite vehicle access or parking for buyers until after the event – bring a trolly just in case.

Hello Members, On my 2025 Wish List is a club Repeater, and now it's here... There's still a lot of work to be done. Note: This is a year long project to learn and have this repeater running for our club. UPDATE 3RD JAN 2025 Today (Friday, January 3rd, 2025), a group of us went to the Moorabbin Club to pick up our Club Repeater and Cavities. We are thrilled to implement our own club Repeater, which is a fantastic project for everyone to learn not only how a repeater functions but also how it is assembled. A few items that are required are: Power Supply (Done - Sort of) Power Supply Cable (Done) Programming Cable (Done) I believe we have other required components at the club: Coax and Coax Connectors, Antenna. I will utilize this blog page to showcase the build project. Club Repeater Donated by Moorabbin & District Radio Club Inc Club 2Mtr Cavities / Duplexers More fun to come... Cheers.... Craig vk3ncr THANK YOU! On behalf of Famparc and its numerous members, I would like to express gratitude to the Moorabbin & District Radio Club Inc for their generous donation of the aforementioned hardware. https://mdrc.org.au UPDATE 6TH JAN 2025 After collecting the hardware, I dropped it off at the club rooms on Saturday 4th Jan 2025. Everyone looked to be very impressed by the hardware and are excited in this new club project. A while back I managed to find and download many PDF for the MX800 Repeater, as well as the Windows Software to program it. With the amazing knowledge of Rakshit VK3DHR, he managed to get the software running on a PC at the club rooms. On Saturday I emailed to companies that I understand offer asssitance and parts for the repeater. I sent a request for the Power Cable, as it is quite unique. I will also make enquires for the programming cable. That's about it at the moment. Issues we face: Most of us within the club have either none or little experience in setting up a VHF Repeater, that includes me. Issues : Procurer Power Cable (DONE) Procure or make Comms Cable to communicate with Repeater to setup. (DONE) Setup Repeater (DONE - SORT OF) Find a suitable set of frequencies Re-Tune Cavities once we work out how to setup Repeater Looking for a clear Duplex Repeater Frequency. The one I looked at was 147.950/147.350, however I was told by Ken from Moorabbin Club that these frequencies are close to 500 watt Pages which are near by. The Cavities that we have, have been tuned for the Moorabbin Clubs own local repeater. The new frequencies I am looking at are: 147.275 147.875 Which is used by Repeater VK3RMP Caveat North Central Vic. If we find these frequencies perhaps suitable, we then need to setup the Repeater, and also get the Cavity Filters tuned for those frequencies. Summary : Find a suitable Frequencies. UPDATE 7TH JAN 2025 I have received a quote for the Power Cable and Comms Cable and requested a invoice so we can pay for the items. The quote was approved by the Committee. The supplier is Spectra Engineering WA. I am researching available and perhaps potential Frequencies for our Repeater. So far... 146.875 146.275 No go! 146.775 146.175 Possibility 147.025 147.625 147.200 147.800 147.275 147.875 If you would like to suggest a frequency, or check the above, feel free.. Please Post below. UPDATE 10TH JAN 2025 The Repeater Power and Serial Comms Cable have arrived.. We will begin doing to testing on Saturday 11th Jan. Look out! there could be blue smoke escaping LOL UPDATE 11TH JAN 2025 A fun morning at the club rooms with both Colin and myself learning and playing around with the Repeater. Now that we have the new Power Cable and Serial Comms Cable, we plug it into power and to our surprise it fired up. I then installed the programming software on our old PC near the fridge, and managed to get the software to talk to the repeater. After a while searching for a password so we could properly log into the repeater, Rakshit turned up and got stuck in to getting the software to adjust frequencies etc. After lots of fun and learning, we managed to use our radios to test the operation of the repeater and to our relief it looks to be working ok. Lots more steps to go yet. Colin was also playing around with the cavities. These will need to be changed to another frequency group. I think the next step is to connect the repeater to the Cavities and continue testing and learning. UPDATE 15TH JAN 2025 During the Wednesday at the club rooms, I managed to find some cables and connectors to be able to connect the Cavities to the Repeater unit, After some frustration trying to find the parts, I connected the Cavities to the Repeater and Cavities to the Diamond X200 Antenna above the front door of the club. Did some testing using my hand held.. So far looks to be working fine. Rakshit did do an amazing job of programming the repeater last Saturday which not only included setting frequencies of the Repeater for the Cavities frequencies, but also setting the power output, 91.5 Hz CTCSS, and to my surprise the Repeater Ident. The next step is to make or procure some better coax patch leads between the Repeater, Cavities and Antenna. I believe based on the sockets on both the Repeater and Cavities, this is what leads we require. After further research concerning Coax, I received this reply from a fellow Repeater Builders. Update Concerning what Coax to use: "As the author of the Repeater Builder website - please don't use RG213, RG58 or LMR type cables in duplex service.  Use double-shielded - silver plated cables everywhere possible.  RG214, RG400, and RG142 are excellent choices.  Please don't be tempted to use LMR400 or similar tinned braid over aluminum foil construction cable.  These make noise in duplex service - as in a repeater." Update Concerning Connectors: Rg214 crimp N connectors, be careful with modern T connectors, some of the cheap units have a spring that makes the connection from the leg inner conductor to the cross (top of the T) inner conductor. At 2m and 70cm this spring can act as an inductor, this has been known to cause issues with the tuning of the system. The old T connectors have a straight soldered connection inside! Cheers Stu VK4SDD. Update Concerning Antenna's: Also don't use a dual band antenna, I tried using a diamond as a test antenna for a 2m repeater and the desense was huge, swapping to a 2m only antenna, the desense disappeared. Don't know why there was a problem, did not really want to waste time on it. I found the Diamond F23H Monoband antenna for 2M could be a solution for this. Strictly ham show them on his website. https://www.strictlyham.com.au/diamond-f23h Small update.. After some basic testing and reviewing the many Repeater Frequencies, I think setting the Repeater and Cavities to : 146.775 146.175 As the closest repeater at these freq.s is as above. A good distance away. Of course this all depends on the ACMA. UPDATE 17TH JAN 2025 After much research and help from fellow Famaprc Members, the 3 Repeater to Cavitiy Cables have been ordered from https://www.eyou.com.au These cables are built using RG400 Coax which was suggested as above. I could not get a cable made with N Type to SO239, so we need a Gender Changer which will be for the cable that connects the Cavity to Antenna. A Website for working out Line of Site for RF Propagation. RF Line-of-Sight The RF Line-of-Sight tool allows users to easily drag-and-drop locations and obtain point-to-point line-of-sight information anywhere using Google Maps. This map is useful in planning and troubleshooting cellular networks for IIoT / SCADA monitoring applications . SCADACore’s Industry 4.0 solutions include true 3D HMI / Digital Twin and Web HMI that works over the web. This free online tool takes antenna height and the topographical formations of the earth to calculate the line-of-sight of a radio path. Note that buildings and other obstructions is not taken into consideration when calculating line-of-sight using this tool. https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ UPDATE 20TH JAN 2025 Our ordered Patch leads have arrived as of Monday Morning.. With amazing service from https://www.eyou.com.au I found a brilliant video from W6NBC on Youtube concerning Cavity / Duplex devices for repeaters. John talks about an article that he has produced which I have also created a link below. The Cavity Duplexer Book Anyone interested in our clubs 2M Repeater Project Build, I suggest you watch this excellent video by John W6NBC.. Our thanks to John Portune W6NBC for both the article and video. UPDATE 25TH feb 2025 Our Some of our very clever Famparc Members have been working on the Repeater duing February.. The Repeater itself looks to be working just fine, however we are facing issues with, we believe is the Cavities (Duplexers), having.a high SWR and lack of filtering. We are trying different Antenna' using one for receive and one for transmit to see if this helps.. However if the Cavities are not up to thr task, there are two options, give up on the project, or find another set of more suitable cavities. Perhaps even make some. The Repeater on the test bench and Cavities (Duplexers) connected. The Repeater is currently in test mode operating with very low power and with compromised antenna(s). Set your Radio to Receive on: 146.775 Set your Radio to Transmit on: 146.175 With a CTCSS Tone of 88.5 hz Cheers.. Craig. vk3ncr Any suggestions please make comment below.

Another Amateur Radio Foundation Course will be conducted by Famparc. TO BE ANNOUNCED! DETAILS: SATURDAY: The course is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am and end around 4 pm on Saturday , with a 30-minute break around midday and additional short breaks throughout the day. SUNDAY: On Sunday at 10 am , there will be a review session for students to clarify any confusing topics from the Foundation Syllabus. This session is expected to last approximately 2 hours. Subsequently, the practical and theory exams will be conducted. The class schedule may vary depending on the students present. Please allow a full day Saturday and most of the Sunday. INTERESTED? If you are interested, the club is looking for participants to determine the level of interest in both courses. WEBPAGE: Please use the Foundation Licence Course  page on the Famparc website. Click here.

A few weeks ago I gave a quick demonstration of HamSmith - an app I have written for impedance matching design by tracing a pathway through the Smith Chart with your finger. HamSmith is now available for iPad and iPhone in the Apple App Store! I hope to also have it in the Google Play Store soon. It has been an interesting and fun project.

Yes it's on again.. Thanks to Stanley vk3bot.. Famparc Campout March 2025. WHERE: Poplars Camp Ground The Poplars Follow Loch Valley Road from the town of Noojee, stay on the road and you will drive straight to the camp ground. WHEN: From Wednesday, March 19th to Wednesday, March 26th, 2025. This period spans from Wednesday to Wednesday, enabling other members to camp over the weekend. If possible, try to arrive by Friday afternoon, as weekends tend to be busy. You can see further dates listed on the Clubs Calendar here . Stans setup with the Camp Kitchen The camp ground is called The Poplars which is around 10k from the tiny town of Noojee. It's an easy and enjoyable drive via Neerim South, Noojee FACILITIES: Not much, but there are drop toilets , small camp kitchen and stunning scenery. There are plenty of campsites, but no power or showers. This is a free camping area. There are plenty of trees for wire antennas, and the best part is there's almost no RF noise. The campsite is approximately 10 kilometers from Noojee, and the road is paved, making it suitable for any vehicle. Noojee features two pubs, the Noojee Hotel and The Toolshed, along with a café. There is no supermarket, but the café offers a limited selection of basic items. The campground is suitable for all types of camping, including caravans, camper trailers, motorhomes, tents, and swags. Fire pits are available. Dog's are allowed. Telstra service was limited, and we were unable to connect to any FM or DStar repeaters. However, by using a DStar hotspot, we were able to access the DStar system. Join us to spend some time with other Famparc Members, and remember to bring your radio gear..

For the many of you that are blessed in having an Icom IC-705 rig, here is another trick for you to experiment with. Say you are not within range of a DStar Repeater, and you still want to access the DStar network using your IC-705. Well.. after a little bit of playing, I managed to get my IC-705 to connect to DStar Reflectors without the need of a Repeater, or a DStar HotSpot on a Raspberry Pi. However, you will need a Raspberry Pi, any model I understand will be fine. So.. even a Raspberry Pi Zero will work. Raspberry Pi Zero W WHAT YOU NEED: You will also need the Pi-Star OS.. Pi-Star_RPi_V4.2.1_17-Feb-2024.zip Check here for any updates... Pi-Star UK Raspberry PI Mother board. Raspberry Pi Zero W SD Card for the operating system, 16Gig is fine You will also need two USB Cables: 1x to power the Raspberry Pi. Usually USB Micro to USB A if you have a power supply that has USB A power outlets. 1x USB Micro to USB Micro for the data, one end connected to the Raspberry Pi Zero and the other end connected to the USB Micro port on the IC-705. My 705 connected to the RP Zero, Orange cable Power, Black Data to and from the 705 Note: the Raspberry PI does need a WIFI connection or course! Pi-Star Dashboard running in DStarRepeater Mode There are a few small changes you need to make to the Pi-Star Software... I found this brilliant Youtube Clip from K9SWX. If you follow his steps to the letter as they say, you will get it up and running in no time. I have been testing it and it works a treat, and with out the cost of buying a Hotspot. You can also see and use his text to step through as well. Click Here. One trick you need to be aware of, when he says, "Now Connect you IC705" DO IT.. Other wise the Radio Modem Type will NOT show the Icom Terminal Mode selection. And yes.. I know... this is not real Amateur Radio.. And I suppose in one way it's not as the 705 is not transmitting RF, as a matter of fact you don't need an antenna of course. But.. you are still using your callsign and also the Amateur Radio Network. Note: This setup will only allow you to connect to the Reflectors, like REF023C for example and not directly to a DStar Repeater. But as you know, many DStar Repeaters are connected to Reflectors. Have fun... if you need help or have a question, leave a comment.. Cheers. Craig vk3ncr

After some delay, I have now been accredited as an Amateur Radio Assessor by the ACMA. It was one of our club goals to have at least two assessors in the club, given the number of Foundation Courses we are running. Hopefully, this will take some of the load off Michael (VK3UUU). Ian (VK3KO)

Happy World Radio Day 2025! 12 February 2025 · Audioinfo · News · Sustainability Every year the world wide radio industry celebrates its own international day. February 13th is World Radio Day . Proclaimed in 2011 by UNESCO Member States and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as International Day of the United Nations, February 13 became World Radio Day (WRD). CEO of Australia’s Commercial Radio and Audio body, Lizzie Young has a WRD message about the enduring importance of radio. She told radio info’s Steve Ahern: “Unlike lots of other media platforms, radio is unique. It’s local in a way that others can’t be. “It’s trusted with news and information services that are fact checked… it offers the counter to misinformation and disinformation with local trusted information… radio plays an active role for communities in times of need.” Read more at: https://radioinfo.com.au/news/happy-world-radio-day-2025/ © RadioInfo Australia Infomration and Images supplied by: Our Thanks to RadioInfo.

To Famparc members With a heavy heart I have to inform you of the passing of Peter Repschlager vk3yg on last Sunday 9 February, at an age of 86.  Peter was a member of our club since the early nineties, and very involved in the tuition of prospecting amateurs, with his callsign vk3jpr. He lived in Pearcedale, and ran a business as mobile car mechanic in the region. Some of us will remember his trusty Toyota HiAce. While doing so, he was on weekends building a holiday home at the southern shore of lake Glenmaggie. Peter and his wife Jenny moved there permanently in early 2000, where he continued to run his business, and Jenny ran a daily mail delivery in the region. At that time there was no mains power at the orooerty, so a range of solar panels created power, stored in a wet battery bank in the garage. Peter was also a member of Wicen Victoria. And as such a valued member and radio operator at various car rallies and other community events in the region. I remember him talking about being involved in the early days of the Great Victorian Bike Ride. He also participated in a number of Red Cross Canoe Marathons, a five day event held after Christmas on the river Murray  between Yarrawonga and Swan Hill. In the past years Peter could be found regularly on a daily 80m HF net with Ken DeSilva vk3fkd, Graham Mason Vk3kmg, and often additional amateurs from vk5 and vk7, reporting on the water level of lake Glenmaggie (which was next to his back yard), and other regional matters. I was lucky to have been able to visit Peter and Jenny a few times at their house at Glenmaggie in the past few years. Peter (Victor Three Yankee Golf) has now signed off! ( But he might be still listening?) Funeral proceedings will take place on Monday 17 February at Semmens Funeral Services, 5 Queen Street Maffra, commencing at 1100 am.  Viewing is available prior between 1000 and 1030 am  After the funeral proceedings there will be a lunch at the Heyfield RSL. All are welcome. Cheers, Gerard Werner Vk3ger

Last year I had a fun three nights on my own at Wunghnu Near Shepparton . I wasn't really on my own, there were heaps of people over the weekend. It was the Goulburn Valley Vintage Tractor & Farm Machinery Club 40th Annual Vintage Rally and Tractor Pull. I was free and very relaxing, plenty of room for all types of camping, of course I was in my caravan. On the Saturday night, you grab your chair and wonder across from you camp to the Tractor Pull Area and watch the Tractor Pull Under Lights. Example of one of the many tractors during the Tractor Pull. I reckon this year if we have a few members wanting to go and stay for the weekend, we could setup a display in the camp ground promoting our club and Amateur Radio. Update: I spoke to Lloyd Healey (Listed below), and he was quite ok for us to setup a display right next to the sheds.. There are Toilets and Showers available as well. I'm going !!!! Whooo Hoooo When: From Saturday 29th March 2025 - 9am till 8pm From Sunday 30th March 2025 - 9qm til 4pm Where: Wunghnu Recreation Reserve, Goulburn Valley Hwy Wunghnu, VIC 3635 Cost: FREE Contact: Lloyd Healey on 0458 299 466 or mail@gvtractorclub.com.au Website: www.facebook.com/share/p/18Y8smg9bC… or https://gvtractorclub.com.au/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHq3C5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHYSDzl5F80CDXNI_UTXkySyZwDvs9Rn87r2gWA5ZNGYFrFGESrMAUDfQRw_aem_i3jO6GTUhsrGRpYCL_37FA Times: From Saturday 29th March 2025 - 9am till 8pm From Sunday 30th March 2025 - 9qm til 4pm A Huge Weekend of Entertainment: Start Up Of Crossley Engine - Hourly Tractor Pulling With 2 Sleds - 2:30pm Saturday & 9:30am Sunday Working Exhibits with Machinery of Yesteryear Tractor Trek Saturday Morning - 10am Twilight Tractor Pull - Under Lights Saturday Night - weather permitting GV Wood Turners Moira Miniature Rail - Train Rides Onsite Catering and Camping.. Plenty of Room! Federation Picnic Car Display Sunday A fun day for all ages. Even you! Click on Image for more details Location .. Click on Image for Google Maps