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With lots of Icom IC-705 rigs now owned my Famparc members, I stumbled across this great feature which I have not used before. Most radios have these feature, so it's not unique, but this helped me lots in receiving a low signal. Running on FM to a local Repeater that I have problems in receiving, I played around with Filter, Noise Reduction etc.. but, using the Receive Pre-Amp, WOW.. the change in receive signal and noise floor was amazing. SN Ratio The quick video demonstrates having the Pre-Amp on and off when receiving this low signal from VK3RSU Repeater. Try it for yourself on a low signal on say FM.. You will hear the difference between the SN ration on receive between the Pre-Amp on then off. Have fun with your IC-705. I am ! Craig vk3ncr

Hello Member, To further enhance our club, I have built a new page.. Famparc Projects This page can be accessed via the normal dropdown menu. Look for Famparc Projects. I have added our Famparc UNUN project as well as a new page to assist all to the world of AllStar. I have created a simple chart to view or download as a PDF. This is a simple chart showing the basics of the AllStar system. This will hopefully help with understanding what AllStar is. Beneath the graphic on the Allstar page, is my explanation to my graphic. I only hope that this inspires members to become involved in building either a club AllStar node and also their very own Node which they can use from their home or where ever. Any comments and suggestions, please fee free to make a comment below. Cheers. Craig vk3ncr

For those of you that are lucky enough to have an Apple iMac or Macbook, you know doubt know of the beautiful macOS operating system the these computers use, and the simplicity on how the OS works. There is an excellent macOS App called RUMLog NG, a brilliant full bells and whistles Ham Radio Logging program. I have been using this amazing Logging program since around 2010 for memory. It is updated on a very regular basis. I have been working with Tom, the App designer and builder to add the up and coming Australia Day Contest.. There are many many Contest that he has available. I have now Beta tested the Contest addition the program and also worked with Alan VK4SN to make sure the uploaded file is in the correct format for the contest. He has approved the file format. So Tom, the App designer and writer, has submitted the updated version to the Apple App Store. Once approved by Apple, it will be available for worldwide download. Note: This is not just a Contest Program, it is also a fully blown Logging program that will talk to you modern transceiver, as well as integrate into your WSJTS (FT8) software, as well as update, QRZ, HamLog, HamQth and much more. There is also IOS Apps for both iPhone and iPad, that also talk to your database that RUMLog NG uses.. For example, you can have your Database stored within the Apple Cloud, so that any changes are also updated across all devises and vice a versa. Note: Except for offering help to the designer which then helps other Hams, I have no affiliation to this program etc. Hope this helps.. Craig vk3ncr

AllStar Hello Members, I have been busy learning the AllStar system.. After installing the new 4G Router at the club, I managed to get the AllStar Hotspot to work. So seeing you only need a UHF FM Transceiver to use with the AllStar system, if you have one, charge it up and bring it down the club on Saturday 20th. Jan. If you are able to program your radio, Handheld, Mobile or Base Station to: 441.250 Mhz Simplex CTCSS 91.5 That would be great as you should be able to easily have a chat on the AllStar network. If not, I'm sure some club members will be able to help out..

On Monday 15th Jan 24, the Famparc club had a Coffee and Cake Morning at a local Cafe. We had ten members turn up for a friendly chat over some coffee, cake and a few other snacks. Ken, Craig, Robert, Stanley, Viv, Baz, Murray, Colin, Roy, Bill Depending on interest, we hope to have one of these each month. Watch this space. Thank you to all the members that attended and making the effort! Roundabout Cafe. Roundabout Cafe 1/19 Shaxton Circle Frankston VIC 3199 (03) 9785 6091

The recent VHF/UHF Field Day, the guys from the EMDRC were out and about again working the air waves. Here is a brief Youtube Clip from Jack VK3WWW showing the amazing setup that the club has for field and portable use. Great job guys !!!!

The amateur class licence will commence on 19 February 2024 in Australia. Some amateur radio operators will have already received an email from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) about this. This is an extract of a live stream done by REAST Inc and presented by Justin VK7TW explaining everything you need to know about the changes, actions needed and essentially - what will happen going forward for ham radio in Australia. Exams are also changing 👉 https://youtube.com/live/jK_tk5SmCb4?... Chapters⏱️ 0:00 VK Class License 1:12 Key Documents 2:31 License Conditions 5:45 Qualifications 6:50 Callsigns 8:31 Permitted Frequencies 10:27 Power Limits 11:49 EME Requirements 15:21 Other Conditions 19:34 Transitioning - What You Need To Do 25:20 Other "Stuff" 27:23 Radiocommunications (Amateur Stations) Class Licence 2023 https://legislation.gov.au/F2023L0164... Explanatory Statement https://www.legislation.gov.au/Detail... Radiocommunications (Amateur Licences – Renewal Statement) Determination 2023 https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2023L... Radiocommunications (Amateur Licences) Amendment Instrument 2023 (No. 1) https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2023L.. Transition Arrangements https://www.acma.gov.au/amateur-radio...

I found this terrific YouTube video, which does show and outline the pitfalls of buying a cheap Chinese Amateur Radio Hand Held. Most of us Hams who have been licensed for a while now (I'm still a newbie too, 15 plus years), have a cheap Chinese Handheld or two.. Yep.. me too.. but.. I have like many found that the cheap Chinese Handhelds just can't always do the distance compared to the known Japanese brands like Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood to name a few. So.. if you are just getting into Ham Radio, this is a good watch for you.. It does point out the Spurious frequencies these cheaper radios transmit on. Plus, many of these cheap units are not approved by our ACMA, (FCC in the USA).. so be aware, check first. Note: The Youtube clip prices mentioned, are USA based.. And there is references to the FCC in the USA. Perhaps some of the Amateur Radio Guru's that read this, would like to add a comment or two to help guide the many newbies coming into our wonderful hobby. You just cannot go past the Japanese Brand Radios such as: Icom Yaesu Kenwood Alinco You will have these for years and years and much more support for them. Hope this is of help. Craig vk3ncr

Our clubs website is a wealth of information, from getting your Amateur Radio License, Antenna ideas and builds and more. One feature of our clubs website are the many Videos that I have added over the life time of our site. With Digital modes growing ever day, I have added another Video Channel to our clubs web site. There are many many videos from all around the world that are focused on Amateur Radio.. Take the time to look through them, you may learn something... I have ! Craig VK3NCR I will be adding more videos moving forward including more on Digital Modes such as DStar, AllStar, DMR etc.. If you find a video that you think will help others and it's related to Amateur Radio, and not Crazy Russian Drivers, please drop me an email with the link.

UPDATED 17th Jan. 2024 Received the AllStar Node, after a day of setup and testing at my home, I took it to the Wednesday Club Rooms day to install it at the club. I did find that it would not connect to our limited wifi at the club rooms. The unit I am finding works better with a wired connection direct to a Router, so Peter kindly offered to drive to Centrecom to purchase a Router that I had selected the day before. A TPLink MR100 4G modem Router. The Router has two Ethernet ports which allows for the AllStar Hot Spot to connect. That looked to fix all.. Still having a few issues which I am working. So when you are at the club, bring along your UHF FM Handheld and have a go at using the AllStar network. More updates to come. UPDATED 11th Jan. 2024 Glenn has posted the fully built and tested Node to me.. I expect to see the device arrive around the 15th Jan. Once I have tested it and worked out how it works I will do a demonstration at the club. Glenn VK4NGA will be putting together a price list on build kits soon. I have also uploaded to our website a PDF file on setup instructions for the built node. Glenn has done an amazing job. Here is the link to access the folder. UPDATED 5th Jan. 2024 Glenn VK4NGA has received my Raspberry PI board and is building my AllStar Node. Hope to see it soon so I can test, try and Demo.. Cheers. Craig. vk3ncr UPDATED 26th Dec. 2023 I have been speaking to Glenn VK4NGA, who is a very old friend of mine, and is the Digital Guru here in Australia. Glenn has offered to assist the club in getting a AllStar Node up and running so that members at the club can use their own FM Radio via AllStar. I have ordered a Raspberry PI 4 1Gig and have sent it on to Glenn. Glenn will assemble and set it up for me so I can demonstrate AllStar at the club. Once I have also gained an understanding of it. Will keep you updated as things change. NEW PROJECT FOR THE CLUB How about another project for our radio shack or perhaps for members for home use. An Allstar Node at our club rooms will allow a normal Amateur Radio running on 2M or 70cm FM, depending on the node we purchase for the club, to chat to other Amateurs around the would via the Allstar node. (running at the club rooms) Perhaps, with Glenns help, we could extend the range of the clubs Node so that many of our club members can use the Clubs Node from their homes. Love to hear your thoughts on this, so please make a comment below. Cheers. Craig vk3ncr With Thanks to Glenn VK4NGA Visit Glenn's Website Here. What Is AllStar? AllStarLink is a network of Amateur Radio repeaters, remote base stations and home nodes accessible to each other via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). AllStarLink can run on a dedicated computer (including the Raspberry Pi) that you host at your home or repeater site. It is based on the open source Asterisk PBX running our app_rpt application. App_rpt makes Asterisk a powerful system capable of controlling one or more radios It provides linking of these radio “nodes” to other systems of similar construction anywhere in the world via VoIP. AllStar is a busy network used worldwide. Many older 2m/70cm repeaters across the world are now connected to AllStar meaning that if you have a node you can connect to them. The great thing about having an AllStar node at your QTH is it is an FM node, so you don’t need a digital radio to access it. In fact you most likely already have a radio that you can use. Any FM radio with CTCSS that operates in the ham bands can access your node or an AllStar enabled repeater. Audio quality is generally extremely good because it’s FM so it doesn’t sound “digitised” like other digital voice modes. An AllStar RF Node such as the DuraNode is similar to the traditional “hotspot” in that it runs on a Raspberry Pi with an RF hat, and is connected to the AllStarlink network via the internet. The only difference is that the hat uses an FM radio chip, hence no need for a digital radio. You can control your node 3 ways. 1) Via “Supermon” which is a dashboard that you can add into the node’s software and can come up on any web browser that on the same WiFi network as your node. 2) Via an App called Node Remote which is available on Android and iOS . 3) Via DTMF tones from your radio. There are many repeater networks connected to each other using AllStar. The VK3RBA Hub is a fine example of this. VK Repeater Linked System – the information below is copied from the VK3RBA QRZ page: VK3RBA70 FM 439.675MHz (-7MHz offset) 91.5Hz         Site: Mt Buninyong (Ballarat) VK3RSU70 FM 438.100MHz (-7MHz offset) 91.5Hz         Site: Mt View (Glen Waverley) VK3RWU70 FM 438.675MHz (5-MHz offset) 91.5Hz        Site: Mt William (Grampians) VK3RCU70 FM 438.350MHz (-7MHz offset) 91.5Hz         Site: Mt Moliagul (Maryborough) VK3RBH70 FM 438.175MHz (-7MHz offset) 91.5Hz         Site: Geelong VK3RUT2 FM 145.075MHz (Simplex Gateway) 118.8Hz    Site: Warrnambool VK3RGV70 FM 439.775MHz (-5MHz offset) 123.0           Site: Mt Wombat (Shepparton) VK3RRU70 FM 438.525MHz (-5MHz offset) 91.5Hz         Site: Merbein (Mildura) VK3RBP70 FM 439.700MHz (-5MHz offset) 91.5Hz          Site: Horsham VK2RAY2 FM 147.225MHz  (+600Khz) 118.8Hz               Site: Albury NSW VK2RWB70 FM 147.200MHz (+600Khz) 123.0Hz            Site: Mt Gwynne NSW (Yarrawonga) VK3RJW70 FM 438.500MHz (-7MHz offset) 91.5Hz         Site: Werribee VK3RSW70 FM 438.600MHz (-7MHz offset) 91.5Hz        Site: Portland VK3RMM70 FM 439.275MHz (-5MHz offset) 91.5Hz        Site: Mt Macedon VK3RBO 438.025 MHz (-5MHz offset) 91.5 Hz     Site: Bendigo Use IRLP DTMF 9503 VK3RBU 438.475 MHz (-7MHz offset) 91.5 Hz     Site: Mt Hollowback (Creswick & North)  Use Allstar DTMF *88# There are also many international Hubs. These are mostly large interconnected networks. Hubnet UK: Click here to view their website. Founded in May 2016 by Steve M0HOY with the mandate of increasing radio activity through coordinating the linking of Repeaters and Simplex Gateways across the UK that in recent years had fallen into disuse. Heading into its 6th year in May 2023, HUBNet has pushed the boundaries of multimode Amateur Radio communications; with a great deal of work by Peter G7RPG and the support of many others, HUBNet has rapidly become the largest multimode AllStar communications platform based in the UK. The East Coast Reflector network is another example. Click here to view their website.

Vale Patrick Emery. The Board of the WIA offer their condolences to the family and friends on the passing of Patrick Emery from ACMA. A long time associate and friend of the WIA who has worked with many of the WIA volunteers for the betterment of Amateur Radio In Australia. We have received at the WIA in the past days the very sad news that Patrick Emery (Manager, Licensing Allocation Section) of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), experienced a medical event on Christmas Eve and was subsequently diagnosed with an advanced brain tumour. He was rushed to Austin Hospital in Melbourne however, Patrick passed away peacefully surrounded by his beloved family. Our thoughts and condolences are with Patrick’s wife, two daughters, family, friends and colleagues at this tragic and very sad time. Patrick was 52 years of age, a qualified Lawyer and someone that at the WIA we respected tremendously. He has been instrumental in leading the recent consultations in class licensing and someone that we at the WIA considered very engaging, professionally competent and fair. Patrick was also a well-known music writer and published articles in The Australian, The Age and a range of other print media. I know the music industry are in shock with Patrick’s passing and of course at the WIA, we will miss him immensely.

Down the l radio station. SPIRIT FM. Rocking Hard www.ncradio.com.Au Peter VK3TQ.