QNEWS - APRIL 9 2023 - VK4 ON AIR --------------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS WEEK? --------------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW QNEWS audio ready to download thanks to Brendan VK4BLP from www.wiaq.org.au QNEWS this week is 4.15 NOTE VK7AX SITE IS DOWN Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. I trust that all our audience is getting the benefit of this holiday break whether it is away with the family, attending to religious obligations or just refreshing the spirit with a change of routine. Around my part of the coast, I have seen vehicles travelling the highway laden with items to make the long weekend a special break. The east coast is fortunate with the climate that the weather tends to remain warm and activities devoted to water are a natural before the cooler weather descends for a nominal winter break. Having said that, some forecasts have suggested there will be frosts in part of the inland so I suppose we need to be prepared for all climates. I was reading some posts to groups during the week and one from an amateur in VK5 struck a chord with me. It seems that the property owner is setting down some stringent requirements on this ham as regards to being able to set up the items he feels necessary to get a station on air. Those of us in the rental market are often frustrated by an inability to satisfy landlords and property managers who neither wish to understand our requirements for recreation and seek to remain ignorant of what is involved in the activities that we want to enjoy. Whilst it is generally unnecessary to make permanent changes to a property such as drilling access holes for cable entries or fix furniture to floors and walls, these can present obstacles that cause many to give up in frustration. Then there is the attitude of non-amateurs to structures such as masts and sense of excited annoyance that anything that has not been seen over the fence line before is an unnecessary obstruction to the picturesque view they once enjoyed beyond the compost heap and detritus looking for a future purpose which is stacked against their side of the fence. For my part, I have gathered items such as garden umbrella weighted bases. Tripods which can be erected when required and fibreglass poles which attach and support wire antennas for HF and light VHF and UHF all go to making things practicable without causing too much offence during inspections or neighbours that seek to defend their own inquisitiveness. Getting signals to and from the house was an issue when the flat pass through cables available from the USA cost near $100 US. Then I discovered pass through “flat coaxial” cables for use in caravans and other awkward locations for watching TV. Yes they are nominally 75ohms and power handling on transmit is a question yet to be answered. For me that has worked on 2m and 70cms just fine with no obvious problems with power up to 50watts. More recently the LoRa cables have been hitting the overseas sales sites and whilst more expensive, these are nominally 50 ohms. This has been a solution with windows that have external security/insect screens and gets away from the need for drilling any holes. I am happy to save between $80 and $90 each time with this solution. I have ended up with a collection of adaptors for these cables and the solution may not be text book as far as some would think. However with a little trial and error there seems to be solutions for many of these issues. Good luck with your innovations on getting on air. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think....how about you? -------------------------------------------------------------------* 2023 Social Scene Clubs are welcome to submit text with audio for this section VK4 - Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club Hamfest Saturday 15th April. (vk4dn) VK - WIA AGM May 13 at 10:30am AEST proposed for Canberra (vk8zz) A hybrid event conducted both in person and by video conference and able to be viewed on an internet streaming platform. VK4 - SUNFEST - SEPTEMBER 9 (vk4an) At Mountain Creek State School’s massive air conditioned auditorium, just off the Sunshine Motor Way. Mountain Creek is tucked in to the west of Mooloolaba VK - ALARAMeet2023 4/5 November in HOBART (luther8@bigpond.com)