Author Archives: VK7TW

Tecnorama and Hobart FM Tour

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John Maizels VK4JPM opened the session with a fascinating introduction to the world of broadcasting, exploring the relationship between community radio and amateur radio and how both services are built on technical skill, experimentation, and public service. The presentation covered the evolution of studio and transmitting equipment, broadcast antenna fundamentals, and the history of recording technology, showing how broadcasting has transformed from analogue systems into highly integrated modern digital platforms. 

https://technorama.org.au/

The session also explored how all these elements are brought together inside a functioning broadcast station and the wide range of skills needed by a broadcast technician. Topics included:

  • the balance between integrity and continuity in broadcasting, 
  • where keeping a station on-air can sometimes require creative problem solving under pressure. 
  • John also explained where Tecnorama fits within the broader broadcasting landscape and 
  • highlighted the many reasons people volunteer in community broadcasting, from technical interest and learning opportunities through to community connection and public engagement.

Following the Tecnorama session, Jim Parish presented on Hobart FM and guided attendees through the brand new Hobart FM radio station, from the studios through to the technical control room where all the behind-the-scenes magic happens. 

Jim Parish Hobart FM
Hobart FM Studio B
Hobart FM - Studio B

A huge thank you goes to John Maizels and Jim Parish for generously sharing both their knowledge and practical experience with the group.

Tecnorama & Hobart FM Tour

If you are interested in becoming involved in supporting Community Radio in Tasmania then please reach out to VK7TW and he can put you in touch with Jim Parish.

73, Justin, VK7TW

Scouts, Safety and Signals: Amateur Radio Powers the 2025 Clark Trophy

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Amateur radio supporting the community shows up in many forms, and one of the longest-running examples in Tasmania is the safety communications provided for the Sir Ernest Clark Trophy. This Scouting event has been running for over ninety years and continues to rely on radio to help keep everyone safe.

The Clark Trophy is a 24-hour challenge that brings Scout Patrols from across the state together to tackle a wide range of activities including navigation, radio procedure, first aid, construction, hygiene, camping skills and more. In 2025 the event was held at the Rockton property west of Oatlands, owned by the Fish family, long-time supporters of Tasmanian Scouting. The site’s central high hill provides an excellent vantage point for the radio headquarters, with handheld UHFCB coverage across the entire property.

Ernest Clark Trophy 2025 Headquarters Camp
Ernest Clark Trophy 2025 Headquarters Camp

Amateur radio plays a critical role in enabling the weekend to run smoothly, providing the communications backbone that ensures Scouts and Leaders remain safe throughout the event. Held over 15 and 16 November 2025, this year’s Clark Trophy involved around sixty Scouts and Leaders, with seven self-managing Patrols of five to seven Scouts each.

Safety communications for the event operated across three channels: two UHFCB channels for Activity-to-HQ and Patrol-to-HQ traffic, and one amateur 2-metre frequency for HQ-to-Base coordination. The Base station managed scoring and broader oversight, with information relayed from activity points and HQ. Patrols used low-cost handheld UHFCB radios and followed standard radio procedure to report movements, provide situation updates and relay easting/northing coordinates as they navigated between activity points and campsites.

Ernest Clark Trophy 2025 Headquarters Radios
Ernest Clark Trophy 2025 Headquarters Radios

Each activity point was equipped with radios scanned across both UHFCB channels, while Headquarters and Base maintained 24-hour monitoring and logging of all traffic. Throughout the event, HQ and Base were frequently called upon to identify Patrol locations, request updates or provide information for inspections and scoring. Thanks to steady communication and detailed logging, the event ran without any significant incidents, and all Patrols successfully completed the majority of activities.

After the 24 hours wrapped up, everyone gathered for a BBQ, debrief and presentations, with the State Commissioner in attendance. Congratulations go to the Lindisfarne Scout Group, winners of the Clark Trophy and Flag for 2025.

And in true Scouting fashion, everyone who completes the event earns a badge… including the radio operators!

Ernest Clark Trophy 2025 Badges
Ernest Clark Trophy 2025 Badges

Perspectives of Australian Broadcast Radio

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On Wednesday 5th November 2025 we were privileged to hear and see a fantastic presentation on Perspectives of Australia Broadcast Radio.

Perspectives of Radio in Australia - Phil Tyson

Phil Tyson from the Sound Preservation Association of Tasmania (SPAT) came along with a very professional and entertaining journey through broadcast radio history from the wild west start when amateurs were allowed to play music in between the commercial stations through to the Golden Era of radio.

Perspectives of Radio in Australia - Phil Tyson

Phil’s presentation included many great pictures and audio recordings of historic radio programs and events.

Phil even brought along some great equipment from across radio history.

A huge thank you to Phil, ALARA and SPAT for the presentation.

Phil has extended a invite to the SPAT rooms in the old Bellerive Post Office and they are open from 11am-3pm Wednesday – Fridays. https://www.soundpreservation.org.au/

73, Justin, VK7TW

Exciting Upgrades to Membership & Clubrooms

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The Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania (REAST) is moving forward with exciting improvements to make your membership even more valuable.

Over the past few months, we’ve invested in upgrading our clubrooms, transforming them into a professional and contemporary facility for meetings, training, and events.

At the same time, we’re introducing the full TidyHQ licence to better manage memberships. This brings:

  • Digital membership cards you can use right from your phone.
  • Streamlined renewals and pro-rata memberships for new joiners.
  • Member-only communication channels, including tailored emails.
  • Lower online payment fees, saving the club money.

To ensure the sustainability of our facilities and services, REAST will also be introducing:

  • Ceasing free memberships.
  • A new Two visits then membership policy, so everyone who uses our clubrooms contributes fairly. For futher details take a llook at the Membership Policy in the REAST Policy Page – https://www.reast.asn.au/about/reast-policies/

We’re also strengthening member engagement through Discord, with new members-only channels providing space to buy and sell items, connect, share projects, and get the latest updates.

Together, these changes ensure REAST remains a professional, welcoming, and sustainable club for the years ahead.

Visit the membership FAQ page on the new policies for further information.

ADX QRP Digital Transceiver Build Intro

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A huge thank you to Richard VK2ARH and the Manly-Warringah Radio Society who have shared their wonderful kit build of the Arduino Digital Modes HF QRP Transceiver (ADX).

REAST organised with Richard a bulk buy of the transceiver kits and the Barb-a-Watt QRP power/SWR meters. The first introduction session with Richard on a Zoom Call from VK2 at the Experimenter’s Night on 19 March 2025.

ADX

The ADX was designed by Barb WB2CBA see his GitHub site for files and details of the project : https://github.com/WB2CBA/ADX.

About 30 kits that are being put together and the PCBs even have the REAST logo on them!

ADX Build Night

Richard went through a powerpoint slide deck about the history of the project, some expectation setting, tips and tricks and much more, thanks Richard.

All the information about the build including the construction manual can be found on Richard’s GitHub Site – https://github.com/VK2ARH/Cowtown-ADX-Project

We will be continuing the build over the next couple of Wednesday Experimenters nights.

REAST Visits Aunty (ABC)

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A huge thank you to Damien VK7SD and Allen VK7KAN for their wonderful interactive tour of the ABC studio and technical areas on Wednesday 12 March 2025.

ABC Tour 20250312

There was a group of 27 REAST Members who came along and toured all the facilities starting with the Radio Studios with the groups splitting into two and hearing all about the high-tech digital studios and the role of the presenters and producers. We where even treated to the Producer of the Night Radio programming letting us know all about his role.

ABC Tour 20250312
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WICEN Wake Luncheon

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As REAST and WICEN Tasmania (Sth) members will know there have been a massive amount of work done by David VK7DMG to bring WICEN Tas (Sth) under the Associations umbrella of REAST Inc.

This work was completed with the public notification in the Tasmanian Government Gazette issue of 5 February 2025, with the cancellation of the WICEN Tasmania (South) Certificate of Incorporation from 9 January 2025.

This prompted an invitation to all past WICEN Members to attend the WICEN Wake Luncheon at the Top Pub at Cygnet on the first day of Autumn 2025.

WICEN Wake 20250301

During the Luncheon there were a range of remembrance and thank you toasts made by the WICEN Tas (Sth) past president – Justin VK7TW that included:

  • Cedric Lockley VK7CL (SK)
  • Roger Nichols VK7ARN
  • Chris Webb VK7CDW
  • David Goodrick VK7DMG
  • Stu Braunholz VK7NXX
  • Brian Welch VK7BW

Emphasis was given that even though the WICEN Tas (Sth) Association has been incorporated into the REAST Inc organisation that it doesn’t mean that the traditionally WICEN supported activities stop. We are still involved in Equine Endurance and portable and mobile communications.

As per the amalgamation agreement signed between REAST and WICEN – the REAST Committee has created a WICEN sub-committee and this group has a budget, equipment and support of the REAST Committee.

We thank everyone who came along to the luncheon and celebrated WICEN history.

73, Justin, VK7TW

January Carboot Sale Wrap-up

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Well the weather was perfect, the BBQ fired up and snags, burgers and soft-drink flowed and there was money and equipment changing hands at a pace!

We had 10 sellers with stands and carboots that were doing a swift trade and it was great to see some sellers who had traveled all the way from the North.

There was significant redistribution of amateur radio treasure during the day.

We sold at least 11 x 8.1m Aluminium masts and still have a good number for sale. It seems that everyone who bought a mast was using the amateur adage that is used post storms – “if your antenna is still standing – then it’s not big enough” as they all bought 8.1m and not 5.4m masts…HIHI!

So we will be converting our 5.4m masts into 8.1m mast kits for the remaining masts.

If you are interested in purchasing one or more for the princely sum of $40 each then please make contact the club – reast@reast.asn.au.

A big thank you to all the helpers throughout  the day and special shoutout to Tony VK7VKT who was our executive chef on the BBQ plate.

73, REAST Committee

Tassie Ham-E-Con Conference – Wrap Up

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Highlights

The Tassie Ham Radio Conference showcased a compelling lineup of keynote speakers and diverse presenters, offering a rich blend of innovation, technical insights, and future-focused topics. Here are the conference highlights:

Welcome to Hobart

Welcome to Hobart

Our three keynotes were:

Dr. Tamitha Skov (WX6SWW) presented on “Space Weather and How It Can Work for You!”—a deep dive into the impact of solar activity on communications.

Dr. Justin Thurley explored “Amateur Radio: An Innovation Perspective,” examining the role of innovation in the amateur radio space.

Kristen McIntyre (K6WX) delivered an insightful talk titled “Ground is a Myth!” challenging traditional concepts of grounding in radio.

Our other presentations included

Dr. Paris Buttfield-Addison (VK7SYN) discussed “Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning in Amateur Radio,” demonstrating the potential for AI to enhance audio and other aspects of radio and congratulations to Paris on receiving a UTAS Alumni Medal last week.

Marcus Berg VK3TST talked to us about easy to implement cyber security measures for the shack.

Our very own Murray Southwell VK7ZMS gave a great talk on the fine line between innovation and improvisation.

Marty Nelson VK4KC demonstrated how easy it is to setup a POTA station and operate in a park.

Our very own Rex Moncur VK7MO presented on lightning scatter propagation experiments.

Our very own Martin Luther VK7GN gave a BC or “before computers” to Gameboy talk on contesting.

Andy Perryman (NoAPX) introduced the “World Radio League: Bringing Amateur Radio to the 21st Century,” showcasing cutting-edge logging and analytics tools.

Kyle Krieg AA0Z talked us through the used of the flow programming tool – Node-Red and the use of it on his Flex Radio Remote System.

Phil Wait VK2ASD outlined and announced the WIA’s new EME Flowchart and wonderful online calculator that the RSGB has agreed to allow the WIA to use.

Going up in frequency we welcomed back – David Minchin VK5KK took us on a 241GHz transceiver design for our highest amateur band.

Adam Kimmerley K6ARK took us on a journey of shrinkage where everything he touches becomes smaller and lighter for portable operation.

Hayden Honeywood VK7HH even ran a couple of Amateur Radio Quiz sessions to get everyone fired up.

Our last formal session was a clubs forum with members from the WIA, AREG and REAST as a panel using the online tool – Slido to capture innovative things the clubs were doing into on-screen lists and word clouds. The results from this exercise was distributed to all conference and online attendees for them to use with their clubs.

We finished with the Raffle Draw and we congratulate all raffle winners.

A huge thank you to all our sponsors, presenters, volunteers and participants.

Thank you to our photographer.

The presentations will all appear on the REAST and Ham Radio DX YouTube Channels over the next few weeks.

See you back in 2026.

73, Justin, VK7TW

On behalf of the Conference Organising Committee. 

Special Joint (VK4 & VK7) Presentation Night – Optical Communications with Rex VK7MO

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REAST and BVHFG Joint Presentation Night Recap – 28th August 2024

On Wednesday night, 28th August 2024, the Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania (REAST) and the Brisbane VHF Group (BVHFG) made history with their first-ever joint presentation night. This special event, featuring contributions from both clubs, brought together amateur radio enthusiasts from across Australia, with a focus on optical communications.

Presentation Highlights:

  • History of Optical Communications: Rex provided an overview of the history of LEDs and lasers in amateur radio, referencing the pioneering work documented on modulatedlight.org.
  • Detector Choices: Discussions on the pros and cons of different detectors, including red, blue, and infrared options.
  • The “Something for Nothing” Law & Line of Sight: Rex explained the physics behind line-of-sight communications and how natural and man-made obstacles affect signal propagation.
  • Building Reflection & Over-the-Horizon: Techniques to extend the range of optical communications beyond the horizon, leveraging building reflections.
  • Stanley to Mt Horror and Beyond: The remarkable 288km optical communication link from Stanley to Mt Horror, followed by Mt Horror to Cape Liptrap. Rex also shared some gripping stories from the Mt Horror bushfire and police encounters.
  • Weak Signal Communications: Demonstrations of signal decodes using Weak Signal Communicator (VK3HZ) software, showcasing the power of weak signal modes in optical comms.
  • Recent Developments: Updates on the latest in optical communication technology, including the FST4 mode, advancements in LEDs, and lens performance improvements.
  • Test Results: A summary of tests conducted from White Hills to VK7ZBX using FST4 mode, comparing equipment performance at wavelengths from 630nm to 730nm.
  • Propagation and Signal-to-Noise Ratio: An exploration of how different cloud types in Tasmania and aerosols affect signal propagation and SNR.
  • Safety Concerns: Public concerns about the use of bright red LEDs and eye safety were addressed, emphasizing the importance of responsible experimentation.

The presentation concluded with a lively Q&A session, with special thanks extended to Rex VK7MO, Richard VK7ZBX and Justin VK7TW for their contributions.

Video of the event is available at the REAST Youtube channel.

For those interested in further reading, historic research papers on optical communications experimentation in VK7 can be found on the REAST website: Optical Transmissions.