Events
October has gone and with it some successful club events JOTA, The bike ride to Patterson Lakes and the weekend trip to Jamieson/Woods Point. My sincere thanks to all involved.

JOTA
We have received a letter of thanks from the Guides for our involvement in JOTA (Reprinted elsewhere) and are looking forward to the 1999 JOTA/JOTI event.

Prac. nights
While patting backs, my thanks too to those whose enthusiasm has driven the Prac. nights this past year. There has been quite a range of equipment worked on, projects such as ATV, SSTV, FM90s and many pieces of members gear seen with lids off and soldering irons in attack mode as various faults have succumbed to collective wisdom. 

The numbers attending these nights has increased over the year. It is also heartening to see the number of YLs and XYLs who join us on these nights is growing.

Event queue
I have a feeling this is going to be a substantial issue of our mag, so 1 will try to be brief. This mag is both the November and December issue in one and. as November 20th is the final meeting for the year, take careful note of the event queue or you may miss out on a club event. 

Australia Day
Australia Day falls oil a Tuesday in 1999 and it is not intended to have an official time away as a club.

This being the case, Pat and 1 hope that at least some of you will join us at our place for a BBQ. Usual BYO food and drink, Be here after 3pm on 26 January.

Family
30Z and 1 will be away from the 20 th November for two weeks. With our family spreading out, we are doing a Christmas run catching up oil those we will not see on THE day. Our first stop is to be Linton Vic, then across to Phils QTH in SA. A few days camping on the Murray River and across to Strathbogie for the final weekend. It will be a good trial run for our newly acquired caravan.

Carols
While thinking about Christmas, you are all very welcome to carols in the paddock. As it gets dark on Christmas eve, a pageant about the events in the manger is presented with live sheep, horses and a donkey. Everyone is encouraged to bring torches or candles, blankets, groundsheets or camp chairs to sit on. A few nibbles and drinks might be a good idea too. Location??? In the paddock opposite Langwarrin Secondary College, Warrandyte Road, Langwarrin. Mel Ref 103 H6.
 

It only remains for Pat and 1 to wish you all a very happy Christmas, safe and incident free traveling and a restive, festive season.

7 3 Peter VK3VB

One tree in the front yard gave me a nasty turn when, just home from work and armed with weed wand I wondered why the ground was moving up and down just beside me. 

I know it's an old cliche about the ground moving but this was for real and anyway it was only 10.30am and I had imbibed just 1 cup of coffee and 2 cups of tea, but I digress. 

Each gust of wind was causing this dead tree to rock back and forth lifting its roots each time, and I was concerned as one branch if it fell could easily have pulled down the SEC cable and part of the barge board as well. 

After a few phone calls I persuaded a chain saw chapeau to call around and he swiftly donned climbing irons (better him than me the ground was moving up and down even more now) and soon turned errant tree into tame fire week. 

But with such an expert on site, we impinged on his kindness and one other tree reduced to a short stump and a third trimmed here and there. 

Now that left an almost dead pampas like a sore thumb in the centre of the front yard. 

Five hours with spade and mattock, axe, full overalls, gloves and two trips to the tip and the front yard is once more a place of relative peace. 

And yes, getting trees cut down i not cheap, but at least we have fire week ready for the next cold spell and barrowing the wood up the back yard has kept me out of mischief for a few hours too. 

Keeping fit...yes fit to drop. 
 

Now onto radio, we have to fred a new fixing point for the G5RV, lucky one tree was only trimmed. 

We are about half way through the clubs year and our event queue is looking good into the New Year, but once more, I am requesting ideas for talks and events for 1999. 

What are your friends or family into? Work or hobby, would it be of interest to club members? Any flashes of inspiration contact Pat or myself for dates available for next year. 

     Dorothy and Helmut have been up north and safely returned no doubt with stories to tell of things seen and done. 

Ian, Diane, Ross and Hal are enjoying the delights of the outback. Skeds have been both families, its good to hear club members up and about keeping radio watch. 

I know Pat and I appreciate the odd sked when we are away. Peter and Marion late of Gove N.T. are to build in Ballarat and so will not now be moving to The Alice. I guess 146.750 Will be used to keep in touch with them. 

  Jota is upon us. It's the 41" year of the event and makes me realise how time has flown. I can't claim to have been there at the start, but certainly operated in the 3th, 4th & 5th JOTA in the UK. 

If you have not yet indicated your willingness to help at the guide hall on the 17m, don't delay, ring Bruno VK3BFT ASAP. His QTH is ok in the club directory. 

Remember the sweets and coffee night on the 16m Oct., start is usual .8:30pm. Bring a sweet to share, your own plate and spoon. Tea and coffee will be provided by the club. 

     24/10/98 -The Bangholme to Patterson Lakes bike 
ride is definitely on. Cyclists assemble at Bangholme (Mel ref 94HB) at the cycle track, beside the Dandenong creek, off Perry Rd at 11.30a. Plenty of parking. For those meeting at the BBQ site, the details are Mel ref  97E6. 

From McLeod Rd Carrum, enter Launching Way to its end, up over the ramp, the BBQs are close to the water to your right (not left as shown on some Melways). 

We hope to also have the clubs BBQ there so come along for a pleasant Saturday jaunt. 

There is one more exam opportunity scheduled for this year at Tooradin on Saturday 7/11/98, if you intend sitting, please have your completed forms and fees into us by 19m October to PO Box 7, Tooradin, 3980. 

For other club activities see the event queue 
                       73s Peter 
                       VK3VB 

Ps. Please give your Christmas hamper donations to either Jenny Goddard or Pat Pavey. TU. 

Although Pat and I were away and unable to participate in any prolonged way, we did have a go, joining in the fun on HF CW with the now quite elderly FT7 and a G5RV supported on a 25-foot telescopic pole.

It is I think worth reflecting for a moment on the reason for this yearly event. Although called a contest, it is more correctly an act of remembrance. 

Remembrance of those who gave their lives in the service of the Australian nation, who being radio amateurs were to see service in some area of communications. 
 

                   In the WIA Book (printed some years ago now), there is a list of 26 WIA members who died in uniform in the 1939-1946 conflict.

But I suspect there are many more names that could be added to this list if we included those who have now become Silent Keys over the intervening years. 

Those affected by the harsh treatment they received while POWs or enduring declining health from scats and trauma of conflict. (This is true of course no matter our country of Birth) We should not forget either that Australian forces have been involved in military action since the 2nd WW, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf and more, and from these actions there will be some who will carry battle scars, be it physical, mental or spiritual, until they find peace. 
 

So we enjoy the gift of freedom here in this great South Land Australia and let us never forget that freedom has been bought at a high price by the few for the many. 
                                   LEST WE FORGET. 
 

On a more informal note, please check the dates of coming events carefully using this issue of the mag, as it appears that Murphy had a hand in the August listings.

Our program is complete for all meetings this year, but we are in need of speakers for early 1999. 

 If you have a subject you could present at a club evening, or know of someone else who is able, it doesn't have to be strictly radio, but of general interest, please let your committee know. 
 

    With Spring in the air, club members are thinking about  camping and the bush. It has been proposed as an informal arrangement to visit Woods Point over the Melbourne Cup weekend, 31't October- 2nd November. More information later from Dave VK3XMF, Qthr latest members list. 

      Christmas Hamper - Jenny Goddard or Pat Pavey will be eagerly awaiting your contribution of Christmas fare as from our September meeting. This will give plenty of time (warning) for a worthwhile draw at our December 12th break up.
      Please note deposits and completed forms are due at the September meeting for the Phillip Island Labour Day weekend camp. Details are on the inside cover of the August Gateway Mag. 

       To return to radio matters, the HF bands have been opening up of late with good signals up to the 12mtr band. 10mtrs full of Asian CB heterodynes, but no amateur activity heard at my qth. 

      There are a few club members worried that our 6mtr repeater may be feeling lonely and neglected, so, come on guys, dust off that 6mtr equipment and at least fire up on 53.575mhz and let our box on the hill know we still care. 

      That's it, must close and get the spel-spelll- spelling checked and cleared by my trusty sec'. See you all at our old f'ilms night on 18th September. 
                                        73s Peter VK3VB. 

PS. JOTA is coming up fast if you can help as an operator, please contact Bruno VK3BFT QTHR members list. 
 
 

       To begin this months report there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that contrary to all the children 's story pundits it is not true that the goose lays golden eggs, no and for all those years we have been taken for the proverbial ride. Ho Hum another childhood dream shattered.

 Which brings me to the good news. it has been discovered that it is the white elephant that actually lays the golden eggs, and fairly large eggs at that. So this is one story I am happy to be taken for a ride on .(sick). Seriously, Mike our treasurer has been heard on air with a much happier radio voice since the said white elephant took place. (Although a recalcitrant gum tree almost spoiled things).

 My sincere thanks to all who took part in the event, be it in the kitchen, on the door, security, selling, buying and those who stayed to clean up. An enjoyable day, well done.

       Now for the rest of the news. Don' t forget to come along and listen to and meet Peter & Marion Diprose at the Aug meeting. Find out what life is really like at the top end, it's quite to come those stories about pet crocs are not true I hope. Please a good look at the events queue and put some dates in your diaries now. There's to be a visit the National Rhododendron Park at Olinda. a short bike ride and a BBQ site those not so energetic can join the cyclists at lunch time.

 There is Labour day at 1999 at Phillip Island to look forward to. Some are wanting ideas for camps for Melbourne Cup day & Australia weekend, do you have a favourite spot you would like others from the club to join you at '??.

 lan VK3BL1F is gearing up for radio classes in 1999, hope to commence February, details tan 03-97765000. Next exam at Tooradin 5~9~98. forms and fees to us by 21/8/98 details103-5998 3533.

       Following the October meeting, just for a change we intend having a coffee & sweets night before we set up for JOTA.

     That's it for this month but watch this space for more activities.
 
 

P.S.- Beware of disgruntled geese, keep a large brolly handy if they fly over your place, remember no golden eggs just !!!!!!!.
 

Time once more for 'Petes patter', it has come around again very quickly. It's Sunday afternoon and I'm drifting in and out of a very nice nap. In the midst of consciousness, I can hear 'she who must be obeyed' busy working the DX on HF CW, even being called by Iceland. The advantages of being a YL op!7
 

July White Elephant month, even now at the beginning of the month there is little space left before this years event.
The barbie is being warmed, the bangers ordered and the ladies already planning 'the kitchen strategy. There will be one table
exclusively for GGREC members, one or two items only per member. We will be charging a $3 entry charge and this will include a ticket for a door prize. We will also run a raffle – Dick Smith Electronics has generously donated a 2Mtr - 70cm dual
band mobile antenna as the prize for this. It looks to be a great day to buy or sell or just meet old friends. C U there.

August 15/16 is the date of this years Remembrance Day Contest. Can we find enough operators to air the clubs call
in this event? Would you give up a few hours to fire up our little used club station? We will want answers at the July Meeting.

Your committee is working on events through to March next year, but the Committee cannot have all the ideas, so if you
have a good idea for a club activity, please let us know. CU at the next meeting or on one of the club frequencies.
 
 

Well here we are well and truly heading into our winter program. Even Peg VK3UK was heard on 2 metres to say that all he could see was snow! Seems a bit far-fetched to me, but then, Noble Park is a bit higher up than Tooradin.
My thanks to those who kept things going whilst I made a very rushed trip to the U.K. Although I took a dual band hand held with me, I didn't get much time to use it. When I did, I found that pager interference made even local repeaters unusable in the part of the U.K I visited, but 70 cm was unaffected, so I had to be content with a few QSO's up there once I had mastered whistling at 1750 khz that is.
So, to the future.  We will be continuing the prac nights so keep those irons hot and plenty of solder ready, or just come along, have a chat, a coffee and fire up the club station.  We have talks arranged through to August and Mike VK3KTO has agreed to put on another film night for us at the September meeting.  August we hear from Peter and Marion Deprose and their experiences at the top end. Many of you wonder how the WIA functions on your behalf, well, at the July meeting one of the Victorian Division Officers will be along to answer all your questions, so come prepared.

Because Australia Day next year falls on a Tuesday, the committee are recommending our weekend away for early 1999 be the Labour Day holiday. We hope to get support for a visit to Phillip Island. The advantage being that for those unable to camp, it’s just an hour’s drive to join in the club activities. Also looking at next year, Ian VK3BUF is offering to run classes for those wishing to sit for NAOCP and AOCP. It would help if we could gain some idea of interest, so, fit you know of any likely candidates, please let Ian or myself know.
I think that' s enough from me for this month. Hope to see you along at the meetings or on air, 146.225 or 53.575 is usually on when 3OZ/3VB are at home.
 
 

P.S. There is an exam scheduled for Saturday 4th July at lp.m. At present we have only one candidate, closing date for applications is 20th June - To:
P.O. Box 7    ,TOORADIN 3980 ,   Inquiries to 03 5998 3533
 
 

 As most club members will be aware, our newly elected president is in England so some from the secretary this month instead.
 My first task is to officially thank our outgoing president Ian VK3BUF and the committee who so ably supported him last year.  We did appreciate all your hard work on our behalf, also thanks to Robin for the magazine.
 The meeting in May will be an obsolete computer night, so please resurrect all those dusty old P.C.’s and bring them along on that night.  Your participation is needed to ensure its success.  Also planned are a talk on Medical Lasers (June general meeting), Mid-year dinner, White Elephant, etc. - see notices inside for details.
 Subscriptions are now due and Mike VK3KTO will be looking forward to receiving these at the May meeting.
 Thanks are extended to Max for electrical work at the hall and also to Ian, Reg and Max for repairs to the pole which supports the dipoles.  This work was carried out on Thursday 30 April.
 Exams were conducted at Tooradin on Saturday 2 May.  There will be none in June but another could be held in July if we have sufficient candidates.
 Congratulations to Dianne Jackson who is now VK3HDI - well done Dianne!
 I understand a very well attended prac night took place on Friday 1 - members wee heard leaving the club room at a very unearthly hour and Albert and Ian were able to have a short eyeball with Phil VK5VB in Cranbourne shortly after midnight as he and his family passed through on their was to Tooradin.
 All ten J.V. Fax kits have now been sold, see Ian if you missed out and get your name on the list for the next batch.
 The committee met at Tooradin on Friday 1st with Ian taking the chair in Peters’ absence.
 News from the U.. is that their recently instigated Novice licence is very popular and numbers are increasing in this category, although in general Amateur Radio is finding itself struggling to maintain numbers and enthusiasm.  Peter will be back on Australian soil on May 8 so look for him on 146.225 after this date.
 
 

  Greetings and welcome to the April edition of Gateway.  Now that we are on the other side of Easter and we are being taunted by preliminary winter chills, it is a good time to think about those little soldering projects that will keep you in the workshop with a cosy one bar radiator at your back.  In recent times programs on the telly have been either totally pathetic or inundated with so much twenty-minutes-in-the-hour advertising that anything worth watching is about as satisfying as a bread and butter sandwich with the crusts cut off!  So much for that proposed Digital TV.   I'd sacrifice high resolution tripe for a quality  low-res. movie any day!      Ah…now where was I? Oh yeah.   Since we shall have lots of spare time in  the evenings, amateur radio starts to look good.  Make use of our Prac Nights and get a few projects going.   If you can't think of anything to make, then have a browse through the kit section in a Dick Smith or Altronics catalogue for a few ideas.
  Our Club project of Slow Scan Television kits is coming along well, we have sold the first ten kits and some signals are starting to appear on the air.  The kits are now $60 ea for members and $75 for non-members.  When I receive a few more orders I will organise the next batch of ten kits for sale.  (Call me on (03) 9776 5000 for more details)
  At the start of this month an exam session was held at Tooradin for some members going for their Novice License and it looks like a couple may have got through.  This is a first class service that Pat and Peter Pavey have been providing for a few months now.  If you already have a callsign that you were going to upgrade one day when you 'got around to it', don't wait,   do it this winter!  There probably never will be a better or more convenient time.
  Coming up soon on a General Meeting night, perhaps in May, we shall be having a talk and demonstration on Lasers as they are used in medicine.  We could start a new fad, you could be the first person in your street to have your callsign burnt into your buttocks!  Yes, I'm sure that this lecture will have the potential to make a lasting impression.  (PS. Make sure you get a license upgrade first as old callsigns are terribly hard to change)
  During a recent chat with Graem VK3XTA we came up with the idea for a fun meeting, The Obsolete PC Night!  This technological equivalent of the Dead Poets Society would encourage you to dig out all your old computer systems so that everyone can point and laugh.   Everyone must have an old VZ200 or Microbee stashed somewhere, probably hiding under the System 80 or the MC10.  Have a think about this one and we will pick a night where we can all sit around and enjoy a nice hot CoCo.
  This Friday Night we shall be conducting our Annual General Meeting.  As previously mentioned, I shall not be standing for the Presidents position, so this report you are reading shall be my last.  When I look at my desk I am staggered by the vast quantity of committee nomination forms that are not there.  This is an ominous sight.  Unless more members are willing to get their hands dirty, it will be a very short AGM.  If you have an opinion about how the Club ought to be run or improved, this is where you get to exercise it.  Should we have more technical activity at meetings or fewer non radio lectures or even free sandwiches with the crusts cut off,  here is your chance to initiate change.  It doesn't  matter if you have not been a President or Secretary before, give it a shot.  Any positions not filled this Friday night will increase the workload of those who do volunteer, and unless we get a Treasurer, Secretary and President, it may be the last meeting for some time….
 
 

  Hi there.  I'm writing this report a little early this month because by the time you get to read this I will be getting a tan on a sunny beach in VK4 land.  Its true! and not just a pigment of my imagination.   I must also point out that soon I go into retirement.  That is not to say that I will be wearing slippers all day and storing my teeth in a glass of water. (Hey, I'm only thirty seven)  What I meant was is that its nearly time for our annual election process.  The Club is in pretty good shape at the moment, a trend that we should try to continue.  If you think that you are able to have a shot at any of the committee positions for a year, then hand in a nomination form this Friday night.    You know the drill….
  One the two Club's ATV transmitters has been upgraded to include an extra exciter for 444mhz .  This means that unlike 426mhz, most peoples TV sets will be able to receive it directly.  We have also purchased a Phillips black and white video camera to go with one of the transmitters.  It has an integral 3" monitor which makes it ideal for ATV work.  This Friday night, after the general meeting, we will set up a link between the guide hall and Peter VK3VB's QTH in Tooradin to demo the equipment.   If you have an interest in trying out ATV,  put up your hand for a loan of the gear.  There is the transmitter with its internal power supply, antenna, coax and now a camera.  Just add 240V!  (and don't forget to comb your hair)
  If you were there on our Prac night at the start of the month, you would have seen the launch of our new Slow Scan TV interface kit.  It works quite well with the JV Fax program.  The kit includes all sorts of goodies like connectors, relays, monitor amplifier, speaker and a box to put it all in with a laser printed label.   The first eight kits were $55 (the first five have already sold) after which it goes up to $60, and $75 for non members.  The kits will be available from the April Prac night, which is also a construction night, so bring your hot irons.
  Also this month is an afternoon ten pin bowling session at Mooroolbark, followed by dinner.  The bowling session will also include a behind the scenes tour of the machinery that sets up the pins.  If you fall into the machine you could be set for life!   See the ad in this magazine for more details.
  I would like to congratulate Paul and Melinda on the birth of their daughter Lauren.  (I was supposed to put that bit in last month, but um, I forgot.)  This achievement was hot on the heels of Melinda passing her AOCP theory exam.  Things have been very busy in the Ash household lately on several levels.  Well Done!
  In the five lines I have left before the cursor shoots to the top of the next page,  I would like you all to be kind to our guest Chairman Albert VK3BQO who will be chairing the meeting this Friday night, and no chatting in the back row, he's a pretty good shot with a gavel.
 
 

 The JV fax interface project has proceeded another step this week when I uploaded the PCB artwork to the circuit board company.  For those of you who have not been across this project yet, I had better give a quick description.  The project will allow any two transceivers to be connected to a box via their microphone and speaker sockets.  The serial port of a PC is also connected.  The idea is that you can pick up a microphone and chat on one radio while sending or receiving a JVfax or slowscan image on the other rig. At the flick of a switch, you can swap over rigs.   The project consists of a box with a modem interface and audio monitoring facilities.  It also features full D.C isolation between the rigs and the computer.  We are getting twenty boards initially and should have ten kits available at the next prac night.  In fact, the focus of the Prac Night will be for people wishing to put their kit together.  Bring your tools!  The final price of the kit is yet to be confirmed but will be around the $35-$40 mark.
 This Friday night I will be giving a short talk on the programming language known as Visual Basic.  It is a package for developing those nice windows based programs you see from time to time and is quite simple to get started.  Using VB version 3, I will show how simple applications are put together.  I have made a simple demonstration program to assist in the design of yagi antennas which will work on any Windows 3.1 or 95 system.  Bring a blank disk if you want a copy.  In a couple of months we shall have a programmer from Telstra to show how advanced applications are put together.
 Next month (March) we shall be accepting nominations for the 1998-99 committee positions.  As usual, all positions will be declared vacant at the AGM in April and we must select a new committee.  I will not be standing for the Presidents position next year, so if you would like a direct say in running your Club, here is your big chance.
 This Sunday (Feb 22) is the date scheduled for our visit to the Crown Casino.   Rendezvous is out the front of the main entrance of the New Exhibition Buildings in Spencer st. at 2:00 pm.  Bring a wheelbarrow to make it easier to take your money home in case you win.  (Bring a pre-paid train ticket in case you don't.)
 Reg VK3UK has organised a bowling afternoon at his favourite haunt in Mooroolbark  The date is on Sunday 29th of March.  There should be an advertisement for this in the next mag.  Rumour has it that we will be given a short tour of behind the scenes to see how it really is that the pins are replaced after being knocked over. What you always suspected but were never really sure about…. That's right, a secret room full of manacled monkeys with blocks of wood, whittling knives wielding a can of fast drying white paint.
 
 

Have you ever been sound asleep and been woken up by a noise, just brief enough to make you wonder whether or not you actually heard it?  So you lie there for a while trying to match up this barely perceived half-noise with any reasonable normal noise while you decide whether to investigate or go back to sleep.
I heard this thump the other night, well at least it was a barely perceived half thump.  Was that the sound of small meteor plunging through roof tiles?  Had a police SWAT team kicked down our door erroneously after misreading the address?  No, it was non of these.  The noise was in fact the sound of the cat pushing the ironing board from the laundry cupboard, culminating in a fist sized indentation in the adjacent plaster wall.  I should have guessed.  You may well ask what this has got to do with Amateur Radio?.  Well, I'm not sure yet either, but I'm working on it.
  I trust that all Club members have had a satisfactory break over the Christmas and New Year period.  Summer is a good time to think about radio because more people are travelling and living away from home.  This can be the catalyst for some good contacts with portable stations on HF, and even on VHF when inversions are running well.  Last month Peter VK3VB made a two directional video contact with Graeme VK3XTA, from Tooradin to Baxter, some 22km using one of the Clubs ATV transmitters.  If you are interested in giving this a bit of a go, put your hand up sometime during the year for a loan of a transmitter and antenna.
  This Friday night shall be an interesting one.  Ron VK3EXJ shall be bringing along his home brew 8 inch reflector telescope.  We will learn how he made it and discover what can be seen with it.  (and no jokes please about examining heavenly bodies)  Fabricating one of these units is an exacting process, we will find out how you can turn a slab of glass into a near perfect parabola with the right sized grit and a lot of determination.
The February Prac Night will be a project and fixit session.  Bring along your current project to do a little work on it, or just show everyone how far you have progressed.  With a little bit of luck we will be using the March Prac Night to introduce the JV FAX modem we intend to produce as a kit.  This little unit should support two transceivers simultaneously with full tx/rx monitoring features, while maintaining complete electrical isolation with your PC.  More details next month
An important safety tip for the new year:  Make sure your workbench has a good soldering iron stand, after all, a falling iron can leave a lasting impression.
 
 

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