Presidents Report 2002/2003
April and the club AGM is upon us again. The year seems to have just flown. I hope we did justice to our 25^th anniversary celebrations. We were a little late starting but the dinner at the Cardinia Park Hotel was a notable event and enjoyed by all who attended, it was a shame that not many ex members or foundation members were able to come. The Special call sign of VI3BJA netted us around 1200 QSO's with some 54 overseas countries. Quite a few have sent direct to our club PO Box to ensure a return QSL. At this stage we have written and sent off about 80% of outgoing cards and I would like to thank those members who not only aired the call but also have been speedy in writing out the cards.

Our event queue has been quite full, with weekends away spent at Port Welshpool, Jindivik/Neerim South and Heyfield/Stratford on Avon. The Hamfest/ Radio sale was so successful that our Guide Hall venue has become to small for the event and a larger Hall has been reserved for July 19^th this year. A sub committee of Albert Hubbard VK3BQO, Ian Benson VK3KSZ and Keith Sadler VK3VKS are in the throes of making sure the amateur community are fully aware of he improved facilities we offer at this years sale site. A look at the event queue for the last 12 months will show the diverse talks and equipment demonstrations that have taken place. We have shared in pleasant company at various hostelries clubs and restaurants. There have been cycle rides, fox-hunts, bbq's and the annual participation in JOTA/JOTI.

Despite the doom and gloom brigade and their prophecy of the demise of our hobby I think this next year will be a growth time for our club. Under the tuition of Ian Jackson radio classes have already begun with 11 students attending so far and an additional 6 or so interested and yet to show. The clubs exam service has allowed 7 new call signs to be heard on air this past year. The list of speakers is growing and at present we are looking to fill the August slot and beyond. We are also still in negotiation with the Guides and others with regard to placing a re-locatable building adjacent to the hall as a more convenient workshop/shack.

I would like to thank the committee for their work to date and hope that some of them will nominate for the coming year. Andrew VK3HFA and Ian VK3BUF are stepping down from the position of treasurer and secretary respectively. I am sure you all join with me in offering them our thanks for all the hard work that gets put in behind the scenes to keep the club successfully viable. It is hard to know who to single out for additional thanks, there is always the danger of leaving out someone deserving. One group that I will point out is the XYL's who share in our meetings and other club activities. I am told that our family style radio club is unusual, this being the case we have an asset that we should be very thankful for. My sincere thanks to all the ladies who form part of our clubs life.

Well that’s enough from me except to encourage you all in the coming year in the fascinating hobby of Electronics and in particular Amateur Radio. As we have seen in the recent bush fires there is still a need for the skills we possess, so lets head into the next 12 months on a positive note and hope and pray for peace and good conditions.

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Hastings, Cycle, Walk, BBQ
Satuday, 26^th April 2003.
Firstly you will need to find Melway page 154 Ref K11. This is our assembly point, plenty of car parking, a play ground for the kids, meet at 10.00.

Activity choices.

Walks. There are a number of walking tracks leading both North and south from here, some just around the vacinity and others are more challenging taking you to HMAS Cerberus.

Cycling. For young children keeping within the foreshore/western port marina confines will be safest. For those who would like a circular/interesting ride we will leave the car park by 10.15, going south taking the cycle track past the marina (to Mel164 K1). Follow the path on Reid Pde over the rail line then left and over the bridge parallel to the Flinders road. At Stony Point Rd turn left over the rail line, the track continues until the Woollies Rd intersection. Go left, here there is no cycle track for the one Km to Jacks Beach Reserve. This will be a coffee stop, if you bring a flask. There are toilets here and picnic tables. This is the half way point. Now a choice, for those not too confident on balance you may return the way we came, for the rest we turn back north (Mel 165 A7) a walking/cycle track leads back to the marina through the wet lands/mangrove swamp on an elevated board walk. There are no protective side railings over most of its length so a good sense of balance is essential.

BBQ. The cyclists should be back at the BBQ site by 1200/1230, no doubt hungry and ready for a feast. Those of you who are already fit and not in need of exercise might like to make sure the BBQs are nice and hot by then.

WX. If the weather looks like it might rain then check in on 146.225 Mhz at 0915.

C uz all there, 73s

Pete.

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VK/ZL trans-Tasman 80m Contest
Last year I entered this contest and had lots of fun, so here are some details so that you can all join in. The duration of this contest is only 6 hours, meaning that it may suit a lot more people then a 24 hour timeframe. For 2003 the contest has been split over two weekends, with the "phone" on Saturday 24^th of May 0800-1400 utc and the CW on Saturday 7^th of June from 0800-1200 utc. Power is restricted to 100watts, and both cw and phone have a QRP category for 5 watts and under. Each hour you work stations again – but if you worked the in the last 5 minutes of the hour you must wait until at least 5 past the hour to re-work.

Frequencies for phone are 3.535 - 3.625 and cw 3.500 – 3.550.

Full rules and logsheets can be found at: http://home.iprimus.com.au/vktasman/index.htm

This contest is aimed at single operators, but clubs can enter provided it is one operator per hour and he is unassisted during this time.

Last year’s contest was won by VK7KHZ/second operator, pictured below.

Maybe between our club members we can have a "mini-competition" to see who achieves the highest score for each of the two sections? This really is a user friendly contest that takes minimal prepartion and user friendly with the six hour format.

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Warning on switch mode power packs
After 2 incidents of damage to my equipment, I thought it would be a good idea to let other members know about it, and more importantly, what to look out for.

In both incidents when piece of equipment was connected/disconnected from another, a large surge resulted, destroying the associated circuitry.

First, I had Reg’s video camera connected to a PC that I use exclusively for slow scan, usually during JOTA. Reg had had enough so the camera was unplugged from the PC and he went on his way - that was the end of the video input card on the PC.

Secondly, I plugged my document scanner into my PC’s USB port - that port has never worked again (as this port is on the mother board, it is a very expensive repair)

In both cases the peripheral device was being powered by a small switch mode power pack of the double insulated variety. Normally double insulated devices are supposed to be safer - maybe to the operator but not to the equipment it turns out!

On inspection it turns out that they usually have interference suppressing capacitors fitted, now these usually go from the input main to earth and from the output to earth. What earth, as these are double insulated the only "earth" is on the output lead. If you measure the output connector with reference to a real earth you will find about 120V AC! Now the currents involved are really very low and wont hurt you, however when you shove that connector in (even with USB - designed for hot plugging) there can be a surge as one side of that capacitor is brought down to earth.

When I plugged in the scanner’s USB lead I actually did see a spark. In this case the power pack was a real joke as it was of the plug pack variety, all they had to do was fit that earth pin (and use it) and there would have been no trouble at all. But as usual the dollar rules and that extra pin would cost them money, so they left it out.

Normally with most shack equipment (in particular switch mode power gear), there is no problem swapping connectors about with the power on, but as I have found, if something uses one of those little double insulated supplied - watch out!

I would be also cautious with laptops, if they use a 2 pin power lead and you are about to plug or unplug the only external (earthed) device, temporarily turn off the mains and let the laptop run on its batteries for the 10 seconds required to complete the connect or disconnect.

Paul VK3TGX

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Photos

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GGREC IRLP/70cm Repeater Project
John VK3XJW
As you can see by the size of this article, not that much has happened since last month, so here are the details anyway.

The cabinet sheet steel is guillotined ready to be folded, and then it will be off to Ian’s VK3BUF for the frame of the cabinet to be made. We have received some LDF750 cable from Paul VK3TBB for the antenna runs. I am working on the antennas for the repeater and hope to do some on air tests with them from my QTH in the next week or two. The CTCSS tone access for the repeater is installed but is not enabled until the WIA and users of the VK3RLP repeater are notified of its installation. The CTCSS is set to 123Hz but may change to 88.5Hz as some operators only have this one frequency. I will let you all know over the air if this happens. 73s John

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Event Queue

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The Missing Q signals
by John Queen, KA0SEY & Mike Colyar, K7ITL

Some Q signals have never made it to the ARRL's official list. Here are some that may agree would be useful in appropriate situations. As with regular Q signals, each can be a statement or a question, depending on whether a question mark follows it.

QBA - My antenna is BIG!
QBA? - How big is your antenna?
QBO - Don't sit next to that guy in the meeting.
QBO? - Buddy, can you spare some soap?
QBS - It's getting deep in here.
QBS? - Did I tell you about the one that got away?
QCP - I am using Cat Power(From Rotary Cat Power Wheel)
QCP? - Are you using Cat Power?
QCW - I am going to whistle Morse Code on FM (or SSB)
QCW? - Why are you whistling Morse?
QDR - Damn Right the frequency is busy!} In response to QRL
QDR? - Do you have a Receiver?} In respone to QRL
QET - Phone home.
QET? - Has anyone called me from another planet?
QFH - This frequency is MINE! - go elsewhere.
QFH? - Is this frequency hogged?
QHI - I am jumping in quick to say hi, then going QRT.
QHI? - Are you leaving after only one transmission?
QLF - I am sending with my left foot.
QLF? - Are you sending with your left foot?
QNO - I am sending through a non-standard orifice.
QNO? - Are you sending through a non-standard orifice?
QOK - Your last transmission was Okie Dokie.
QOK? - Was my last transmission OK?
QPM - Your signal is purr modulated.
QPM? - Is my signal purr modulated?
QRC - Warning, rag chewer on frequency.
QRC? - Are you a rag chewer?
QWC? - Who cares? } Courtesy of
QWC - I don't care } Fred Bonavita, K5QLF
QWC - I have to go to the bathroom } Courtesy of
QWC? - Do you have to go to the bathroom? } Fred Bonavita, K5QLF
QZZ - I fell asleep at the mike.
QZZ? - Is that a 60Hz hum, or are you snoring?


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Fear Of Soldering!
Mike Wingfield, W8MW

Perhaps you’ve heard about it. Maybe you’ve seen it on the news. It’s ugly; it’s insidious and it’s invading the amateur radio service at an alarming rate. It’s Fear Of Soldering.

Fear Of Soldering affects 4 out of 5 newly licensed radio amateurs. In a recent survey less than 10 percent of those examining the printed circuit board from a 1963 vintage Heathkit SWR bridge could state with certainty whether solder was used in the assembly process. Another survey revealed that the majority of amateurs consider soldering guns too dangerous to keep in the house. When presented with this information, Mr. Weller himself cried tears as big as those of the native American Indian standing next to the polluted river in that famous public service announcement.

For some amateurs, soldering isn’t all that scary. It’s simply the use of alloys with a low temperature melting point to establish a mechanical bond and low resistance connection between conductors in a circuit.

Fear Of Soldering presents ramifications that strike deeply into the very heart of the hobby. Tasks once considered simple are now beyond the technical skill set found in ham shacks. No longer will amateurs be soldering microphone connectors, coaxial cable connectors, lugs, jacks, switches and wires. Self-reliance and pride in accomplishment, at the most fundamental levels of electricity and electronics, have apparently outlived their usefulness. Houston, we have a problem.

But there is no problem according to the American Radio Relay League. ARRL spokesman Basil Cridpitty, WB1LIE, said Fear Of Soldering is actually a positive thing that will bring more new licensees to the ranks of the hobby. He explained that plug-n-play has already made soldering an ancient art akin to using a cat whisker to find the most conductive surface on a crystal detector. Besides that, he said QST has received no paid advertising dollars from any of the manufacturers of solder, soldering equipment or soldering paste for over 30 years, while plug-n-play manufacturers spend huge dollars on QST ads.

So, the bottom line: Solder bad. Plug-n-Play good. And you can take that to the bank!

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Bible Translations
Russ VK3MWR

If you know the Bible-even a little-you'll find this hilarious! It comes from a Catholic elementary school. Kids were asked questions about the Old and New Testaments.
The following statements about the bible were written by children. They have not been retouched or corrected (i.e., incorrect spelling has been left in).

1. In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the
world, so he took the Sabbath off

2. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was called Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark, which the animals come on to in pears.

3. Lot's wife 0. The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

11. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews
in the battle of Geritol.

12. The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand
still and he obeyed him.

13. David was a hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. he fought with
the Finklesteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times.

14. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and
700 porcupines.

15. When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna
Carta.

16. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus
in the manager.

tianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage.

25. Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony



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Wanted, Urgently: A Versatile Frequency Synthesiser System
John L Wickham VK3ZK

Have you ever wanted to construct a transmitter or receiver and been put off by the hassle of having to order about half a dozen expensive quartz crystals and construct a 5-5.5MHz VFO? Perhaps the VFO is not really a hassle, but the real headache is finding a good crystal supplier who is not going to charge an arm and a leg for your crystals.

I hail the day when one of the electronic gurus develops a cheap "black box, " which will provide all of your fixed and variable-frequency requirements. Using DSP technology, this black box could provide a VFO, the frequency being varied with either an optical or magnetic rotary encoder, together with a range of, say one to six fixed frequency outputs.

You would than have to connect a cable from this black box to your PC and with specially-supplied software, program in the frequency range of the VFO and program in all of your required fixed frequencies, which would normally be provided by expensive crystals. Low impedance outputs would have to be provided, so that the generated RF can then be "piped" to any points in your circuit. PC sound cards can synthesise audio tones and surely, with today’s faster processor technology, scheme could be devised to generate any RF frequency or frequencies at will.

You would only need a frequency range of, say, 100 to 8,000KHz. Frequency doublers, triplers, etc would take care of any fixed frequency requirements beyond 8,000KHz. For FM transmission, some kind of AF input would also be required, so that one of the fixed frequency outputs can be either frequency or phase modulated.

Come on Dick Smith, Jaycar, etc, we Rfers need such a device urgently and cheaply. Then we can finally kiss expensive crystals goodbye!


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True Facts
Russ VK3MWR

- Butterflies taste with their feet.
- A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
- In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all of the world's nuclear weapons combined.
- On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year.
- On average people fear spiders more than they do death.
- Ninety percent of New York City cabbies are recently arrived immigrants.
- Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.
- Elephants are the only animals that can't jump. 
- Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
- It's possible to lead a cow upstairs ... but not downstairs.
- Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
- It's physically impossible for you to lick your elbow.
- The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
- A snail can sleep for three years.
- No word in the English language rhymes with "MONTH."
- Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
- Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing. SCARY!!!
- The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
- All polar bears are left-handed.
- In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
- An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
- TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
- "Go," is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
- If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would stand seven feet, two inches tall.
- A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
- The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
- Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
- Almost everyone who reads this will try to lick their elbow.
- Don't forget to pass these weird facts on to everyone you know. They will get a kick out of it !!

You tried to lick your elbow, didn't you?


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40 40 40 

This year, three GGREC members, will be celebrating their 40^th birthday.

Dianne Jackson, 24^th of April

Cathie West, 25^th of May

and Melinda Ash, 13^th of June.

In honour of this momentous occasion, we will be having a Big Birthday Bash at the Waltzing Matilda Hotel at Springvale South.

Everyone is invited to come along and help us to make this birthday party special, and have a piece of yummy birthday cake.

NO PRESENTS PLEASE – JUST SMILING FACES

WHEN: On the 10^th of May From 6:00 pm

WHERE: Waltzing Matilda Hotel on the corner of Springvale and

Heatherton rds. Melways Map Ref 88- K1

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