BARC Newsletter

Volume 35, Issue 7 January 2015

Inside This Issue 1 Diary Dates

1 Inside This Issue

1 Editorial

1 What's New

2 Club Information

3 Photos from the Xmas party

4 More photos

5 Jamboree of the Air 2014

6 Jamboree of the Air 2014

7 Converting a Dynamic Mike

8 Curcuit of Audio Amp

9 Minutes from last Business Meeting

11 Common Sense Orbitry

Diary Dates

Next Business Meeting Friday 27th February

Club Net Frequencies

Due to interference to the HF net on 28.450 MHz the following procedure has been adopted. If 28.450 MHz is not available, the first clear frequency in the following list will be used, 28.445, 28.440, 28.455, 28.460 (i.e. down 5, down 10, up 5, up 10) The starting time is 8:00 pm. On Wednesday nights the normal frequency of 439.950 MHz will be used, This is a repeater and an input of 434.950 MHz will be used. The starting time is 8:00 pm. 146.550 MHz simplex may be used if there is a problem with the repeater

Editorial

.

Note The next General Meeting will be held on Friday 27th February

The second and fourth Friday or Saturday of each month will be social time at the Club

house unless otherwise advised.

What's New

This is the first newsletter for 2015 so I will try to tell you abouit what is planned for the Club in 2015.

We have a number of members who are keen to get their foundation licences so it is intended

to run another course similar to the last one. Depending on the number interested the course will be run over three Saturday afternoons.

The first two Saturdays will be used to teach the students all that is necessary to pass the exams. The Third Saturday afternoon will be allocated to the theory and prac exams.

KevinVK4WA has kindly offered to let the Club run the beacons he has built from rochedale. To do this the Club will have to construct a suitable antenna.

It is intended to build the active antenna as a club project as our first project for the year.

I will also be looking into what we can do for a course for members wanting to upgrade to the next level above the foundation Licence as we have an increasing number of foundation members.

We wil be having BARCFEST on Saturday 9th May at the same venue as last year. The Salvation Army Church Hall at Calamvale

CLUB MEETINGS Meetings are held on the 2

nd (social) and 4

th

(business) Fridays of each month at Rochedale Scout Den. 21 Rochedale Road Rochedale No meetings are held on the 2

nd Friday of January

or the 4th Friday of December.

Visitors are most welcome to come along and Sample our hospitality.

MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subs fall due on the last day of August and must Be paid by the 4

th Friday in September

Current Standard Membership fee is $20.00 (Subject to any changes prior to 31

st August)

CORRESPONDENCE

All correspondence (except for items for the Club newsletter) should be addressed to:

The Secretary Brisbane Amateur Radio Club Incorporated P.O. Box 6106 Upper MtGravatt 4122 Qld.

Club Web Site http://www.qsl.net/vk4ba Items for the Newsletter may be sent by mail to:

QSP Editor . P.O. Box 6106 Upper Mt Gravatt, 4122 Qld.. or, by Email to: vk4ba@qsl.net

Deadline is 5pm Monday prior to the 2nd

Friday Each month except January.

CLUB STATION NETS (VK4BA)

28.450 MHz. SSB Mondays 2000 hrs Local 439.950 MHz. FM Wednesdays 2000 hrs Local

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

PRESIDENT Kevin Dibble VK4ZR VICE-PRESIDENT Jim Kelly VK4HJK SECRETARY Ann Forbes VK4FAHF ASSIST-SECRETARY Peter Forbes VK4ATC TREASURER Peter Holtham VK4COZ LIBRARIAN Peter Holtham VK4COZ PROVIDOR Bill Scheele VK4TWS REPEATER OFFICER Kevin Dibble VK4ZR STATION MANAGERS (VK4BA) HF Bill Scheele VK4TWS VHF/UHF Les Parker VK4SO PROJECTS CO-ORDINATORS To be announced AWARDS & QSL MANAGER To be selected PUBLICITY and LIASON Berwyn Kelly WICEN REPRESENTATIVES To be selected QSP NEWS EDITOR Kev Dibble VK4ZR CLUB EQUIPMENT OFFICER To be announced W.I.A. ACCREDITED EXAMINERS Les Parker VK4SO BARCFEST COMMITTEE To be announced

Les Neilson

VK4FAEB did a mighty job at the BARC Christmas

Party. He bought along all the food to be

cooked on the Barbecue.

As you can see there were mini-meat pies, meat

patties, sausages,

hash browns and onions plus

bread rolls and other items.

He also did all

the cooking on the Barbecue.

Ann Forbes VK4FAHF our club Secretary, David Longland VKMDL, Stuart Longland VK4MSL adding some extras to their plates just in from the barbecue. There were a number of salads available plus sauces, bread rolls or bread plus knives and forks. The table also

contained some nibbles such as peanuts, potato chips etc, thanks once more to Les Neilson with his excellent catering. The only thing he did not bring was his kitchen sink!!

QSP Page 3

Some of the Members who came along to the BARC Christmas party were Dave Prince VK4KDP, his wife Beverley and their Daughter Tanya. Next was Peter Holtham our Treasurer VKK4COZ. Across the table was Terry Stewart VK4AAT. On the left hand

side of the table is Sue, Gary's partner. Next to sue but out of sight is Gary James VK4FGZA. Doug Baker VK4DMB and his Daughter arrived after Peter Forbes took this photo

At this table is Howard Bone VK4NX on the left. Next to Howard is Kyle Francis VK4FKGF. On the right hand side with his back to the camera is Len Leaton VK4FAII. Next is

Gordon Woolston VK4OU. Peter VK4FSD and Erik VK4FAEC and his Brother QSP Page 4

Same table as the other photo except for Kevin Dibble VK4ZR on the left and Les Neilson VK4FAEB next to Erik.

Our photographer is Peter Forbes VK4ATC so he is not in any of the photos.

The Following article was written for use by the WIA for the Amateur Radio Magazine section on VK4 News

JAMBOREE OF THE AIR 2014 AT THE ROCHEDALE SCOUT DEN AND BARC

The Brisbane Amateur Radio Club provided their services for Jamboree of the Air 2014.

As the club meets in the Rochedale Scout Den and the Scout Master is a member of our club as well as a holder of a Foundation license it was very convenient for us to participate.

It was decided that Saturday afternoon would be a suitable time to set up an Amateur Station for use by the Scouts.

The Scouts were to arrive at 3pm and stay until 8pm.

Thirteen of our club members arrived with extra equipment to help make it a successful project.

At 2 pm we started to set up a number of stations. Kyle VK4FKGF arrived with his newly bought Transceiver and a buddipole. We decided to set it up in the middle of the grounds. It was pretuned to 14.190 MHz according to the instructions that came with the antenna kit.

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The tuning was checked using a MFJ antenna analyzer and found to be tuned to 13.5 MHz. After some readjustments and readings with the MFJ is was tuned to 14.190 MHz and the pole was anchored in place for use in the Jamboree of the Air.

Some shade was provided by the erection of a large tent provided by the Scout Group so that anyone operating the station had a nice shady spot to use. Help was provided by Keith VK4FVKM, Greg VK4FPGM, Les VK4FAEB, Kyle VK4FKGF and Gary VK4FGZA

All the Amateur Radio Equipment used for the exercise was under the control of Standard or Advanced operators for the duration of the exercise.

Norm VK4ANB, Doug VK4DMB, Les VK4SO, Gordon VK4OU, Jim VK4HJK, Robert VK4HBD, Ray VK4HRP and Kevin VK4ZR supervised the operation.

It was quite a success with contacts made all around Australia with other Scout Groups. A Station in Slovenia made contact with our setup so Kyle was quite surprised as to how his portable Station was performing.

Robert VK4HPD brought along a two metre vertical which involved a rope over a branch in a tree to allow the vertical to be raised a number of metres off the ground. Robert brought along a two metre Handheld Transceiver and it was used to make contact with other 2 metre stations to allow the Scouts to make contact with other groups.

Gary VK4FGZA arrived with some gear as well. He had two HF Transceivers a antenna tuning unit and a multiband horizontal dipole.

The dipole had to be raised off the ground and connected between two trees. Gary had an idea of using a fishing rod with a nylon line and sinker to get a rope over a high branch in one of the large trees on the ground. After quite a number of attempts he settled for a much lower branch.

A second tree was selected and a rope was attached to a claw hammer which was thrown up and managed to pass over a suitable branch.

some attempts were quite concerning as the President's car was parked near the tree.

Gary tried to see what could be heard on 40 Metres but with poor results. The MFJ was put to use and the antenna was tuned to 7.8MHz so 15 metres was tried and another Transceiver was used. This time he had success and a number of Scouts then enjoyed making many contacts via Gary's setup.

The main radio equipment set up in the Club's console consisted of a HF Transceiver a Yaesu Ft-897 which had a antenna tuner attached. This was connected to the three element tri-band Yagi mounted on the club's triangular mast. The rotator worked well and the yagi was pointed south.

QSP Page 6

15 metres was selected and other Scout groups were heard so the Rochedale Scout group made some interesting contacts with Keith VK4FVKM providing assistance in getting the Scouts to say something interesting, not just one word answers.

The Club had a Icom IC-706MKIIG set up in the console and it was switched to 2 metres and connected to a 2 metre vertical mounted on the building. Erik VK4FAEC was asked to control the use of this Transceiver and did a marvelous job of coaxing the Scouts to have some meaningful contacts with other groups. He had to make sure the second operators kept the microphone held so that the PTT was operated.

The Scout Group put on a barbeque at 6pm to provide some refreshments to the Scouts and the BARC Members who controlled the five stations.

It was a very successful afternoon activity.

It after 9pm that the gear was packed up the the venue returned to normal before the evening closed.

Converting a TAIT Dynamic microphone to an Electret

The output of the Dynamic Microphone is low and this means to get sufficient Audio the user has to talk very close to the mike or increase the level of his voice.

One solution is to replace the Dynamic Inset with an Electret Mike. The Electret Mike will require a voltage for it to work. An Amplifier would also be an advantage.

It was decided to make a project of converting the dynamic Mike over to an electret Mike.

The first thing to do was to check out the Mike cable. It was found that it was a six wire cable but only some of the wires were terminated in the six pin plug.

The pin 1 which provides the voltage for the Electret was not connected to the cable.

The solution was to cut off the original plug and re terminate the cable using all of the six wires in the cable.

Fitting a new six pin plug involved having access to the correct terminating tool.

Getting the correct colour wires to match the pin connections was also a problem.

The easy way was to simply terminate random wires into the six pin plug and then identify how they were terminated in the microphone case.

Inside the case it was found that most of the wires were terminated on to a small fibre rectangular board. QSP Page 7

The other option is to go to Ebay and find a suitable supplier of a six

pin mike cable. Two cables were purchased from a company in Hong Kong and were supplied at a very reasonable cost with prompt delivery.

To obtain details my archive of sent Emails will have to be checked as well as the

name of a suitable mike needs to be known.

The next stage is to construct a small Audio amplifier that will fit into the TAIT Mike case.

An OpAmp LM741 was chosen and a suitable simple Audio Amp Circuit was obtained. It was decided to use a small piece of veroboard to mount all the necessary components.

The Board measures 40 mm by 22mm and contains 15 holes by 8 holes.

An eight pin IC socket was also used to mount the LM741.

The components needed to construct the amplifier consist of five resistors two electrolytic capacitors and a small potentiometer to control the output.

A two pin electret Microphone is also required.

The Following page shows the schematic circuit of the Audio amp using the LM 741 OpAmp.

Connection of the existing microphone is :-

Normally not connected

Ebay was used to buy a mike cable for a Yaesu MH42 Microphone from Hong Kong as an exercise to see if it could be used instead of fitting a new 6 pin plug to the existing Mike.

More details to follow, hopefully a photo or diagram of the completed veroboard for the audio amp

QSP Page 8

Audio Amp used to replace the dynamic MikAudio amplifier fitted into a TAIT Mike.

The Amplifier was powered from the 12 Volts on Pin 1 and dropped to 5 Volts using a 5.1 Volt Zenner. Power is connected + to pin 7 – to pin 4

QSP Page 9

BRISBANE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

Business Meeting 28th November, 2014 The meeting was opened at 7.35pm by the President VK4ZR. Fifteen members and one visitor were present as listed in the attendance book. Apologies Frank VK4XK, Norm VK4ANB, Kyle VK4FKGF, Keith VK4FVKM, Jim VK4HJK, Murray VK4AOK Don VK4DS Minutes The minutes of the last business meeting were read by the Treasurer, Peter VK4COZ. Les VK4SO moved they be accepted, seconded by Gary VK4FGZA. Business Arising No correspondence received. Financial Report Peter, VK4COZ tabled Treasurer’s report (please see attached). The term deposit of $6,000 has been rolled over for another three month term. The opening balance as at 28th November was $8,768.25 of which $76.00 was petty cash. Income total was $651.59, made up of memberships, Foundation Books and Bank interest. Expenditure was $776.00, made up of WIA, Fees for Club station, licence and UHF, Club member suppers, Bank fees and Building hire fees. This left a net income of -$124.41. The balance sheet as at 22nd August, 2014 showed a total of $8,643.84. Peter VK4COZ moved the Treasurer’s report be accepted and this was seconded by Gordon VK4AU. Correspondence The usual magazines have been received. Reports 10m Net. Bill VK4TWS reported problems with 10m not working correctly. He is looking at possibility of additional coax cable at his house. 2m / 70cm Net. Les VK4SO reported these are going well, with up to fifteen participants at times. On Wednesday night they are using 2m only due to ongoing problems with the clubs 70cm repeater. General Business Repeaters New Repeater (50watts output). This is being tested by Kevin VK4WA and was found to be very solid. Clubhouse requires a new aerial that could be made for $460. The existing aerial is unreliable in windy conditions as it is too flexible. Kevin VK4WA reported that two more repeaters were gifted at BARCfest, and programmed at 439850 and 439950 and await tuning, programming and WIA approval. Program has been ordered from Taipei for the ICOM repeaters. Antenna Kit Development and Production Kevin (VK4ZR) suggested Active Antenna project to make up prototype for kit to be available to club members to build. Much interest shown. Courses Discussion on BARC course next year to upgrade to Standard Licence from Foundation course. Club Shirt This was discussed, and polo shirt was favoured option. Christmas Party Date was set at Sunday, 14th December, with second option on 7th December. Les VK4FAEB to organise sausage BBQ. Members to bring drinks and plate. All members, family and guests welcome. Club Coffee Supplies It was agreed that $2 be donated to cover cost of tea, coffee, etc for members meeting at Clubhouse. Jar kept in kitchen. Meeting closed at 8.20 pm.

BARC President VK4ZR QSP Page 10

An Obituary printed in the London Times.....Absolutely Dead Brilliant!! Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: - Knowing when to come in out of the rain; - Why the early bird gets the worm; - Life isn't always fair; - And maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, -by his parents, Truth and Trust, -by his wife, Discretion, -by his daughter, Responsibility, -and by his son, Reason. He is survived by his 5 stepbrothers; - I Know My Rights - I Want It Now - Someone Else Is To Blame - I'm A Victim - Pay me for Doing Nothing Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

QSP Page 11