QNews for July 21st 2024

Q-News AR News from Queensland

Robert Thomson VK4TFN here.

The Redcliffe Club will hold our Annual CarBoot Sale on Saturday 24th August 2024 at our clubhouse in MacFarlane Park at Kippa Ring in the City of Redcliffe. The raffle prize is an electronic weather station. There will be lucky door prizes as well. So, vendors are in at seven, breakfast is at eight, gates open at nine and the raffle draw is at ten thirty. $10 per car boot or table, gold coin admission. There will be bacon and egg rolls, ice cream and fruit salad on offer. Go to www dot redclifferadioclub dot org dot au for more information. Thank you and 73's from the Redcliffe and Districts Radio Club VK4RC.

Thank you Robert VK4TFN

Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking.

A lot of us will have been experiencing the cold weather that has certainly convinced the body that Winter has come. It occurred to me that we don't live in the idyllic winter wonderland of seasonal postcards that mark the Christmas break in the northern hemisphere. Although I once lived in a place that did have snow, we also had the luxury of indoor fireplaces that wafted the scent of burning through the house and did little to warm the bedclothes. After many years of living back along the sub-tropical coastal regions, I feel the cold as much as any native. As I don’t have a shack with the convenience of comfort and heating, I have been content, although somewhat frigid regardless of the amount of clothes I have on, to try and learn how to use a 2 in one type computer. Some may remember that I previously spoke of the issues of preparing a similar device for portable use and now I have another from a different manufacturer. Getting familiar with the unit has filled some time that could have been devoted to other tasks if the weather had been kinder. It seems that this fully blown tablet cum laptop will do the things I need. Anyway, this has been a long preamble to wondering if others have sideline projects that they can take on when alternatives are needed. Many interests require that we perform maintenance on our equipment but the demands on the radio amateur, in this regard, are relatively light. It is wise to power up our electronics to keep moisture at bay and reduce the chances of electrolytics deteriorating. Then there are the general upkeep tasks, such as computer updates, that help keep our whole operating system running smoothly. For each of us there are items that require attention and being able to use the time that is available for the best outcomes is important. I don’t have a planned schedule just the knowledge that certain tasks need completing to get certain outcomes. Fortunately, I no longer have the tyranny of a regular work pattern to meet so time can be pretty flexible and jobs are done when convenient. With our club activities, it is probably best that we plan these sorts of activities so that there is a checklist to help whoever needs to fill a job know what and how it is done as well as when. In our clubs we need to allow for the things that happen with people, births and weddings, holidays and sickness can all take people away and others will fill in to see the jobs are done. So a suitable record system that is available to members guides people through the planned care program without causing stress and a last-minute rush. This is also a good way of involving people and letting them feel the success of good organisation. It is what I would call succession planning.

I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think….how about you?