Q-News AR News From Queensland podcast

8:08

Hi - I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club. I should lead by congratulating the WIA on the weekend in Bendigo. We had a really good and interesting AGM, and a very impressive after-dinner presentation involving Amateur Radio, an astronaut, and a room full of young people who are on a STEM track - that's Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. What's not to like about an event which brings all those together? This month, we look at how we can be better at supporting communications for emergency activities, and how supporting civil events can help develop important operational skills. Our guest will be Simon Chantrill VK4TSC, along with helping us understand what the Brisbane WICEN Group is, how they contribute to events in our region, and how you could get involved. The meeting will be in the Toowoomba Library in Victoria Street, with tons of undercover parking (meaning it will be dry). We invite you to come along, have a cuppa and a natter, and take part in the discussion. Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Why do we have a news service these days, with all the might of the internet providing access to supposedly all the information that we need? Why does the WIA publish a magazine when social media and web pages can provide so much info? These are challenging questions; some will instantly offer a “why don’t they just drop them?” response. Just as some decry the production of Amateur Radio magazine in a physical format, as they prefer reading on their electronic devices. One of the issues that it seems most volunteer bodies are facing is the loss of membership, both from natural attrition and also non-renewal. In my area, there are calls for people to fill positions in scouting bodies and Meals on Wheels, as well as local progress associations. While it is not unexpected that within the ranks of the radio amateurs struggle to spread the word and keep the number of participants steady,it is also necessary to spread the word of what we do as a somewhat isolated and nerdy group of people. Part of retaining membership is to keep the people informed and engaged in activities. When followers have a continuing interest, it is important to provide the stimulus that maintains a level of identity with the group. Not only do we have our internal clients, but we also seek those external to our engagement in AR. This is where the traditional forms of publication are beneficial. Our members and non-members can get updated on happenings by following either a printed output or more frequently listening to the broadcast news, reading the text or downloading the podcast and video editions provided each week. We know that the WIA get an idea of the newsstand sales of the magazine and our relay operators take callbacks but we have no way, unless people make physical contact, just how many take the output on scanners and shortwave receivers or how many get to sample that lone magazine that gets bought and taken home. Yes, I am enthusiastic about this recreation, and I feel we all have the right, perhaps even the duty, to share news about it in our own way. When we put a radio signal to air, we have no idea how many people are listening. When we leave a copy of the magazine at a location such as a waiting room, we have no idea of how many times it gets picked up and thumbed through. But these are small opportunities that we can support personally. It really doesn’t matter what range of interests people enjoy and share, but it does matter, I think, that we give a little effort in telling and sharing ham radio. This is a group activity and a personal one, and whether we get to a club meeting or we enjoy our hobby from home, showing participation, such as making a call back to the news relay, can demonstrate to a stranger that this might be something good for them too. I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and that's what I think. How about you?…

1
QNews for May 4th 2025 10:30

11 days ago10:30

10:30

Hi from the Darling Downs Radio Club - I’m Secretary, John VK4JPM. This coming weekend, there are two major club activities: Next Saturday, the 10th of May, we have our first annual club foxhunt and BBQ. Well, you have to start somewhere, and in the case of the DDRCI foxhunt, we're starting at Peacehaven Botanic Park on Kuhls Rd in Highfields. Start time of 1030 is when hounds depart for the chase, so you'd want to be in the car park maybe around 1000. Bruce VK4MQ is our hunt-master, and he's mapped out a finish point that will work for both newbies and experienced hands. You won't have to travel more than 15km from the start, and there's going to be plenty of support. If you go to the club website at ddrci.org.au and check the event invitation in the calendar, you'll find loads of hints, maps, DIY options, and just about everything you need except the final location of the fox. Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. One of the changes to modern retailing is the growth of online retail. Yes, we still have the grocery store in the guise of the supermarket and the hardware store that sells lots of corner store items. We have the newer outlets from overseas that let you get groceries, hardware, musical instruments and surprises, all in good old bricks and mortar stores, as they say. We people who enjoy the electronic side of making things have seen a large drop-off of retail outlets, and some of us find it awkward or impossible to get to the nearest store, especially if you live in the regions. This brings me to the amateur radio tradition of having a pile of loot, a box of goodies or a rack of spares colloquially called the junk box. So it was that during the past week, I gathered some material that had been waiting for the opportunity to be attacked by heat and molten solder, and I set forth. I found that I had accumulated a stash of generic UHF plugs, PL259’s, and I had a nice run of coax to make some patch leads. Once the eyes were tuned to cutting and trimming the cable ends to the right length, came the thrill of melting solder. That task seemed to go not too badly for the first two ends until I picked up the meter leads to do the mandatory check for shorts or open circuits. That test was past, but what greeted me wasthat the centre pins on both connectors were now lopsided. I have made the discovery that most of this collection of plugs, probably sourced from an Asian vendor, did not have decent insulation but some brown, low melting point plastic substitute. Hopefully, I hadn’t lashed out too many pennies in buying this collection of rubbish in thinking I was getting the better quality insulation. A quick look at my nearest dedicated ham radio supplier showed a listing for proper plugs with Teflon insulation, and including postage, they are about $4:00 each. Thank heavens for the specials offered by this retailer. I suppose what is an object lesson from days of yore, is that items which can be salvaged and reused have a quality that is worth utilising. If you have ever wondered why there can be containers filled with electronic and electrical bric-a-brac at your HamFest, then I have just given the reason why. Buying from overseas and especially sourcing generic type items can be fraught with danger. Cable with insulation that breaks down with heating or voltage, fake semiconductors and RF connectors that don’t meet specs are some of the many issues you can read about with online shopping. There may be consumer law to protect purchasers in this country, but cheaper items are often a lottery when bought from overseas unless they are so-called A1 by reputation. We can say “let the buyer beware,” but there is no practical recourse when postage to and from countries like the USA can be multiple times the cost of the “bargain”, and the only beneficiary ends up being the local waste facility. I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and that's what I think. How about you?…

1
QNews for April 27th 2025 9:00

18 days ago9:00

9:00

Darling Downs Radio Club news. Coming up on 10 May we’re running our inaugural annual club Foxhunt and family day. The actual hunt will start at 1030 and will run no further than a 15 km radius from the starting location at Peacehaven Park in Highfields, just north of Toowoomba. The Fox frequency will be 145.650 kHz, and the hunt is going to be staged so that experienced hands and rank beginners can both have fun. Doesn’t matter where you are in the state; we’d love you to come and join us - we already know of a few distant households who will come to stay in Toowoomba overnight, and the aim is to be as social as possible. The hunt will start from Peacehaven Botanic Park on Kuhls Road in Highfields and is also the location for the post-hunt BBQ. Tons of parking, easy access, wet-weather protection, and great family amenities. Our next club tech session is on Monday, 12 May, when Simon VK4TSC will join us from the Brisbane WICEN group to guide us on the WICEN state of mind, and talk about the Hip Pocket Challenge Horse enduro, which has been rescheduled for Southbrook on 28 June. Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. A comment about the quality of the image on one of the free-to-air TV channels started me thinking about progress. Compare the sound reproduction of a portable cassette player to a digital machine, and you can appreciate the way things have improved. With television, the images that we get when archived material is shown are appalling compared to the images we saw on the screens in our living rooms 30 or more years ago. Just as the digital TV was a vast improvement over the old PAL services, the newer HD is another jump ahead in home entertainment. This brought me around to thinking about the radios that I have used in the past. Budgets being what they are on the domestic front, most of my rigs have been 2 nd hand, so already showing their ages by the time I got to use them. From hybrid to fully solid-state HF radios, there seems not to be much difference in performance. For someone who started listening on the large console receiver dominating the lounge room and then went through home-made and commercial simple sets, it was amazing at the time what the multiband and multimode brand-name transceiver could do. Still, as most of us will have experienced, these older rigs had their own characteristics which made them good, but at times finicky and annoying on reception. They are perfectly usable, but you have to tolerate overlapping signals and front-end overload, from time to time, as they represent the technology of the period of manufacture. More recently, I was able to purchase an Asian SDR as my introduction to the multicoloured scrolling display. What a great little rig that has yet to do duty out in the rig. It is versatile and every bit a good as the best shortwave rig that I have owned. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been fortunate to use a full-blown 100W SDR transceiver made by a major Japanese company. Before receiving this piece of kit, I watched several online videos and took note of what users and reviewers had to say. I must say that I have yet to put a signal on air, and I have to fight the electrical noise which envelopes this QTH, but the received signals and sensitivity just blow me away. I am using a shortened centre-loaded vertical antenna in a poor location, but pulling voices out of nothing is amazing. There can be no trace on the display, and the audio is readable. There can be close-by signals without heterodyning, and I have yet to find out how this unit handles a really close-by and strong signal. I suspect it will use the AGC to the best advantage and still provide a clean signal through the speaker. I am impressed with the improvements that digital technology is providing now, and I hope we all appreciate the engineering developments for our recreation. I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and that's what I think. How about you?…

1
QNews for April 20th 2025 8:00

26 days ago8:00

8:00

Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. Well the space weather is jostling us about with interesting solar activities over the past week. This is a great challenge for the DX chaser on the shortwave bands as conditions can vary in short order with coronal mass ejections causing ionising effects in the atmosphere. The next couple of days could be amazing as we get the benefits of solar flares which continue in this cycle. This is a rare happening when we have two consecutive long weekends, an occurrence which stirs the embers in many an Aussie chest. It seems that the gods of weather are being kind for Easter allowing people to enjoy their preferred activities with sunshine for a change. Whether the following weekend will be so fortunate as thousands gather to participate in the Anzac memorials, we will have to wait and see. One thing that has been filtering through my thinking is how little we seem to consider amateur radio and modern housing solutions. With more and more people living in apartments and suburban homes being erected on postage stamp sized allotments, the opportunity to maintain a reasonable working HF station is getting more limited. When we could look at a yard of 810 square metres as being the average, there was enough space to generally have some sort of antenna system. Whether it was horizontal such as the once ubiquitous G5RV, a doublet or a modest tower with a commercial beam, the options were available. Now many of the people who had these facilities have moved into smaller residences, maybe granny flats, apartments a few stories high and even supported accommodation. Each of these situations has its own set of limitations for a once active ham. Yes there is internet linked means and VHF and UHF repeaters but for the died in the wool HF operator it can be like losing an arm or a leg when they can no longer make the skeds with people they have known over the air. For the youthful person juggling study, work and perhaps romance, the proverbial dance card is already close to full and even although they may have enjoyed amateur radio when circumstances were different, they find themselves effectively isolated from the hobby. Mobile operations have always been an option for those fortunate enough to have access to a vehicle but many people don’t have that option so home based operation is their only opportunity to stir the aether again. What I see is many people who could be more active but who are functionally denied access. The value of video sharing sites is good but I don’t see much material aimed at the so-called house bound amateur. I don’t get to see much of the current overseas magazines as they have disappeared from the newsagent shelves but from our own publication it seems authors aren’t engaged is this side of the hobby. Perhaps clubs could think this over and find some ways forward. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think…. how about you?…

1
QNews for April 13th 2025 7:21

5 weeks ago7:21

7:21

Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. In the world of politics, people have sought to clarify the meaning of what their government and people have embraced as guiding principles. After the blood bath that was the French Revolution, the country became known for its three word motto which upheld freedom, equality and brotherhood. The Declaration of Independence of the United States similarly tries to have its principles adhere to this style of governance with many more words. The countries which developed out of the colonial system to become democracies all seem to have similar guides to life and rule which the despots despise and endeavour to over turn. The twentieth century saw two major wars which gave rise to the League of Nations and then the United Nations as bodies to try and seek order and respect for all people. Why this brief history lesson? Well in amongst the great doings the smaller actions which we radio enthusiasts are involved in also fit under the umbrella of these sentiments with our paramount body for communications, the ITU, being now part of the United Nations stream of activities. Our own amateurs code embraces those same basic principles that the French adopted. When Russia invaded the Ukraine some 3 years ago, there were many discussions and thoughts about how we hams should deal with the situation. To the extent that decisions of government are beyond the average person to stop, it is common for contacts between amateurs to continue without rancour or bitterness as had been happening before. In this country and many other jurisdictions, our regulations don’t allow on air promotion of political issues except in a general sense of wider discussion. We all are aware of the various actions the current administration of the USA has been continuing and not a day goes by without news media reviewing the latest matters and trying to analyse the possible outcomes deriving from the White House. As we have heard in the lead story to WIA National News, the peak Canadian amateur organisation, the RAC, has made the decision to boycott the Dayton Hamvention held in Xenia, Ohio in May. As the bonds between the English speaking countries of North America have been grown over centuries and amateur radio has been integral in over the last century, this is a momentous decision. It indicates the depth of feeling which has been aroused but still has the hope of returning to participate in the greatest ham gathering in the Americas. Along with the Friedrichshafen meet in Germany these events mark the highlights of the amateur radio/electronics year around the world. The fact that on an organisational level, one representative body of one country will not participate in no way limits the way in which individual amateurs and clubs are able to mutually join together for the betterment of the service. Keeping the politics off the air is a great way to keep any rancour and angst out of our hobby. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think…. how about you?…

1
QNews for April 6th 2025 7:29

6 weeks ago7:29

7:29

Hi, I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, Quick reminder that next weekend is busy for club members and guests. If you're on our mailing list - which would include members, of course - in the last few days, you should have received by email a newsletter containing lots of important info about upcoming events and club activities. On Saturday morning, 12 April, a group of us will be attending Redfest. Come up and say hi if you see us - we'll be the people with bright yellow badges. On Sunday, 13 April, we're holding our bimonthly club lunch at the Withcott Hotel. That's a relaxed opportunity to catch up with friends you've never met, and yes, there are food items that come with ham. Guests, non-members, significant others and harmonics are welcome. Check the menu and location details from our home page at www.ddrci.org.au . Finally, look for some construction articles from Bruce VK4MQ, and start planning to join us for the Annual Foxhunt and BBQ in May... It's only four weeks away now. Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. It is interesting to reflect on how attitudes change and the way attention to details vary. It was during this last week that I set about acquainting myself with certain radios, the availability and, of course, how big of a hole they would put in the pocket. What made me consider the changes is the memory of how we were all looking for ways to maximise our website’s noticeability. Even during some classes of higher learning included practices in web design and choosing the right wording and layout to attract the search engines from those amazing applications, the search engines. Although I had that tiny bit of training, I have never sought to have a page of my own, and like the rest of us with internet access, I have been a consistent and regular user of the search engines included or added to my web browser. After this week, I can’t draw a conclusion as to how the market for amateur radio gear is working in VK-land. I have conducted multiple searches and used different search strings in different search engines, and my success in finding details of authorised agents and resellers for what have been the major marques has been poor. Not only that, when trying to establish whether certain products are available off the shelf, some sites tell me everything other than the availability. I have to wonder whether the retail sector is too busy or not clued in to the value of suitable internet marketing, as it limits the potential customer from getting all the needed information. Or is this a sign that the notoriously low profit margins for our beloved gear have just drained the enthusiasm from those prepared to invest time and large amounts of money? I like using local vendors where possible, but like so many of us, these days, we get some joy from the cheaper small purchases from overseas. Sometimes the products are as good as our local retailer has on display, sometimes better and often worse and sometimes the products can only be obtained from overseas. Currently, I am awaiting delivery of parts from both overseas and locally. Since Australia Post changed domestic deliveries to a 3-day, 2-day, a week, alternating pattern, ostensibly to maximise the parcel delivery service, they have let the small items, the packet mail service, fall into the doldrums. Then there is one notable commercial competitor in the freight delivery business that seems to work in a way that makes Auspost seem speedy. It makes a person wonder if there is a conspiracy to close down the small businesses which operate on-line. Maybe the lucrative contracts for the mega online retailers are the goal as we customers seem to get less and less choice in the matter. We can hope that the weather improves and services return to normal. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP, and that’s what I think…. how about you?…

1
QNews for March 30th 2025 9:00

7 weeks ago9:00

9:00

On Saturday, 12 April, many of us will be heading to Redfest. Thanks to the bright yellow badges, you'll recognise us, so come and say "hi". And now for something completely different. As you've heard, this year Redfest clashes with our regular bimonthly club lunch moved lunch to Sunday 13 April, Monday 14 April is our next member meeting and will be held at the Toowoomba Library at 1900. Our treasurer, Cameron VK4CSS will talk about RADAR and LIDAR. Cam will present about radar and lidar speed measurement, including the history of radar and lidar; give a brief chat about over-the-horizon radar; explain how radar speed measurement work, including videos to demonstrate, and he'll talk about when radar or lidar doesn't work. And why would you want to attend? Well, you might even learn something about both technologies that could save you from being accused of an action that can't be proved or where the measurement can be shown to be inaccurate. Got it? The date again: 1700 on Monday 14 April at the Toowoomba Library - where the parking is plentiful and under cover, and once again we welcome members and non-members alike. I'm John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club - 73 and see you next week. Robert Thomson VK4TFN here. REDFEST 25 "Adventures on HF" will go ahead at 9:00 am on the 12th April. It's only two weeks away. Our new venue is: The Deception Bay North State School, Old Bay Road, Deception Bay. There are still a few tables left if you hurry. $15 per table. Email redfest@redclifferadioclub.org.au Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. The wet weather continues. Sadly some areas in the north of Queensland are getting a repeat dousing, and the inland is getting floods, for better or worse, may remain for many days or weeks. For farmers who look forward to rain at the right time, may improve their income in the long run and for the householders who have been surrounded or evacuated, relief can’t come soon enough. I imagine that many amateurs have developed a routine of checking the weather, space weather and propagation charts, planning their activities. The long term forecasters are an indicative service to the agricultural industries but our Bureau of Meteorology is relatively cautious in issuing trends in the weather for as much as the commuter and tradie might like the assurance of perfect knowledge, forecasts beyond days, even when based on good averaging of data, tend to fall into the crystal ball style of guesswork. So it is with the solar activity that gives such wonderful conditions for long-distance communications and within hours or days can provide a total blackout on many bands. Just as the Earth has patterns of activity in wind and ocean currents, these too can alter drastically and quickly as the information from the amateur radio balloons circling the planet can report. The solar cycle of activity averages around 11 years from peak to peak. Within that, we can plan and speculate on what activities we might be able to accomplish. As we grow into familiarity with the various skills that make our operations more enjoyable and interesting, we accumulate a store of knowledge which is applied to radio but also aids in so many other areas. Sadly there is a level of confusion coming from across the Pacific as the new US administration assails the community with instructions and demands. The final outcome of the shutdown of overseas broadcasting can only be guessed at and the cleaning of the FCC book of rules may or may not change how amateur radio is conducted within the US jurisdictions. In the past week, our regulator, the ACMA, has been releasing many papers to its client base via email and website. We are fortunate that order stays with the governance of radio communications in this country. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP, that’s what I think…. how about you?…

1
QNews for March 23rd 2025 10:00

8 weeks ago10:00

10:00

In news from Ipswich and District Radio Club, WICEN volunteers will head out in the field for the Brisbane Trails Marathon on April 27. It’s never too late to offer your services on the day. A minimum of 14 operators are required most with a 4WD and radio equipment to operate in a remote location. Ipswich WICEN also welcomes support from other amateurs in southeast Queensland. Please get in touch with Paul McDonald at VK4PMCPaul@outlook.com I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club. The Management Committee is busy at work sorting out a few items that need to be addressed - we'll tell you about that at the next meeting, which will be on Monday 14 April. More about that in a second. The John Moyle Field Day was a heap of fun and thanks to all those who came along to help the club get into the history books. It will be a while before we know how we did, but in raw terms, we ran for six hours with four teams across 10, 15, 20 and 40 metres. Given the commercial nature of the site we were on, we also attracted a bit of attention from the public and had more than a few people come over to find out what we were doing. Explaining Amateur Radio to onlookers is one way to increase our numbers. We also had some underbubblers drop by for a squizz: there are members of our club who are on the road to a Foundation Licence, and what better way to get a feel for what structured operating is about than to watch a team of people calling "CQ Contest"? Thanks to Dougal, VK4EKA for being team captain and arranging the main setup - a centre-fed long-wire flown between trees; to Wayne VK4ARW with his quick-erect rotator dipole; and SAM VK4SAM with a most interesting multiband-vertical and an impressive ground plane. The Field Day also gave us a chance to shake out the club's self-contained trailer, designed quite effectively to operate in a mains-free environment. Fortunately, we had good sun and the batteries stayed nice and charged. Redcliffe & Districts Radio Club VK4RC -. Robert Thomson VK4TFN here. REDFEST 25 "Adventures on HF" at 9:00 am on the 12th of April. I'm looking forward to it. Our new venue is: The Deception Bay North State School, Old Bay Road, Deception Bay. Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. One area of amateur radio that we don’t see mentioned often is one that brought many people into the broader compass of “radio”. A lot of people, these days, associate the introduction of the Citizen’s Band Radio Service as being the fillip that gave rise to the many new amateurs who entered via the then Novice licence. The value of Radio Australia to introducing our life and perspectives was well recognised as it had a non-partisan policy of providing news and information and it sought to help people in neighbouring countries. Weather reports, farming tips and English language lessons were all grist for the mill until a few years ago when the plug was pulled. As evidence of its effectiveness, shortly after closing its services several of the frequencies that RA used were adopted by one of the Asian Tigers as their own. In this past week, we have seen the current administration pull the plug on one of the most well-recognised international broadcasters when the USA locked staff out of the Voice of America studios and offices and placed the programming on automatic. My introduction to radio was strengthened by tuning around the dial and listening to these various broadcasters and finding other things like marine traffic, police networks and becoming intrigued by amateur radio, particularly 40m. From that I went on to join the WIA as an Associate Member, Short Wave Listener and eventually I became a full member. Shortwave is still with us and along with scanning of VHF and UHF, it makes a great introduction to the hobby of radio. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think…. how about you?…

1
QNews for March 16th 2025 9:50

9 weeks ago9:50

9:50

Fred White VK4NOE became a silent Key on 29th January 2025. Fred was a member of the Mount Isa and Districts Amateur Radio Group when it was formed in 1979. He was known around Australia as an active member of the Royal Navel Amateur Radio Society. He was a regular participant of the RNARS net held on 15 meters on Sunday mornings in the early 80's. REDFEST 25 "Adventures on HF" will be held on the 12th April 2025. Gates open at 9:00 AM. Our new venue will be the Deception Bay North State School, Old Bay Road, Deception Bay. I'm John, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club and what a week it's been. And who expected such a confluence of events demonstrating how useful Amateur Radio could be in a time of stress and emergency? As this segment goes to air, the John Moyle Memorial Field Day will be in its final block. The field day celebrates readiness and willingness to operate portable, without connection to mains power, and to provide training for emergency conditions. And like the universe playing a massive prank, ex-tropical-cyclone Alfred showed us all how exactly ready we would be to deal with an actual natural event, a week before the competition and at least one WICEN training exercise had to be cancelled while we dealt with the civil emergency. News from the Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club, this is Gordon VK4VP for those who may have missed this last week due to TC Alfred. SCARC is having a car boot sale on March 22nd at the clubrooms 85 Godfreys Rd. Bli Bli. Entry and traders tables are free but we do require bookings to secure a traders spot. It will be located in the grounds of the clubroom so if you need shade apart from the few large trees, you will have to organise something yourself. Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. For so many of us, it is good riddance to Alfred, the cyclone that was. For many more, it is the harrowing task of saving what is left disposing of the too badly damaged and finding the path back to normality. We were fortunate that the drama that unfolded as the low-pressure system deluged the coast was kept away by the forces of nature or the whim of the gods, I don’t know which. What I did know is that whilst Hervey Bay coastal suburbs were swamped we, only some 30 kilometres away, had sunshine and blue sky. Domestically, we had obtained another larger capacity generator for those times when the mains drop out and I had been preparing it for service prior to the entrance of Cyclone Albert. As it turned out, the engine needed some replacement parts which I had sourced from online vendors as I couldn’t track down a local dealership for the brand. As the people of south-east Queensland honed their listening skills trying to get a sense of the forecast track and possible destination, I waited and watched the tracking information on my parts delivery. It was ironic that my preparedness ended up being arrested when the delivery services seemed to halt processing on Wednesday with Albert still expected to create havoc somewhere between Bribie Island and the Gold Coast. Now having dodged the proverbial bullet the parts have been delivered and our new but secondhand generator is finally commissioned into service. I suppose the point is that when we see the need to prepare for potential emergencies, we should press on and complete the jobs as delay could spell disaster. We were lucky this time but always there will be next time to deal with some drama and probably it will be weather-related. People in the radio community can now re-erect their sky-hooks without fear of galeforce winds and the lucky ones can enjoy the John Moyle activities of this weekend with hopefully more welcoming weather than most of us have had. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think…. how about you?…

1
QNews for March 9th 2025 12:00

10 weeks ago12:00