FT5ZM. Easy :)
FT5ZM are on Amsterdam Island at the moment. A Dxpedition to an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I worked them easily the other morning on 40m SSB! That’s all I need for DXCC! Another country in the bag!
Sota Activation – VK3/VS-050 Mt Leura
Opportunistic.. Sometimes thats what you have to be with this sota caper, especially with a young family and limited time to goat. I had a pretty urgent overnight work trip to Warrnambool handed to me, and a quick look at sota goat showed me that I would be near at least 2 summits on my…
The Long Hard Road back to CW begins…
So it has begun… I suspect my auto keyed memory will change form “do you have a microphone” to “QRZ?”.. I collected an old (but new) and new to me MFJ-564B Iambic Morse key from an old stock clear out at Strictly Ham had over Xmas as they moved form their old to new stores. It cost…
Sota Activation – VK3/VW-022 Mt Arapiles
The Australia Day long weekend found me in Western Victoria. My wife grew up in Horsham and we were in town celebrating her fathers 80th birthday. (happy 80th Karl).. Not far from Horsham is a pretty famous rock climbing spot called Mt Arapiles, and a quick search showed me this was a sota summit. So.…
Show me the Money!!
Ads on my you tube channel and this website have reached the magic $80 amount for my wia membership, so, ads are now off at the website (have been for a couple of weeks actually), and my membership obtained to the WIA with the funds raised.. as I promised.. PS. I’ve been playing a…
Sota Activation – VK3/VC-032 (Handbrake Turn Hill)
Named in honour of Andrew VK3ARR and his handbrake turns and Scandinavian flicks**. This is now known as handbrake turn hill. ** Andrew didn’t actually undertake such monouvers, just longed for a BDA Ford escort sideways. The EMDRC club field day site is around 5km from this previously unnamed summit, and with me being so…
Summer VHF/UHF Field Day 2014
Last weekend, I assisted EMDRC in the summer VHF/UHF Field day contest 2014. We headed to the normal location of McLaughlin Lookout in the wombat state forest around 80km west of Melbourne. I started work early on the friday, and managed to head up mid afternoon. I arrived around mid afternoon, with others having turned up…
VK3XJM 817iPad Interface Cable
I can’t recommend you buy this product, Not yet anyway. It’s not an issue with the device, the build quality or the actual product operation. I cannot recommend you buy the product because of the poor purchasing experience. I wondered before my recent camping trip and first real try of QRP portable (non sota) if…
3 weeks in the Snowy Mountains
Before Xmas we packed up the camper trailer and car and headed bush for a holiday/break. Our location of choice is the Thredbo Diggings campground in the kosciuszko national park. We left Melbourne and headed east, looking for a different path into the mountains, our new(isn) car, the Prado has really made it easy to explore different…
First time for everything!! Even Morse!
I often joke I’ve programmed the morse keyer memory on my radio to ask “do you have a microphone” but… Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in the sun playing around with the ft817 and with my Dinkey morse key and got brave enough to put out some calls. *initially without much luck. But I videoed…