Ham Radio Ireland

Ham Radio Ireland

spotted comments from Richard VK2SKY, 

what caught my attention was mention of the Galway VHF Group, some of my ancestors came from Loughrea, Galway,  Michael Connolly and wife Maria Griffin, emigrated with their family to Australia, settling in Terranora, south of Sydney, during the potato famine.

so here is blog for the group back in Ireland

Galway VHF Group

access to their online newsletters

Ham Radio Ireland ~ Galway VHF Group

and their Facebook page

(20+) Ham Radio Ireland | Facebook

QTech 2025 Conference - Brisbane VHF Group - 1st-2nd November, 2025

 

qtech – Nov 1/2, 2025

23cm portable QF43xe90 Porcupine Hill/Mount Trickett/Jenolan Caves/Kanangra-Boyd National Park

 Spent last week at Jenolan Cabins (QF46xe90) near Mount Trickett and Porcupine Hill in western Blue Mountains, whilst relaxing, I   worked 23cm stations  on FM and USB, using ic910 and a 23cm Bi-quad  antenna.

Noting working these 23cm repeaters:
VK2RWC Chatswood 1273.200MHz was 60/9 at 110km east
VK2RWI Dural 1273.500 was s9  at 99.1km east
VK2RAG Somersby 1273.400 was s7 at 131km nth east
VK2RMP Maddens Plains 1296.850MHz simplex parrot repeater was s3 at 100.5km sth east

Contacts:

Gary VK2KYP portable at Somersby via 1296.100 USB and FM, 10w signal 10/9,  and also qrp  both ways at with a few mW

worked Ivan VK2FUR, Ron VK2GO, Mick VK2CMP & Alex VK2KQ via Chatswood Repeater

and also called in on the ARNSW Broadcast on Sunday night on Dural 23cm repeater.

If looking for a good RF location to operate from, or operate nearby, then book a holiday at  Jenolan Cabins

WIA VHF UHF Winter Field Day Contest 2025

 WIA VHF UHF Winter Field Day Contest 2025, 

here is a snapshot from the Contest Radar site on 21st June, 2025

Contest Radar

WIA VHF/UHF Field Day Contest - Winter 2025

 two weeks away to the  2025 WIA VHF UHF Winter Field Day Contest  over weekend 21st-22nd June, 2025

The Wireless Institute of Australia

Some new VHF & Above DX locations

 on trip out to Mudgee and return, I looking out for good locations to operate VHF, UHF  and above, two good accessible, clear locations found are :
1. intersection of  Aarons Pass Road, Castlereagh Highway and Perrams Road,  a few kilometres north of Ilford, the two side roads are on the crest of a hill, clear of trees, good place for microwave portable.
2. Cherry Tree Hill, on Castlereagh Highway, place called Running Stream, south of Ilford, north of Capertee, it was sign posted as being 1100m ASL, north of Razorback Road.  That is a significant height, as Mt Canobolis near Orange is 1250m ASL

VHF and above portable site Cape Hawke, Forster, NSW, QF67gs

 

I recently visited Cape Hawke (QF67gs)  lookout near Forster on the NSW Mid Coast, I had not been out to the lookout on previous visits to Forster, but after visiting the lookout I realised it is a great spot for VHF,UHF and SHF portable DXing, you can drive most of the way to the lookout, it has a 15minute walk to reach the summit, it is a National Park, so it is covered in dense vegetation and trees, but there is a large 20metre high lookout tower, stairs and platform at top, solid structure with metal posts for temporary connecting antennas too. Ground level is dense bushland, you want to do microwave you have to go up the lookout tower. It is a triangular platform  approx 3m x 3m

this photo is looking north west towards Forster.

this photo looking south west towards Newcastle, Sydney etc, it just catches the tops of trees.

looking west

looking north east up the coast 

latest multimode transceivers for VHF and above

I can never remember the latest model numbers as they are similiar and easily confused

ICOM IC-905   144, 430, 1200, 2400, 5600 MHz +10 GHz   All Mode Transceiver approx $4k8

ICOM IC-705   HF, 50, 144, 430 MHz    All Mode Transceiver    approx $2k

ICOM IC-9700   144, 430, 1200 MHz   All Mode Transceiver   approx $2k5      -  replacement to IC-910

YAESU FT-991A    HF, 50, 144, 430 MHz  All Mode Transceiver    approx $2k1

QF46xe VHF/UHF/SHF location for portable operation/contest operation as of 1st August, 2024

 if you looking for a good high spot, with cleared of trees and good all round direction, then this location is currently ideal. It is approximately 600m north of Mt.Trickett (NSW),(SOTA site) is 1362m ASL and currently cleared of forestry pine trees.

Ideal for VHF/UHF/SHF location for portable operation/contest operation.  I just visited it recently whilst up that area. This area is very bare after recent forestry logging. Grid Square QF46xe.

You can see high rise buildings of Chatswood, North Sydney and Sydney city from here.

The VK2RCH repeaters are full scale here 60/9.

To get to this location, head for Oberon and across to Edith on road to Jenolan and Kanangra Walls. 
I pretty much given up on using Kanangra Boyd NP for portable operation, as everything is locked up.

On the subject of the VK2RCH repeaters, I could hear them fine from within Oberon. They were the only Sydney repeaters I could hear on a handheld from Oberon.

Dave VK0DS / VK2JDS arriving at Davis Station (Antartica) on Saturday, 11th November, 2023

 Some Antartic photos from Dave VK0DS / VK2JDS arriving at Davis Station on Saturday, 11th Nov 2023 after cutting through much ice. Dave will operate on 2m EME, 23cm EME and HF as time permits between work duties over the next 14 or so months.

VK Microwave groups

 some VK Microwave SHF groups :

VK3-Microwave@groups.io

https://groups.io/g/VK2-Microwave-Users-Group/topics

Winter Weak Signal DX Update - 28th June 2023

 here are some very impressive DX contacts,  from VKSpotter Propagation Reporter,
specifically the microwave activity on 23cm and 9cm, this represents  the path of Gladstone to Brisbane.

Note : 9cm via Aircraft Enhancement using Q65 digital.

That is equivalent path of Sydney to Albury,  or Sydney to Coffs Harbour

WIA VHF/UHF Contest 24th/25th June 2023

 Manly Warringah Radio Society will be operating the WIA VHF/UHF Field Day contest this weekend from Terrey Hills QF56oh , 6,2,70,23 on Saturday afternoon under callsign VI100MB

WIA Winter VHF/UHF Contest - 24th-25th June 2023

 The Rules are posted at: https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/

Since the untimely passing of Mike Subocz VK3AVV in January 2022, developer of the popular VKCL contest logger, who also wrote a log-checker, we've lost the facility to properly prepare results while awaiting probate on his estate.

As everyone is aware, we have been working on catching up with manually preparing results of the 2022 contests and this year’s Summer event, last January.

A number of people have made valiant efforts over recent months to find or to write suitable log-checking software to suit these unique contests that have been developed by the stakeholders over time.

It’s proven to be a herculean task and I am truly grateful to those volunteers who have taken it on. Let them rest for the moment – or so – and I urge you just get out there, enjoy the outdoors, or the indoors at home, and have fun.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not yet up to the task.

Best wishes to all for the contest.

Roger Harrison VK2ZRH

Manager, WIA VHF/UHF Field Days

_______________________________________________

VK-VHF mailing list

VK-VHF@lists.ozlabs.org

https://lists.ozlabs.org/listinfo/vk-vhf

visit to Mt. Sugarloaf lookout grid QF57sc, west of Newcastle - 21st May 2023

 As part of a recent road trip, I did a visit to Mt. Sugarloaf lookout SF57sc, west of Newcastle, home of VK2RNC, to look for a spot for doing 23cm DXing, plus activate VK2RAG and VK2RTZ 23cm repeaters, neither of which I could keyup. I also wanted to know was this site useful for doing WIA VHF/UHF Field Day contests from. Basically, the public carpark at the top, only gives a small window to operate up towards Port Stephens and up the NSW coastline,  any other direction would be useless due to heavy forested trees.

I did a walk up to the lookout, this was a rocky outcrop at the top, quite suitable for VHF and above, operating portable DX, but be aware that lots of tourists walk up to the top lookout, so you can't just consume all the space up there with gear and antennas, but I guess approx 50 sq metres of flat rock at the top surrounded by metal railings, good to strap small temporary antennas to. There is a road to get to the commercial radio site (not NBN3 or ABN sites) leaving about a 50 step ascent to the top lookout,

Grid Square locator is QF57sc and height approx 436m ASL

looking n.w. up the Hunter Valley

looking east to Newcastle/Lake Macquarie

NBN and commercial towers

ABC/ABN rusty tower

Gosford/Sydney between tower and trees

towards Lake Macquarie  and N.Z.

public carpark with Newcastle/Port Stephens in the gap

Road Trip 12th - 14th May 2023

 Sydney - Orange - Gowan - Sydney

return trip late Sunday night, with low temperatures 6 to 10deg C yielded fuel consumption of 9L/100km from my Jackaroo. Only used a tank of 95 octane, usually it consumes 3/4 of a tank in warm weather.

3.5Hrs via Katoomba  return trip, compared to 4hrs via Bells Line Rd for previous similiar late night returns

APRS VK2KFJ-9 is RF  145.175 MHz  and VK2KFJ is TCPIP

Whilst at Gowan QF46pu, did some RF testing, accessing VK2RYL 147.225 MHz requiring 91.5Hz ctcss, VK2RCD 146.725 at Dubbo, VK2RYG 146.875 MHz requiring 91.5Hz ctcss at Young, VK2RKG 146.900 MHz Bathurst, VK2RCW 146.900 MHz at Gowan, VK2RCC 146.800 MHz at Coonabarabran, VK1RGI 146.950 MHz Mt. Ginini, plus contacts on 146.500 FM simplex.  I could hear WIA broadcast  via VK2RAG 146.725 MHz, VK2RMP 146.850 MHz Maddens Plains, VK2RWI 147.000 at Dural.

Also heard on Sunday morning at 7.30am, two U.S. stations talking on their local 29.680 MHz 10m repeater for 30mins.  Later that day could hear the WIA broadcast on a 29.680 repeater.either in vk7 or vk6, plus activity on 29.600 MHz including Murray ZL3MH,  plus Indonesians on 29.120 MHz

P25 Activity Update as of 29th March, 2023

 P25 Activity for Sydney area.

we have some P25 repeaters linked to the network on TG10700, these include :
VK2RCG GPT Sydney City 438.200 MHz
VK2RNS Asquith (Sydney North) 439.975 MHz
VK2RHP Horsley Park, (Sydney south west) 438.1375 MHz

Other Operational P25:
VK2RMB Terrey Hills 438.175 MHz but is standalone, waiting to be configured and linked to P25 network
VK2RWK Kurrajong, standalone
VK2ROT Paddington, standalone
VK2RGN Goulburn - not sure if it linked into network yet.

Non-operational or redeployed :
VK2RWI Dural - now a VK-DMR rptr
VK2RHT Chatswood - now a VK-DMR rptr
VK2RAG Somersby - gone, redeployed
VK2RHR High Range - failed, getting fixed
VK2RCF Carlingford - gone
VK2RLE Heathcote - gone

VK2RWS Berowra - gone

Planned :
possibly a P25 repeater for central west NSW (Bathurst-Orange region).

WIA VHF UHF SHF Field Day Contest 2023

 

Upcoming WIA  VHF UHF SHF Contest Date & Time for 2023

  Summer 2023 - 0100 UTC Saturday 14 through 0059 UTC Sunday 15 January(0400 / 0359 in VK6). - COMPLETED

  Winter 2023 - 0100 UTC Saturday 24 June through 0059 UTC Sunday 25 June (0300 / 0259 in VK6).

The Wireless Institute of Australia (wia.org.au)

Repeaters VK2RCW 147.200MHz and VK2RKG 146.900 now linked

 Repeaters VK2RCW 147.200MHz at Gowan and VK2RKG 146.900 in Bathurst are now linked. No access tones required to use them.

2metre enhanced propagation 26th January, 2023

 vkspotter showing a few path openings this morning , as  we had some low lying fog here in Sydney and others reported fog down Wollongong area.  I found 146.750 VK2RFS was open at s5, normally not accessible from here. Heard VK2BHO and VK2STG chatting. 

Noted that VK2RFS Mt.Mumbulla 146.750 is linked to VK2RWP Cooma 146.825 and VK3RDH Mt.Delegate 146.625 Mhz. That is handy to know when I next mobile down that way.