The observant will have noticed that our last post was in November 2018. This certainly doesn’t mean that the club has been shut down since then, there has been a lot going on and we just haven’t had time to update you on the website!
That is now changing, and we will be getting you up to date with all the happenings over the coming weeks!
We’re back! – VK7BEN
Today REAST held a Radio and Electronics car boot sale and BBQ as an opportunity for members to sell some things to raise funds for the upcoming Miena Hamfest as well as being an opportunity to acquire some treasure as well.
It was fantastic to see some 16 sellers on site today, having on offer a huge variety of wares including a variety of vintage/classic radios, some more modern radios (there was an IC-7300 and flex SDR gear on offer), along with a variety of accessories such as components, power supplies, microphones and more. The only thing missing were buyers, with sellers trading between themselves for some part. Some real bargains were missed out on!
The BBQ was a huge success, selling out of all the meat on offer and also raising funds for the Association.
It was clear that based on the activity today that Radio and Electronics Car boot sales may have to become a more regular event to encourage more people to come along.
Thanks to everyone involved in this great day!
On Wednesday, REAST repeater officer Damien Styles VK7SD commissioned the new Yaesu DR-1X digital repeater much to the excitement of the gathering of people at the Wednesday evening experimenters group. While the repeater was purchased some time ago, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that frequencies have been allocated by the ACMA for it’s usage.
The Yaesu DR-1X is capable of both analogue and C4FM digital voice and automatically switching between the two modes. Soon an additional module will be acquired to provide DMR, DSTAR and p25 digital voice capabilities.
This repeater is on air right now, with an output frequency 438.675Mhz with a 7Mhz negative offset for the input on 431.675Mhz.
Our repeater officer would be most interested to hear signal reports from you. If you are able to access the repeater, please let Damian know by emailing [email protected]!
The minutes from the REAST Committee Meeting held in July are now available. You can find them in the Members Only section of the web site.
Thanks,
Sean Lincolne (VK7FAZE)
President – REAST
The REAST Club Buy of the Radioddity GD-77 DMR handhelds has been a great success, with a total of 20 handhelds sold in this club buy.
We’ll be taking a break for a bit to focus on other club activities, but there may be another buy depending on developing interest.
A big thanks to Clayton Reading – our DMR Guru – for all of his hard work in the setup and distribution of radios to everyone, and of course thanks to everyone for buying in and opening up a new aspect of this exciting hobby
Great News ! The frequency assignment to get another 70cm pair for adding a digital repeater to VK7RAD has been completed, and ACMA has provided the allocation we need to progress with the installation of the Yaesu DR-1X repeater. Further news coming as things unfold, so stay tuned !
A fantastic outcome – the club room cleanup tender has raised a total of $1,229.41, made some space in the Clubroom, and given some members some new treasures for their collections.
Thank you everyone for your participation in this cleanup !
Sean Lincolne (VK7FAZE)
President – REAST
This monthly presentation covers aspects of Radio Astronomy ranging from the development of Radio Astronomy (Karl Jansky and Groth Reber) through to the role of microwave mapping in developing theories of the universe and studies into HF planetary radio emissions from Jupiter. Presented by Mike Groth (VK7MJ).
Following a great deal of interest in Digital Radios, repeaters and DMR radios, REAST is arranging for a series of club bulk buys of the Radioddity GD-77 DMR Handhelds.
These are available for purchase from the club for $120 each ( $130 for non-members ). You may have seen these available online in the usual places, but unlike other sellers these will be setup and configured for you so that all you need to do is enter your callsign and you will be on the air.
Further details – including how to purchase are available on the REAST web site at the following URL : https://www.reast.asn.au/news-events/digital-radio-club-buy/
