Tasmanian Ham Radio Conference

Space Weather and how it can work for you!

Hi, I’m Tamitha Mulligan Skov and I stare at the Sun a lot. I am a credentialed space weather forecaster and I have been helping the public understand the effects of Space Weather on our daily lives since 2013.  I work primarily in the fields of solar and space physics research and in the testing of spacecraft materials in realistic space radiation environments. https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/

Amateur Radio: an innovation perspective

Amateur Radio boasts a strong tradition of experimentation and entrepreneurship with radio technology leading to major advances and innovation in the fields of technology and communications.

Given this perspective, do amateur radio enthusiasts consider themselves to be innovators?

As an outsider looking in Dr Thurley will explore Amateur Radio as a system of innovation, and examine the role of entrepreneurship and collaboration along with various methods and techniques used to facilitate innovation in organisations that could apply to Amateur Radio.

Dr Justin Thurley holds a PhD in Management, focusing on technology innovation within organisations.

He has authored several papers on ICT innovation theory and practice and has received multiple ICT excellence awards for his work in sustainability, project management, and innovation.

Professionally Justin is a senior executive with more than 30 years’ experience working in a range of technology leadership roles in both the private and public sector.

Justin is Currently employed as the Tasmanian Government Chief Information Officer working within the Department of Premier and Cabinet Tasmania, and supporting the Minister for Science and Technology.

Ground is a Myth!

Ground is something you stand on, but in an electrical sense, the meaning is much less clear. When it comes to Hams and ground, things get really confused. We drive rods into the earth, but why? Let’s take a look at whether any of this makes sense, and what theory tells us about “ground”, and if it exists in any sensible way at all. We’ll talk about DC grounds, RF grounds, and even about gravity.

Kristen McIntyre, K6WX, has been interested in radio since she was about 5 years old.  She started in Amateur Radio in 1979 getting her ticket while at MIT.  Kristen has worked in many diverse areas from analog circuit design to image processing to starting and running an ISP. She is currently working at Apple in Core Networking, and spent many years at Sun Microsystems Laboratories where she was researching robustness and emergent properties of large distributed computer systems.  She is a long time denizen of Silicon Valley and has worked at or consulted for many of the usual suspects.  Kristen is an active ham and loves to chase DX on HF with her Elecraft K2 which she built while visiting her mother in Florida.  She is ARRL First Vice President, former Pacific Division Director, past president of the Palo Alto Amateur Radio Assoc., past Q&A columnist for Nuts and Volts magazine, and is active in many local clubs.  Kristen was recently inducted into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame.  She is also an Instrument Rated Private Pilot.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
in Amateur Radio

The World Radio League: Bringing Amateur Radio to the 21st Century

Amateur Radio is defined by its advances, and how we utilize and employ new technologies. One fact of the hobby that has been slow to adopt this is all the operating support systems, such as logbooks, awards platforms, and contact analytics systems. The World Radio League (WRL) is the latest and greatest in amateur radio technology, bringing 21st century technological advances to the field of amateur radio operating. WRL’s advanced features such as cloud based logging, real time analytics on your operating trends, and easy ways to share your operating with the world turns keeping a logbook from an annoying process to a journey. With the modern software development practices put in place by the WRL team, every single new feature is meticulously specced, developed, and launched, every bug fix is thoroughly vetted, and all user feedback is seriously considered for its merits.

Andy Perryman NoAPX lives in the Midwestern United States in a small town in Missouri. He has been a ham since 2023, and upgraded to General class license in early 2024. He enjoys many aspects of the hobby, primarily chasing some DX, small-scale contesting, and definitely quite a bit of POTA. His personal website can be found at: https://n0apx.com.

Andy is the Product Manager for World Radio League, a modern logging suite released in 2023 by the creators of Ham Radio Prep. The aim is to modernize the amateur radio logbook industry by implementing state-of-the-art technology so new users can experience the fun of amateur radio without the frustration of complicated and outdated software, while simultaneously providing a fully featured suite of tools for more experienced operators and contestors. Join a new era of logging at https://worldradioleague.com!

Keep your hobby safe and secure on the modern hostile internet, whether you want to run a remote rig, or link a network of repeaters.

If it works – It’s NOT stupid – right?

Where is the line between innovation, improvisation and just plain stupid? Does it even exist when operating portable. Growing up on a farm, improvisation was a way of life. Broken things needed to be fixed, and usually with what was on hand. Portable operations are much the same when things don’t go exactly to plan. This is a light hearted look at “making do” when operating field days, SOTA and EME.

I have had a keen interest in all things electronic and radio since my parents bought me a “Dick Smith Fun Way into Electronics” book and component kit in 1979. As a teenager, a Pierce Simpson Cub AM CB became a prized piece of communications equipment, Joining TASMAR radio in the mid 80’s, the 27Mhz marine radio in the boat was our only means of outside contact when on the water. First Licensed in 1999 as VK7ZMS I had a keen interest in packet radio and had many QSO’s via the parrot repeater on the ISS. In 2016 I was introduced to SOTA and found a use for HF. More recently my amateur radio activity has centered around VHF and above, and Field day activities.

Parks on the Air – POTA

It is hard to believe that the Parks on the Air (POTA) program is only 6 years old considering the popularity of this radio sport having over 50,000 registered users and over 500,000 participants. POTA continues to grow exponentially as operators combine outdoor exploration with radio communication. 

Marty VK4KC received his ham radio licence in 1990. He was an inactive ham for many years due to a busy career and family duties but it was portable radio activities that attracted him back into the hobby.  He is the POTA admin for Australia and the POTA Continent lead for Oceania. Marty has a passion for POTA due to its minimal rules and maximum flexibility and he has activated over 350 unique parks. 

Marty will give an overview of the POTA program and provide the info you need to get started in the exciting world of park activating and hunting.  There will also be something for the seasoned POTA operator with information on additional features that are planned for the POTA website and logging applications. There will also be time for Q&A.

Lightning Scatter: A rare mode of Propagation

Rex, VK7MO,  will report on the use of lightning scatter on 1296 MHz for what is believed to be the first ever two way QSO on this mode of propagation.  This QSO was with VK3MAP and used the digital mode MSK144. Rex will explain why he thinks that 1296 MHz is probably the optimum band for this mode of propagation with analogies to aircraft scatter.

Rex Moncur, VK7MO, was licensed in 1960 and set the inaugural 432 MHz Australian record at 97 miles in 1964 and the Victoria 1296 MHz record at 46 miles in 1966. He now holds the World Terrestrial record on 10 GHz, at 2792 km, and World EME records on both 10 and 24 GHz.  His interests are in exploring the use of digital modes and propagation from VHF up to optical.  He recently published on Lightening Scatter and on characterising different types of Auroral Propagation.

Radio contesting from B.C (Before Computers) to Gameboy

Martin was first licensed in March 1966. First contests were field days with the Hull and District Amateur radio society (Yorkshire,U.K.). September 1968 and I was at University in North Wales where I operated from digs GW3VBX as well as at the GW3UCB club station on both HF and VHF contesting.

Following university I moved to VK. VK4VU was very contest active and VK5GN was even more intense with multiple towers and 2 radio operation VK7GN is now more casually involved with a more limited remote station.

Martin’s long history qualifies him to talk about how technological progress has impacted on radio contesting. Most strongly on operating systems, logging and entries to the competition but also on the technical facilities used to maximise score.

There have been dramatic changes from the HRO Receiver used in those early field days to the modern SDR and top range transceivers like the Icom 7851. From the paper logging to computer logging. From entries by post to real-time internet entry.

Remote Ham Radio (Flex Radio and Node Red)

Node-RED is an easy to learn flow-based programming language that ham radio operators can use to build simple web-based dashboards which provide command, control, and automation in their ham shack. In this presentation we will learn how to get started with Node-RED, what you can control, and some example dashboards. No programming experience necessary as there are ham radio flows already programmed for major manufacturers to get you started. 

Kyle (AAØZ) received his ham radio license in 1995 while attending college at the University of Missouri (Mizzou). Over the past 25+ years Kyle has been involved with net operations, ARES, SLSRC leadership, AREDN, repeaters, HF, POTA, SOTA, portable ops and contesting. He’s a past president and engineering committee chair of the St. Louis & Suburban Radio club. When he is not on the air, you can find him programming something in Node Red or producing ham radio videos on his YouTube channel.  Kyle works in IT for his day job.  

EME/EMF/EMC/High Power Education

A product of his school’s Youth Radio Scheme in the 1960’s, Phil was first licenced in 1967 as VK2ZZQ, and later as VK2DKN when it became necessary to gain a full call for backup communications on an international yacht race from Jakarta to Rotterdam via the Cape of Good Hope. 

Phil became a Director of the WIA in 2003 and then vice president, and president flowing the untimely passing of Michael Owen VK3KI(SK). Phil has been the editor and part-author of the Foundation Licence Manual since its inception, an activist for the WIA on the BPL issue, served on the TE3 and TE3-19 Australian Standards committee’s for equipment emission standards, and is a GA Taylor medal recipient. 

Professionally, after a career start with OTC in telecommunications, a stint working at Sydney University physiology and engineering departments, project manager at ETI magazine alongside Roger Harrison as editor, Phil went on to own and develop the VitalCall medical alarm business. Phil is past Chair and a life member of the medical alarm industries’ association (PERSL – Personal Emergency Response Services Limited). 

Phil is an active member of the WIA’s Education and Spectrum Committees that are currently working on several key initiatives. He remains active in amateur radio mostly on 40mx and mostly on AM, yacht races each week on Sydney Harbour with some success, and rides his Ducati SD900 or Honda CB400F around; but not in the rain anymore.

mmWave 241 GHz update – pushing the boundaries even higher

David VK5KK has been active on VHF/UHF/SHF for nearly 50 years, he is a 2nd generation VHF amateur thanks to his father Keith VK5ZMK (still active as VK5KG). David reprised Doug McArthur (SK) VK3UMs original VK5KK callsign in 1975 on the proviso that it would be kept active on VHF and above. Since the 1980’s, David has been active designer of projects for VHF to EHF bands, many of which were available via the VK5 Equipment Supplies Committee or published in print or online. David also spent 30 years as a WIA volunteer, including stints as the VK5 WIA president and as editor of “VHF-UHF an Expanding world” in AR (1999-2003 & 2015 – 2023). Professionally, David has an engineering and commercial background, currently working for a Silicon Valley tech company as a homologation consultant for Europe and APAC region as well as representing Australia on a number of IEC standards.

David is presenting a follow up on his 2022 mmWave presentation focussing on 241 GHz equipment and mmWave antenna, details of which will soon to be published in Dubus and other publications.

The Quest for Miniaturisation

I’m Adam, also known as K6ARK, an avid SOTA activator and portable operator.  I’ve got a small YouTube channel where I share my adventures in building and operating portable radio equipment.  Whether it’s the smallest possible radio, the highest gain portable antenna, or the most remote SOTA summit I’m always looking for that next challenge to keep my portable operations interesting. 

The Secret to Energizing Ham Radio
Panel discussion

ICOM Australia
Thanks to Marty
and the ICOM Australia Team
https://www.icomjapan.com/lp/60th/

ICOM will have a display in the foyer of the Sir Stanley Burbury Theatre that will feature their newly released equipment.

DigiRig
Thanks to Denis Grisak K0TX
https://digirig.net/

DX Commander
Thanks to Callum, M0MCX
https://dxcommander.com/

Messi & Paoloni
Thanks to Stefano and Christian
  https://messi.it/en/home.htm

RF Solutions
Thanks to Carsten VK4OA
https://rfsolutions.com.au/

Radioddity
https://www.radioddity.com/