wansarc vol 41 issue 10 2010 - western & northern...

WANSARC Vol 41 Issue 10 2010 of 12

WANSARC NEWS

Incorporated in Victoria, 1985 Registration Number: A0007611S The monthly magazine of the Western & Northern Suburbs Amateur Radio Club Melbourne, Australia

www.wansarc.org.au

146.450 MHz FM VK3AWS 28.470 MHz USB Volume No: 41 Issue 10 November 2010

Next Club Meeting, Friday 5th November ~ Ern Rose Memorial Pavilion, Seaver Grove, Reservoir @ 7.30pm

Robert (Bob) Faravoni 2nd February 1938 ~ 1st October 2010 -.-- --- ..- .-- .. .-.. .-.. -. . ...- . .-. -... . ..-. --- .-. --. --- - - . -.

you will never be forgotten ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Around the Shack 2 A Tribute to Bob VK3EL by Mark VK3PI 3 Bob VK3EL ~ Silent Key ~ Eulogy Address 5 VK3SAH (Scouts and Hams) at Tree Tops Scout Camp for JOTA 2010 9 Hoppers Crossing JOTA 10 A Tale of Two Rabbits 12 WANSARC Club Profile 12


Around the Shack

ACMA PROPOSES REGULATIONS CHANGES The Australian Communications and Media Authority has announced a set of changes to the Amateur Licence Condition Determinations (Regulations). Each are important but relatively minor in nature. As anticipated holders of the Advanced Licence have added to their available bands, 135.7 kHz to 137.8 kHz. That low frequency band was allocated by the World Radiocommunications Conference in 2007 but is not yet included in the LCD. Currently those wanting to use the band must apply for a licence variation and pay a fee. The amendment will enable Advanced category stations, under their amateur callsign, access to the LF band with a power of up to 1 watt pX EIRP and any emission mode with a bandwidth of no greater than 2.1 kHz. This will be on a Secondary basis that amateur stations do not cause interference to other radio services that have Primary status on that spectrum. The amendments also concern changes to the station identification arrangements for overseas radio amateurs in Australia for short-term holidays or business visits. Visiting radio amateurs will need to identify by putting VK in front of their home callsign, which is more consistent with the practice used overseas for visitor licensing arrangements. The use of an alternative repeater access control is proposed to better manage situations that may result in an amateur station accessing a repeater for which they are not authorised to transmit on the repeater output frequency. The ACMA is also to provide through the amendments some clarity on third part traffic messages. It will receive written comments on the changes up until 1 November 2010. ~Amateur Radio Victoria WHERE ARE THE NUCLEAR LAUNCH CODES? Bill Clinton managed to do the one thing US presidents should never do - lose the nuclear launch codes. A general who served under Mr Clinton as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff claims in a new book that the card bearing the top secret codes were missing for several months during 2000. "At one point during the Clinton administration the codes were actually missing for months. That's a big deal – a gargantuan deal," General Hugh Shelton says in his memoir, Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior. Another senior military figure linked to the Clinton administration, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Patterson, claims in another book that the President's memory lapse caused a huge panic in the White House. "He thought he just placed them upstairs," Lieutenant Colonel Patterson said. "We called upstairs, we started a search around the White House for the codes, and he finally confessed that he in fact misplaced them. He couldn't recall when he had last seen them." It is unclear if the codes were ever found. The card containing the launch codes is supposed to be kept close at hand at all times. Before a president can launch a nuclear attack, he has to input the codes to arm the warheads. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart confessed in 1999 that Mr Clinton had once left a NATO summit in such haste that he left behind his briefcase that contained the codes. There have long been rumours that former President Jimmy Carter left the card in a suit which was sent to the dry cleaners.

That story has never been confirmed or denied. ~ Herald Sun DON’T BE A WALLY WITH WATER Things are really different these days. My younger harmonic told me that a boy was suspended from her school for three days. When I asked why she said it was for throwing balloon of water at another boy. What? Suspended for that? I asked what was in the balloon, water or something else; No it was just water. So I asked did they damage anything, did it land on a PC, or someone’s work or books; No it was done outside in the playground. So I asked if they were bullying him; No they were friends and all involved thought it was funny. So I asked if he was a repeat offender, sending the teacher nuts; Nope, normally good behavior. So No one got hurt, Nothing got broken, No classes disrupted, No one stressed out, just a water balloon chucked at a kid, by a kid. So I asked what the actual ‘charge’ that was given to suspend a kid for three days from primary school. The reply? “Wasting Water…” ~Mick VK3CH ODD SPOT A pigeon carrying a memory card beat a broadband connection to get a video from Yorkshire to Lancashire. It landed in 80 minutes; the computer was still uploading the video. ~Internet News VK100WIA ‘OVER AND OUT’

The keenly sought call of VK100WIA has run its six months on air. Did you manage to work the call at least twice and have logs of contacts with at least 16 other WIA members you can qualify for the certificate, see any recent issue of AR, or www.wia.org.au You have until end of December to make a claim. WANSARC FAMILY DAY 2011 ~ BUNDOORA PARK The committee has set down January Sunday 16th 2011 for next year’s Family Day at Rotunda 6 at Bundoora Park, the same location as last years. While radios and ATV are setup the main focus will be on catching up with friends and plenty of tall tales. More information in the December newsletter, but do keep the day free. Of course family, friends, guests are all welcome. WANSARC CHRISTMAS DINNER 2010 At the time of going to press the dinner is still being arranged. Mark VK3PI will formally email or write to all club members to let them know a date, venue, cost and methods of payment and most importantly – a Menu of what’s on offer, sure to be good.


A Tribute to Bob VK3EL by Mark VK3PI It is difficult to accept that 32 years have gone in the blink of an eyelid since I first met Bob, VK3EL. The late 70’s heralded the arrival of the Novice licence and Bob became one of Victoria’s first new “N” calls as VK3NAI. The “N” was introduced to provide a pathway for radio enthusiasts to enter the world of amateur radio and allowed novices to use the 80, 15 and 10 metre bands with no more than 30 watts Peak Envelope Power (PEP). Aside from limited bands a further distinction between today’s “F” troop and the novice licence included a proficiency examination for Morse code. Later 2 metres was allowed to be used by novices, but in the early days of the “N” call, Bob, like many others, used 10 metres as a favourite calling band. In fact it was not uncommon for up to 20 stations to be on the one frequency chatting and 28.500 was a popular calling frequency. Bob’s station at the time in Plant Street, Northcote, was unique in that Bob was using a little known tri-band beam called a “Hybrid Quad”. This antenna looked no more than a glorified television antenna but it worked on 6, 10, 15 and 20 metres. Bob convinced me of the merits of the antenna and I acquired one second-hand, using it for portable work for many years. At that time band conditions were so good that many novices actually kept to the legal power limits and worked scores of DX on 10 and 15 metres. At night it was difficult to find a vacant spot below 3.6MHz on 80 metres. Bob, myself and Frank VK3ZO (then VK3NWH) had many late night conversations, even using AM at times. Even when Bob became a full call and the world of extra bands beckoned, Bob remained true to his roots, enjoying QRP (low power) operations and ragchewing, particularly on 10 metres. Bob was the first amateur I knew to purchase TenTec gear and enjoy the pleasures of QRP operation. Bob also embraced working JA stations and began learning the language. My repertoire of Japanese words and phrases extended to Hello and goodbye – Bob had a very good understanding of the language and people. Bob joined WANSARC on the 16 of August 1991 and he supported the club in many ways during his 19 years as a member. Family days, John Moyle Field Days, Rotary Club Raffles and sourcing amateur radio equipment and accessories for the benefit of members were just a handful of Bob’s contributions to the club. In 2006 WANSARC recognized Bob’s efforts in the awarding of a Life Membership. This was a fitting tribute to Bob for his past efforts and his contributions additionally as a Committee member and VHF Net Controller for the club net. Many club members will remember Bob for his prolific “tinkering” with radio equipment and in particular antenna’s. Bob made regular trips to Bundoora Park to test his “new” designs and many members will recall Bob’s tripod systems for holding vertical antennae and his experimentation with part scale G5RV antennas. Bob was an integral part of John Moyle Field Day operations, not so much for contest operating as Bob was not interested in the “on air” role – more in the “engine room” making sure that the day went well. This included the provision of home made soup and pastries!!


It was fitting that on the day that many family, friend and club members gathered to celebrate Bob’s life that the sun was bearing down on us all – a cap would have certainly been useful. Ironic in that Bob will be remembered by many for his iconic cap!! In passing Bob has left a long term legacy to the club in the form of antenna’s, hardware and cables, some which will be used as part of a field day kit, others as part of a proposed station set up at the clubrooms. In recognition of Bob’s contribution the WANSARC Committee recently unanimously agreed to the framing of a Commemorative Certificate, to be permanently displayed in the clubrooms, to perpetuate the memory of Bob and the donation of this equipment. We will all remember Bob in our own ways. The club is richer for having had Bob as a member and supporter. The amateur radio fraternity is richer for having Bob as an enthusiastic promoter of the hobby and for introducing many, many radio newcomers to amateur radio. And personally I am richer for having known Bob as a friend on and off the air for over 30 years. Vale Bob VK3EL

Pictured at the celebration of the life of Bob, VK3EL. Front row Don VK3HDX, Victor VK3DKM, Dan VK3DWH, John VK3FMPB, Mick VK3CH, Rod VK3FAB Back Row Matt VK3ABC, Trevor VK3ATX, Mark VK3PI, Mal VK3TV, Graeme VK3NE, Craig VK3XOR, Dave VK3DTS, Urey VK3ATA. Not photographed but attending Frank VK3ZO, Russell VK3XC, Cheryl VK3FCAF, Derek VK3NQ.


Bob VK3EL ~ Silent Key ~ Eulogy Address The address from Matt Stanton VK3ABC

Hi Everybody. Thanks for coming. I’m not gonna stand up here and tell you what a great man Bob was cause you all will already know that. I reckon that is why you are here. I am going to tell you what I think of when I think of Bob. I think of a very noble man, A very smart man, and a very strong man. Bob gave me the best advice; he taught me how to live in this country and how to get along with all of the people that were here long before me. He taught me how to drive here. That would have been the single most nerve racking thing for both of us. I had been driving on the right side of the road for 25 years before I arrived in this country. The one thing I want you all to realize is that Bob took over from my family in the states when I arrived here like it was planned to happen. I was in a new world with rules that were completely different. Bob was my mentor. I could never explain all the things that he has taught me but I can tell you he was spot on with everything he said to me. And believe me he taught me allot. Bob managed to turn a very angry American into a completely different person simply by explaining how things worked here. I have many stories I would love to tell you but I’m really not up for it right now. I’ll tell you all just one story and it is the basis of how I came to know Bob for exactly what he was. This happened just a few weeks after arriving in this country. We were renting a house in Highett. Arrived home from a walk to the shops to find the biggest spider I had ever seen sitting right above the front door. I hate spiders and had never seen anything like it in my life. I didn’t know what to do but I did know I was not going to try to get past it. I really at that point just wanted to fly back to America. I called Bob from my mobile phone and explained the situation. He said to me, how big it is. I told him it was as big as the palm of my hand, he then said is it really ugly? I said yep, next he said does it have real long hairy legs? I said yep. He took a deep breath and said ok; listen carefully to what I am going to tell you. This really scared me and I am positive he knew how scared I really was. He said look in your mail box and see if there is a paper or catalogue or something similar. Sure enough there was. He said slowly walk up, as slowly as possible and whack it with the paper and make sure you don’t miss. Most of you know what happened next. Before I got a chance to hit it, the spider jumped off the wall from above the door and landed directly on the brim of my baseball cap. The phone went one way. I went the other and my hat went straight down to the ground. When I picked up the phone a minute later he was still belly laughing. He really got me. I did forgive him but it took a long time. Shortly after that Bob came to our house with an illustrated book of spiders. He also taught us how to properly catch one of these spiders and to always kill the white tails and red backs but make sure you throw the huntsmen’s over into the neighbor’s yard as they were good spiders according to him. To this day we always let the huntsmen go over the fence into the neighbor’s yard. Last night I asked my 10 year old daughter Julia what was the first things that came in to her mind when she thought of Uncle Bob. Her answers were, Christmas, Kittys, Hat, Doggie treats and a packed Car full of presents. Bob never came to our house without a full car of his belongings. Everything from dismantled desks to ham radio antennas, portable picnic tables, tools, just everything you could imagine. He was a very giving person who never wanted anything in return. Bobs birthday was on February 2nd. Because Bob was so hard to buy for I would normally send him a gift voucher for Coles every year. My birthday is on the 7th of February. Every year I sent him a voucher he sent it back to me in a different birthday card. It was always the same voucher. Bob always won! He was very good at everything. I will never forget Bob. And I am honored to have been his friend.

Family, friends and WANSARC members at the Tea Rooms after the service


The address from Joan Stanton

Ham radio or Amateur radio is a hobby I do not understand, when Bob & my husband Matt would stay outside our house, longer than it took to smoke a cigarette, I knew they were discussing more antennas being erected on our already crowded roof or in the yard, even the roof of cubby house wasn’t safe. But without HAM radio we would of never meet Bob, something I have always been grateful. We meet Bob shortly after moving to Australia in Jan. 1998. When he found out we didn’t have a car he offered to be our driver & tour guide. Our first big trip together was to Bendigo, it was a beautiful day, 4 year old Maria & I walked around the gardens, the cathedral & just enjoyed the sites; while Matt & Bob attended the main reason for our trip, an Amateur Radio Swap meet. Another memorable trip was to Puffing Billy, although the experience & the view was amazing the best part of the trip was the personal Nutella packs & homemade rum balls that he brought for Maria & I. I knew from then on that he understood me. At the end of our first year in Australia we were ready to start driving on the wrong side of the road; Bob was there to take us driving. One day he asked Matt if he thought he was ready to go take the driving test. Matt said “Yes.” Bob told him to drive down an empty side street & do a U-turn; as they were going back up the road again he asked, “You think you are ready to take the test.” “Yes.” Then Bob informed him he was on the wrong side of the road. As in many things Bob was so helpful, patient & understanding with us as we learned something new. When I heard a car in the driveway I knew it was him, by the dog having a happy bark & wagging her tail. This may have had something to do with him always bringing dog treats for her. Early on Christmas mornings he would be there to watch the kids open their presents, One Christmas he bought Maria a telescope, but first he had to torture her. She was handed a very large box to unwrap, which she did quickly only to uncover another box, then another & another & so on, the 2’ to last unwrapping revealed pickled herring, the last unwrapping revealed a chunk of Blue Cheese. Just what every 13 year old girl wants. He eventually told her to go out to the car where she found the telescope. He had a great love of Japan, its people & culture, & over the years made many trips to meet friends he made over the air waves. Maria loved this also because as a child she loved Pokémon & Naruto (Japanese TV shows). Bob would often have unique items sent to her from his friends in Japan. She was always very excited to have something special that Uncle Bob got for her. Julia, my youngest daughter & Bob shared a love of drawing; they would often give each other pictures they drew. During the last few months Bob & Julia shared many silly stories & they both enjoyed riding together on the wheel chair. Bob you will always be in our memories & in our hearts, you are part of us; because of this you will never be gone. The address from Don Dennis VK3HDX Well as many of you know, Ham Radio was a big part of Bob’s life, not only did he love the hobby, but he was instrumental in helping many people join the hobby. He was a life member of the Western & Northern Suburbs Amateur Radio club, & ran our weekly net for many years. Whenever the club participated in a field day, Bob would be there, setting up antennas & lending a hand to whoever needed it. Bob had a wealth of knowledge and willingly shared it with everyone. Now most of you here today think you know Bob, but I’d like to share a story with you that I doubt any of you know. I wonder how many of you know of Bob’s international smuggling career. When I met Bob 39 years ago (which is a story in itself) he was working at Ham Radio supplies in Richmond. Bob & I had become friends through radio, in fact Bob was the first person I ever met when I had my first walky talky, I was talking to my mate down the road & little did I know Bob lived in the same suburb & had been listening to us talk, he tracked down my signal and arrived outside the front of the house & explained that what I was doing was illegal & I needed to be careful about what I said on air or the Radio Inspectors would catch me, I think at this stage he was trying to scare me off, well luckily for me I kept talking to people, experimenting with antennas etc & once Bob could see I had an interest in the hobby he was always offering me advice, when he sat for his licence & got it he would invite me over on a Saturday afternoon to watch him talk to his friends in Japan, New Zealand & the US. He always encouraged me to learn more. It was during one of these visit’s that he said to me, if you come across any boxes that appliances come in, things like toasters & kettles would you keep them for me, Of course I said yes, asked him what he wanted them for, he said oh I just need to pack some things. I asked a few of my friends & family & got him 4 boxes from memory there were 3 toasters & 1 kettle, I took them around to his house & he was very happy, it was then that he explained to me, he had a lot of friends on the radio in New Zealand, & Radio Equipment had a 50% duty on it, so twice a year in the early 70’s Bob would pack radio’s into the appliance Boxes, fill up a second suitcase and head over to New Zealand & supply his friends there radio gear at greatly reduced prices than they otherwise could not have afforded. But that’s Bob, if he could help you he would, I never heard him turn anyone down, I’m convinced that New Zealand immigration still has him listed as a toaster salesman. To me Bob has always been there for 39 years & I thought he always would be. I’ll really miss him.


Poem by Julia Stanton, aged 10 years BOB

B is for Beloved best friend of my dad Matt Stanton; O is for the One and only Robert Faravoni, very friendly & happy which I always loved. B is for Brilliant and wonderful friend to all, loved to draw. He always would have the best presents for Christmas he would always smile when our family would visit him. Rest in peace Uncle Bob

Poem by Maria Stanton, aged 16 years

Uncle Bob used to have a cat that lived for 17 years, when she passed away Bob was devastated. The first section of my poem is about me and Bob, the last paragraph is about his cat.

Morns of suns would pass by, Nights of moons would die But still here you stand in my day

Speaking to me, telling me the wonders of living life. How everything, has a voice and soul.

How every dream means something new. How you missed her

Christmas’s kept going by And I never saw them die.

Yet there you were giving dreams away Telling me, the worlds details,

How every bird has a name and soul. How every mind can know so ‘much.

How you missed her so. Time will keep going by

And how well go through I simply don’t know. After everything you taught me

All I can really say is that the world has a soul. That dreams and words become songs.

And that you missed her. One more thing, up there I know. The red eyed cat, smiles at you.

She’s saying darling, I missed you so

And as you pet her fur, She looks down on everyone you knew

and says thank you for looking after my Bob. She’s smiling just like you,

All I know, is that we will miss you.


The table at the gathering after the service with a display of four Morse keys painstakingly restored by Bob, along with his WANSARC Life Membership Award Certificate


VK3SAH (Scouts and Hams) at Tree Tops Scout Camp for JOTA 2010 I had lost my licence in July sometime and was not expecting it back until Christmas day, so getting to JOTA going was to be an interesting experience this year. 4 poles of 4m in length, a bag full of radio gear, coax power supply, etc etc etc. Logistically, this was going to be a fun weekend, however, being a member of WANSARC means we were not going to let the kids or ourselves down were we? Luckily, Chris, a mate of mine drove me up. JOTA stands for Jamboree of the air; JOTI is Jamboree of the internet which will be happening simultaneously to the JOTA in a different part of the same hall. Scouts, both boys and girls, will be talking to people, mainly other scouts, on specially set up and monitored computers, chat channels and radios. (That’s why we are here after all). This year we have the added help of Messrs. Mark, PI and Gordon YOD at Hoppers crossing running the Girl guides’ JOTA experience so we should have numerous guides to chat to our group of scouts. This is another opportunity to promote Amateur radio to an audience of young people, at two locations, who would otherwise have little chance to use ‘our’ equipment. Every year we have a bunch of new kids, so we need to start again, but there is lots of fun to be had. The venue for Ian and Johnno is the same as last year. Tree tops scout camp at Riddles creek at the foot of Mount Macedon and with an elevation of approximately 435 meters, so we should have no troubles with either RX or TX. On site we have JQ Ian and FMPB Johnno using the following equipment. Icom 706 through a dual band GP 3 antenna for VHF and UHF. Ian uses his trusty IC-701for HF, through a long wire so we have the whole box and dice this weekend. We operate in exactly the same position as previous years. We sit inside the hall and run the coax through the window and lash pipes/masts to the verandah supports creating a 9 meter long mast and antenna, so now we have elevation of 444 meters and a view almost to Melbourne if I could see through the trees, which is fantastic. The kids are young scouts, young boys and girls from troops around Melbourne Williamstown, Lancefield, Altona, and Ridells Creek who have come to tree tops to earn various skills badges including the radio badge. With the help of Gordon and Mark it should mean that we have the ability to have many and varied QSO opportunities. That should keep both camps busy for the weekend. If the weather man is correct it looks like we will need plenty of indoor activities for the weekend. Did anyone bring the Scrabble or Monopoly? The weekend actually turned out to be not too bad and there was plenty to do outdoors. There was also plenty happening inside. Craig VK3CDF spent a good deal of his Saturday on the radio chatting and organizing some ex scouts to talk to my scouts. A quick scan of the weather sites www.bom.gov.au and www.weather.com.au shows that we are expecting a few showers and winds of up to 82 k at the Royal Melb Yacht Club at St Kilda weekend. Clearly, we will be running a fair bit of JOTA from inside the hall this year. HF was running fairly hot with plenty contacts being made all over the place. We had VK2-3-4-5, contacts in Russia, New Zealand, Chile, South America, on a portable no less and even El Paso Texas. To name but a few. Craig (VK3CDF) had the kids talking for a while on VHF so it was a great weekend for everyone involved. Alas it was over all too quickly. It would have been great to be able to stay longer and soak up all the propagation which was running very well for the whole weekend. The real world awaited most of us however. Ah reality, the place you go when you can’t play radios anymore. ~ John VK3FMPB


Hoppers Crossing came alive……………by Mark VK3PI 2010 has been a big year in more ways than one, with Girl Guides around the world celebrating their Centenary. So it was extra special for WANSARC to support the West Metropolitan Girl Guide Region at Hoppers Crossing for JOTA. A small and enthusiastic posse, consisting of Graeme VK3NE, Mark VK3PI, Gordon VK3YOD, Mick VK3CH and Gordon’s daughter, Meghan, assembled at 0900 for an 1100 start on Sunday, October 17, 2010. Despite buckets of rain in previous days the weather was relatively kind with only some H2O droplets falling from the sky. Within a short space of time the air was bristling with antennae for HF, VHF and UHF. Mark’s new end fed zepp was wrapped in dog leg style around the girl guides block, with Mick’s VHF/UHF and ATV antennae flapping expectantly in the breeze.

Graeme’s VHF box stood to attention waiting for action and Gordon’s HF box crackled with expectancy. Over 60 Girl Guides were introduced to Amateur Radio during the day, with solid HF and VHF contacts. On HF girls worked stations in VK2, VK3 and VK5, with a special treat late in the afternoon when a ZL1 station provided two girl guides with a contact. One of the features of the HF contacts were the solid signals on 7MHz and the longevity of contacts – one contact lasted 1.5 hours!! On VHF the radio was running hot with contacts – a special thanks

to Meghan Hall for her efforts in providing contacts under the supervision of Graeme VK3NE. Thanks Meghan!!! Unfortunately Mick’s ATV setup did not provide an ATV picture however this was a good dry run for next year, when it is anticipated that a field survey will be conducted prior to JOTA to determine what specifically needs to be improved for solid pictures, preferably two way. Before we knew it, it was time to pack up our gear and head back to the east and north. The Girl Guide leader contingent was absolutely delighted with the day’s results and feedback from both girl guides and their parents. I believe the key to the success this year was the leader’s enthusiasm in having a number of radio related activities organized for the girl guides whilst they waited to have their turn on radio and the simplicity of our station setup. And let’s make no mistake, the girl’s all demonstrated their radio expertise within one or two over’s of picking up the microphone to the point where they were operating with little prompting. Congratulations to the West Metropolitan Girl Guide Region for their efforts in making this day successful, to the leaders for their enthusiasm and marvellous organization, to the girls for their exemplary behaviour and to those from WANSARC who took the time and effort to make the day successful. Onward to JOTA 2011!


West Metropolitan Girl Guide Region at Hoppers Crossing ~ JOTA 2010

The crew setting up the gear early morning Mark with HF End Fed Zepp with genuine 450Ω Ladder Line feed →

Graeme with VHF radio

VHF / UHF Antenna setup ATV gear that did not reach VK3RTV, But still gave something to talk about


A TALE OF TWO RABBITS During the school holidays the kids often have other kids around for sleepovers. One day the younger harmonic decided to have her friend from Preston bring her pet rabbit along so it could meet our bunny and do what bunnies do… Her mother, who had the female rabbit came out to the car and had a chat to me, I told her I don’t need any more little bunnies at our place, one was enough, she was not keen either so I said just tell your daughter not to bring her rabbit, but the mother replied “they will do what they want to do…” hmmm, I know all about that. So the mother talked to her as she was walking to the van with her friends. While this was going on, a bloke was walking down the street. The mother said (referring to the rabbit) “… now you’re probably going to end up pregnant tonight, what are you going to do about the babies as I don’t want to look after them…” The bloke had no idea they were talking about a rabbit and just saw a mother talking to her 11 year old kid about getting pregnant, as they walked towards the van, carrying a sleeping bag and blankets, with me sitting inside, in a quiet Preston street, in the afternoon. The bloke just stared at the mother, then the girl, then back at me, with a look of pure horror and disbelief… Even by just sitting in a car I can freak people out without doing anything… ~Mick VK3CH

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WANSARC VK3AWS

PRESIDENT: Graeme McDiarmid VK3NE [email protected] SECRETARY: Mark Stephenson VK3PI Telephone: 0425 768 320 [email protected] All correspondence to be addressed to the SECRETARY: PO Box 336, RESERVOIR 3073

WANSARC CLUB PROFILE History The Western and Northern Suburbs Amateur Radio Club (WANSARC) was first formed in 1969 and since then has served the needs and interests of amateur radio operators, short wave listeners and those interested in hobby radio and electronics. The club is not gender specific, having both female and male members. Members come from all walks of life with a mix of experience, young and mature, novice and technical. The most important aspect of the club is the willingness of all members to share their knowledge for the benefit of others. Members mainly reside in the west and north of Melbourne; however membership is encouraged from all interested.

Meetings Meetings held at the Ern Rose Memorial Pavilion, SEAVER GROVE, RESERVOIR (Melway Map 18 D5) on the 1st Friday of each month (excluding January) commencing at 7.30pm local time. Talk in on 146.450MHz FM—call club station VK3AWS.

Benefits Free technology and related presentations, sponsored construction activities, discounted (and sometimes free) equipment, network of like minded radio and electronics enthusiasts, excellent club facilities and environment plus an informative monthly newsletter for members to post articles, news, classifieds for all radio, test equipment, etc, featuring Amateur Radio news from WANSARC, WIA, ACMA, Melbourne Clubs, VK and Worldwide.

Club Nets 146.450MHz FM each Tuesday evening commencing 7.30pm local time.

Website: www.wansarc.org.au Postal: WANSARC PO Box 336 RESERVOIR 3073

A proud tradition of supporting hobby radio and electronics enthusiasts since 1969

All editors’ comments and other opinions in submitted articles may not always represent the opinions of the committee or the members of WANSARC, but are published in the spirit in which they were submitted; in any case anything stated is to promote interest and active discussion on club activities and the promotion of Amateur Radio in general. Contributions to WANSARC are always welcome from any part of the world. You can either post material to the Post Office Box address at the top of this page, or email your submission to the editor direct at [email protected] Email attachments not to exceed 5 Mb in file size. Attachments of (or thought to be) executable code will not be opened. Other persons or radio clubs may edit or copy out such as they like from the magazine but a reference to WANSARC is appreciated, except copyrighted (©) material or as otherwise indicated. Other articles that are credited to outside sources should be asked for their permission if they are used. While we strive to be accurate, no responsibility taken for errors, omissions, or other perceived deficiencies, in respect of information contained in technical or other articles. Any dates, times and locations given for upcoming events should always be checked with a reliable source closer to the event – coming up on the WANSARC Tuesday evening NET on 146.450 MHz starting at 07:30 pm Local is recommended to discuss and confirm information and any dates. The club website also keeps current information on planned events and scheduled meeting dates.

wansarc vol 41 issue 10 2010 - western & northern...

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