NEWS
NEWS NEWS
From MNCARG
Inc
Greetings fellow members.
This
has indeed been a busy month.
80 Mtr
Low Power Transceiver Kits
To the
members that ordered the 80 mtr ssb kits they have started to arrive and will be
contacted shortly for delivery details. The kits are very professional, full
commercial standard and expertly presented. They will be a joy to build and get
going. I hope to have a section dedicated to the construction of this
interesting kit on our web site shortly.
Oxley
Field Day
The
Oxley Amateur Radio Club will have their Field Day over the June long weekend. I
encourage as many members as possible to attend this great event, pop by and say
G'Day and support our friends in Port. This is their day and we wish them
all the best and every success. Carol and Myself will be in attendance and I
know Peter and Jenny will also be in Port for the event. Volunteers to help man
our display are most welcome. The more the better. The MNCARG will have the
full range of kits on display and for sale on the day and also information on
our group. New memberships will be available on the day as well. For those that
need to, renewals can also be done as well.
The
show is on the Sunday 7th June, Sea Scouts Hall, Buller Street Port
Macquarie. See you there....
Kit
Sales
Our kit
sales continue to forge ahead. The Ozi - Wire, Ozi Data and 2 Mtr Junior are all
selling well and there has been a surge in demand for the Ozi Pole kit as
well.
Looks like a new batch of Ozi Poles will need to
be made to fill the demand. Peter VK2EVB along with Steve VK2SJJ are in control
of kits and we are always looking for assistance in assembly of kits and help
cutting and drilling. The kits are our life blood as a fund raiser and the
sales allow us to pay for site rental, on going costs, licenses and the purchase
of new equipment for the use of everyone both in the group and outside the
group.
6 Mtr
Service
I am currently following up on our license
application for a 6 mtr service at Dorrigo. Initially the application is for a 6
mtr repeater allocation with the option if only available a simplex allocation
to allow a beacon, simplex repeater or a portal into the 70cm service to be
established. Realistically we would start with a simplex or beacon facility till
the appropriate engineering solution was completed for the interfacing into a
70cm service (license issues have to be accommodated to isolate different
license holders).
The 6 Mtr transceiver has just arrived, an Alinco DR-06. This transceiver was chosen as it has
already built in an expansion facility to allow easy interconnection to other
equipment and the fitting of a Morse ID Board. The Alinco transceiver comes with
a 3 year warranty ! The transceiver would be rack mounted into a 2 RU Rack
facility.
The morse ID board will be a Midian ID-1 Morse ID
controller. This is a processor controlled unit that is used extensively in the
commercial world and has a long history of reliability. It is easily programmed
and capable of two independent morse messages. Message one can
be up to 16 alphanumeric characters and message two
can be up to 130 alphanumeric characters.
The
ID-1 controls duty cycle and all timing settings as well. I have installed
dozens of these units on commercial systems over the years and they work a
treat.
The 2
RU Rack unit will accommodate the transceiver, morse ID module and if required a
power supply. As we have already installed 20 amp supplies at both sites this is
purely an option.
VK2RCB
Coffs City Repeater
Our 2
mtr service is really getting a work out. Over the last few days we have
had IRLP contacts with VK1 and VK4 and I have been making use of the
service on the drive from Bellingen into Coffs of an early morning each day for
the last week. The coverage is great and it now extends down to Nambucca Heads.
I had call to be in Nambucca earlier this week and it covers the great majority
of Nambucca Heads including at the beach front with complete ease. That is
a range of 40 Klms ! I spoke at length to Peter VK2EVB from Nambucca while
I was paying a visit to a hardware store down there. NO problems with coverage
in Valla Beach either. I use a quarter wave fiberglass braided antenna
(Unity Gain) in the centre of the roof and 20 watts output from a
FT857 turned down to this power level.
The
antenna system of the repeater on receive is directional and favours the
south back through Coffs and down the highway. This has been done to eliminate
interference from nearby Commercial FM transmitters. It is planned in the future
to make this arrangement a bi directional affair to also provide coverage north
of the site as well. This style of arrangement is used at at number of ham
repeater sites and is used extensively at commercial sites as well. This
will be engineered to maintain the isolation from the commercial services to the
east of the site.
In the
mean time use the repeater, it has excellent audio and the IRLP is a treat to
use. Thank you to Peter VK2EVB for the provision of the IRLP and I wish
also to thank Steve VK2SJJ, Peter VK2EVB and Carol VK2FCSR for providing
coverage tests and reports during the recent re configurations. I am very happy
with the performance of the additional band pass filter and band stop filter.
These two devices have made a world of difference. As with our 70cm service the
repeater has power surge protection, lightening protection and has full morse ID
and TOT operational.
Remember the IRLP node is 6625.
Our
Groups Web Site
The web
site is looking fantastic. I wish to thank Jack VK2CJC for doing an excellent
and professional job on the site and looking after it. It is always up to date
and new and interesting items are always been added. I encourage everyone to
contribute an article, story or photos to Jack for publication on the site that
would be of interest to others members and the general viewing public. This is
your web site and please enjoy and where possible send an interesting item to
Jack for inclusion. Just contact Jack VK2CJC via the members list.
Till
next time....
Regards,
Gary
Ryan
VK2ZKT
President MNCARG Inc
PH:-
66552990
