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I ‘ve been out of touch for a while, but I do see that the Mildura iGate is now VK3JUG-5. The previous callsign VK3WRM-10, has been relinquished.

Just to remind you, an iGate takes a string from a digipeater and gates it to the internet. If correctly configured, it can also gate messages from the internet to specified mobiles.

Thanks to Peter VK3JUG for keeping this valuable service up and running.

Well the 2019 AGM has come and gone, and from all reports did not “Go gentle into that good night.” I must point out that my reports are second hand, so I need to be a little careful.

Suffice to say that the meeting was somewhat “orchestrated” by senior members of the club who were not members of the committee, let alone the executive, and that there was an interjection from the floor attempting to wrest control of the meeting from the chairman. John VK2AWJ is to be commended for his handling of the election of officers.

Regretably, yet another keen and active member has been alienated. That makes 4 in 2 years that I know of. It seems that being an “annointed one” is somewhat of a poisoned chalice.

Unconfirmed reports have Brian VK3BBB as President, David VK3ZUA Vice President, Therese VK3FMTT Treasurer and Carol Loag is again Secretary. There are no details of the rest of the committee at this point.

Thanks to the outgoing committee and Good Luck to new one.

E&OE

At the bottom of Solar Cycle 24, things look pretty bleak for HF propagation. A quick look at the propagation forecast says fair to good for 40 and 80 and poor for all bands higher. Why then am I hearing a plethora of strange signals on 14074kHz? That would be FT8 digital mode. At 50Hz bandwidth it is theoretically possible to fit 50 simultaneous QSOs into a single 2.5kHz voice bandwidth and decode signals with a s/n ratio of -20db. And there are other modes, on all bands from MF to SHF.
Digital is perhaps a misnomer, from the users viewpoint they are keyboard modes, requiring a computer of some sort, suitable software, an interface and a radio.
“A computer?” I hear the traditionalists say. “They’ll be the ruin of Ham Radio. Darned things, never could get the hang of them!”
To which I would reply…
“Goldarn it Elmer, you’re using one of them microphones? What the heck is wrong with a Morse Key?”
And all the time operating the latest Software Defined Radio!

The Craft moves on, and if we want to keep it alive we have to embrace the things that interest young people. Things like computers and texting. Young folk are more insular these days, preferring less intimate forms of communications. The idea of actually speaking to someone they don’t know and can’t see, is pretty scary. Text communication on the other hand is universally embraced.
There is also the technical problem of diminishing available bandwidth. New modes are much more efficient… 50 channels in one voice bandwidth!
“Digital Modes” are to the texting generation, what voice modes were to the telephone generation. They will develop the new techniques and modes, albeit in software rather than hardware. A faster, tighter Fourier transform rather than a new crystal lattice filter. We need them onboard.

See you on 14078, JS8 Mode.
Norm vk3xci

So Peter Freeman VK3PF, the long time Editor of “Amateur Radio” is gone. I refer you to the WIA news item
Whilst I am saddened at this, it is not my place to comment or expound my own views on this forum. Suffice to say that Peter was the last of the “Old Guard” and the new broom has swept clean.
For my own personal opinion, look here.