VKPORTABLE;

                   Hi and what a good idear, and i'm all for it. The only thing that i can see it is most people that have a amature radio in their car most have 2 Meters / 70 Centremeters and possable also 477 Uhf as well. HF may be a nother thing. I have HF at home as well as the other two bands, I would have HF but the wife dosen't like the idear of a nother radio in the car, even if it's a remote head type.

40 Meters would be a good choice. Lets see what the othe members have to say.!!!!!

Regards VK3SVG

Poppy sore eye wrote:

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Now you will think I am dumb, but would the amateur radio operator include us who would be totally new to UHF radios

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 Amateur radio operators are those who have studied radio theory, passed an exam on the subject (plus other papers) and are qualified operators. They then have to obtain an amateur operators licence from ACMA. You will note the other respondents have included the call-sign from their licence in their signature. Unless you have one of those you are out in the cold. If you want to join the inner circle - see here

Does that mean no morse anymore?

they call them Ham radio's in America, no idea why, but apparently you do need a license
to use them , and they have been used in emergencies when other communication cant be used
ie in hurricanes etc

milo wrote:

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they call them Ham radio's in America, no idea why, but apparently you do need a license
to use them , and they have been used in emergencies when other communication cant be used
ie in hurricanes etc

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The term 'Ham' came from early operator's 'Hamming' it up for their potential audiences. As you say, an American terminology.

These days, in Australia at least (I might step on some toes here - so get your steel caps on) Amateur Radio use during emergency situations is all but non-existent, there is of course WICEN (Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network), which ironically has no connection with the WIA except for the name. Mostly WICEN keep themselves busy providing communications for large scale events, like the Murray River boat races etc.

Obviously there are going to be those who like to hold onto years gone by and say that WICEN is an important service for emergency communications.
Sure it is - if we ever face a disaster which takes out all communications transmitter sites in one blow!
Is this likely to ever happen? With the exception of Armageddon, probably not.

These days there is just so much redundancy in communications networks, be it radio or mobile phone technology. Most mobile carriers, at least Telstra and Optus have COW's (Cell on Wheels) they can dispatch quickly. And most transmitter sites for emergency services have similar mobile replacements.

I am not so sure that emergency services converting to digital transmission modes en-mass like they are is such a good thing. At least with analogue you can easily find a radio to fill the bill should the need be, not so easy with digital or trunked systems, or both.

I am sure in years to come there will be some devastating disaster take place, and we will be back to square one with emergency services all saying 'We need a common method to talk to each other', just like they did after Cyclone Tracy in Darwin, which brought about the national UHF police allocation. This 64 channel allocation was used Australia wide and every police vehicle had UHF fitted for cross-border communications, including their own state domestic communications. Now they have all gone digital mad and no one either side of the border can communicate with each other via radio.

Honestly I don't think amateur radio in Australia is organised well enough to provide a viable alternative to emergency services for reliable and constant communications over an extended period. We don't have the correct infrastructure in place - unlike in America where amateur radio is well embedded with emergency services. Even hospitals there have dedicated rooms with amateur equipment all ready to go if need be. This sort of situation would never happen in Australia, for many reasons which I don't need to elaborate on here.

If anyone is thinking about getting their Amateur Radio licence, these days it is very very simply, especially with the Foundation Licence Class that is available.
There is a very basic test, which is conducted by Amateur Radio Clubs throughout Australia. There is no electronics theory as such in this test. Just basic radio knowledge and safety. The Foundation level gives you access to 4 of the HF bands, along with 2 of the VHF/UHF bands. Power output is limited to 10 Watts PEP/FM. Whilst some may say 10 Watts isn't much (it isn't) you can still work other stations within Australia and overseas if you have a half decent antenna and pick your time of day.

For example, work the grey-line period on 40m (7 MHz) and you will do very well. Grey-line is the where your area comes into and out of sunlight for a basic explanation. So around an hour either side of sunrise and an hour either side of nightfall gives you the best opportunity to work overseas contacts.
Of course other bands can open up and wonderful things can happen there to!

I've even experienced times when a 2m repeater from Tasmania was stronger then our local repeater (both on same frequency).

 

Sorry, Im a bit late with my comments. I must be one of those who only look at the general forum and forget the rest, anyhow how did it go? Im interested just tell me the time and frequency

John VK5FLJ

johns wrote:

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Sorry, Im a bit late with my comments. I must be one of those who only look at the general forum and forget the rest, anyhow how did it go? Im interested just tell me the time and frequency

John VK5FLJ

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Well it hasn't started as yet. If there is enough interest we can decide on a time/frequency suitable for all.

As for frequencies anything from 7080 to 7120 is probably going to be chockas most times. Maybe a bit higher up the scale, say 7180?
Any suggestions. 

As my reply was quick and some may not be available today, I will also be on the frequency 7.180 at 1330 S.A. time or 0400 UTC next Monday 8th John VK5FLJ

I have a marine wireless operators license but I assume this is no where good enough for what we are discussing.
My friend in Adelaide is a HAM and he has been on me for years to get a radio for the bus so will have a talk with him this week
Regards
Brian

I reckon that a VK Grey Nomad Net would be a great idea.  If there the numbers out there, a time and frequencies would need to be decided on.

The net could be used similar to the VKS737 net for contacts between travelers including brakdown/trouble comms.

Leon

VK3VGA

 

-- Edited by LEON on Friday 13th of May 2016 11:57:07 AM

Strange how these subjects come up . I just pulled up on station site in WA . The guy beside me mounted a 10m arial . He said it was amiture radio .. I have always found it interesting . As a kid my neighbour was into it .. He said he was just talking to a guy in Itali ..

Well, almost two years since the last post on this thread. I know there are a number of operators who are nomads, so some sort of net might be a good idea. The other side of the coin is they may well be on the Travellers Net or Coral Coast Net and a GN net is not needed?

Personally, I think any get-together which keeps people connected and keeps the bands active is a good thing.

For the record - John VK4BZ is me!

Good morning all,

After reading all the comments by all 16 participants dating back to June 2013 (and there aren't a lot!) I think I would be safe to say that waiting for a reply here may indeed require a lot of patience.
I'm an Aussie who has participated in both amateur (ham) radio, travel and the CB/UHFCB fraternity for agricultural, marine, recreational and technical persuits.
If I may be so bold as to summarise and make some conclusions.

SUMMARY OF COMMENTS
It would seem that about half on this forum already posess an Amateur Radio licence. Several are Foundation. Most members who have licences would like to take part in a net. Several suggestions were put forward as to frequency, band and times. These suggestions were made during the forum's activoty of (almost) five years.
The remainder are a mix of inquisitive and bemused members who range from seeking more information about amateur radio, licencing to socialising.
Some similarities and reminiscing is evident - comparing an amateur net to that of the historic VKS737 and RFDS nets of the past.

CONCLUSIONS
Yes, it's a great idea.
I had a listen on all frequencies suggested through out the forum's time and only heard one conversation that lasted for about twenty minutes.
Given there are only eight amateurs on the forum who have not been able to maintain a continuing thread on this forum; I doubt a sked could be maintained on any basis (weekly, monthly on any frequency/band otherwise).
Times are a'changin'. I too remember tha many sked of the past when people actually had time and wanted to talk at length about all sorts of interesting (and not so interesting) subjects.
Sadly, these days are now a thing of the past and will bearly be remembered in another decade.
Another sad statistic is the ever-declining interest in amateur radio (despite the occasional "die hard" who says it's not dead - and he/she is right) coupled with the pressure bought about by other services requiring mre spectral space on the bands. This, coupled with a general opinion that we all want something at a basement price (and many hams want it free) only adds weight to the notion that the net will not survive.

SUMMARY
It's a fantasic idea. If the numbers supported the notion, we would all be having a great time on 80, 40 or 2 metres (a national net on VHF is viable given mirrors, digital modes, IRLP and the like). However, the facts are that eight amateurs cannot and will not maintain a net if they have been unable to maintain a consistent thread on this forum at any time during the (almost) five years it has been running. For thos who think I've been derogatory, please note I include myself in these facts.

There, someone had to say it

73's de Rik VK5MU (previously VK5KRX, 4KRX, 8KRX, 5ZRX, 5NAF, HI3HI, VKS737 and RFDS participant - in the radio sciences since 1970)

"The same tar and brush has been used to paint us all"