I got started in Tx when I was in the country and daytime radio was horrendous. My first transmitter used a 6CQ8 tetrode section to put out a few tens of mW on the AM band and a 7disk changer into the

VK, VJ and VL are prefixes identifying amateur radio operators in Australia. As of July 29th 2020 - the following AR callsign structure is in place in Australia:[8][9] Advanced VK$aa, VJ$a, VK$a, VL$a

Australia uses a prefix number to represent each state and territory. Most numbers apply to broadcast and ham call signs with the exception of ACT hams. 0 = Antarctica 9 = Australian external territor

Next to my soccer field, some moron has occasionally been letting off homemade fireworks at night for over 15 years and has never been caught. I know that I would love to catch whoever it is because,

Occasionally I set up a long DOG (Dipole On Ground) over the local soccer field to do a bit of after-dark MWDX away from household interference sources. Maybe it is my body language but few people que

Fridge?

Yagi's offer antenna gain but they also have the benefit of directionality. Verticals (whip)s are omnidirectional) and offer no opportunity to null out. Dipoles have a figure-eight pattern and have tw

The problem with portable Yagi's is that the physical dimensions are dependent on the wavelength of the signals of interest. Those handhelds that you see used by wildlife trackers are smaller than FM

You are dipping into the black-magic world of antennas here. Commercial FM frequencies are line-of-sight and so antenna height is a DX advantage. There are few high-gain portable FM options other than

Hi Paul, If you need a bit of exercise, tune a radio to a dead frequency and go for a walk around your neighbourhood. You will find dirty/faulty insulators, poor junctions, plasma TV sets and others;

It would be good to prevent the oxidisation in the first place. This would need a hermetically sealed environment with a desiccant but getting a device that needs manual operation into a sealed box is

Thanks Andy, Yes, I have been bitten by the forged chip syndrome. I bought what I thought were two seven band audio spectrum chips but, for the life of me, could not get them to work properly. They we

Thanks Guys, Photos on the FaceBook show exactly what I am looking for. The problem is that the product seems to be discontinued from the usual sources but, at least, I now know that it exists. I will

Hi Max, You have opened an Aladdin's cave for me. I have not studied each sheet (yet) but have scanned a few and found the KT0936m to be quite interesting because of its sensitivity. I will put in som

For those getting serious about "wire" antennas there is some free antenna simulating software that I have used and found to be quite good. It will calculate rabbit-ears, beverages, yagis, whips, wire

Hi All, I would like to try my hand at using a MCU such as an Arduino to control a Si4735. Si4735's are available on eBay Australia 5 for $US7.14 ($AU11.55), but they are SSOP packages. My old eyes an

Stay safe Paul. Tassie is likely to be the least affected of Aussie states but thems that takes chances will pay the price. Still using slow old QWERTY? Why don't you join the 21st Century? Try Colema

I always carry a telephoto lens camera in case I come across a UFO. The four UFO observations that I have had were in situations where there was no camera to hand - never again. I refuse to have a cel

Pilots can request retransmissions to ensure understanding. Besides, pilots are uncanny in their ability to understand voice communications over aircraft radio circuits despite all sorts of interferen

Superhet radio receivers are those that have a local oscillator and can emit a radio signal. A quick course in basic superhet theory. There are two main frequencies at play in a superhet - the tuned f