| Committee |
|
|
|
|
| President |
Terry Childs |
02 9977 1440 |
0428 219 345 |
president@hfradioclub.com.au |
| Vice president |
John Swift |
02 9974 1049 |
0427 113 448 |
vicepresident@hfradioclub.com.au |
| Secretary |
|
02 6662 1622 |
|
secretary@hfradioclub.com.au
|
| Treasurer |
Campbell Cripps Clark |
02 4954 9007 |
0419 485 382 |
treasurer@hfradioclub.com.au |
| Newsletter Editor |
Heather Newport |
07 4687 7038 |
0409 347 588 |
newsletter@hfradioclub.com.au |
| Committee |
Vincent Moran |
|
0418 221 023 |
|
| |
Jane Scammell |
02 9949 6535 |
0409 312 172 |
|
| Field Officer |
Ray Lawson |
|
0428 191 454 |
fieldofficer@hfradioclub.com.au |
| Note the inclusion of specific email addresses. These
will enable the appropriate committee member to receive and act
on your message, particularly when the appointed office holder is
not in a position to do so. |
There are two
general email addresses: |
for outside enquiries: |
enquiries@hfradioclub.com.au |
| for sales: |
sales@hfradioclub.com.au |
| Bases |
Booral 02 4994 9092 |
Cooladdi 07 4654 0347 |
The HF Radio Club is proud to have the
following businesses advertise in this issue of the newsletter
| AUSTRALIAN MOTOR HOMES
31 Pacific Highway, Bennetts Green, N.S.W. 2290 02 4948 0433 |
BARRETT COMMUNICATIONS
PO Box 1214, Bibra Lake, W.A. 6965 08 9434 1700 |
CMCA VILLAGE
Light Street, Casino, N.S.W. 2470 02 6662 1069 |
| CODAN (a list of dealers is available from our office)
08 8305 0311 |
KEN TAME & ASSOCIATES
PO Box 2390, Kew, VIC. 3101 03 9853 5555 |
This year’s meandering across the top end across the Kimberley accounted
for 4 months of pure scenic beauty and unbelievable flora and fauna.
In this remote area, the H.F. radio came to the forefront, particularly
as the mobile ‘phone reception is very limited. The H.F. radio and
telephone interconnect enabled us to keep in touch with friends and members
all over Australia as well as in our immediate vicinity. We were able
to make contact with new members Ian and Alana Hamilton around Broome
as well as in several other remote areas.
Over a period of a couple of months with the help of the H.F. radio, we
managed to catch up with Pat and Heather O’Brien at a number of
very remote locations, usually beside water with good fishing as Pat and
Heather are very keen fisher people. We also hitched a lift with them
in their 4 wheel drive and spent 3 great days exploring the area up to
Cape Leveque staying 2 nights at Lombadina (an Aboriginal Community).
Pat, being the guru of beach driving, enabled us to spend our “happy
hours” sitting on the beach watching the sunset over the water and
considerably expanding our library of sunset photos.
We spent the last weeks of this year’s trip around Marble Bar, Tom
Price, Karijini National Park and Hamersley Ranges. Their incredible rock
formations were totally different to anything we had experienced in the
Kimberley.
We tucked the motor home into bed in a shed in Port Hedland and flew to
the east coast for a few days, caught up with the kids and grandchildren,
then off to Casino for the H.F. meeting.
The meeting as usual was a great social event with the Ladies cooking
up a storm. I think it would be safe to say that everyone had a great
time. It would be remiss of me not to thank everyone who worked so hard
to make this weekend so successful.
The General Meeting discussed the problems associated with lack of uniformity
with our Office address as it changes with each incoming Secretary. After
some positive discussion, the meeting decided to take up Vincent Moran’s
offer to use the Casino Village postal address and routine secretarial
work e.g. membership renewals etc.
A number of members put forward the suggestion that maybe the AGM next
year should be down south after the CMCA’s Horsham Rally to allow
the Members from the southern states to have some input into the Club’s
future direction. Our vice president, John Swift, is looking for a suitable
location. If any members know of a spot that they think may be suitable,
please contact John.
Do not forget the pre-Christmas party is on the 20-21st November in the
different States. Hope to see you or talk to you that weekend.
Keep it turned on. Terry
I have received a couple, but only a couple, of suggestions for the name
of our Newsletter. Many of the members at Casino for the long weekend
in N.S.W. hadn’t had time to receive their Newsletter at that time
so they hadn’t had time to think about it. I am still looking for
suggestions, so please keep those thinking caps on!
At the October General Meeting held in the Casino Village, the problems
of a lack of permanent mailing address for our club were discussed,
we seem to change address every time a new person takes on the job.
The CMCA Casino Village again volunteered to assist with routine operations,
including the use of the mailbox, processing membership, banking money
received and forwarding everything else to the current appropriate Committee
Member. The Village suggested a 12-month free trial period, after which
with our agreement and their consent a long-term contract could be considered.
An offer to good to refuse, so the members present took a vote and the
motion was passed. The committee see this move as a toe in the water
test, the 12 to 18 month free trial is just to see if we like the idea,
we can then make our minds up as to whether to proceed or not. We hope
that the taking on of some of the routine tasks by Casino Village will
free some of us to pursue other jobs, (i.e. the new constitution). For
the moment please use the Post Office Box and telephone numbers in this
News Letter.
We thank Vince Moran and the CMCA Casino Village for their generous
offer.
John Swift
At the last Committee Meeting, held at Casino over the long weekend, it
was recognised that members need to know well ahead what is planned so
that they can include club activities in their travels. Furthermore, the
more different places we hold meetings the better so that we meet a greater
cross-section of members.
Many of the meetings should be highly informal and can be readily organised
by someone in the general locality. While some of the advertising can
be on skeds, the plan is to print the newsletter far enough ahead to notify
members of what is planned and who to contact. Thus this newsletter is
timed to give people the chance to come to the pre-Christmas activities
that have been arranged (see p.14).
The general scheme is as follows:
Meeting(s) |
Newsletter |
Issue |
|
| Pre-Christmas 2004 |
November 2004 |
(this issue) |
|
| January February |
(all over*) |
1 December |
(not this year) |
| April (late) |
AGM |
1 March |
AGM Details and notice etc. |
| July August |
(all over*) |
1 June |
(includes AGM results and reminder re fees) |
| October November |
(pre-Christmas all over*) |
1 Sept |
|
| * “all-over” we should aim
at one or two meetings in each state, not just northern N.S.W. and
southern Queensland – of course time of year will come into
“the equation”. |
The AGM would normally be the biggest meeting and the
Committee would be responsible for the arrangements but the others could
each be arranged by a couple of people in the area. The main thing is
that someone (not the infamous “somebody else”) does it,
takes the initiative. If the meetings are arranged for the same weekend,
so much the better, but that is not all that important.
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In my Temporary Editor role in particular, I welcome Heather Newport aboard.
As well as relieving me of one job, I am sure she will put out great newsletters.
However, don’t forget she needs your help. You can tell an interesting
story about somewhere you have been or something you’ve done. Have
a think back over some of the past newsletters and how interesting some
of the stories have been.
You will notice some basic changes to communications, aimed particularly
at simplifying contact, particularly if the officer you think you want
is temporarily unavailable. We have a general telephone number, from which
all calls will normally be redirected to the Secretary (or most appropriate
temporary alternative), and also email addresses for most of the officers.
This rationalisation is greatly aided by the Casino Village taking on
some of the routine duties for a trial period at least, thereby making
us more efficient without losing the personal contact (I have to confess
that I have not really established this as yet because of time). This
must surely improve the service to members and interaction with the outside
world and make at least some of the Committee Members’ duties less
time-consuming.
The role of the Village has to be developed to what is most effective
for us. We will have until the AGM after next to develop the interaction
with the Village before we commit ourselves to a more permanent arrangement
if that is what the members want. The trial period will cost us very little
and we should have a very useful system evolved by the time we consider
a more commercial arrangement.
The above have resulted from fruitful Committee and General meetings at
Casino in October. I think everyone enjoyed the gathering there, thanks
to the facilities and the hard work by those who catered for us. They
really turned on some magnificent feeds. It was good to see the fellowship
amongst the members and the exchange of expertise and experiences.
There are still vacancies on the Committee, notably the position of Secretary
and one ordinary Committee Member. At this stage, it would be good to
find people who might have a long term interest so that they can “understudy”
perhaps and then be sure they would be able to take on the position in
earnest after the next AGM.
I must emphasise the need for more contributions to the Newsletter from
members e.g. Ken’s trip this time (my apologies about leaving the
photos behind), Terry’s in Kimberley and a couple of very interesting
items from Tasmania on Waratah and the first power station. Also, member’s
letters if you have a suggestion or a viewpoint. Wanted, For Sale etc.
notices by members also welcome (these will be free for the time being).
Thanks to all those who returned their member’s details. Some didn’t,
like one person who helped to put the newsletter together – he didn’t
notice that his address was out of date so his newsletter was returned.
In spite of emails, I still haven’t tracked him down to get his
address! From the results of the calls Terry has made to those who haven’t
renewed yet, it is clear that our records need to be brought up to date.
But you have to tell the Secretary, preferably in writing or email, of
the errors and changes.
Notice to all Persons
If you are thinking of nominating for the Committee next year (see the
item on p.18), do not be put off by the “Last Word”!
It only feels like the other day that I wrote the last
newsletter but a lot has happened since then. I would like to thank all
the members who helped the H.F. Radio Club man the stand at the Campervan
& Motor Home rally at Toowoomba, which I am proud to say was a great
success. We welcome the new members that joined the H.F. Radio Club at
the rally; they will get to know other members when they get their radios
up and working. May I suggest you all listen on our Club Sked times to
get to know how to use your radio.
May I pass on to you all that we had the pleasure at the rally of being
able to offer to the members the range of G.M.E. PRODUCTS? These are UHF
radios and hand held as well as Garman Street Pilot 2610 GPS's. Should
you know of anyone that would be interested in purchasing a unit, please
have them give me a call.
We are sorry to say we have had a little trouble with the telephone interconnect
at Booral over the recent weeks and is now working quite well (Ed: It
has been on and off a few times lately but we have had a thorough check
done so here’s hoping. Since Ray wrote this, just about everything
has been back for the big check and it should be back in service by the
time you get to read this). Please use it as we are the only club that
offers this service to our members at such a cheap rate – all you
have to do is have a credit of $50.00 in the club account. The thing to
remember is when you are in the outback and out of C D M A Mobile phone
range you can use our system for a very low cost and it will help our
club to set up other Bases around the country.
Our Sked on 7899 (Channel 56) at 7.30 A.M. and 4.30 P.M. Eastern Standard
Time is working really well with many new users who are coming on the
air. Please, if you haven’t been on, why not give it a go and have
a talk with others. It has been found over the recent weeks that it hasn’t
been the best of reception because of the noise in the atmosphere and
it has been found it is not easy to talk to other stations within 2/300
kilometres of each other. To over come this problem, our members have
started to use a new channel, viz 52 at 5135 kHz, at 5.15 P.M. so we suggest
if you haven’t had success on the other times please listen on this
one.
Reminder to our members and friends that we are a Codan Dealer and can
supply new H F Radios and at times have secondhand radios for sale. Please,
if you know of any one interested, have them make contact with the writer
on Phone 0428 191 454 or email pegray1@bigpond.com.
Please, always be on the lookout for H F Radio Aerials on other vehicles
and don’t be backward in having a talk with them. If all goes well
and we got a new member each, our club would grow faster. Make sure you
have an application form with you – it is so easy.
Ed (wearing his Treasurer’s hat for a moment): In
all seriousness, our Interconnect rates are very cheap and six minutes
is a long time to say what you want to say when you contact the family
and friends. The club does make a slight profit on each call (but we
have to pay overheads like line rental and repairs and the “profit”
per call does not necessarily cover those expenses). Thus, the more
you use it, the more value you get out of it and the more the club gets
out of it. This means that the club can install more bases (not just
on the eastern side of Australia) and give us all more coverage. I think
you all realise that the $50 is kept in a separate account and is like
an advance against calls you make and you get it back (less of course
anything you owe for calls) if you leave the Interconnect scheme.
“What is the round badge,” did I hear you
say? Well, it is the round logo, like on the front of the Newsletter,
and 50 mm in diameter, with the “Inc” at the bottom replaced
by your Name and Selcall No. You can get them from Ken and Margaret West,
who have contact with the supplier. Ken needs an order of 20 and he can
then get them at $12.50 each, including postage back to you. If you want
one (and one for the better half, no doubt), send your money to Ken with
your Selcall No and each name spelt out exactly as you want it, also of
course, your address for return postage. Send it to: Ken & Margaret
West, 100 Wisemans Ferry Road, CENTRAL MANGROVE, NSW 2250.
Of course, there is no guarantee how long it will take to get the badges
back because, to keep the costs down, Ken has to wait till he gets enough
orders (20 badges) to send off an order to the manufacturer.
If you have any other ideas for merchandise that might be of interest
to our members, let the Committee know because it provides a service to
members and the club might be able to also make a few bob out of it (no-one
is making anything out of these badges, except the manufacturer, and Australia
Post of course).
Many of you will be aware that Ross Allen, our conscientious, hardworking
and ever helpful base operator at Booral, is planning to move to a place
he has lined up at Telegraph Point, as soon as all the niceties(?) and
necessities of property transfer have been completed. The base is moving
with him but he can’t do all the moving and setting up himself.
Therefore, there will be a call going out for volunteers to help set up
the new base, mainly putting up the aerial sometime in the near future.
When we don’t know, because it is out of Ross’ hands.
Your offers of help will be much appreciated to get the new base set up
and operating with minimum delay off air. Please keep your ear tuned for
the request – it will come over the sked with the details you will
need to know whether you will be able to help.
There has been quite a bit written in the last few Newsletters about the
new constitution that yours truly (in conjunction with John Judd) is supposed
to been preparing for review by the Committee before putting it to the
members for approval (or otherwise). Unfortunately, I have not had time
to do any more about it so it looks as if it will be well into the next
year before the new Constitution and By-Laws can be approved and brought
into effect.
The other thing is that with the involvement of the Casino Village in
our routine operations, there may be some changes in the positions on
the Committee or in their descriptions. We have already appointed a Newsletter
Editor and we may find other changes are appropriate too.
My guess is that, when it is finalised, the draft will be sent to all
members with one of the newsletters and there will also be notice of a
special general meeting to discuss and, hopefully, approve it. Obviously,
not everyone can attend but they can appoint proxies, with matters to
be raised and instructions on how to vote. It is foreseen that under the
new Constitution, future changes like this will make more usage of postal
ballots rather than meetings at which it is not feasible for all members
to attend.
Designed and built in Australia for the world’s
hardiest conditions, Barrett HF equipment thrives in the outback and has
the track record to prove it. The Barrett “Outback traveller pack”
should be considered as standard equipment for anyone travelling in remote
areas. Utilising the “free to air” nature of HF communications,
the “Outback traveller pack” provides access to essential
safety & emergency services with no ongoing call charges.
by Ken & Margaret West
On our way down from Atherton Tablelands, a night stop was at Bowen, behind
the home of one of our friends. That evening, a phone call came from a
friend we had met on the Tablelands in both 2003 and 2004, “Ken
and Margaret, could you be in Mackay by tomorrow?” “Yes, no
problem” was the answer I gave, so in the morning we packed up and
left. On our arrival at Mackay, we headed for the airport but could not
find our buddy so I gave him a ring only to find out he was on the opposite
side of the hangar to us! The plan was then given to us, “Tomorrow,
I can take you both in that helicopter there to pick up a Pilot, yes,
a sea pilot, who navigates the coal carriers from Hay Point Loading through
the Barrier Reef Channels to the continental shelf, steaming at 12 knots.
This takes 10 hours.” But in this case, had he not been picked up,
he would have ended up in India!
Meanwhile, back at Mackay airport, we are shown the Helicopter, a twin
jet engine – both engines drive the one rotor via a sprag clutch
so should one engine fail, the other can still drive the rotor; this should
keep us in the air we were told. Nine hundred litres of fuel is carried
on board. The landing legs are fitted with air bags which are inflated
should we have to put down at sea.
The pilot tells us how to put on our life jackets as these must be worn
all the time while in a helicopter over the sea. In the chance we have
to put down at sea, the floats will be inflated so as soon as we hit the
water. “Margaret, you must flick the strap holding the life raft
and hold on to it, get out of the chopper before it rolls over and meet
us all at the front nose. If we should roll over before you get out, then
pull this lever and the door will fall off. Dive down under and come up
to the front with the raft. Don’t inflate your jacket till you have
completed this mission and most of all don’t panic – remember
you don’t have time to go to the bottom as it’s 300 fathoms
deep out there!” The pilot once again tells us all is OK and goes
on with my instructions as my jacket had two cords to pull; this in turn
would still keep me afloat should I have to hold Margaret up. It also
had a flare gun and whistle.
At the given time we boarded the aircraft and moved on out to sea, over
Mackay Harbour to the inner reefs and islands, then the wonderful sights
as we crossed the Barrier Reef, flying at 1,000 feet above the sea at
225 km per hour is just so wonderful. Yes a whale, porpoise, dolphins
all in vision from the chopper. In just one hour, the coal carrier came
into vision first on the radar then by eyesight dead ahead. I really think
the pilot had done this before. Over the earphones, “Can you see
her, see that red dot – that’s where we will land. The ship’s
doing 12 knots and she’s got a two degree roll so that should be
all OK. We go in between those two crane beams you can see sticking up
40 or 50 foot high.” A deep breath and we land seconds later, the
door opens and the sea pilot says hi to all of us, gets in, then shuts
the door and we are out of there back up in the air and heading for land.
The whole procedure is so precise and fast, it’s unbelievable. The
ship’s pilot then states “All in a day’s work.”
We go though all the same beautiful sights again on the way back to Mackay.
On arrival back at the base, we sit awhile for the engine to shut down
and the rotor to stop rotating, then disembark – two hours twenty
minutes and 700 litres of fuel later and they say it’s all in a
day’s work! This procedure takes place 30 to 40 times each month,
just with the coal ships to and from Hay Point Loading.
Editorial Apology to Ken and Margaret and to all
Readers: I apologise for leaving at home the CD with the photos that Ken
and Margaret took on this trip – there were some terrific shots
of the helicopter and of the area they flew over, also the helipad on
the ship. Ken and Margaret also gave me some shots of Casino, which would
have been good for blackmail!
I would get into trouble if I differentiated too much between the ladies
and the others in the club but this is about quilting, which seems to
be more suited to the skilful fingers of the ladies. At the General Meeting
at Casino, Chrissy Eustace spoke about the scheme for some of the new
CMCA Chapters and the Special Interest Groups (of which the H F Radio
Club is one) each making a block to go into another quilt to decorate
the CMCA office when it is not on parade at special activities such as
their rallies.
After the meeting, some of our ladies put their heads together and discussed
what Chrissy had said. There were about half a dozen people expressing
interest in doing a square with a variety of ideas. So, Kay Childs and
Wendy Cripps Clark decided that those who wanted to should each making
a block of her own design. Then, when all the blocks were completed, Chrissy
would choose one for the SIG quilt and the rest would be used to make
the Radio Club’s own banner or what-have-you for the club to display
and use as appropriate (for example four or six squares could make a banner
and if one was left over, it could be hung more or less permanently somewhere
(Ed: a photo would look good on the front of this august publication of
ours).
To participate, each lady would make a “block” of her own
style, medium and design (a block is a standard 13” square of quilt),
which could lead to all sorts of things – tapestry, crochet, patchwork
(of course), embroidery, special rug and stitching techniques and so on.
Then Chrissy would get the hard job and the rest would be put to the Club’s
use.
The deadline for the blocks is the AGM next April – the long weekend
ending on 25th April, 2005. If you won’t be at the AGM, send your
contribution to Kay Childs or Wendy Cripps Clark, care of/o the Club address.
Just in case there is any confusion about sked times, the information
in Ray’s report is reproduced below in tabular form. Note that it
is Eastern Standard time so Queenslanders, for example, won’t have
to make any time adjustments while some of the southerners will have to.
Frequency (kHz) Eastern Standard Time
7899 7.30 – 8.00 A.M.
7899 4.30 – 5.00 P.M.
5135 5.15 – 5.45 P.M.
Ray also added the following reminders:-
No selcalls or beacon calls, only voice call during sked times.
Keep your talk short, so that other members can have a go.
And, of course, Keep your radio switched on.
Well, they might not please but they are necessary – it is rather
embarrassing when you don’t know the partner’s correct name
or you get any name wrong. A wrong phone No. could be very bad news in
an emergency. If you haven’t done so, send those corrections on
the form from the last newsletter in, please.
This may seem to be getting rather repetitive (it certainly is to me)
but the Treasurer still hasn’t had time to set up the MYOB system
and establish any new procedures or look at the general pattern of costs
and income and how these can be improved. Furthermore, now that Bob Locking
has resigned as Vice President, I will have to look after the charge-outs
for the Telephone InterConnect, which may delay the issue of some bills
(sorry about that!) However, keep those records of calls, in case there
is any funny business going on.
There are still too many members who have not renewed their membership
and have not formally resigned. Numerous late payers have explained that
there was no formal invoice so they didn’t pay their fees when they
should have! I would have thought that the June Newsletter was subtle
enough to remind everyone (was that subtle enough?) Next year, the accounting
system will be able to generate individual accounts with ease, even if
there are additional printing costs. I cannot give membership numbers
because right now Terry, amongst all his other responsibilities, is chasing
up those who haven’t renewed.
While I don’t have the full figures assembled for analysis, the
overall returns from the Telephone InterConnect appear to me to be less
than desirable. Expenses are of three types, direct call charges, overheads
like line rental that are independent of the number of calls and, thirdly,
repairs and maintenance. The last-named has been unduly high this year
(this has also reduced the quality of service while equipment is out of
action). My other concern is that people are not taking advantage of the
very cheap rates that the base provides, which is their individual loss,
as well as the club’s. As I mentioned at the bottom of Peg-Ray’s
report, the little bit of profit that we usually make from each call is
not sufficient to pay the overheads. More usage (hence more savings for
you) would mean more nett income for us from individual calls, which could
help to offset the rental and repairs.
Another concern is the cost of printing and distributing the newsletter.
The single largest cost is the toner cartridges though it is difficult
to identify precise figures. The total cost is more than $4.00 per copy,
including postage of $1.00, which is the next largest item after the toner.
We need to find more advertisers to help offset the cost of printing.
The newsletter will probably be limited to 22 pages, plus the membership
form, to keep costs down plus avoiding going over the $1 postage per envelope.
The financial status at 30th September was a book balance totalling $17,105.28
in the two accounts (the transfers to allow for the No 2 A/c moneys banked
in the No 1 A/c and the cheques drawn on No 2 A/c, as described previously,
have not been made yet). Expenditure in September, i.e. since the last
newsletter, totaled $823, the main items being $308 for repairs to the
Booral Telephone Interconnect, nearly $250 for newsletter postage and
$200 total for six months of electricity etc. at the two bases. The other
item was the telephone charges for the two bases. Income was $975, being
renewal fees from 15 members.
Since then, expenditure has approached $1700, including approximately
$645 for telephone charges and nearly $600 for the transfer to the club
of ownership of the website and domain names (for those who live happy
and carefree lives free of computer jargon, the domain name is the hfradioclub
that appears in the website name). Income has been $1527, including $825
from new members and renewals. For the weekend meeting at Casino, in round
figures, the raffle made a profit of $60 and the meals $175, thanks to
the efforts of the ladies and the chefs who bought the food, cooked the
meat and prepared a delicious range of salads for Saturday’s dinner
and Sunday’s lunch. It was much appreciated by all, including the
motorhomers staying in the Village.
C.J.Cripps Clark
One is going to be held at Lowood Showgrounds in Southern Queensland,
the other at Catherine Hill Bay Bowling Club, south of Newcastle. We tried
to get a social in Victoria too but there wasn’t enough time to
line up an organiser or two who then had time to arrange it all (as you
see from the forward program ideas described elsewhere, there shouldn’t
be any excuse next year!) Really it boils down to just being a fairly
simple exercise in planning ahead!
This year, both gatherings will be on the weekend of 20th and 21st November
so we might be able to establish a bit of a radio link-up, probably on
the Sunday afternoon (not that anyone will talk to anyone else before
then!)
Lowood, in the general vicinity of Ipswich, was the very successful venue
for one of the pre-Christmas meetings we held last year. This year, we
are going there again and the Showgrounds should be available a couple
of days before and after the weekend of 20/21 November, so members can
roll in when it suits them. Contact Dennis Sharpe (1226) for details (phone
07 3294 6964 or 0427 410 603) and let him know how many are coming. From
what I hear, it is sure to be a good show.
Catherine Hill Bay was the site of a very enjoyable weekend earlier in
the year (I was in Tasmania so I can’t vouch for it directly) and
we are lined up to go there for the N.S.W. gathering. I look like still
being in Queensland till very close to that weekend, so I have asked Bob
Locking (2284) to take bookings and let the Catherine Hill Bay Bowling
Club know the numbers. The Club is going to provide a smorgasbord dinner
(hot carvery, salads and sweets) on Saturday night for $15 per head. This
will be our “Christmas dinner” and there will also be a la
carte dinner available on Friday night if you want it.
There is a problem with arranging any meeting – virtually no-one
will book beforehand. Of course this makes it very difficult for the organisers,
particularly if we have to give numbers to an outside caterer, or purchase
meat, salads etc. for a BBQ. No-one will be in strife with the club if
they find they can’t make it at the last minute and it is more than
just common politeness because we may not be able to keep faith with outside
organisations or provide properly for our members.
Please join the fun (the more the merrier) but try to let us know at least
a week beforehand.
For those who don’t recognise the significance of “BPL”,
it stands for “Broadband Power Lines” and was described in
the last Newsletter. Remember, it could be very significant because the
power transmission lines around the country and the wiring in your house
could render your HF Radio virtually useless because of the interference.
It is in all our interests to write to our local MP's, Federal (the Federal
election is over, so now you know who in Canberra to write to) and State/Territory.
We should express our concerns about the potential removal of the safety
net that HF Radio gives us when we are travelling, whether or not it involves
the RFDS. Our other reason for having the radio will also be undermined
because we may well not be able to communicate with fellow members if
there is a power line near either radio and the interference could drown
out conversation. When you write, tell them your ACA call-sign and licence
number, to show that you are really involved.
It will be more effective if you write your own letter, rather than sign
a form letter we distribute. For more information look at the websites
listed in the last newsletter, in particular http://www.wia.org.au/BPL/index.php,
belonging to the Wireless Institute of Australia.
Our interest as club members is basically communications, for safety
and pleasure, but we have to be concerned about efficient and effective
communications to make the club run smoothly. To this end, the Committee
is in the process of making various changes.
The biggest one is the acceptance in principle of the offer by the Casino
Motorhome Village to collect our mail, bank in our account cheques as
they arrive, keep our membership records up to date and send the mail
on to the appropriate officer. Those members who attended at Casino
agreed to the acceptance in principle, so the Committee is proceeding
with the arrangements. There has not been time for the agreement, covering
privacy of members’ records and so on, to be drawn up and signed
yet.
This receipt and initial processing of all mail directed to the club,
as such, overcomes the problem of having to change our address as we
change secretaries and as the secretary decides to go on the road for
a while. Without going through a whole lot of formalities, we can readily
have mail redirected to the appropriate person (or persons if the mail
has to be split between, say, the secretary and the treasurer). Furthermore,
with the one person looking after membership records, we should get
rid of the problems of lost or mixed up changes of address, resignations
etc. and contradictory records. Believe me, after being thrown in at
the deep end a few months ago, I know how easily these problems can
arise and how extremely difficult they can be to eradicate. Furthermore,
the records will be available, on a need-to-know basis only, to Committee
members directly, where necessary.
This service comes at a price, though not a great one. For the next
eighteen months, as a trial, the Casino Village will only charge costs
other that labour (e.g. postage, stationery, phone and photocopying).
After that, the situation will be reviewed, probably at the 2006 AGM,
with one likely outcome being that we pay for the labour as well as
the other costs (in other words it will be a commercially viable service
for the Village).
The next change involves making proper use of our internet address.
Chrissy Eustace, a non-member, has been looking after our website and
is putting our newsletters up regularly so members (and others) can
view them without having to wait for the post to catch up with them.
Secondly, various individual officers will be soon getting their own
email addresses (such as fieldofficer@hfradioclub.com.au for Ray Lawson).
This also means that you can email, say, the treasurer with some financial
matter, knowing that someone will look at the email, even if he is only
the stand-in while the treasurer has gone walkabout.
With regard to phone numbers, the Committee has decided that a Casino
number will be rented from Telstra and the Village will redirect the
calls to the person we nominate at that time. This will be a permanent
number for outsiders. It will cost a bit in redirected calls but the
service we offer will be so much better. You will not be able to talk
to the Village people looking after our records (and neither will the
Committee members except indirectly). The phone can also be used by
the Village office if they want to contact any of us. As you can see
on p. 2 of the Newsletter, the phone numbers are published for people
within the club who want to make verbal contact (if no-one answers,
sorry, that will be bad luck – you might have to resort to the
appropriate email!)
Season’s Greetings
May you and yours have a happy, fulfilling and safe Christmas and a
prosperous and successful New Year
At the long weekend at Casino, Heather and John Newport responded to the
request for a volunteer newsletter editor. As you can see from below,
Heather has much more experience than yours truly so she was welcomed
with open arms, so to speak. Her knowledge of the business will be invaluable.
Heather started her own printing company some thirty years ago and after
several years in that industry, trained and then taught for eleven years,
during which time she met a fellow teacher called John and became Mrs
Newport. When they got the seven-year itch, they gave up teaching and
took to the road doing their own Outback/Rural Ministry aimed at supporting
and helping people in isolated areas. This involves travelling, mainly
around Central Queensland, in a long wheelbase Coaster with their dog,
Dusty, and their bird, PB, short for Pretty Boy. They seem to be ready
to lay their hands to anything from a puppet show for the children to
hand feeding cattle with a few renovations and painting thrown in for
good measure. Heather keeps her publication skills up-to-date by producing
a newsletter at the end of each of their trips.
They are based in Toowoomba but the distance from the Sydney basin, where
most of the Committee members are, is not seen to be a problem because
they can prepare and check the newsletter (John is going to do the proofreading
so I hope there are no family arguments) at home (or on the road) and
then put it on a USB drive to post to where the printer is. The USB drive
will then go to our web mistress, Chrissy Eustace, who will put the newsletter
up on the web for all to see, before returning the drive to Heather. Remember,
she has a club email address (see p.2) so send those contributions in,
preferably early as the Newsletter does take time to assemble and fit
all the pages tidily together.
In the last Newsletter, there was a list of emergency frequencies and
telephone numbers for Queensland RFDS stations (Cairns, Charleville,
Mt Isa). I haven’t been able to obtain such comprehensive information
for the other states but the following will help (obtained from the
web http:www.flyingdoctor.net/hfradio.htm).
| Station |
Identification |
Tel. No. |
Frequencies |
Derby |
VJB |
08 9414 1200 |
5300 5360 *2792 |
Port Hedland |
VKL |
08 9414 1200 |
5300 5360 *2792 |
| Carnarvon |
VJT |
08 9414 1200 |
5300 5360 *2792 |
| Meekatharra |
VKJ |
08 9414 1200 |
5300 5360 *2792 |
| Kalgoorlie |
VJQ |
08 9414 1200 |
5300 5360 *2792 |
Alice Springs |
VJD |
08 8952 5355 |
2020 5410 6950 |
| Port Augusta |
VNZ |
08 8642 5555 |
2020 4010 6890 8165 |
| Broken Hill |
VJC |
08 8080 1777 |
2020 4055 6920 |
| Charleville |
VJN |
07 4654 1235 |
2020 4980 6845 |
| Mt Isa |
VJI |
07 4743 2800 |
2020 5110 6965 |
| Cairns |
VJN |
07 4053 1952 |
2020 2260 5145 7465 |
| * Low frequencies normally used at night |
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This does not tell you the primary and secondary channels.
However, the lowest frequency above 3000 kHz seems to be the most usual
primary frequency. If anyone has more definite or useful information
please let the Newsletter editor know.
The Casino Motorhome Village welcomes H F Radio Club
Members at any time.
The gatherings that have already taken place at the Village,
by H F Club Members, have invariably been occasions of great good times
and good fun – not to mention the good fellowship. Come to the
Craft Market week end – 27th & 28th November. Buy up big for
Christmas or take a stall yourself (Phone Nerelle on 02 6662 1069).
The facilities of our mini-rally ground and Club House
etc. are always available. Each afternoon, darts, cards and disk bowls
are on in The Hangout.
AND NOW THERE’S MORE! A new beach style swimming pool will be
open before Christmas – Just for fun and frolic.
Book at Reception – 02 6662 1069 / Fax 02 6662 3222/ email reception@motorhomevillage.com.au
The next Annual General Meeting is set down for the weekend of 23-25th
April, 2005 (Anzac Day is on the Monday). You will get proper notice in
your next Newsletter, due out about 1st March, next year. This is just
an early warning that it is scheduled for that long weekend! It is planned
to be held in NW Victoria somewhere, hopefully on or very near the Murray,
depending on what we can track down in the way of showgrounds or similar
for that weekend.
The reason for this is that about half our members are motorhomers and
a goodly proportion of them will be attending the CMCA Rally at Horsham,
which finishes the week before Anzac Day. Thus to make it possible for
them to attend, we are having our meeting in that area. I believe that
some are planning to take off for the west and north-west after that Rally
so we are looking for somewhere in that area. We also have more than a
few members in the South Australia/Victoria/Riverina area and we would
like them to be better able to attend our AGM.
John Swift has already put feelers out to find a suitable area and I am
sure he would like more suggestions. If you know of a place which won’t
cost the earth but which has showers and toilets and power and a suitable
meeting hall (where the acoustics will allow for proper discussion), please
ring or email him (see p.2 of the newsletter).
We have hardly got into the swing of things this year when it is time
to think about who we would like on the Committee next year! We don’t
have a proper secretary yet so there is certainly a need for someone to
take on that position. The other Committee positions are also open for
change or re-election of the incumbent (if they wish to nominate, of course).
It is much better if the whole club, not just those who can attend the
AGM, are able to vote for the Committee who runs the club for them. Thus
if there is more than the one nomination for any position (three for “ordinary”
committee member) we would like to conduct a postal vote amongst all the
members rather than have a ballot just amongst those at the AGM, possibly
voting on last minute nominations who might have had their arm twisted
to nominate.
The Procedure: Nominations must be signed by the persons nominating and
seconding the nominee and by the nominee, stating that he or she is willing
to accept nomination. The nomination must also show the position(s) for
which the nominee is standing. Nominations must be in the hands of the
(acting) secretary before 12th February, 2005. Nominations may be accompanied
by a “credentials” statement of no more than 100 words stating
the experience, objectives etc. of the candidate.
If there are no nominations for any particular office received by 12th
February, 2005, nominations will be called for at the AGM and those present
and with legitimate proxies shall vote if there is more than one nomination.
Nominations shall be accepted for members not present providing there
is written evidence that the nominee is willing to stand for the position.
If only one valid nomination for any particular office is received by
12th February, 2005, that person shall be declared elected at the AGM.
If more than one valid nomination for any particular office is received
by 12th February, 2005, the Returning Officer (who shall be appointed
by the Committee but shall not be a member of the Committee) shall cause
a preferential postal secret ballot to be conducted amongst the members.
The ballot papers will be distributed with the Newsletter due out early
in March and will have to be sent back to the Returning Officer by the
time stipulated on the instructions accompanying the ballot papers.
Where there are less than three nominations for the positions of “ordinary”
committee member, those candidates will be automatically elected and the
remaining positions will be filled at the AGM.
The March edition of the Newsletter or the material accompanying the ballot
papers will contain the credentials statement of any candidates for positions
requiring elections. The Newsletter will also state which positions remain
to be filled at the AGM and positions filled unopposed.
Where a member is nominated for more than one position, his name will
be included on ballot papers required for each position but will be neglected
if the candidate was successful in filling a more senior position; the
order of seniority is President first, then Vice-President, Secretary,
Treasurer, Newsletter Editor in that order, followed by three ordinary
committee members. If anyone requires more details on the voting, please
see the book “Guide to Meetings and Organisations” by N. Renton,
who describes the various methods of voting, with examples (I do not have
a copy of the book with me so I am not certain of the name).
If you are talking friends into buying
a radio, suggest they buy it through the club and make some money for
us. It won’t cost them any more.
Much of what the Committee decided at the October long weekend meeting
at Casino has been described elsewhere. The main points and also matters
arising at the General Meeting include:
Committee Changes: Phil Bell and Bob Locking have resigned; John Swift
has taken on the Vice President position but no Secretary has been appointed
yet. Heather Newport, with assistance from husband, John, is going to
take on Newsletter editor, starting next issue (and am I ever pleased
at losing that job!)
Newsletter: Heather Newport’s offer to take on editorship
was gratefully accepted. The costs of the newsletter were examined –
size will be restricted and more advertising will be sought to offset
printing and distribution costs exceeding $4 per copy.
Financial: See the Treasurer’s Report. Anyone claiming for expenses
has to complete an “Authority/Request to Pay” and provide
dockets and details. No-one is to incur any significant expenses without
prior approval of the Treasurer, where available, and at least one other
Committee member, i.e. two Committee members total). Committee members
will be reimbursed for documented expenses but only base operators will
receive a fixed allowance towards efforts and expenses.
Radio Bases: The possibility of a base at Broome appears promising;
Ross Allen is moving and volunteers are required for when the new aerial
is put up (date is not now known). GPS recording by the base where the
HF radio has a GPS attached is an early priority, followed by automatic
retrieval of InterConnect call numbers.
Communications: See the “Communications” article and look
at p.2 of the Newsletter.
Forward Program: The need was recognised for planning further ahead
to promote gatherings in as many places as possible.
Quilt Squares: Chrissy Eustace explained her plan for contributions
to a quilt, which some of the ladies took up and it could lead to our
own quilt or banner (see above).
Milestone for Peg Lawson: She turned 80 on 13th October and, to mark
the occasion, she was presented with a teddy bear (which she had unknowingly
chosen) by Wendy Cripps Clark, who made the bear from materials paid
for by the club.
There were 43 members who signed the attendance book at the General
Meeting.
Last Word
Oh, give me your pity, I'm on a committee
Which means that from morning 'til night
We attend, and amend; and contend, and defend,
Without a conclusion in sight.
We confer and concur, we defer and demur,
And reiterate all our thoughts.
We revise the agenda with frequent addenda,
And consider a heap of reports.
We compose and propose, we support and oppose
And the points of procedure are fun.
But though various notions are brought up as motions,
There's terribly little gets done.
We resolve and devolve, but we never dissolve
That is out of the question for us.
It would be such a pity to end our committee,
Where else could we make such a fuss?
[Source unattributed]
Proudly supporting the H F Radio Club
Theft of and from Motor Vehicles
It can take less than a minute for a thief to break into and steal your
valuables!
Preventative Tips
Install Engine Immobilisers and or Fuel Pump Kill switch
Do not hide spare key’s anywhere on the vehicle
Don’t leave handbags or valuables in view from outside the vehicle
nor hide them when you arrive at your destination
Don’t leave loose change in cabin of vehicle; thieves will do
hundreds of dollars worth of damage to steal small amounts of money
If you wish to discuss any of the above contact: Ken Tame & Associates
PO Box 2390 Kew, Vic 3101
Ph: 03 9853 5555 Fax: 03 9853 5554
kent@kentame.com.au or garyh@kentame.com.au
A F S Licence No: 246937 ABN 41 945 943 271
To see the advertisements from this newsletter,
please go to the Sponsors page
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