Q-News AR News from Queensland

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Weekly podcast produced by QNews in Queensland Australia covering Amateur radio news items.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    QNews for June 14th 2026

    SunFest 2026 is on its way, same location as last year at 25 Peachester Rd Beerwah on Saturday September 19th at the Beerwah Community Hall. Here is your chance to grab a bargain, catch-up with folks you haven’t seen for a while for an off air rag chew, or just enjoy the atmosphere. Tickets this year are the same cost as last year at just $5 for general entry and $10 for a traders ticket that includes 1 general admission. We are also having some technical information sessions. There will be raffles and door prizes with some great items on offer. We will have a printed program of the day events so you will know when things are happening. There will be bacon and egg rolls, beef and gravy rolls, tea, coffee and soft drinks for sale as well. There are nearby shops and it’s only a short 500m walk from Beerwah train station. You could even make it a full day by bringing the family and spending the afternoon at Australia Zoo. Open for trader entry from 8AM, while doors for general admission open strictly at 9:30AM. As we confirm traders we will list them on our webpage and have links to their webpages. In other news the club had a POTA and picnic day on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago. It was a great day in the sun with about 20 members turning up and over 30 contacts were made. Well that's all for now, this has been Gordon VK4VP. Coming to you for Sunday 14th of June 2024 is this week's instalment of travels with the Darling Downs Radio Club. I'm John VK4JPM, and I'll be your driver for the next section of track. And what a week. We started last Sunday with a spectacular outing at Bunnings, followed by Monday with our club meeting in what we hope might become a permanent location. We had some great discussions about the club itself. The big question is: where should we be in one, two, five and ten years. And if you have a suggestion - a polite one, anyway - please drop us a line via Secretary@ddrci.org.au. The new location gave us the chance to show off some of the gear that the club has accumulated, much of which is going to be for sale to members at good prices. Over the next few weeks we'll develop a catalogue and a pricing policy, so watch this space. A major decision by members is that we're going to put CTCSS on the club 2m repeater, VK4RDD. Work has started, and both WIA and Repeaterbook now show that a 91.5Hz tone will be required, and that will be effective from 7 July - and we'll keep reminding you of that requirement over the next three weeks. We've also determined that this year's annual general meeting will be held on Thursday 30 July. Pop that date in your diary and we'll be announcing details in due course. 2026 is an even numbered year, so the Vice President and Treasurer positions are due for election, along with two of the committee positions. In other news, congratulations to club member Ray VK4NH, whose 23 hours of activity in the 48 hour CQ World Wide WPX contest earned him number 2 place in Australia as a Single Op Lo, and 38 out of 400 in Oceania in the same category. He was up against 4000 other participants across the world, and came 108th in Oceania against some pretty heavy multi-multi highs and multi-op distributed, some of whom clocked 48.0 hours of operation. Well done Ray! Until next week, thanks for listening. I'm John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. dah-dah-di-di-dit di-di-di-dah-dah. ADSB Support: https://adsbsupport.com/ for information or applications to host a receiver, which is free if you're approved! And you'll get free access to some really interesting online stuff as a result. VK4RDD is located southeast of Toowoomba on a high spot. Output frequency 146.750 with -600kHz transmit offset and no tone (although CTCSS won't hurt).

  2. Jun 5

    QNews for June 7th 2026

    From downtown uptown intown Toowoomba, the epicentre for the Darling Downs Radio Club. Right off the bat comes the important action item. If your watch tells you that today is Sunday 7 June, then hot-foot down to Bunnings Toowoomba North in Ruthven Street and help us make our BBQ fundraiser a brilliant success. We're there from now until 1530, and our sausage sangers are way more edible than RG8. Hi - I'm John VK4JPM Secretary of the Club, and I'm here to invite you to COME ON DOWN because THE PRICE IS RIGHT! Seriously, your warm body at Bunnings can help us in at least three different ways: we might still need a person or two to help with the roster. Hard to tell right now because QNEWS is filed days ago. But look, a bit of extra help never hurt. we definitely want you to buy a sausage sanger or two, and the price IS right! * when you turn up, you can smile and help tell everyone what a great club the Darling Downs Radio Club is. There's nothing like a personal recommendation. Sunday 7 June from 0800-1530 local time, which is most likely today if you're listening to the morning live broadcast. Tomorrow night is our club meeting, and we're doing something both important and special. Firstly, we're meeting at the Guide Hut in Harristown. Hut makes it sound way smaller than it really is. This is a bit of a test and we'd like your input. Three important items on the agenda for the meeting 1. we're bringing some of the stuff that has been gathered, and we'll be selling it on the night. There will be a couple of pretty good ICOM transceivers, some mixed electronics, cables, and whatever else we pull out of the storage space. Plus you can bring your own gear to add to the sales effort. 2. it's time we had a discussion about future plans for the club. All good, but your committee thinks it would be helpful to have a one, two, five and ten year outlook so that we can make strategic decisions on your behalf. What do you think the club should look like in five years? What activities would we regularly be doing? Is the monthly meeting format the right way to go? What education and training should the club deliver, and how often? What would your ideal meeting topic be? These and more questions need answers, and it's your club so we can go in any direction that you can support. and 3. bring along your latest toys for show-and-tell. Always fun. We'll have tea, coffee, timtams, and lots of good cheer. It's at the Guide Hut at 18A Memory Street in Harristown, with tons of parking. And if your street memory isn't so good, check out all the details at the website: ddrci.org.au and click through the calendar entry for the meeting. VK4RDD is located southeast of Toowoomba on a high spot. Output frequency 146.750 with -600kHz transmit offset and no tone (although CTCSS won't hurt). This is Kevin VK4UH. With Glenn VK4GMI I am the manager for the Harry Angel Memorial 80m Sprint. The “Harry Angel” is an annual 80m contest event, first established in 1999, to commemorate the life of Harry VK4HA who at the time of his becoming a Silent Key, at the age of 106, was the oldest licensed amateur in Australia. The contest has three sections, Phone, CW and Mixed. Certificates are awarded to the three top-scoring entries in each section. Place winners are also eligible to claim points towards the WIA Peter Brown Contest Champion Trophy. This year 36 logs were received which represents a consistent participation rate over recent years. This is particularly gratifying as this year’s contest clashed with the WIA AGM and Conference in Albury and a number of other significant sporting events on the same weekend..

  3. May 29

    QNews for May 31st 2026

    Hi there - This is John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club and I hope this week finds you in good spirits. Next weekend the club has two really important events - some might even say critical events - that you need to know about. Firstly next Sunday, the 7th of June. That's our day to shine at Bunnings North in Ruthven Street Toowoomba, where we'll be doing the sausage sizzle. We're hoping that the sun shines too, because people prefer snags to be dry. Regardless, it's our first big fundraiser for the club for this year, and in a moment you'll see why it's so important. Your club has one of the lowest membership fees in the country, and that's because we believe that cost should not be a barrier to entry. But hey, it still costs money to run meetings and pay for insurance, and deliver training. You can help us to continue to exist by offering a few hours next Sunday to help cook snags, wrap bread, take money - that's the fun part - and generally support the club. Tell us when you're available by sending a note to secretary@ddrci.org.au. Seriously: just a few hours each,spread through the day and the task is done. And by the way, if you're not a member of our club, or if you're a member of another club: no problem. We'd still welcome your contribution. And you'll get fed. Go to email right now, and tell secretary@ddrci.org.au when it is that you're available. And now a reason to help with fundraising. For the last year or so we've been quietly hunting for a permanent clubhouse to support the work that the Darling Downs Radio Club has been doing. And we know that a lot of our members live in communities where antennas can't be erected easily. A permanent clubhouse would create all kinds of opportunities for on-air sessions, member gatherings, project work, regular training and licence assessments, and generally being social. And we'd like your opinion on one of the options. So write down this address. The club meeting on Monday 8 June from 1900 will be held at the Kanyana Guide Hut, 18A Memory Street in Harristown. Come and join us for a discussion about how to ensure the future of the club. What do you think a club like ours should be doing? Where should we invest, and where do you think we should head? We have some other projects to discuss; we'll have a general natter; there might be some gear for sale; there will almost certainly be a show-and-tell, and there will be tea, coffee and timtams. For this meeting bring your thoughts, and bring a chair or something to sit on. That's at the Kanyana Guide Hut in Harristown, and all the details are on the website right now. And on Sunday 14 June the bimonthly informal lunch will be a BBQ at Peacehaven Park in Highfields, followed by a family-friendly fox-hunt. This is one for the harmonics, the subharmonics, the XYL, the YL and anyone who feels like a feed and some fun is what you do on a weekend. Details on the website at ddrci.org.au. Hamchallenge week 23 is upon us, and a quick squiz at the site shows that unbelievably the challenge this week is "organise or participate in a fox hunt". It's almost as if the Hamchallenge organisers are chasing down the Darling Downs Club... even though we're running our hunt in week 24. It still counts. We've received some info about incoming magazines and publications - check those out on the website, with news items heavily disguised as calendar entries. Just look for the obvious headings and you won't get lost. And to other clubs: don't forget the standing offer. If we can help you get on-air with QNEWS, drop us a line via secretary@ddrci.org.au Till next week warm 73s

    6 min

  4. May 22

    QNews for May 24th 2026

    Kevin Crandell VK4VKX went silent key on the morning of 14 May this year. He injured his head badly as a result of a fall, and never recovered. Those of you who knew Kevin know that we have lost someone special. Kevin was a member of the Darling Downs Radio Club for more than 25 years, and forged many lasting relationships since he moved to Toowoomba from Roma. Kevin contributed solidly to the success of the club. He served for nine years over two terms on the Management Committee as treasurer, and was a member of the Steering Committee for a further nine years. He was active on VHF and HF, although more recently his on-air had to be curtailed due to the requirements of the retirement community in which he was living. Kevin was known by many for his role over the last ten years as Net Controller for the Club’s weekly 2m Sunday Net. He was irrepressible and highly committed, and his presence as Net Controller will be missed. The Darling Downs Radio Club extends our condolences to his wife Jean, his family, his friends, his service mates, and the community that knew him on air. Vale Kevin Crandell. A celebration of life for Kev will be held at 1200 on Monday 25 May, which will be tomorrow for most of you listening. Details are on the club's website at ddrci.org.au ( John VK4JPM President and Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio club ) Unsurprisingly, last week's 2m net on VK4RDD was very well attended. The importance of the repeater to the club is not lost on any of us, and I'm pleased to report that the club has started some facilities upgrade work. It's a little early to release details, but we've embarked on a project which will improve the amenity and accessibility of the repeater, so watch this space. We've updated the VK4RDD repeater and VK4WID club entries in QRZ.com. Check those out, and if you don't have a QRZ entry now might be a good time to create one so that on-air contacts can find you. The 52week Amateur Radio Ham Challenge is entering week 22, and the challenge of the week is labelled "Show and Tell: your manpack". And what's a "manpack" It's the collection of portable equipment that you have ready to go at a moment's notice, so that you can grab/run/be on-air very quickly. Sound perfect for POTA activations, civil emergencies, or those moments when the rain finally stops. You might already have a pack like that, with transceiver, power, backup logging, antennas, and a container. That's just described Mr POTA's permanently setup car, ready to go right now. Telling people about your stuff isn't boasting; it can be inspirational and aspirational. Important hamwords! And that's what the 52Week Challenge is about... a bit of encouragement. Check it out at hamchallenge.org, or see the club website. Coming up: I won't give all the dates this week because there's a calendar on the website at ddrci.org.au, but two important reminders. Please volunteer to assist with our fundraising Bunnings BBQ on Sunday 7 June. Just a couple of hours of your time will help build the club coffers so that we can keep membership fees down. And we're looking for licenced club members to join the roster for the 2m net. If you have a Sunday morning hour every couple of weeks we'd love to have you on the team. Both BBQ and Net offers can be sent to secretary@ddrci.org.au and we'll be in touch. The 2m VK4RDD net follows the Sunday morning broadcast at 1000, and if you're listening to this in the evening how about jumping on the callback to register your presence. Every bit helps. Until next week, I'm John VK4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. 73.

  5. May 15

    QNews for May 17th 2026

    Hello and welcome to a special AX edition of the DDRCI contribution to QNEWS. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and it's my job to spread good tidings. Ho Ho Ho. So as you listen live, it's most likely Sunday 17 May, and you've probably heard that today is World Telecommunications Day. Under a long-standing agreement between the ACMA and the WIA, all VK licenced amateur radio operators may use the special AX prefix today, running up to 2359 tonight. Why not come up on the callback as AX? If it's Sunday morning, then why not also join us at 1000 for the club net on VK4RDD, and we're activating today as AX4WID. We love hearing from DX stations and members of other clubs. If you can hear this you already have the gear, so you just need to be in range of Toowoomba. If you missed the club meeting last Monday, you missed something rather special. Guy Martin from ADSBSupport in Denmark explained a bit how ADS-B works; how to get global coverage to track planes; and what interesting information can be gleaned and displayed. A number of club members have applied to support ground stations, and I know of at least two club members who have been accepted as ADSBSupport builds its network. If you're interested in supporting a ground station, and if you missed the meeting, drop me a line to Secretary at DDRCI.org.au and we'll tell you how to get in touch. Coming up, the diary dates for a very busy June: Next club activity: we're at Bunnings Toowoomba North on Sunday 7 June. You can help support the club in a really meaningful way: we need Sausage Twirlers, bread-stackers, drink-stockers, ice-blockers, onion-whackers, and money-takers. No experience needed; just a few hours of your time between 0800 and 1600 would help massively. Send your immediate acceptance to secretary@ddrci.org.au so that we can put you on the roster. Next club meeting will be the day after Bunnings on Monday 8 June, and watch for some special news. The following weekend on Saturday 13 June we're running a BBQ lunch up at the wonderfully named Peacehaven Park on Kuhls Road, Highfields. And following the lunch, there's a definite threat of a foxhunt to take you through the afternoon. Facilities at Peacehaven are brilliant. Details of all these dates, and quite a bit more will be found on the website at ddrci.org.au. It's always a source of truth. Coming into Week 21 of the year we've been handed another bonza opportunity in the 52 Week Ham Challenge. And get this: the deal of the week is: "Read your transceiver's manual and use a feature you've never used before". Clearly this was written by someone who owns a Baofeng handheld... I'm still looking for the repeater reverse button; maybe it's in there. If only I could get the scanner to find active planes. So much fun. Read all about that and all the challenges at hamchallenge.org, or find it from our website. Finally an offer to other clubs. Getting on QNEWS is easy and helpful to the community. If you'd like to know how it's done, or if you'd like some help getting there, drop me a line. secretary@ddrci.org.au will do it, and our operator is standing by to take your call. And your club's call. And your words for QNEWS. As we've found out many times, people all over the state are interested in what your club is doing, and if your club meetings are being held online there's an audience waiting to be told what and how. Secretary@ddrci.org.au and let's talk about how to get going. Until next week, I'm John AX4JPM for the Darling Downs Radio Club. 73.

  6. May 8

    QNews for May 10th 2026

    This is Allan VK4HIT with news from Ipswich and District Radio Club. The club is currently seeking expressions of interest from Foundation amateurs or those who don't yet have a license but might just want to jump straight into it; for an upcoming Standard license training course in the Ipswich and West Moreton region. The course will be held at the Ipswich & District Radio Club with a tentative start date of Wednesday 20th May, with the course running over about five Wednesday nights with a sixth night focused mainly on Standard & Advanced regulations. If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact our training officer Greg via email VK4GJW@gmail.com or you can find out more via our website ipswichradioclub.org.au Club member Robert VK4KHW has reminded me about two big horse endurance events which Brisbane Area Wicen Group is providing safety communications. Details are:- This event is held at the Kilkivan Showgrounds and Equestrian Centre. Dates are Saturday 16th May 2026 and Sunday 17th May 2026. The other big event is called the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, being run out of the Stirlings Crossing Equestrian Complex, Imbil. Dates are 4th & 5th July 2026. The event runs for 24 hours. Robert will be asking for volunteers for Imbil after the Kilkivan event. Contact Robert via email rwilling65@gmail.com It's Sunday 10 May, and only a week away from the last chance this year to use the AX Prefix with your call. Hi, I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club, and here's our bit of QNEWS for the coming week. And starting with our meeting to be held tomorrow night, on Monday 11 May. Last weekend in Albury we made contact with an ADSB Support, an organisation that is creating a network of receivers to map plane movements in a different way. They are also doing some work that is directly of interest to ham radio operators. We thought that was too good an opportunity to leave hanging, and they have agreed to be our special guests at the meeting. Their global tech support manager, Guy Martin will be joining us from Denmark to explain how the network operates, what it does, and how maybe you could be involved as host of a receive point. Check the website for details. If you're not in town, or simply out of town, then you can attend remotely via Zoom and we'd love to have you. You don't need to be a member to join us. But if you do come to the Scout Hall in person, rest assured that we'll have tea, coffee and timtams ready to greet you. A couple of dates for the future: * lock in 7 June, which is just a month away, when we will be doing some much needed fundraising at Bunnings. If you can spare some time on the day - a couple of hours would do it - then could you let me know via the email address secretary@ddrci.org.au. * it's way into the future, but lock it in now: on the weekend of 7/8 November, the Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania will be running Ham-E-Con. This will be a similar but different event to QTECH that you might have attended last year in Brisbane. It's in Hobart, so already it's different! You can link details from our website at ddrci.org.au, and even though it's a while off maybe you want to book the travel this week while there are some specials on? This week's entry in the 52 week ham challenge: Build the cheapest antenna you can and make a QSO with it. We're not sure what counts as cheap. You have to buy metal coat-hangers these days, but an old 2m mobile base screwed into a tin can would be pretty and cheap, so pretty cheap. The website is at hamchallenge.org and right now nobody has logged a toot. I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club.

  7. May 1

    QNews for May 3rd 2026

    News of a Silent Key Brian Winterburn VK4BOW 15th August 1944 - 21st April 2026 Sad to report that one of the founding members of the Bowen Radio Amateur Group went Silent Key April 21 , 2026 Brian passed away on Tuesday 21st April after a long fight with kidney disease.. Brian was an accomplished Morse Code Operator, yachtsman, musician and technician, helping establish the Gem of the Coral Coast, 95.1MHz GEM FM and maintaining the systems of the broadcaster until ill health curtailed the activity. For a number of years Brian was a regular operator on the 3599kHz Gnarly Net and was also a former member of the Townsville Amateur Radio Club. The Amateur Radio community in Bowen, indeed in North East Queensland is measurably poorer with Brian's passing. Vale Brian Winterburn VK4BOW, Silent Key Hi there: coming from the Darling Downs Radio Club, this is our QNEWS segment for 3 May 2026, and it's the heading-to-WIA edition. I'm John VK4JPM secretary of the DDRCi. By the time you hear this, the WIA AGM will be over; we've had a great dinner, and everyone who is in Albury will be enjoying the VK Summit 2026 geekfest with presentations and hardware - a perfect match for a weekend. First up, our club's big news. If you haven't already discovered, the results are out for the 2026 John Moyle Memorial Field Day... and if you haven't found them, go to the WIA website (wia.org.au); find "for Members" at the top, then contests, and finally on the left: John Moyle Memorial Field Day. Then scroll down to the bottom. There's a report and winners document, and a file with certificates for winners. And I have to say, what a wonderful rollup it was, and congratulations to all the winners across so many categories. I'm in awe of VK3GJG who blitzed 46,842 points across a single operator home 24 hour effort, and I suspect he achieved that by supergluing himself to the chair. So how did our club go? It's time for a big smile, because we did pretty well. Despite crashing QRN, on-off rain, and a last minute discovery that the amenities block had been fenced off - I mean, what could possibly go wrong? - for the second year running we managed to pull off a convincing win in our category - which was the HF Multi-Multi 6 hour. And there was lots of learning from the effort; we ran a licence assessment, and several of our participants were contesting for the first time. As they say, We'll Be Back. The 52-week challenge at hamchallenge.org is up to week 19... and this one's really creative. They want YOU to come up with a ham radio challenge and share it with the organisers. Our team here thought maybe there's a way to establish over-the-horizon communication using a bratwurst sausage and a can of tuna. Can you make a morse key using inkjet printer parts? Or how about building a short wave receiver from tin-cans, homegrown crystal, and discarded car batteries? It worked for Hogan's Heroes and Gilligan... are their plans still around? Do a bit of thinking and get back to the team. hamchallenge.org for the website. Finally, if you're not a member of DDRCi and you join now, you will get a bonus two months of membership because new memberships go through to end of June 2027. Go to the website and click on the big red button to join, and - trust me on this - everything you need to know and do is online in the website. If it's not: tell us. We might even give you a discount for pointing out a problem.

  8. Apr 24

    QNews for April 26th 2026

    Howdy-doody. You're possibly expecting the Darling Downs Radio Club QNEWS segment for the week of 26 April, and this would be it. Thanks for listening, and coming up some reminders: next weekend is big activity in Albury activity; we will be there and I'd love to have a chat to committee members from other clubs. now that ANZAC day is over, the last AX prefix opportunity for the year is four weeks away today is club lunch day, and we'd love you to join us whether you're a member of DDRCi or not and if it's still morning, then the club 2m net starts at the top of the hour and you're invited to that too Firstly a note to people from other Queensland clubs. The WIA AGM is next weekend in Albury, and you will have heard all about it on National News. Some of us are heading down because we can and should, which is going to create an opportunity between clubs to exchange ideas about how we run our hobby. If you're in Albury next weekend, please find me. I'll be wearing club clobber with my name and callsign, so I won't be hard to find. Lots to discuss. If you're coming and you'd like to set something up, drop a line to secretary@ddrci.org.au as an alert. Last week's club meeting on the topic of FreeDV exceeded every expectation. Thanks to everyone in the room, to all those who came along virtually, and to other clubs who spread the word. Peter VK3TPM provided an incredibly good insight into the project, with some very compelling demos of how well the coder works. He's also give a list of tips and tools to help you get started, and those appear in the text edition of this QNEWS bulletin. We're going to keep an eye on the project and bring you updates from time to time, and it will be the subject of future meetings. If it's Sunday morning, then after QNEWS, and after the club 2m net, we're off to the Southern Hotel in Toowoomba for our informal come-and-have-lots-of-fun bimonthly club lunch. Check the Fire and Ice cafe, and there will be a table reserved for the club. All the detail is on the website at ddrci.org.au, and we kick off sometime after 1130. Family, friends, harmonics, bits of gear, and tall tales are all welcome. We'll probably hang around until 1500 so there's no rush, and food is available all day. There's still a moment to RSVP to lunch@ddrci.org.au, but that's only so that we can ensure we have a big enough table. Nobody gets locked out. This also fits nicely with this week's ham challenge, which is to get together with others for an in person radio activity - the lunch qualifies, and I noticed that the website has zero toots against the challenge. So there's an opportunity. We're coming into week 18, for which the challenge is "Complete a project no matter how big or small and write it up". Here's our offer: if you write up a project, no matter how big or small, we will publish it to DDRCi members. Hints and tips are good. Things to do are good. Bits of clever circuit are good. How you got the transmitter with missing parts to work: yes, that's really good. Let us know so that we can spread the love. General reminders: * if you'd like help getting or upgrading your licence, send an email to education@ddrci.org.au * to contact the club, drop a line to secretary@ddrci.org.au and if you missed out using your callsign with the AX prefix yesterday, the last opportunity for the year is on World Telecommunications Day which is always 17 May. This year that's a Sunday, and we'll be doing our 2M net on that day with the AX prefix. I'm John VK4JPM, secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club.

  9. Apr 16

    QNEWS for 19th April 2026

    Vernon Crabb VK4FVC - December 1939 - April 2026 It is sad to report that Vern Crabb VK4FVC has gone Silent Key in Townsville following a long battle with cancer. Despite doctors saying that he would not make Christmas 2025 Vern proved them wrong making it past that and able to celebrate his 52nd anniversary of marrying Nell before he was taken from us. Vern was a long time member of the Wireless Institute of Australia until illness forced him to cancel his membership. Vern was also a long time member of The Townsville Amateur Radio Club, using his morse skills to support the on-air Slow Morse training net for many years before it was disbanded. Vern was also a participant in the 3599kHz Gnarly Net Morse section right up to the final days of his life. Vern was a Morse Man! Vern grew up on the family farm near Woodstock North Queensland, with the family then moving to Rollingstone to farm pineapples. Vern attended and matriculated at St Teresa's College Abergowrie and eventually took over running the pineapple farm with Nell's help. Vern was always keen to learn how and why things work, which was a much needed skill in farming life where most repairs were done onsite. He also garnered an interest in Amateur Radio, wanting to experience diverse cultures world wide without having to leave the farm. Eventually erecting a tower and installing a steerable log periodic antenna, Vern chased DX from 20metres to 6 meters and made many friends on-air. The big tower and antenna soon became known as a local landmark to the locals, who still call the quick bend in Balgal Beach Road as 'Crabb's Corner'. Vern and Nell were deeply involved in the local community both serving on the local Progress Association and P&C committees. Vern became proficient in Italian and Spanish, enabling him to have an edge when snaring rare DX. Vern was a very proficient orator and vocalist, performing for years with choirs during the Ingham Italian Festival, plus the occasional private group performance. When eventually retiring and selling the farm, Vern and Nell traveled to Mexico, Italy and Spain staying with ham radio friends from years gone by. Vern and Nell also obtained a Rainbow Bus, converted it to a mobile home called 'The Crabbpot' which they used to tour Australia. It was during this time that Frank/VK4CAU (SK) enlisted Vern's help in mobile trials and development of new models of Barrett HF transceivers with the Crabbpot being an ideal testing vehicle for the new models of radio. A catastrophic failure in insulation on the lithium powered auxiliary power system caused complete destruction of Crabbpot Mk2 during a tour through the Sunshine Coast hinterland, with Vern and Nell escaping with just the clothes on their backs. Help from locals and nearby family members soon had them back home with the necessity to rebuild their finances and eventually Crabbpot Mk3 was acquired and more little trips to relatives transpired. Vern and Nell attended Amateur Radio communications support events when they were in the local area, supported local amateur radio clubs in the area with their attendance at social events and kept traveling as long as they could, until Vern's illness curtailed the travels. Vern was taken from us on the 11th April 2026, with his passing we lose someone who could really diagnose faults and provide easy fixits as he took the time to truly understand how things worked. We also lose a master in Morse Code operating. Sincere condolences to Nell and family in Vern's passing. Vale Vernon Crabb VK4FVC, Silent Key.

    8 min

  10. Apr 10

    QNews for April 12th 2026

    Brad Donald Johnson of MacGregor, VK4BRA whose old call was VK4AIR passed away on 25 March 2026. Brad VK4BRA had been in radio from 1976 as many of us were , as a CBer. Brad passed with a full licence in Amateur Radio in 1979 and worked as a light and sound engineer in his own business. He is survived by 2 sons. The next Ipswich WICEN-supported event is the Brisbane Trail Marathon on April 26 held in the South D’Aguilar National Park. It features the ultimate trail running challenge. Start and finish is at Enoggera Reservoir, The Gap. This is a big event so I’m sure the club’s WICEN coordinator will not turn away any additional volunteer radio operators and supporters to work the various safety check points along the trail. If you have never participated before, you will be paired with an experienced operator. To volunteer please contact Paul at VK4PMCPaul@outlook.com I'm John VK4JPM, Secretary of the Darling Downs Radio Club. By the time you hear this, RedFest will be over, and I know there will be people we met who have forgotten our email address already, so here it is: secretary@ddrci.org.au and the home page is at ddrci.org.au, which is where you'll find all the details on what follows. This week reminders that our next club tech and chat meeting will be streamed and in person, and for this month is a week later on Monday 20th of April. No doubt those who return from RedFest will have a bit of show and tell - so bring stuff along - and we have some tech discussions following our outing at John Moyle. And watch this space: there could be a surprise guest. the next bimonthly club lunch is due and that's going to be on 26 April at the Southern Hotel in Toowoomba... south, down Ruthven Street. We've booked the table, and festivities start from 1200. By the way, the hotel has erected a massive solar array which doubles as over-cover for car parking. Quite clever. * last week I mentioned that we're doing another run of licence assessments, and you don't have to be in Toowoomba to work with us. We have four ACMA-accredited advanced assessors, which means we're qualified to take all kinds of special conditions into account, including remote delivery. If you are thinking of getting or upgrading a licence, please talk to us, and start by sending an email to education@ddrci.org.au. * Personal admission: life has been hectic and I didn't get to this week's QRP transmitter project even though I have a cupboard full of Raspberry Pi boards. And I'm still trying to get to Großreinemachen which is the big magic cleanup. But... while you're waiting for me to claim success, why not try this week's challenge which is "operate in an uncommon digital mode". There's a hint on the website at hamchallenge.org, and scroll down to week 16. We love hearing from members and anyone interested in amateur radio. To do that, and to be added or removed from our mailing list, drop a line to secretary@ddrci.org.au. Everything we do is on the website at ddrci.org.au, and you can trust that to be correct. So the reminder: why not come and say hi to us at the club meeting or club lunch in a week. BIG hint: that's a way of achieving the challenge from week 17. Simples! And the club net follows the Sunday morning edition of QNEWS on VK4RDD at 1000 actual time. Until next week, I'm John VK4JPM. 73 from Darling Downs Radio Club.

  • 10 Episodes

About

Weekly podcast produced by QNews in Queensland Australia covering Amateur radio news items.

Information

  • Creator
    QNews VK4BB
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Please acknowledge if you re-use content from this podcast
  • Show Website
    Q-News AR News from Queensland

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