Posts

Ham Radio Events, Hamfests and Field Days in Australia: What's On and What to Bring

Image
  Australia's ham radio events and meetups in australia run on hamfests, club field days, contest weekends and year-round portable programmes. Most welcome a visitor, a new callsign and often someone with no radio at all. ham radio australia is a surprisingly social hobby once you leave the shack; check the organiser notice before travelling, because dates and venues move around. Hamfests: the tables are the point A hamfest is part swap meet, part reunion and part warning about what happens when a shed becomes a museum. Expect radios, meters, components, antenna hardware and the odd object nobody can identify but somebody clearly needs. Get there early if you are after a particular thing. The good gear goes quickly, but so does the chance to have a proper look before the aisle fills up. Hamfest pricing is a negotiation that starts the moment you pick something up. For a second-hand transceiver, ask to see it powered up. Check receive on more than one band, try every control and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Where to Buy Ham Radio Parts in Australia: What to Check Before You Order

Image
  If you’re working out where to buy ham radio parts in Australia, there are three sensible routes: a specialist Australian dealer, an overseas seller, or the second-hand market. All can be right. All can also bite you. The trick is knowing whether you’re buying a part, a delay, or a problem with postage attached. The three ways amateurs really buy gear An Australian specialist dealer usually has a narrower range than the giant overseas catalogues, and sometimes the item is on backorder. But when the listing says it is on the shelf, you can ask whether that means their shelf. That matters when Friday is your only chance to finish an antenna for a weekend field day. A real local warranty and usable return address are worth something. Overseas ordering is terrific for obscure connectors and replacement boards that aren’t imported here. It is also where people get seduced by the first number on screen. Add freight, GST, exchange conversion and a possible return trip, and the bargain...
Post a Comment
Read more

Coax for Amateur Radio: RG58, RG213, LL240 and LL400 Compared

Image
  Most people don't think about their feedline until the signal report comes back weaker than it should. A while back, a fairly typical cable question came up: a customer needed coax for an antenna installation, knew the length of the run, and had already decided on RG58 because it was cheaper and easier to handle. The run wasn't particularly short, though. It was heading from the radio room towards an antenna well away from the shack. On the reel, RG58 looked like coax. It had the right connectors available, it was 50 ohm, it was flexible and it was considerably cheaper than the heavier options. So what's the problem? Nothing, if the job is right for RG58. That's the bit that catches people. RG58 isn't a bad cable. RG213 isn't automatically better for every installation. LL240 and LL400 aren't magic signal boosters either. They're different feedline choices, and the sensible choice depends on what you're trying to do with them. The mistake is treati...
Post a Comment
Read more