Ex professional photographer now a passionate hobby, love gold detecting and 4x4 out in the Gold Fields of Aus, also as all on here love Amateur Radio, long days in the sun at a good beach and body surfing, as well as passionate coffee roaster and grower.
A Sydney man has been fined $3,000 and ordered to forfeit valuable radio equipment that he had been using to make overpowered transmissions. The defendant pleaded guilty to two charges of unlawful possession of a radiocommunications device under the Radiocommunications Act 1992. He appeared at the Downing Centre Local Court, Sydney, on Tuesday, 27 January 2015.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority last year investigated allegations that the defendant used overpowered equipment to transmit on the Citizen Band Radio Service in the Sydney area. The ACMA had previously warned the defendant about using overpowered radiocommunications equipment to transmit on the Citizen Band Radio Service.
Citizen Band (CB) radios operate under a class licence system in Australia. The class licence includes the condition that transmissions must not exceed five watts. Exceeding five watts may interfere with transmissions of other legitimate users of the service.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions charged the defendant with two counts of unlawful possession of a radiocommunications device. The ACMA can sell items that are forfeited under the Act. In this case, as the radios are nonstandard devices that do not comply with Australian requirements, the radios will be destroyed.
‘This conviction is a logical outcome and reinforces the point that continued non-compliance will not be tolerated,’ said Mark Loney, the ACMA’s Executive Manager for Spectrum Operations and Services.
Citizen Band radios are permitted to be operated by any person in Australia for recreational or domestic purposes, or in connection with work or business, provided the person complies with the Radiocommunications (Citizen Band Radio Stations) Class Licence 2002.
The unlicensed use of a radiocommunications device is an offence under theRadiocommunications Act 1992. More information about radiocommunications interference is available here.
The below article appears in December 2015’s CQ Amateur Radio Magazine. The text is reproduced on our website with the permission of the author, Cory Sickles WA3UVV, to whom we extend our thanks.
Stuart VK2FSTU adds:
I’ve heard many a time people demonising contesting, but I shared this article for one reason, I cannot ask that people who hate contesting like it, but read this and take in what contesting has done for Amateur Radio, it benefits us all.
The DF0CG / DR1A Contest Station – read about it here. Yes, we want one too!
“Many of the improvements that benefit us all… were driven by contesters.”
Onany given weekend, it seems you’ll find one, two, three, or more contests going on several HF bands. Add to that the probability of some DXpedition that’s creating a “dog-pile” of stations trying to work them and get a card – but not just one – one for each mode on each band (collect ’em all!) in a competition to show who has the most RF they can direct at their target.
For the contester or DXer, this is pure heaven. It’s the raison d’etre of ham radio. For the non-con- tester, this can seem overwhelming and nothing more than a cacophony of noise and sometimes abhorrent behaviour. Even the CW sub bands – normally a relaxing domain of rhythmic tones – become a quasi-randomised dysfunction of slightly off-frequency signals that defy decryption. Factor in a RTTY contest – with the tendency of some to encroach deeply into the land of CW and QRP – and you have the makings of a discouraging concoction of activity.
Admittedly, I fall into the category of the non-contester. I own nothing that can produce more than 120 Watts PEP on HF. I typically use wire antennas and only have one Yagi. Further, I enjoy QRP and most of my QSOs fall into that category. It is rare that I operate CW with more than 20 watts. “Big Gun?” Ha! I don’t even think I’d qualify as a “little pistol.” Does contesting have a “toy slingshot” category?
When 20 meters is full of contesting activities, I typically retreat to the comfort of 30 or 17 meters – depending on propagation and my mood – where I can find a more desirable signal-to-noise ratio. Once there, I can usually find some like-minded souls with whom to have a longer and more interesting conversation than the typical “drive by” of call sign and signal report exchanges.
My primary interests in amateur radio are building, experimenting, and meeting new people – combined with a “less is more” philosophy. This seems to be a far cry from the more popular big tower, max power, on all hours – focus of hard core contesters and DXers.
Sure, I’m painting with the proverbial “broad brush” here, but I’ve seen enough in 40+ years as a ham to know something of which I speak. Further, these are the complaints of many non-contesters. But as much as I dislike the effect of contesting on my activities, I don’t hate contesters. Rather, I respect and even appreciate them.
On the Other Hand…
If that sounds somewhat schizophrenic, allow me to explain. While some of us may not enjoy what contesting does to our bands, we all benefit from what contesters have done for ham radio.
Many of the improvements that benefit us all – be it highly accurate digital VFOs, increased transmitter efficiencies, lower noise receivers with even more sensitive front ends and greatly enhanced filtering – were driven by contesters. Improved speech processing, software defined radios, memory keyers, solid-state finals, and amplifiers were all embraced first by contesters. Their competitive nature made them early adopters of microcomputers in the shack as they continue to push the envelope of technology. Whatever new thing, idea, or technique they can use to gain an edge over others, they welcome and customise to make their own.
Contesters also drive the economics of amateur radio. Casual rag chewers are not the ones purchasing TS-990S, FTDX5000 and IC-7850 transceivers. Sometimes the technological merits of top end rigs take a back seat to manufacturing theology, but the money is being invested (not merely spent) into equipment, support items, and more. I’m not going to go out and erect a tower for a few dipoles, but some contesters will do just that building an array of beams or directional rhombics, as their needs and budgets permit.
Long ago, I observed that there are “casual users” and “power users” when it comes to computers. Casual users say, “I have a computer and use it for word processing, spreadsheets, and to surf the web.” Power users say something like “I have a system with a video wall, an octal-processor array over-clocked to 11.7 GHz with 12 GB of dual-ported cache, 256 GB of RAM and a 500TB Raid 5 disk array. I’m a Microsoft beta tester and use Word and Excel. My Internet connection supports redundant, real-time Über-pipeline connectivity.” Power users invest their dollars to obtain the latest tech and make the best use of it.
Hard core DXers and contesters are the power users of amateur radio. They don’t simply tell you they have a rig and antenna, they can run down the list by heart – a list that probably includes brands and terms you’ve never heard of. Just nod your head and smile. Much of what they have today will be available in a more-affordable version in just a few years. By then, they will have moved onto other cutting-edge things.
So, when you hear the sound of a contest or see someone buying another amplifier to outfit the fourth position in their contest station, just smile and know the state of ham radio is well – moving forward and being funded nicely.
As this is the season to sing Auld Lang Syne, it also raises thoughts about friends and acquaintances in Amateur Radio from years past.
That traditional song translates to “times gone by” and is about remembering family, friends and associates from the past and not letting them be forgotten – “should auld acquaintance be forgot”, as the lyric goes.
WIA Director Roger Harrison VK2ZRH believes that we should strive to bring inactive radio amateurs back again, and has started the ‘Bring Them Back’ project that many can join.
Roger said: “From the ACMA’s register it is clear that there are many radio amateurs who pay their licence fees year-in and year-out, but are not heard on the air, and rarely seen at hamfests or club meetings.
“Although they maintain an interest in the hobby, but choose to be, or perhaps have to be, inactive for one reason or another.
“Likewise, there are those who let their licence lapse, and have no current callsign, but their interest in Amateur Radio smoulders beneath the surface nevertheless.”
As he dug deeper the topic soon became a theme, backed up with anecdotal evidence including some visiting maker faire DIY events, that there was an undercurrent of revived individuals lured by the modern Amateur Radio.
Roger said that if these radio amateurs could be encouraged to revitalise their once-burning interest, the hobby would be all the better for it.
WIA Vice President Fred Swainston’s stint as administrator in the National Office over recent months has revealed a steady stream of one-time radio amateurs applying for callsigns as the first step in returning to the hobby.
“If you think about it, there are many situations where you know, or discover, a colleague or acquaintance once held a callsign – they may well be amenable to being encouraged to return to Amateur Radio,” Roger said.
“Personally, I’m in the habit of reading Amateur Radio magazine (print edition) on my daily train commute to and from the Sydney CBD.
“On one occasion, I happened to be sitting next to a fellow traveller who saw me reading AR and struck up a conversation. Before I got off the train, I gave him my copy and encouraged him to take up his hobby once again. Did he do it? I don’t know, for sure,” he said.
On another occasion, at a business event, a fellow recognised Roger VK2ZRH from his days editing electronics magazines and he struck up a conversation – mostly reminiscences about the “good old days”. He went and applied for a new callsign and is now back on the air.
Roger VK2ZRH said: “Think about this – if each of us who have been in the hobby for some time took the opportunity, wherever it arose, to encourage a “lapsed” radio amateur to return, those with callsigns would be higher and the number active on the air would increase too.”
He proposes that many of us to get behind a project for 2016: Let’s call it – Bring Them Back.
There are many more situations where individuals may have let their interest in Amateur Radio lie dormant. Roger VK2ZRH said he had only outlined a few examples. He suggests we look out for the opportunities – in doing so it will be a positive move by the hobby, helping to make it to grow and thrive.
Russian digital Amateur Radio Club RTSRK (RDRC Russian Digital Radio Club) organizes and carries out the judging of four competitions: Moscow Cup R3A-CUP-DIGI, Russian WW Digital, Russian WW PSK and Russian WW MultiMode Contest. We invite all radio amateurs to compete for prizes and awards for contest certificates, and just work in the pleasure digital modes RTTY and BPSK63, as well as CW and SSB. See you in the air Russian World Wide MultiMode Contest!
October 31 – November 1
For more on what is on in this contest, go to this link (note the page will be automatically translated from Russian to English).
