Having fun in the field

Tonights presentation Death by powerpoint Please ask questions Why get involved? WWFF VK5 Parks Award Equipment Operating tips

Do you enjoy the great outdoors and travelling to beautiful locations around Australia, whilst enjoying the hobby of amateur radio?

Do you suffer from extremely high noise levels at home?

then operating portable might be for you!

Don’t collect wallpaper?

Why get involved? Fun Noise floor Experimentation Pile ups and DX Plasma TV, solar inverters Experimentation Antennas, home brew tx Pile ups and DX Great way to see our beautiful country

Why get involved? Combine other interests Bushwalking birdwatching Photography 4WDing Caravaning your partner Family picnic

Hand in hand with other programs & activities Summits on the Air (SOTA) Beaches on the Air (BOTA) Lighthouses John Moyle Field Day VHF/UHF Field Days

Promote our hobby Talk to onlookers Explain what you are doing Sell the hobby of AR Ask if they would like to say ‘hi’ on air Talk with National Parks staff Carry promotional material with you

What parks programs exist? World Wide Flora & Fauna program (WWFF) VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award (SANPCPA) Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award (KRMNPA)

About WWFF National & non-commercial program draw attention to the importance of protecting nature, flora & fauna and to encourage the development of radio skills, especially in portable operations Operate from designated nature parks/ protected nature areas Global award program National programs 45 participating countries Australia (VKFF) Various National Awards offered.

About WWFF WWFF Directory Each park issued with a unique identifying reference number ITU allocated prefix, FF for Flora & Fauna, and a unique identifying number, e.g. VKFF-001 In Australia qualifying parks are mostly National Parks Program has expanded in Victoria, South Australia & ACT State Parks, Coastal Parks, Marine National Parks (VIC) Conservation Parks (SA) Nature Parks (ACT)

What the hell does ’44’ mean? During a WWFF QSO you may hear reference to ‘44’. The first digit ‘4’ represents the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. The second digit ‘4’ represents the four directions: north, south, east, and west.  

Global WWFF Awards GLOBAL Awards 44 QSO’s required 2 hour operating time. QSO’s can be spread over multiple activations. Mobile is accepted M/M accepted Marine Parks. A/M not accepted Repeaters, IRLP, Echolink not accepted

Australian (VKFF) program 10 QSO’s required Reduced from 44 QSO’s due to our remoteness & number of amateurs 30 minute operating time. Reduced from 2 hours

Chasing WWFF certificates GLOBAL Everything is done on online (via WWFF LogSearch) Free as PDF (emailed) AUSTRALIA Online Free as a PDF or PNG (emailed) $5.00 printed & posted

VKFF program progress Since March 2013….. About 1,300 certificates in total issued About 280 overseas recipients. About 70 Australian activator certificates About 450 Australian Hunter certificates Remainder – other VKFF certificates

VKFF program progress

VKFF program progress

Top VKFF Activator and Top VKFF Hunter

WWFF Log Search WWFF on-line database Commenced 16 Feb 2013 Activator logs uploaded by National co-ordinators 6, 951,967 QSOs in the database From 11, 133 different references 114 DXCC’s Figures accurate as of 17th June 2016

VKFF Activation Weekend 2015 Sat 28th & Sun 29th November 2015 Inaugural event Over 50 Activators All States/Territories (excl. VK7) 90 different Parks activated

VKFF Activation Weekend 2016

VKFF Team Championship 2016

VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award Commenced April 2013 No formal SA Parks program prior Promotes portable activity from SA’s National Parks and Conservation Parks 21 National Parks 272 Conservation Parks Other parks do not qualify, e.g. Recreation Parks Works on a points system

VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award Activators, Hunters, SWLs Not just limited to VK5 participation National Park = 2 points Conservation Park = 1 point 1 x QSO required as Activator Activators claim points ONCE per calendar year Hunters claim points ONCE per UTC day Mobile operation not allowed Repeaters, IRLP, Echolink not allowed

VK5 Parks Award – certificates Activator Hunter SWL Park to Park Uniques Activated/Worked all VK5 Park Regions Currently no database Spreadsheets Free – PDF or PNG file $5.00 printed & mailed

VK5 Parks Award progress Since March 2013….. Over 350 certificates issued Brian ZL2ASH (first outside of Australia) Danny ON4VT (first European)

3rd year anniversary Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd April 2016 Around 30 activators About 75 different parks All across South Australia

What equipment do I need? Transceiver Antenna Power supply Other sundry gear Sundry gear includes suitable clothing, maps, compass, GPS, etc

Transceivers Yaesu FT-857d Yaesu FT-817nd Elecraft KX3 Wouxon X1M Icom IC-706

Antennas HF VHF/UHF Dipoles verticals Recent study on the Australian SOTA Yahoo group showed that the linked dipole was the most popular antenna in Australia for SOTA activations. Andrew VK1NAM – 4 el VHF yagi & Slim Jim You do not need sophisticated antennas to participate

Power source SLAB LiPo LiFePO Sealed Lead Acid (much heavier) Lithium Polymer (LiPo) Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO)

Sundry equipment Squid poles Watch Pens/pencils Camera/video First aid kit Sunscreen Mozzie repellant Sit mat/cushion Bothy bag Whistle GPS/compass Maps Water/food Appropriate clothing Spare clothing (in the car)

How do I fill up my logbook? The secret is the antenna Try different bands Place your intentions on as many forums as possible Consider the time of day/know when the bands are open Solar figures/propagation conditions DX cluster/parksnpeaks Consider setting up an SMS goup Try a group email Use the local repeater

Spotting & Alerting parksnpeaks hamspots.net/wwff DX cluster

Operating skills/practice Call for park activators Then for QRP Then for portable/mobile Then for DX Then for those that can hear you, but with difficulty And finally, for everyone else (now the fun starts!)

Operating skills/practice Do not queue jump Do not call CQ on a frequency until you know the frequency is not in use Always remember the DX Code of Conduct

Useful links www.wwffaustralia.com www.wwff.co https://au.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/wwffaustralia/info

Useful links www.vk5parks.com https://au.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/sanpcpa/info

Useful links www.parksnpeaks.com www.hamspots.net Various Facebook sites WWFF VK5 Parks Award VKFF/SOTA Field Radio

Beware of the ‘portable bug’

Questions ???