31/12/2025
A Year on the Air with BARC - 2025 Edition
Looking back over the year, it’s been really good to see just how much has been happening around BARC
POTA ended up being a big part of the year, and it grew steadily as the months went on. We settled into a rhythm of running one POTAthon each quarter. The first one back in March started with VK4CEG, VK4DCP and VK4MPB spread across two parks. Fast forward to the most recent POTAthon just a couple of days ago and it wrapped up with 15 operators across 16 parks, logging close to 700 QSOs. Seeing that progression over the year has been pretty satisfying.
Along the way, a number of members put in a huge amount of work on air. As it stands, six BARC members are currently sitting in the top 50 activators in Australia (VK), which is a great reflection of the consistency and effort being put in.
Here’s where those six currently sit:
VK4CEG has pushed into the top 20 VK activators this year, currently sitting at number 16, with 98 activations across 48 parks and 2406 QSOs, including CW.
VK4BRO is sitting at number 32 nationally, with 41 activations across 31 parks and 860 QSOs, including CW.
VK4MPB is at number 39 nationally, with 53 activations across 27 parks and 1272 QSOs, including data.
VK4KLB sits at number 41, with 40 activations across 27 parks and 1071 QSOs, and is one of very few female operators, if not the only one, currently appearing in the national top 50.
VK4DCP is at number 46, with 73 activations across 21 parks and 2145 QSOs, including data.
VK4MWL rounds that out at number 49, with 26 activations across 21 parks and 647 QSOs.
Later in the year, VK4GUE and VK4FRZ also joined the group of activators and have been getting stuck into POTA alongside the rest of the crew. On the other side of the microphone, VK4NCX, VK4GAP and VK4GSI have been rapidly racking up an impressive number of POTA hunter contacts, among others.
It hasn’t just been about the established operators either. A really nice thing to watch this year has been newer activators finding their feet and steadily building confidence. The father-daughter pair VK4TNT and VK4DND have started activating parks together and are quickly racking up the numbers. VK4DND is only 14 and already getting solid time on air, which has been great to see. Most recently, VK4HSK joined the latest POTAthon for his first POTA outing, with VK4BRO showing him the ropes.
Another big theme of the year has been new and younger members coming through and getting properly involved. Over the year, 29 people sat licence exams across Foundation, Standard and Advanced.
A lot of that success comes down to VK4MWL’s quiet, consistent work behind the scenes, organising and conducting assessments, mentoring candidates, and making the whole process feel approachable and supportive.
There were some great individual milestones along the way.
VK4DJK and VK4PKR gained their licences so they could join family SOTA activations overseas.
VK4BRO upgraded to Advanced.
VK4PAA, who is only 14, gained his Foundation licence and is already working towards Advanced.
Those new callsigns have flowed straight into the club. We picked up 24 new members this year, taking us to 71 active members. That includes high school students, people brand new to the hobby, and people returning after time away. The current licence mix sits at 32 Advanced, 29 Foundation and 7 Standard, with a few more working towards their first licence.
On the practical side, a lot of time went into helping newer operators like VK4OLB, VK4PAA and VK4JKM get stations together. Sorting radios, power, antennas, and all the little details that make the difference between owning gear and actually using it. Antennas were built, tuned, rebuilt, and tested again. EFHWs went up and portable setups got refined.
That support is starting to show. VK4OLB recently ran his first solo activation, which is a pretty big milestone when you think back to where he started earlier in the year. He’s also currently wrapping up testing on a new 80 m antenna, which has been a great learning curve in its own right. VK4PAA has now got his home station set up and on air as well, and has started logging POTA hunter contacts, which has been great to see. First QSOs turned into first pile-ups, and group activations naturally led into independent ones. We have also seen a handful of members get on CW for the first time this year, which has been great to watch.
Away from HF, there were plenty of VHF and UHF outings as well. Hilltops, quick tests that turned into longer sessions, and more members getting comfortable with portable operating overall.
In November, about half a dozen members also made it along to QTech 2025, the two-day amateur radio technical conference in Brisbane. It was a good chance to catch up with operators from around Australia, sit in on technical talks, and come home with plenty of ideas for new projects and experiments.
We’ve also seen a lot of positive cross-pollination this year with the Meshtastic Brisbane User Group. Meshtastic enthusiasts have been picking up their amateur radio licences, and long-time hams have been diving into Meshtastic, experimenting with nodes, coverage, and new ways of thinking about RF. That crossover has been a real highlight.
Outside the usual club activities, we also got back into JOTA, working with both the Scouts at Rochedale and the Guides just down the road at Springwood.
A huge shout-out also goes to VK4LEZ, VK4DKW, and the other regular net controllers who keep things ticking along week in, week out. Between them they’ve been running and supporting multiple weekly HF, VHF and UHF nets, giving everyone a reason to jump on air, try new bands, test gear, and stay connected.
A lot of the good stuff happened off-air too. BBQs helmed by VK4GLM, planning days, VK4MGO’s antenna building adventures, VK4BXI, VK4DKW and VK4QAS helping fix things that didn’t behave, and plenty of casual catch-ups where ideas turned into the next on-air adventure.
If we tried to list everything all our wonderful club members have done this year, we’d be here all night and Facebook would probably cut us off. So instead, we just want to take a moment to give a big shout-out to:
VK4ASH, VK4VAK, VK4DTK, VK4EDF, VK4AYE, VK4ANB, VK4AGE, VK4SGW, VK4TSC, VK4ETH, VK4CHR, VK4LDF, VK4KDP, VK4DEV, VK4DMB, VK4OZZ, VK4GSI, VK4YYM, VK4JG, VK4JER, VK4VKM, VK4VVK, VK4AW, VK4XYZ, VK4AOK, VK4YXL, VK4LPC, VK4ATC, VK4COZ, VK4PTR, VK4YPB, VK4AIQ, VK4ACF, VK4AHK, VK4SET, VK4YTC
for all the wonderful contributions you make - whether you’ve been active on air, helping behind the scenes, building things, fixing things, learning, teaching, experimenting, or just turning up and being part of it, together you make the club what it is. Friendly, welcoming, fun, and a genuinely good place to learn and enjoy radio.
And if we’ve accidentally missed you, that’s operator error. Consider yourself logged anyway.
To everyone who taught, assessed, activated, hunted, chased, logged, spotted, helped build, helped tune, or just turned up and got involved, thanks. And to all the newer members who joined us this year, welcome. It’s been a really solid year for the club, and a great one to look back on.
And here’s to 2026 and the adventures it will most certainly bring!
Happy New Year folks! And 73 for now…
