11/09/2025
Upcoming CRARC general meetings / CRARC merchandise
September meeting. This will be a flowerpot building session. We will be building the 2m “flowerpot” coaxial dipole antennas (in a rollup configuration for portable operations. This is a very compact yet good performing antenna that significantly improves 2m performance over the HT antennas and can still be used with other radios including mobile rigs.
Sufficient materials have been obtained to manufacture approximately 30 antennas and these will be available on a cost recovery basis - $15 for club members and $20 for non members. Payment for materials will be on the night (prior to commencing construction) and will be accepted by either cash or paypal.
We will also have tools and test gear for the construction activity, but if you have them handy, it would be useful to bring along a small sharp knife (i.e. a utility knife/stanley knife) and some snippers/scissors (suitable for cutting the coax braid) as participants will likely outnumber the tools we will have available on the night.
IMPORTANT: we need prior confirmation to ensure that we have enough materials available. If you are intending to participate in an antenna build at the meeting, please visit http://thq.fyi/se/oFRzaxw to confirm you wish to attend. Note there are options to select that you want to pay on the night or alternatively pay online prior to the meeting. We anticipate having a small number of components for additional attendees but don’t count on this, quantities of additional components will be limited – please let us know if you want to participate in the antenna build night to lock in component availability.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October meeting. This will be a presentation by Ian VK1DI on the VKFF scheme – the Australian arm of the World Wide Flora & Fauna in amateur radio, abbreviated as WWFF which is an international amateur radio program, the purpose of which is to: draw attention to the importance of protecting nature, flora and fauna, and to encourage the development of radio skills, especially in portable operations. This is timely given the 2025 VKFF National Get Together is being held in Canberra on Friday 24th, Saturday 25th, Sunday 26th, & Monday 27th October 2025 (the weekend after our meeting).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRARC merchandise – a reminder that we have CRARC branded merchandise available from our site https://www.crarc.org.au/2024/07/03/crarc-merchandise-now-available/
