Yesterday (Sunday 24th November, 2014), a ‘Welcome to amateur radio’ symposium was held at the Blackwood Community Centre.  The event was sponsored by the Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society (AHARS).  Eighty (80) people attended the event which commenced at 8.45 a.m. and concluded in the afternoon at around 4.00 p.m.

Those attending ranged from 9 Foundation calls all the way through to some very senior amateurs.  It was great to see a good blend of experience.

The cost of attendance on the day was just $5.00.  I chaired the day, which commenced with a welcome by Tony VK5KAT, the AHARS President, and then a short introduction by yours truly.  There were 16 presentations during the day on a variety of topics.  Below is the program…..

0830 – 0845                      Doors open

0845 – 0850                       Welcome – Tony VK5KAT

0850 – 0855                      Introduction – Paul VK5PAS

0855 – 0915                      History of ham radio – Trevor VK5ATQ

0915 – 0935                      Operating legally & the ‘model’ QSO – John VK5BJE

0935 – 0955                      DX Code of Conduct – David VK5LSB

0955 – 1015                      ham jargon – Nigel VK5NIG 

1015 – 1035                      QRZ.com – Stuart VK5STU

1035 – 1050                     Morning tea

1050 – 1110                     APRS – Larry VK5LY

1110 – 1130                     DX cluster – Brian VK5BC

 1130-1150                       Contesting & Chasing Awards – Andy VK5AKH

 1150-1210                       QSL cards – John VK5EMI

 1210 – 1300                    Lunch

 1300 – 1320                    Electronic logging programs – Stuart VK5STU

1320- 1340                       Antenna basics – John VK5BJE 

1340 – 1400                     Blogs/Wordpress/You Tube – Paul VK5PAS 

1400 – 1420                     Demystifying the learning of Morse Code – Doc VK5BUG

 1420 – 1440                    Afternoon tea

 1440 – 1500                    Summits on the Air (SOTA) – Ian VK5CZ

 1500 – 1520                    Operating QRP – David VK5KC

 1520- 1540                      VK5 Nat & Cons Parks Award & WWFF program – Larry VK5LY

 1540 – 1600                     General questions to the group

 1600 – 1605                     Closure – Paul VK5PAS

Morning and afternoon tea consisted of tea, coffee, biscuits, and various cakes.

Lunch consisted of sandwich platters provided by Subway at Blackwood, and pizzas from the Little Caesars pizza shop at Eden Hills.

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Thanks to the following people (not in any particular order):

• all the guest speakers (particularly Larry VK5LY who travelled from The Riverland, and Ian VK5CZ who travelled from the Clare Valley)
• David VK5KC (for helping to set up on the morning & organising the pizza)
• Barry VK5BW (for helping set up on the morning)
• Roy VK5NRG (for taking the $$$ at the door)
• Kim VK5FJ (for helping set up)
• John VK5BJE (for helping set up)
• my wife Marija (for organsing the morning & afternoon tea)
• and all the attendees

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I plan to run another day in mid 2015, covering different topics including home brew, EMR, satellites, fox hunting, digital modes, Dxpeditions,etc.