After leaving The Spit Wildlife Reserve (2nd March 2023), Marija and I headed to the Little River silo VK-LRA3 which is located in the town of Lara. We intended to activate the silo for the Silos On The Air (SiOTA) program.

Above:- Map showing the location of Lara. Map c/o Google Maps.

The silo complex is located on the southern side of Old Melbourne Road, just northeast of Perkins Road. The silos are owned by Riordan Grains, one of Victoria’s largest grain-handling companies. The company commenced as a one-man, one-truck operation in the Lara region. The company has expanded to a fleet of 14 trucks and about 135 employees.

Although referred to in SiOTA as the Little River silo, the silo is actually located in Lara, a little further to the south of Little River. The silos have a storage capacity of 60,000 tonnes, along with eight 400-tonne silos.

Below is a short video about Riordain Grains.

Marija and I parked directly opposite the silos on Old Melbourne Road, and surprisingly we had very little noise on the bands. We operated from the 4WD, running the Icom IC7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 antenna with the 1.5 m stainless steel whip.

Above:- the activation zone at the Little River silo. Image c/o SiOTA website.

Marija worked the following stations on 40m:-

1. VK3PAT/p (Alpine National Park VKFF-0619)
2. VK3PF
3. VK3GRK
4. VK1AO
5. VK2MET

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PAT/p (Alpine National Park VKFF-0619)
2. VK3PF
3. VK3GRK
4. VK1AO
5. VK2MET
6. VK2YAK
7. VK4YAK
8. VK5BJE
9. Vk1CHW
10. VK5KRX
11. VK5AYL

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. VK1AO
2. VK2MET
3. VK5CZ
4. OE6HAF/mm
5. ZL2PC

References.

1. Riordan Grain Transport Storage, 2023, <https://riordangrains.com.au/>, viewed 22nd April 2023.
2. Trailer mag, 2023, <https://www.trailermag.com.au/riordan-staying-true-to-the-grain/>, viewed 22nd April 2023.