Ipswich & District Radio Club

10/06/2026

Social Meeting this Saturday, 13 June 2026 @ 09:30

Our next Ipswich & District Radio Club social meeting will be held this Saturday at the clubhouse, 10 Deebing St, Ipswich.

Please note the earlier start time of 09:30 AEST, rather than our usual 10:00 start, as we have two presentations planned.

We will be joined by Marty VK4KC from Mad Dog Coils, who will be speaking about his antenna loading coils and how they can be used for portable operating, including Parks on the Air (POTA). POTA is a popular amateur radio activity where operators set up in parks and make contacts from the field, so this should be a very practical session for anyone interested in portable HF operating.

We will also have Peter Schrader VK4EA, Vice President of the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA), giving a presentation.

Members, guests, and anyone interested in amateur radio are very welcome to come along. After the meeting we will be having a BYO BBQ, so bring something for the barbecue and make a day of it with the club.

Website: https://ipswichradioclub.org.au

Mad Dog Coils: https://maddogcoils.com.au/
WIA: https://www.wia.org.au/joinwia/wia/board/

Jun 13 2026 Social meeting then BBQ (BYO) 10:00 AM Ipswich & District Radio Club, 10 Deebing St, Ipswich QLD 4305, Australia Details Dual Presention from Marty Nelson VK4KC Founder of Mad Dog Coils And Peter Schrader VK4EA about the Wireless Institute of Australia More info →

23/05/2026

Our next Ipswich & District Radio Club business meeting will be held on Monday 25 May 2026 at 19:30 AEST at the clubhouse, 10 Deebing St, Ipswich.

All members are encouraged to come along, share ideas, and help guide the direction of the club.

Zoom access is available for those unable to attend in person. Please contact the club for details.

Website: https://ipswichradioclub.org.au

16/05/2026

A big thank you to TRAQ - Trail Running Association of Queensland for having us involved with the Brisbane Trail Marathon on Sunday 26 April 2026, held around Enoggera Reservoir / South D’Aguilar National Park.

The event included the Brisbane Trail Marathon, TRAQ-25, and Walkabout Creek Trail Race, with our I&DRC / WICEN volunteers providing checkpoint and safety communications across the trail network.

Our operators helped ensure that no runner is left behind, with participants tracked through each checkpoint and information relayed back to base so the event team could keep account of everyone on course.

While this may sound simple, it relies on experienced radio operators, reliable equipment, good planning, early starts, and the support of family and friends who help our volunteers prepare and make themselves available on the day.

TRAQ’s continued support provides a valuable pathway for our club members and WICEN volunteers to give back to the community through practical amateur radio communications.

Special thanks to:

VK4PMC, VK4SQL, VK4AVL, VK4BRW, VK4JBX, VK4MUD, VK4AJJ, VK4AJG, VK4DTB, VK4SMA, VK4TMK, VK4IE & Mrs VK4IE

A particular thank you goes to Paul VK4PMC, our I&DRC WICEN Coordinator, who manages the planning, maps, site information, operator coordination, and makes sure everyone knows where they need to be and what they need to do.

Whether members support one event a year or regularly make themselves available for WICEN activities, every contribution matters and is appreciated.

Events like this are a great example of amateur radio being used in practical community service, especially where terrain and distance can make normal communications more difficult.

More info and photos from the day:
https://ipswichradioclub.org.au/wicen-btm-26-april-2026/

Event info:
https://www.traq.org.au/brisbane-trail-marathon/

What is WICEN?
https://ipswichradioclub.org.au/wicen/

16/05/2026

Good evening members and interested guests,

Ipswich & District Radio Club is seeking expressions of interest for our next Standard Licence Training Course.

The course is planned to start on the evening of Wednesday 20 May 2026, and will run at the clubhouse over approximately 6 weeks. (That is this upcoming Wednesday!)

This course is suitable for:
✅ Foundation licence holders looking to upgrade
✅ Newcomers who want to go straight to Standard
✅ Anyone wanting more bands, more power, and a deeper understanding of theory and regulations

The course is free and includes the training course and assessment.

To express your interest, please contact Greg at:

📧 [email protected]

Please get in touch as soon as possible so we can confirm numbers.

73,
Ipswich & District Radio Club

25/04/2026

Good evening members and other interested parties. I am seeking expressions of interest for those who may wish to attend my next Standard Course. This would have a tentative start date of WEDNESDAY 20TH MAY and continue for a further 4 Wednesday nights after that. For those interested there would be a further 6th night dedicated primarily to the Standard/Advanced Regulations. If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact me at [email protected] and let me know ASAP. Cheers for now.

Send a message to learn more

05/04/2026

QLD Cuboree 2026 On the Air!
Hello AR Community, this Friday, 10 April to Sunday, 12 April, Cub Scouts attending the 2026 QLD Cuboreee at BP Park, Samford will participate in a range of Amateur Radio activities.

The activity will be operating under the Scout Call Sign: VK4SBP for the event.
The event will be operating each day between 0800 (0000 GMT) to 1700 (0700 GMT) AEST.

We will have a total of 800 Cub’s attending our activity during these windows, making this event one of the largest Scouting VK events outside of JOTA-JOTI this year.

If you are on the air at all over the weekend we would be very pleased to hear from you!

Calling Frequencies for the event are as follows:
80m - 3.690 & 3.940 MHz
40 m - 7.090 & 7.190 MHZ
20 m - 14.290 MHz
17 m - 18.140 MHz
15 m - 21.360 MHz
12 m - 24.960 MHz
10 m - 28.390 MHz
6 m - 50.160

D-Star Reflectors - 091C, 023A, 023B, 004C
Peanut - Category ALL, Room SCOUTS
Echolink - *JOTA-365* Scout JOTA (English[0/100] ON 12:15 480809)
VK-DMR Network - TG30
Bandmeister DMR Network - TG907

73’s
Chris Allen
VK4CAP
QLD Branch Advisor - Amateur Radio

21/02/2026

Greetings members and other interested parties. I am currently seeking expressions of interest in our next Foundation Course, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday night 17th March 26 at 7pm. If you or anyone you know is interested in attending this course, please email me at [email protected]. Positions can fill fast so please contact me via email as soon as you can. Cheers for now. Greg VK4GJW

Send a message to learn more

16/01/2026

Greetings fellow members and other interested parties. I am seeking expressions of interest from those who would be interested in attending the 1/26 Standard Course, scheduled to commence on Tuesday night, 27th January at 7.00pm. This course will run for only 5 consecutive Tuesday nights, and finish with the ACMA Standard Exam on Saturday 28th February. If you are interested in attending, please send me an email to [email protected] and let me know. I already have 2 confirmed candidates but will take up to 6. Cheers for now. Greg VK4GJW

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23/12/2025

Good evening fellow club members. For those of you who may have been wondering, the details of Alan Tarbit's VK4AL funeral are as follows. The family have requested a closed funeral service followed by a private ashes spreading. If you would like to do something in memory of Alan, the family have kindly suggested that you make a donation to Alan's favorite charity, the Royal Flying Doctor Service. This can be done via this link: https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/donate/

VALE ALAN TARBIT VK4AL (SK)

Help support the Flying Doctor. Your donation will keep us in the air.

09/12/2025

Good evening fellow club members. It is my sad duty to inform you all that today I was informed of the passing of one of our senior club members, ALAN TARBIT VK4AL. Alan was a long-time member of our club, and even up until last month, he still took an active role in our club's WICEN events. When I have more details about his funeral and the arrangements, I will get those out to you all as quickly as possible. VALE ALAN TARBIT VK4AL 🙁