Darwin Amateur Radio Club

Welcome to VK8DA

Darwin Amateur Radio Club

Amateur radio operators in Darwin form an interesting group who meet regularly to promote the interests of amateur radio and to share technical information and socialise.

Apart from pursuing our own personal interests, members of DARC operate Darwins' emergency radio network which includes personnel operating from cyclone shelters during an emergency. We also provide operators for organisations such as the Red Cross.

DARC is affiliated with the

Wireless Institute of Australia

and has about 40 active members.

There are dozens of other radio operators operating throughout the Territory who interact on occasions - for example, when there are emergency warnings, they are able to activate radio links and share information.

The Darwin Amateur Radio Club

is one of the oldest clubs in Darwin. It provides emergency radio communication in times of need, as well as flexible communication networks for major social and sporting events throughout the Territory. The club is the agency through which Territorians can gain their amateur radio licences.

Projects by an Introvert Communicator

By Paula Chappel | November 11, 2018

On Wednesday 7th November, Mal VK8MT gave an insightful presentation on some of the projects he has been working on recently (and not so recently). Allstar Mal’s main interest is Allstar which is a radio linking system. It is based … Continued

JOTA/JOTI

By Paula Chappel | November 1, 2018

The club participated in the 61st JOTA and 22nd JOTI out at Knuckey Lagoon on the weekend of 19/20 October. Some good contacts were made on 14MHz, the C4FM repeater as well as on echolink. As well as radio the … Continued

October 6 Fox Hunt

By Paula Chappel | October 6, 2018

Saturday Morning saw a hotly contested fox hunt with 7 members chasing the fox. There were some innovative aerials and attachments to narrow down the direction of the fox. Good work by Phil VK8VWA who managed to find fox for … Continued

VK8RR Portable

By Gary Gibson | May 8, 2018

Club Members Richie VK8RR and Paula VK8ZI are currently mobile in VK4 But As you can see there are “NO FLIES ON RICHIE” Look carefully at the fly net!!

Contest Calendar for 2018

By Gary Gibson | May 2, 2018

Asia-Pacific Sprint, SSB 1100Z thru 1300Z June 9 http://jsfc.org/apsprint/aprule.txt VK Shires Contest June 9 0600Z thru 0600Z June 10 http://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/wavks/ IARU HF World Championship 1200Z July 14 thru 1200Z July 15 http://www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-championship RSGB IOTA Contest 1200Z July 28 thru 1200Z … Continued

Award For Club

By Paula Chappel | April 23, 2018

DARC has introduced a new Award for the club. Rowan VK8RD will be the Award manager. To qualify for the award a station needs to contact 5 Darwin Amateur Radio Club members as well as make contact with VK8DA.

An ARDUINO Iambic Keyer

By Gary Gibson | April 6, 2018

An Iambic Keyer for Practice or for Keying an older rig without a built in Keyer. For Christmas I received as a gift a Bencher Morse Paddle but alas…. my paddle skills are lacking. I decided that I would need … Continued

AGM 2018

By Paula Chappel | March 16, 2018

The committee for the next 12 months will be: – Chair: VK8BL Brian Bates Vice Chair: VK8BN Gary Gibson Secretary: VK8ZI Paula Chappel Treasurer: VK8RW Ray West Public Officer: VK8VWA Phil Brennan Station Manager: VK8RR Richie Chappel, Committee: … Continued

Notice of AGM

By Paula Chappel | January 26, 2018

DARC inc, will hold the AGM on 7th March 2018. The annual fees are due on 1th January. The fees are the same as other years $25. The next club night will be 7th February. The talk will an update … Continued