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.
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.
Bombing of Darwin
DARC held a field day on 19 February to commemorate the 77th year since the bombing of Darwin Brian VK8BL and his team set up at the Qantas hanger in Philips St, which was bombed in 1942.Contacts were mainly made … Continued
FT4 beta release
Phil VK8VWA reports that there is a new mode out called FT4. It’s currently beta release. It’s a contesting version of FT8 with a 6 second T/R sequence. It will be interesting to see if it overtakes FT8. More … Continued
The truth about space junk
I’m a fan of ‘Conversations’ on ABC, with Richard Fidler (and now also Sarah Kanowski). This week (10th April) Richard’s guest was the a space archaeologist, Dr Alice Gorman. It’s a fasinating conversation with mention of Amateur Radio and the … Continued
Cosmonautics day/Yuri’s Night
If you are wanting to try your hand at SSTV then give the ISS a go. tune to 145.800Mhz FM! I use a couple of Android apps, Robot36 for decoding the SSTV Image (P120 mode) and the ISS Detector Satellite … Continued
Projects by an Introvert Communicator
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
October 6 Fox Hunt
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